Miami is back in the win column and that makes writing these a lot more fun. How did it look on film? Keep reading Upon Further Review as we find out together.
Carter covers the RB who splits out wide, Deandre Johnson wins on an inside move and pressures the QB. Forces the throwaway. (Not pictured)
When this defense gets it right, it’s disruptive. Here, you see Nesta shoots the gap with his shoulder turned like they teach, but then squares up his shoulders to be able to find the ball. Harvey does an arm-over against a 1st round LT and beats him clean. Keontra beats this pulling G to the spot and it’s a big TFL. Keontra’s speed is absolutely the difference between him and so many of the other LB’s we use. The key to the play is Nesta making the RB bubble further than he wants to.
I swear the staff reads these write-ups. After I blasted them for allowing the long-snapper a free release on every punt, they’ve now started blocking him.
Nice job by the OL here. NC State sends an additional rusher, but also stunts on 3rd and long. Miami has struggled with this sort of pass rush for years. #53 passes this off to 55, 51 takes the guy closest to him. The looper, defender guy 53 is engaged with here, loops around the rusher 51 is blocking and 4 steps up and blocks him. TVD has a clean pocket and delivers a difficult sideline throw to Harley downfield. The guy 51 is blocking is just there to create traffic to free up the looper.
Something I like from what I see with TVD is his decision-making with the RPO and read-option games. Here he has a read-option and see that Mike LB attack and the outside defender dip inside. He pulls this and picks up an easy 1st down. Those decisions sustain drives. If he gives this ball, Knighton is probably TFL and then you’ve got 3rd and long.
I don’t know that this throw gets enough credit for how excellent it is. TVD has a free blitzer, stands tall, deliver it higher than he normally does (this is another aspect as he has the awareness to change his arm angle to get the throw out. Then this thing has the hang time to allow the WR to run underneath it. Far too often TVD likes to line drive his deep ball. Rambo makes an excellent catch while being interfered with. Tried to pull Scaife to get to rusher and he had no chance on the other side. They tried tackling the RB on the fake.
Get the look we want with a LB covering Restrepo on a deep route. X has to win this route. Deep ball falls incomplete.
Scaife loses his block and his lack of length shows up here. Mallory loses his block on the edge. Run goes nowhere.
Weird technique from Clarke here. Not sure I’ve seen this technique in press before. Maybe a comfort thing?
Catch us in man, run a clear route to get a free release underneath for TE. Kinchens can’t navigate the traffic and gets caught up with official. LB doesn’t see the play-action and loses depth. Easy conversion.
Mallory doesn’t lay a hand on the rusher. Sack.
Nice play, Steed! He reads his key with the C releasing to the second-level and immediately attacks his gap here. He meets the RB in the gap behind the LOS.
Play design here fooled NC State. #1 is trying to tackle Restrepo at the top of screen who is running a tunnel screen. Without that eye candy, he’s probably over there to help on Knighton instead. Interesting that when forced to play the more explosive player they start designing plays to get them the ball. This is how you should’ve been using Knighton since he got here.
Almost a great catch by Restrepo on the out-and-up but this is a bad throw. They’re got an underneath defender and then a shell-safety coming from outside to defend this pass. Look at all that space Restrepo has in the MOF to throw the ball to. Too flat and too upfield. He lays this away from that defender more it’s a TD, or maybe the backside S runs him down deep.
Kyle Shannahan teaches a one-foot cut on a ball like this. Smith has to attack that opening hard. Instead, he stops, dances, and comes up short. He needs to hit this hard and get that 1st down.
Coaches caught NC State in exactly what they wanted here. Man coverage with a LB taking Knighton. Run boundary WR inside to create space. LB attacks run, gets caught flat-footed, Knighton runs right by him. TD. Credit to the coaches for deciding to go for it.
Should’ve been a TFL. Instead goes for a 1st down. Make a tackle, Clarke!
Couch played this very poorly. WR just bodied him and almost knocked him down. Once WR got Couch on his hip and was able to box him out it was easy. Getting a big slot matched up on Couch continues to be a winning strategy for the offense.
You see this often, but Miami is absolutely a target for the officials. #4 is on his backside because Clark knocked him off TVD, where he was talking crap in his face. Then #31 jumps in and is talking to TVD, Clark knocks him off as well. Who is the penalty on? You guessed it, #53.
Flagg way out of his gap here. 53 does exactly what he’s supposed to do and forces this run back inside. Flagg jumps outside of his gap instead of flowing from gap to the ball carrier when he cuts back. Should’ve been a big TFL, instead goes for four.
NC State continues to run switch with an underneath route to come open against man and force deep S to come all the way to make a tackle on 3rd down. Luckily, this was a bad pass that made the WR have to spin all the way around or it’s an easy pickup.
Texas route to Knighton and he picks up a 1st down on 3rd-and-10. He’s a dynamic weapon that we should be looking to run offense through more. (Not pictured)
Stunt gets home this time. Clark is to take the 5-technique DE, while Scaife takes the looping NT. 5-tech splits them and gets home. Scaife needs to shuck him towards Clark, then come off to the looper. Clark needs to see it quicker. TVD tends to bail to his right too quickly.
Flagg gets stuck on a block, but the real issue is that Harvey gets blasted backwards by a TE. That cannot happen. He gets knocked into Steed and actually blocks him as well. Use your hands, control that TE, and make this play, Harvey. This should be a TFL, instead it goes for 20-yards.
This RB pops out of this and get 8-yards to the top of your screen. How did Harvey not crush him when he bounced this? This defense is just a little discipline away from being solid. Been saying that every week though.
Again, the coaches have the players in position to make plays. You simply cannot give this conversion up. Steed, take that RB, Stevenson drop a little but watch the RB or the QB run. No one takes the RB on the sideline and the QB dumps it off for a 1st down. Luckily, the RB dropped it and they had to punt.
Jarrid Williams let an edge defender beat him inside on a 3rd and 1 (the only thing he couldn’t allow to happen as it was a dive play). Miami has to punt and that had disastrous results. (Not pictured)
Dunson is roasted by at least 10-yards on a double move. Again, the only thing you cannot let happen in that situation and the defense allows it. Then Miami takes a timeout and allows them to score a TD. It’s incredible to me how often the coaches mess up basic things. (Not pictured)
Dunson in zone but was way too soft without anyone threatening him. Bolden, why he is watching the sideline receiver instead of covering his man!?! James Williams blitzes and knocks straight onto the ground. This possession should have never even happened and here we are playing well in the 1st half and actually trailing at halftime. This was demoralizing. I thought it was Dunson live, but it was more on Bolden losing eye discipline in zone thinking they were going to attack the sideline. The timeout was so dumb, they were going to spike it. Avante Williams was ticked off and was yelling at Bolden, who was completely lost as he looked to the coaches to try and figure out what happened. This was coming out of a timeout, fellas.
Max protect, pull Scaife who kicks out the edge on the left side. Mallory and Knighton take the other edge. Wish Clark would smash this defenders’ ribs here instead of love tapping. Post sucks up the deep safety and Rambo runs a deep corner route behind and gets wide open.
Canes get lucky as NC State jumps offsides on FG try. (Not pictured)
Send Rambo in motion, he releases and you can block downfield in college if ball is thrown behind LOS. They drag Mallory across, dump it to him, he gets in for a TD. (Not pictured)
Miami defensive possession: wide open TE on 1st down in the flats thrown behind him. WR gets behind Stevenson on 2nd down, overthrown. That WR who crushed us in this game beats Stevenson on a slant and would’ve easily had the 1st down, QB turfs it. (Not pictured)
So, after the above defensive possession, NC State punts it. George muffs it. Then he picks it up and fumbles it again. NC State guy had his helmet off or they have it 1st & goal. Miami won this game, but they did not play well. (Not pictured)
Brinson gets a personal foul penalty and the shooting ourselves in the foot continues. (Not pictured)
Tell me how the officials missed this call. This is a 3rd down where Frierson sees it and jumps it before the WR can block him and he just grabs him from behind. This has to be called. 1st down.
Nesta, for the second time in this game, is splitting a gap with his head up so he can see the ball. He spins off this blocker back inside and buries this RB. He never makes this play if he’s doing that shoulder dive he did all early season.
Love this awareness 33! They don’t block you, stop, find a screen receiver. He did exactly that and tips this pass away with his length. Miami defended it well outside of this also.
Another big almost play in this game. McCloud makes this sack and it saves three points.
Another example of TVD being good at the read-option game. Waits and rides the RB until the defender commits, pulls the ball, picks up a nine.
On 3rd and 1 they run motion and Mallory runs an out. Two defenders take him and Arroyo runs an out route for an easy 1st down. Neat play that was used at the right time. (Not pictured)
Miami can’t execute at the goal line and has to kick a FG. Head-scratching play calling in that spot. (Not pictured)
Folks, Nesta is coming on. Here he locks this C out and forklifts him for at least five yards back into the QB. It makes the QB have to throw it flat-footed and that TE coming wide-open across the middle couldn’t hold on. If the QB can step into the throw it’s probably completed for a huge play. Great play by Silvera.
Of course, the fake punt wipes it all away anyway. (Not pictured)
Miami gets a lucky call on a TD pass when they call them for ineligible downfield (it really was nothing). (Not pictured)
Lose integrity in our rush lanes and NC State has the perfect play call. Only Steed in the middle of the field and they release the RB into what looks like a pass pattern but he turns into a lead blocker. Love these jerseys, but they have to get them tighter onto the players, we’ve seen NC State grabbing jerseys and pulling them all game long and it hasn’t been called a single time.
Miami executes this run perfectly. Williams kicks out at second level, Scaife and the rest of the line downblock and create this beautiful cutback lane. These are the runs that Knighton was created for. One-cut and accelerate.
Such a big play by Rambo here. Get stuffed on the run, then a simple out route that should get five or so, he makes the defender miss and picks up a 1st down and keep the drive going.
Dunson gets toasted deep again. You can’t have him out there at QB from what I’m seeing. WR’s are just stutter stepping and running right by him. Not fast enough for outside. (Not pictured)
NC State misses a FG and Miami runs into the kicker. That’s another three points Miami has gifted the opposition on roughing/running into kickers. Patke has seriously done a poor job with special teams and gets no credit for Headley or the older Borregales. (Not pictured)
Miami misses a sack, QB steps through, drops it off to TE, who drops what would’ve been a FG range type catch. Whew. Miami has been quite fortunate in this game. (Not pictured)
A couple of times I have written about that play where NC State does a switch route and runs the receiver that Kinchens has to cover inside, which makes it a lot of space for Kinchens to cover. They run the same play again in the biggest spot and this time Kinchens sees it quicker and jumps inside before the outside switch WR can rub him. I didn’t notice it live, but watching it back I see what a play he made here by being smart and making the adjustment. There is zero doubt in my mind that Hall misses this tackle, but Kinchens gets this guy down 1-on-1 in the open field. Play the kids.
Miami converts a huge 3rd and long on their ensuing position and gets to kneel on the ball. Winner, winner, chicken dinner.
Overall
Carter covers the RB who splits out wide, Deandre Johnson wins on an inside move and pressures the QB. Forces the throwaway. (Not pictured)
When this defense gets it right, it’s disruptive. Here, you see Nesta shoots the gap with his shoulder turned like they teach, but then squares up his shoulders to be able to find the ball. Harvey does an arm-over against a 1st round LT and beats him clean. Keontra beats this pulling G to the spot and it’s a big TFL. Keontra’s speed is absolutely the difference between him and so many of the other LB’s we use. The key to the play is Nesta making the RB bubble further than he wants to.
I swear the staff reads these write-ups. After I blasted them for allowing the long-snapper a free release on every punt, they’ve now started blocking him.
Nice job by the OL here. NC State sends an additional rusher, but also stunts on 3rd and long. Miami has struggled with this sort of pass rush for years. #53 passes this off to 55, 51 takes the guy closest to him. The looper, defender guy 53 is engaged with here, loops around the rusher 51 is blocking and 4 steps up and blocks him. TVD has a clean pocket and delivers a difficult sideline throw to Harley downfield. The guy 51 is blocking is just there to create traffic to free up the looper.
Something I like from what I see with TVD is his decision-making with the RPO and read-option games. Here he has a read-option and see that Mike LB attack and the outside defender dip inside. He pulls this and picks up an easy 1st down. Those decisions sustain drives. If he gives this ball, Knighton is probably TFL and then you’ve got 3rd and long.
I don’t know that this throw gets enough credit for how excellent it is. TVD has a free blitzer, stands tall, deliver it higher than he normally does (this is another aspect as he has the awareness to change his arm angle to get the throw out. Then this thing has the hang time to allow the WR to run underneath it. Far too often TVD likes to line drive his deep ball. Rambo makes an excellent catch while being interfered with. Tried to pull Scaife to get to rusher and he had no chance on the other side. They tried tackling the RB on the fake.
Get the look we want with a LB covering Restrepo on a deep route. X has to win this route. Deep ball falls incomplete.
Scaife loses his block and his lack of length shows up here. Mallory loses his block on the edge. Run goes nowhere.
Weird technique from Clarke here. Not sure I’ve seen this technique in press before. Maybe a comfort thing?
Catch us in man, run a clear route to get a free release underneath for TE. Kinchens can’t navigate the traffic and gets caught up with official. LB doesn’t see the play-action and loses depth. Easy conversion.
Mallory doesn’t lay a hand on the rusher. Sack.
Nice play, Steed! He reads his key with the C releasing to the second-level and immediately attacks his gap here. He meets the RB in the gap behind the LOS.
Play design here fooled NC State. #1 is trying to tackle Restrepo at the top of screen who is running a tunnel screen. Without that eye candy, he’s probably over there to help on Knighton instead. Interesting that when forced to play the more explosive player they start designing plays to get them the ball. This is how you should’ve been using Knighton since he got here.
Almost a great catch by Restrepo on the out-and-up but this is a bad throw. They’re got an underneath defender and then a shell-safety coming from outside to defend this pass. Look at all that space Restrepo has in the MOF to throw the ball to. Too flat and too upfield. He lays this away from that defender more it’s a TD, or maybe the backside S runs him down deep.
Kyle Shannahan teaches a one-foot cut on a ball like this. Smith has to attack that opening hard. Instead, he stops, dances, and comes up short. He needs to hit this hard and get that 1st down.
Coaches caught NC State in exactly what they wanted here. Man coverage with a LB taking Knighton. Run boundary WR inside to create space. LB attacks run, gets caught flat-footed, Knighton runs right by him. TD. Credit to the coaches for deciding to go for it.
Should’ve been a TFL. Instead goes for a 1st down. Make a tackle, Clarke!
Couch played this very poorly. WR just bodied him and almost knocked him down. Once WR got Couch on his hip and was able to box him out it was easy. Getting a big slot matched up on Couch continues to be a winning strategy for the offense.
You see this often, but Miami is absolutely a target for the officials. #4 is on his backside because Clark knocked him off TVD, where he was talking crap in his face. Then #31 jumps in and is talking to TVD, Clark knocks him off as well. Who is the penalty on? You guessed it, #53.
Flagg way out of his gap here. 53 does exactly what he’s supposed to do and forces this run back inside. Flagg jumps outside of his gap instead of flowing from gap to the ball carrier when he cuts back. Should’ve been a big TFL, instead goes for four.
NC State continues to run switch with an underneath route to come open against man and force deep S to come all the way to make a tackle on 3rd down. Luckily, this was a bad pass that made the WR have to spin all the way around or it’s an easy pickup.
Texas route to Knighton and he picks up a 1st down on 3rd-and-10. He’s a dynamic weapon that we should be looking to run offense through more. (Not pictured)
Stunt gets home this time. Clark is to take the 5-technique DE, while Scaife takes the looping NT. 5-tech splits them and gets home. Scaife needs to shuck him towards Clark, then come off to the looper. Clark needs to see it quicker. TVD tends to bail to his right too quickly.
Flagg gets stuck on a block, but the real issue is that Harvey gets blasted backwards by a TE. That cannot happen. He gets knocked into Steed and actually blocks him as well. Use your hands, control that TE, and make this play, Harvey. This should be a TFL, instead it goes for 20-yards.
This RB pops out of this and get 8-yards to the top of your screen. How did Harvey not crush him when he bounced this? This defense is just a little discipline away from being solid. Been saying that every week though.
Again, the coaches have the players in position to make plays. You simply cannot give this conversion up. Steed, take that RB, Stevenson drop a little but watch the RB or the QB run. No one takes the RB on the sideline and the QB dumps it off for a 1st down. Luckily, the RB dropped it and they had to punt.
Jarrid Williams let an edge defender beat him inside on a 3rd and 1 (the only thing he couldn’t allow to happen as it was a dive play). Miami has to punt and that had disastrous results. (Not pictured)
Dunson is roasted by at least 10-yards on a double move. Again, the only thing you cannot let happen in that situation and the defense allows it. Then Miami takes a timeout and allows them to score a TD. It’s incredible to me how often the coaches mess up basic things. (Not pictured)
Dunson in zone but was way too soft without anyone threatening him. Bolden, why he is watching the sideline receiver instead of covering his man!?! James Williams blitzes and knocks straight onto the ground. This possession should have never even happened and here we are playing well in the 1st half and actually trailing at halftime. This was demoralizing. I thought it was Dunson live, but it was more on Bolden losing eye discipline in zone thinking they were going to attack the sideline. The timeout was so dumb, they were going to spike it. Avante Williams was ticked off and was yelling at Bolden, who was completely lost as he looked to the coaches to try and figure out what happened. This was coming out of a timeout, fellas.
Max protect, pull Scaife who kicks out the edge on the left side. Mallory and Knighton take the other edge. Wish Clark would smash this defenders’ ribs here instead of love tapping. Post sucks up the deep safety and Rambo runs a deep corner route behind and gets wide open.
Canes get lucky as NC State jumps offsides on FG try. (Not pictured)
Send Rambo in motion, he releases and you can block downfield in college if ball is thrown behind LOS. They drag Mallory across, dump it to him, he gets in for a TD. (Not pictured)
Miami defensive possession: wide open TE on 1st down in the flats thrown behind him. WR gets behind Stevenson on 2nd down, overthrown. That WR who crushed us in this game beats Stevenson on a slant and would’ve easily had the 1st down, QB turfs it. (Not pictured)
So, after the above defensive possession, NC State punts it. George muffs it. Then he picks it up and fumbles it again. NC State guy had his helmet off or they have it 1st & goal. Miami won this game, but they did not play well. (Not pictured)
Brinson gets a personal foul penalty and the shooting ourselves in the foot continues. (Not pictured)
Tell me how the officials missed this call. This is a 3rd down where Frierson sees it and jumps it before the WR can block him and he just grabs him from behind. This has to be called. 1st down.
Nesta, for the second time in this game, is splitting a gap with his head up so he can see the ball. He spins off this blocker back inside and buries this RB. He never makes this play if he’s doing that shoulder dive he did all early season.
Love this awareness 33! They don’t block you, stop, find a screen receiver. He did exactly that and tips this pass away with his length. Miami defended it well outside of this also.
Another big almost play in this game. McCloud makes this sack and it saves three points.
Another example of TVD being good at the read-option game. Waits and rides the RB until the defender commits, pulls the ball, picks up a nine.
On 3rd and 1 they run motion and Mallory runs an out. Two defenders take him and Arroyo runs an out route for an easy 1st down. Neat play that was used at the right time. (Not pictured)
Miami can’t execute at the goal line and has to kick a FG. Head-scratching play calling in that spot. (Not pictured)
Folks, Nesta is coming on. Here he locks this C out and forklifts him for at least five yards back into the QB. It makes the QB have to throw it flat-footed and that TE coming wide-open across the middle couldn’t hold on. If the QB can step into the throw it’s probably completed for a huge play. Great play by Silvera.
Of course, the fake punt wipes it all away anyway. (Not pictured)
Miami gets a lucky call on a TD pass when they call them for ineligible downfield (it really was nothing). (Not pictured)
Lose integrity in our rush lanes and NC State has the perfect play call. Only Steed in the middle of the field and they release the RB into what looks like a pass pattern but he turns into a lead blocker. Love these jerseys, but they have to get them tighter onto the players, we’ve seen NC State grabbing jerseys and pulling them all game long and it hasn’t been called a single time.
Miami executes this run perfectly. Williams kicks out at second level, Scaife and the rest of the line downblock and create this beautiful cutback lane. These are the runs that Knighton was created for. One-cut and accelerate.
Such a big play by Rambo here. Get stuffed on the run, then a simple out route that should get five or so, he makes the defender miss and picks up a 1st down and keep the drive going.
Dunson gets toasted deep again. You can’t have him out there at QB from what I’m seeing. WR’s are just stutter stepping and running right by him. Not fast enough for outside. (Not pictured)
NC State misses a FG and Miami runs into the kicker. That’s another three points Miami has gifted the opposition on roughing/running into kickers. Patke has seriously done a poor job with special teams and gets no credit for Headley or the older Borregales. (Not pictured)
Miami misses a sack, QB steps through, drops it off to TE, who drops what would’ve been a FG range type catch. Whew. Miami has been quite fortunate in this game. (Not pictured)
A couple of times I have written about that play where NC State does a switch route and runs the receiver that Kinchens has to cover inside, which makes it a lot of space for Kinchens to cover. They run the same play again in the biggest spot and this time Kinchens sees it quicker and jumps inside before the outside switch WR can rub him. I didn’t notice it live, but watching it back I see what a play he made here by being smart and making the adjustment. There is zero doubt in my mind that Hall misses this tackle, but Kinchens gets this guy down 1-on-1 in the open field. Play the kids.
Miami converts a huge 3rd and long on their ensuing position and gets to kneel on the ball. Winner, winner, chicken dinner.
Overall
- Miami saw all kinds of fortunate events in this game and easily could’ve lost
- Mistakes were prevalent that we have seen all season, but the area that did improve some was missed tackles
- Stevenson, Frierson both got hurt in this game and gutted it out
- TVD made some big boy throws in this game
- Lashlee slowed things down in this game, got to the LOS and did more check with me, more max protection, more Knighton pass concepts to keep NC State off-balance defensively
- Rambo showed up big time in this game with several plays that could’ve been the difference between winning and losing
- Play the kids. It is time for a youth movement and the veterans to decide what they want to do in practice to earn the job back, or to have season-ending injuries so they can get ready for their next step.
- The team plays hard for Manny. Third week in a row they have really shown that.
- This is a double-edged sword because it means Miami is both more talented than their opponents and actually playing hard; yet still making this many mistakes. That speaks to the quality of coaching and game planning.
