Canegrad89
Recruit
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2017
- Messages
- 1,149
An important win for the Canes. We needed a win over a quality P5 opponent & it was also a win in the Coastal (which keeps very faint hopes alive in the Coastal). The D yielded some yards (particularly at the end of the 1st half & in the 2nd half) but keeping UVA to 9 points is a strong showing by the D. The D looked much more solid with Manny more involved AND our best athletes finally playing more on DL (particularly Rousseau & Hill). The offense needs to pick it up. This could be the single most important win in Manny's tenure, if it leads to a run of wins. Would have been brutally difficult to climb back from a 2-4 record & this win may well set the tone for the rest of the season.
Various observations:
N'Kosi is a competitor. He wasn't helped by the WR tonight (dropped way too many balls) and the OC (playcalling was poor tonight). His experience & competitive spirit are hugely important (particularly with a porous OL). He has good pocket presence & awareness and has a knack for making positive yards even when plays break down. He may not be as accurate as Jarren but his poise, competitive spirit & ability to make + yards when plays break down are huge (especially given the OL play). N'Kosi would not be denied on the critical 3rd down on our final TD drive. He deserves major props for fighting hard & making plays in crunch time. He didn't get the support he needed tonight from his WR, OL and, most importantly, Dan Enos with his playcalling.
Rousseau is a stud & is finally getting the PT we'd all been calling for. What a huge difference his presence & playmaking make. He had sacks & pressures at critical moments tonight. DL looks & plays far more athletically when Rousseau & Hill are getting serious PT. Thank God the coaches finally figured this out. We weren't playing our best athletes enough at the beginning of the season. Thankfully, the coaches are now making the right personnel decisions on Defense and the Win and the measly 9 points scored by UVA are proof enough that we were right in calling for more PT for Rousseau & Hill. Rousseau will be more productive than Calais was at Miami (Calais really bloomed in the NFL -- Rousseau is a major playmaker now). He needs to start from hereon out. Patchan can rotate in to spell him a little.
D -- major props to the D overall. Manny needs to remain involved. No offense to Baker but the D looked more organized & wreaked way more havoc with Manny at the helm. Nine (9) points yielded is also a dramatic improvement vs 42 points. Manny was a great DC & needs to remain heavily involved & groom Baker quietly over the next couple of years. Baker would really benefit from soaking up as much knowledge as possible. There is a huge difference.
One area the D could improve dramatically is tackling. Too many put a shoulder in instead of using both arms & form tackling. They literally need to do an hour per practice of form tackling drills (starting with a Master Class on form tackling). They should do this at every practice until every single player tackles properly all the time. Many of the yards we yielded tonight were due to poor tackling. Fixable through coaching & practice.
Amari Carter made a huge play when he was called for targeting. Had the UVA player made the catch, we may have lost the game. It was worth taking the targeting call there to make that play. I personally think Carter led with his shoulder & the helmets simply aligned because the UVA player was so low to the ground it was almost impossible to avoid helmet-to-helmet contact. I hope Miami can & will appeal the targeting decision (particularly as Carter would have to miss a game). The replays show clearly that Carter rotated heavily to lead with the shoulder & then the helmets happened to contact each other.
Blades is far better than Ivey (who had a tough night). Ivey was getting picked on. He didn't turn his head at all and/or make timely plays on the ball. Blades should absolutely start over Ivey.
O: Kosi wasn't the issue tonight. Our WRs dropped a ton of balls after the first TD drive. Enos called a poor game overall. For example, a hand off to Brevin on 3rd down with Brevin running laterally to the short side of the field at a crucial time in the game was a major head scratcher. Brevin is an awesome TE but he doesn't have the foot speed to outrun a Top 25 defense laterally. Brevin should have been thrown a lot more passes (he was barely targeted until his 35 yarder) but handing off to him is hard to understand. Wiggins = yes (elite top end speed). Brevin = no (will never turn the corner against any P5 team despite being a great TE).
Red zone playcalling. We're still deficient in this critical area. We're consistently using only one of what I would view as the top play calls in the red zone:
1) Fade or some form of jump ball to Evidence Njoku. He doesn't need to know the playbook. He needs (at minimum to learn three plays in the red zone). It doesn't even really matter if the opponent knows it is coming. His height advantage over most DBs (including his wingspan) is enormous. If he can't catch, he should either learn to catch or not be on the roster. Throw the **** ball to Njoku in the red zone. The smurfs covering him will have no shot if the ball is thrown high.
2) Passes to Mallory & Brevin (both are matchup nightmares). Mallory has a major height advantage over most DBs. We've used this once maybe this season.
3) QB scramble: we are using this (it was a huge factor tonight & Kosi showed major determination getting in today).
4) Throws or handoffs to Wiggins. His elite top end speed can make a huge difference in the red zone (outracing opponents to the pylon).
We are doing none of the above on a regular basis (except QB scramble). It doesn't make any sense. What other plays would you call in the red zone?
The offense completely went to sleep after the first TD drive. WRs dropped balls & the playcalling was totally uninspiring. We need more plays (like the screen) which help us win on offense through play design (not just because we out-athlete the other team). UVAs WR were dogs & won many 50/50 battles against our DBs. Our WRs won virtually no 50/50 battles against their DBs. Our WRs need to play with an attitude & learn how to use their hands & bodies (like Michael Irvin mastered) to create separation. They also need to play with more dawg in 'em & refuse to be denied the ball.
Brevin should be the focal point on offense in every game. If this was Enos being cute & trying to prevent FSU & others from seeing tendencies, it was a complete fail. Brevin was barely targeted for three quarters. How is that possible? We need to use our absolute best weapons ONLY & heavily every game (unless it's a blowout). We need Wins more than we need to keep underclassmen happy). Only the best & most reliable pass catchers should play.
Fewer penalties is a tremendous positive & huge factor in winning a tight ACC Coastal game. The team needs to keep this up as the margin between Wins & Losses in the ACC is razor thin. Limiting major self-inflicted wounds is a tremendous step in the right direction. Hugely important.
Zion is still yielding too many sacks (at least 2-3 tonight). I'm rooting for him & hope he will continue to develop. He needs to play a little nastier & fight like **** to keep pass rushers away from the QB.
Special teams:
1) Major props to #47 for making a critical FG & a PAT. Short misses had already cost us a couple of games this season & he was money in big spots. The kicks were also straight through the middle of the uprights. Baxa should continue to handle kick-offs & maybe long field goals but what a relief that we now have a Kicker that can reliably make the short but crucial kicks.
2) We have totally the wrong personnel on kick coverage (except #7 and Jimmy Murphy). Murphy shows major hustle & good form when tackling. The rest of the coverage team needs to follow his example. He hustles downfield, plays with an attitude and makes sure tackles. Big fan of Jimmy Murphy. It is ridiculous though that with all the athletes we have on our roster that a 5'7" kid from CT is the best player on our coverage units. That's not a knock on Murphy but an indictment of the other members of the coverage units. #58 is too slow & stiff and shouldn't be part of the unit. Knowles took some bad angles. We need the right personnel on our coverage units. We used to have elite athletes like Sean Taylor, Jessie Armstead & Kellen Winslow on our coverage units. Our young LBs have the speed & athleticism to be highly effective on coverage. Our strikers would also be good on these units. Manny & Patke need to look at the entire roster & pick different personnel to play on the coverage units (which are a DISASTER right now). This needs to be fixed. Against FSU (and on any other critical games), we should have starters & much better athletes playing on coverage units. They also need to be taught how to limit running lanes for the returners.
This was a much needed win. Let's hope it will be a springboard to a strong finish. N'Kosi needs to remain the starter.
Your thoughts?
Various observations:
N'Kosi is a competitor. He wasn't helped by the WR tonight (dropped way too many balls) and the OC (playcalling was poor tonight). His experience & competitive spirit are hugely important (particularly with a porous OL). He has good pocket presence & awareness and has a knack for making positive yards even when plays break down. He may not be as accurate as Jarren but his poise, competitive spirit & ability to make + yards when plays break down are huge (especially given the OL play). N'Kosi would not be denied on the critical 3rd down on our final TD drive. He deserves major props for fighting hard & making plays in crunch time. He didn't get the support he needed tonight from his WR, OL and, most importantly, Dan Enos with his playcalling.
Rousseau is a stud & is finally getting the PT we'd all been calling for. What a huge difference his presence & playmaking make. He had sacks & pressures at critical moments tonight. DL looks & plays far more athletically when Rousseau & Hill are getting serious PT. Thank God the coaches finally figured this out. We weren't playing our best athletes enough at the beginning of the season. Thankfully, the coaches are now making the right personnel decisions on Defense and the Win and the measly 9 points scored by UVA are proof enough that we were right in calling for more PT for Rousseau & Hill. Rousseau will be more productive than Calais was at Miami (Calais really bloomed in the NFL -- Rousseau is a major playmaker now). He needs to start from hereon out. Patchan can rotate in to spell him a little.
D -- major props to the D overall. Manny needs to remain involved. No offense to Baker but the D looked more organized & wreaked way more havoc with Manny at the helm. Nine (9) points yielded is also a dramatic improvement vs 42 points. Manny was a great DC & needs to remain heavily involved & groom Baker quietly over the next couple of years. Baker would really benefit from soaking up as much knowledge as possible. There is a huge difference.
One area the D could improve dramatically is tackling. Too many put a shoulder in instead of using both arms & form tackling. They literally need to do an hour per practice of form tackling drills (starting with a Master Class on form tackling). They should do this at every practice until every single player tackles properly all the time. Many of the yards we yielded tonight were due to poor tackling. Fixable through coaching & practice.
Amari Carter made a huge play when he was called for targeting. Had the UVA player made the catch, we may have lost the game. It was worth taking the targeting call there to make that play. I personally think Carter led with his shoulder & the helmets simply aligned because the UVA player was so low to the ground it was almost impossible to avoid helmet-to-helmet contact. I hope Miami can & will appeal the targeting decision (particularly as Carter would have to miss a game). The replays show clearly that Carter rotated heavily to lead with the shoulder & then the helmets happened to contact each other.
Blades is far better than Ivey (who had a tough night). Ivey was getting picked on. He didn't turn his head at all and/or make timely plays on the ball. Blades should absolutely start over Ivey.
O: Kosi wasn't the issue tonight. Our WRs dropped a ton of balls after the first TD drive. Enos called a poor game overall. For example, a hand off to Brevin on 3rd down with Brevin running laterally to the short side of the field at a crucial time in the game was a major head scratcher. Brevin is an awesome TE but he doesn't have the foot speed to outrun a Top 25 defense laterally. Brevin should have been thrown a lot more passes (he was barely targeted until his 35 yarder) but handing off to him is hard to understand. Wiggins = yes (elite top end speed). Brevin = no (will never turn the corner against any P5 team despite being a great TE).
Red zone playcalling. We're still deficient in this critical area. We're consistently using only one of what I would view as the top play calls in the red zone:
1) Fade or some form of jump ball to Evidence Njoku. He doesn't need to know the playbook. He needs (at minimum to learn three plays in the red zone). It doesn't even really matter if the opponent knows it is coming. His height advantage over most DBs (including his wingspan) is enormous. If he can't catch, he should either learn to catch or not be on the roster. Throw the **** ball to Njoku in the red zone. The smurfs covering him will have no shot if the ball is thrown high.
2) Passes to Mallory & Brevin (both are matchup nightmares). Mallory has a major height advantage over most DBs. We've used this once maybe this season.
3) QB scramble: we are using this (it was a huge factor tonight & Kosi showed major determination getting in today).
4) Throws or handoffs to Wiggins. His elite top end speed can make a huge difference in the red zone (outracing opponents to the pylon).
We are doing none of the above on a regular basis (except QB scramble). It doesn't make any sense. What other plays would you call in the red zone?
The offense completely went to sleep after the first TD drive. WRs dropped balls & the playcalling was totally uninspiring. We need more plays (like the screen) which help us win on offense through play design (not just because we out-athlete the other team). UVAs WR were dogs & won many 50/50 battles against our DBs. Our WRs won virtually no 50/50 battles against their DBs. Our WRs need to play with an attitude & learn how to use their hands & bodies (like Michael Irvin mastered) to create separation. They also need to play with more dawg in 'em & refuse to be denied the ball.
Brevin should be the focal point on offense in every game. If this was Enos being cute & trying to prevent FSU & others from seeing tendencies, it was a complete fail. Brevin was barely targeted for three quarters. How is that possible? We need to use our absolute best weapons ONLY & heavily every game (unless it's a blowout). We need Wins more than we need to keep underclassmen happy). Only the best & most reliable pass catchers should play.
Fewer penalties is a tremendous positive & huge factor in winning a tight ACC Coastal game. The team needs to keep this up as the margin between Wins & Losses in the ACC is razor thin. Limiting major self-inflicted wounds is a tremendous step in the right direction. Hugely important.
Zion is still yielding too many sacks (at least 2-3 tonight). I'm rooting for him & hope he will continue to develop. He needs to play a little nastier & fight like **** to keep pass rushers away from the QB.
Special teams:
1) Major props to #47 for making a critical FG & a PAT. Short misses had already cost us a couple of games this season & he was money in big spots. The kicks were also straight through the middle of the uprights. Baxa should continue to handle kick-offs & maybe long field goals but what a relief that we now have a Kicker that can reliably make the short but crucial kicks.
2) We have totally the wrong personnel on kick coverage (except #7 and Jimmy Murphy). Murphy shows major hustle & good form when tackling. The rest of the coverage team needs to follow his example. He hustles downfield, plays with an attitude and makes sure tackles. Big fan of Jimmy Murphy. It is ridiculous though that with all the athletes we have on our roster that a 5'7" kid from CT is the best player on our coverage units. That's not a knock on Murphy but an indictment of the other members of the coverage units. #58 is too slow & stiff and shouldn't be part of the unit. Knowles took some bad angles. We need the right personnel on our coverage units. We used to have elite athletes like Sean Taylor, Jessie Armstead & Kellen Winslow on our coverage units. Our young LBs have the speed & athleticism to be highly effective on coverage. Our strikers would also be good on these units. Manny & Patke need to look at the entire roster & pick different personnel to play on the coverage units (which are a DISASTER right now). This needs to be fixed. Against FSU (and on any other critical games), we should have starters & much better athletes playing on coverage units. They also need to be taught how to limit running lanes for the returners.
This was a much needed win. Let's hope it will be a springboard to a strong finish. N'Kosi needs to remain the starter.
Your thoughts?
Last edited:
