and noticed a lot of things that I could not see at the game.
Energy: First, this was NOT the same FSU team that lost to UNC. On tv, one could see how locked in, amped up, and focused they were. They matched and maybe even exceeded our level of energy. In this game, guys like Sweat and Thomas were not jogging down the sideline while the opposition trotted into the endzone like against UNC.
Psyche: After losing 6 in a row, it was easy to see us pressing. Judging by our body language it was clear that we were not confident that we would win--we hoped to win, while FSU knew they would win. The nervousness and angst on the sideline was blatantly obvious, as was the frustration and "here we go again" vibe.
QB play: Kaaya played much better than I thought after watching the game on tape. He made many good throws and had an alarming number of passes dropped. Still, his inaccuracy and lack of pocket awareness continue to be huge issues. He cannot feel pressure or evade any competent pass rush. I could also sense that Kaaya was nervous and pressing in this game. He looked dazed and worried on the sideline. Maybe he was concussed, but he just isn't a poised and charismatic leader like most great QBs. He sits on the sideline and stares into space, almost hoping that someone else will save him. Yes he made a big throw to end the game, but he was short, behind, and slow on his throws for most of the night.
Francois on the other hand is a BEAST. I have never seen a young QB get hit so much and keep playing at the level he did. He is also an athlete and it shows. With Maguire, we win by 20--our pass rush would've eaten him alive. Someone like Francois adds another level to your offense and is so hard to defend. They were able to close out the game because of his athleticism and ability to run. However, he is also a much better passer than I remembered from the game. There were times he made something out of nothing and Kaaya just can't do that. Unlike Kaaya, Francois is an athlete and just kept coming back and never backed down. Very impressive, but we need someone like that.
Crowd: I was there and have to say the crowd was INSANE! The tv did not do the pregame trash talking justice. However, from the broadcast one could tell how loud it was. At times the crowd drowned out the commentary. Excited for our future at the Rock.
Big plays: While Richt's playcalling was very basic and very predictable (read: very disappointed in this from an 'offensive coach'), this game was lost on a few plays. The Kaaya int in the endzone was terrible. At the game, I thought the throw was short and late. Watching on tv, I could see that he went to throw and a DE jumped up causing him to pull back and then throw. This is a case where his lack of athleticism cripples him: if he was more athletic, he would not have to stand in the pocket behind our terrible OL. With that said, he should've thrown that pass through the endzone and lived to play another down. It is remarkable that our jr. QB is still making mistakes like those. Just a terrible play by him that cost us the game IMO.
Another huge play in this game occurred when Walton's run got called back. What an amazing run that was and it was called back by a terrible call. St. Louis was on the other side and even Herby acknowledged it had nothing to do with the play. Moreover, it was a questionable call AT BEST. Should have never been called and if we get that TD, I think we win the game.
The final big play was obviously the XP. Just a terrible job of snapping the ball and blocking. For us to lose a game in that fashion demonstrates to the world why we have sucked for the last 12 years. That was a Dolphinesque play; just terrible! If we make this play, I like to think FSU comes out passing and we get a stop because of our pass rush and secondary, ultimately winning the game.
Defense: Our defense is a legitimate top-20 defense. They held an elite offense to 20 points, EVEN THOUGH the offense could not even get a first down half the game. The depth on that side of the ball is impressive. I think we played about 14 different lineman, 6-7 different linebackers, and 6 different dbs. What a great job by Manny Diaz! The Cook td was a busted play (Pinckney fell down), which I could not see at the game. When you play a guy like that, he will get at least one. Corn Elder is an absolute beast and I cannot believe he ran Cook down. The pass breakup was also superb! In this game, we made FSU earn everything and that is about all you can ask.
FSU's defense: This unit was the difference in the game. I don't know what they were doing previous weeks, but this is a good defense IF they play a QB like Kaaya. Because he can't move, they teed off on him and played press man. Because of this, we had little time to throw, room to run, and our receivers could not get open. Richt did not adjust to what they were doing and it cost us this game! He should have been running lots of crossing patterns, out and ups, post corners, wr jailbreak screens, hitch and gos, etc. Most of our offense consisted of simple routes with no double moves and no bunch formations to confuse the man defense and run people off of each other to get them open. Richt did a terrible job on the offensive side of the ball here...
Very frustrating, but if we fix the offense we can have a really good year!
Energy: First, this was NOT the same FSU team that lost to UNC. On tv, one could see how locked in, amped up, and focused they were. They matched and maybe even exceeded our level of energy. In this game, guys like Sweat and Thomas were not jogging down the sideline while the opposition trotted into the endzone like against UNC.
Psyche: After losing 6 in a row, it was easy to see us pressing. Judging by our body language it was clear that we were not confident that we would win--we hoped to win, while FSU knew they would win. The nervousness and angst on the sideline was blatantly obvious, as was the frustration and "here we go again" vibe.
QB play: Kaaya played much better than I thought after watching the game on tape. He made many good throws and had an alarming number of passes dropped. Still, his inaccuracy and lack of pocket awareness continue to be huge issues. He cannot feel pressure or evade any competent pass rush. I could also sense that Kaaya was nervous and pressing in this game. He looked dazed and worried on the sideline. Maybe he was concussed, but he just isn't a poised and charismatic leader like most great QBs. He sits on the sideline and stares into space, almost hoping that someone else will save him. Yes he made a big throw to end the game, but he was short, behind, and slow on his throws for most of the night.
Francois on the other hand is a BEAST. I have never seen a young QB get hit so much and keep playing at the level he did. He is also an athlete and it shows. With Maguire, we win by 20--our pass rush would've eaten him alive. Someone like Francois adds another level to your offense and is so hard to defend. They were able to close out the game because of his athleticism and ability to run. However, he is also a much better passer than I remembered from the game. There were times he made something out of nothing and Kaaya just can't do that. Unlike Kaaya, Francois is an athlete and just kept coming back and never backed down. Very impressive, but we need someone like that.
Crowd: I was there and have to say the crowd was INSANE! The tv did not do the pregame trash talking justice. However, from the broadcast one could tell how loud it was. At times the crowd drowned out the commentary. Excited for our future at the Rock.
Big plays: While Richt's playcalling was very basic and very predictable (read: very disappointed in this from an 'offensive coach'), this game was lost on a few plays. The Kaaya int in the endzone was terrible. At the game, I thought the throw was short and late. Watching on tv, I could see that he went to throw and a DE jumped up causing him to pull back and then throw. This is a case where his lack of athleticism cripples him: if he was more athletic, he would not have to stand in the pocket behind our terrible OL. With that said, he should've thrown that pass through the endzone and lived to play another down. It is remarkable that our jr. QB is still making mistakes like those. Just a terrible play by him that cost us the game IMO.
Another huge play in this game occurred when Walton's run got called back. What an amazing run that was and it was called back by a terrible call. St. Louis was on the other side and even Herby acknowledged it had nothing to do with the play. Moreover, it was a questionable call AT BEST. Should have never been called and if we get that TD, I think we win the game.
The final big play was obviously the XP. Just a terrible job of snapping the ball and blocking. For us to lose a game in that fashion demonstrates to the world why we have sucked for the last 12 years. That was a Dolphinesque play; just terrible! If we make this play, I like to think FSU comes out passing and we get a stop because of our pass rush and secondary, ultimately winning the game.
Defense: Our defense is a legitimate top-20 defense. They held an elite offense to 20 points, EVEN THOUGH the offense could not even get a first down half the game. The depth on that side of the ball is impressive. I think we played about 14 different lineman, 6-7 different linebackers, and 6 different dbs. What a great job by Manny Diaz! The Cook td was a busted play (Pinckney fell down), which I could not see at the game. When you play a guy like that, he will get at least one. Corn Elder is an absolute beast and I cannot believe he ran Cook down. The pass breakup was also superb! In this game, we made FSU earn everything and that is about all you can ask.
FSU's defense: This unit was the difference in the game. I don't know what they were doing previous weeks, but this is a good defense IF they play a QB like Kaaya. Because he can't move, they teed off on him and played press man. Because of this, we had little time to throw, room to run, and our receivers could not get open. Richt did not adjust to what they were doing and it cost us this game! He should have been running lots of crossing patterns, out and ups, post corners, wr jailbreak screens, hitch and gos, etc. Most of our offense consisted of simple routes with no double moves and no bunch formations to confuse the man defense and run people off of each other to get them open. Richt did a terrible job on the offensive side of the ball here...
Very frustrating, but if we fix the offense we can have a really good year!
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