Redmen7805
Freshman
- Joined
- Nov 5, 2011
- Messages
- 295
Looks like the gloves are coming off.
https://miami.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1684328
Below are some sound bites.
The Miami loss at Nebraska? It was recent business as usual for a Miami team that always finds a way to end up behind when playing quality competition these days.
It's all Al Golden and defensive coordinator Mark D'Onofrio's fault, right?
Well, yeah, the imploding fan base is not wrong. A lot of it looks like it was the fault of their stubbornness in not bringing new defensive concepts to the table this season after they were taught similar lessons the last two seasons. There has never been any hint that this defense will hold up against quality competition.
As poorly as Miami looked schematically on defense from the beginning of the game, that is how good the offense was.
James Coley game-planned for this game like a pro's pro. He screwed up really bad on opening night by babying Brad Kaaya, particularly after the offensive line broke down, and calling the game way too conservatively. But Coley clearly realized that in defeat and corrected his problems, which is all people want to finally see from the defensive side of the organization.
Then Nebraska got the ball. And everything was the opposite. You feel for all of the heat Golden and D'Onofrio have taken and continue to take for this defense. But it is self-inflicted punishment. When the tape begins to roll, all you can do is grimace.
First quarter. Tyriq McCord is left one-on-one on an island with Nebraska quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr. McCord takes a bad inside angle and Armstrong bounces outside. There is nobody home. Artie Burns is retreating off his block instead of attacking. There is not a safety in the neighborhood. On a simple run play, Armstrong gains 17 yards.
On the very next play, Armstrong drops to pass. Kenny Bell is his best receiver. Bell is a kid who is rewriting Nebraska record books. There is not a more accomplished receiver in the history of that program. And now Kenny Bell is running literally all by himself through the Miami secondary. There is nobody anywhere close to him. Thurston Armbrister is trailing about 20 yards behind him. Ladarius Gunter comes off his man and tries to make a late tackle after the ball is delivered. Nobody else is even in the same area code. The ease of this 40-yard touchdown play was stunning.
Okay, who do blame there? The scheme? Maybe. You have to assume someone was supposed to be covering Bell. And if it was Armbrister, then that right there would be putting the Golden/D'Onofrio misery into a capsule. Or did someone else blow an assignment, like a safety? There are a lot of questions on that play alone, but they all point toward the scheme and/or the player's inability to execute it once the games begin.
But here is where things went bad for Miami and the Hurricanes' inadequacies on defense became the overriding issue of the game. Continuously lining up with linebackers covering receivers, exposing the run game, with the safeties generally playing 12 yards off the line of scrimmage, Nebraska could do whatever it wanted. When players were in position to make plays, they missed tackles.
Nebraska put together a 14-play 79-yard drive to tie the game, nicely mixing the run and the pass, meeting minimal resistance. After Miami's worst offensive possession of the game, a quick three-and out, Nebraska held the ball for the final 6:01 of the half and kicked a field goal to take 17-14 lead into intermission. A positive: the defense toughened in the final minute and forced a field goal.
Postgame press conferences can be delicate situations. Some questions are just not worth asking because you know there is no chance of getting a direct or truthful answer. You won't see the Miami media contingent attack the defensive issues in a press conference the way the fans and outside media will because there simply is no point to it.
But an Atlanta radio host who is a Miami alum had no reservations. Marc Benarzyk, who is the morning drive host for CBS Radio in Atlanta, asked Golden the following question.
"You gave up 360 rushing yards on the ground. How much longer can this scheme continue because it obviously is not working, it hasn't really worked for four years."
It was a very fair question, but Golden was understandably a little blindsided by it and stumbled to find his thoughts.
"We didn't tackle well enough," Golden said. "We came up against a good back. We turned the ball over three times. I don't know what you want me to say. There is no excuse for not tackling and no excuse for not doing better on third down. But we aren't giving up on this scheme. We have made a lot of progress this year. We didn't play well enough tonight, that's it, against a very good team on the road."
Golden remained defiant on Monday. You have to applaud his leadership. When things are bad, a head coach has to find a way to get his team to move past the disappointment. Duke will come running at them again this Saturday night
https://miami.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1684328
Below are some sound bites.
The Miami loss at Nebraska? It was recent business as usual for a Miami team that always finds a way to end up behind when playing quality competition these days.
It's all Al Golden and defensive coordinator Mark D'Onofrio's fault, right?
Well, yeah, the imploding fan base is not wrong. A lot of it looks like it was the fault of their stubbornness in not bringing new defensive concepts to the table this season after they were taught similar lessons the last two seasons. There has never been any hint that this defense will hold up against quality competition.
As poorly as Miami looked schematically on defense from the beginning of the game, that is how good the offense was.
James Coley game-planned for this game like a pro's pro. He screwed up really bad on opening night by babying Brad Kaaya, particularly after the offensive line broke down, and calling the game way too conservatively. But Coley clearly realized that in defeat and corrected his problems, which is all people want to finally see from the defensive side of the organization.
Then Nebraska got the ball. And everything was the opposite. You feel for all of the heat Golden and D'Onofrio have taken and continue to take for this defense. But it is self-inflicted punishment. When the tape begins to roll, all you can do is grimace.
First quarter. Tyriq McCord is left one-on-one on an island with Nebraska quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr. McCord takes a bad inside angle and Armstrong bounces outside. There is nobody home. Artie Burns is retreating off his block instead of attacking. There is not a safety in the neighborhood. On a simple run play, Armstrong gains 17 yards.
On the very next play, Armstrong drops to pass. Kenny Bell is his best receiver. Bell is a kid who is rewriting Nebraska record books. There is not a more accomplished receiver in the history of that program. And now Kenny Bell is running literally all by himself through the Miami secondary. There is nobody anywhere close to him. Thurston Armbrister is trailing about 20 yards behind him. Ladarius Gunter comes off his man and tries to make a late tackle after the ball is delivered. Nobody else is even in the same area code. The ease of this 40-yard touchdown play was stunning.
Okay, who do blame there? The scheme? Maybe. You have to assume someone was supposed to be covering Bell. And if it was Armbrister, then that right there would be putting the Golden/D'Onofrio misery into a capsule. Or did someone else blow an assignment, like a safety? There are a lot of questions on that play alone, but they all point toward the scheme and/or the player's inability to execute it once the games begin.
But here is where things went bad for Miami and the Hurricanes' inadequacies on defense became the overriding issue of the game. Continuously lining up with linebackers covering receivers, exposing the run game, with the safeties generally playing 12 yards off the line of scrimmage, Nebraska could do whatever it wanted. When players were in position to make plays, they missed tackles.
Nebraska put together a 14-play 79-yard drive to tie the game, nicely mixing the run and the pass, meeting minimal resistance. After Miami's worst offensive possession of the game, a quick three-and out, Nebraska held the ball for the final 6:01 of the half and kicked a field goal to take 17-14 lead into intermission. A positive: the defense toughened in the final minute and forced a field goal.
Postgame press conferences can be delicate situations. Some questions are just not worth asking because you know there is no chance of getting a direct or truthful answer. You won't see the Miami media contingent attack the defensive issues in a press conference the way the fans and outside media will because there simply is no point to it.
But an Atlanta radio host who is a Miami alum had no reservations. Marc Benarzyk, who is the morning drive host for CBS Radio in Atlanta, asked Golden the following question.
"You gave up 360 rushing yards on the ground. How much longer can this scheme continue because it obviously is not working, it hasn't really worked for four years."
It was a very fair question, but Golden was understandably a little blindsided by it and stumbled to find his thoughts.
"We didn't tackle well enough," Golden said. "We came up against a good back. We turned the ball over three times. I don't know what you want me to say. There is no excuse for not tackling and no excuse for not doing better on third down. But we aren't giving up on this scheme. We have made a lot of progress this year. We didn't play well enough tonight, that's it, against a very good team on the road."
Golden remained defiant on Monday. You have to applaud his leadership. When things are bad, a head coach has to find a way to get his team to move past the disappointment. Duke will come running at them again this Saturday night
