Thoughts On The Season
Generally, I think the Canes finished about where most fans thought they would. I wouldn't have guessed that we would be Coastal Division Champs; however, the fact that we finished in a 3 way tie for the division title says poor about the pathetic state of ACC football than it does about our program. (More on that later)
The Good: Duke Johnson. I was concerned prior to the season about his ability to remain healthy. He doesn't have the build of an Alabama back, and was not sure he could sustain significant playing time as a freshman. He far exceeded my expectations, and I think most Canes fans will concede that he will be our next All-American. Although the offense consitently put up significant yardage and points, some of that was due to how terrible our defense was. The quick scoring drives our defense alotted in most games accounted for us having an additional 3-4 possession per game. Under most circumstances, teams should not have 15 possession a game; however, due to the terrible defenses in the ACC, ours included, the offenses had many more opportunities to gain yards. For those who might argue that it's not neccessarily bad defenses, but good offenses, look at what the ACC's best did against SEC teams last week. The vaunted offenses of GT, Clemson, and FSU, looked terrible!!
Stephen Morris has his limitations. He has a huge arm; however, he often struggles with the easy throws, and does not have good pocket presence. He does some of the same things Jacory Harris does when facing pressure; he tends to scramble into it, as opposed to stepping up in the pocket or side-stepping it, hence we often ended up with Morris taking sacks that weren't neccessary. One thing Morris does well, is throw the deep ball. There were very few times he overthrew the receiver, and often times placed the ball far enough to the outside to ensure that help couldn't get there from the safety. I would like to see Morris improve on his accuracy on the quick throws on the outside to the receivers. There were many times the balls were thrown at the receivers feet or a couple of feet above their heads. Those passes should NEVER be incomplete, and because timing is critical, should be placed with precision, eliminating wasted movement by the WR's to catch the ball, and giving time for the defenders to react.
The BAD: This one is easy. THE ENTIRE DEFENSE. Let me start with the D-Line. There is NOT one player on our starting D-Line that could start for ANY program in the top 10. Our D-Line, save McCord, lacks athleticism, explosion, and quickness. McCord is very quick off the line; however, he should have redshirted this year, and needs another year or two in the weight program before he can be an effective every down player. I'm most pessimistic about this position, because I don't see any fix in the near future. This is not a position where a kid from HS can come in and make a difference right away. Even most JUCO kids need a year to adjust from mediocre level football to big time college football. Basically next year, we are going to get shredded AGAIN, because we will have a slightly more experienced and stronger line, but not any more athletic or capable of making game changing plays. There were some games, where with exception to Chikilo, who at times made hustle plays, I didn't a single name called of ANYONE our our DL crediting them with a tackle. If you are expecting dramatic improvement on our defense next year because we will be more experienced. That is FOOL'S GOLD. Experience doesn't allow for a player who couldn't fight his way through seran wrap one year all of a sudden be able to run through brick walls. In my opinion, the problem with the DL is not neccesarily coaching or scheme, but rather poor recruiting. Look at what FSU and UF has recruited at DT the last 3-4 years and look what we have. Yes, in most cases, STARS MATTER.
Here it comes.....
For those who think that with our two year self imposed bowl ban, that the worst is behind us. Here's a word of advice, expect the worst and hope for the best. The general consensus and expectations seem to be that we will be hit with scholarship reductionn of about 20+- scholarships over the course of a few years. Hurricane fans, this will decimate our program, and erase any progress we've made towards rebuilding the program. A DI program can NOT be competitive with 63 scholarship players on a roster. To be competitive would require for the coaches to hit on EVERY SINGLE RECRUIT, and even then, there would be NO DEPTH. Reports are that UM is being very cooperative with the NCAA and conducting what amounts to a "joint investigation". All this means, is that UM will bend over and take it what ever the NCAA gives them right up the A$$, and UM will not fight it. I will guarantee you that IF serious scholarship reductions occur, Al Golden will not be around to rebuild the program from even greater depths than he found it.
What needs to Happen
Miami needs to LEAVE THE ACC N.O.W.!!! The only hope for the program, is if Miami can negotiate with the Big 10 or SEC to join there conference. Yes, Miami screwed themselves by voting to increase the penalty for leaving the ACC to 50 MILLION dollars; which was done to prevent FSU and Clemson from leaving; however, the ACC conference is already one of the worst, if not THE WORST BCS conferencein college football, and the more irrelavant the conference becomes, the more irrelevant the programs within the conference become. The more irrelevant the football programs become, the less revenue that is produced. The less revenue produced, the greater the gap between the SEC, Big 10, Big 12, and the ACC. What needs to happen is for Miami leave. Miami needs to join a conference that is nationally relevant, and a conference that attracts larger TV revenue and whose fans travel better. Miami can not keep attracting 30,000 fans to their home games and expect to survive. By joining one of the larger football power house conferences, Miami's attendance would increase by 10,000 fans a game on average. Yes, I understand our sorry A$$ stadium would be filled with fans from the visiting team; however, they would be filled with PAYING fans, instead of empty seats.
It Pays
Gene Chizik got fired after just a few years at Auburn. Proof that a QB makes all the difference in college football. Without Cam Newton, they are a .500 team the year they win the National Championship. Yes, Cam Newton was paid!!!! So what??? That's par for the course in the SEC........everyone's a winner. Auburn wins a National Championship and makes TONS of money. The SEC can continue to claim dominance, and ESPN continues to make huge amounts of money from their SEC contract.
Recruiting
Give me 4 stud interior DL and call it a day. Self impose all freaking 20 scholarships this year. JUST GIVE ME SOME **** DL!!!!
