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Pope (yes I know the horse is dead, but humor me)

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Trav

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So the only thing anyone will remember about Pope's performance today is the horrific early drop. But the reality is that after that he was our leading receiver for the day, with 6-115, all against the 1s on defense as far as I can remember.

So he's a guy that can still help this offense. But here's what scares the crap out of me.

Let's say we're defying the odds and hanging with Bama. We're down 24-20 in the 4th and Bama's driving, trying to put the game away but 'Rique comes up with a pick in the end zone.

The very next play Lashlee dials up something he's been waiting for all game, a wheel route, just like today, and a WR is breaking free. D'eriq lays out a beautiful ball and the WR just has to run under it and it's an 80 yd TD and we take the lead. Then we see who the WR is... And it's #6.

What happens? Does he catch it? Do we know? Does he know? Does Lashlee know? No. No one has any idea. He might catch it. It might doink right off his hands. It's a coin flip.

If he drops it, our chances of winning the game become daunting, if not infeasible. That ball has to be caught.. That situation HAS to be capitalized on in this situation. It's a program-defining moment.

So the question is, can we afford to role the dice with Pope in that situation? Can we put ourselves in that position? Can we put Mark Pope in that position? What do you do with a guy who clearly has talent and can help your team but you can't trust in crucial situations? I honestly don't have the answer. I don't know if you can compartmentalize your offense and strategy to protect him from those situations.
 
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Trav said:
So the only thing anyone will remember about Pope's performance today is the horrific early drop. But the reality is that after that he was our leading receiver for the day, with 6-115, all against the 1s on defense as far as I can remember.

So he's a guy that can still help this offense. But here's what scares the crap out of me.

Let's say we're defying the odds and hanging with Bama. We're down 24-20 in the 4th and Bama's driving, trying to put the game away but 'Rique comes up with a pick in the end zone.

The very next play Lashlee dials up something he's been waiting for all game, a wheel route, just like today, and a WR is breaking free. D'eriq lays out a beautiful ball and the WR just has to run under it and it's an 80 yd TD and we take the lead. Then we see who the WR is... And it's #6.

What happens? Does he catch it? Do we know? Does he know? Does Lashlee know? No. No one has any idea. He might catch it. It might doink right off his hands. It's a coin flip.

If he drops it, our chances of winning the game become daunting, if not infeasible. That ball has to be caught.. That situation HAS to be capitalized on in this situation. It's a program-defining moment.

So the question is, can we afford to role the dice with Pope in that situation? Can we put ourselves in that position? Can we put Mark Pope in that position? What do you do with a guy who clearly has talent and can help your team but you can't trust in crucial situations? I honestly don't have the answer. I don't know if you can compartmentalize your offense and strategy to protect him from those situations.
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Wrong the horse wasn't dead yet. He was waiting on one final blow now he's dead.
 
Go Canes!! said:
I thought Robert knowles was going to be the most be the all time beaten horse.

I was wrong.
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I'll give you a name you won't hear much about. McCloud he's relatively unknown only been on campus a couple years.
 
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Dude went for 115. He has a role to play. Think you split reps between him, key, and restrepo.

Wiggins on the other hand is a one trick pony. I thought he actually caught well outside of that one play (which if called a catch to begin with probably wouldn't be reversed), but he is soft and not very dynamic outside of straightline speed.
 
Trav said:
So the only thing anyone will remember about Pope's performance today is the horrific early drop. But the reality is that after that he was our leading receiver for the day, with 6-115, all against the 1s on defense as far as I can remember.

So he's a guy that can still help this offense. But here's what scares the crap out of me.

Let's say we're defying the odds and hanging with Bama. We're down 24-20 in the 4th and Bama's driving, trying to put the game away but 'Rique comes up with a pick in the end zone.

The very next play Lashlee dials up something he's been waiting for all game, a wheel route, just like today, and a WR is breaking free. D'eriq lays out a beautiful ball and the WR just has to run under it and it's an 80 yd TD and we take the lead. Then we see who the WR is... And it's #6.

What happens? Does he catch it? Do we know? Does he know? Does Lashlee know? No. No one has any idea. He might catch it. It might doink right off his hands. It's a coin flip.

If he drops it, our chances of winning the game become daunting, if not infeasible. That ball has to be caught.. That situation HAS to be capitalized on in this situation. It's a program-defining moment.

So the question is, can we afford to role the dice with Pope in that situation? Can we put ourselves in that position? Can we put Mark Pope in that position? What do you do with a guy who clearly has talent and can help your team but you can't trust in crucial situations? I honestly don't have the answer. I don't know if you can compartmentalize your offense and strategy to protect him from those situations.
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Let me pose a question for you OP which should obviate your original interrogatory.

Is there anyone else on the team capable of running a simple wheel route with more reliable hands?

I think you already know the answer.
 
Only way 6 or 8 ever catch a pass is if there’s no one within 10 yds of them even then it’s a 50/50 chance they make the catch ....They don’t fight for position nor fight for the ball....not sure of the people that gave Pope 5 stars but whoever they are should be fired immediately cause they have zero clue WTF they’re doing.
 
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OriginalCanesCanesCanes said:
Let me pose a question for you OP which should obviate your original interrogatory.

Is there anyone else on the team capable of running a simple wheel route with more reliable hands?

I think you already know the answer.
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Clearly. But typically coaches don't scheme that way. You're in the rotation or you're not..
 
Trav said:
Clearly. But typically coaches don't scheme that way. You're in the rotation or you're not..
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Do not understand your response. If it’s a key moment in a game, you keep people that you can’t rely on, that can’t catch the ball, on the sidelines. It’s not that complicated.
 
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OriginalCanesCanesCanes said:
Let me pose a question for you OP which should obviate your original interrogatory.

Is there anyone else on the team capable of running a simple wheel route with more reliable hands?

I think you already know the answer.
Click to expand...
I guess the seperation Pope creates is the key to the seemingly endless opportunities he receives. Would love to see Smith given the same reps.
****, even when King was calling plays Pope got multiple targets. It's like everyone sees the potential and wants to get him untracked.
 
He's garbage. Anyone that doesn't see it by now and is STILL making excuses for him is never going to see it.

His catches are all of the wide open-vs-zone-coverage variety. He's horrible in any sort of contested catch scenario, which is what will happen against better teams. He's also absolutely horrific after the catch. Zero burst, zero explosion, zero elusiveness.

I've been watching football religiously for over 40 years. He is EASILY the most incorrectly rated player coming out of high school I've ever seen. I've said it many times on this board but whoever was responsible for his 4/5 star rating coming out of high should never be allowed to rate another kid with aspirations to play at big time program.

It's time to move on. He is what he is. We've got something with Rambo and #5 looks promising. Harley can be steady possession guy. Restrepo can also be of use. Wiggins and Pope shouldn't see the field this year. Period.
 
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