This feels good.
Tyriq McCord's sack yesterday reminded me of a line from Star Wars. "It's as if millions of voices cried out in terror, and were suddenly silenced." No more dopey Facebook statuses, no more "Come Play with the Joker" photoshops, no more glory days. Gator Nation is put to rest. They'll keep talking, but the words will be as empty as the Gator section after Duke's TD.
- Everybody talked about how vanilla we looked on offense against FAU, but it was really the defense that was hiding something. The Canes played much more 3-4 on Saturday, especially on first and second down. Will this be Miami's primary formation going forward, or was it a Florida-specific plan to stop Driskel's running? I think it's here to stay.
- This win validated Golden's vision for Miami-- "Tough, disciplined, well-conditioned." Miami showed so much more strength and gap-integrity than they did against Kansas State and Notre Dame, and they were the ones delivering blows in the 4th quarter. We always knew Golden had the vision and the words to sell that vision. Now we are starting to see that vision manifest.
- I was struck by how many upperclassmen played on the defense. Porter, Gaines, Green, Robinson, Renfrow, Gilbert, Cain, Gaines, Rodgers, Highsmith. This was a veteran group, not overmatched kids like Earl Moore and Daquan Ivery against Notre Dame.
- Morris played a lot like he did against Virginia Tech last year. He threw a couple of dimes early that had the Gators at his mercy, then he followed that up with a parade of three-and-outs. But the credit needs to go to to the Gators. They have three first-round corners with Purifoy, Roberson and Hargreaves, and Easley's inside pressure prevented Morris from stepping up in the pocket. EJ Manuel looked better against the New England Patriots than he did against the Gators. They're good.
- The biggest concern with the offense is down and distance. Miami averaged 11.5 yards to go on third down. If Miami is going to improve on its 1/11 third down conversion rate, it needs to do a better job on first and second down. The next few weeks will be a good opportunity for Coach Coley to tighten the screws with the passing game. I'd like to see us work on different ways to get Duke Johnson the ball. He is more versatile than he showed on Saturday.
- Clive Walford is becoming a complete tight end. His blocking has improved dramatically (look at Clements's long run) and he can run after the catch. I hope we as Canes fans can appreciate his talent. South Florida hasn't produced a tight end this good in a long time.
- We always knew Rayshawn Jenkins had size and athletic ability, but his passion for the game continues to impress. He plays with effort, will come up in run support and has tremendous range. He almost ran down a second pick on a Driskel overthrow.
Congratulations to everyone in Coral Gables who worked so hard for this win.
Tyriq McCord's sack yesterday reminded me of a line from Star Wars. "It's as if millions of voices cried out in terror, and were suddenly silenced." No more dopey Facebook statuses, no more "Come Play with the Joker" photoshops, no more glory days. Gator Nation is put to rest. They'll keep talking, but the words will be as empty as the Gator section after Duke's TD.
- Everybody talked about how vanilla we looked on offense against FAU, but it was really the defense that was hiding something. The Canes played much more 3-4 on Saturday, especially on first and second down. Will this be Miami's primary formation going forward, or was it a Florida-specific plan to stop Driskel's running? I think it's here to stay.
- This win validated Golden's vision for Miami-- "Tough, disciplined, well-conditioned." Miami showed so much more strength and gap-integrity than they did against Kansas State and Notre Dame, and they were the ones delivering blows in the 4th quarter. We always knew Golden had the vision and the words to sell that vision. Now we are starting to see that vision manifest.
- I was struck by how many upperclassmen played on the defense. Porter, Gaines, Green, Robinson, Renfrow, Gilbert, Cain, Gaines, Rodgers, Highsmith. This was a veteran group, not overmatched kids like Earl Moore and Daquan Ivery against Notre Dame.
- Morris played a lot like he did against Virginia Tech last year. He threw a couple of dimes early that had the Gators at his mercy, then he followed that up with a parade of three-and-outs. But the credit needs to go to to the Gators. They have three first-round corners with Purifoy, Roberson and Hargreaves, and Easley's inside pressure prevented Morris from stepping up in the pocket. EJ Manuel looked better against the New England Patriots than he did against the Gators. They're good.
- The biggest concern with the offense is down and distance. Miami averaged 11.5 yards to go on third down. If Miami is going to improve on its 1/11 third down conversion rate, it needs to do a better job on first and second down. The next few weeks will be a good opportunity for Coach Coley to tighten the screws with the passing game. I'd like to see us work on different ways to get Duke Johnson the ball. He is more versatile than he showed on Saturday.
- Clive Walford is becoming a complete tight end. His blocking has improved dramatically (look at Clements's long run) and he can run after the catch. I hope we as Canes fans can appreciate his talent. South Florida hasn't produced a tight end this good in a long time.
- We always knew Rayshawn Jenkins had size and athletic ability, but his passion for the game continues to impress. He plays with effort, will come up in run support and has tremendous range. He almost ran down a second pick on a Driskel overthrow.
Congratulations to everyone in Coral Gables who worked so hard for this win.
