Chemistry is severely underrated…

Chemistry isn’t just a class you hated. Regarding football teams, it’s ranks right up there underneath ‘talent’ and above ‘divine intervention’ regarding importance to a unit.

Miami is coming together regarding team chemistry. Unfortunately, many of you are missing it as you’re too busy pissing and moaning about one-point wins, disdain for the coaching staff and contributing to the Wright v. Freeman debate.

All in the while, the Canes are getting better and better every week. As I wrote after the Houston game, Miami needs to ‘baby step’ its way back to being a confident and winning program. They got tagged between the eyes with that 1-2 start and these kids hear all the crap ESPN has been spewing. From the Louisville game right up through the brawl. They may ignore local talk radio, but all collegiate athletes feast on a heavy diet of SportsCenter.

We’ve seen some growth the past three weeks and this Saturday at Duke, we just need to maintain, stay injury-free and continue fine-tuning and tweaking (as best as we can with a depleted depth chart).

Since the season opening loss against Florida State, Miami’s coaching staff has made some changes while some then-unknown players have stepped up. Some things I’ve noticed:

>>> The difference in the all around offense when James Bryant is in the game. This kid will be the MVP of this offense this season, even if he doesn’t score another touchdown. His aura, his attitude, his tone-setting blocking – Bryant is doing even more at FB in 2006 than DJ Williams did during his 2000 stint. Both were playmakers, but Bryant has the intangible. The team is noticeably better with him on the field as his presence gets hit teammates fired up.

>>> Javarris James and Sam Shields have grown up quickly, as the Canes needed them to do. Neither look like the overwhelmed, mistake-prone youngsters they were in the Florida State game – Shields with a key drop and James with a fumbled exchange. Miami finally found it’s next star running back in James, while Shields is speedy, elusive and is a playmaker.

>>> Colin McCarthy is fired up on special teams. I haven’t seen a freshman this jacked at the position since Kellen Winslow II and Dan Morgan. He has a nose for the ball and last week he blocked a punt. You gotta love watching a kid who makes the absolute most over every second he’s on the field. Hopefully he’ll get his crack at linebacker soon enough as there is still uncertainty at the position. Glenn Cook seems to lack the instinct needed to zig or zag on any given play. I’d love to see McCarthy get some snaps this week with Jon Beason injured.

>>> Calais Campbell is the most disruptive player on Miami’s defensive line. I expected the kid to be good, but he’s been stellar the past few weeks. Hopefully he can help some upperclassmen wake from their slumber. Against FIU, he recorded a strip and fumble recovery… on the same play. Another defender with a knack for finding the ball. I like that and I look forward to seeing him get after Reggie Ball next weekend. 6’8″ and 265 lbs.? That works nicely against a smaller QB like Ball.

>>> After several weeks of Bruce Johnson looking ‘pretty good’ as a punt/kick returner, Miami finally found their guy in Rashaun Jones. Like James or Shields, this kid just has ‘it’ when returning punts. No one is going to mistake him for Devin Hester anytime soon, but the kicking game has hurt the Canes this year and Jones brings that something extra to the position. This couldn’t have come at a better time with Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech on deck.

>>> And for the haters, it’s time to admit that Kyle Wright is looking better. He’s cutting down on the mistakes and has made some nice decisions the past few weeks. Last week he rolled out, couldn’t find a receiver and threw out of bounds. Another time, he knew right when to tuck and run to avoid the sack. On the surface, these sound meaningless but against better teams, that’s the difference between a second down sack, setting up 3rd and 19 or a second down scramble for 3rd and 1. Wright also threw a nice deep ball to Lance Leggett, which Leggett dropped.

Have I left anyone out? If so, chime in below in our ‘comments’ section. Let us know who you think some impact players have been as of late. Tell us who’s come on since the 1-2 start and could be a difference maker during our tough five game ACC stretch!

.:Canes305:.

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