Former Players Chime in on D'Onofrio

[NVA CANE]

Meh everything everyone complained about basically comes back to coaching. Talent isn't up to Miami standards but it's good enough to win the coastal. Give me a bud foster or Michigan states DC (narducci?)and I bet we would have a much better defense.

 

[cane305]

you put water in a bottle, it becomes the bottle. you put water in a pot, it becomes the pot.

you must become water.



adapt or be extinct.

 

[Consigliere]

some of us that dont know football knew this....lots of blame to go around, 30% Coach D 60% players 10% coach Al....for not seeing what is obvious

I am no football scientist but this is how I feel. I think there is a lot of blame to go around and a lot of issues to correct. Let's assume the above were true:

30% fault of Coach D
60% fault of Talent
10% fault of Golden

If we keep everything at constant except the players/talent, then wouldn't the results improve simply by bringing in new talent and developing it (assuming the staff could do this). If 60% of the blame (no way this is quantifiable) went to the actual players, just bringing in better talent and developing it could improve the defense 60% (which is a lot).

If it were me running the show (i.e. I was the HC), I would strongly consider making some replacements on the defensive staff along with continuing to bring in new talent while developing the 2012/2013 kids I just brought in. The 2012 kids will be juniors next year (i.e. upperclassman).

Even though 60% is a lot, 90% sounds pretty good too me.

If Al keeps the staff as is on defense, then if the above is true things would improve but not enough.

 

[RiDLer80]

Anonymous player needs to rethink his stance.

“I like his scheme, but he doesn’t have the personnel to run it as well as he would like,” said the former Canes standout defensive player who asked that his name not be used because he’s close to the program.

“Linebacker is the biggest problem. Aside from Denzel Perryman, these guys are not [major BCS program] level. The linebackers have to cover the backs, and the middle is always open. It’s poor coverage. The safeties can’t tackle and they’re out of position. They can’t get away with playing a three-man line against good teams because the line isn’t that good.”

The player said he believes D’Onofrio is generally a good coach but has a few quibbles. He said UM should play more bump-and-run coverage because “that’s the way to re-route the receivers.” He said the defensive line is stunting too much. That’s a maneuver designed to confuse offenses but leaves the defense vulnerable.

He questioned why the defensive ends often switch sides between plays. “Why aren't we set [often enough] before plays? Virginia Tech ran a play on us and we were barely out of the huddle. That's embarrassing.

"They should have put a spy on [Virginia Tech quarterback] Logan Thomas. And we don’t blitz enough. I don’t see delayed blitzes.”

"It's mostly the players. We don't have the linebackers." as reasons our defense is so bad.

Goes on to ramble off numerous schematic and philosophical shortcomings that are all due to coaching. Makes sense.

 

[BosCane]

I keep saying DP is our best player but he plays like a freshman at times....

DP is clearly our best hitter. So DP is the most fun to watch.

DP is not our best player. Half the time, he's a liability, IMO.

 

[RiDLer80]

I keep saying DP is our best player but he plays like a freshman at times....

DP is clearly our best hitter. So DP is the most fun to watch.

DP is not our best player. Half the time, he's a liability, IMO.

Why is he a liability?

 

[AUcane]

Of course every scheme is "sound" on paper. I'm sure Donofrio's system on paper is effective. But when he runs it in the real world, it doesn't always fit the players he has. This is the main issue most of us have - square peg, round hole. For those players that defend Donofrio's scheme, they readily admit that he's not aggressive enough (which is another criticism of his).

 

[BosCane]

I am no football scientist but this is how I feel. I think there is a lot of blame to go around and a lot of issues to correct. Let's assume the above were true:

30% fault of Coach D
60% fault of Talent
10% fault of Golden

If we keep everything at constant except the players/talent, then wouldn't the results improve simply by bringing in new talent and developing it (assuming the staff could do this). If 60% of the blame (no way this is quantifiable) went to the actual players, just bringing in better talent and developing it could improve the defense 60% (which is a lot).

If Al keeps the staff as is on defense, then if the above is true things would improve but not enough.

This is what worries me most. We get better talent in here, and the young talent we have fills out and matures, and all of a sudden we are fully capable of winning 9 or 10 games every year (and not scraping by some lower level teams like this year....a legit 9 or 10 wins annually). But we'd still be a step short of a true contender.

I have no doubt whatsoever that this team will get better with Golden at the helm. His recruiting alone will accomplish that, plus he may actually develop some of the talent (still to be seen).

Unfortunately, I also have little doubt that if this passive reactionary defensive scheme sticks around, we will never be elite again. It is a scheme designed to take advantage of the mistakes of less skilled opponents. I don't think it will work well (consistently) on the biggest stage in CFB.

 

[BosCane]

Why is he a liability?

He's been out of position far too often this season.
He's missed tackles along with the rest of the D.
And his endurance is to be questioned (I've seen him ask out of games more than anyone else, I think).

 

[RiDLer80]

Of course every scheme is "sound" on paper. I'm sure Donofrio's system on paper is effective. But when he runs it in the real world, it doesn't always fit the players he has. This is the main issue most of us have - square peg, round hole. For those players that defend Donofrio's scheme, they readily admit that he's not aggressive enough (which is another criticism of his).

His scheme isn't effective. It's effective in his mind.

The best we can hope from this scheme is the Florida performance. Offenses, elite or ******, will march up and down the field on us at will just like they did.

The only thing we can hope for is that when they get to the redzone, our team bows up, does that stupid arm tug thing they do and either somehow forces a turnover or holds the opposing team to a field goal. Remember, yards don't matter.

 

[poncho0091]

Coaches can't fix tackling?

Pure bullsh!t. The #1 way to fix tackling is by putting your players in a better position to make plays.
Playing conservative and on your heels = poor tackling.

The problem is tackling in space is one of the hardest things to do in football and unfortunately the receivers always catch the ball in space against us. That's as much a scheme issue as a talent issue.

 

[ucrew02]

I hate to say it but the people who don't even understand the d ends shifting sides should probably not be taking adamant stances because that is as simple as us having a Strong side end and a weak side end. They often play different techniques and they have differing skills sets. These guys can vary depending on the coach and scheme. It's pretty common but I'll agree 100% that we often times take way too long to identify something as simple as the strong side which, after watching film, should be simple as can be.

I tend to agree with Starks, though. If he can pick it up watching live, you know **** well FSU and Tech saw it with 5+ people in the box just watching certain position groups.

 

[cane since birth]

honestly the whole zone **** will work if he runs a one gap and lets the line get to the QB, i think the two gap is killing him, it seems to me he is doing one thing that doesnt match with the other, i get it the defense is there to capitalize on the offense making mistakes but when you have little to no pass rush on the QB they can just sit in the pocket and throw in the open parts of the zone

 

[poncho0091]

Of course every scheme is "sound" on paper. I'm sure Donofrio's system on paper is effective. But when he runs it in the real world, it doesn't always fit the players he has. This is the main issue most of us have - square peg, round hole. For those players that defend Donofrio's scheme, they readily admit that he's not aggressive enough (which is another criticism of his).

Half the time what he is running does not fit the situation on the field either.

 

[RiDLer80]

Why is he a liability?

He's been out of position far too often this season.
He's missed tackles along with the rest of the D.
And his endurance is to be questioned (I've seen him ask out of games more than anyone else, I think).

So he's out of position in the same defense after three years? Either he's a ******* ******, isn't being coached up or being asked to do things he's incapable of. Two of which are strictly on the coaches.

Our best tackler has forgotten to tackle? DP is our best form-tackler. I have a hard time believing he forgot to tackle. Maybe he's being asked to make tackles he's incapable of. Again-coaching.

Endurance. What happened to UTough?

 

[AUcane]

Of course every scheme is "sound" on paper. I'm sure Donofrio's system on paper is effective. But when he runs it in the real world, it doesn't always fit the players he has. This is the main issue most of us have - square peg, round hole. For those players that defend Donofrio's scheme, they readily admit that he's not aggressive enough (which is another criticism of his).

His scheme isn't effective. It's effective in his mind.

The best we can hope from this scheme is the Florida performance. Offenses, elite or ****ty, will march up and down the field on us at will just like they did.

The only thing we can hope for is that when they get to the redzone, our team bows up, does that stupid arm tug thing they do and either somehow forces a turnover or holds the opposing team to a field goal. Remember, yards don't matter.

I should have clarified - it's not a defense designed to be a top 10 kind of defense. It's designed to be an average type of defense. Like I said - it can work fine if you're in the business of fielding conservative defenses. But, if you want to take it to the next level, it has no shot.

 

[RiDLer80]

Of course every scheme is "sound" on paper. I'm sure Donofrio's system on paper is effective. But when he runs it in the real world, it doesn't always fit the players he has. This is the main issue most of us have - square peg, round hole. For those players that defend Donofrio's scheme, they readily admit that he's not aggressive enough (which is another criticism of his).

His scheme isn't effective. It's effective in his mind.

The best we can hope from this scheme is the Florida performance. Offenses, elite or ****ty, will march up and down the field on us at will just like they did.

The only thing we can hope for is that when they get to the redzone, our team bows up, does that stupid arm tug thing they do and either somehow forces a turnover or holds the opposing team to a field goal. Remember, yards don't matter.

I should have clarified - it's not a defense designed to be a top 10 kind of defense. It's designed to be an average type of defense. Like I said - it can work fine if you're in the business of fielding conservative defenses. But, if you want to take it to the next level, it has no shot.

I just got all kinds of ****ed off reading this. Not at you, but because I completely agree with what you're saying. This philosophy will never lead to an elite defense.

This scheme is built for teams that don't have the talent to match up with the elite. It's the triple option of the defensive world.

 

[BosCane]

Oh, I agree with you on the underlying cause, RiDler. Wasn't trying to defend the coaches one bit.

My original point was just that we shouldn't confuse entertainment with effectiveness.
DP is entertaining. His effectiveness, this year in particular, is lacking (along with all our other LBs, of course).

 

[AUcane]

Of course every scheme is "sound" on paper. I'm sure Donofrio's system on paper is effective. But when he runs it in the real world, it doesn't always fit the players he has. This is the main issue most of us have - square peg, round hole. For those players that defend Donofrio's scheme, they readily admit that he's not aggressive enough (which is another criticism of his).

His scheme isn't effective. It's effective in his mind.

The best we can hope from this scheme is the Florida performance. Offenses, elite or ****ty, will march up and down the field on us at will just like they did.

The only thing we can hope for is that when they get to the redzone, our team bows up, does that stupid arm tug thing they do and either somehow forces a turnover or holds the opposing team to a field goal. Remember, yards don't matter.

I should have clarified - it's not a defense designed to be a top 10 kind of defense. It's designed to be an average type of defense. Like I said - it can work fine if you're in the business of fielding conservative defenses. But, if you want to take it to the next level, it has no shot.

I just got all kinds of ****ed off reading this. Not at you, but because I completely agree with what you're saying. This philosophy will never lead to an elite defense.

This scheme is built for teams that don't have the talent to match up with the elite. It's the triple option of the defensive world.

Yep. My fear is that this is Golden's philosophy as well. It will be interesting to see how he reacts to this and if he realizes that he won't be dominant with this defense UNLESS he has NFL talent all over the place. I think even he is smart enough to realize he can't bank on that.

It will only lead to an elite defense if we have elite players. Heck, I can craft a defense if I had NFL talent littered all over the place.

 

[cane33]

“I think D’Onofrio does a decent job,” said Blades, a member of the College Football Hall of Fame who was previously defensively coordinator at Piper High in Broward. “Coach can’t fix the bad tackling. I know we like to blame everything on coaches, but it boils down to the players. What we’re missing is unblockable defensive linemen. We haven't had a Russell Maryland or Cortez Kennedy or Jerome Brown in a few years. I’m not overly impressed with the safety play.

Wut? That's actually what coaches are supposed to do.

Perryman missed a few tackles and one huge one in the VT game...I pick on him due to he is our best player...do you think in this stage in his career that coaching can help him with missed tackles...?? I keep saying DP is our best player but he plays like a freshman at times....

LOL he had 15 tackles and 2 sacks.

People act like great players never miss tackles. Please go back and watch our great teams in the early 2000s. Sean Taylor, Vilma, DJ Williams, etc....they all missed tackles sometimes. Does that mean they sucked too?

Perryman can make 20 tackles in a game and you all will say he's average just because of the one he missed.