Al Golden has stated it since day one. This rebuild is a “process”. He arrived with a phonebook-sized binder and sold UM’s top brass on his vision.
He sized up the program when taking over at the end of 2010. Miami was stinging from an overtime loss to South Florida and was weeks away from being embarrassed by Notre Dame in the Sun Bowl. When the season was finally in the books and the keys handed to Golden, the Canes had amassed a 35-29 record since the 2005 post-season; a 40-3 loss to LSU in the Peach Bowl.
Year one could prove to be the most difficult 6-6 season ever coached. A huge scandal dropping weeks before kickoff. Suspensions of key players lasting anywhere between one and six games. No continuity. Different line ups every game. Heartbreaking, last-second losses. Newbies thrown in the fire out the gate, expected to perform like seasoned veterans.
When it was all over, Miami would self-impose a bowl and and soon after the .500 season was in the books, a mass defection from upwards of a half dozen starters that the Canes hoped to rely on as season two of the Golden Era got underway.
Lost in the shuffle of a disappointing season – the ability to pluck any good out of all that bad. Focusing on any degree of progress proves difficult when the losses continue piling up. Only once last season did Miami win two games in a row. The other five times the Canes won games in 2011, the following week resulted in a loss and another back-to-the-drawing-board experience.
After a 52-13 loss to Kansas State week two of season two, defensive coach Mark D’Onofrio is the villain as far as most fans are concerned. Even a 41-32 win at Boston College didn’t come without a price. The Canes gave up 537 total yards to the Eagles. 441 in the air and 96 on the ground. A week later the Wildcats did their damage. 52 points. 498 total yards. 210 in the air and 288 with the feet.
Eight quarters of football and UM has since surrendered 1,035 yards and 84 total points. The defense also lost safety Vaughn Telemaque for at least a week and linebacker Ramon Buchanan for the season – bot seniors, meaning even more freshmen will be relied upon.
Theories are already flying in regards to loyalty and friendship could cost Golden his job as he and D’Onofrio have been locked at the hip since their playing days at Penn State. Fourteen games in, some fans want the second-year defensive coordinator gone and are reaching for their media guides in effort to cite an example where a previous leader cut ties with a coordinator.
A week after Miami lost 66-13 to Syracuse late in the 1998 season, a make-up game was played against UCLA and the Canes upset the No. 2 Bruins, 49-45. The reward for the 8-3 regular season was a Micron PC Bowl berth against NC State and Miami won, 46-23.
Three games, 134 points given up and within days, defensive coordinator Bill Miller was fired by then-head coach Butch Davis, which has been a bit of a rallying cry this week for those in the anti-D’Onofrio camp.
Davis brought in Greg Schiano over the next two seasons, which a decade later many revere, though their long-term memories prevent them from recalling precisely how folks felt about both Davis and Schiano at the time.
The Penn State last-minute bomb. The blown 23-3 lead to lowly East Carolina. Down 28-0 at Boston College before a furious comeback. The inability to stop Marquis Tuiasosopo in the loss at Washington. Giving up 565 yards to Florida State, almost blowing a 17-0 halftime lead.
The Davis Era is revered in hindsight, with fans forgetting the degree to which they seethed during those days. Butch had his share of game day mistakes and personnel blunders. (Who can forget him arguing with Ryan Clement against Virginia Tech in 1996 – debating going for it or kicking a field goal, getting hit with a delay of game in the process, having to then attempt the field goal and missing.)
A five-year drought against both the Seminoles and Hokies. Two losses to lowly East Carolina. A few losses to Pitt. The 47-0 debacle in Tallahassee. The rout at Syracuse. It wasn’t all BCS games and first round draft picks, people.
Seems the Butch everyone chooses to remember is the post-Washington era, sparking the 34-game win streak and four straight BCS games, as well as his leaving the cupboard loaded when bailing out like a thief in the night – all of which made his first five years forgivable and forgettable.
No, no one wants to remember the fact he took over a 10-2 team that finished No. 3 in the land the year prior, or the “From National Champs to National Chumps – Thanks Butch!” banner that flew over the Orange Bowl in the late nineties. He’s simply a recruiting guru and if he were handed the keys tomorrow, he’d have UM back in the hunt by November, by God.
If anything, Davis’ era should give Miami fans hope that when a good recruiter with a game plan gets on board, with enough time he can point things in the right direction, building the necessary depth needed to compete.
Golden has stated that youth is no excuse and that he expects these kids to win now. He’s also stated, after seven career losses at Miami, that some guys didn’t do their job, but that the onus is on the coaches to make sure they do.
One word; coach-speak.
Golden cannot – nor should he – come out and state that Miami is going to fail this year for any reason, even as logical a they may be. What good general ever led his troops into battle, stated that they were outnumbered and were all going to be killed? Not exactly the words of great motivators.
No, Golden, and any good coach, is there to fire up his kids and to keep them believing that they can achieve anything – but as fans, logic needs to kick in and expectations need to be tempered.
In 2011, many an offense had their way with a young Miami team. Danny O’Brien passed for 348 yards in the opener at Maryland and the Terps amassed 499 yards. Collin Klein and Kansas State piled up 398 yards. Virginia Tech racked up 482 yards with Logan Thomas going 23-of-25 and throwing for 310. The following week North Carolina totaled 429 yards.
But as the season went on, some progress as the defenders started playing assignment football and tightening things up. Five of the final six games of the season had Miami’s D showing up.
Only 211 yards and seven points surrendered to Georgia Tech. 342 yards and 14 points to Duke, in a game where Miami put up 45.
The Canes held the Noles to 259 total yards, 13 first downs, 63 rushing yards and 16 offensive points and a week later played strong at South Florida, where the Bulls only tallied 249 total yards and a field goal.
The story of the season finale against Boston College was four interceptions, but even with that the Canes held the Eagles to 349 total yards and 17 offensive points and while the second half of the season wasn’t national championship-worthy, it showed marked improvement.
So why didn’t that improvement carry over? A lack of depth, an abundance of depth and a mass exodus, unfortunately.
Miami’s defensive line is getting manhandled early this season and while the losses of Luther Robinson and Curtis Porter have hurt, the early-to-the-NFL guys are what really left a mark.
Micanor Regis and Marcus Robinson graduated, which is filed under the way the game is played – but Marcus Forston and Olivier Vernon leaving early, as well as Adewale Ojomo not being granted another season due to injury – that’s five departures when it should’ve been no more than two.
The Canes are a different defense this year with Forston, Vernon and Ojomo. Period. You want to be mad at someone? Point that frustration towards guy who committed to the U Family and bailed out without doing what they were supposed to do – not a second-year assistant working tirelessly to fix a decade’s worth of problems.
The Canes also lost Sean Spence and JoJo Nicolas to graduation, which again is the name of the game, but when coupled with all the other losses, the guys who didn’t pan out or the Ray-Ray Armstrong type, guys who blew second and third chances at redemption – you have a clearer picture as to why things completely unraveled at Kansas State.
Offensively you look at the starters, the issues and the breakdowns. The loss of Allen Hurns isn’t the end of the world if Tommy Streeter is still lining up on the other side. The weight of the world isn’t on the shoulders of Duke Johnson if Lamar Miller is still out there making plays. The offensive line isn’t so dependent on a true freshman or man-child if Brandon Washington came back for one more, as he should’ve.
It was easy this off-season to play the ‘sayonara’ card with those five who bailed early and when you add Ojomo and Armstrong to the mix, that’s seven starters gone from a team that could nil afford to lose one, and it’s wreaking havoc.
There was a great post on a UM message board days back regarding the defensive struggles. A fan who actually articulated his thoughts, broke down the differences between dumping a current scheme versus adjusting to the players a coach currently has, examples of coaches who did or didn’t, as well as screen caps highlighting Miami’s defensive lowlights.
The writer points out Al Groh and two years of struggles as defensive coordinator at Georgia Tech. 6-7 year one and 8-5 last year before getting to 1-1 in 2012, including an overtime loss at Virginia Tech which the Yellow Jackets’ offense gave away in overtime.
Personnel is the name of the game and three years in, Groh is finally building the defense that works for him. He didn’t take the short cut, simply sticking to the old way and plugging guys in.
Players were forced to learn a new system, kids were recruited for that system, growing pains were taken on the chin – and in the loss column – but it was all done knowing that in time, there would be growth and the new way would be ‘the way’.
Golden and D’Onofrio are building the system they believe in. It’s their coaching philosophy, which isn’t right or wrong – it’s simply an opinion.
As explained in the post, Randy Shannon recruited and built this current defense, based on his philosophy.
“Shannon’s defense was built on speed. His philosophy upfront was to shoot gaps while also using hybrid strong safeties / linebackers known as “tweeners”. These players where normally too slow to play free safety, but big enough to play linebacker. Those linebackers could cover tight ends and running backs man-to-man.”
He goes on to explain how current kids would be used in Shannon’s system, versus D’Onofrio’s system and the fallout has been more revisionist history, with some clamoring for that old school defense – and even Shannon – to return to coach it.
It should be noted that Shannon’s defense was the scheme Miami ran this past half decade. The same defensive scheme that allowed LSU to roll UM, 40-3 in the Peach Bowl and same one that allowed Louisville to whoop Miami, 31-7 three games later.
It was the defense Shannon pushed Tim Walton, Bill Young and John Lovett to run when under his command the past several years and one that accounted for upwards of thirty losses between 2006 and 2010.
Shannon’s Cover 2 Man worked just fine with a monster defensive line, heady linebackers and speedy, athletic, stick-to-you-like glue safeties. As Shannon lost the marquee players, his defense too lost its luster.
The 2003 Canes’ defense was dominant-as-hell, to the point that four players went in the first twenty-one picks of the 2004 NFL Draft – safety Sean Taylor, linebackers Jon Vilma and D.J. Williams and defensive tackle Vince Wilfork.
Five games into the next season, the Canes’ defense was getting picked apart by clever offensive coordinators and over a three week span Miami gave up 38 to Louisville, 31 to NC State and 31 to North Carolina – 100 points and 1,492 yards surrendered over twelve quarters by a defense that was tops in the nation the prior year, simply due to a few key losses.
It’s not as much about scheme right now; it’s all about personnel. When Shannon had great players, his scheme looked flawless and the Hurricanes were dominant. When he had lesser players, his defense had its issues and Miami lost some games.
Look at ever UM roster the past decade and find a more depleted, depth-starved defense than Miami is currently starting. Between the early departees, players booted and handful of injuries, this is a shell of a defense and the inability to shut down a potent Kansas State offense becomes understandable when you peel things back a layer.
Miami started four seniors on defense last Saturday, two of which became starters by default after others departed.
Neither Brandon McGee or Darius Smith was a perennial starter and go-to defender the past few years. They spent the majority of their careers on the bench after losing battles spring after spring against better players.
Buchanan and Telemaque were the others; a linebacker banged up most of his career and a safety yet to live up to the hype. It should also be noted that neither will start this weekend as both are out due to injury – Buchanan for the season and Telemaque for the week – so in other words, a depth-challenged and way-too-young defense just took another hit.
Four sophomores and one freshman started last week, while the second string boasted three sophomores and three freshmen. A championship-caliber defense this is not, and it didn’t take the Kansas State debacle to show that – just a quick glance at the pre-season depth chart.
The jury remains out on Coach D’Onofrio and must for at least this season, if not longer. Calling for the man’s firing two games into season two is knee-jerk and off-base.
He may succeed or he may fail, but regardless, it takes time to implement a new scheme and if a coaching staff does choose to go with the new, instead of the quick-fix, going against their personal philosophy and conveniently sticking with the old, there are going to be tremendous growing pains and a pile of losses. It’s been proven in the past and is unfolding right now in Coral Gables.
More than time, it also takes the right players, which certainly isn’t the case with this year’s Hurricanes.
Golden and D’Onofrio need a few more recruiting classes – and saying that isn’t about backing either of them; it’s about backing this program and giving things the proper time to be corrected.
If there could be a huge defensive drop-off between 2003 and 2004 at UM, due to four lost starters, there’s going to be some serious backsliding between 2011 and 2012 after the Canes lost eight key pieces from last year’s 6-6 campaign. That’s just the truth, whether you want to swallow it, or not.
“The Process” continues. Fans can either get on board and support it, or can stick their heads in the sand for at least another year as things could get worse before they start getting better. Either case, what will be will be, despite how much you shake a fist.
For the rest of you, Keep Calm and Cane On.
Christian Bello has been covering Miami Hurricanes athletics since the mid-1990s. After spending almost a decade as a columnist for CanesTime, he launched allCanesBlog.com. – the official blog for allCanes.com : The #1 Canes Shop Since 1959. Bello has joined up with XOFan.com and will be a guest columnist at CaneInsider.com this fall. Follow him on Twitter @ChristianRBello.
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It is so frustrating to see the fans already throwing the towel in. This is a very young defense and they are simply going to get killed for no other reason than lack of experience. Stick with D'Onofrio and by next year and certainly in two years I think we will see one of the top defenses in the nation. If not, then we can talk replacement. Bottom line is this team is two years away from being a true contender and it is our job as fans to support the U all the way. Miami didn't need to reload...they had to be rebuilt and now we want to tear down the house and fire one of the contractors before the drywall is even up? I was there when we beat BC, I will be there when FSU stomps us, I will be there when we have to gut out a win at Virginia...as a Cane fan I will always be there and any true fan of the U should be as well.
Knee jerk reaction my ass. The scheme and plan that was in place needs to be changed.....This is not Temple...this is not a place where you can go 6-6 and get beat 53-13 and say be fuking patience. This is a prideful City. The Marlins ain't ish!...but let them go to the World Series, SELLOUT! K-state and BC are not elite teams and we give a freakin Mile and 84pts. This is not a great coached team. Last yr wasn't a great coached team. WHEN IS GOLDEN GOING TO BLAME HIMSELF...thats what other good coaches do. They won't be putting in on the players and being..We wasn't young last yr.
This is not Temple, MF you don't have 4 yrs to become relevant....by that time the whole city will forget about you. This is Eastern Michigan Eskimo gay!
MF you don’t have 4 yrs to become relevant….by that time the whole city will forget about you.
(1) UM has been irrelevant for well over four years already.
(2) In Miami, you can be irrelevant for as long as it takes - you have have to start winning again at some point. The 305 will gladly jump on the Canes bandwagon whenever they start winning again. Please. Please were shaving "U SWAG" into the sides of their heads three years ago after a 7-6 team opened 2-0, with wins over Florida State and Georgia Tech.
(3) Judge this staff after they've had a few years to right the ship. Ranting and raving after fourteen total games is ridiculous. Program erodes from within for a decade and fans want it fixed overnight. Typical Miami.
(4) The Canes were 35-29 between 2006 and 2010 before Al Golden took over. Swallow that and marinate on it for a while.
(5) If Miami is such a 'prideful' city, why do people fall hook, line and sinker for the sorry-ass Dolphins every year? Garbage-ass franchise that hasn't sniffed a championship in four decades - and one that celebrated the f**king Florida Gators on UM's home field last year - yet fans still turn out in droves to watch those bums. Stop.
I am so glad to finally read that someone has some sense on how the U got to where we are.
From the end of the Crooker era to the meltdown of the shitnan era, the recruiting was terrible. How can we expect a swift turnaround with the talent left from that time frame.
Genron, Dude seriously, you are ridiculous. Instead of ranting, try reading. Maybe your comprehension is lacking, but almost everything you complain about is spelled out in post you are commenting on.
And please tell me, WTF is this: "WHEN IS GOLDEN GOING TO BLAME HIMSELF…thats what other good coaches do."
As far as Golden taking responsibility:
Miami Herald transcript of Golden's K State post game press conference : " The bottomline is you lose in all three phases that's the coaches fault. That's on me." Sounds like he's blaming himself right there.
Bottom line, know what you are talking about before you start talking sh%t. You are the typical knee-jerk reactionary "fan". On another note, I didn't know they had any Eskimos in Eastern Michigan - gay or straight.
Allcanes - keep up the great work. I went to those games in the 90's and I will be out there for every game this year, as always. GO CANES!
Raisin - Thanks for the words. Unfortunately some folks just aren't going to get it. A guy like Genron is hardly the minority. That type of argument comes for a big portion of this fan base -- people who just expect the wins to roll up because this "The U", because of the run in the 80s/90s (and the shit-talking / swag that accompanied those wins), as well as all the greats who have played for this program.
Amazing how coaches can't win, either. Golden says 'no excuses' and shoulders all the blame, yet some still can't read between the lines -- that he's doing what coaches are supposed to do, despite being undermanned, playing with freshmen and having a huge learning curve.
You just wish that those with the doom-and-gloom or negativity would just hide for the next few years. It's not like the realists or optimistic folks are trying to tell the negative folks to come over to this side -- we're simply asking the to be logical and to quit spewing so much venom in the process.
I really think people and fans want results now. Like commented above, this is a rebuild, not a reload. This takes time, not just a few games under new coaches watch. I want continuity with the coaches. Not someone being dumped out the door after a loss. I know a few NFL teams where a new rookie QB has had five offensive coordinators in five years. This does not help in the least.
I am from Ohio (tired of listening about the Buckeyes) and have been a Hurricanes fan since 1985. Lets give this staff some time and patience. The young players getting reps, playing so young will pay off in the end. I would love to see Al Golden's team stick together, and move forward.
Michael - Fans absolutely want results now and based on how long this program has been down, that is MORE than understandable. Unfortunately Al Golden and staff are paying for the sins of past coaches.
The 'rebuild' should've started around 2007 and Miami should've started showing real progress by 2010 - the year after Shannon got his team to 9-4. If the Canes were really progressing under Randy, they go 10-3 in 2009, beating Wisconsin in the bowl game (or reach a better game as they never should've lost to Clemson) and take a real step towards an ACC title and BCS game in 2010.
Instead the program went 7-6, Randy was fired and a new rebuilding project was on the docket -- pretty much making the previous four years painful and worthless.
Sucks like hell that results aren't coming now ... but Larry and Randy set the program back and now it's on Al to move it forward - and he deserves enough time to get it done.
The fans who want D'Onofrio and Golden fired now are the same type of people who stand in front of a microwave oven and yell "hurry!" I'm as disgusted as any fan but realize we need to build. That said, we need to see some steady progress on D, and across the board, even if we still lose some games. Lack of reasonable and steady progress on D might be cause to go in a new direction on DC next year.
You're not going to find many Canes fans who still support D'onofrio. Sorry, but thats just reality. Call us delusional or having too high expectations. Many are still behind Golden but have all but abandoned ship on No-D
Just wanted to take a second and say thanks for continuing to be a "realistic" voice of reason in the Cane community. I have come to believe that the hardest part of being a Canes fan is the other Canes fans.
I want this team to turn the corner as much as anyone and I believe that Golden is the man who can get that done. However the cards are just stacked against him. Any rational person would recognize everything that Coach has had working against him since he stepped foot on campus.
Now all that being said you can take it even further and try looking around the country at some other teams. Like it or not these games happen. Miami was an underdog, expected to lose. A young, inexperienced team going up against a much more experienced and established team on the road. I sure didn't expect that implosion but I'm guessing Clemson fans didn't expect to have 70 hung on them by West Virginia in the Orange Bowl last year, a way worse loss in my opinion. Last time I checked they didn't fire the entire coaching staff. Or more recently, the same day the Canes were getting whooped I don't think anyone expected #8 Arkansas to lose at home to.... Louisiana Monroe? Seriously how is that not a worse loss?
I'm not saying I'm happy about any loss, and this one was particularly embarrassing. But I still pulled on my Canes shirt and hat the next morning and went out and represented my team. Yeah I have been taking a lot of lumps from my friends who are Gator or Noles fans but I've also given it out to them so I'll take it. I've said it on here before and I'll say it again, you don't get to call yourself a fan by showing up and cheering when they're winning. You are a fan when you show up and support them on Saturday versus Bethune Cookman a week after a beat-down. It is way to soon to judge anyone on this coaching staff, especially with what they have had to work with. Show up and support your team and the coaches, show some patience and some restraint.... GO CANES!!!!
Beast, pretty sure this is your work, if not whoever wrote it, wrote a great article, one that should be required reading for all CANES fan's. This CANE fan and Golden fan will continue to support this team and this staff. When you have upwards of 30 freshman or redshirt freshman in your two deep things like this last lost happen. Coach Golden like most of those coaches before him should be given a minimum of 4 years to get his plan implemented. I realize that my thoughts are currently in the minority amongst most CANES fans but I like the direction Coach Golden is taking this program. Other than last year, when was the last time Temple had a first round draft pick or multiple players taken in one draft? I personally can't remember any and that alone makes me believe that Coach Golden and this staff will right this ship. GO CANES
Hemicane - I wrote it (Christian Bello). Beast handles allCanes Radio but doesn't write much for allCanesBlog.com anymore. Any article he's ever written here has his name in the title. I started this blog around 2005, after writing for CanesTime.com since the mid 90s, and welcomed Beast here as a guest columnist.
As for Golden, he took a garbage program at Temple and did something special there. Some point to the teams he didn't beat and what not -- but they're missing the bigger point; that the Owls were 3-31 when he took over and were damn near ready to set the program on fire. Bowl games and 9-4 seasons up there in Philly with that program are like 12-0 in South Florida.
Golden has his work cut out for him, but he deserves time to do so (based on what he took over). Fans need to save the judgment until somewhere around 2014, frustrating as that may be to hear.
Not the Beast. Canes305 wrote it. Beast handles allCanes Radio but doesn't write much for allCanesBlog these days.
Admin, when should the "rebuild" in baseball start. I know, we,re talking football right now. But baseball is heading down the same Coker trajectory. Should we stop the slide right now (like cokers 3rd non-recruiting year). Or should wait another year, hire the assistant who quit because he said he didn,t want to travel, and have 8 years of bad baseball.
We see what happened to football. Should we let the same thing happen to baseball. Why not learn from the "football mistakes".
Ken - Honestly, save the baseball chatter for January. We've talked baseball enough this past season. You want Morris gone and have pimped your guy from Virginia. We get it. Baseball is different than football. It's not about eighty-five players and a full-on rebuild. Canes baseball just needs some key players and recruits that don't bail last minute for MLB. Not like UM baseball is tremendously off. Add a few solid guys into the mix and UM can right the ship. And on that note, no more baseball talk until January.
Nice article..But D corch sucks..
BTW, why didn't the writer cite the HS coach that put up some shots of D corchs Pre-snap aligment and it was clear that BC would get many yards on that play (and they did)..For anyone to compare RS as a DC vs D'OhNOfrio is laughable to say the least..
This scheme calls for the DL to stay engaged to his OL in rushing downs, but how the hell will the players react when it is play-action or screens? ANSWER: Well, Miami is getting raped and the clown says he needs time..LOL..
yosef - As I stated at the end of the piece, too soon to tell if Mark D'Onofrio will fail or succeed at Miami. Neither would come as a shock. Either way, he has a lot of work to do on that side of the ball AND he deserves some time to implement his system and to recruit his players. That defense lost eight starters and key players from last year. Any progress made last year went down the drain when so many players were lost.
As for the Shannon / D'Onofrio "comparison", I never made one, so don't put those words in my mouth. The example given here is that when Randy had the horses, his defense worked. When he didn't, the defense got chewed up big time. (Even as head coach, it was his defensive scheme that was run by Walton / Young / Lovett.)
Mad as fans are, can't really judge D'Onofrio three games into season two, with so many holes and the huge lack of depth on that side of the ball.
I see I must chime in. Fans absolutely want to win now. What fan you know buys a ticket to see the team struggle and walks away from the game smiling. Couple that with Coach D's remarks about only caring about what his wife and kids think him and not the UM fan base, and now you have an explosive situation. Another thing to point out is that, we can understand a rebuilding process if the kids weren't good, but year in and year out these kids make nfl rosters and produce a la Sam Sheilds....so but talk to me about talent because the talent is there!! Coaches have to create an competitive advantage with the talent they have.
As far as comments about Shannon's defense getting stomped by LSU's team 40-3. I believe that season the DEFENSE carried Miami the whole season due to a subpar offense. The refs shitted on the Mia defense during the GT game which would have put us on track for a ACC Championship game and we beat all our major rivals during the season....so yeah I'll take that defense. Also Bill Young took shannon's defense to Ok State and the proof is in the record there. So lets not say the Miami defense LET THE FANS DOWN DURING THE SHANNON ERA.
Now back to this years team. If a fan believes that he is smarter than the coaches than you have a major problem. If a fan is at home screaming at the tv telling the db to play closer because its a 3rd and 2 and the opposing offense converts on a short pass in an area that the db should have been had he not played 10 yards off the line; thats frustrating as hell. Now let that happened throughout a whole game, or better yet a game like UNC last year and BC this year a blowout turns back into a nail biter in final minutes....smh. Futhermore, where else is this defense played. Let me watch how that team perform so I can see where this Mia team is lacking. I'D RATHER SEE A SERMON THAN TO HEAR ONE ANY DAY.
Good points about the 2005 defense helping carry that sluggish offense. Definitely don't disagree with that, but again, further proof that with good personnel, the scheme worked. There were some good players on that team. Jon Beason. Baraka Atkins. Kareem Brown. Calais Campbell. Antonio Dixon. Tavares Gooden. Marcus Maxey. Rocky McIntosh. Brandon Meriweather. Eric Moncur. Kenny Phillips. Randy Phillips. Anthony Reddick. Glenn Sharpe, Daryl Sharpton. Leon Williams.
Honestly, that sounds like a national championship caliber defense in comparison to what Miami is fielding this year.
Still, that defense gave up 468 yards to LSU in the bowl game -- 272 on the ground. The Miami offense was a joke that night (1-of-12 on third down conversions?), but the D was getting chewed up pretty good rather early when facing the first real team it'd seen all year.
(Yes, Virginia Tech was ranked #3 but Marcus Vick was entirely overrated and Miami at his lunch, which killed them.)
Was never implying or saying that the Miami defense let anyone down and if that's what you took from this, I suggest a re-read. I made it pretty clear that the issue was the personnel. When Randy had the player, his defense absolutely worked. When he didn't have the bodies, the defense struggled, which we saw between 2006 and 2010, when his scheme was still in place, but the losses kept piling up.