Canegrad89
Recruit
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2017
- Messages
- 1,149
A missed opportunity...a big one. We made more untimely mistakes which combined with ultra conservative decisions, cost us the game. We played to keep it close...not to win. The D (especially DL & DBs) played well. They likely would have held TAMU to <=13 pts without the muffed punt (and the resultant short field). They played well enough for us to win. The OL & RBs played very well. This is the first time in yrs that we've seen gaping holes for the RBs against a quality opponent. Major progress has been made there. Coming into the game, TAMU was 2 DBs short due to suspensions. Then they had 2 players ejected for targeting. Their DB unit was absolutely depleted. We should have done a much better job capitalizing on that. A win would have had tremendous implications for recruiting & given us significant momentum heading into the rest of the season. Yes, we weren't blown out by an SEC team on the road. Yes, we looked like we belonged on the same field...and we definitely weren't pushed around. Those are tremendous signs of progress. But, you've got to fight to win every single game in CFB. Not sure the coaches (HC & OC) did their part in that regard. The decisions made indicated a desire to keep the result respectable under any scenario as opposed to rolling the dice in an attempt to win.
THE GOOD:
OL: The holes opened by the OL were huge at times. We've come a long way in this regard relative to the last couple of years. Our run game was highly effective. It was so effective that we actually should have emphasized it more with TVD & the WRs struggling. Pass pro was also pretty solid. Major props to the players & the coaches for all of the great work they've put in.
RB: Parrish is fast becoming one of my favorite Canes. You could tell he's used to that environment & to playing in big games. He was highly effective, dependable & a warrior on the field. Knighton also looked very good. These two will feast against lower tier ACC schools as the season rolls on. We're very fortunate to have Parrish.
DBs: Major props to Ivey for some stellar PBUs. He takes a lot of flak on here but he was stout today in pass coverage. I hope all those that usually criticize him will stand up & congratulate him on a very solid game. The whole DB unit played well & played physical ball for the most part.
LT (#56): some great plays in the backfield in the first two quarters. He is flashing & has serious talent. If he can deliver like that more consistently as he matures, he'll be a beast. My favorite DL.
DL: As a group, they played a pretty solid game. They managed to generate some pressure on the QB throughout most of the game and had a fair number of sacks & TFL.
Jacolby: Made his presence felt in the second half. He is likely one of the better WRs on the team and should be more of a focal point going forward.
THE BAD:
Not enough targets for Arroyo: He gets one catch for 15+ yards and then is never seen again. He should have been one of the primary targets in this game. He would have absolutely shredded them.
WR not creating enough separation & not making catches.
TVD had a pretty bad game. Far too many incompletions. Stared down his WRs (which you can't do against this level of comp). His lack of chemistry with anyone other than Restrepo & Mallory is showing. He needs to spend more time (including extra time one-on-one) with his other WRs (especially now that Restrepo is out). A lot of the throws tonight were way off the mark.
Long FG attempt by Borregales: never had a chance. It's a little concerning that it missed by such a wide margin. Not sure whether the hold was bad or if it's his mechanics but you'd like to see longer FGs come closer than that, if they miss. His brother was nails (an ice man like Huerta). I hope Andy can work hard & become as dependable as his brother (who was virtually automatic).
The Playcalling on Offense: While TVD is in there, we need to lose any designed QB runs. Those were pretty brutal against a quality opponent. Plus, TVD could get hurt. Those plays were totally ineffective tonight & wasted downs. Arroyo should have had way more targets. He makes a great play in the first quarter and was never seen again. The TEs (Mallory & Arroyo) should be a major focal point of the offense (together with the RBs) until opponents prove they can stop that attack. If a first down passing attempt was unsuccessful, we should have run the ball more (especially in the second half). We had too many 3 & outs that were either Pass, Pass, Pass, Punt or Pass, Pass, Run, Punt. There should have been more runs on second down.
Choosing to Kick a FG with 4:00 left in 3rd Qtr: Would love to understand Mario's thought process on these decisions. Is it: "We're crushing it in recruiting right now & the only thing that can really ***** that up is getting beaten by a wide margin in a game like this. Let's keep it close"? Or, is it: "Never take points off the board. Sure, we may not win but I don't want our team getting deflated coming up empty-handed on all of these drives." I believe you have to fight tooth & nail to win every game in CFB. You also need to instill that killer instinct in your team & accept nothing less than victory. Does kicking a FG there send the wrong message to the team? Is it too conservative? I think it almost guaranteed us a loss as we still had to score a TD plus a 2-point conversion (and hold them scoreless) just to tie it up. The odds of that happening are extremely low. The odds are probably significantly higher if you go for the TD in that situation instead.
THE UGLY:
Muffed punt: Stevenson either should have called for a fair catch or let that punt go with ATM players bearing down on him. There was no upside to taking that situation on. The muffed punt gave a fairly mundane offense a really short field. ATM likely would have had 3 points in the first half without that miscue. It changed the whole complexion of the game.
Unnecessary roughness penalty: James Williams is a dude but he's got to cut out these emotional & undisciplined penalties. His penalty contributed to a really short field for ATM and a game winning score. I know his story and I'm rooting hard for him to succeed. He's got to rid this from his system. He's hurting himself & his teammates with these types of penalties. I know he's working on this topic but he needs to accelerate the progress in this regard.
Holding penalties back-to-back at around 5:30 mark of 4th Qtr: Mallory's holding penalty followed by Zion's absolutely killed a drive that could have resulted in a game-changing TD.
Drop by #12 at the end of our last drive: the ball hit him in the facemask. The entire last drive seemed disorganized & there wasn't enough urgency shown between plays (to get back to the line of scrimmage quickly etc). However, TVD delivered a strike to #12 on that last play and he barely even got his hands on the ball. You have to move the chains on that play & make that catch at all costs so the ball should have been thrown to either Arroyo, Mallory, Parrish or Knighton. In that type of situation, you throw to your most dependable receivers only (someone you're highly confident will keep the drive alive).
I believe that to win at the highest level in CFB, losing has to be completely unacceptable. I also believe that Analytics can help coaches make better decisions. Analytics typically show that fortune favors the brave when going for it on 4th down, for example. If the probability of success is higher by taking some risk, then that's what should be done (even if it doesn't work out every time). Always favor the higher probability scenario or you'll end up losing more often than not.
Garcia should have had 1-2 series to see what he could do as TVD clearly wasn't having his best day. I'm not suggesting that TVD be benched but Jake could have given TVD a break for a series or two and that may have helped to settle him down.
Tough loss but we will grow from this and the future is bright.
Your thoughts?
THE GOOD:
OL: The holes opened by the OL were huge at times. We've come a long way in this regard relative to the last couple of years. Our run game was highly effective. It was so effective that we actually should have emphasized it more with TVD & the WRs struggling. Pass pro was also pretty solid. Major props to the players & the coaches for all of the great work they've put in.
RB: Parrish is fast becoming one of my favorite Canes. You could tell he's used to that environment & to playing in big games. He was highly effective, dependable & a warrior on the field. Knighton also looked very good. These two will feast against lower tier ACC schools as the season rolls on. We're very fortunate to have Parrish.
DBs: Major props to Ivey for some stellar PBUs. He takes a lot of flak on here but he was stout today in pass coverage. I hope all those that usually criticize him will stand up & congratulate him on a very solid game. The whole DB unit played well & played physical ball for the most part.
LT (#56): some great plays in the backfield in the first two quarters. He is flashing & has serious talent. If he can deliver like that more consistently as he matures, he'll be a beast. My favorite DL.
DL: As a group, they played a pretty solid game. They managed to generate some pressure on the QB throughout most of the game and had a fair number of sacks & TFL.
Jacolby: Made his presence felt in the second half. He is likely one of the better WRs on the team and should be more of a focal point going forward.
THE BAD:
Not enough targets for Arroyo: He gets one catch for 15+ yards and then is never seen again. He should have been one of the primary targets in this game. He would have absolutely shredded them.
WR not creating enough separation & not making catches.
TVD had a pretty bad game. Far too many incompletions. Stared down his WRs (which you can't do against this level of comp). His lack of chemistry with anyone other than Restrepo & Mallory is showing. He needs to spend more time (including extra time one-on-one) with his other WRs (especially now that Restrepo is out). A lot of the throws tonight were way off the mark.
Long FG attempt by Borregales: never had a chance. It's a little concerning that it missed by such a wide margin. Not sure whether the hold was bad or if it's his mechanics but you'd like to see longer FGs come closer than that, if they miss. His brother was nails (an ice man like Huerta). I hope Andy can work hard & become as dependable as his brother (who was virtually automatic).
The Playcalling on Offense: While TVD is in there, we need to lose any designed QB runs. Those were pretty brutal against a quality opponent. Plus, TVD could get hurt. Those plays were totally ineffective tonight & wasted downs. Arroyo should have had way more targets. He makes a great play in the first quarter and was never seen again. The TEs (Mallory & Arroyo) should be a major focal point of the offense (together with the RBs) until opponents prove they can stop that attack. If a first down passing attempt was unsuccessful, we should have run the ball more (especially in the second half). We had too many 3 & outs that were either Pass, Pass, Pass, Punt or Pass, Pass, Run, Punt. There should have been more runs on second down.
Choosing to Kick a FG with 4:00 left in 3rd Qtr: Would love to understand Mario's thought process on these decisions. Is it: "We're crushing it in recruiting right now & the only thing that can really ***** that up is getting beaten by a wide margin in a game like this. Let's keep it close"? Or, is it: "Never take points off the board. Sure, we may not win but I don't want our team getting deflated coming up empty-handed on all of these drives." I believe you have to fight tooth & nail to win every game in CFB. You also need to instill that killer instinct in your team & accept nothing less than victory. Does kicking a FG there send the wrong message to the team? Is it too conservative? I think it almost guaranteed us a loss as we still had to score a TD plus a 2-point conversion (and hold them scoreless) just to tie it up. The odds of that happening are extremely low. The odds are probably significantly higher if you go for the TD in that situation instead.
THE UGLY:
Muffed punt: Stevenson either should have called for a fair catch or let that punt go with ATM players bearing down on him. There was no upside to taking that situation on. The muffed punt gave a fairly mundane offense a really short field. ATM likely would have had 3 points in the first half without that miscue. It changed the whole complexion of the game.
Unnecessary roughness penalty: James Williams is a dude but he's got to cut out these emotional & undisciplined penalties. His penalty contributed to a really short field for ATM and a game winning score. I know his story and I'm rooting hard for him to succeed. He's got to rid this from his system. He's hurting himself & his teammates with these types of penalties. I know he's working on this topic but he needs to accelerate the progress in this regard.
Holding penalties back-to-back at around 5:30 mark of 4th Qtr: Mallory's holding penalty followed by Zion's absolutely killed a drive that could have resulted in a game-changing TD.
Drop by #12 at the end of our last drive: the ball hit him in the facemask. The entire last drive seemed disorganized & there wasn't enough urgency shown between plays (to get back to the line of scrimmage quickly etc). However, TVD delivered a strike to #12 on that last play and he barely even got his hands on the ball. You have to move the chains on that play & make that catch at all costs so the ball should have been thrown to either Arroyo, Mallory, Parrish or Knighton. In that type of situation, you throw to your most dependable receivers only (someone you're highly confident will keep the drive alive).
I believe that to win at the highest level in CFB, losing has to be completely unacceptable. I also believe that Analytics can help coaches make better decisions. Analytics typically show that fortune favors the brave when going for it on 4th down, for example. If the probability of success is higher by taking some risk, then that's what should be done (even if it doesn't work out every time). Always favor the higher probability scenario or you'll end up losing more often than not.
Garcia should have had 1-2 series to see what he could do as TVD clearly wasn't having his best day. I'm not suggesting that TVD be benched but Jake could have given TVD a break for a series or two and that may have helped to settle him down.
Tough loss but we will grow from this and the future is bright.
Your thoughts?
BUT , if we don’t mature mentally soon the 3 more losses I predict is assured.
