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So, in order for us to survive deep into the CFP we have 2 things that must be fixed...

88 said:
Imagine the UM staffer:

"Look I know it's not clicking in practice with no pressure but I really think his technique and movement skills will click in live games protecting our season (QB)."
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lol facts
 
QuattroCane said:
We can survive with the o line, the pass defense just needs to keep a couple of guys healthy.
No one seems unbeatable, it looks like an any given Saturday type of season.
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As Saturday night shows, just "getting guys healthy" isn't the cure-all you think it is. Lucas is still rusty, not in game shape, timing is off, etc. It will take him a few games to get back up to speed. I suspect something similar with OJF and Antoine whenever they come back. This is not a plug and play thing. Heck, look at Bain when he came back from injury in 2024 - took him a while to get going again. Guys like Fitz and BRown are also not 100% healthy and I imagine will be like that the rest of the year.

I would apply the same logic to Buchanon when he comes back.

Conclusion - pass defense will be problematic the rest of the year. The hope is that there will be SOME improvement over the course of the season but it will be our Achilles heel all year long.
 
Canefan8735 said:
With a 4 man pass rush against FSU most of the game
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It’s so great that we will have our offensive line fixed next year………..

When Mensah is not here.

Just incredible we are here with this O-line this year and we will just have to deal with it.

Every year it’s something: Ward year (No defense). Generational offense and defensive line last year with Beck (QB that throws untimely INTs). This year with Mensah (Injuries and a **** offensive line).

Can’t control the injuries but not having the horses on the O-line is awful.
 
supacane said:
Which 2 units take the most communication on either side of the ball? OL and Secondary. Which teams have lost most players on our team? OL and Secondary. As long as we improve over the course of the season like we did last season, we will be fine imo. The OL just need reps, and the Secondary need health.
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I hope it’s just a reps thing, but I’m skeptical. I can see some of the pressures McCoy and Pancake are giving up improving with more reps. This is Pancake’s first time at tackle and his first time starting, so you’d expect him to get better as the season goes on.

Guard worries me more. I’m just not sure how much better SJ can get. He's physically limited and gets his *** pushed back. That’s not really a reps issue, and I’m not sure you can fix it.
 
CanesFan93 said:
I'd be interested in knowing how often does an OL go from being average mid-season to being good/great by year's end.
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I would argue this happened just last season with us. People forget because of the stretch run and playoffs, we really struggled to get the run game going the first half of last season and through the SMU game. It wasn’t until Pringle came in and things got rolling and obviously CFP Fletcher speaks for itself. Pass pro was elite all year though. This season it seems to be the opposite.
 
This time last year we were coming off the Louisville loss and the thought was Beck sucks and the OL cant run block. Dawson was also getting some heat like CIS loves to do.

Great teams get better as the year goes on which eventually happened last year. We knew going in that the OL would have some growing pains. Its unfortunate Max B got hurt as I think we had found the right combination and it allowed us to move SJ into a reserve role instead of starting. I still think the Mario and Mirabel will figure out the OL. They did it last year as the running blocking got much better even when the competition got tougher.
 
CanesNation26 said:
I hope it’s just a reps thing, but I’m skeptical. I can see some of the pressures McCoy and Pancake are giving up improving with more reps. This is Pancake’s first time at tackle and his first time starting, so you’d expect him to get better as the season goes on.

Guard worries me more. I’m just not sure how much better SJ can get. He's physically limited and gets his *** pushed back. That’s not really a reps issue, and I’m not sure you can fix it.
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Im not worried about the athleticism of our OL, alot of the issues are communication and inexperience. To see us put up 200+ rushing yards v Clemson and FSU let's me know the pass protection is fixable with repetition. Also they were decent v Clemson. I dont think Mensah helped them v FSU not taking the check downs and also scrambling into pressure at times, in addition to the legit pressure the OL gave up
 
Mensah has happy feet in the pocket, too. There were multiple times against FSU that if he just believed in the pass pro and stood in there a receiver was about to get open. instead, he danced and swerved himself into trouble.

Not a good combination. However, we are still only giving up one sack per game and the offense essentially scores when it wants when Toney is healthy, on the field and targeted consistently. For the first time in my fandom, I am genuinely buying into us building toward the end of the season. There was a proof of concept laid last year. Now, we know we can roll through this schedule and make the playoff. I still have faith we will figure it out when the games start to matter.
 
Im not sure we can repair any of these things

Every team is flawed and we're going to have to win with what we have and what we are doing

The only think we need to fix, is the mentality of Mario and Dawson in the play calling. Like last season we got better when they stoppd being so conservative

The only thing preventing this team is play selection and game management
 
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SpikeUM said:
The questions that need to be asked of Mario (but I aint doing it, one of you should though!) is why not get the young OL's more game experience LAST year, and with so much inexperience on the OL, why let Kinsler go and/or why not more portal OL's?
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I agree with the question, but I do think you should be the person who asks Mario. We need someone with your gravitas, so to speak.
;)
 
Every team is flawed.

We have about as good a shot as any team at winning this season. Team just needs to improve week -to-week, continue to jell in practice and hopefully get healthy by December.
 
Mensah’s over-reliance on Toney will eventually cost us a game against a good secondary.

There are several instances of Barkate and others dogging routes cause they know Mensah will stare down one guy. If you don’t believe me, re-watch the FSU game and focus on the routes (when the camera picks them up).

Don’t get me wrong - Toney is THAT good. He catches everything thrown his way. But we can’t operate like that against an Indiana, Ohio State, Georgia, etc. People criticizing Sayin and Ohio State for only targeting Jeremiah (valid complaint), same reasoning applies here.

He’s got to go through his progressions more. We don’t rotate WRs much (Jacobs I think had 5 snaps, Wingo didn’t play and Stafford 2). We really only throw to 1. Part of it is on the OL for poor blocking against FSU, but a majority of it is on Mensah himself.
 
AUcane said:
As Saturday night shows, just "getting guys healthy" isn't the cure-all you think it is. Lucas is still rusty, not in game shape, timing is off, etc. It will take him a few games to get back up to speed. I suspect something similar with OJF and Antoine whenever they come back. This is not a plug and play thing. Heck, look at Bain when he came back from injury in 2024 - took him a while to get going again. Guys like Fitz and BRown are also not 100% healthy and I imagine will be like that the rest of the year.

I would apply the same logic to Buchanon when he comes back.

Conclusion - pass defense will be problematic the rest of the year. The hope is that there will be SOME improvement over the course of the season but it will be our Achilles heel all year long.
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That is some bleak outlook. Mirabal and Mario were having conversations on the sidelines quite a few times. Goes without saying they are actively evaluating the OL situation - and I trust they’ll put the best combination out there with time.

Didn’t we just hire a new DB coach this offseason or am I just imagining it? He definitely needs to earn his paycheck this season, or yes, that will continue to be our Achilles this season. Injuries or not, that 75-yard Duce TD and repeated Hail Mary success by them was some ugly **** to have witnessed. I pray it was a one-off, and tweakable.
 
AUcane said:
As Saturday night shows, just "getting guys healthy" isn't the cure-all you think it is. Lucas is still rusty, not in game shape, timing is off, etc. It will take him a few games to get back up to speed. I suspect something similar with OJF and Antoine whenever they come back. This is not a plug and play thing. Heck, look at Bain when he came back from injury in 2024 - took him a while to get going again. Guys like Fitz and BRown are also not 100% healthy and I imagine will be like that the rest of the year.

I would apply the same logic to Buchanon when he comes back.

Conclusion - pass defense will be problematic the rest of the year. The hope is that there will be SOME improvement over the course of the season but it will be our Achilles heel all year long.
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Easiest way to remedy our secondary ailments is to get our pass rushers going. Wilson getting 25 snaps seems concerning from an injury perspective, good to see Blount back and firing.

I would sit a bunch of guys against Pitt to be quite honest. It should act as a de-facto bye week. They’re going to be on their third string QB, they flat out stink. Rotate bodies constantly, rest guys that are banged up. Play Scroggins, Pickett, Davis, Mack, Ewald, etc. Rotate Mallory and Lyle for 80%+ carries at RB. Rotate on the OL, keep experimenting while you have the luxury to do so. Eventually, we will play opponents where you have to be sure you have the best combination of guys on the field, and I’d like as many options as possible to be somewhat healthy (or as healthy as can be).

I know we won’t cause Mario will want to make a statement, but that’s what I would do before UNC.
 
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filmcane said:
... pass pro and defending the pass.

Unlike 2024', we actually have the horses and coaches to get this done, so I still have hope. The question is - will they figure out the Chinese puzzle that is our OL and as our players get healthy in the secondary, will the returning players get their sea legs and communicate better?

Anyone hearing or believing that these two things will happen or will we just not get that figured out for the CFP?
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Shannon needs to remember what it was like to call plays at Southern Miss with this OL.
 
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