A new-conference coming-out party for the Louisville Cardinals and a Labor Day nationally-televised flop for the Miami Hurricanes.
All the chatter about the return of Duke Johnson, the next-level maturity of true freshman quarterback Brad Kaaya and the stewing frustration of a bowl game loss to Monday night’s foe—it was all for naught.
Fact remains Bobby Petrino had his squad ready to go and it looked like the same old, same old from Al Golden and crew. Some thoughts:
Golden is saying the right things in the wake of the loss, but how will this translate over to practice and eventually game day coaching.
Per last night’s presser, Golden said on WQAM, “The errors we made tonight, there’s no excuse. That starts with me. I need to challenge the coaches to look at everything we’re doing on the way back and use all day tomorrow. It’s important we get better. We made too many mistakes against a good team in a tough environment to win the game. I want to make sure I evaluate all three phases before I talk in-depth. We’ve got to be accountable, can’t make excuses starting with me.”
What that all sounds good, fans have to wonder what that means. Always seems to be an evaluation of the phases underway and a line in the dirt regarding taking blame and no excuses, but seeing the same mistakes September 2014 as this team was making a year ago—nothing short of mind boggling.
Kaaya is obviously not ready for the big stage. While that was to be expected, watching it all unfold really drove this sentiment home. Coaches raved about the true freshman’s next-level maturity and the soundbites went down smoothly this past week, but No. 15 was overwhelmed early and often.
On Miami’s third offensive play from scrimmage, Kaaya was tattooed by linebacker James Burgess Jr. and you could see a look on his face that it was more than he bargained for.
Early in the second quarter, an in-the-dirt pass to Stacy Coley that was registered a fumble, but had all the makings of a Miami go-ahead touchdown if Kaaya made the routine throw.
Kaaya went on to throw two interceptions in his debut and was a liability—which is understood, but frustrating nonetheless. Even more frustrating, he remains Miami’s best option until Ryan Williams is healthy enough to give it a go.
None of this is to say that Kaaya won’t develop as the season rolls on and over the next few years becomes all-world for Miami. Even the great Ken Dorsey was a deer-in-headlights when thrust into action mid-game at Virginia Tech as a true freshman in 1999.
Just saying, coaches raved about Kaaya maturity and being ready for the big stage and no matter how you slice or dice it, it was as rattled as any true freshman could’ve been.
Regarding the quarterback woes, hard not to harbor some frustration against redshirt sophomore Kevin Olsen for his boneheaded ways this past year.
Olsen was afforded the opportunity to learn the offense last season, to hit it hard in the weight room and to step up as a bonafide leader, earning the starting job this fall. Unfortunately he did none of that—suspended for the bowl game and again for the season opener.
The Hurricanes shouldn’t have been in a position where they had to lean on a true freshman, or look to Kansas for a senior transfer in Jake Heaps. Olsen should’ve been “the guy” and his immaturity has hurt Miami—while wasting a redshirt opportunity for Kaaya.
Bad as Kaaya played, the coaching staff didn’t do anything to put the kid in position to shine. Miami coached scared and offensive coordinator James Coley was ultra-conservative, again.
Last year’s bread-and-butter play—hitting Coley in the flats and giving the receiver some space to make a play—was overused and the season rolled on, yet was the first offensive play Monday night, which Louisville was ready for.
A similar play on the next possession, where Kaaya went to freshman speedster Braxton Berrios, resulting in a one-yard loss. In both cases, Johnson was in a second-and-long situation. picked up four and left Miami in third-and-long situations, both resulting in incompletions.
All week Golden talked about keeping the chains moving, avoiding third-and-long and keeping the offense on the field. Instead, same old situation as last year.
Miami only held the ball 26:43 and was a paltry 1-of-13 on third-down conversions. The ground attack netted 70 total yards, mostly because the box was stacked nine-deep and the passing game was never respected or seen as a threat.
Where former quarterback Stephen Morris was criticized for his overuse of the deep ball, Miami coaches never let Kaaya go deep—testing an inexperienced Louisville secondary or showing off the blazing speed of wide receiver Phillip Dorsett, who had one reception on the night and was visibly frustrated when a handful of Kaaya’s attempts weren’t where they were supposed to be.
Kaaya was handcuffed much of the night, going three-and-out on a few occasions without even attempting a pass.
If this staff claims to have such faith in the kid, why not let him get after it? Even going the conservative route, the mistakes were there because he was playing scared and didn’t appear to have the full trust of the coaches.
In short, a true freshman quarterback is only one of Miami’s offensive issues right now. Another is a sophomore coordinator who is still coaching like a rookie.
As far as veteran coaches go, the offensive line headed up by Art Kehoe had a terrible opening night. Both run blocking and pass blocking, the Hurricanes didn’t get it done, while Danny Isadora accounted for the night’s biggest penalty—an ineligible man downfield, that wiped out a huge fourth quarter gain to Johnson on a wheel route.
Miami’s offensive line lost some talent, but was still supposed to be a strength this season and was raved about by coaches the past few weeks. This was not the night to no show, with so much on the line—Johnson’s return and the start of a true freshman at quarterback—yet they flopped and must regroup.
Defensively the Hurricanes certainly hung tough, forced some fumbles made some plays and were generally more aggressive, but playing zone defense and no man-to-man is going to drive fans crazy as the year rolls on.
Too much athleticism and talent to leave guys sitting in soft zone all night, relying on a three-man rush from a defensive line that lacks superstars.
This unit is certainly improved talent-wise and shouldn’t bear the brunt of this loss, holding Petrino’s offense and the Cardinals to 17 offensive points until the game’s final two minutes. Miami’s offense was the culprit on Monday night—inefficient, mistake-prone and putting the defense on the field too often.
Also, not to take away from the effort, but credit Louisville’s receivers with some inexplicable drops—especially on third down, which killed a few drives.
Credit to Petrino and their coaching staff for a solid offensive game plan that Miami’s coaches must learn from; find the weak link and exploit it.
A few fans on Twitter were asking why we weren’t hearing much from Tracy Howard, Deon Bush and the rest of the secondary all night—because Petrino knew that was Miami’s strength and instead chose to pick apart the middle of the field and a sub-par linebacking corps (Denzel Perryman obviously excluded.)
Meanwhile, the Cardinals’ strength is their front seven and instead of exploiting a young secondary, the Hurricanes kept everything underneath, never threw deep and continued to force the run with nine in the box.
At some point this staff has to figure out what is so blatantly obvious to others; play to one’s strengths and exploit an opponent’s weakness.
One more (deserved) shot at the coaching staff. After back-to-back catches and a touchdown by Clive Walford, why did the senior tight end only get one more look and reception the rest of the game?
Also, with Johnson running the ball effectively all drive early second quarter, why is Gus Edwards getting his first touch of the night in a crucial 3rd-and-3 situation from the Louisville five-yard line? Everyone in the building knew Miami was going to conservatively hand off to the bigger back and the play was stuffed for a two-yard loss.
If you going to run, keep Johnson in there. If you bring in Edwards, it’s the optimum time for a roll-out, using him as a decoy.
Handing off to the big guy—way too scripted, yet the Hurricanes did it again first drive of the third quarter facing a 3rd-and-1 from their own 34-yard line. No gain and punt time—on the heels of back-to-back runs by Johnson and not even giving Kaaya a shot with three consecutive runs.
After the Hurricanes recovered a Will Gardner fumble on the ensuing drive, Miami went with three more runs, starting at the Louisville 8-yard line and settling for a field goal.
No balls, innovation or even any basic common sense on those early, game-defining third quarter possessions.
The special teams’ gaffes that resulted in a 97-yard kickoff return for score was definitely a momentum killer when Miami finally took a 10-7 lead.
Equally as bad was watching the Hurricanes’ defense in a few 4th-and-1 situations where the didn’t fill the gap and the Cardinals’ bowled ahead for first downs.
In the end, the effort was a comedy of errors and missed opportunities. Points were left on the field and drives that should’ve been sustained rolled on, resulting in points or field position.
The Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson touched on it in his column this morning, but every Hurricanes fan was dwelling on it last night play-after-play; the ones who got away.
Lots of talent from Dade and Broward counties on the other side of the ball last night—19 players and many who made big time plays. Corvin Lamb (Miami Northwestern) with the 97-yard kickoff return. Burgess (Homestead), who was all over the field making tackles and wreaking havoc. Eli Rogers (Miami Northwestern), who hauled in five receptions for 65 yards and Gerald Christian (Palm Beach), right behind him with six grabs for 59 yards and a score.
Miami has it’s share of local talent, but damn does it hurt when those made in South Florida, who played in South Florida didn’t stay in South Florida.
Thankfully for Miami, the net two foes are Florida A&M and Arkansas State, both at Sun Life Stadium.
Eight quarters of football and 18 days to clean things up before a late-September road trip to Lincoln to take on the Nebraska Cornhuskers in a primetime showdown—in what will be another colossal flop if this staff doesn’t properly game plan.
Great analysis and agree with pretty much everything. Last night wasn’t going to be easy and Kaaya will make mistakes as a true freshman, but if he won the job you can’t coach scared. Play calling and O-line were terrible. Too many weapons to score 13 points. Thought the defense played well enough to win until the end when they wore down due to being on the field for so long.
It has been 3 years, and now starting fourth, with all the same issues and frustrations making themselves randomly repeat collectively. I don’t buy the NCAA sanctions of the past 3 years being hindrance, because the talent has been there (always has been). This lack of continuity and less killer mentality simply cannot be allowed to continue, or the fan base will disperse and ultimately kill the program. Simply put, we are literally clinging to football life, and the talent we currently have should scream as if we are thriving. That being said… Practice in the heat, let them hit like they are in the game, eliminate mistakes on game changing plays, and get the coaches that want to be on their ass after each play, good or bad.
Yup. The coaches lost this one. Some of the worst play-calling since Patrick Nix.
Completely predictable, ultra-conservative, and un-creative. Horrible.
And you’re right to call out Olsen, Chris. Kaaya and Heaps still need maps to get around campus. Williams’ injury was unavoidable. But Olsen’s wounds are self-inflicted.
Nonetheless, I lay this loss completely on Golden’s shoulders. I’m a huge fan of the guy, but this was the same slop we saw last year. I genuinely cannot believe it, and I can’t see anything changing. It’s not like James Coley and Golden will wake up tomorrow and suddenly be something they haven’t been in almost two years.
You can’t have the defense give you the ball in scoring position twice and only get 3 points out of it. Ugh.
Obviously, I have no interest in waiting for a coaching change – especially since that seems very unlikely for at least a handful of seasons. So I want the coaches to improve. But they’ve got to grow a pair and play. Clearly they were trying to keep things simple for Kaaya so he doesn’t lose confidence like Stephen Morris would at times, but winning games is a better confidence-booster. And the coaches were NOT playing to win.
And they’ve also got to get angry. Kaaya’s post-game conference sounded like an echo of Golden-speak, saying all the right things with mature introspection and analysis. I don’t want that. I want him to get angry. I want him, and all the players, to HATE losing. Where’s that passion we’ve been known for? Where’s Ed Reed and Kellen Winslow getting pissed and holding each other accountable?
So the keys to success this season, aside from the obvious, are (1) passion and (2) balls.
This version of the U is so , what else can be said, miserable. A lot of Talent, except where it is needed. Coaching. A 2nd year Offensive coordinator, Coley, 4 year O-line Coach, Kehoe. Then of course 4th year, Goldie.
How have they improve, only in one area, they all speak the right words but NO and I mean NO Offense improvement. The over all direction of all this offensive talent and horrible play calling will lead to another 3rd tier bowl game . 7 or 8 wins and once again destroyed by FSU.
Don’t lay this on Kaaya, lay this on coaching. You can’t set this guy up to win if you can’t line up 4 or 5 wide and allow this kid to throw. How many times did he get laid out, hit, 10 , 12 times. flat on his back. No matter who is back there, this new scheme of playing not to lose, 2 runs and a three yard throw, only leads to one thing. New coaches next year. Coley knows every play in the play book, use them all, let it go.
Goldie is charge , lets see some changes in scheme or next year will be his last too.
REMEMBER ME! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I TOLD EVERYONE HERE YEARS BACK AL GOLDEN WAS IN OVER HIS HEAD….HE AND HIS STAFF ARE JR VARSITY HIGH SCHOOL COACHES…. JUST BECAUSE HE WON SOME GAMES AT TEMPLE (AND DID WIN A CONFERENCE TITLE THERE) HOW DO YOU GIVE HIM THE KEYS TO MIAMI!!!!! HE IS IN LOVE WITH THAT GARBAGE DC D’ONOFRIO …THE DEFENSE DID PLAY A HAIR BETTER BUT THAT WAS ONLY DUE TO ANOTHER SUMMER OF EXPERIENCE AND PERRYMAN AND CHICKOLO NOT DEPARTIN
OUR O LINE IS HORRIBLE …IF DUKE JOHNSON WAS ELSEWHERE HE WOULD BE A HEISMAN CANIDATE. …THEY KEEP MAKING IDIOTIC EXCUSES FOR GOLDEN….SHANNON ALWAYS GOT GOD RECRUITS HE LEFT THEM BEHIND…..GOLDEN COULDN’T GET GOING WITH THAT!!!! AND SINCE, CAN’T GET GOING WITH WHAT HE HIMSELF HAS PICKED UP!!!!!! SAD BUT TRUE THE ONLY WAY TO GET RID OF GOLDEN IS LOSING…SMH……GOLDEN WILL NEVER BEAT RELEVANT TEAMS ONLY TRASH…..3 OR 4 LOSS SEASON AGAIN AND PRAY FOR DUKE JOHNSON!!!!!!!!!!! YET……LOVE MY CANES 4EVA!!!!!
Good post & good comments. *Passion & Balls* should become the new 2014 motto
Good Article. You hit on so many valid topics
Kaaya: I kept reading so much about how Perryman and others tried to rattle him and how he stayed poised and was a Cool/Calm&Collected QB. What i saw was a guy that showed flashes of talent, but also looked really shaken. At one point the TV cameras showed him on the sideline and he kept blinking in a kind of akward way…. clearly he was very rattled. You could legitimately say he cost Miami the game. Glad the next 2 games are easier teams for him to settle in. At this point I figure let him take his lumps and push on.
I gotta wonder how strong and accurate he is in practice…
That said on Kaaya – The OLine was terrible so the time needed for deep throws wasn’t there. The time for medium range throws was barely there. Then once those hits took their toll the time he had didn’t matter because he was auditioning for the next Happy Feet movie.
The Defense: I did see a push at times from the D-line that I haven’t seen in the last several years. I am still waiting to see Chikillo live up to his hype. He’s not horrible, just not as strong and fast as I expected at this point in his career.
Olsen P had a few plays were he was able to almost push his guy back into the QB. McCord looked good at times.
If the DBs are going to line up 15-20 yards off their guy then we really have no hope??!!
South FL Talent Lost – I do think this will improve now that the NCAA stuff is done. It happened late in the recruiting season this last year when many were already set on where to go. No such excuses in 2015. It looks decent so far but this is September and a sub-par season could cost UM recruits.
Ahhh – Thanks for the vent and Go Canes!
I agree with this 100%.
James Coley had proven absolutley nothing in his time at FSU to earn another OC gig. FSU was 33rd and 39th in scoring offense in 10 and 11…Jimbo steps in and they climb to 10 in 2012 then they let Coley walk and they’re #2 in 2013 + a NT with a RS Frosh….
Coley takes over an offense with a multi-year senior starting QB and a stocked cubbard skill wise in 2013…where did we rank? You guessed it, 33rd in the nation. He makes elite talent average and is going to ruin Kayaa.
I think the D is an issue…but they were on the field almost the entire game. They held strong until the 4th when they finally broke. Over half our drives we 3 and out. It’s pathetic. I was worried the day Coley was announced as our new OC and he hasn’t shown one single thing to eleviate those concerns since then.
Im tired of all this “Freshman mistakes are gonna happen” BS. Throwing the ball in the dirt to Coley is not a Freshman mistake, neither is underthrowing the ball Dobard (pick). Not to mention not going through your progressions and finding Phillip Dorsett wide open in the flats on 4th and 4.
I will find it hard to believe that Jake Heaps couldn’t put up a better offensive effort than this….if that’s the case, why is he in Miami to begin with. On the defensive side WHERE was AQM…didn’t see him all night. I HOPE THEY REPLAY KIRBY AND CRAWFORD GETTING RAN OVER ON BACK TO BACK PLAYS….and just getting up and walking back to the huddle. WHERE IS THE SWAG?!?!?
Furthermore, I felt the same way for the past year about Gus Edwards….HE HAS NEVER BEEN USED AS A DECOY…..EVER. This game reminded me of the same conservative BS playcalling that got us whacked against DUKE, V Tech, and FSU last year. I don’t care who you are, you cant rush the ball when the D has 9 in the box. No misdirection plays, no pulling guards to the strong side, no slip screens to Duke Johnson NOTHING!!! I see why Jimbo never let Coley call plays. Where is Fidsh, shit where is Whipple.
ALL SUMMER we heard the goals were to win a conference division championship. It seems as if MIAMI forgot that Louisville is in the ACC now. Double Whammy. You cant play a compact play book against a conference foe….should’ve started HEAPS. Let Kaaya come in during mop up duty at FAMU and Arkansas State.
We showed up to an interview for our dream job with a ripped shirt and dirty jeans..
For those Ryan Williams supporters. He couldn’t beat out a one legged Stephen Morris for the past two years. If he was any good, he would have been on the field.
One last note….for those who didn’t turn the TV off. Miami comes out in a 4 wide set for the first time of the game after the game is all but wrapped. Mind you Louisville still had the 1st team on the field. Chains were moving by the way.
Food for Thought, is it me or can Stacey Coley actually catch the ball with his hands. Everything he has caught has been with his body. Im Just Saying.
Amen to this article. It’s time to hold Al and his staff accountable for having his team prepared to play big time football. I no longer have the faith that he’s capable of winning against the top teams. He should feel right at home against FAMU next week.
Its hard to tell a top rated QB, ‘you’re the man, except don’t throw pics, and don’t mess it up” and think he will be confidant in that game. Kid is 19 years old. The play calling was disjunct and obvious. I wonder, is the kid from Kansas really that bad?
Chris, great analysis. I should have stuck with my head instead of my heart in picking for last night’s game. I initially said that coaching alone will get the Cardinals the win. As gametime approached, I thought for sure the Canes would step up and get out of Kentucky with a tight win. The former prevailed. You should not run 1 WR sets again and again, running Duke into a blizting/stunting defense. He’s not a big back and Coley will get him killed and wear him down if he doesn’t adjust. Why not use 2 or even better, 3 WR sets and then run? If they’re being that aggressive on D, spread them out and then try running or passing. I like the WR sreens, but when the D is attacking on snap then do a stop and go or something. Make adjustments. For the first 3 years I have given Golden the benefit of the doubt. In Year 4, that is no longer the case. I am not letting the defense off the hook either, but the offensive line was so bad that I will save that for later, but we are still soft in calls and plays, leaving too many guys wide open with little pressure on the QB. Golden will lose support if he continues on the path 2014 has started on.
You said Kaaya snit ready for the big stage but then go on to explain how bad the play calling was. The coaches set him up for failure. The throws the kid did make were great. Also on that Coley “lateral” why wasn’t the whistle blown for UL having 13 men on the field? We also got hit with that bogus linemen down field on the perfect wheel route. If the coaching staff believed in Kaaya they would have took the training wheels off and let him play, but they didn’t and that’s their fault and not his.
Admin: Wow…couldn’t agree with you more on every point! I have felt this way the past couple of seasons. I just don’t think the coaches have it in them to get the best out of the talent we have.
Last night: It should have been so predictable that Louisville would stack the box to take away DJ , create pressure and make Kaaya beat them. So we counter with conservative play calling and not testing them deep. This kept our offensive line outnumbered entire night. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had concerns about this unit last year when they were supposed to be dominant, and they definitely need to step it up, but some of the blame has to go with coaching as you’ve pointed out. Defense….definitely better, but I went to bed thinking the same thing. Drops by Louisville prevented this from getting out of hand earlier. Rushing three? Soft zones? These SCHEMES are killing us. This will NOT cut it. FBS qb’s CAN hit open receivers in soft zones when not pressured. We have proven this the past three years. It is still the defense that is our Achilles heel. Kaaya will get better. Offensive line can get better. Play calling can become more aggressive. The offense was the problem yesterday but will get better and not hold this team back. It’s the defensive philosophy that will keep this team from becoming elite over the next few years. It pains me so much to realize this, but that’s the current situation.
Also, totally agree with the bullcrap lip service from AG after the game. “Everybody needs to be held accountable…starting with me…..we will evaluate everything…” Said that same crap last year….and then kept everybody (you know to whom I’m referring)….and then the same play with same results last night. If it starts with you, then do you need to step aside? If this continues to be our style of play, the unfortunately I say yes. AG seems like a hard worker, great recruiter, good spokesman for the university, and probably the right man for the job….the last three years’ steering the ship through the NCAA nightmare. But is he the best man from here onward? I would love to show loyalty, but what do they say is the definition of insanity?
Last night was painful. But, if a healthy Ryan Williams had been in then I firmly believe UM could very well had won this game. Williams is not a great QB but he is a very capable one. Assuming we stand at 2-2 come early Oct. v. GT back in ACC play, will Williams be healthy and ready to go? If so then he is obviously our QB and the season could be salvageable. Any thoughts on Williams?
unlike Orlando m, I do want a coaching change. Its not going to change, you can see it in golden’s eyes, he is in way over his head. We had plenty of enough weapons to win Monday night, period! Even with a freshman qb and an improved d which was termed “improved but still untrustworthy”. If I hear it starts with me or this process crap one more time, i’m going to lose my mind. Butch is out there, I was 20 when he left for the browns, and unlike so many wasn’t mad he left because in my eyes he did what jimmie j done and couldn’t fault butch for that. Guarantee butch coaches this team right now as is, we would lose 2 games this year tops because he would utilize and get max potential out of everybody, and another big thing……he knows how to game-plan and make adjustments.
I think it’s time all of us Canes fans accept the fact that the program is dead. The University had an incredible run in the 80’s and 90’s, but that’s the end of it. College football has changed and the small private school from coral gables has been left behind. There are a ton of teams that at one point in history had standout programs and now, they’re expected to lose. THAT is now the University Of Miami. We have seen this program systematically torn apart by incompetent coaching staff after incompetent coaching staff to the point where “The U” is just laughed at. I’d love nothing more than to have this current regime fired tomorrow, but at this point I don’t think it matters. Sports Illustrated once told us why football should be canceled at Miami, well I think now it’s actually time. The program is a complete joke and is doing NOTHING but tarnishing the once proud name of the University. As a die hard Canes fan, I BEG the board of trustees, SHUT THE PROGRAM DOWN! The embarrassment has to stop.
Year 4 same excuses. The “cloud” from the NCAA is no excuse ask USC.
All is our Ron Cook. Nice guy, pedestrian game day coach.
What a way to start the season, huh Chris? Your analysis, as always, is spot on. Regrettably, we’re dealing with the same issues from 2010, 2011, 2012 … and in many ways, Miami has been “outcoached” since the latter part of the Larry Coker years.
It is possible that Miami goes on a tear and does well this season. Recall that the 1983 squad lost badly out of the box to Florida and went on to win the first national title. But given that the quality of the team has yet to show any marked improvements over the past couple of seasons, I don’t see the evidence that would support the idea that the Monday night performance was a fluke. Instead, it shows the systemic failure of this organization to address well-known problems over the past half-decade or longer.
I agree with Joel that in many ways, the program is barely “clinging to football life.” That is an apt way to put it. Failure breeds failure, and the program has been in a long-term tail spin. I had hoped Al Golden, who had such promise, would be the catalyst for change.
Personally, I place the brunt of this loss on the offensive line. The poor execution and inability to consistently open up running lanes and pass protect kept the offense off track. I didn’t expect much from Kaaya, due to his inexperience. Frankly, he probably performed about as well as expected. If he had a solid running game to rely on, it may have helped. But there’s plenty of blame to go around, and you’re right, it all starts with coaching.
It’s getting harder to say this … but I’ll try to keep faith. We’ll continue to cheer on the Canes, but it’s almost becoming unbearable to watch.
Go Canes,
Jake
I have never been part of the “fire Al Golden ” brigade, but I must confess, I’m wavering. He says all the right things, sure. He’s recruited well, yup. Yet, he’s responsible for the coaching staff which has been out coached repeatedly since his tenure began. Nothing need be said about Mark D’Onofrio. That stuff has been covered ad nauseum. We all knew that James Coley did not have play calling experience when he was hired. His hiring was as much to deprive FSU as it was to benefit us. It doesn’t seem to be working.
My objection to Randy Shannon was the lack of progress in his players from year to year. We’re still seeing a lack of progress in many of Golden’s players AND staff.
Kaaya was basically thrown to the wolves. He had no business starting, and to that end as you noted, Kevin Olsen bears the brunt of the blame. Unless things change drastically,I’m afraid I might have to hitch a ride on the fire brigade.
This took me back to that Florida game where we were being man handled for three quarters trying to run our proset offense and going nowhere and everyone calling for Brock Berlin to be pulled, when all of a sudden we went to five wide and shotgun hurry up and he ate the Gators up and won it! The adjustment made was putting you Qb into the offense that he threw for 10000 yds in HS so he could be instinctive. Ten in the box, putting Kaaya und center and Duke getting slammed and you run play action? Out coached by far, game Louisville. Speed outside, experienced hands and not even motion to free up Duke? Put the kid in the gun to give him a few secs to see the field and open it up coach! You and this staff will be gone if you don’t change the offense to use the skill sets we have fast.
I feel James Coley ‘s play calling is horrible. As a loyal fan, I feel we need to put our play maker’s on the field and not continue to run a pro set offense. We can not wait around playing scared football. If this continues all coaches need to be fired.
This is for all you Canes fans that want Butch Davis (the rat) back.
Here are the records after 3 years at Miami Davis 22-12 Golden 23-14. Golden has 1 more win than Butch the rat did in his first 3 years at Miami. Butch took over a team With Ray Lewis that had just played in the National Championship game the year before. Golden took over for Randy Shannon who just lost to USF at home!!! The next argument is that Golden has not beaten any top teams. Butch Davis records against FSU in 5 years 1-4 against Va Tech 1-4 and he was 0-3 vs both teams his first 3 years. The Canes in 95 beat 2 teams with a winning record the Orangeman and Baylor In 96 Canes beat 3 teams with winning records Orangeman, West Virginia and Virginia. In 97 the Canes beat nobody with a winning record. In 98 they lost to the Orangemen 66-13. So lets not just throw out how Butch won games while on probation and Golden hasn’t. The facts show otherwise. Butch Davis teams were in the very weak Big Least where Va Tech was their only competition for the Big East Title while Golden has to play in a much tougher ACC. The biggest thing in my opinion is that Butch new about the sanctions within the 1st year after he took the job and could tell the high school players the he was recruiting how long Miami was going to be on probation. Al Golden was blindsided a week before the season started and the cloud hung over his head for 2 and 1/2 years. So all of you Butch Davis lovers look at the facts and they show a different story than the myths. Butch seems to get better with age. He quit this program after swearing he was staying and he is a cheat and can’t be trusted. I remember all the same fans calling for Butch Davis and Larry Coker to be fired in 98 when the lost to the Orangemen 66-13 and in 2000 when they lost to an inferior Washington team because they were not prepared for the crowd noise in Husky stadium!!!!!! I am not giving Golden a pass but let’s look at the facts before throwing crap against the wall about how great Butch Davis was at Miami!!!!
I honestly don’t have any confidence in either coordinator, but mainly D’Onfrio. I will cut Coley a small bit of slack for it being his second year, but he hasn’t shown that he can adjust mid-game to what the defense is doing. D’Onofrio is in his fourth year and it’s plain to see that his scheme (Golden’s scheme) doesn’t work at this level. Yet he has not adjusted to taylor what he calls to the personnel, as well as just shown any positive growth as an influential coach. There are too many examples of coordinators making immediate impacts, implementing their system and getting the persoannel to execute in that system. Just look at Jeremy Pruitt. He immediately turned around FSU and in Week 1 with Georgia you can already see a huge different in that unit. They guy can flat out coach. Period. It doesn’t take three or four years to make any kind of change anymore. If you haven’t shown it by then, chances are you don’t have it. If Golden refuses to get rid of his pal if Year 4 turns out to be the same as Years 1-3, then he will go down with the ship eventually. This fan base deserves better than what we’ve been given. We’ve been a mediocre program for the last decade and this year has the same vibe to have another 7-5 season very easily. I pray they prove me wrong, but seeing is believing at this point. The same words have been said after every loss, game after game, year after year. They mean nothing. Show me growth on the field -when it matters – and I’m referring to the coaches, not the players.
meant to say ‘tailor’, not ‘taylor’, oops