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Do not try to tell me that Miami is a rebuild...

Our front seven says otherwise. We are weak ASF in the trenches where real football games against good teams are won. I predict 8-4 or 9-3 for the next two years. Give Mario time to built he will get it right.
 
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Real football isn’t played on paper though. The whole “we have more talent so we should beat everyone less talented” mindset completely disregards reality. If the more talented team always won, there’d be at least 3 or 4 undefeated teams every year. And there’d be a bunch of winless teams. Small talent advantages don’t equate to automatic wins. Miami still has position groups that aren’t any better than most ACC programs. I’d probably rank our current defensive line somewhere in the middle of ACC schools and linebackers even lower. Offensive line the same. We might have huge talent advantages at positions like safety or tight end but is that good enough to overcome deficits at other positions?

That’s not even taking into account the “randomness” that occurs in most games. Miami was a couple of bounces and some turnovers away from being 11-1 or 2-10 last year. That’s a huge swing. They had to edge out a terrible Georgia Tech team despite dominating them in every statistical category besides turnovers. They would have won that game by three scores if they didn’t fumble 3 times. They had more first downs and only 14 fewer yards than Michigan State but they lost by 21 because they turned it over 4 times. A couple of random kicks against UVA and UNC are the reason we’re having this current discussion and not *****ing about Manny not hiring a defensive coordinator for the 2022 season.

This is a solid team. The offense is definitely the better group so if the offensive staff allows them to play to win, they could flirt with 10 regular season wins and compete for the ACC title. 9 wins and a coastal title are reasonable expectations. Much more than that might be pushing it.
 
I'm going to wait and see how the portal plays out. Our level of success depends on what happens there in the next few months. Right now, I don't think we have the defense, primarily front 7, to compete even if the offense is getting close to ready. I'm sure there's already a plan in place to address this, and potential transfers identified and in the works, we just don't know it yet.

I know Mario doesn't want to waste a few seasons doing a full rebuild when the portal is there and can help right now.
 
You could insert “we should win the coastal” for a decade. I understand we have a new coach, but it’s not as simple as it sounds. We are severely lacking in the trenches. We will probably be in a lot of 1 score games
 
People here forget that football is not only Offense and Defense.

There are three phases of the game.
We are fortunate to have the best Punter in the ACC. We also have a young FG kicker who should be top in the conference and possibly the Nation if he continues to improve.

Our Punt returns should also improve since George may take the next step after a solid season as a Frosh. There's other options there as well.
Kick return should be okay too.

The only thing that really needs to improve is our coverage and I am sure our Special Teams staff will do their best to do that.

Combine that with a great offense and just a little bit of improvement fundamentally from our Defense and we should be able to compete with anyone on our schedule.

When you compete with anyone to win a conference then that is not really a rebuild to me but this is a game of semantics because we as fans (and even the media) know we are rebuilding to make a run at what really matters
 
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k9cane said:
Interesting discussion, I think it's a rebuild...

But not a 5 year one...

Mario in my view is fighting and working like heck to make sure it's no more than a year or two, where he gets UM in position to challenge for more than just Coastal titles.

I mean, what Butch Davis walked into with NCAA sanctions and such, now THAT was a rebuild
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Agree especially with the moves on the lines.

DL is a bigger concern from a recruiting standpoint especially at DT to get to that elite level of play but not complaining at all.....

TVD is the game changer this year.
 
I think all of you are way underestimating the value of a proper coach. We lost 2 games last year on the final play of the game (UVA and UNC). Let’s just say that the headwind in coaching that we had last year has now become a tailwind for us. Count those 2 games in our favor now and we end up 9-3.

I also am interested in seeing what Gattis is going to do with our play calling. This is the tricky part of the equation to figure out how we are going to be. If we pull Mims, we could have a truly balanced offense. Obviously we need a couple of WRs to step up, but I expect this to happen by the fall. Add in potential in portal, and we could really be talking. As suspect as our defense was last year, who did we lose that are going to make us worse? And have we picked up any players that could make us better? I think that latter is true and will continue to be true as a result of the portal. And scheme wise, we will be playing more press coverage which should allow some coverage sacks and preventing success in 3rd down conversions.

Finally, our schedule is Weak AF. UNC and Pitt have new QBs, Va Tech and UVA may be better with new leadership but will not improve much with talent. Our big games are aTm and Clemson (with god knows what behind center). If we play like we should, I expect 10-2. If we play like we had with a let down, we go 9-3. Either way we go to ACCCG as the Coastal is a joke (and I know this has been said in most preceding years, but we now have competency in the coaching seat).
 
CorniceCane said:
I think all of you are way underestimating the value of a proper coach. We lost 2 games last year on the final play of the game (UVA and UNC). Let’s just say that the headwind in coaching that we had last year has now become a tailwind for us. Count those 2 games in our favor now and we end up 9-3.

I also am interested in seeing what Gattis is going to do with our play calling. This is the tricky part of the equation to figure out how we are going to be. If we pull Mims, we could have a truly balanced offense. Obviously we need a couple of WRs to step up, but I expect this to happen by the fall. Add in potential in portal, and we could really be talking. As suspect as our defense was last year, who did we lose that are going to make us worse? And have we picked up any players that could make us better? I think that latter is true and will continue to be true as a result of the portal. And scheme wise, we will be playing more press coverage which should allow some coverage sacks and preventing success in 3rd down conversions.

Finally, our schedule is Weak AF. UNC and Pitt have new QBs, Va Tech and UVA may be better with new leadership but will not improve much with talent. Our big games are aTm and Clemson (with god knows what behind center). If we play like we should, I expect 10-2. If we play like we had with a let down, we go 9-3. Either way we go to ACCCG as the Coastal is a joke (and I know this has been said in most preceding years, but we now have competency in the coaching seat).
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We also won 4 games by under 4 or 5 points so could've been 3-9. I don't know why people only do the close games thing on wins and not on losses. I think we are all seeing how much help we need at OL, LB, and CB to think that we are that close. And in the end, anyone who thinks 20 years of stinking is fixed in a year is crazy. We are taking major steps forward but this is a rebuild of culture, performance, talent evaluation, coachind development, and a bunch of other things that make winning sustainable for the long term.
 
Bottom line is that the cupboard is not bare and the possibility of a great season is within reach. LB U has failed us for quite some time, improvement there alone would've kept Diaz's job.
 
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Juancane said:
We also won 4 games by under 4 or 5 points so could've been 3-9. I don't know why people only do the close games thing on wins and not on losses. I think we are all seeing how much help we need at OL, LB, and CB to think that we are that close. And in the end, anyone who thinks 20 years of stinking is fixed in a year is crazy. We are taking major steps forward but this is a rebuild of culture, performance, talent evaluation, coachind development, and a bunch of other things that make winning sustainable for the long term.
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We beat solid teams in NCSt and Pitt by little amounts. Those two I will give to you as going either way like we lost to UVA and UNC. We also had a QB playing his first two games of real competition in those two games too. So I think he wins those this year. We were close to App St and GT. You really think Mario is losing to either of those teams? I could be out playing right now and we aren’t losing to them. I can’t believe that you would think that Manny had any positive benefit to offer (and don’t forget that we have an extra coach this year versus last year with a DC that isn’t a blitz only maniac).

CB should be substantially better this year by virtue of how we are playing the spot, the kid from WVU and Al Blades being back. The safeties aren’t freshman anymore and we have Avantae back too for the whole year. Offensive line is healthy to start the year (we lost Rivers against MSU) and we are addition by subtraction with Donaldson gone. RB room is studded out. Only place I have some concern is WR, and it is early.

Defense is exactly as we had last year with improvements in coaching, some additions and another year under our belts. I think that improve to 9-3 as the floor because our schedule is a light version of last year. We have FSU and UNC at home (and should have beat them last year if not for DC/HC Manny). And I factored in one let down game and gave away Clemson and aTm (which I legit think that we win one of the two…so that gives room for 2 let down games).

I think that you are underestimating the incompetency in the coaching room since Coker years (D’Onofrio sinking Golden’s ship, Richt Jr being the QB coach and Mark being stubborn with the offensive game plan, and Manny…enough said). This speaks to winning 2 more games from 7-5 under Manny. I think it is very doable. If we were playing against a competent FSU team, or Pitt with Pickett or UNC with Howell, I might agree with you. But I believe that you should see a substantial turn around in record. Even Manny would be a favorite for 8 wins (well maybe not, but I digress).
 
CorniceCane said:
We beat solid teams in NCSt and Pitt by little amounts. Those two I will give to you as going either way like we lost to UVA and UNC. We also had a QB playing his first two games of real competition in those two games too. So I think he wins those this year. We were close to App St and GT. You really think Mario is losing to either of those teams? I could be out playing right now and we aren’t losing to them. I can’t believe that you would think that Manny had any positive benefit to offer (and don’t forget that we have an extra coach this year versus last year with a DC that isn’t a blitz only maniac).

CB should be substantially better this year by virtue of how we are playing the spot, the kid from WVU and Al Blades being back. The safeties aren’t freshman anymore and we have Avantae back too for the whole year. Offensive line is healthy to start the year (we lost Rivers against MSU) and we are addition by subtraction with Donaldson gone. RB room is studded out. Only place I have some concern is WR, and it is early.

Defense is exactly as we had last year with improvements in coaching, some additions and another year under our belts. I think that improve to 9-3 as the floor because our schedule is a light version of last year. We have FSU and UNC at home (and should have beat them last year if not for DC/HC Manny). And I factored in one let down game and gave away Clemson and aTm (which I legit think that we win one of the two…so that gives room for 2 let down games).

I think that you are underestimating the incompetency in the coaching room since Coker years (D’Onofrio sinking Golden’s ship, Richt Jr being the QB coach and Mark being stubborn with the offensive game plan, and Manny…enough said). This speaks to winning 2 more games from 7-5 under Manny. I think it is very doable. If we were playing against a competent FSU team, or Pitt with Pickett or UNC with Howell, I might agree with you. But I believe that you should see a substantial turn around in record. Even Manny would be a favorite for 8 wins (well maybe not, but I digress).
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Yea I'm not saying that we can't win two more games. I'm saying building this to a long term title contending program. Who cares about two more wins in 2022. I want to get to 2023 and forward and think we are ready to go for titles. And thats building a team that is tough, kicks your *** up front, and has great QB play, etc. Those are things that take time. But I think we got the right guy for it.
 
Juancane said:
Yea I'm not saying that we can't win two more games. I'm saying building this to a long term title contending program. Who cares about two more wins in 2022. I want to get to 2023 and forward and think we are ready to go for titles. And thats building a team that is tough, kicks your *** up front, and has great QB play, etc. Those are things that take time. But I think we got the right guy for it.
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I want 2 more wins. I want 4 more wins in 2022 (don’t think it will happen). I want the long term contender too. What are we sacrificing by ending up with 2 more wins (these events are not mutually exclusive)? Are we substantially front loading our team with portal players? No. We get who we can get and no, I don’t want super seniors from the portal to displace the kids we have in pipeline for starting positions so that we can have this success now.

If you turn heads sooner, the momentum picks up and you get more interest from higher up the food chain that assumes SEC is the way to go. This is the biggest part of the turnaround that needs to happen. Start changing the mindset of guys down here that are all SEC for their choice of school and then dominate the ACC EVERY YEAR. Do what Clemson did with Watson and Lawrence and compete in the playoffs every year. Then we will be what we need to be. If we eek out a couple more wins this year, it won’t be from a lack of long term vision. But the result will fast forward what long term really means.

But winning two more games because your schedule is sorry is not an attempt at being a flash in the pan and focused on 2022z. I think that we get there by virtue of what we’ve got. And we are still focused on the long term.
 
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Juvenal said:
I don't think people have an accurate picture of the **** poor shape our defense was left in.
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Agree! The nonsense on this thread continuous with persons believing that we only have a "coverage" problem. They are on the forum all days, they must have seen the portal attack Mario is trying to elevate both sides of the ball.
 
TheDonCane1994 said:
Agree! The nonsense on this thread continuous with persons believing that we only have a "coverage" problem. They are on the forum all days, they must have seen the portal attack Mario is trying to elevate both sides of the ball.
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Yep, hyper focused on corners and safeties - never give a thought to OL. Nor do they consider much that all those 3&outs on O expose those DB's and S's. Mario won because he was an O-Lineman who understands once he gets that fixed, we get those sustained ****-in-the-dirt drives against defenses, The other stuff will fall in line. But we've done that so badly even the fanbase can't see it.
 
Juvenal said:
I don't think people have an accurate picture of the **** poor shape our defense was left in.
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Agreed. What defensive player do we have that’s an all conference caliber player? There’s some potential and maybe at the end of the year there’s one or two all ACC types but I’m looking at our defense, specifically the front 7 and I’m not seeing a group that’s any better than the rest of the mediocre teams in the ACC.
 
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DTP said:
Agreed. What defensive player do we have that’s an all conference caliber player? There’s some potential and maybe at the end of the year there’s one or two all ACC types but I’m looking at our defense, specifically the front 7 and I’m not seeing a group that’s any better than the rest of the mediocre teams in the ACC.
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All offseason I have been struggling with this and you are right. We have a mediocre ACC defense on paper.

BUT. We also had a lot of key players who were first year players who should make a huge jump now that they are more accustom to the speed of the game and with good coaching.
And as we roll the dice with the Portal and new incoming freshmen we can be better than mediocre and that may be all we need to be with a great O and very good Special teams to make a run in the Conference.
 
DTP said:
Agreed. What defensive player do we have that’s an all conference caliber player? There’s some potential and maybe at the end of the year there’s one or two all ACC types but I’m looking at our defense, specifically the front 7 and I’m not seeing a group that’s any better than the rest of the mediocre teams in the ACC.
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Look around this site. Everyone seems to believe the only reason kids go to college to play football is because their sole interest is getting to the NFL.

On our defensive roster, who exactly do they think has a chance?
 
Cryptical Envelopment said:
TVD will have eight starts and ~350 pass attempts going into next season. If you can't see that he's the real deal from watching him I am not sure what else to say to try to convince you. He's the best QB to start for us since Ken Dorsey. I would wager there is Heisman buzz around him at some point next year, which will probably be his last year at Miami.
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I was right and you losers were wrong
 
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