A change will do you good…

A month ago Kirby Freeman was named starter over Kyle Wright. Freeman limped out the gates with a so-so performance against Marshall and a week later, was a deer in headlights at Oklahoma. Wright entered the game and the Canes looked like a completely different team.

While I always respected Freeman’s attitude, I oft mentioned during the off-season that he was yet to play a big game for Miami and that I wasn’t impressed with what I had seen skills-wise. Conversely, Wright has knocked on the door of a big win on many occasions, but has rarely delivered. Even the 27-7 upset of #3 Virginia Tech in 2005 was more a defensive effort and a night where Wright simply didn’t kill the Canes.

Halfway through the 51-13 thrashing in Norman, both Shannon and offensive coordinator Patrick Nix saw the writing on the wall with Freeman. Wright came in, made some plays and Freeman got one last chance to do something. He didn’t and days later Wright was named starter.

Whether it was a motivational tactic or not, it worked. Wright was benched for the first time in his career and it looks to have been that spark he needed. He’s made the most of his “last hurrah” and is finally showing the character and poise this fan base has expected since he took over in 2005. The competition made him better. Freeman ‘wowed’ coaches in practice, but failed on game day. It’s been the opposite for Wright.

This staff could’ve stuck with Freeman to save face. Especially considering he’s the better long term investment as a junior and Wright being a senior. No chance. Shannon and Nix pulled the plug on the Freeman Experiment. The result – a 21 of 26, 275 yard and 2 TD outing for Wright in the 34-17 upset of #20 Texas A&M last week and a bounce in the step this program hasn’t seen in a few years.

Speaking of Wright, his “it” factor moment came on the first possession and final third down picked up before the score. On a third and long, Wright stepped forward in the pocket and dumped a pass off to Javarris James. It gained 11 yards and one play later, a direct snap to Graig Cooper had Miami up 7-0.

A year ago, Wright is sacked on a play like that and with a 4th and long, Miami settles for a field goal. This time around, the Canes go for the jugular early and set the tone – on a drive where Miami needed four 3rd down conversions and a quarterback sneak on 4th and 1 to keep the drive alive. Shannon’s faith in his team paid off. Last Thursday was a huge turning point.

There’ve been other personnel change outside the quarterback position. Richard Gordon saw his day at kick returner come and go after the Oklahoma loss. Enter freshman Shawnbrey McNeal. Same to be said for Randy Phillips after getting torched all day by the Sooners. From corner back to safety for #6, his natural position. It’s also been rotating kickers in regards to punting and kickoff duty and will remain that way until someone steps up their game.

We’ve also seen the whip cracked discipline-wise with Sam Shields benched the first game for breaking an undisclosed rule, as well as Bruce Johnson being absent the first two games for tardiness in regards to practice and class.

This week we’ll see some starters in on special teams, as the guys there have been giving up too much field position and not getting their jobs done.

The message is clear. Mess with the bull, get the horns.

How about the upgrade in overall coaching talent? No more retreads – instead a hungry bunch out to make a name for themselves. Nix is looking more like the guy Shannon envisioned, than the one who seemed vanilla in his play calling at Oklahoma.

That said, the current MVP of this bunch is Jeff Stoutland in regards to what he’s done to toughen up this offensive line and trim the fat. I liked the Stoutland hire immediately, based on what I read about him – as well as the fact he was from the Big Ten.

There isn’t any other position on the field where I’d want a fast, athletic Miami team to emulate the slower paced Big Ten, except offensive line. Stoutland has brought that toughness to The U and is doing it with a mix of players who haven’t gotten it done the past few years.

The rest of this new staff is performing quite nicely and it’s refreshing to see the chemistry they have with the players. Watching defensive line coach Clint Hurtt chest-bumping players after the first defensive stand sounds trivial, but it means something. As does seeing Shannon grabbing Dedrick Epps, reeling him back and slamming in the chest after #18 fought for extra yardage on a touch catch.

Coaches will ride these kids on the practice field, but come game day it’s time to celebrate and give that pat on the back for a job well done. We all seek approval and the camaraderie between Miami players and coaches on game day is a refreshing site. Work out the kinks next week at practice (i.e. – Cooper’s fumbles), but during the game keep the kids playing loose and fearless.

The Canes struggled mightily in the red zone during their 23-9 win over FIU. A week later, some serious changes. Direct snaps to the running backs. More use of the play action pass to set up the deep ball. The Canes absolute exposed the Aggies’ secondary with some new-look plays no one had seen the first three games of the year. That’s coaching. Throwing the unexpected out there at just the right time.

It’s took four games, but Miami is finally establishing it’s identity on offense. That opening drive against aTm could prove to be the turning point of this 2007 season.

I read today that Cooper text messaged his head coach at 1:30am ET after the aTm game, apologizing for his two fumbles. Moments later, a note back from Shannon telling “enjoy the win and go work on it next week.”

I like having a coaching staff and group of players, wide awake hours after the big game – being eaten up by what went wrong in a 17-point victory, instead of resting on their laurels. It’s this type of intensity that wins championships over time. Coop knows other backs are vying for his job and that he’s on the bench if he can’t hold on to the rock. That ‘fear’ will motivate these kids and make them even greater assets to this team.

I don’t want to keep harping on the old regime, but I can’t imagine things were this way the past half decade at Miami. Jobs weren’t on the line like this. Kids weren’t living in fear of letting down their coaches. There’s a reason the program eroded and 7-6 was a reality last season.

Finishing games. Another concept Shannon is driving home. As much as I loved the enthusiasm early on when the Canes were rolling to a 31-0 fourth quarter lead, I loved the Shannon Scowl every time Texas A&M found the end zone or made a big play. You could feel the disgust through your TV screen and knew these kids were going to get an earful next practice.

I recall Shannon getting in Gordon’s face and going off after a special teams penalty and thinking to myself that our new coach was more fired up over a boneheaded play the fourth game of the season, than our past coach was over a bogus flag in the end zone which decided the National Championship and went on to end a 34-game win streak.

Finish. It something Miami has struggled with over the years. Putting an opponent away for good. Jimmy Johnson was a master at it and it seems Shannon took that trait from his former coach and boss. I love it. That killer instinct will be learned and will be a Miami thing in the near future. You can feel it.

Even though it’s only Duke, this is another telling week. Miami needs to take steps forward every game. An FIU-like outing is a set back. No more playing down to the level of the competition. The Canes need to fire on all cylinders Saturday at 12pm ET. Come out crisp and Miami rolls. This offense needs to keep clicking and put up some points this week against Duke and next week at North Carolina. 6-1 and with momentum when “revenge” games (a word coaches hate and fans love) against Georgia Tech and Florida State are back-to-back mid-October.

Wright is winless against both (an 0-4 record since 2005) and has to build on the aTm win with two big weeks before the meat of the schedule. No more mental setbacks. Find that groove against two lesser teams and get into a rhythm with the receivers.

More to come on the Duke game later this week. Stay tuned. For now, I wanted to review weeks one through four and point out the turnaround this team had over the past two weeks, thanks to a new staff and a leader with a winner’s mentality.

There’s no doubt in my mind Miami will be back on top. The only question – ‘when’.

Shannon has this ship righted and is getting the most out of these kids. The ACC title game is definitely within reach and a BCS berth is hardly out of the question, yet seemed insane after the whipping OU put on The U. The Canes are growing leaps and bounds each week. If that trend continues, look out. This team is going places.

Side note, special shout to an old school bud Luke Bennett, who I haven’t caught up with in a good 15 years, yet found me through the blog as he remains a diehard Canes fan. Gotta love the power of the Internet, as well as hearing that friends from your past still share that undying loyalty to the same program you bleed for. Read on, old schoolers. Read on.

.:Canes305:.