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5 Fall Camp Questions on both sides of the ball

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OrangeBowlMagic said:
Offense

1. QB: Will whoever is selected at QB, assuming Enos' effectiveness and a more varied attack, give us a significant leap from Malik Rosier version 2017?
I will be incredibly disappointed if there is not a significant jump from Rosier 2017. While he was much better than Rosier 2018, he was still an incredibly limited player. All 3 of Miami's QBs were 4-star, highly regarded recruits, I believe each in the top 150 in the country. Rosier was a 2-star baseball player. If Enos cannot squeeze more out of 1 of the 3 kids he has than Richt was able to out of Rosier, I can't put into words how disappointed I'll be.

2. OL: Who will solidify themselves as the best Tackle combination and spark a domino effect for remainder of the OL? (Zion/Scaife, Scaife/Herbert, etc.)
IMO the biggest question mark on this team. I am confident in Donaldson and Scaife to, at worst, not suck. I'm fairly confident on Gaynor as well. But who, most importantly, takes that 2nd tackle position, and will we be able to count on him. IMO this is bigger than QB, because I'm confident Enos will at least be able to turn 1 of the 3 into a competent player. The OL is a bigger concern, especially that tackle spot. This will have all my attention in camp.

3. RB: Will Harris or Lingard make a sophomore leap into superstardom. I'm not talking about natural progression or Travis Homer's leap in 2017. I'm talking Clinton Portis flashes when he made the leap.
IMO, no. I think both will be solid college football players. You saw the potential in Harris. But I do not think Lingard lives up to his true 5-star billing, although both of these kids would start on probably 80% of the teams in the country by the time they both get healthy and into this and next year. But I don't see either as stud NFL backs, like CP was.

4. WR: Will JT and Pope be used as they should - being moved around, jet sweeps, option routes, etc.? This alone can change 3rd down conversion %
Absolutely. We finally have a competent, intelligent, experienced, and creative coordinator. I think what we'll see on offense is literal night and day to what we've seen the last 3 years. Enos has already publicly stated his intention to get the ball to Thomas a lot more than previous years.

5. TE: Will the TEs be used in a way to dictate defensive coverage? Another enormous factor in the transformation of 3rd down conversion %.
I had a post about this the other day....I'm downright giddy about the potential that the versatility of the skill position kids can bring someone as smart as Enos. And beyond coverages, I'm talking personnel decisions too. You can look like you're in 12 in the huddle and come out in empty. You can look like you're in 21 and come out in 3X1. With the versatility of the backs and tight ends, you can really keep DCs guessing.

Defense

1. DT: My second biggest question on the team in terms of the committee approach we seem to be heading toward. Who will disrupt 3rd down pockets? Who will consistently collapse plays to get teams behind schedule, as per Manny's previous system requires. I'm fine with getting it from a committee, but someone needs to leap.
I think the DL is incredibly balanced, although I've been on record saying the defense takes a small step back this year because I don't see anyone as disruptive on this roster as Willis was last year. But at both edge and inside, you've got a really nice mix of experience, youth, size, quickness, and potential. Plus, a lot of these kids are playing for the bag this year. Chigozie and Hill, this is it. Garvin is playing for the league. Ford is trying to get on the radar. Patchan is solid. Bethel is solid. Jade looks like he's going to be a problem. Then the freshmen, most notably Harvey, who looks incredible. Throw Rousseau in the mix, who has legit first round potential. The blend here is very exciting and this rotation should be great. But your concern is valid...someone will need to rise above everyone else, and I'm not sure who that is yet.

2. S: My third biggest question on the team is whether our young Safeties will be adequate or surprise in comparison to two experienced, NFL-level Safeties who'd played in our defensive system that places a lot of pressure on Safeties.
Losing the 2 kids we lost will hurt, no question. Quan was just an incredible player for us. The only thing I'm hanging my hat on here is that the athleticism has a chance to increase, but I'm admittedly very nervous, especially early in the year, about busts and missed tackles from this group. Quan NEVER missed a **** tackle. And he made a **** of a lot of them (led the team the last 2 seasons). I'll be very interested to see how Carter, Hall, and *gulp* Knowles gel early in the year, and then how Bubba and Smith fill in.

3. DE: Will Hill be healthy, Rousseau make a leap and Garvin show out in his contract year to the level of what I've called the best pass rushing trio in the country? The numbers would have to show 35+ TFLs between them, if healthy.
All signs point to yes here. If you're going to be excited about something aside from 55 & 56 in this defense, look no further than the edge talent.

4. LB: Will Pinck or Shaq have a Dan Morgan-type senior year?
IMO, no. And no knock on those kids, they're both excellent football players. But IMO neither are at Dan Morgan-type level. Dan was a mid to low 4.5 kid IIRC, and was a top 15 pick. I just don't see either of these 2 kids reaching that apex. But they're the best duo in the ACC without a doubt and possibly the country. But that's a high bar for comparison. Morgan was the best backer in the country his senior year and swept **** near every award a linebacker can win. I don't see that happening here.

5. CB: Will the second corner (Ivey?) make a leap like Michael Jackson in 2017?
Another great question, and my money is on Ivey as well. I think it'd be foolish to bet against Rumph in this dept (recruiting shall remain without comment), but he has shown he can coach up talent. And Ivey seems to be an excellent prospect. Lean, long, smart, rangy....and he just got a much needed year to sit back and learn. It'd sure make me feel better about the aforementioned Safety concerns if we had 2 corners we knew we could count on to make the right play every single snap.
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This post should be a front page article on any sports web site. Exactly the right answers to exactly the right questions.
 
Biggest question: Is Dan Enos a true whisper? Tua Tagovailoa has been a wonder and Enos has been credited with fixing Jalen Hurts. But is that Enos or the fact that they're extremely talented, probably more talented than what he inherited at Miami? And how much of the QB performance is also due to the overall talent Alabama surrounded them with?
Long story short, so much of Miami's success depends on Enos being the real deal.
 
bacane said:
Biggest question: Is Dan Enos a true whisper? Tua Tagovailoa has been a wonder and Enos has been credited with fixing Jalen Hurts. But is that Enos or the fact that they're extremely talented, probably more talented than what he inherited at Miami? And how much of the QB performance is also due to the overall talent Alabama surrounded them with?
Long story short, so much of Miami's success depends on Enos being the real deal.
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Yea, but I think people mainly point to what he did at Arkansas as the OC/QBC when Brandon Allen went from 56% the year before to 66% his first yr with Enos.
 
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To me the overall season will come down to how much improvement we receive from:
1. Qb play
2. O line play
3. Special teams
These 3 areas were atrocious last year in addition to CMR play calling, but I expect Enos to bring a good scheme to the table and have noticeable improvement in all 3 areas aforementioned. O line worries me most but we're not devoid of talent, just need to find 5 kids who gel as a unit. And please god let Hedley be serviceable. I think all the other positional units will be fine overall but I expect statistically for the D to slide a lil bit yet the offense improving to the 45th-65th range nationwide will offset any missteps by the defense.
 
Damiencane86 said:
To me the overall season will come down to how much improvement we receive from:
1. Qb play
2. O line play
3. Special teams
These 3 areas were atrocious last year in addition to CMR play calling, but I expect Enos to bring a good scheme to the table and have noticeable improvement in all 3 areas aforementioned. O line worries me most but we're not devoid of talent, just need to find 5 kids who gel as a unit. And please god let Hedley be serviceable. I think all the other positional units will be fine overall but I expect statistically for the D to slide a lil bit yet the offense improving to the 45th-65th range nationwide will offset any missteps by the defense.
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Yep. You can't have a top 3 without STs in there. Poor field position was a huge factor in our losses and near wins last year. ... Agree QB play is #1 but think risk of failure is low, #2 is by far the biggest concern. Can our OL play well as a unit and get the first down when we need it.
 
grover said:
Yep. You can't have a top 3 without STs in there. Poor field position was a huge factor in our losses and near wins last year. ... Agree QB play is #1 but think risk of failure is low, #2 is by far the biggest concern. Can our OL play well as a unit and get the first down when we need it.
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I think scaife will most likely play LT game 1, Zion may be the guy there in due time, but if they throw him out there before he's ready it could hurt his confidence, unless Zion shows out in fall camp. I see: scaife, hillery, gaynor, donaldson, herbert left to right. If Zion proves ready, then: Zion, scaife, gaynor, donaldson, herbert.
 
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It's going to be next to impossible for QB play to not improve. Last season the passing game was pathetic. Even a mild improvement will impact the team significantly.

I believe the O line will be improved but not dominant. Right now there seems to be two maybe three guys who are at least capable starters and everyone else is just bleh. Can Baker mold them as a group? Can Enos' creativity keep defenses off balance enough to where the line doesn't HAVE to dominate every single play? Are they going to trust Zion at LT? I feel like they did a decent job of run blocking last season but when the play calling is so predictable and the quarterback play is so bad, it will make a decent line look much worse.

Skill position players, I'm not concerned with at all. Everyone who is in the rotation is capable at running back. We probably have the fastest wide receiver group we've had in a long time. TE is probably the strength of the team especially with a coach who runs a multiple offense. Match ups will be taken advantage of.

I don't think we have a Gerald Willis type season coming from any of our DTs. Obviously Nesta has the highest upside but there is depth at the position we haven't had since Coker was here. There's a whole group of guys who can play at a high level even if none of them is at an All American type level.

We're going to miss Jaquan's smarts and leadership in the defensive backfield. We've probably upgraded athletically and there's certainly plenty of upside at both safety spots but nobody back there has played all that much. Although, I was also concerned when Jenkins and Carter graduated a few years ago but they were replaced pretty easily.
 
@LuCane going back to past great Miami teams that had great OL..what’s one thing you’d say was consistent on all of those OL.

@TeflonTwon made me think of this but we always had a helluva guy at Center...
 
LuCane said:
Offense

1. QB: Will whoever is selected at QB, assuming Enos' effectiveness and a more varied attack, give us a significant leap from Malik Rosier version 2017?
2. OL: Who will solidify themselves as the best Tackle combination and spark a domino effect for remainder of the OL? (Zion/Scaife, Scaife/Herbert, etc.)
3. RB: Will Harris or Lingard make a sophomore leap into superstardom. I'm not talking about natural progression or Travis Homer's leap in 2017. I'm talking Clinton Portis flashes when he made the leap.
4. WR: Will JT and Pope be used as they should - being moved around, jet sweeps, option routes, etc.? This alone can change 3rd down conversion %.
5. TE: Will the TEs be used in a way to dictate defensive coverage? Another enormous factor in the transformation of 3rd down conversion %.

Defense

1. DT: My second biggest question on the team in terms of the committee approach we seem to be heading toward. Who will disrupt 3rd down pockets? Who will consistently collapse plays to get teams behind schedule, as per Manny's previous system requires. I'm fine with getting it from a committee, but someone needs to leap.
2. S: My third biggest question on the team is whether our young Safeties will be adequate or surprise in comparison to two experienced, NFL-level Safeties who'd played in our defensive system that places a lot of pressure on Safeties.
3. DE: Will Hill be healthy, Rousseau make a leap and Garvin show out in his contract year to the level of what I've called the best pass rushing trio in the country? The numbers would have to show 35+ TFLs between them, if healthy.
4. LB: Will Pinck or Shaq have a Dan Morgan-type senior year?
5. CB: Will the second corner (Ivey?) make a leap like Michael Jackson in 2017?
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Don't you think Portis' success was due, in no small part, to a very good (great) OL? Not taking away from Clinton Funkadelic, just he couldn't have that season by getting constant contact at the LoS or hit in backfield.

I believe as the OL goes in run game, so goes Miami's RBs (unless Barry Sanders plays, not happening).
 
Our OL play will be better than last year. No doubt about it in my mind. Schematically Enos will do things that give the OL a better chance to be successful.. They won't be elite but they'll be good. One big question for me is Safety.
 
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1. Will deejay Dallas hold on to his position as the lead back in fall camp? I don’t know if y’all have seen lately but Lorenzo lingard and Camron Harris look like physical freaks... they just look elite and we know they are more talented rbs than Dallas

2. Will mark pope seize the role as the #3 receiver?

3. Will Herbert and reed continue their progression and start the season on the right side of the oline? I think They can.

4. Who wins the starting job at qb?

Defense
1. Manny Diaz isn’t necessarily calling the defense anymore, how will coach baker do things differently?

2. Will keontra, Derrick smith, bubba bolden overtake knowles on the depth chart so he won’t be out there vs uf?

3. Will ford and Silvera start at dt?

Special teams

Kick returners
Pope and thomas
No Dallas...


Punt returner
1.Thomas
2. Pope
3. Trajan bandy
 
rayray said:
the two big ones for me are this:

1. if the offensive line is bad vs the gators, can butch berry get the unit to move past it and grow into a line that doesn't hamstring the offense for the entire season? we're opening the season in a big game and hostile environment with a new coach, new OC, new center, new players all over the line and potentially a new QB versus the best defense we'll face in the regular season. it wouldn't surprise me if the o line flops in game 1, but it can't drag down the whole season.

2. both our current depth chart and recent recruiting lean heavily towards blurring the lines between safety, nickel corner, and outside linebacker... do we see an evolution in manny's defense to mitigate our complete lack of depth at LB and address the shape of our defensive roster going forward? is someone like amari carter a safety, or a sort of positionless back 7 player who moves around the field and can help mask whatever deficiencies we might have at LB after the 3 seniors? and is this where players like gilbert frierson, derrick smith, keyshawn washington etc are headed? another way of putting this question is like this: is manny looking at a future of football where you don't have one "striker" on the field but 2 or 3 or 4?
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I think the answer to this is yes and I want to see it this year.

Creativite use of nickels, dimes, and quarters coverage with multiple “hybrid” players on the field is what I believe will give us our best shot to beat Clemson.

3 cbs, 3 safeties. 2cbs 4 safeties etc. Line these guys up all over the field and disguise the coverage. Even as potential edge rushers.
Not too complicated. Just some base plays with different alignments and rushers.
 
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LuCane said:
Absolutely was a stud. None of that changes what I said. Webster was also a tackling machine. Better or worse, taking him off the field created opportunities for (and more pressure on) Morgan. He was great as a junior. He was a freakshow as a senior.
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Boy people forget Nate was one of, if not the hardest hitting lb to strap it up on green tree.

The guy was mean. Straight savage.

He would have beat Morgan to some of those tackles.

Put Nate out there knocking ****s in the dirt next to Dan against Washington when Dorsey struggled and who knows. Maybe we could have won that game.
 
mjackson6 said:
The money stat for me for our offense is whoever plays QB to have 60% completions. If we do that I don’t see a way we don’t have a successful season. Completing that many passes keeps our Offense on the field, wears down the opposing D, rests our D, and with our playmakers, they’re gonna break a few.

Compare that to 50% the last 2 years and assume we throw it 30 times a game - that is 3 more completions a game. I would argue that if we had 3 more completions against UVA, Duke, GT, and possibly even BC that we don’t lose any of those games.

Obviously still question marks as to people stepping up at certain positions but its been a trend with this staff on D. Someone always steps up at DT, every Safety Banda has coached got drafted except for Jamal Carter and he went on to be a good NFL Safety. Rumph has developed far less talented guys than Blades and Ivey into draft picks (Jackson and Colbert).

Everything else will fall into place if we hit that money stat of 60%... which Enos has proven to do everywhere he’s been. I expect nothing less
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Amazing to hit 60% with just 3 more catches. Perhaps we have a QB in the high 60+ range because there were a lot of drops to go along with the errant passes.
 
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