The Miami Hurricanes are unraveling defensively. There’s no other way to put it after an eight-day span where UM surrendered 1,066 yards and 83 points in back-to-back outings.
As a result, defensive coordinator Mark D’Onofrio is understandably under fire. The Hurricanes defense finished the 2012 season ranked 116th of 120 Division I squads. A year older and wiser, D’Onofrio’s bunch was expected to take a step forward. Based on the past two games, things look pretty much the same.
Miami’s defensive issues were masked early this season. Florida Atlantic, Savannah State and South Florida helped pad the September stats, while an upset of No. 12 Florida was highlighted by some opportunistic play as the Hurricanes forced six turnovers.
Lost in the shuffle—the fact that the Gators still put up 413 total yards.
Head coach Al Golden was on the Joe Rose Show early Monday morning and broke down the recent loss to Virginia Tech:
The tackling wasn’t very good. In terms of the game plan, we had to move away from our game plan. We were forced really to be more aggressive. We were forced to play a lot of calls that we didn’t want to play, in terms of having a running quarterback. More importantly, they were allowed to keep it really simple and run the ball more and go with a naked game as opposed to having to sit in the pocket and throw balls. All those elements are a factor in that.
In terms of what the game plan was going in, now all of a sudden we got a mess on our hands because of three plays. Now it doesn’t excuse the defense—we need a stop on one of those, we need a red zone stop. We need to have that mentality. We didn’t have that in the game. We gotta be better on third down.
Again, there are no excuses—and it’s not just about Mark—it starts with me. It’s Mark, it’s the defensive staff, it’s all the players on the defense making sure that we’re in the right calls. We blew a couple of coverages, our tackling wasn’t what it needed to be. Again, the whole game turned on those three plays.
While it’s easy to focus on Miami’s recent losses and to have a knee-jerk reaction regarding coaching staff changes, it’s not productive or timely as three crucial games remain. The Hurricanes are 7-2 and have a good shot at a 10-win season, something this program hasn’t accomplished since 2003.
To put Miami back on track defensively, here are five painfully obvious keys that D’Onofrio and the Hurricanes must embrace with Duke, Virginia and Pittsburgh on the docket.
Click here for the five things the Hurricanes’ defense must do to clean things up.
You know what’s sad, when watching the games on tv, reading message boards etc., and seemingly even the most casual of fans can point out the glaring holes on defense, bad techniques and obvious wrong formations, yet No D, the d-co just cannot or refuses to see and make adjustments. I go back to the FSU game where Miami’s D is showing blitz, so Jimbo calls timeout to change things up. They come out of the timeout and Miami lines RIGHT BACK UP in the blitz formation. I mean why…that’s not a talent issue, that’s a scheme problem right there. Also, i would more inclined to buy the lack of talent argument if it weren’t for the fact that teams with lesser talent seem to continually outperform us. We are only favored by 3 against Duke and I am sure David Cutcliffe would kill for the type of recruits we get. Hell how many 4 stars does Duke have on their roster, yet they were very close to beating Va Tech this season. That’s not a talent issue, thats a scheme issue. All the talent in the world cannot make up for piss poor play-calling and an inept scheme. But who am I though, just some schmuck on a message board venting their frustrations. It’s not as if Golden is going to fire his boy anytime soon so this is all a moot point.
… sort of tells you everything you need to know there, Keith. Obviously the fans at home with all the opinions are wrong. Especially when so many refuse to admit the deficiencies on the defense talent-wise.
A lot of our fans were also saying Miami was going to roll into Tallahassee and kick the ass off of Florida State, while others called for a 13-0 season.
Let’s take all the armchair quarterback stuff with a grain of salt. 13-11 the past two years. 28-22 under Randy. Coker was 25-12 his last three years after a 35-3 start with Butch’s players.
A big clean-up here—and Al spent almost three years doing with the NCAA nonsense over his head. It takes time, brother.
I meant to say Duke beat Va. Tech this season
… they did. They also lost to Georgia Tech and Pittsburgh and their only other two ACC wins are against NC State and Virginia, who are 0-12 in conference thus far.
Wins came against North Carolina Central, Memphis, Troy and Navy, too.
Miami gets ripped for being the worst 7-0 team in the history of the world, but no one is calling out Duke’s 7-2 record? Sort of a double standard.
Duke topped Virginia Tech, but lost to some lesser teams, too. Arguments goes both ways, man.
That’s Duke, no one expected them to be here and they don’t have a history of success like the UM program does. Duke has never been elite, will Miami is certainly trying to get back to that status. Worlds of difference in comparison. Miami is supposed to be one of the big boys of college football (though that hasn’t been the case for some years now). How far has this program fallen when people start to compare UM’s record with Duke, a school way more known for bastketball than football.
It does seem like we play prevent most of the game. Logan Thomas dunked under all day.
… I don’t pretend to know the ins and outs of the defensive calls, but on that 3rd-and-12 that resulted in a catch, fumble and touchdown, I saw Miami rush four, blitz two and no one picked up the sorry-ass receiver. I also saw a slew of missed tackles on other big gains.
If fan are going to bash coaches for everything, can we at least acknowledge that players didn’t do their job?
And let’s not put all that fundamentals shit on college coaches. We’re talking simple wrapping up and tackling that’s learned in Pop Warner and at the Optimist level.
I really hope the coaching staff doesn’t think that the game was decided by 3 plays. The truth is, UM never came close to stopping VT at any meaningful point in the game. Over the final 3 quarters, whenever Miami’s offense scored, the defense gave up a TD on the very next possession.
Here’s an idea for the defense: In obvious running situations, how about putting 9 or 10 defenders in the box? Va.Tech did that repeatedly and our offense had no answer for it. The idea is to pressure an opponent into doing something it doesn’t want to. When was the last time our defense tried to get the opponent out of it’s comfort zone? Clever schemes can compensate for lack of talent, to a degree. Expecting to stop somebody by sitting back in a base 4-3 defense with safeties playing 20 yards off the line of scrimmage is madness. Especially without top-end talent.
That’s where you’re missing the point, AZ.
No, no coaching staff believes a game with well over a hundred plays only comes down to three.
For the 2013 Miami Hurricanes, what this roster is made up of, who these current kids are as a result and what it will take to beat certain teams, yes, this particular game went off the rails BECAUSE of those three plays.
Miami’s defense stopped Virginia Tech their two first possessions and the Hurricanes scored their first touch and returned a punt to midfield the second, before the fumble.
I’m sure you’ve watched enough football over the years to know that the emotion and elation of going up 10-0 or 14-0, or at worse, winning the field position battle, is a huge deal.
Cough up the ball midfield right after getting a big defensive stop, give VT new life, put the defense back on the field, etc. That’s a big deal.
An even bigger deal? Watching the Hokies tie the game 7-7, returning a kickoff to midfield, fumbling again, putting the defense BACK on the field and watching the visiting team take a 14-7 lead.
Also, you can’t compare Virginia Tech’s defense and stacking the box to your notion that Miami should’ve done the same and could’ve expected similar results. Please. The Hokies pissed away their game against Duke, so the notion is that they suck, but that defense held Alabama to 200+ yards and 14 of those 35 points were scored by the Tide’s defense and special teams.
Translation? Alabama had 21 offensive points. Miami had 24 with the offense losing the time of possession battle 2-to-1 and the Canes offense barely getting off 50 plays.
Miami’s offense and early defense was enough to give the Canes a comfortable lead and to change the trajectory of the game. Instead, special teams pissed it away in under a quarter with three horrible plays and it was 21-7 in a flash.
This defense isn’t built to get anyone out of its comfort zone. Please. 116th of 120 teams last year, while this program was 13-11 under Golden, 28-22 under Shannon and 25-12 Coker’s last three years. Miami has been in huge trouble for a decade, yet people think Golden and staff should have it fixed three years in, while the NCAA hovered?
I’ve watched Miami’s defense try just about everything this year and nothing is working. Until that front seven is beefed up talent-wise, it’s going to be a big time struggle. It’s that simply. Look at the Randy Shannon era. The Canes never out-schemed, they out-talented.
The Canes never out schemed.. They out talented..
But, we don’t have talent. That’s the shit I’m tired of hearing. There’s enough on this team to not get absolutely butt-wrecked by one of the worst offenses and most inconsistent quarterbacks in the nation. I’ve been a pessimist all year because of that Florida game, FORTUNATELY Driskel and co coughed it up all those times otherwise that would have been an embarrassment as well. Duke and Boston College have more talent than us. Duh, they were able to stop the Hokies when necessary in true bend but don’t break fashion.
Hell, even USF’s lone-wolf at runningback gashed the Canes time after time, bouncing off tackle after tackle.
These kids can’t even do the basic shit, yet we’re listening to how they’re tying to implement some high-iq requiring defensive scheme that kids CLEARLY don’t understand (as evidence by VISIBLE frustration and players bickering back and forth during the game on field).. But yes, let’s sit and wait while they continue to force a round peg into a square hole.
I agree, Miami needs to get better talent on the defense side of the ball. As much as i hate FSU, there is not one starter on defense that can start on FSU defense right now. We just dont have those athletes right now. I think Al Golden is doing a great job of getting the program back on track. We just need to keep those players home. Just imagine how could we could have been if we had Alex Collins (Arkansas), Amari Copper (Alabama), Eli Rogers (Louisville) & Teddy Bridgewater (Louisville). Just to name a few.
dUde, it seems your nothing but a bloody D’Onofrio apologists! Nothing more, nothing less.
But I do appreciate your HOPEFUL, positive perspectives. Even though your BELOVED D’Onofrio is not up to being a coordinator at the B.C.S. level!
Oh, what has Chickillo done in his 3rd season. And then there was 4-Star DL player Grimble. Who saw the writing on the wall regarding Miami’s defensive schemes and fled to Oregon St.
Even NFL player DE Olivier left the Cane program, because he probably didn’t agree with that NON-attacking, soft zone, D’Onofrio defense.