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Post Game Recap: Duke

AUcane said:
Loved your post, bud, as always.

Disagree on your Bell take and I know you've been consistent with it. He's our LT next year - almost 100% guaranteed, imo. I suppose it's possible he and FM will swap but based on his trajectory this year and gradual improvement, he's good.

I am not as down on his play as you are. Has he been a step slow on pass pro for speed rush? Sure, but it's been improving all year. Once he gets his hands on his guy, it's a wrap. He's a mauler on the run game and it's no coincidence that Bell/Rivers has been our most productive combo in the run game. Keep in mind that he's a JUCO guy playing in his first year and JC players are generally pretty darn raw.

Had no idea on white spats. I know even back to the early 90s, white spats was popular with our skill position guys, and occasionally, DBs would wear them (I remember Dexter Seigler typically wore it). I'd rather them wear black cleats and black socks, if we're talking fashion.
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Coaches seem to agree with you on Bell. Mario sends the top performers from prior games to the next week's press conferences. Bell was at the press conference yesterday.
 

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Memnon said:
Tennessee's Defense is what makes them a playoff contender this year.

They have an ELITE pass rush lead by James Pearce Jr (who will be a top 5 pick) & one of the top 10 best Corners in CFB this season in Jermond McCoy the transfer they brought in from Oregon ST.

The best thing they do Offensively is run the ball surprisingly enough.

I think we could beat them in a shootout, but the matchup of James Pearce Jr vs our OL would be a tough one.

Texas is Hot & Cold. Ewers doesn't appear to have the killer instinct at QB that's needed to get them over the hump. From what I've noticed, he goes in the tank early when things get rough. He flat out quit in the UGA game & I've seen multiple times throughout his career where he just puts his head down & sulks when he faces adversity. He doesn't deal with pressure well at all & if you can get him to turn the ball over early, he'll pack it up.

BUT, they have very very very good Offensive weapons, that when they're going at optimum level, they're very difficult to beat. They have a sh*t ton of team speed & they're the kinda of team that if they catch you on the right day, it'll be over quick.

From a purely matchup standpoint, Ole Miss would give us the most trouble, because they have a top 5 QB, very good WR Corps & their Defense is actually pretty good this year.

Oregon would be a shootout in a race to 50.

Oh ST would be about simply getting to Will Howard. They're a first half team, if you can survive their first half barrage & contain the Deep ball, they're very. beatable.

UGA is the team I most would want to play. We would beat the **** outta them. And I know that will upset the Georgia lovers, but Idc, we beat that team on a neutral field.
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Death To UGA
 
Memnon said:
Tennessee's Defense is what makes them a playoff contender this year.

They have an ELITE pass rush lead by James Pearce Jr (who will be a top 5 pick) & one of the top 10 best Corners in CFB this season in Jermond McCoy the transfer they brought in from Oregon ST.

The best thing they do Offensively is run the ball surprisingly enough.

I think we could beat them in a shootout, but the matchup of James Pearce Jr vs our OL would be a tough one.

Texas is Hot & Cold. Ewers doesn't appear to have the killer instinct at QB that's needed to get them over the hump. From what I've noticed, he goes in the tank early when things get rough. He flat out quit in the UGA game & I've seen multiple times throughout his career where he just puts his head down & sulks when he faces adversity. He doesn't deal with pressure well at all & if you can get him to turn the ball over early, he'll pack it up.

BUT, they have very very very good Offensive weapons, that when they're going at optimum level, they're very difficult to beat. They have a sh*t ton of team speed & they're the kinda of team that if they catch you on the right day, it'll be over quick.

From a purely matchup standpoint, Ole Miss would give us the most trouble, because they have a top 5 QB, very good WR Corps & their Defense is actually pretty good this year.

Oregon would be a shootout in a race to 50.

Oh ST would be about simply getting to Will Howard. They're a first half team, if you can survive their first half barrage & contain the Deep ball, they're very. beatable.

UGA is the team I most would want to play. We would beat the **** outta them. And I know that will upset the Georgia lovers, but Idc, we beat that team on a neutral field.
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Tenn’s defense has been completely lights out this year and are a problem. It’s why they are winning games. Also 100% agree on Ole Miss. They have had a disappointing season but could be a nightmare if they get to the playoff.
 
@Memnon out of curiosity- if you were a DC prepping for Miami what would your gameplan be? Do you see any blind spots with the scheme that can be exploited? Personnel issues? Any bad tendencies from Dawson?

I know you devour a ton of CFB- any DCs/Defenses out there this year that could be a bad matchup for this offense, from a scheme or personnel wise?
 
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Do you think the issues on D fall on Guidry and his scheme/philosophy, or is it the talent at DB/LB, or a mix of it both. I recall you were high on Guidry last year so curious your thoughts. Sounds like we need better depth/talent in the secondary and get lateral, coverage guys at LB to mix in with pass rushing LBs. I think the LB issue will be fixed with guys like Pruitt, Hayes, Washington developing.
 
DTP said:
There is taking risks and then there is being stupid. His throw back towards the middle while running out of bound against Duke was stupid. Not only were there two defenders there, it was lofted. You couldn’t throw a more interceptable pass.

I’ve said from day one that Cam was going to take chances and more often than not, he would wow us with an amazing play but that throw was 100% garbage. Even if, by some miracle, it was completed, it would have been like a four yard gain. You don’t throw a pick six ball to gain 4 yards.
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Risktaking is fine, but running right and throwing back across the middle is not risktaking, its being stupid and careless with the ball.

It's the second time that's happened and twice we've escaped because we played serious after that. We may play better teams in the future where we can't do that.
 
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Memnon said:
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Opening drive sets the tone for the game, 8 play 77yd drive for a TD. And Cam throws an absolute frozen rope!

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THIS IS WHY YOU THROW THE FCKIN BALL.


CAM MCCORMICK!!


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Got to see some 22 personnel in the 2nd quarter drive. That's something that Dawson had a ton of at SFA & Southern Miss, hasn't called it much at Miami, but it's nice to see him bring it back. It's a good wrinkle to use considering we have 2 backs who are both 230+ & can block. This gives some play call versatility & flexibility out of that look for Screens & uptempo quick passing plays with route combos for Bang 8's & Post's. It also can free up Arroyo from not having the responsibility of chipping on every play when he's in.

Can we please cut it out with this Markell Bell at LT experiment? He can't fckin move, his kick-slide is cumbersome AF & once he gets set in his initial block he has no recovery moves. All an Edge rusher has to do is his hit him with a power to speed rush combo & he's COOKED.


We're down by 11 in the 3rd quarter & we're still calling stupid not going anywhere run plays. But as soon as we start throwing it, we march up the field in 3 plays & score.




Restrepo, Horton, JGeorge, Brown, Arroyo, Williams, plus Martinez out of the backfield occasionally is a bevy of weapons for Cam to dissect Defenses down the field & puts points on the board. What makes Cam so dangerous, is along with his elite kevel elusiveness while evading rushers, he has phenomenal arm talent that allows for him to not only get the ball out quick but also attack Secondaries with the Deep ball. So when he's buying time getting outside the pocket he's not just looking for a check down, he's looking to completely break the Defense by hitting big on a WR down the field. This sends DB's into a frenzy because late route breakdowns are virtually impossible to cover, because there's no real route that your tracking & you have no idea what the WR is doing. All the DB is doing is guessing while simultaneously trying to watch the QB & the WR, this gives a QB with Cam's arm the advantage, which is why he does it so often. Of course, fans just want Cam to throw it away or check the ball down, but there's a method to his madness that most don't realize, but this is something that when you watch the film you can pick up on from tracking tendencies. To use a Basketball analogy, fast break plays are much harder to Defend than a set Half court offense; when Cam scrambles around in the backfield, that's what he's doing, he's forcing the Defense to think quick on their feet, which most defenders really can't do.

This is what the Offense looks like when its operating at optimum level. If you see the contrast between this game & the FSU game, maybe you might understand why I felt the way I did after the FSU game, but I doubt it. But either way, the Offense is at its best, when THEY ARE THROWING THE BALL. That is the reality. It's been proven statically & by eye test. When. We. Pass. The. Ball. We. Are. Unstoppable.




Defense




Good reccovery coverage by Romanas on the 3rd down slant. He initially got beat on the route, but Murphy throws the ball behind the WR & Romanas plays through the hands to disrupt the catch point.

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Very good route stoppage by Frederique. He flipped his hips & transitioned in phase seamlessly. The reason why he didn't get called for PI was because he got his head around to locate the ball & while establishing equal contact with the WR. He didn't impede the WR's ability to make a play on the ball, in fact, the WR was the one who was holding Romanas.



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Big time pick by Romanas.

He's playing outside leverage against Inside release, plays to the WR's outside shoulder & immediately gets in phase tracking the ball. Then did a great job creating distance to disallow the WR to adjust to the ball. It was an ovethrow by Murphy & a more on the money throw to the inside shoulder of the WR would've likely been a catch, BUT, Romanas still deserves credit for quickly recognizing the overthrow & getting to the ball. It was a big turnover at a critical moment in the game that helped shift momentum back in our favor.

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Here he almost gets a 2nd pick.

Played PERFECT textbook coverage against the Slant. Stayed square against the outside release, kept a wide base while shuffling his feet & reading the WR, initiated inside quick jab to, showed great route recognition to pick up on the Slant & instantly turned towards his outside shoulder to undercut the ball. His Footwork won on this snap. He beat the WR to the stem point at the top of the route & basically boxed him out from being able to get inside for the Slant.

He gets a game ball for today. He played really well in Coverage, with the exception of the PI. But this was really his coming out party IMO. Up until this point in the season he hadn't had a single game with more than 4 targets, so while his numbers looked impressive early on, he really wasn't being tested. But today he was targeted quite a bit & was the only Corner who stood firm in coverage & held his own in Press Man. He's earned the right to be the full time starter at RCB/Field for next season.

I'm not a believer in Damari like most of you are. So for next year, OJ is a starter at Field & then depending on how we finish the 25 class & what we potentially bring in via Winter/Spring Portal, we will need to revamp the entire CB group & Secondary in general.

On Duke's first TD, Daryl Porter Jr gets worked in the Slot on a Slant route & then Jadais Richard gets routed on a 27yd back shoulder.

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You wanna know an indicator that Jadais Richard ain't it? He wears White Spats on his cleats. That's LB/DL sh*t. Corners don't wear that because it looks ugly. We clown DB's who wear those. I know that sounds trivial, but if you understand the CB's mentality, you know the swag/gear is just as important as the technique. Look good, play good; its all apart of the process.

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Here he is getting beating on outside leverage while playing at Boundary, that's not supposed to happen when you literally have the sideline closest to your side.

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DPJr got beat BAD on this route. The DPI was TD saving.

Francisco Mauigoa in Man coverage is a recipe for disaster. They got away with it against LVille & FSU, but it's a coverage call that Guidry needs to scrap completely from the playbook until he gets another Mike LB who can actually move laterally.
Mauigoa is a locomotive, he can only go straightforward. Any time he has to make a tackle in space, or cover downfield he's a big time liability. He's a North-South rushing LB, not sideline to sideline Cover Backer with agility.

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But on a funny note, Mauigoa socked the sh*t outta that dude 🤣🤣🤣

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On this TD play, you have the Nickel (DPJr) & both Safeties covering one WR on a Drag route & completely left the Slot running a quick out uncovered. That was a Man Cover 2 call & the Slot is supposed to drift to pick up the Flats while the Rover drops into the left hashes Shell. None of that happened. They all literally just followed 1 WR & got caught in the wash going backside.



Jonathan Brewer (Lashlee disciple) was giving Guidreaux that WORK in the 1st half. We made some solid adjustments & forced multiple turnovers in the 2nd half, but the Blueprint is laid out for exactly what to do against this Defense. The right OC with a good QB will absolutely obliterate this Secondary & LB unit. However, as long as we have the explosive firepower we have on Offense, we can pretty much hang with anybody.


This was my 2nd favorite game of the season thus far. Not just the revenge factor for losing to Duke back in 2022 in embarrassing fashion, or kicking Diaz's *** & exploiting his sh*tty Defense for 523yds, but its the way in which we went about it. This is what I was talking about! KILL your opponents. Fxk that play it safe & hand it off bullsh*t, ATTACK, ATTACK, ATTACK.

Dropping 50+ on Duke is what we're SUPPOSED to do.

This season is one for the books. This is the complete antithesis to the 2017 10-0 start, mainly because we're not winning games off sheer luck with a hope & a prayer. We're winning with offensive dominance, being lead by a generational talent at QB. Which is absolutely HUGE for today's day& age, because the 2 proven methods of winning in CFB are:
- Have an Elite Team (particularly on Defense) with a game manager whose job it is to just hand the ball off & not turn the ball over (EG, UGA & Cheatagain 🤢🤢🤮)

OR

- Have an Elite QB, with very good weapons & Blitzkrieg your way to a Championship (EG, LSU, Clemson, Oh ST, Bama).

Now obviously, Miami probably isn't going to be a championship team given that eventually our Defense will catch up to us, however, what is undeniable at this point, is that we are quite literally the most dangerous Offense in CFB. That's been good enough to earn teams like
- 2023 Washington
- 2022 TCU
- 2018 Oklahoma
- 2017 Oklahoma
trips to the playoffs & an opportunity at the big dance. LSU & Clemson were the teams that actually capitalized once they got there with their potent Offenses, but the difference between us & them is they at least had adequate personnel on their Defenses to supplement for the fact that they weren't dominant on that side of the ball. Or in other words, they weren't great Defensively in the same vein as UGA & Cheatagain, but they had good enough players to do the job while the Offense just destroyed everybody.

I'm not sure if Miami is a LSU/Clemson, or a UW/TCU as of now, but in both scenarios I'll take it. It's a far cry from where we've been as a program just as recent as last year. To go from being a barely .500 team, to now being on the doorstep of the playoffs is nothing short of remarkable, Mario & Dawson deserve a ton of credit.

It remains to be seen what the plan is for next year, but right now I don't even care about next year, the only thing that matters is staying the course & continuing to erase all obstacles that stand in our way, including ourselves lol.

This has been the most exciting season we've played in 2 decades & I'm savoring every moment of it.

With Killa Cam

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@Memnon great stuff as always. Thank you

If you are the team DC; what changes would you make on personnel and schematics to improve the D based on what you know and have seem on the field ?
 
there isnt a team out there that scares me....we can beat anyone especially this year
the worry is us getting in our own way
still think we win the natty this year...js
 
Memnon said:
He's a solid run blocker when all he has to do is go forward, but he really struggles moving laterally & when he plays against Speed rushers he's a flat out liability.
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Feel like I’m losing my mind with people saying he’s a good run blocker. The next time he gets to the second level and is actually able to get his hands on someone in space will be the first.

I like his potential. I think with another year of the strength program to get a more solid base to handle his height he can be really good as our left tackle next season. He’s not there yet, imo.
 
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cway313 said:
Our entire secondary is depth pieces outside of OJ. Talent on field is severely lacking.
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A depth piece is not necessarily a jag. It includes those that can give quality reps but may not be starter level.

If we had a few of those on the roster and we might get through this until we get to the next recruiting/transfer cycle.
 
TwentySix said:
Feel like I’m losing my mind with people saying he’s a good run blocker. The next time he gets to the second level and is actually able to get his hands on someone in space will be the first.

I like his potential. I think with another year of the strength program to get a more solid base to handle his height he can be really good as our left tackle next season. He’s not there yet, imo.
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Most folks don't understand OL play. Simply throwing it out there because it helps me personally cope with people commenting on line play. In this case, I would simply modify the statement to "Bell is a lot better at run blocking (in a straight line) than he is at pass blocking." That's not to say he's a good run blocker, simply that in comparison to his pass protection, he is better at run blocking. And yes, I acknowledge that I'm nitpicking.
Here's a real question - where's Samson?
 
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BigDikDaddyFromCincinnati said:
Most folks don't understand OL play. Simply throwing it out there because it helps me personally cope with people commenting on line play. In this case, I would simply modify the statement to "Bell is a lot better at run blocking (in a straight line) than he is at pass blocking." That's not to say he's a good run blocker, simply that in comparison to his pass protection, he is better at run blocking. And yes, I acknowledge that I'm nitpicking.
Here's a real question - where's Samson?
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I know **** all about OL but it “seems” to me that we want it to be McCoy and Rivers on the left side. I know McCoy has been hurt since before the season and Rivers has been banged up but the sentiment was Bell was a year away when he got here
 
NorthEastCane said:
A depth piece is not necessarily a jag. It includes those that can give quality reps but may not be starter level.

If we had a few of those on the roster and we might get through this until we get to the next recruiting/transfer cycle.
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So you mean just a guy that can fill in. That makes more since.
 
NorthEastCane said:
A depth piece is not necessarily a jag. It includes those that can give quality reps but may not be starter level.

If we had a few of those on the roster and we might get through this until we get to the next recruiting/transfer cycle.
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I’m with you. I thought we were done doing this though back in 2023

Brutal to still be having this conversation but here we are
 
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