A retrospect, and a blueprint for better days…

I started throwing NFL Draft parties a few years back. It felt like a good halfway point between bowl season and the first college football weekend at the end of August. The obvious highlight being the experience of watching NFL-bound Canes getting chosen to play at the next level.

I started the tradition around 2002 when Miami was putting four, five or six kids in the first round and I’m ready to put the tradition on ice until the current curse is reversed.

In need of a Canes-themed fix last weekend, I dove into my archaic VHS collection in search of better days and some old school memories committed to videotape. Randomly, I gravitated to Miami v. Louisville, circa 2004.

I trekked 3,000 miles back to the 305 for that Thursday night home game and I’ll never change the channel when that classic is on. Love the memories as well as the constant conformation I made the right choice in picking that particular weekend to revisit the Orange Bowl.

The No. 3 Miami Hurricanes took on the No. 17 Louisville Cardinals on October 14th, 2004. The Canes were a season removed from an 11-2 run, an Orange Bowl win over Florida State… and that was considered a “down” year after 2000-2002. Back-to-back 9-3 seasons ensued… which could be stellar seasons after 7-6 and 5-7 the past two years. Talk about perspective.

Watching this thrilling 41-38 comeback, a lot of things came to mind and warrant discussion.

Quarterback Brock Berlin played the role of whipping boy for most Canes fans, even though he went 5-0 against Florida and Florida State over his two year run. Then again, on the heels of a 38-2 run by Ken Dorsey, a national championship and a second title game berth – Berlin’s 19-5 run was going to pale in comparison amongst a fan base expecting perfection.

Protecting Berlin, an offensive line that couldn’t hold a candle to the 2001 squad – but a bunch that would play over every starter on the 2007 line. The running game? Frank Gore and Tyrone Moss were pounding the rock. Talib Humphrey and Quadtrine Hill were capable fullbacks that the Canes haven’t found a way to replace in four seasons. 

Ryan Moore was sidelined again Louisville, but looked like a budding sophomore in 2004 after a solid freshman campaign. Roscoe Parrish was the Santana Moss-like flanker – and his back up, Darnell Jenkins – arguably the best wideout Miami has seen since since and bar none, a ‘throwback’ Cane.

Defensively Baraka Atkins was backed up by Bryan Pata. Orien Harris had Teraz McCray behind him. Kareem Brown backed up Santonio Holmes and Javon Nanton was behind Thomas Carroll. Hardly the superstars Miami’s defensive line saw in the early part of the decade, but depth was infinitely greater in 2004 than it has been anytime since.

Antrel Rolle and Kelly Jennings were your corners, with Marcus Maxey and Glenn Sharpe as your back ups. Brandon Meriweather and Greg Threat held it down at safety.

At linebacker, the beginning of what’s been a depleted position since. Jon Vilma and D.J. Williams were one year removed, so it was the Rocky McIntosh, Leon Williams and Tavares Gooden show. That said, depth was still prevalent with Jon Beason, Glenn Cook and a highly-touted Willie Williams/James Bryant duo were waiting in the wings – a few years before both moved to Bust City, USA.

Even on the kicking front, a second-year Jon Peattie gave fans much more confidence than any Miami kicker since. Special teams-wise, Parrish was returning punts and kicks with Jenkins, Rolle and superstar Devin Hester setting the Canes up field position-wise.

The talent level was ‘down’ by 2001-2003 standards, but the 2004 squad would’ve taken it to the 2005-2007 Canes’ teams. A No. 1-ranked recruiting class just landed in Coral Gables and in time, the talent will again be prevalent at The U. If grading every class since 2001, the Canes have progressively gotten worse over time and bottomed out last fall.

A lot of criticism was thrown the way of offensive coordinator Patrick Nix last season, hired in 2007 to replace the one-year Rich Olson experiment after Olson was brought in to take over for oft-criticized Dan Werner.

The Werner Era is one most would like to forget, but damned if the guy didn’t call a decent game when he had some weapons to work with. Slant patterns, finding speedy receivers underneath, a powerful rushing attack, balance (33 rushes, 37 passing attempts), getting the ball to the tight end and making sure playmakers were involved, be it upperclassmen or freshman showing potential.

Down 24-7 at the half, Werner and crew made adjustments, threw Berlin in the shotgun and the Canes effective moved the ball up and down the field while a talented, stout defense with a decent amount of depth held a potent Louisville offense to 14 points, while the Canes put up 34.

Conversely, former defensive coordinator Randy Shannon looked all-world early on and won the Frank Broyles Award as assistant of the year in 2001 when his defensive out-talented the competition. Three short years and a handful of superstars later, Shannon’s defense is giving up 38 against Louisville, 31 a week later in a win at N.C. State and 31 the following week in a loss at North Carolina. Proof that schemes are simply schemes if the right players aren’t executing them and the depth isn’t there.  

Miami graduated 17 seniors after 2004 and sent five starters to the NFL – Rolle, Parrish, Gore, Kevin Everett and Chris Myers. Upwards of 25 Canes that played the Cardinals in October 2004 found their way onto NFL rosters, most through the Draft and a few free agent signings. Five first rounders suited up for The U on that Thursday night.

As is the overall theme with this article, that number pales in comparison to the success earlier this decade – but will dwarf the 2007 squad’s results when looking back on last season’s roster years from now. At a quick glance, there are upward of a half dozen NFLers regarding 2007’s upperclassmen, at best – and that includes the three who were drafted last weekend.

Superior talent made Werner look halfway decent as an offensive coordinator and two years later, inferior talent made Olson look like an utter bum, calling plays for Miami in 2006. A year later, Olson surfaced with Dennis Erickson and at Arizona State and the Sun Devils offense looked like a well-oiled machine.

Before Shannon is chastised as a head coach or Nix is shredded as an offensive coordinator, the talent and depth need to return and the team needs to jell. The seeds are being planted and the Canes are one step closer entering 2008, but still have their work cut out for them. 

Even with the boatload of new defense talent recently arriving in Coral Gables, or heading to town in fall – first year defensive coordinator Bill Young still has his work cut out for him. Sadly, most will forget that come fall and expect an exact duplication of the Kansas defense he just led to an Orange Bowl win over Virginia Tech.

Miami doesn’t need a Marcus Forston, Sean Spence and Arthur Brown to turn things around. It needs a dozen or so guys like that to turn the defense around. Same to be said for a Robert Marve, Aldarius Johnson or Tommy Streeter. The Canes offense needs to be two deep all the way around before steamrolling opposing defenses anytime soon.

We put on weight one pound at a time when we get fat and we melt it off one pound as a time when we workout and aim to get lean. Miami didn’t get good overnight, nor did the wheels fall off in a one year span. The 2000-2003 run happened due to seeds being planted and harvested 1997-1999. Special players signed on, depth was created, superstars emerged and even more depth was added.

How else do you almost make the title game (2000), win a championship the next year (2001), lose 11 starters to the NFL (five first rounders) and rebound with another 12-0 season and screwed out of back-to-back championships? That kind of depth doesn’t just ‘happen’.

5-7 didn’t just ‘happen’, either. The Canes eroded away under Larry Coker. 12-0 became 12-1, 11-2, 9-3, 9-3 and 7-6 on the old man’s watch. Check out some old game footage if you have your doubts. Last year’s games were unwatchable, making a three and a half-year old contest like 41-38 against Louisville as welcomed as a National Championship berth.

Of course those of us in the stands for that Thursday night thriller left the Orange Bowl bitching about 38 points given up on defense and the middle of the field being exposed – instead of celebrating a 4-0 ranking and No. 3 ranking a third of the way through the season. It was all relative and the 2004 version of Miami couldn’t hold a candle to recent Canes teams.

The right staff is in place, the right players are returning and soon enough, all will again be right in college football when Miami is revamped, reloaded and reminiscent of the great Hurricane teams witnessed earlier this decade.

Hang tough, Canes.

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