Every year I say the same thing; I’m not going to get sucked into the preseason rags. Whether your team is on top or unranked, the commentary is arbitrary. One mag will have you a top your conference, another thinks you’re middle of the pack. In one, your team boasts a few All-Americans and in another, you’re completely void of talent.
Even worse, the fact that the writers in question barely scratch the surface regarding your preferred team. With 120 teams to rank, I’m sure it’s difficult to legitimately break down and analyze every aspect of a program. Still, humor me. Get your facts straight. Learn a little about up and coming players or who a capable back up will be. Factor in the intangibles. Dig a little.
I know all this, yet every June I’m so starved for anything college football-related, I’ll fork out the $7.99 for any and every publication I can get my hands on. First up this year, Athlon Sports – arguably one of my least favorites over the years.
Athlon ranks Miami #35 out of 120 programs and picks the Canes fourth in the ACC Coastal, behind Virginia Tech, North Carolina and Georgia Tech. Ouch.
Athlon makes reference of Mark Whipple taking over the Miami offense, though limiting this huge addition to a one sentence – “has a long history of success in college and professional football”. When discussing Jacory Harris taking over, the sophomore quarterback is described as “not having the greatest physical skills in the world” though they mention he “minimizes mistakes” and “was a strong leader, even as a freshman”.
The best could be yet to come from Graig Cooper… Javarris James needs to stay healthy… Six receivers return, but could be a year away from dominating… question marks at tight end… starting offensive line is good, but back ups are untested. Nothing we didn’t already know, but definitely sounds like commentary from someone who doesn’t follow the program.
Anyone who doesn’t think that Aldarius Johnson and LaRon Byrd can’t dominate year two, weren’t paying attention last season. Both have “it” and both could be legitimate go-to threats in 2009. Also, no mention of the influx of talent at running back? Mike James has turned heads in practice and Lamar Miller should do the same when he arrives on campus. If you’re going to hype what Bryce Brown ‘might’ do at Tennessee year one, why not show some other talented true freshmen backs the same love? Especially one who actually tore up spring practice.
An expected dig that Miami is on its fourth defensive coordinator in as many seasons… though no explanation as to why. Randy Shannon promoted to head coach. The Tim Walton experiment failing year one. Bill Young headed back to his alma mater for his dream job, which led to the hiring of John Lovett.
Talent at defensive line, though no one has emerged yet… concern at linebacker, though a healthy Colin McCarthy and a solid year two from Sean Spence will help. An attempt at a dig regarding Darryl Sharpton being a man in the middle that “won’t make anyone forget Ray Lewis or Jonathan Vilma”, yet nothing about last year’s superstar recruit Arthur Brown waiting in the wings behind Sharpton. In all the hubbub about Li’l Brown, the Tennessee-based Athlon forgot all about big brother.
Matt Bosher gets his props and Travis Benjamin was referred to as “the second coming of Devin Hester”, which sounds sexy, but is a bit premature.
Regarding unit rankings within the ACC, Athlon graded Miami out as follows: Quarterback (9th), Running Backs (6th), Wide Receivers/Tight Ends (1st), Offensive Line (7th), Defensive Line (6th), Linebackers (3rd) and Defensive Backs (10th).
(Do I even have to note the inconsistency with ranking the receivers best in conference, yet a few pages later stating that they may be too experienced to make a difference this year? Go Athlon!)
The final analysis states that Miami is as talented as anybody in the ACC, but lacks the experience necessary to make a run at a conference crown. Logical on paper, I guess… but again, another stale analysis from outsiders who don’t “get” what’s going on.
I’m not really a betting man, but I’d gladly take the over on Miami finishing fourth in the Coastal Division. Any Athlon folk want in on that action?
you know i try not to get to caught up in these early mags or books that come out…but at the same time i am like you and wish that if these clowns were going to put this stuff on paper and in print that they would do a much better job of looking into things and doing their homework…a little more in depth analysis of the canes would have been great for me
says nothing about james, miller,telemaque, vernon, washington..just a few talented youngsters to name some that will be huge for us this year..no mention of redshirt players like streeter either
at the same time i am kind of glad people are saying things like this..because now we can fly under the radar a bit…. spank a couple schools and "suprise" people
we will be much better than i think people give us credit for..and i really believe va tech is over rated..but some of these comments almost feel like cheap shots due to this mag aparently not doing their homework
i love it when i hear sports writers or whatever talk about people being athletic…unless they were a player at one point in time…unless you played D1 at some point these people would not undertand physical skills..to say jake does not have the greatest physical skills is dumb…did he not show ability last year..i think so …this is a tall lanky kid still growing into his body..and last year he threw and ran in limited action..give me a break..the other funny part was talking about health issuses with coop and baby j…yeah health with baby j…but last time i checked…coop stays pretty healthy
this mag just did nothing for our d line too..no talk of bailey…robinson…guys that will be studs
i just read a link the other day that was on espn.com…that listed the top 10 fastest players in college football this coming season…guess who was top ten…lamar miller..and this kid has not even taken a down yet
you know.. it is what it is…people shoot us down…we stay down…then we suck…the U is done..blah blah blah…we win…Oh it is miami…they got all the talent in their backyard…they are supposed to win…it is miami…
same ol shit different day…but i had to write because i could not hold my tounge..later
VA CANE
va cane…"you know.. it is what it is…people shoot us down…we stay down…then we suck…the U is done..blah blah blah…we win…Oh it is miami…they got all the talent in their backyard…they are supposed to win…it is miami…"
…MIAMI DOES SUCK! U LOST TO CALIFORNIA!
I love how they say we have no Ed Reeds or Sean Taylors at safety. For one, who does? And for two, Vaughn Telemaque has drawn comparisons to Ed Reed and Ray Ray Armstrong has drawn comparisons to Sean Taylor. Both comparisons were made by Shannon who was the DC for both of them.
Fully agree regarding Telemaque and Armstrong, as well as the fact that nobody has an Ed Reed or Sean Taylor.
Again, another case of a writer who doesn't know what they're talking about.
I don't get the double standard. Another school gets an all world, overhyped true freshman and they're expected to come in and tear things up immediately… yet Athlon doesn't give props to Miami's incoming freshmen.
va cane…"you know.. it is what it is…people shoot us down…we stay down…then we suck…the U is done..blah blah blah…we win…Oh it is miami…they got all the talent in their backyard…they are supposed to win…it is miami…"
…MIAMI DOES SUCK! U LOST TO CALIFORNIA!
hey anonymous…if you want to write to me then fine…not a problem…but do me a favor moron…post with a name…let me know what school you support …so at least i can fire back at you..grow some balls
and i forgot we lost that game in the final two minutes with a field full of freshman and sophmores..while california had maybe the best running back in college football carry the ball
i am sure you are a fan of the turds or the criminoles
VA CANE
Are these clowns serious? We almost won the ACC Coastal with a bunch of 17 and 18 year old kids last year, but this year we are going to finish 4th? We beat VT(oh, excuse me, the legitimate title contender…YEAH Right!). Were a fingertip catch away from beating UNC and admitedly were too undisciplined on defense to hang with a gimicky GT option. Did Mike Vick re-enroll at VT or something? Is Tom Brady coming out of the tunnel for UNC? Is Pat White gonna run the option attack for GT? What is the big deal about GT, VT and UNC? As for Jacory Harris and his lack of skills…just ask Ken Dorsey how that worked for him (only 2 losses as a starter)! As for our WRs; Just ask UVA how good they were in a heartbeaking losslast year! You know what? It's not even worth being upset over. Every true Hurricane fan knows that this year has the potential to be special. All people talk about is our first four games…big fu**ing deal! Go CANES!!!!!
We Got Some Canes Over HERE!
UNDER THE RADAR! Not bad place to be with our young players!..
This has alot to do with the fact of RS relationship with the media
After being burned by them year after year both as a player and a coach why should he kiss their arse
So what else are they going to do but take their shots at this program(are you listening Omar, sorry allCanes I couldnt resist)
VA CANE said is best..We win they said its because the talent is right there..if we don`t they say its the coaching and of coarse they will throw in the ..see I told you so
These guys/girls at Athlon havent seen 99% of the HS kids play..The go by where they went and the stars by their name..What the hell do they know
DAU!!!
the skies are darkening with miami's augured success.
VA CANE, don't worry about that anatmous scrub. You are right on with your comments.
I have to admit I buy all those preseason mags because it's college football, so I readit all to get me through the summer with something. I disagree with our ranking of course, while a team such as VT is 4th, but whatever. I read the high level vague-ness and just see what they say for each confernce.
Despite the 7th most difficult schedule this year, The Canes can be special this year. We have the ability to get back to where we belong, or have another tough year while still battling. I happen to have faith and think we can come out of it with a good record and a nice bowl. The ACC is a very underrated league to me. We can win all of our games, but also if we don't execute, we can lose many as well. There is no dominant team, despite the media bending over for Tech. We already showed how to beat them last year, so move on. We have as much talent as anyone in the league and will challenge and could easily win the conference. I don't care what anyone says. I'm not saying it's a forgone conclusion, but we can compete with anyone and win THIS YEAR. I don't ecpect to go undefeated this year of course, but I do expect to get some payback this year (GTech, UNC).
-Columbus Cane
Caneiac1… I totally agree with you. As a fan, I want to face these 4 ranked teams first. If we win, then not only are we back on the map but we're easily in the top 10. No one can hang with our WRs. We can every combination you need. Speed (TB, Davon, & Kendal), Possession (Hank & Streeter), and All-Around (Theron, AJ, & LaRon). We WILL surprise the outsiders this year.
i like that Miami is not ranked high, i like being the dark horse. however i dont understand how VT is ranked so highly( in the top 10 in most publications) compared to MIA when we defeated them last year. and this year we should be alot better. i cant wait for the first 4 games to see where this team stands, i think we will surprise some people
Are we all set with everyone arriving on campus? Or are we going to have a few hold-outs because of grades?? Any updates for us?
DAU!!!
Why should we expect them to understand, we are a private school with a couple thousand students, and a team they once feared. Its only right they get it in now, cause they know in their heart of hearts it will not always be like this. We will be back, they know this. i promise you.
lol, per the norm, if a writer says anything negative (honest)..he's "an idiot,he has no clue".. same guy could write an article in a month saying how great we are, and the same people calling him an idiot would be singing his praises.
Hey allcanes what kind of blog is this?…Step your game up! Very weak material…
Hey allcanes what kind of blog is this?…Step your game up! Very weak material…
… if you don't like it, don't read it.
Great commentary, by the way.
"Uh, hey… I don't like your blog."
BZ Canes here-
It's funny I read this a night after ripping through the Athlon Mag.
The comments on the LBS, and FS/
SS is great bullentin board material. If I were Lovett I'd have that plastered in their lockers. I haven't seen Ray Ray yet, but I think Telemaque can be the next great safety.
I'll say if our biggest worry is our DBs, and LB depth—we're in great shape.
TE is a concern, but not as much when you have 3 RBs, and a crew of wideouts that can all play. I'd rather have more of them on the field even if we had a solid option at TE.
I can't wait until Phil Steele's mag comes out. I use his book to handicap, and he usually provides more insite than another other preseason mag.
We may be a year away as a team, but we're definitely not the 4th best team in our division.
I want in on the action AllCanes-
I dont listen to those mags VA Cane…I am VACane who wore #40 at VT years ago….Phil Steele is the best of all of them, get his when it comes out. Yes we are young, yes its a hard schedule, but just relax, we will be ok.