The Beast : A win is a win … or is it?

After spending about five hours perfecting all of my settings on my laptop, enabling me to hook it up to my plasma, I finally sat down to watch Miami at Duke on ESPN3.com.

I can appreciate the fact that a few years back this game wouldn’t have been broadcast anywhere, watching a whole game online (with announcers more suited to cover middle school dodge ball), it was far from a great viewing experience.

In the end, Miami got the win. Is any win a ‘good’ win? Depends what you’re looking for. This most recent ‘W’ keeps UM in control of its own destiny regarding Charlotte and the ACC Championship game on December 4th. On the other hand, the offense again left a lot to be desired.

I was pleasantly surprised to see Jacory Harris going through an entire game without an interceptions, however there were still way too many questionable throws into double coverage. If Duke’s secondary were up to the task, harris may have tossed three or more picks. It was also another Saturday with way too many dropped balls on both offense and defense.

Chase Ford is one guy not living up to the hype. I guess many of us saw a strapping JUCO transfer tight end from the Midwest and saw Jeremy Shockey incarnate. However, he’s no where close to that and nor should he be. As fans it’s our fault for having such high expectations (though it doesn’t excuse all Ford’s drops).

I believe the lack of a solid tight end has cost Harris a bit. A pass-catching tight end that can dominate the middle of the field – it’s such a great weapon for a quarterback and Miami hasn’t found “the guy” there yet. Asante Cleveland did some nice things when coming into the game, but he’s still a freshman and needs another year or two to fully come into his own.

The defense again played well, though I was a bit nauseous when I heard that Colin McCarthy didn’t make the trip. Kelvin Cain more than came through, which was a plus and you have to admire a freshman that founds out he is going to be thrust into a huge role 24 hours before game time and he went out and got the job done.

I’m loving the fact that turnovers are again coming in bunches, right down to seeing Micanor Regis getting that score. That really made my afternoon and it was a taste to throwback, old school “U”.

I read all of Shannon’s post game comments and I dialed into his day-after teleconference. I was looking to get some insight regarding why this team again came out flat. Randy talked about the stagnant environment at Duke and I can agree with that. I’ve been there a few times and it’s not really a football environment when you can literally hear individual conversations in the stands and from the sidelines all game.

Still, it’s no excuse. This team absolutely should’ve come out and dominated start to finish. That’s a mindset that’s not on Shannon and staff. That one has to be on the players.

I know there’s been a lot of talk about Shannon’s demeanor and personality, but it’s time we hold these players to a higher standard, expecting more. The point eventually has to come where someone steps up from within the confines of the locker room and on the field. Think about an Ed Reed or Joaquin Gonzalez. Larry Coker never anointed them as leaders. They took the reigns on their own and that’s how it has to happen.

Let’s officially put Duke in the rearview for now. North Carolina is on deck and this game is huge as Miami continues making a post season run. These players have to show that the FSU loss was the exception, not the rule. This game to Shannon is what games like Florida State and Virginia Tech were to Davis back in 2000 – teams Butch was a combined 0-10 versus going into that season.

At some point Randy has to show that he can outcoach Butch. With the Tar Heels wrapped up in scandals and violations, there’s no better time for Miami to prove it can protect its house. The team knows what it needs to do and as fans, here’s my challenge to you; GET TO THE FREAKING GAME!

I realize there are a lot of questions about this program but YOU can make a difference. Go to the game. Go to the game. Go to the game. We all saw what a half-full house did against Clemson last season. Don’t let that happen again.

Tune back in Thursday night for my official game preview.

Until then, tune back in for another edition of allCanes Radio – live this week from the Women’s Basketball Fantasy Camp. This is a new event put on by coach Katie Meier and her team, allowing them to interact with members of the community. There will be lots of activities for adults and kids, as well as some celebrity coaches. For more info, log on to HurricaneSports.com.

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