This team sucks. End of story. I expected more, as did the coaching staff and majority of the fan base. We were wrong. There are some bright spots, but as a ‘team’ and collective unit, the Canes are a joke. Six years of Cokerism aren’t going to be erased overnight. Nor can Miami rebound immediately from some horrid recruiting.
I’ve heard the coaches imply this team doesn’t lack talent. That’s bull. It does. Miami is a joke at all too many positions. Linebackers. Defensive line (outside of Eric Moncur and Calais Campbell). Secondary (Kenny Phillips, excluded). Some of the underclassmen show promise, but the majority of the upperclassmen have Miami in “stick a fork in ’em” mode.
This was the last hurrah for a slew of Canes this year. One last chance for some upperclassmen to prove they weren’t Cokerized. We wanted to expect the best and hope for some lucky bounces to help momentum. Instead it’s been the opposite. A season full of untimely injuries and underachieving has done the Canes in.
Offensively, Miami is done as well. Graig Cooper can’t carry this team on his own. Bruce Feldman told me months ago that Shawnbrey McNeal was going to be a stud and we saw glimpses of that today. Javarris James has looked average lately. Cousin Edgerrin needs to can all the “Baby J will be better than me” nonsense. No way in hell that’s ever the case.
Kyle Wright killed the Canes today, but with missed opportunities instead of turnovers. Overthrowing receivers on sure touchdowns actually hurts more than four interceptions. Wright showed some grit at times, but he left at least 14 points on the field today by not hitting receivers in stride. Pathetic for a fifth year senior. I can’t even blame that one on four offensive coordinators the past few seasons. It’s inexcusable.
It’s time to split reps between Wright and Kirby Freeman. I’m not wavering in my belief that Wright is the better of the two, but with the ACC out of reach it’s time to let your junior get some reps. No need to solely play the senior as his career ends in five games.
And for the record, I am vehemently against burning the redshirt of Robert Marve. Hell no. Had there been no car accident and halt in his progress, he’d have competed early on. He needed to be ready to return with Miami at 1-1 after the Oklahoma loss. At 4-3 it is absolutely a waste to let this kid get a handful of reps against the likes of Florida State, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Boston College.
Miami needs Marve from 2008-2011, or at least 2010 if he’s all that and bails early. The bigmouths need to stop all this Marve talk for 2007. It’s pointless and stupid.
The ACC is out of reach. Maybe not numerically, but anyone with a clue knows Miami is screwed with this remaining schedule. At Florida State next weekend. NC State and Virginia at the Orange Bowl the next two weeks and then road games at Virginia Tech and Boston College. The Canes are looking at 6-6 with this remaining schedule. 7-5 would be a miracle right now.
Miami has been outcoached in the past, but that’s not the case this year. These Canes are simply being out-hustled, out-talented and absolutely lack the heart shown by their opponents. You can see the wear and tear on the face of Randy Shannon. He’s preaching his gospel and only a few Canes are getting it.
Andre Ware provided color for the game and when he wasn’t dropping lame “New Jack City” references, he continued to drive the point home how he believes Shannon will right this ship. From hanging out on campus this week, sitting in on meetings and being around the new Miami coach, he believes that recruiting will bounce back under the first year leader.
I agree 1000%. I have all the faith in the world in Shannon. I know the talent will return to Coral Gables and that playmakers will take over this roster in the next few seasons. It’s just not going to happen today.
2007 just became a funeral procession. Five games left on the docket and two more at the Orange Bowl. For those keeping score, Miami is 0-5 in it’s last five road games and hasn’t won a meaningful home game since Louisville in 2004. It’s time to wipe the slate clean.
Good riddance, OB. There were some amazing times there, but this is hardly a farewell tour. The 34-17 win over Texas A&M was the last home hurrah. The homefield advantage is gonzo and has been since for over two seasons. These final two games are the equivalent of life support. Head by for the last eight quarters of ball there, pay your respects to the old girl and pull the plug.
Dolphin Stadium isn’t a dream venue for the Canes, but it’s a fresh start. It’s a step forward. A modern facility which many say puts Miami from the worst stadium in the ACC to the best. Shannon and staff feel it’ll help recruiting tremendously, as the youngins of today are into Jumbotrons and a cutting-edge NFL stadium.
Bring it on. Whatever it takes to weed out the current lack of talent and bring in the stars of tomorrow. I’m all in.
Ride out the next five games. Bench the dead weight. Get the freshman some reps, start building for tomorrow and pray for an upset here or there to provide a few bright spots of what will be a very bleak second half of 2007.
.:Canes305:.
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Well said. Too bad we can't fast forward and get the rest of the year over with.
Miami defense is by far not playing to their potential. The defense is waiting on the play instead of attacking it. Good example early in the game when Willie Cooper had the chance to tackle T. Choice but instead of attacking, Willie waited for Choice to come to him and then try to tackle. Ive seen this junk for the past 3 games now. It's disappointing to see that they are not being aggressive like the past years. What happened to the good o'days where the U defense flying toward the ball carrier and then gang tackle them like there is no tomorrow? What happen to all the speed that Miami is known for?
Well said my man. Very upset after watching this game. RS will right the ship. Have to play Kirby more just to prep him as a backup for next year and punish Kyle for very poor play.
It hurts to watch underclassmen QBs from other teams outplay our 5th year senior who was a former National Player of the Year. Does it make sense to even play for a bowl game? Or just play all freshmen and sophomores to prep for next year?
I just hope the fans don't put too much blame on RS. We've got to have patience and let him get the right players in place. It would be great if we could ruin BC's perfect season like they did us in '84. Go Canes!!
I been a Canes fan for a long time and this team is the worst team I've seen. I don't think they could beat Notre Dame this year!
The coaching seen ok but the lack of hustle and really wanting to win isn't there to me. It's disappointing to lose but it more disappointing to show up and not give it your all.
I hope recruiting goes good this year. Look like we need a lot of starters because were playing second sting players right now!
This situation could not have come at a worse time after the OB pulled from us for MONEY reasons. If this continues games at Joe Robbie with small attendance will be pathetic. These decisions by the admin could quickly ruin any hope of a good program again.
It's a shame that 2007 is turning out to be pretty much a rehash of 2006. Look at the teams in the top 20 who have no business there, and we are not even a threat to it. This team has no leadership on the field, nobody making big plays, or even making plays at the right time. What happened to our once great defense? For the third straight year, we got out physicalled by Ga Tech. We got blown off the ball, walled off play after play after play. Nobody was getting off blocks, nobody stepped up, and as far coaches, they refused to adjust. How many times did Choice have a convoy of linemen and FB's 8 yards downfield before he was TOUCHED?!?! Nobody made a play. Will coaches maybe change alignments to try to stop this? We were pushed around time after time and that is pathetic. It's time to get the players with the losing mentality and surrender mentality off the field and play younger players if we need to. The offense isn't even worth going over. It's been garbage for going on 4 years. I suggest Viagra for performance anxiety. Seriously, that side of the ball is more inept than John Bobbitt after his wife got done with him. It's just a shame that we looked forward to this team all Winter, Spring and Summer, and we get rewarded with this kind of effort and execution. I am pissed!
-Columbus Cane
Having followed UM football since 1963, I can honestly say this is the WORST Miami team I have ever seen. Some of the teams back then had little talent and the coaching was bad, too, but they never just QUIT like this team has. Kyle Wright is beyond pathetic. He's the worst QB in the history of the program (and yes, that includes Frank Costa and Ryan Collins). Some of Randy's assistant coaches may have to go, too. Pat Nix has offered nothing to improve this offense and Tim Walton is out of his league as DC.
This program will take a minimum of five years to even be competitive again. I just hope we can hang onto to some decent recruits. These kids have to know that they can play right away next year, but you have to wonder if they want to be around upperclassmen with such poor attitudes. I say pull the scholarships of most of these guys and just start over with Randy's recruits and a bunch of freshmen and build from there. They can't be any worse than this abomination of a team. To say they suck is an understatement. I hate losing to Chan Gailey, one of the members of the famous Gator "flop" team, worst of all.
Night Night Canes. No matter how bad Miami is it's always fun to win in the Orange bowl. You need to get Nebraska on your schedule to score some wins...
Thank You 305!! Finally even the most glass is half full fan that I know is ready to be brutally honest!! This team is PATHETIC!!! Our rush defense looked like a baseball bat trying to stop a semi truck!! Offensively we were terrible. If there was an award for underthrowing passes, Kyle Wright would have won hands down. And don't even talk to me about Kirby Freeman either, he looks like a scared little puppy when he was in the game. I have no issues with the coaching staff because like 305 said, it's ablout execution not coaching with this group of individual(I refuse to call them players or a team)!! VT and BC will anihilate this squad. Maybe it's just me, but this is worse than the late 90's. This is the lowest point of the last 30 years. Does anybody else smell that? Oh it's just our performance the last two weeks!! I'm out.....
At least we're gonna kick ass in the Recruiting Season!!!! I'll take ANY
victory at this point....and that seems to be our best chance....
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patiently waiting 'til next year...(man, i feel like a cubs fan)