K9Cane's Korner - What Else Needs to be Said?

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k9cane

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Well, not much I can add at this point after Miami dropped to an incredibly disappointing 6-6 by dropping their last game of the regular season to Pitt by the score of 35-23. Like the rest of you guys I was in a bit of a haze and numb as I watched the fights on HBO after switching over from ESPN2 . Just think about it, a team with Duke Johnson, Clive Walford, Phillip Dorsett and Denzell Perryman finished at .500.

Forget winning the ACC, or the coastal, this team couldn't even win more games than it lost playing in what is at best, can be described as a mediocre conference.

This is a direct indictment of Al Golden in his fourth year.

On Sunday morning we woke up to the news that Nebraska- who ran up and down the field on the Canes earlier this season - had fired Bo Pelini, a coach who consistently won 9 games a year( and by 'consistent', basically he won 9 games every season) and had a mark of 67-27. But Cornhusker Nation would not stand idly by because they have standards and their administration understood that. Yeah, winning 9 games is nice and all - but not at a program with the storied tradition and standards of NU.

Now the question is: Does Miami still really care about football?

It was just 14 months ago that Miami was 7-0 and in the top ten( but for the most part that was a mirage given the very soft schedule to begin the 2013 season) and since that point, well, Miami has lost more games than it's won. Golden keeps talking about 'the process' but without any real progress, it doesn't mean much. I'm sure many of you have read the damning numbers: Miami's overall record during Goldens tenure compared to Randy Shannon( who by the way, was let go in his fourth season), the record in ACC play, etc. It's bad. No other way to say it and the reality is that this year was supposed to one with tangible evidence of moving this program forward because the reality is that above mentioned players were in their final years at UM( and guys like Erick Flowers, who is a junior could be making himself draft eligible).

Did I mention this same Pitt team lost to Akron..... at home?

6-6.

It says it all.

As for Golden, well, he's not saying much at all, having cancelled this media availability for Sunday.

So silence truly is Golden.

- From the very first defensive drive, it was clear that Miami players had packed it in. They seemed to be avoiding contact and were letting a banged up James Conner roll downhill on them. Yeah, it wasn't exactly the type of defensive outing that will help Mark D'onofrio win the Broyles Award. Like other games this season, it was frustrating to see an opposing offense just body-punch their way down the field, grinding the clock and just methodically marching towards the Miami goal line.

The stats may the UM defense has improved but as Ben Franklin once said,"There are lies, **** lies and statistics." Sorry, but I saw a unit that in the biggest games failed.

- Offensively, well, with the defense struggling they needed to be perfect and they were far from it. Brad Kaaya got off to a really good start but struggled in the second half. Overall, he had an outstanding freshman campaign but like any other first year player he has a lot to work on. If there is anything that gives us hope as a fan-base it's 15. It'll be interesting to see how he develops physically after his first off-season in Miami. But looking ahead, no Duke, no Dorsett, no Clive( who I hope is OK) and perhaps no Flowers, can this unit be better next season?

- You can debate all you want about Duke being among the true UM greats( for my money, he absolutely is) but make no doubt about it, he deserved a better fate. If there was anything truly worth watching the last three seasons it's 'the Eight Ball'. He will truly be missed by this fan-base. I just wish this program didn't fail him so badly.

- I thought Art Kehoe's unit really struggled again this week. They failed to open up consistent running lanes for Duke and the past two weeks Kaaya was getting hit more than he was earlier in the season. Maybe the injuries and shuffling finally took it's toll. Overall, though, I like the future of his unit. If there has been one unit where they have recruited well, it's upfront offensively.

- Special teams were below-average the whole season. And whether it was returning kicks or covering them, Miami was sub-par in it's production and nothing changed versus Pitt. For a squad with this many athletes that's inexcusable. Justin Vogel turned out to be a good punter but I do think finding a kickoff specialist should be a priority. Miami might literally be the only team I saw this season that didn't have someone who could consistently bang the ball deep into the endzone.

- Most disappointing player this season in my view was Stacy Coley, who after a really nice frosh season, basically disappeared. From the opening kickoff at Louisville where was destroyed by James Burgess Jr. he was essentially a non-factor. But what I didn't understand was his utilization. Instead of using him to stretch the defense( outside of deep shots against Duke - that he dropped - and FSU - where he was overthrown) he was used on a bunch of short routes and bubble screens. How he bounces back next season is key. But 2014 was eerily like the sophomore slump of Lance Legget.

- In my opinion does UM dismiss Golden? No. And to me that is a huge risk. Think about it, the 2015 team will probably not have the pure talent of this years team. There's a chance that they might go 6-6( or worse) again. Well, guess what, now you've squandered another year and Kaaya will be halfway through his Miami career. Next years team will rely on a lot of underclassmen and yeah, the you can just hear the 'youth' card being brought out.

But again, just how important is football to Miami?
 
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Tied for LAST in the Coastal.

Which isn't exactly the SEC West

That was my biggest fear coming out of the FSU loss - the hangover effect. And yeah, it was there.

6-6 with this talent is inexcusable. No other way to put it
 
major staff changes coming..... new president will be the key to our future
one who gets what athletics mean to a University.. Blake & Golden might be gone with new President ?!
 
major staff changes coming..... new president will be the key to our future
one who gets what athletics mean to a University.. Blake & Golden might be gone with new President ?!

The new president is not coming in until June or July. That would be a strange time to fire a coach and look for a new one.
 
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Like other games EVERY season, it was frustrating to see an opposing offense just body-punch their way down the field, grinding the clock and just methodically rd.marching towards the Miami goal line.

fify.

Every season under this guy MIAMI finishes the season on a losing streak. His teams have NEVER played a complete game in which special teams, offense and defense play well at the same **** time. (maybe vtech but c'mon...) When he has months to prepare, his teams still look lost. Too many times they make mistakes coming out of a TIME OUT. For two years fielded two of the worse defenses in the country and two of the worse in MIAMI's history! Never won a championship...why is this loser still employed?
 
We need a Frank Haith moment for the football team because Golden will not be fired and the best we can hope for is that he and Neb AD had a close relationship wile at the U. Then somehow hit a home run hire like we did with Coach L.
 
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Nice work
 
Tied for LAST in the Coastal.

Which isn't exactly the SEC West

That was my biggest fear coming out of the FSU loss - the hangover effect. And yeah, it was there.

6-6 with this talent is inexcusable. No other way to put it

The hangover was my biggest fear also.

The way AG lost this team in the last 2 games may be more damaging moving forward than going 6-6.

Wouldn't be the least bit surprised to see this already average 2015 class fall apart, and after we go .500 or worse next year, see our nice 2016 class come unraveled. Especially considering the ammo opposing coaches now have. had we won out after FSU, we likely would have had tremendous recruiting momentum.

Aside from Kaaya, I just don't see how this offseason can bring any excitement. We need a new coach if we want a spark.
 
Great commentary. Just for the record, "There are lies, **** lies and statistics" is not attributed to Benjamin Franklin. British PM Benjamin Disraeli supposedly first said it, although it could very well be a Mark Twain creation.
 
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"I didn't see enough improvement in areas that were important for us to move forward to play championship-caliber football. ... We just, for whatever reason, weren't good enough in the games that mattered against championship-caliber opponents. And I didn't see that changing. It wasn't a lack of effort by him or his staff or our wonderful players, but I think new leadership was in order."

...from Eichorst (our former AD who hired Golden) on firing Pelini.
 
"I didn't see enough improvement in areas that were important for us to move forward to play championship-caliber football. ... We just, for whatever reason, weren't good enough in the games that mattered against championship-caliber opponents. And I didn't see that changing. It wasn't a lack of effort by him or his staff or our wonderful players, but I think new leadership was in order."

...from Eichorst (our former AD who hired Golden) on firing Pelini.
Kirby Hocutt hired Al Golden fwiw
 
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Tired.....Just tired of losing. Let me re-phrase. Tired of losing the way we are losing. So sad too
 
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