Miami Defense Is Still A Year Away

The Miami Hurricanes rolled to a 7-0 start and were a Top 10 team in early November, but a three-game losing streak weeks later truly defined the 2013 football season.

“The U” gave up 131 points and 1,631 yards in back-to-back-to-back games against Florida State, Virginia Tech and Duke—a harsh reminder that the Hurricanes still have a long way to go in their return to glory.

Miami finished 116th out of 120 Division I teams last year in total defense and arguably won’t fare much better when this season is in the books. The Hurricanes secondary took a step forward and created its share of turnovers, but too many yards and points were given up week in and week out.

A “wait ’til next year” mantra has been thrown around Miami for over a decade. Regarding the defense, that could again be in play come 2014 due to some outbound upperclassmen, coupled with a freshman class that will be thrown into the fire.

The Hurricanes lose some depth on the defensive line with Curtis Porter, Luther Robinson and Shayon Green wrapping up their careers. The same goes with one-year transfers David Gilbert and Justin Renfrow, both added months back and relied upon for depth’s sake.

Tyrone Cornelius and Jimmy Gaines depart at linebacker, while senior-to-be Denzel Perryman could be NFL-bound and financially motivated, having recently become a father.

The Hurricanes also parted ways with Eddie Johnson, Gionni Paul and Gabe Terry over the past year. Head coach Al Golden sent two of the three packing for disciplinary reasons—adding to a running total of 36 players from the 2010 through 2012 recruiting classes who no longer sport the orange and green.

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6 thoughts on “Miami Defense Is Still A Year Away

  1. Soooo, what you’re saying is that under year 4 of No D’s scheme we should expect another season where the defense gives up about 500 yards/game and makes subpar QBs look like all-american heisman contenders? Thanks for the update, i’ll start stocking up on liquor now.

    1. … first of it, it’s Al Golden’s defense. If folks want to lay blame, then they need to be accurate. There seems to be a culture where everyone is all over Mark D’Onofrio, yet supports Golden (generally speaking). This is the defensive scheme Golden believes in and feels will work when the personnel is there.

      Miami’s secondary will be improved next year and hopefully guys like Kirby, Figueroa and others can step up at linebacker (especially if Perryman bolts). That said, the defensive line is going to be in trouble until there is more talent and experience there. When the Hurricanes are relying on the likes of Virginia and Wisconsin d-line transfers for depth, playing time and experience, things are bad.

      The defense has rushed four, five, blitzed, tried man, zone, et al—nothing worked.

      I understand fans’ frustration with the defensive coordinator, but where is the outrage at the missed tackles, guys being out of position and not following assignments? For some reason the players, and even Golden, have gotten a pass, while the barbs keep coming at D’Onofrio. Seems a bit off. This is a collaborative “fail”.

      1. I was trying to give AG a pass since he has managed to keep the program from becoming a disaster during the NCAA mess but you are right, this is Golden’s defense too so I will criticize him as well. The defense sucks, plain and simple. Nothing has worked because the scheme is horrible. If the players are constantly out of position, which causes them to miss tackles on a consistent basis then guess what, that is a scheme issue. This staff keeps trying to fit square pegs into round holes and it’s not working, yet due to their arrogance they simply fail to realize this. I don’t want to hear anything about talent when teams with lesser rated players have outperformed us on that side of the ball. I am planning on driving down from Birmingham to attend the Champs Sports bowl. In order for Miami to win the offense will have to damn near be perfect on every drive. Bridgewater is a damn good qb and if the D makes average quarterbacks look like Heisman contenders then TB will be Peyton F’n Manning during this game.

        1. … entitled to your opinion, Keith. I disagree, though. Just about any scheme out there will work IF you have the personnel to run it. The storyline for Golden here—can he keep this thing rolling long enough for the talent to catch up with the scheme, or does he bail out on the scheme he believes in?

          Also, you’re way off base stating that if players are out of position that’s scheme-related. C’mon now, man. Can’t blame the coaches when Highsmith is getting beat or the front seven is whiffing on tackles. Running backs are getting past that first line of defense because the front seven is weak. Did you watch the Pitt game? That offense line was pushing Miami’s defensive line back all game. The Canes tried to bring five, disguise blitzes and it still wasn’t enough.

          I’ve watched this program long enough to know that it’s all about talent. Look at Florida State, man. The coaching schemes have been the same there since Jimbo took over in 2010. What’s change? The talent level increased at key positions and FSU went next-level (The Noles never had the depth issues the Canes did. When Bobby was there is was a lot of underachieving.)

          Bridgewater is going to get his. That defense isn’t going to turn into world beaters overnight. Miami needs to worry about ball control, scoring in the red zone, establishing a run and creating turnovers. Teddy B is a stud, but the rest of that team isn’t much to write home about. This is a winnable game for the Canes, barring the offense doesn’t only score 23 points on 565 yards of offense like it did at Duke.

          1. Hope Al comes to his senses if this is his D, it is absolutely terrible. Yes we didn’t have a W Sapp on the DL, but a team like Pitt was playing with 3 OL out for that game. We make zero effort to disguise our Play on D. It is incredibly predictable, but most importantly it asks the most out of our weakest units DL & LB. we do not have the personnel to run this D. I love Al and want him to succeed but if he waits a year, and there is little improvement, I find it highly unlikely (regardless of the NCAA crap) that the admin has the patience to wait for years 5 or 6 to see improvement. This is the year to make changes, or it could be career ending.

          2. … I get the frustration Kevin, but did you notice how that Pittsburgh offensive line was manhandling Miami’s defensive line? Even when the Canes tried to blitz or disguise something, there was zero penetration.

            The Canes’ defensive line was dependent on a banged up one-year transfer from Wisconsin and a Virginia lineman who rarely played for the Cavaliers. Doesn’t say much for talent and depth.

            Golden isn’t getting fired anytime soon, nor should he. Honestly, the clock just now started ticking for him as the NCAA scandal is finally over. Dude walked into a shit situation with that, not to mention the 28-23 run that Randy Shannon put together in four years.

            Did you read that article that surfaced in summer 2011, months before the Shapiro bomb dropped? Former cornerback Ryan Hill called out the broken culture at Miami and essentially said Golden had his hands full with a big time mess. He talked about snowball fights on the sideline during the bowl loss to Notre Dame, a bunch of potheads and insubordination regarding players lack of respect for Shannon. This was months after Golden administered his conditioning test and NOT ONE PLAYER ON THE CURRENT TEAM passed it.

            http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/blog/dr_saturday/post/for-miami-to-be-successful-the-behavior-has-to-change?urn=ncaaf,wp2337

            Hill’s quote: “In my early years at UM, there were guys who were freshmen who acted like adults — Jon Beason, Teraz McCray, Greg Olsen,” Hill said. “When I was a senior last year, some sophomores and juniors acted like freshmen. Guys would do silly stuff like pulling their pants down, wearing crazy stuff.

            “Guys would come late to meetings. They would schedule appointments and not show up or listen to iPods in class. I was always told by academic advisors to talk to [teammates]. Some kids got worse after they got here. People were purposely doing stuff to mock Randy Shannon or do their own thing.

            “Coach Shannon tried to make sure guys went to class and presented themselves well. But as soon as he turned his back, they would do what they wanted. There are a lot of guys who didn’t produce, and how they act off the field has a lot to do with it. That has to change.”

            … in other words, the University of Miami football program was a world-class shit-show when Al took over and that was BEFORE the NCAA bomb dropped. Golden needs time to turn things around, which sucks as there was a ten-year drought at Miami, but facts are facts and this isn’t an overnight cure.

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