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Someone Who Knows Things

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Gocanes1990 said:
If you can hit on all three of those, you’re in good shape 8-9 wins, losing a head scratcher but getting an *** whoppin from nd and probably UF. DC is the next biggest issue. And the way Mario hamstrings himself is my biggest worry. Banks was a slam dunk…

On the cam piece, that’s straight crazy. Idk what else to say lol
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So did Mario try to impose coaches on Banks?
 
nycane said:
you had to go for Mateer. That being said it's funny that this board hated mendoza, then when it looked like we wouldn't get him he turned into Pat Mahomes. I always thought Mendoza could do good here but ALOT of people didnt like him until he committed to Indiana.
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It's not funny the board was told the portal has a surplus of options and a most here don't follow CFB outside of cis updates. He didn't all of a sudden get better, reality just set in.
 
nycane said:
you had to go for Mateer. That being said it's funny that this board hated mendoza, then when it looked like we wouldn't get him he turned into Pat Mahomes. I always thought Mendoza could do good here but ALOT of people didnt like him until he committed to Indiana.
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I was on the camp fighting for Mendoza. He was arguably the best sophomore qb in the country. Canes fans were too good for him and apparently our coaches staff was too smh. The guy averaged 293 yards a game in the ACC. It was a no brainer. Our QB would be secured for the next two years.
 
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DMoney said:
That’s what’s funny to me- I’ve been saying the same thing the whole time. It’s not a knee jerk reaction to Iowa State. We won’t be very good if we run a ball-control offense with Emory.

Nobody is denigrating Cam. It’s a fake argument. Everybody thinks he’s the best thing to happen to us in two decades. He elevated us to relevance.

I just think calling him a “one-man show” on offense is: (1) wrong; and (2) insulting to the other good players on this #1-ranked offense.

I’m glad @BoxingRobes brought up the 2023 team. To me, that’s the most realistic starting point- how much better can we be than that team? That team was better by the stats than the record (SP+ 28th overall), but sputtered because of incomprehensible decision-making at head coach and QB.

Where can we improve on that team? Is that enough to get us in the ACC mix? The margins are pretty close both directions.
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Depends on the quarterback, just like this year. The DNA of Miami in 24 wasnt all that much different than 23...but we had a magician under center.

What predicated our jump in win total was the quarterback. I agree with you, he wasn't a one man show...but he was HIM.

We trot out a Maiava or Drones type (forget Emory, he's not starting Game 1 for us)...USC and VaTech finished 9th and 8th in their conferences in 2024. Odds are good, despite having a better roster, that we'd be finishing closer to them than where we were at this year.

Our coaches just aren't good enough consistently (even Dawson, who will maximize these quarterbacks) to coach the penalties out of us and trot out a more disciplined team. Coaches aren't good enough to draw up a 3rd and goal play to consistently execute in that end of the red zone on crucial downs, nevermind on crucial 4th downs.

Also, we have a few other crucial missing pieces going into next year to our offensive (point scoring) output. These are less of a concern than QB, obviously, but not talked about enough on here...

We are also losing the greatest kicker in the history of our program (and a Top 3 kicker in the nation last year), but that is a story for a different day. A lot of automatic points (9 per game last year) from special teams are coming off the board, a lot of crucial throws on 3rd down, 4th down, and the red zone are coming off the board (from Ward). Damien Martinez's full skillset in the backfield (between the tackles, running through trash, blocking, hands) will also be missed and needs to be replaced/picked up by someone offensively.

And, as we briefly mentioned before, linebacker is going to lose us a game as it stands right now.
 
Is Drones a realistic option, and would people even want this? I think without a question he’s better than Emory plus his ties to Ward /running ability. I mean he was a millimeter away from beating us this year. I’ve seen concerns about character and work ethic but not sure if those are true.
 
Need to define terms. What is a “serviceable” QB? And define “surrounding talent.” Our entire offense is going to be down. If you go from “A” QB play to “C,” and simultaneously go from “B” skill talent to “C” then the decline is steeper than “a competent QB covers it up.” We are looking at somewhere around a 17 point regression next year. If we can manage only an 11 ppg decline it’s a minor miracle. If Cam Ward is singularly responsible for two scores more per game then I think reasonable analysis says he is the offense….

And I don’t think this OL is going to look as good without Cam’s decisiveness, audible ability, and ability to elude pressure… you add in our built in coaching disadvantage and it’s brutal. For instance, we are one of the worst penalized teams in the country every year. Ward’s brilliance was the reason we could convert in 3rd and 20s…that’s not happening next year. That’s a hand off and a punt. We won’t be able to run the ball like we did this year with stacked boxes. We lose a dynamic kicker, so now scoring range moves up 10 yards and we have less running game to convert 4th downs to stay on the field . See how this **** adds up? If CFB had a WAR stat, Cam was probably a 3.5 player. next year is going to be a kick in the ******* for some. It was foolish to take the kids we took and not bank on needing a star at the position in 2025
 
nycane said:
according to most of this board, Manny was better than Mario. What are you doing here?
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It was in reference to the posters comment about teams can just stack the box and stop the run .... UNC ran for 4 Billion yards against Manny's defense that was "stacking the box".

What are YOU doing?
 
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nycane said:
according to most of this board, Manny was better than Mario. What are you doing here?
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Blaming Spider-Man GIF
 
nycane said:
you had to go for Mateer. That being said it's funny that this board hated mendoza, then when it looked like we wouldn't get him he turned into Pat Mahomes. I always thought Mendoza could do good here but ALOT of people didnt like him until he committed to Indiana.
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I called him Cuban Emory one time, then rewatched his tape on PFF. One of those, "I apologize I wasn't familiar with your game" moments. He would of elevated our floor by a lot, and he's a decent NFL prospect.
 
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Canes Empire said:
Is Drones a realistic option, and would people even want this? I think without a question he’s better than Emory plus his ties to Ward /running ability. I mean he was a millimeter away from beating us this year. I’ve seen concerns about character and work ethic but not sure if those are true.
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I'm not anyone making decisions, but I don't believe he's in the portal, so I'd say no. He had a good night against us, but that was hardly unusual. In retrospect, the Va Tech game was the start of the trend where we couldn't rush the passer to save our DB's, and we made every QB look like an All America.
 
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DMoney said:
The high 4* QB we had committed that year is available again. Think we should get him?

High school QB recruiting is a crap shoot. The Portal is the ticket if managed correctly. It's up to the coaches to land the plane. Mendoza would have been a layup.
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Wario Cicciobal when he has to manage a QB room

Fail Good Day GIF by 1331Creative
 
cway313 said:
I agree those were the only 2 options 3 years ago. We also had to grab the basketball player Poff last year as our future QB. The portal is a good option as a safety net, but when you are desperate and not the sexiest option you are left in this predicament. This was predictable and last year caused the staff to get ****y.
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That's exactly how I view the portal too. Don't like what you have, go to the portal. But you've at least got have SOMETHING to start with. Its a good fallback option, but shouldn't be mandatory.

My understanding is that Judd didn't cost anything. Idk what he got once he was on campus, but he didn't cost anything to sign.

That's what loses me. I'm not saying we should always spend big on high school QBs and only target 5*, which is what people will immediately jump to.

I just think we can do better than literally worthless. There are a lot of players who fall between overspending and spending nothing.
 
SCarolina Ibis said:
That's exactly how I view the portal too. Don't like what you have, go to the portal. But you've at least got have SOMETHING to start with. Its a good fallback option, but shouldn't be mandatory.

My understanding is that Judd didn't cost anything. Idk what he got once he was on campus, but he didn't cost anything to sign.

That's what loses me. I'm not saying we should always spend big on high school QBs and only target 5*, which is what people will immediately jump to.

I just think we can do better than literally worthless. There are a lot of players who fall between overspending and spending nothing.
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My sentiments as well. When a Julian Sayin pops up in the spring grab him. If he sucks at least generate some momentum off name rec. Instead...
 
DMoney said:
The high 4* QB we had committed that year is available again. Think we should get him?

High school QB recruiting is a crap shoot. The Portal is the ticket if managed correctly. It's up to the coaches to land the plane. Mendoza would have been a layup.
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Agree. Mario’s tenure hinges on 2025 performance. A massive step back (8 wins or less) and he is playing for his in 2026. I have to trust there is a plan.
 
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