- Joined
- Jan 15, 2012
- Messages
- 9,000
This game was a brow beater type game and we took a more talented team to the wire and actually outplayed them in almost every way save for 1. We made too many mistakes and mental errors. It wasn't a ton of them but on the road against a team like ATM you can't afford many at all. The Stevenson muff was a killer as was the Parrish drop. I can't beat Borregales up too bad for missing a 49 yarder but special teams in general really let us down.
It must be reiterated that the OL was absolutely fantastic for close to the entire game. The false start on Zion was a costly one but overall they gave TVD plenty of time to find receivers on 7 step drop long developing pass plays and allowed zero sacks. We rushed for 175 yards at 5 yards a clip vs an elite SEC defense filled with 4 and 5 star players. The difference in this OL is night and day compared to previous years. Mirabal is the best in the business.
Our RBs played very well. We didn't house any but we played a very good defense. Major props there.
The TEs were criminally underutilized in the passing game but blocked well in the run game with the exception of Will Mallory who continues to struggle in that area. Why did we wait until the 4th quarter to get Mallory involved in the passing game? Why did we not go back to Arroyo after his catch in the 1st quarter? We could have made them pay with our TEs in the passing game but there was no urgency to do so. Ironically it was Mallory who was the leading receiver with 6 catches.
TVD continues to struggle. I believe there are 2 issues here. First is that this style of offense doesn't suit him very well at least not at this stage in his development. It is a major departure from the offense he ran under Lashlee. The routes and concepts are much more difficult for the WRs to execute and that is wreaking havoc on TVDs internal clock thus the timing issues which lead to inaccuracy. Either TVD will have to man up and work his way through this while he becomes more comfortable with the offense or Gattis is going to have to adjust his offense to better suit his QB. It will probably be a bit of both. Remember, you are never as bad as you look nor are you ever as good as you look in any certain facet. It's about steady improvement and moving the mean forward/higher. I expect the passing game to improve but it will be a struggle before the breakthrough. There is also a very good possibility that Jake Garcia gets an opportunity if TVD can't work his way through these issues. The bottom line is winning and if Garcia can thrive in this offense and gives us a spark then I'm all for it. It could be a matter of Mario having TVD sit for a series or two during our ACC run if that is what it takes. We'll see.
I left this unit for last and quite frankly they deserve it. The WR corps is downright atrocious! As a group they are weak, pedestrian, inconsistent and lack the ability to separate or to come down with contested throws. The route running I saw was absolutely terrible and they seemed to be intimidated by the physicality of ATMs depleted secondary. Cristobal tried to tell us this during the off season but I don't think anyone could have imagined that it could be this bad. How bad? This unit is an abortion! This unit is by far the worst unit on the team and it isn't even close! I am incredibly disappointed with the lack of development of Keyshawn Smith. I'll be easier on Romello Brinson(injured for spring) and Jacolby George(1st game back) but not for much longer. Those 3 WR need to continue to fight and claw their way through the challenges that this new offense posseses and step up. I believe they will improve but I need to see it starting next week then UNC etc. For a big strong possession receiver Michael Redding played like he weighed 160 LBs. He got manhandled by the ATM secondary and he lost focus. Frank Ladson just forgot to show up and Brashard Smith was a total non factor. It's time to get Isaiah Horton and Colbie Young some burn and maybe you put Devon Perry out there at WR. At least you know the kid will give you 120%. This needs to get better really fast.
It was expected that Mario Cristobal and Josh Gattis would face intense criticism after an offensive performance like this. Don't misunderstand there is some legitimate criticism that both need to face up to. However I really don't think that Mario or Gattis had this type of plodding pedestrian pop gun offense in mind when they were preparing for this game/season. I think they expected the passing game to be much much better. When you look at this style of offense it can work and be very effective if and I mean IF you pair that OL and running game with a passing attack that is both efficient and explosive. I really think that they thought TVD would adapt to this offense much faster than he has and I also think they didn't envision that the WR corps would be this bad. Obviously adjustments will have to be made by the coaches and the players(QB+WR) will need to keep grinding and get better but this unit as it is now is completely unacceptable.
The defense played an excellent game! The front 4 was able to put pressure on Johnson as well as be a big factor against the run. This was a complete group effort by them. You can see that they are beginning to get better and better in the defense and they are starting to gel and play with confidence.
The LBs played a very good game for the most part. The run fits were routinely excellent and they seemed to be very prepared. They swarmed to the ball all game. Cory Flagg was the standout here as he played his best most complete game as a Hurricane.
The secondary needs to be recognized as they played a fantastic game. I would like to give a shout out to DJ Ivey because he has a great game and his best as a Hurricane. Ivey made made multiple plays in coverage breaking up passes and making physical plays vs the run or tackling a receiver in space. Happy for the kid. Kam Kinchens and James Williams were balling tonight. I can't add much more than that. Kam made multiple heads up plays from his FS position and JW was all over the field making plays.
Kevin Steele had a good game plan and the defense executed it to perfection. This defense will continue to gel and improve as the season progresses and they will need to as they will face much more explosive offenses than they did vs ATM. Still, this was an excellent job by Steele and the defense.
Outside of our kick coverage unit, special teams were sloppy and mistake prone which cost us the game. This needs to be addressed immediately. I can't get on Borregales case that bad for missing a 49 yard FG but the FG unit in general was a weak spot.
As disappointed as I am in this loss I am also somewhat encouraged. Like I said we went on the road vs a very talented SEC opponent and literally outplayed them in almost every statistical category. Total Yards UM 395 ATM 264. First Downs UM 27 ATM 16. Time of Possession UM 35:00 ATM 25:00. Mental mistakes cost us the game. A young team on the road vs ATM can't do that and expect to win. The biggest and most significant negative is the WRs and it isn't even close. Give me Ahmon Richards, Stacy Coley and a healthy X and we whip those fools silly. The problem is we don't have a Richards or a Coley on the rooster right now. With Mario's recruiting ability we will in the near future. Back to reality there is no escaping the fact that this WR corps may be the worst at UM in a long time. The young guys need to keep getting better every week and that's all we can do right now.
Other than that the Offensive Line under Mario is incredibly improved. They were impressive. The RB looked very good. We didn't kill ourselves with terrible penalties until the last drive and the defense is much improved. I'm not trying to be Mr. Sunshine as there is a big problem on offense with the WRs, TVD and the passing game and Josh Gattis needs to step up, be accountable for that then adjust and work on a solution. Special teams need work and the overall clock management and lack of urgency is a concern. Overall for being 3 games into this staffs 1st season one would be dishonest not to acknowledge that this team is a significant improvement over last year's team in many areas as noted above. The big question is how this staff goes about addressing the glaring issues in the passing game. Go Canes!
It must be reiterated that the OL was absolutely fantastic for close to the entire game. The false start on Zion was a costly one but overall they gave TVD plenty of time to find receivers on 7 step drop long developing pass plays and allowed zero sacks. We rushed for 175 yards at 5 yards a clip vs an elite SEC defense filled with 4 and 5 star players. The difference in this OL is night and day compared to previous years. Mirabal is the best in the business.
Our RBs played very well. We didn't house any but we played a very good defense. Major props there.
The TEs were criminally underutilized in the passing game but blocked well in the run game with the exception of Will Mallory who continues to struggle in that area. Why did we wait until the 4th quarter to get Mallory involved in the passing game? Why did we not go back to Arroyo after his catch in the 1st quarter? We could have made them pay with our TEs in the passing game but there was no urgency to do so. Ironically it was Mallory who was the leading receiver with 6 catches.
TVD continues to struggle. I believe there are 2 issues here. First is that this style of offense doesn't suit him very well at least not at this stage in his development. It is a major departure from the offense he ran under Lashlee. The routes and concepts are much more difficult for the WRs to execute and that is wreaking havoc on TVDs internal clock thus the timing issues which lead to inaccuracy. Either TVD will have to man up and work his way through this while he becomes more comfortable with the offense or Gattis is going to have to adjust his offense to better suit his QB. It will probably be a bit of both. Remember, you are never as bad as you look nor are you ever as good as you look in any certain facet. It's about steady improvement and moving the mean forward/higher. I expect the passing game to improve but it will be a struggle before the breakthrough. There is also a very good possibility that Jake Garcia gets an opportunity if TVD can't work his way through these issues. The bottom line is winning and if Garcia can thrive in this offense and gives us a spark then I'm all for it. It could be a matter of Mario having TVD sit for a series or two during our ACC run if that is what it takes. We'll see.
I left this unit for last and quite frankly they deserve it. The WR corps is downright atrocious! As a group they are weak, pedestrian, inconsistent and lack the ability to separate or to come down with contested throws. The route running I saw was absolutely terrible and they seemed to be intimidated by the physicality of ATMs depleted secondary. Cristobal tried to tell us this during the off season but I don't think anyone could have imagined that it could be this bad. How bad? This unit is an abortion! This unit is by far the worst unit on the team and it isn't even close! I am incredibly disappointed with the lack of development of Keyshawn Smith. I'll be easier on Romello Brinson(injured for spring) and Jacolby George(1st game back) but not for much longer. Those 3 WR need to continue to fight and claw their way through the challenges that this new offense posseses and step up. I believe they will improve but I need to see it starting next week then UNC etc. For a big strong possession receiver Michael Redding played like he weighed 160 LBs. He got manhandled by the ATM secondary and he lost focus. Frank Ladson just forgot to show up and Brashard Smith was a total non factor. It's time to get Isaiah Horton and Colbie Young some burn and maybe you put Devon Perry out there at WR. At least you know the kid will give you 120%. This needs to get better really fast.
It was expected that Mario Cristobal and Josh Gattis would face intense criticism after an offensive performance like this. Don't misunderstand there is some legitimate criticism that both need to face up to. However I really don't think that Mario or Gattis had this type of plodding pedestrian pop gun offense in mind when they were preparing for this game/season. I think they expected the passing game to be much much better. When you look at this style of offense it can work and be very effective if and I mean IF you pair that OL and running game with a passing attack that is both efficient and explosive. I really think that they thought TVD would adapt to this offense much faster than he has and I also think they didn't envision that the WR corps would be this bad. Obviously adjustments will have to be made by the coaches and the players(QB+WR) will need to keep grinding and get better but this unit as it is now is completely unacceptable.
The defense played an excellent game! The front 4 was able to put pressure on Johnson as well as be a big factor against the run. This was a complete group effort by them. You can see that they are beginning to get better and better in the defense and they are starting to gel and play with confidence.
The LBs played a very good game for the most part. The run fits were routinely excellent and they seemed to be very prepared. They swarmed to the ball all game. Cory Flagg was the standout here as he played his best most complete game as a Hurricane.
The secondary needs to be recognized as they played a fantastic game. I would like to give a shout out to DJ Ivey because he has a great game and his best as a Hurricane. Ivey made made multiple plays in coverage breaking up passes and making physical plays vs the run or tackling a receiver in space. Happy for the kid. Kam Kinchens and James Williams were balling tonight. I can't add much more than that. Kam made multiple heads up plays from his FS position and JW was all over the field making plays.
Kevin Steele had a good game plan and the defense executed it to perfection. This defense will continue to gel and improve as the season progresses and they will need to as they will face much more explosive offenses than they did vs ATM. Still, this was an excellent job by Steele and the defense.
Outside of our kick coverage unit, special teams were sloppy and mistake prone which cost us the game. This needs to be addressed immediately. I can't get on Borregales case that bad for missing a 49 yard FG but the FG unit in general was a weak spot.
As disappointed as I am in this loss I am also somewhat encouraged. Like I said we went on the road vs a very talented SEC opponent and literally outplayed them in almost every statistical category. Total Yards UM 395 ATM 264. First Downs UM 27 ATM 16. Time of Possession UM 35:00 ATM 25:00. Mental mistakes cost us the game. A young team on the road vs ATM can't do that and expect to win. The biggest and most significant negative is the WRs and it isn't even close. Give me Ahmon Richards, Stacy Coley and a healthy X and we whip those fools silly. The problem is we don't have a Richards or a Coley on the rooster right now. With Mario's recruiting ability we will in the near future. Back to reality there is no escaping the fact that this WR corps may be the worst at UM in a long time. The young guys need to keep getting better every week and that's all we can do right now.
Other than that the Offensive Line under Mario is incredibly improved. They were impressive. The RB looked very good. We didn't kill ourselves with terrible penalties until the last drive and the defense is much improved. I'm not trying to be Mr. Sunshine as there is a big problem on offense with the WRs, TVD and the passing game and Josh Gattis needs to step up, be accountable for that then adjust and work on a solution. Special teams need work and the overall clock management and lack of urgency is a concern. Overall for being 3 games into this staffs 1st season one would be dishonest not to acknowledge that this team is a significant improvement over last year's team in many areas as noted above. The big question is how this staff goes about addressing the glaring issues in the passing game. Go Canes!
Attachments
Last edited: