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We're back for another week of the CIS Mailbag. This week, we feature questions about Louisville, Lance Roeffers, Blake Baker, and Napoleon.
BeatThoseBookies (Twitter): Easy money vs UAB. What are you taking vs. UL?
A lot of Canes fans should have made some money taking the -14 line last week. This week is a little more complicated as Miami is the underdog on the road in primetime. The line I like the most this week is (as of Wednesday afternoon on DraftKings) Miami total points over 30.5. This game has shoot-out written all over it and I believe UAB’s defense is actually better than UL’s.
Cane Fan 4 Life (CanesInsight): With our success running the ball last week, do we look to establish it early against Louisville?
Lashlee is a power spread guy; the run will always be established early. Expect to see some wrinkles off the read option, which is what destroyed UAB last Thursday. Louisville’s defense is on the smaller but faster side. We’ll see if our offensive line can push them around.
Adam M. From Louisville, KY (carrier pigeon): Why did Meriweather have to hit me so hard?
Because you were galavanting across the field like you owned the place. Keep your head on a swivel, son.
305407cane (CanesInsight): What’re your thoughts on the offense? How did Steed and Jennings play in your opinion?
I was curious as to what the offense would look like coming off a bizarre offseason. Lashlee kept it simple and stuck with what was working, which was the zone read. Lashlee will stick to whatever is working until the defense makes adjustments. For game 1, I find it hard not to be impressed with 330+ yards rushing.
For a guy that hasn’t played a lot of football the last few years, I thought Jennings played okay. He got held on the long run which set up the 2nd UAB TD. Outside of that, I didn’t see any glaring mistakes. You can see why Steed was such a highly thought of recruit coming in. He seemed to be around the ball a lot despite being credited for only 1 tackle and 0.5 TFL. I think this game will give him confidence going forward. I think the LB play in general was average for what we are used to seeing from this defense, some TFLs along with hitting the wrong gaps on some plays.
JD08 (CanesInsight): Can you ask Lance Roeffers to post more about analytics? I love that stuff. Can we get a column with an in depth explanation of X’s and O’s for those of us who don't have deep knowledge?
We asked Lance and his only response was “How did you get this number?”
In all seriousness, Lance’s “Upon Further Review” is a great read if you want in depth analysis about the X’s and O’s. Check it out here:
www.canesinsight.com
JD08 (CanesInsight): Why is Louisville so highly touted?
A well respected coach, explosive playmakers all over the offense, and a defense that should be improved. With Cunningham, Hawkins, Atwell, and Fitzpatrick all returning, along with plenty of other starters, they’ve become a **** pick to do well in the ACC. The defense will be the big question mark for this team after last year’s performance.
Ben (CanesInsight): Wings: grilled or fried, sauced or dry?
I don't discriminate with my wings. Give me all of them.
OriginialCanesCanesCanes (CanesInsight): What’s your take on the Big10 and Pac12? If one of them somehow manages to pull a season out of their (butts), and start playing sometime mid October, and only are able to get in 8 games, should that be taken into consideration as far as playoff time? Personally, I think it’s a travesty that they would play three or four less games and still be allowed to play in the playoffs.
Playing 8 games (9 with a conference championship) versus 10, 11, or 12 games is a considerable difference. A 9-0 Ohio State team is getting into the playoffs, right or wrong based on name recognition. If a 7-1 Big10 sneaks in somehow, I’m going to have a HUGE problem with that. The playoff committee should make no exceptions though if the Big10 has to cancel games or push their conference championship back. The latest news that the Pac12 is eyeing a November start has no impact on the CFP, which isn’t anything new for them anyway.
Cane Fan 4 Life (CanesInsight): What’s the word on Cam’ron’s knee injury?
Cam is good to go. The injury looked way worse than what it was.
Ksoze8 (CanesInsight): If Mike Rumph isn’t the answer like many believe, who do you think will be on our radar as a replacement? Does Likens go out of South Florida to find the WR talent that's needed or do you think he falls into the “there's so much talent in the miami area that you don’t need to go out of area” old mindset?
If Rumph does not return next season, I’m looking at Demarcus Van Dyke (DVD) as a replacement. The recruiting department has been cleaning up lately which DVD plays a large part in. While there are probably some solid candidates out there, having a guy in DVD that could impact recruiting from day 1 would be huge.
I think Likens would go to Mars if it meant adding talent to the WR position. With Covid taking away visits, it’s hard to recruit out of state kids and get them to commit sight unseen. Likens knows WR talent though so if he signs off on a recruit, I’m on board. Once Covid passes and recruiting gets back to normal, I think Likens will expand the WR position and explore out of state options if the local options don’t fit what he wants in a prospect.
Cane Fan 4 Life (CanesInsight): Will we look to get our TEs used more in the passing game?
The tight ends need to be more involved as Brevin is our best player. When the ball is in his hands, good things happen. Exhibit A, see the only drive where Brevin was involved last week. The entire offense is still being implemented so I would expect to see more out of them.
Vivijane (CanesInsight): Do you see this game vs. L-Ville as one of the biggest games we have played in years? How important is this game in Manny’s career considering he does not have a signature win to date? If Blake Baker does not produce in this game do you think Manny will get even more involved w/ the defense?
A primetime, ranked matchup on the road is certainly one of the biggest games we’ve played in years. We win and the ball is rolling for this program. We lose and it’s the same old Miami. Manny is in need of a big win and this will be one of the few chances this season (Clemson and UNC being the others in all likelihood). Louisville has a good offense so I’m not expecting the defense to hold them under 20 points. If Manny has to get more involved with the defense (again), Baker shouldn’t be the DC.
Cane Fan 4 Life (CanesInsight): What should Louisville’s game plan be both offensively and defensively coming into the game?
This is a great question. If I’m Louisville’s OC, I’m going to hammer the outside zone and see if Miami’s LBs can play sideline to sideline. If they can’t, Hawkins is going to be running free into the secondary. I’d also have Cunningham involved with designed QB counters to see if I could catch the defense being overly aggressive. If I’m Louisville’s DC, I’m loading the box up and playing with a single high safety. My corners would be in press man the entire game. I don’t think Miami’s WRs can create separation.
Scrape into the C Gap (CanesInsight): Why is Christian Williams really gone?
While there are rumors out there about possible off field issues, Manny’s comments make it pretty clear that Williams believed he shouldn’t have been CB4. I will say it’s a puzzling decision as he was one injury away from getting major PT. Best of luck to him. CB is yet again a position of concern. We’re going to need to load up this recruiting class and hit the portal.
Svtthis (CanesInsight): Who was a better first week opponent, UAB or WKU?
UAB. Although they are both solid G5 programs, UAB is a step above WKU at this point. You also have to factor in that UAB had a game under the belt prior to playing Miami. They do play on October 17th so we will let the scoreboard be the final verdict.
Cane Fan 4 Life (CanesInsight): What will (should) Baker try to do in an effort to contain Tutu Atwell?
This Louisville offense has a lot of playmakers so it’s hard to just say double him and be done. I’d have Blades on him and I would tell him, “Do not let him off the line, absolutely maul him as soon as the ball is snapped.” Give the pass rush a chance to get home while disrupting the timing between the two. If you let Atwell just run the routes he wants, he’s going to carve through the secondary. Having safety help over the top will be critical as well.
Lukes Caneswalker (CanesInsight): I know Julio Frenk sees the value of us having a successful football team but who was the last president, if any, that made football a premium focus for our school?
We haven’t had a president, at least in modern times, that prioritized the football program and gave it the support it needed to be successful. With Shalala, we went cheap hire after cheap hire and the losses piled up (along with new sanctions). Thad Foote took over in 81 and was president for 4 national championships but if you watched the 30 for 30s, he may not have been the biggest fan of how we were winning. Henry King Stanford was the president from 62-81 and was present for the hire of Schnelly, but football was in a dark place for most of his tenure.
Tetragrammaton Cane (CanesInsight): If University of Miami planned to buy waterfront property near Coral Gables and build a floating stadium like they did in Singapore (to achieve a near campus experience). How much discussion about cost and viability would occur before @OriginalCanedCanesCanes head exploded? Oh, that and how many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie roll pop?
A floating stadium would be the most Miami thing ever. The answer to the tootsie pop question is three. The commercial with the owl ("a one, a two, a three *crunch* ... three) has been around for a while.
Cane Fan 4 Life (CanesInsight): Against UAB, we saw first hand how successful King was extending numerous plays with his feet when the pocket collapsed or the play was broken. Will we see more QB designed runs against Louisville or just King improvising again?
I think the answer is that it depends on how Louisville schemes. UAB keyed on King which is why the RBs had so much space. If Louisville crashes down, you’ll see King keeping it and going around the end. One thing you’ll see week in and week out is King improvising and making plays playing “backyard football.”
Ddan (CanesInsight): What is your current view regarding the theory that the English victory at Waterloo had less to do with the tactical skill and battlefield strategy of the Duke of Wellington and more to do with Napoleon suffering from some manner of painful bowel affliction which hindered him from fulfilling his duties on the day of the battle? And, what is the significance of this in light of the current blitzing strategies that continue to be employed by Diaz and Baker?
There is a desire in history, much like in sports, to ascribe reasons to things that might otherwise be seen as anomalies. The issues that led to Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo seem to reflect this concept, especially as the idea of his own physical impairment gets brought to the forefront every so often. While it was rumored that Napoleon was battling thrombosed hemorrhoids during the battle, it seems to be more of an interesting, possibly humorous idea than a fact.
No doubt Napoleon, and likely many others in the army in those days were afflicted with physical issues like hemorrhoids, to go as far as to say it would have caused a defeat is going too far. The theory goes that the ailment caused both a considerable delay in the attack (from early morning to mid day) and limited his ability to move amongst his troops and adjust strategies as he was accustomed. The reality is that the idea of hemorrhoids causing his failure is just an act of those who just can’t accept that Napoleon would have just straight up lost or have been outmaneuvered strategically.
Considering he had just finished four days on horseback to get to the site, it would be strange that he’d suddenly be so limited that he couldn’t follow through with his normal command just because of his hemorrhoidal concerns. Napoleon was a man who was passionate about his legacy, and to take time off from such a critical battle because of his personal butt pain seems totally out of character.
As far as the delay goes, it is far more likely that it was the condition of the battlefield that led to the postponement of his assault, especially because the muddied grounds would have had a far more limiting effect on his attacking cavalry than his more infantry driven opponents (the Duke of Wellington wasn’t a fan of using cavalry). That delay allowed the Prussians to join the British side and take away any minor advantage Napoleon would have otherwise had.
While I don’t know specifically of any rumors surrounding the physical health of Diaz or Baker, their blitzing strategies (more so Baker in the last year) do show some similarities to the mistakes that Napoleon did make at Waterloo, especially with regards to the delay in the assault. One of Baker’s favorite moves is to call for a blitz from a member of the secondary without bringing them near the line. While of course this opens up the door for a clearer path to the QB, much like with Napoleon’s hope that the mid day attack would make it easier on his horses, the time it takes to develop usually limits what can be done when they get there. Much like the Prussians fortifying the British forces, it’s not hard to pick off or chip late blitzers and keep the QB upright.
Would bringing more blitzers to the line and giving them a shorter area (with more obstacles) work all the time? Not necessarily, but it would put more pressure on the OL, even if conditions aren’t ideal. As it stands, like with Michel Ney’s late, desperate cavalry charge, holding off until the snap to blitz has clearly shown no signs of success.
BeatThoseBookies (Twitter): Easy money vs UAB. What are you taking vs. UL?
A lot of Canes fans should have made some money taking the -14 line last week. This week is a little more complicated as Miami is the underdog on the road in primetime. The line I like the most this week is (as of Wednesday afternoon on DraftKings) Miami total points over 30.5. This game has shoot-out written all over it and I believe UAB’s defense is actually better than UL’s.
Cane Fan 4 Life (CanesInsight): With our success running the ball last week, do we look to establish it early against Louisville?
Lashlee is a power spread guy; the run will always be established early. Expect to see some wrinkles off the read option, which is what destroyed UAB last Thursday. Louisville’s defense is on the smaller but faster side. We’ll see if our offensive line can push them around.
Adam M. From Louisville, KY (carrier pigeon): Why did Meriweather have to hit me so hard?
Because you were galavanting across the field like you owned the place. Keep your head on a swivel, son.
305407cane (CanesInsight): What’re your thoughts on the offense? How did Steed and Jennings play in your opinion?
I was curious as to what the offense would look like coming off a bizarre offseason. Lashlee kept it simple and stuck with what was working, which was the zone read. Lashlee will stick to whatever is working until the defense makes adjustments. For game 1, I find it hard not to be impressed with 330+ yards rushing.
For a guy that hasn’t played a lot of football the last few years, I thought Jennings played okay. He got held on the long run which set up the 2nd UAB TD. Outside of that, I didn’t see any glaring mistakes. You can see why Steed was such a highly thought of recruit coming in. He seemed to be around the ball a lot despite being credited for only 1 tackle and 0.5 TFL. I think this game will give him confidence going forward. I think the LB play in general was average for what we are used to seeing from this defense, some TFLs along with hitting the wrong gaps on some plays.
JD08 (CanesInsight): Can you ask Lance Roeffers to post more about analytics? I love that stuff. Can we get a column with an in depth explanation of X’s and O’s for those of us who don't have deep knowledge?
We asked Lance and his only response was “How did you get this number?”
In all seriousness, Lance’s “Upon Further Review” is a great read if you want in depth analysis about the X’s and O’s. Check it out here:
Upon Further Review: UAB
Welcome back to Upon Further Review. The wait for the 2020 season has finally ended and the Miami Hurricanes are in the win column in their season debut. The unveiling of D’Eriq King certainly had its share of excitement as well as a new uptempo scheme from Rhett Lashlee and company. Sit back...
www.canesinsight.com
JD08 (CanesInsight): Why is Louisville so highly touted?
A well respected coach, explosive playmakers all over the offense, and a defense that should be improved. With Cunningham, Hawkins, Atwell, and Fitzpatrick all returning, along with plenty of other starters, they’ve become a **** pick to do well in the ACC. The defense will be the big question mark for this team after last year’s performance.
Ben (CanesInsight): Wings: grilled or fried, sauced or dry?
I don't discriminate with my wings. Give me all of them.
OriginialCanesCanesCanes (CanesInsight): What’s your take on the Big10 and Pac12? If one of them somehow manages to pull a season out of their (butts), and start playing sometime mid October, and only are able to get in 8 games, should that be taken into consideration as far as playoff time? Personally, I think it’s a travesty that they would play three or four less games and still be allowed to play in the playoffs.
Playing 8 games (9 with a conference championship) versus 10, 11, or 12 games is a considerable difference. A 9-0 Ohio State team is getting into the playoffs, right or wrong based on name recognition. If a 7-1 Big10 sneaks in somehow, I’m going to have a HUGE problem with that. The playoff committee should make no exceptions though if the Big10 has to cancel games or push their conference championship back. The latest news that the Pac12 is eyeing a November start has no impact on the CFP, which isn’t anything new for them anyway.
Cane Fan 4 Life (CanesInsight): What’s the word on Cam’ron’s knee injury?
Cam is good to go. The injury looked way worse than what it was.
Ksoze8 (CanesInsight): If Mike Rumph isn’t the answer like many believe, who do you think will be on our radar as a replacement? Does Likens go out of South Florida to find the WR talent that's needed or do you think he falls into the “there's so much talent in the miami area that you don’t need to go out of area” old mindset?
If Rumph does not return next season, I’m looking at Demarcus Van Dyke (DVD) as a replacement. The recruiting department has been cleaning up lately which DVD plays a large part in. While there are probably some solid candidates out there, having a guy in DVD that could impact recruiting from day 1 would be huge.
I think Likens would go to Mars if it meant adding talent to the WR position. With Covid taking away visits, it’s hard to recruit out of state kids and get them to commit sight unseen. Likens knows WR talent though so if he signs off on a recruit, I’m on board. Once Covid passes and recruiting gets back to normal, I think Likens will expand the WR position and explore out of state options if the local options don’t fit what he wants in a prospect.
Cane Fan 4 Life (CanesInsight): Will we look to get our TEs used more in the passing game?
The tight ends need to be more involved as Brevin is our best player. When the ball is in his hands, good things happen. Exhibit A, see the only drive where Brevin was involved last week. The entire offense is still being implemented so I would expect to see more out of them.
Vivijane (CanesInsight): Do you see this game vs. L-Ville as one of the biggest games we have played in years? How important is this game in Manny’s career considering he does not have a signature win to date? If Blake Baker does not produce in this game do you think Manny will get even more involved w/ the defense?
A primetime, ranked matchup on the road is certainly one of the biggest games we’ve played in years. We win and the ball is rolling for this program. We lose and it’s the same old Miami. Manny is in need of a big win and this will be one of the few chances this season (Clemson and UNC being the others in all likelihood). Louisville has a good offense so I’m not expecting the defense to hold them under 20 points. If Manny has to get more involved with the defense (again), Baker shouldn’t be the DC.
Cane Fan 4 Life (CanesInsight): What should Louisville’s game plan be both offensively and defensively coming into the game?
This is a great question. If I’m Louisville’s OC, I’m going to hammer the outside zone and see if Miami’s LBs can play sideline to sideline. If they can’t, Hawkins is going to be running free into the secondary. I’d also have Cunningham involved with designed QB counters to see if I could catch the defense being overly aggressive. If I’m Louisville’s DC, I’m loading the box up and playing with a single high safety. My corners would be in press man the entire game. I don’t think Miami’s WRs can create separation.
Scrape into the C Gap (CanesInsight): Why is Christian Williams really gone?
While there are rumors out there about possible off field issues, Manny’s comments make it pretty clear that Williams believed he shouldn’t have been CB4. I will say it’s a puzzling decision as he was one injury away from getting major PT. Best of luck to him. CB is yet again a position of concern. We’re going to need to load up this recruiting class and hit the portal.
Svtthis (CanesInsight): Who was a better first week opponent, UAB or WKU?
UAB. Although they are both solid G5 programs, UAB is a step above WKU at this point. You also have to factor in that UAB had a game under the belt prior to playing Miami. They do play on October 17th so we will let the scoreboard be the final verdict.
Cane Fan 4 Life (CanesInsight): What will (should) Baker try to do in an effort to contain Tutu Atwell?
This Louisville offense has a lot of playmakers so it’s hard to just say double him and be done. I’d have Blades on him and I would tell him, “Do not let him off the line, absolutely maul him as soon as the ball is snapped.” Give the pass rush a chance to get home while disrupting the timing between the two. If you let Atwell just run the routes he wants, he’s going to carve through the secondary. Having safety help over the top will be critical as well.
Lukes Caneswalker (CanesInsight): I know Julio Frenk sees the value of us having a successful football team but who was the last president, if any, that made football a premium focus for our school?
We haven’t had a president, at least in modern times, that prioritized the football program and gave it the support it needed to be successful. With Shalala, we went cheap hire after cheap hire and the losses piled up (along with new sanctions). Thad Foote took over in 81 and was president for 4 national championships but if you watched the 30 for 30s, he may not have been the biggest fan of how we were winning. Henry King Stanford was the president from 62-81 and was present for the hire of Schnelly, but football was in a dark place for most of his tenure.
Tetragrammaton Cane (CanesInsight): If University of Miami planned to buy waterfront property near Coral Gables and build a floating stadium like they did in Singapore (to achieve a near campus experience). How much discussion about cost and viability would occur before @OriginalCanedCanesCanes head exploded? Oh, that and how many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie roll pop?
A floating stadium would be the most Miami thing ever. The answer to the tootsie pop question is three. The commercial with the owl ("a one, a two, a three *crunch* ... three) has been around for a while.
Cane Fan 4 Life (CanesInsight): Against UAB, we saw first hand how successful King was extending numerous plays with his feet when the pocket collapsed or the play was broken. Will we see more QB designed runs against Louisville or just King improvising again?
I think the answer is that it depends on how Louisville schemes. UAB keyed on King which is why the RBs had so much space. If Louisville crashes down, you’ll see King keeping it and going around the end. One thing you’ll see week in and week out is King improvising and making plays playing “backyard football.”
Ddan (CanesInsight): What is your current view regarding the theory that the English victory at Waterloo had less to do with the tactical skill and battlefield strategy of the Duke of Wellington and more to do with Napoleon suffering from some manner of painful bowel affliction which hindered him from fulfilling his duties on the day of the battle? And, what is the significance of this in light of the current blitzing strategies that continue to be employed by Diaz and Baker?
There is a desire in history, much like in sports, to ascribe reasons to things that might otherwise be seen as anomalies. The issues that led to Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo seem to reflect this concept, especially as the idea of his own physical impairment gets brought to the forefront every so often. While it was rumored that Napoleon was battling thrombosed hemorrhoids during the battle, it seems to be more of an interesting, possibly humorous idea than a fact.
No doubt Napoleon, and likely many others in the army in those days were afflicted with physical issues like hemorrhoids, to go as far as to say it would have caused a defeat is going too far. The theory goes that the ailment caused both a considerable delay in the attack (from early morning to mid day) and limited his ability to move amongst his troops and adjust strategies as he was accustomed. The reality is that the idea of hemorrhoids causing his failure is just an act of those who just can’t accept that Napoleon would have just straight up lost or have been outmaneuvered strategically.
Considering he had just finished four days on horseback to get to the site, it would be strange that he’d suddenly be so limited that he couldn’t follow through with his normal command just because of his hemorrhoidal concerns. Napoleon was a man who was passionate about his legacy, and to take time off from such a critical battle because of his personal butt pain seems totally out of character.
As far as the delay goes, it is far more likely that it was the condition of the battlefield that led to the postponement of his assault, especially because the muddied grounds would have had a far more limiting effect on his attacking cavalry than his more infantry driven opponents (the Duke of Wellington wasn’t a fan of using cavalry). That delay allowed the Prussians to join the British side and take away any minor advantage Napoleon would have otherwise had.
While I don’t know specifically of any rumors surrounding the physical health of Diaz or Baker, their blitzing strategies (more so Baker in the last year) do show some similarities to the mistakes that Napoleon did make at Waterloo, especially with regards to the delay in the assault. One of Baker’s favorite moves is to call for a blitz from a member of the secondary without bringing them near the line. While of course this opens up the door for a clearer path to the QB, much like with Napoleon’s hope that the mid day attack would make it easier on his horses, the time it takes to develop usually limits what can be done when they get there. Much like the Prussians fortifying the British forces, it’s not hard to pick off or chip late blitzers and keep the QB upright.
Would bringing more blitzers to the line and giving them a shorter area (with more obstacles) work all the time? Not necessarily, but it would put more pressure on the OL, even if conditions aren’t ideal. As it stands, like with Michel Ney’s late, desperate cavalry charge, holding off until the snap to blitz has clearly shown no signs of success.
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