Real Talk--The Sobering Slap of Reality Edition...

[Notsince1985]

I'm going to disagree on one point. Poppvich actually made plays when he was forced to play in 98 and 99. He had INTs and blocked kicks and wasn't nearly as bad as Highsmith. I mean, the difference between him and Ed Reed was a joke, but I wouldn't even put him in the same category as Highsmith. I love the kid's attitude, heart and Dad, but he's atrocious.

 

[The Franchise]

Agree with just about everything....great post. On D we really look unathletic on the front 7 and #30 in the secondary. We need some serious upgrades there.

Also, not sure if his redshirt is intact, but I really would like to Grace get some burn. He's a playmaker...who cares if he's 215lbs. Also, since it seems we want our LB to cover the slot, use our best cover LB!

I agree on Grace. He brings atleticism that Gaines and Cornelius don't.

Did you see the play late in the game where Jemima and Figs were one on one? Jemima went to put a move on Figs, but Figs didn't get juked out of his cleats like Cornileus certainly would have. That's what we need in the lineup. An infusion of quick twitch athletes.

 

[BoxingRobes]

the offense hasnt help out at all the last three games, the defense has been on the field pretty much the whole game.

The main reason the defense has been on the field so much is that they can't get off the field. Yesterday was a flat out mismatch. Fsu had too many weapons and a QB that can distribute the ball accurately. Combine that with our pass stalemate, and you have a recipe for disaster. I think we forced one punt all night.

And it came late in the game.

That first drive was indicative of what we were going to see all night. FSU didn't bring their A game, but they still marched down the field on us and scored on the opening drive. They didn't need to rely on the big play or to get hot for a series, they just marched down the field. Took what we gave them on first and second down and made plays on third down. Miami, on the other hand, bad on third downs. When it comes down to extending long drives, Miami just can't do it. They are converting third downs at a 40% clip, Florida State is in the top five in the country at converting on third downs. The result in-game was obvious. Miami was regularly getting off the field while FSU was extending drives.

 

[The Franchise]

Hope VT doesn't come down to a Goudis kick. Huge momentum killer for us last night and I've lost the faith there

He's shot. I'd have big O'Donnell kick FGs. At least we know he won't choke. The Don will probably stick with Gouda cheese though because he stuck with The Claw last year and it worked. He clearly lost faith in him yesterday.

 

[AtrainCane]

Agree with just about everything....great post. On D we really look unathletic on the front 7 and #30 in the secondary. We need some serious upgrades there.

Also, not sure if his redshirt is intact, but I really would like to Grace get some burn. He's a playmaker...who cares if he's 215lbs. Also, since it seems we want our LB to cover the slot, use our best cover LB!

I agree on Grace. He brings atleticism that Gaines and Cornelius don't.

Did you see the play late in the game where Jemima and Figs were one on one? Jemima went to put a move on Figs, but Figs didn't get juked out of his cleats like Cornileus certainly would have. That's what we need in the lineup. An infusion of quick twitch athletes.

Exactly. That is what our LB's should look like and do on the field. I'm tired of guys being in the right place, but lacking the athletic ability to make the play.

 

[CanesAreAble]

In terms of physicality, I thought we help up pretty well. In the first half, we held their running game in check with both safeties back. But it's a lot to ask to sustain for an entire game without a distinct talent edge.

We're still lacking in terms of depth and talent, but the biggest disparity is at QB. Winston keeps drives alive and Morris strangles them.

 

[The Franchise]

We need to stockpile on talent.

That's what fsu has been doing the past 5 years, and suddenly Jizzbo looks like a genius.

 

[jruiz]

Al needs to recruit a new kicker

 

[CanesAreAble]

We need to stockpile on talent.

That's what fsu has been doing the past 5 years, and suddenly Jizzbo looks like a genius.

And despite it, EJ Manuel turns that into a 4th quarter game.

Winston is the real deal. He has that "it" quality. Keeps drives alive. The defense did a really good job of forcing 3rd & favorable, but Winston made a play.

 

[CANE1775]

Good stuff man. Although I've been saying all year that we still had a ways to go, it just sucks like **** when you see it against your arch rival. This current class (14) and next year's class (15) are extremely important.

 

[SmokeyRone]

As Manstein (who did a much better job with a defense that at the time had less talent than us) once said: "This is the revenge of reality"

 

[DutchieFlair]

Good stuff man. Although I've been saying all year that we still had a ways to go, it just sucks like **** when you see it against your arch rival. This current class (14) and next year's class (15) are extremely important.

me and k9 kept saying 2 more recruiting cycles smh. Gonna suck dealing with Winston till then tho

 

[SBAMACANE]

Goudis is killing me for sure. He should be extra point guy at most.

 

[The Franchise]

Some over reaction in there, especially the BC part. We are 7-1, they are 4-4. We beat UNC, they lost to them by 24. We are a better team then them.

We still need more talent and depth which is pretty obvious.

That's why I emphasized the RIGHT NOW part. You can say they lost to UNC so we are better, but they were much more competitive against fsu. The transitive stuff doesn't work. The BC team I've watched a few times this year is right at about our level. They also nearly upset Clemson at Clemson.

 

[DaU83]

the offense hasnt help out at all the last three games, the defense has been on the field pretty much the whole game.

we didn't get a stop til the 4th quarter ... that has nothing to do with the offense. several third and longs where we just allowed this guy to convert because we didn't bring additional pressure or it was so easily picked up that it didn't matter.

 

[The Franchise]

the offense hasnt help out at all the last three games, the defense has been on the field pretty much the whole game.

The main reason the defense has been on the field so much is that they can't get off the field. Yesterday was a flat out mismatch. Fsu had too many weapons and a QB that can distribute the ball accurately. Combine that with our pass stalemate, and you have a recipe for disaster. I think we forced one punt all night.

And it came late in the game.

That first drive was indicative of what we were going to see all night. FSU didn't bring their A game, but they still marched down the field on us and scored on the opening drive. They didn't need to rely on the big play or to get hot for a series, they just marched down the field. Took what we gave them on first and second down and made plays on third down. Miami, on the other hand, bad on third downs. When it comes down to extending long drives, Miami just can't do it. They are converting third downs at a 40% clip, Florida State is in the top five in the country at converting on third downs. The result in-game was obvious. Miami was regularly getting off the field while FSU was extending drives.

Exactly. Our 3rd down O and 3rd down D are not very good. The 3rd down O sucks because our QB is streaky and our power run game is weak, and our 3rd down D sucks because we have no pass rush.

 

[TallyCane]

It's a process

 

[The Franchise]

We need to stockpile on talent.

That's what fsu has been doing the past 5 years, and suddenly Jizzbo looks like a genius.

And despite it, EJ Manuel turns that into a 4th quarter game.

Winston is the real deal. He has that "it" quality. Keeps drives alive. The defense did a really good job of forcing 3rd & favorable, but Winston made a play.

I agree that Jemima is the clear difference. But they also have a pretty big advantage on both lines too. We are a ways off from beating the big boys.

 

[BlackKeysFan]

We are a much much worse team without Duke. I think that changes our season alot. That kid is a warrior and I hope he comes back better than 100%

Other than him getting hurt, this game is something I can live with because unfortunately, FSU is very very good and we won't play a better team all year until our rematch. I just think they are a little better at pretty much every spot and a good bit better at a few. Has nothing to do with our journey, this is theirs and they are at the apex of it. Good team, no two ways around it.

This team will be in a dogfight with every ACC team we play including Duke. Not 1 guaranteed win on the schedule from here on out. Without Duke I wonder how we will be able to score but I don't think any of the teams are more talented than us, even without Duke.

Next week is our whole season, and I hope they can shake this off and show up.

 

[The Franchise]

You're right BlackKeys. Every ACC game will be a dog fight. VT, Duke and Pitt will all stand a very real chance of beating us. The team that's struggled to beat every decent team we've played is the team we are.