- Joined
- Oct 21, 2011
- Messages
- 16,337
Very specific title because I haven't had a chance to re-watch the game on TV or the computer. I'm going off an overexcited, live look from around one of our endzones, so may have missed some numbers, etc. For insight on the defense, see this link:
https://www.canesinsight.com/thread/defense-game-insight-memory-watching-stadium/101467
Ok, here we go:
QBs
Brad Kaaya
The good we saw was he was 12/18 despite a drop and, if I counted correctly, four (4) long tosses that likely traveled 40+ in the air, while only one (1) WR screen. For those of you who clamor about his completion %, it has to be placed into that detailed context. We can't win off repeated WR screens. We have to show our guys going vertical and Kaaya trying to stretch the field. That is now on tape for Ga. Tech and FSU.
The great we saw was in the Chris Herdon TD pass going into the west endzone. Pre-snap, FAMU almost intentionally tipped their hand with a right Corner blitz. He watched their Safety roll to fill the corner spot. That seemed curious because it was an early flash by FAMU. Upon snap, he immediately looked to throw the ball to that WR where the Corner blitz was coming from, as Richt often teaches to throw toward where the blitz is coming from. However, FAMU dropped a LB (perhaps a DE) into the hook/curl/flat area where he'd play the under and safety would play over the WR in a bracket. Kaaya immediately recognized this, looked it off and held his eyes (!) so as to force the Safety wider to the sideline, which gave him enough time to hit Herndon down the seam. It was gorgeous. And, more importantly, when you watch us play inferior talent, it's the type of play to carry over into conference play. Why? Because we didn't just outmuscle or out-speed the opponent. Rather, everything happened in a blink. Kaaya's processing is next level.
The minor bad was Kaaya's sole pass on the move. Early in the game, he rolled right, didn't look too light on his toes, but created enough time to get Njoku (?) wide open down the sideline. He was way off. As I said last season, this and climbing the pocket are his two areas to watch. He'll need these attributes in the NFL.
Malik Rosier
Watching him throw the ball is concerning, of course. I think he can backup in a pinch, but his accuracy is about where I saw it in the minimal practice time I saw. No bueno on the accuracy. Nice wheels, though!
RBs
My biggest curiosity with this group coming into this game would be how big the gap would be between Walton and Yearby. I am surprised to say it wasn't as large as I thought.
Mark Walton
His cutbacks looked better than they did last year. On the 25 yard run, he kept his acceleration through his cutback. Last year, that's an 8 yard gain. And, yes, that's how you begin to make a difference in YPC. On the 37 yard TD run, please watch the subtle lean to his left before coming back to his right. Basically, it was a gaping hole for him to run almost literally straight into. However, a RB with less "feel" (like Lamar Miller) just runs in a straight line and has a higher chance of being tripped up. Walton angled himself left and then turned back right. I've said this before, but I've told youth players that this is like "being chased" when you're a kid. Don't run in a straight line. Even if you think you're the fastest guy out there, change the angles. Frank Gore was and is a master at doing this. It makes it far more difficult for a LB or a Safety to track you down.
Joe Yearby
Was so excited to talk about him and not only because of the long TD run. I think that play is less of an indicator of success than one he had early in the 3rd quarter. I think any good defensive coordinator is going to notice that we're trying to get Yearby on the edges so he can cutback. On the non-TD play I'm mentioning, though, he was still between the hashes when a defender closed in on him. Yearby accelerated and created separation. That play is the difference between being tackled when we play equal or superior talent and making a play he could not make last year. It's a big deal for us and him against the legitimate portion of our schedule.
Gus Edwards
Looked about what I expect from him. Big, fast athlete with great physical attributes. Little lost in between the tackles, but a great 3rd guy in our committee.
Travis Homer
He's probably killing himself over that fumble. Doesn't look like a fundamental issue to me, though. He got close to the endzone and seems to have broken down how he usually carries the ball. It was a good pop, too. Learning lesson. Most impressive thing about him is the kickoff coverage I mentioned in this thread:
https://www.canesinsight.com/thread/subtle-indicator-kickoff-coverage/101434
WRs
We saw next to nothing. It seemed like we called less than 12 total plays the entire night. We showed very little. We are really thin here, though.
Stacy Coley
If healthy, I think Stacy is going to legitimately owe his first contract and perhaps his career to some of the help he's currently being given. What stands out is the clear difference in physicality - specifically blocking. Here's what I saw while watching live: at one point after the big crackback block he sprinted to make, he asked to be taken out of the game. Not sure if he was winded or was just needed a reset. The coaches pointed for him to stay on the field. Basically, a "nah, you're staying in." He played another couple plays (IIRC) before being substituted out. I know this sounds trivial, but it's a big deal. Coley is being pushed mentally and that is going to help us as a team and him as an individual.
Ahmmon Richards
Big, fast, physical long strider. He is the prototype split end for Richt's offense. I hope he can simply stay healthy because he is going to wow us. We desperately need a player who can run the deep ins and slant routes. Not only is Kaaya an assassin on these routes, but they keep an interior defense honest. For now, he seems like the best candidate.
Braxton Berrios
Happy to see him with the burst we expected, and not because of the punt return TD. He's popping a little more on his routes. On the short pass play, he came back to the ball, curled inside and got yards he shouldn't have. We need that for 1st down conversions later in the season.
We need more depth! Hope Harris and Mullins can continue to get reps in these next three weeks. Hope Bruce can come on a bit toward the end of the season.
TEs
Most exciting thing for me is that we didn't show anything of what we're likely to do. Pumped. Hope we don't see it until at least Ga. Tech.
OL
Our interior OL seemed to struggle a bit at times and that needs to be cleaned up. I typically reserve judgment on OL until after I watch a play by play.
https://www.canesinsight.com/thread/defense-game-insight-memory-watching-stadium/101467
Ok, here we go:
QBs
Brad Kaaya
The good we saw was he was 12/18 despite a drop and, if I counted correctly, four (4) long tosses that likely traveled 40+ in the air, while only one (1) WR screen. For those of you who clamor about his completion %, it has to be placed into that detailed context. We can't win off repeated WR screens. We have to show our guys going vertical and Kaaya trying to stretch the field. That is now on tape for Ga. Tech and FSU.
The great we saw was in the Chris Herdon TD pass going into the west endzone. Pre-snap, FAMU almost intentionally tipped their hand with a right Corner blitz. He watched their Safety roll to fill the corner spot. That seemed curious because it was an early flash by FAMU. Upon snap, he immediately looked to throw the ball to that WR where the Corner blitz was coming from, as Richt often teaches to throw toward where the blitz is coming from. However, FAMU dropped a LB (perhaps a DE) into the hook/curl/flat area where he'd play the under and safety would play over the WR in a bracket. Kaaya immediately recognized this, looked it off and held his eyes (!) so as to force the Safety wider to the sideline, which gave him enough time to hit Herndon down the seam. It was gorgeous. And, more importantly, when you watch us play inferior talent, it's the type of play to carry over into conference play. Why? Because we didn't just outmuscle or out-speed the opponent. Rather, everything happened in a blink. Kaaya's processing is next level.
The minor bad was Kaaya's sole pass on the move. Early in the game, he rolled right, didn't look too light on his toes, but created enough time to get Njoku (?) wide open down the sideline. He was way off. As I said last season, this and climbing the pocket are his two areas to watch. He'll need these attributes in the NFL.
Malik Rosier
Watching him throw the ball is concerning, of course. I think he can backup in a pinch, but his accuracy is about where I saw it in the minimal practice time I saw. No bueno on the accuracy. Nice wheels, though!
RBs
My biggest curiosity with this group coming into this game would be how big the gap would be between Walton and Yearby. I am surprised to say it wasn't as large as I thought.
Mark Walton
His cutbacks looked better than they did last year. On the 25 yard run, he kept his acceleration through his cutback. Last year, that's an 8 yard gain. And, yes, that's how you begin to make a difference in YPC. On the 37 yard TD run, please watch the subtle lean to his left before coming back to his right. Basically, it was a gaping hole for him to run almost literally straight into. However, a RB with less "feel" (like Lamar Miller) just runs in a straight line and has a higher chance of being tripped up. Walton angled himself left and then turned back right. I've said this before, but I've told youth players that this is like "being chased" when you're a kid. Don't run in a straight line. Even if you think you're the fastest guy out there, change the angles. Frank Gore was and is a master at doing this. It makes it far more difficult for a LB or a Safety to track you down.
Joe Yearby
Was so excited to talk about him and not only because of the long TD run. I think that play is less of an indicator of success than one he had early in the 3rd quarter. I think any good defensive coordinator is going to notice that we're trying to get Yearby on the edges so he can cutback. On the non-TD play I'm mentioning, though, he was still between the hashes when a defender closed in on him. Yearby accelerated and created separation. That play is the difference between being tackled when we play equal or superior talent and making a play he could not make last year. It's a big deal for us and him against the legitimate portion of our schedule.
Gus Edwards
Looked about what I expect from him. Big, fast athlete with great physical attributes. Little lost in between the tackles, but a great 3rd guy in our committee.
Travis Homer
He's probably killing himself over that fumble. Doesn't look like a fundamental issue to me, though. He got close to the endzone and seems to have broken down how he usually carries the ball. It was a good pop, too. Learning lesson. Most impressive thing about him is the kickoff coverage I mentioned in this thread:
https://www.canesinsight.com/thread/subtle-indicator-kickoff-coverage/101434
WRs
We saw next to nothing. It seemed like we called less than 12 total plays the entire night. We showed very little. We are really thin here, though.
Stacy Coley
If healthy, I think Stacy is going to legitimately owe his first contract and perhaps his career to some of the help he's currently being given. What stands out is the clear difference in physicality - specifically blocking. Here's what I saw while watching live: at one point after the big crackback block he sprinted to make, he asked to be taken out of the game. Not sure if he was winded or was just needed a reset. The coaches pointed for him to stay on the field. Basically, a "nah, you're staying in." He played another couple plays (IIRC) before being substituted out. I know this sounds trivial, but it's a big deal. Coley is being pushed mentally and that is going to help us as a team and him as an individual.
Ahmmon Richards
Big, fast, physical long strider. He is the prototype split end for Richt's offense. I hope he can simply stay healthy because he is going to wow us. We desperately need a player who can run the deep ins and slant routes. Not only is Kaaya an assassin on these routes, but they keep an interior defense honest. For now, he seems like the best candidate.
Braxton Berrios
Happy to see him with the burst we expected, and not because of the punt return TD. He's popping a little more on his routes. On the short pass play, he came back to the ball, curled inside and got yards he shouldn't have. We need that for 1st down conversions later in the season.
We need more depth! Hope Harris and Mullins can continue to get reps in these next three weeks. Hope Bruce can come on a bit toward the end of the season.
TEs
Most exciting thing for me is that we didn't show anything of what we're likely to do. Pumped. Hope we don't see it until at least Ga. Tech.
OL
Our interior OL seemed to struggle a bit at times and that needs to be cleaned up. I typically reserve judgment on OL until after I watch a play by play.
