The Hurricanes got back on the winning track on Saturday night by downing the Duke Blue Devils 22-10 at Sun Life Stadium. It's hard to tell what this victory really means given that Duke, while they came in at 4-0, didn't exactly play 'Murderers Row' coming in, having defeated the likes of Kansas -- who just fired it's 'decided schematic advantage' - and Tulane. But a win's a win and Miami improved to 3-2 and 1-1 in ACC play. Some thoughts from this game...
- Brad Kaaya came down to earth a bit this game, after starting off hot in this game he went through a long stretch where he struggled ( and the offense with him). He finished 20 of 34 for 223 yards and two TD's. The biggest positive is that he protected the ball. This was the first game that he didn't throw an interception. His two throwing scores were really nice, hitting Herb Waters on 4th and 19 in a torrential downpour and the game sealer to Joseph Yearby( where he seemed to be the 3rd option as he ran a wheel route). There were a few throws where he really stared down receivers and locked in on them. But again, these are some of the things that will occur with a true freshman behind center.
Regardless, if there's one reason to watch UM this season it's Kaaya's continued development.
- Great to see Duke Johnson get going this game on the ground, he had 25 carries for 155 and a score. For the first time this season he was provided some real clear running lanes upfront. We're still looking for the real explosion from #8 in 2014. His longest run versus Duke was 16 yards but you get the sense he'll be hitting home runs soon. It was interesting to see Duke visibly angry in the second quarter after another 3-and-out, having to be calmed down by Dallas Crawford.
Quite frankly, I can't blame him and this brings me to my next point...
- Miami was up for much of the second quarter 9-0 and it felt like it should've been or was, 24-0. But the offense lost it's mojo after the second possession and I think that coincided with them getting away from Duke( who despite Kaaya's obvious potential, should still be the foundation of this offense). I got the sense that if they just kept pounding the ball with him they could've set up deeper stuff downfield but they never put in that investment. With that said, I still think UM's best set is spread/shotgun and up-tempo- but that doesn't have to come at the cost of running the ball. Oregon's foundation, despite all it's bells and whistles is running the ball.
That's one of my gripes with this staff: they don't do a good job of just flat out stepping on peoples throats and burying them. This team under Golden always seems to let teams hang around for much longer then they should. Some will argue it's execution( or lack thereof), I'd argue it's just as much about philosophy and the mentality of the head coach in many ways.
- Stacy Coley's sophomore campaign is eerily like Lance Leggett's in 2005. Anyone disagree? His lack of production and poor play has been baffling. Perhaps it's that shoulder injury he suffered versus Louisville but his play has been very tentative thus far. I'd also consider taking him off returns where he's been really ineffective.
- Unless it's garbage time it's time to park 'the Bus'. Gus Edwards simply is a liability in many ways: he takes too long to get started on runs, doesn't run with great pad level, not good at pass-pro and then there was his late fumble last night. But perhaps this process is already happening as its clear as the promising Joseph Yearby has taken his snaps and is proving to be very productive in both the run and pass game.
- Offensive line played well - and again, I understand it wasn't the Fearsome Foursome they were facing - but now the question is the status of Taylor Gadbois and KC McDermott. Yeah, now we're really going to see 'the Kehoe Shuffle' for real. Just how much depth does Miami have at O-line?
- Kicking game/special teams, this was the best game in terms of covering but the return game was pedestrian( again) and Miami had another kick gaffe with a missed PAT. A squad like this can't afford much of a margin for error and you wonder when this unit just might cost them in a close game.
- OK, defense, I know guys who know much more about the X-and-0's than I do can talk about the changes that Mark D'Onofrio made: more press coverage, loading the box, etc, so I'll let them break that down and analyze that but one thing that was noticeable for me was that for the first time in the Al Golden era they effectively covered crossing routes. For the last few years we saw one 3rd down completion after anopther where opposing receivers roamed free between the hashmarks and then turned upfield for large chunks. This game saw minimal gains on this play and defenders rallying to the ball.
After getting gashed into submission last year by Duke, UM held Duke to 264 total yards. But let's be honest, Duke has one real threat, Jamison Crowder, who was held in check, this isn't last years Duke's team. But this should still count as progress( I guess).
- Love seeing Jermain Grace really get extended playing time. He's a rangy guy that can really run and is always around the ball. More than that, he's instinctive. Also, the adjustment to have Ladarius Gunter at safety is a move to get the best 4/5 athletes on the field on the back and and it worked on this night. Gunter, has really good size but might be a half-step slow at corner but he has ideal size/speed for safety. Artie Burns had a nice bounce back, as did Tracy Howard but I think it's clear that Corn Elder is our best CB as of this moment.
- Well, they beat Duke now it's onto the stylistic nightmare that is GaTech in Atlanta next week. Can Kaaya continue his strong play as a freshman and be steady in another road, prime time setting? An once again, the defense will be on the spot. If there's one program Golden and this staff has had success against it's the Yellow Jackets. Lets see if the Canes can build some real momentum heading into the meat of conference play and string together some solid wins.
- Brad Kaaya came down to earth a bit this game, after starting off hot in this game he went through a long stretch where he struggled ( and the offense with him). He finished 20 of 34 for 223 yards and two TD's. The biggest positive is that he protected the ball. This was the first game that he didn't throw an interception. His two throwing scores were really nice, hitting Herb Waters on 4th and 19 in a torrential downpour and the game sealer to Joseph Yearby( where he seemed to be the 3rd option as he ran a wheel route). There were a few throws where he really stared down receivers and locked in on them. But again, these are some of the things that will occur with a true freshman behind center.
Regardless, if there's one reason to watch UM this season it's Kaaya's continued development.
- Great to see Duke Johnson get going this game on the ground, he had 25 carries for 155 and a score. For the first time this season he was provided some real clear running lanes upfront. We're still looking for the real explosion from #8 in 2014. His longest run versus Duke was 16 yards but you get the sense he'll be hitting home runs soon. It was interesting to see Duke visibly angry in the second quarter after another 3-and-out, having to be calmed down by Dallas Crawford.
Quite frankly, I can't blame him and this brings me to my next point...
- Miami was up for much of the second quarter 9-0 and it felt like it should've been or was, 24-0. But the offense lost it's mojo after the second possession and I think that coincided with them getting away from Duke( who despite Kaaya's obvious potential, should still be the foundation of this offense). I got the sense that if they just kept pounding the ball with him they could've set up deeper stuff downfield but they never put in that investment. With that said, I still think UM's best set is spread/shotgun and up-tempo- but that doesn't have to come at the cost of running the ball. Oregon's foundation, despite all it's bells and whistles is running the ball.
That's one of my gripes with this staff: they don't do a good job of just flat out stepping on peoples throats and burying them. This team under Golden always seems to let teams hang around for much longer then they should. Some will argue it's execution( or lack thereof), I'd argue it's just as much about philosophy and the mentality of the head coach in many ways.
- Stacy Coley's sophomore campaign is eerily like Lance Leggett's in 2005. Anyone disagree? His lack of production and poor play has been baffling. Perhaps it's that shoulder injury he suffered versus Louisville but his play has been very tentative thus far. I'd also consider taking him off returns where he's been really ineffective.
- Unless it's garbage time it's time to park 'the Bus'. Gus Edwards simply is a liability in many ways: he takes too long to get started on runs, doesn't run with great pad level, not good at pass-pro and then there was his late fumble last night. But perhaps this process is already happening as its clear as the promising Joseph Yearby has taken his snaps and is proving to be very productive in both the run and pass game.
- Offensive line played well - and again, I understand it wasn't the Fearsome Foursome they were facing - but now the question is the status of Taylor Gadbois and KC McDermott. Yeah, now we're really going to see 'the Kehoe Shuffle' for real. Just how much depth does Miami have at O-line?
- Kicking game/special teams, this was the best game in terms of covering but the return game was pedestrian( again) and Miami had another kick gaffe with a missed PAT. A squad like this can't afford much of a margin for error and you wonder when this unit just might cost them in a close game.
- OK, defense, I know guys who know much more about the X-and-0's than I do can talk about the changes that Mark D'Onofrio made: more press coverage, loading the box, etc, so I'll let them break that down and analyze that but one thing that was noticeable for me was that for the first time in the Al Golden era they effectively covered crossing routes. For the last few years we saw one 3rd down completion after anopther where opposing receivers roamed free between the hashmarks and then turned upfield for large chunks. This game saw minimal gains on this play and defenders rallying to the ball.
After getting gashed into submission last year by Duke, UM held Duke to 264 total yards. But let's be honest, Duke has one real threat, Jamison Crowder, who was held in check, this isn't last years Duke's team. But this should still count as progress( I guess).
- Love seeing Jermain Grace really get extended playing time. He's a rangy guy that can really run and is always around the ball. More than that, he's instinctive. Also, the adjustment to have Ladarius Gunter at safety is a move to get the best 4/5 athletes on the field on the back and and it worked on this night. Gunter, has really good size but might be a half-step slow at corner but he has ideal size/speed for safety. Artie Burns had a nice bounce back, as did Tracy Howard but I think it's clear that Corn Elder is our best CB as of this moment.
- Well, they beat Duke now it's onto the stylistic nightmare that is GaTech in Atlanta next week. Can Kaaya continue his strong play as a freshman and be steady in another road, prime time setting? An once again, the defense will be on the spot. If there's one program Golden and this staff has had success against it's the Yellow Jackets. Lets see if the Canes can build some real momentum heading into the meat of conference play and string together some solid wins.
