The Miami Hurricanes are gearing up for one of those season-turning games… again. Seems that’s been the case often the past few seasons. How does The U respond after an early season loss? Will prosperity turn the tide, again? Miami upended Texas A&M, 34-17 last season before a life-less win against Duke, followed by an embarrassing road loss at North Carolina.
Does this team have the grit to build on a semi-close game at Florida? How will 1-2 impact their mindset going into ACC play starting next Saturday should the Canes lose to the Aggies? More importantly, where are Jermaine McKenzie and Arthur Brown?
Miami heads to College Station after a bye in the third week of the season. Fundamentals were the name of the game on the practice field. Special teams. Getting on receivers to reel in catchable balls.
Per Randy Shannon today, the Canes are focusing on upwards of seven receivers – as opposed to nine who caught balls against Charleston Southern and ten who saw playing time at Florida. With two games under their belts and both quarterbacks having started a game, it’s time to develop a rhythm and determine who the playmakers are versus who should redshirt.
This week’s depth chart has been released and there are two new faces starting at receiver – true freshman Aldarius Johnson and oft-troubled junior Sam Shields. They’re backed up by LaRon Byrd/Leonard Hankerson (second string) and Khalil Jones/Travis Benjamin (third string). That six pack of wideouts leaves room for one more TBD. Will one of the smaller slot receivers make his presence felt (Davon Johnson or Thearon Collier) – or is this where McKenzie finally cracks the line up?
Speaking of McKenzie and his lack of playing time, Shannon cleared things up today, citing a sprained MCL as the reason #15 hasn’t seen the field. McKenzie is 100% healthy, so we’ll see if that equates to any playing time Saturday afternoon. Regardless, it sounds like those transfer rumors were nothing more than message board yahoos fanning some flames.
Brown is the other youngster fans are clamoring for. The LB out of Wichita, KS has seen some small special teams duty but no big game action, supposedly due to an ankle injury. Speculation is that Brown is still struggling to learn the playbook, but will see an increased special teams role starting this weekend.
A youth movement is taking place on special teams, with new blood on the return teams. Brandon Harris and Travis Benjamin will handle kickoff duty, while Collier has been named this week’s punt returner. The man they call “Pimp” is replacing Graig Cooper, who will have his hands full at running back with Javarris James sidelined for at least another 1-3 weeks.
Three true freshman will be responsible for the Canes field position against Texas A&M. Here’s hoping for some breakout performances…
Regarding Cooper, expect a heavy dose of the sophomore tailback this weekend as the Aggies are ranked 113th in the nation defending the run. Surprisingly enough, aTm is 24th against the pass – which means the passing game’s handcuffs could remain tight for at least another week.
Robert Marve and Jacory Harris will most likely air it out a bit more than at The Swamp, but expect a plethora of carries for Coop and Derron Thomas. Miami has to establish the run and attempt to wear down the hometown Aggies.
Shannon stated earlier that Marve will continue as starter, but that Harris will see playing time in both halves. While I usually support Shannon, I’m against these ‘absolute’ type statements.
The talk before Florida was Marve getting three series and Harris getting two. Proving true to his word, that’s exactly how Shannon had things play out. Unfortunately, drawing that line in the dirt doesn’t allow you to go with the ‘hot hand’ for the sake of being a man of one’s word.
Harris deserved playing time at Florida, but yanking Marve early in the second quarter of a 7-3 ball game had some scratching their head. Especially with Marve seeming to find a groove.
There is no quarterback controversy at The U, with Marve your #1 guy… but there’s a difference between getting your #2 guy some playing time and predetermining where you’ll insert him into the game. Marve needs snaps and deserves to run this offense without looking over his shoulder.
At some point, Harris needs to be part of special packages and relegated for ‘mop up’ duty. Curious to see how this week plays out. Will the quarterback situation bring more unity or confusion?
Huge game for Miami this weekend. Make no mistake of the fact that Texas A&M stumbled out the gate. Kyle Field is a difficult venue and the Canes are a high profile team that will get the aTm crowd rowdy and ready to go. The Aggies haven’t forgotten last year’s embarrassing, nationally televised beat down where Miami led 24-0 at the half.
Another wrinkle is the status of Texas A&M quarterback Stephen McGee. Injured for the first time since fourth grade, McGee has been dealing with a separated throwing shoulder two weeks ago. Miami owned McGee last September, holding him to 109 yards and 1 INT on an 11-for-20 evening.
McGee’s back up is sophomore Jerrod Johnson and usually sees the field as a receiver. He threw for three touchdowns in the 28-22 win over New Mexico on September 6th. Doing that against a speedy Canes defense is a completely different feat.
How does Miami react to a possible changing of the guard? This is a shot for Bill Young to again bring an aggressive defense and rattle either a newbie quarterback or a gimpy one. Make aTm one dimensional and force the turnovers that didn’t come at Florida two weeks ago.
This week’s parting thought… Patrick Nix. The second-year offensive coordinator is Public Enemy #1 for a percentage of Miami’s fan base. What they’re saying?
The reigns were too tight on Marve and Harris at Florida. Harris is ‘smarter’ than Nix, as he had the wherewithal to audible from the 1-yard line, finding Kayne Farquharson for a 12-yard catch late in the second quarter against the Gators.
They’re also saying Michael Irvin was right in his assessment of Nix, telling Shannon not to hire him as his complicate scheme required receivers to read the defense and know where defenders were, impacting their route running – which is now the reason young receiver aren’t catching on immediately.
My take? It’s too early to tell and Nix deserves time to prove the doubters wrong. Whether he can do that or proves everything above to be correct, time will tell. Regardless, you don’t judge the man based on two games – one against Charleston Southern and the other at #5 Florida, both with first-time, brand new quarterbacks.
Everyone wanted a more aggressive attack against the Gators, but the game plan was to slow down the pace of the game and keep it close. Going three-and-out and giving Florida the ball back would’ve made a 26-3 final closer to 40-3. Miami couldn’t afford a blowout and the closer score will pay dividends on Signing Day next February, though that means little right now.
Has Nix made some mistakes? Absolutely. But the first two games of 2008 aren’t indicative of the season. Miami faces no one of Charleston Southern or Florida’s capacity down the stretch. Marve and Harris will only be newbies for so long.
John Lennon wanted you to give peace a chance. I say give Nix one… for now. Let’s see how he responds against aTm and then three straight home games against North Carolina, Florida State and Central Florida.
Marve and Harris will grow every snap they play, as will Nix. He’s heard the negative criticism. Let’s see how he responds. Should he continue to falter, I’ll help the haters lead the charge at season’s end. For now, ride it out.
No one is getting fired mid-season, so let’s can all the “let’s hire (insert name) as our OC” chatter we’ve been hearing. An NFL head coach on the chopping block isn’t going to go from top dog to college OC at a private school not know for paying big money. Especially when that head coach is still has a job in Oakland.