Manny Diaz still sees ‘fatal flaw’ in 2016 Miami Hurricanes | Canes Watch
summary from Matt Porter of PB Post:
The new doctor of defense, Manny Diaz, continues to see troubling signs as he assesses the health of his Hurricanes.
In reviewing the team’s scrimmage of the spring and the recent weeks of practice, the defensive coordinator said his unit still lacks the mental toughness needed to win this fall.
“We want to be defined by that word, and we’re still quite a ways from that,” he said.
In a WQAM interview on Monday, he illuminated an issue that led to several blowout losses in recent seasons (think Clemson 58-0, and North Carolina 59-21, and the final four games of 2014). “Our calling card, a little bit, has been to let go of the rope,” he said.
“It can’t just be wristbands and t-shirts and slogans. This is something that’s got to be earned on the field. It’s got to be earned in the weight room. That is as important as an offensive route or a blitz on defense or a coverage. Until we have that, we’ll still have a fatal flaw on our team.”
Slogans like “ignore the noise” and “full speed ahead” and “brick by brick” and “don’t take the cheese” and “deserve victory” were plastered all over Al Golden‘s program. They were seen on placards in the football facility and on banners at the practice fields as well as on the wristbands and t-shirts Diaz referenced. They are relics now. What remains are players who, generally, let things slip too far before pushing back.
Diaz and Mark Richt have struck similar chords in recent weeks, making it clear the team’s current levels of effort and consistency are unacceptable. Few — if any — coaches will express complete satisfaction with their programs. This new staff, clearly, has high expectations.
Other comments from Diaz:
He thought Saturday’s outing was “mixed bag” of a scrimmage, with his defense bringing less heat than Thursday’s pre-scrimmage practice. “I thought overall, defensively, we played a little slow, a more little timid for what I prefer,” he said, offhandedly comparing his players to dancers who nervously count their steps. “Unfortunately that’s not all that unusual for the first time out. … I think we’ll be a different outfit next Saturday.”
UM’s next scrimmage, which unlike last Saturday’s scrimmage is open to the public, 2 p.m. Saturday at Oxbridge Academy in West Palm Beach.
He said an attacking defense, while something he wants to establish, does have a weakness. He also pointed out that more passive defenses have worked elsewhere.
“There have been great coaches that have done it both ways. There are some people, for example, that want their defensive linemen to just hold the point of attack, don’t get their feet across the line of scrimmage and the linebackers shuffle between two gaps. And then there’s people that want their defensive linemen to penetrate and get upfield and the linebackers to attack the line of scrimmage and hunt the tackle for loss. There have been great defenses that have done it both ways.
“We believe that the best way for UM is to attack. Now the thing is, the weakness of an attack defense is if we all don’t attack together, if some guys sit and some guys rest and some guys hang out at the line of scrimmage, you create a vertical seam in the defense. So when we hunt, we have to hunt in packs. That’s a little bit of what showed up on Saturday. We all have to go together.”
He pointed out five defensive tackles — Kendrick Norton, R.J. McIntosh, Anthony Moten, Courtel Jenkins and Gerald Willis — who have “flashed, who have shown the ability to make a play in the backfield.” Diaz said being able to rotate five (or more) will help defend against high-tempo offenses designed to wear out big-bodied linemen.
Asked about defensive ends Chad Thomas and Al-Quadin Muhammad, Diaz said he liked Muhammad’s effort but he is far from a finished project. Thomas, he said, isn’t consistently showing his five-star talent. “You’ve got to do it when you feel good, and you’ve got to do it when you don’t feel good,” he said. … Potential’s a dirty word in our profession.”
UM’s early-enrollee linebackers Michael Pinckney, Shaquille Quarterman and Zach McCloud “will help us” this fall, he said. “If you came in and watched practice, you couldn’t believe they should be in English 12 right now.” Miami’s early enrollees (those three, quarterback Jack Allison and defensive end Patrick Bethel) are slated to speak with the media on Tuesday.
At defensive back, Diaz said he’s still trying to determine who the best players are. Any position switches — such as moving sophomore safety Jaquan Johnson to cornerback — could happen in the summer. “We certainly have got to improve in the secondary,” he said, in particular tackling.
Fans who want a more aggressive Miami defnese will be happy to know the first defense Diaz called in the scrimmage included bump-and-run coverage (physical, man-to-man defense in which the cornerbacks cover receivers tight at the line of scrimmage; different than the soft, passive zone scheme often employed by Golden and Mark D’Onofrio). However, Diaz said, he isn’t sure if he has the cornerbacks to play it full-time (secondaries must be fast, well-conditioned and physical to play that style) or the disruptive ability in the front seven to do it (if a quarterback has too much time to throw, no secondary can consistently succeed). He did say he is recruiting toward it, and believes he has recruits coming who can do it. “It’s a hallmark” of Miami football, Diaz said.
literally threw up in my mouth after reading all these stupid slogans.
WHAT,you're not a fan of ignore the noise.
:11263364213_e8bdef3:Angry::Qft9gEw:
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