Upon Further Review: Miami vs. TAM

Lance Roffers

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Welcome back my friends, to the show that did not end in round one. Come inside and see how it looked on film with me at Upon Further Review.

With me making regular appearances on the podcast these days, I’m often asked to preview the next matchup and what I expect the opponent to do and what I expect Miami to do. Against TAM, I talked about how they like to use Bunch sets in 3x1 to the field side and throw slip screens to Mario Craver (whom I am effusive in praise). TAM opens the game up and first play does exactly this. Miami is leveraged by the 3-on-2 and it’s the right read for Reed to throw. I’d like to point out that Craver kind of “tells” on this route by how much he’s standing straight up prior to the snap while the other two are lined up with weight forward ready to go upfield. This would tell me that Craver is likely to step back for the screen.

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It’s a bread-and-butter type formation for them because they can run out of it, they can run screens out of it with the TE as the tip of the bunch, and they can run seam/vertical shots out of it to any of the three receivers. I don’t really like how Miami matched up to it on play one, if I’m being honest (and I have the hindsight of knowing what happened in this game, so you’re not going to get a lot of defensive critique from me).

3rd down play is the same formation (field side flips, but same setup). You can see Craver is now weight forward on his lead foot, rather than standing up as if he’s going to step back. I wonder if Miami coaches picked up on it during the game?

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This is not a great play by Wesley. Reed tries to escape the pocket and they’ve got Wesley right there to defend him. Wesley takes an angle that is far too inside and lets Reed get outside him for the 1st. Wesley actually falls down and doesn’t get a hand on him. Obviously, Craver released into his route and the tell remains through the first few instances of that bunch. On the pod I talked about the importance of rush lane integrity and not getting upfield behind the QB where he can escape.

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Spied with Lightfoot and he falls down trying to tackle Reed as well. My issue with spies is that almost always if the QB is a good enough runner to need to spy him on 3rd down, he will be a good enough runner to make your spy miss and then you simply waste a defender covering grass who isn’t used to it. Pass rusher behind the QB again as you sent the S blitz and he got too far upfield. Dropped into zone behind it. Hetherman was a star in this game and I might put this performance in any Miami Hall of Fame, but the start of the game was a bit iffy based on their tendencies and what *I* would have done if I were the DC. (Make no mistake, Hetherman is far better than me and he proved it in this one overall)

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It’s a small thing when you’re watching. You say to yourself, “that’s what he’s supposed to do” but if the DB Lucas doesn’t make this tackle, it’s a TD. There is no one over there on this play. They switched to closed MOF single-high after this snap and sent the other S. TAM had a route move the MOF S to other side and this was it over there. Receiver almost slipped this tackle and it would’ve been a wrap. Your DB’s simply have to tackle to play for Hetherman.

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Next play and Scott slips the TE block and makes a TFL. Getting Scott back was a transformational addition for this defense. Hetherman asks so much of his NB (Star) and he consistently tackles in space. Lucas makes a tackle outside on 1st and then Scott makes a tackle in space on 2nd. I said on the pod how much TAM would force the DB’s to tackle and stress Miami horizontally and it comes to fruition on drive one. Scott does such a good job understanding leverage here, as he has help inside, but if he tries to duck inside the block he gives up his outside leverage and this could be a big play. TAM has to punt after an excellent opening drive.

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Miami runs off-tackle and Bell just washes Howell out of the C-gap. McCoy turns the DT and Marion is out there big-boying the S. Fletcher hits this hole hard and gets the 1st down. This is definitely a tweak that Dawson installed for this game where he ran Fletcher out of Pistol. I could be misremembering, but I don’t remember Miami running much Pistol prior to this game.

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Miami will have to play through this sort of thing in the next game as well, but TAM really got away with a lot of holding in the secondary. The QB is releasing the ball here and you can see Marion is being two-hand grabbed by a trailing CB. Beck had Toney at the second level if he holds it a second longer. The ball is woefully off target from Beck here. I’m thinking the wind really impacted him early.

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This is outstanding LB play by Toure. So much of the run game is proper fits and leverage. Here, Toure gets leverage on the QB so that he doesn’t bounce that to the C-gap. Then, when the QB takes the A, he fights off this pulling OL and makes a tackle right there. You have to understand Traore starts on the hash mark, runs horizontally to get leverage, fights off the block, gets him down. Excellent play.

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This is excellent from Blay here. He uses a snatch and pull technique to get the C off-balance and then an arm over to get past him. The RB steps up to help and gets through him. The RB does just enough to allow Reed to retreat and find his TE in a deep-over against zone, but this was nice by Blay as he made the TAM RB and OL block each other.

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Anez Cooper making defenders take trust falls in the run game. Off-tackle run and Cooper eats him up while Daniels seals the 2nd-level. Fletcher hits it hard.

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The gravity of 10. #21 is literally looking at Toney on this play and not concerned with anything else. On early 3rd downs, TAM played the tendency of quick game to Toney and it was correct here.

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Toure knifes inside to beat the G, Moten dips too far inside for the second straight play (last play was a run play) and leaves a void for Reed to escape. I can’t say who is at fault for getting out of their lane (Toure going too far inside or Moten not replacing). When you face a QB like Reed you have to maintain gaps up front first and foremost. Moten has come so far with his hand usage though, gets into the chest of the C and keeps his hands clean.

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McCoy trips himself on this play (not sure if he caught the foot of someone while pulling). Cooper couldn’t get to his guy either. If they get to their blocks, Toney gets the edge. Bell cost Cashius Howell a lot of money in this game with the way he physically dominated him.

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Frederique makes a mistake in coverage and lets Craver get behind him. Not sure if he thought he had different responsibilities or just messed up the coverage call. Craver with just an outstanding catch in the wind and grabs the back half of the football while sprinting full speed. That kid is good. Credit to Poyser for going hard and getting him down or it’s a TD (and they don’t score at all). Poyser actually forces a fumble and TAM is lucky the ball went out of bounds instead of being a turnover.

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I have an affinity for Ethan O’Connor. He’s such a smart, physical corner who tackles like a LB. He plays a ton because coaches know they can trust him and he will get the guy on the ground. Huge stop here.

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Bain blocks the kick! Underrated part of this play is that Bain and Wesley understood the rules. Because the ball was touched by the defense and it went past the LOS, the defense has to cover this ball or the offense can recover and get a fresh set of downs. Bain touches it as he’s falling down so Wesley grabs it and returns it. This takes it from Miami having the ball at the 2 out past the 10 and that changes the way you play offense as well.

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I need Chase Smith to handle a TE block better than this. Wesley gets wide and actually blocks Bain himself. Owens ran into his own blocker or this could’ve been a much bigger run.

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#3 gets the angle on Toney here and just nips his foot. You’d love for Justin Scott to have a touch more awareness and slow down to get in the way of #3 (like Bain does here), but alas, he blocks no one and the Canes score no points. Scott was on the field as Miami played "punt safe" because of how often TAM liked to fake it (and we saw that later).

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On 3rd down, TAM did exactly what you’d expect with their Boss front. Overload RT and send three to that side. Cooper should take the LB, Mauigoa the edge, then Fletcher needs to slide all the way across to get the Nickel outside. TAM again has that ILB focused on Toney and the screen and he’s immediately running to that area. Fletcher takes the wrong guy and doesn’t go outside. Immediate pressure and a sack.

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The edge that Mauigoa is blocking actually stunts inside and Mauigoa has to slide onto the LB and Cooper take the looper. Fletcher steps up to block the ILB and doesn’t see the Star blitz.

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TAM actually drops Howell into coverage after watching him get choke slammed for the 1H and think him covering grass is better than testing Bell. There’s no outlet for Beck to hit on this play and it’s a sack. Miami slid their protection to the wrong side on this one and needed Fletcher to the opposite side of Beck to start. No one better on 3rd and long than Mike Elko.

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Fitzgerald had several meaningful plays in this game (obvious stays obvious). But this play is pretty exceptional. Fitzgerald sees the receiver releasing rather than covering the punt and plays it like a traditional snap and gets out to the deep coverage or this is a completion.

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This is one of the best throws of the game, from the punter! Fitzgerald actually undercuts it to try and pick it and almost goes too shallow to allow the catch. Learning opportunity there for Fitzgerald and something so many young players get caught up in. It’s 4th down. Knocking it down is better than intercepting it. Just stay deeper and make sure and knock it down next time.

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I’m fairly sure that Lofton is supposed to block the edge on this play. There is no way this play design is to simply not block the edge and expect him to run himself out of the play chasing the dive. He just runs up and tackles Marion for a big loss, but if Lofton blocks the edge, look at this picture. Daniels is running to the S rather than his DB, so maybe Lofton is supposed to get out there and block him, but I don’t like that design if so. Relying on tricks and a player making a mistake for a play to work is not what coaches typically rely on.

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Give some shine to maligned players this year. Lofton gets that wham block he’s struggled with all year and kicks out the force player. Brockermeyer sees the blitzing LB who shoots the gap and gets parallel to avoid the grab and hold. Fletcher hits this hole hard and gets inside the 15. We had a skycam broadcast of this game and the network bans loading it to YouTube so I don’t get better angles here. TAM blitzing the A and Miami pops the B.

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This Malicat scores or close to it if Mauigoa can get that block as the T/H counter. Edge trips him up just enough to stop his burst into open.

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First pick TAM actually blocks it up and Reed has a man but he sails it. Great job by Mesidor here of realizing he was getting too far upfield and retracing to get back into the lane. Blount gets an arm up which might’ve influenced the throw as well.

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On the pod I’ve talked about the Duo/IZ runs and how they aren’t strictly A-gap runs, it’s just been where the RB’s have gone for the most part. Here is an example. Duo with an H kickout. Bell and Brockermeyer are releasing to 2nd level. Fletcher pops this off the C gap (outside Bell) and Fletcher breaks a tackle and gets a 1st down. Maybe Fletcher just sees it better out of Pistol? Another shoutout to the receivers, who just always brock their rear ends off.

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Big time facemask missed by the officials as well. (It’s a hip drop in the NFL as well)

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A lot was made of Zuhn (who talked, but also played pretty well, most of the sacks were off other OL). Miami ate up the RT in this game. Mesidor beats the RT cleanly and flattens. Bain beats the LG (an NFL draft pick) clean as Zuhn steps out and gets Scott wide (a really nice play, you really see his length here). Bain gets the sack after Reed escapes Mesidor.

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You might not find a bigger Mesidor fan outside of his family than I am. That said, I like him rushing the passer and not dropping into coverage 10 yards downfield. They complete this behind him for a gain of 15. They pick up the short 3rd down and get a FG on the drive. This play was the defining play, where if you play straight up here I don’t think they pick up the 2nd & 18 and you really set yourself up for a scoring opportunity on the punt.

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Scott is a star and played like it in this game, but we need to make this tackle here and get off the field. Craver breaks the tackle and can play for me any day.

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Really nice job by Reed here on this 3rd and 10. He’s throwing it now before Thomas has vacated the window to leave Bethel-Roman open. I feel like Thomas needs to get a little deeper on a 3rd & 10, but Miami knew if they got six or seven TAM would go for it, so I understand why they were more aggressive here. Just a heck of a play by Reed.

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Chase Smith covering Craver is not going to work well for Miami.

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Power, disengage, flatten, sack. This play had it all for our guy Mesidor. That’s on Zuhn as well.



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Friends. CJ Daniels lead blocking out of Pistol split motion. Brockermeyer gets to 2nd level (his best game as a Cane). Baumann gets his kick out. Cooper washes down the NT. Toney blocking. Fletcher has an alley. This is beautiful. Market Bell physically mauling his man. I don’t know the cost to get Bell back, but it’s something I’d try and pay.

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The punch that gets the ball out from Toney.

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Please just rush Mesidor next game. It doesn’t seem to fool anyone.

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Pass rush causes eyes to drop. Reed tries to take off here but has two wide open outlets. Instead gets sacked. Thanks

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60 (Zuhn) with the hands to the face penalty anyway on 3rd down. Bain mauls the RT for the sack, but don’t forget Blount making the RG do the splits and putting him on skates.

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On the podcast: “This is a game to run Duo/IZ all day and make them tackle. The reason being, TAM likes to stunt and move their front so much you can gash them when their LB’s don’t fit it properly.” Guess what? TAM stunts their DT outside. Their LB doesn’t replace the run fit properly (Brockermeyer picks up the looper perfectly). Cooper actually gets off-balance here and almost blows the cash, but Fletcher gets through it.

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If that DT goes low for the feet he gets him down here I believe, but he tries to go high and Fletcher will have none of that. Daniels is the man, but I need a little more effort getting to that block out there, my guy. Fletcher made him miss as well and then took that middle safety for a 20-yard ride.

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We got 9-on-9 crime as Lofton handles Howell 1-on-1 (Bain would never). Toney washes his man down. Daniels redeems his blocking and gets his guy. Again, IZ runs you can go to gaps other than A-gap. Fletcher cuts this all the way behind Daniels. Cooper gets a huge block and then brings the energy post-snap.

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We’ve all seen the play. We all know Toney is the truth. Look at the way this was a whole team TD and everyone does their job in a big spot. Beck sees the man follow in motion, knows it’s man. Typically, the way the edge plays this would blow it up and make it bubble. Initial knock back gets Maugioa, but he sticks with it, digs it out and gets the hand under the arm pit to turn. Also, the way Mauigoa sets up his ability to get the reach block is in that first kick. He’s working to get his left leg in-between the legs of the edge and his helmet across the defender’s (to the left shoulder of the edge). This block by Mauigoa has to happen or it’s DOA.

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Now, Lofton has to cut off the pursuit and he gets there (his best game blocking this year). Fletcher leads, doesn’t really have to block anyone, but he’s there.

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This is an arrow route by 17. Fitzgerald does a nice job of staying balanced so he can undercut it. Look at Chase Smith and his length getting into the window as well. Miami stunted Mesidor and Blount and Mesidor split them forcing Reed off his spot a bit. Ball game.

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Overview:

Miami is off to round two after a big win over TAM in the first round. Winning at their place is one of the signature wins of the last 20 years for our Canes and what a fun game it was to review. Physical, fast, tense. Full of opportunities and missed opportunities for both sides, it was heavily impacted by the wind.

Something that stands out to me and I will my eye on is the fact that Mesidor played 69 of a possible 75 snaps.

  • Bain played 71 of a possible 75 snaps. That's absurd for big guys on the defensive line to have to play that many snaps. Bain rushed the passer on 50 snaps! 50 pass rushes in a single game! His stamina and ability to rush the passer that many times is flat out incredible.
  • Mesidor rushed the passer 42 times and was in coverage six times.

Those two were warriors in this game. Big props to them and their ability to do that in week 16 of a college season. Hope they are getting rest and treatment before the next one.

  • Bryce Fitzgerald, what can you say about the youngster. The ball just finds him.
  • Keionte Scott, welcome back. What a performance from him. Lined up in the box 18 times. In the slot 39 times.
  • While it was great to have Frederique back in this one, it was a rusty performance. Ethan O'Connor actually drew the start in this game and as I've noted, you can just trust that kid to be where he should and make tackles.
Let's go Canes, us lifers are living the dream.

Beat Notre Dame
Beat Florida State
Beat Florida
Beat Virginia Tech at their place as they welcomed a new coach
Beat Pitt at their place (a regular house of horrors)
Won a playoff game

Now comes a big one. Ohio State in a playoff game. I'm excited to go get what's next.
 
This is so much fun. I have rewatched the 2017 ND game probably once a year since, will have to add this one to the annual rotation
 
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