This has been a ridiculously long week for every 'Canes fan and now it is time to move on from the debacle.
The 'Canes look to get back on track this weekend against a Duke team that will put up more of a fight at home then you probably think. As Don Bailey Jr. said yesterday on Sid Rosenberg's (The Carpetbagger as I like to call him) radio show, Duke is licking its chops. They have nothing to lose and see a Miami team coming off a major beatdown that might have its head elsewhere.
There is your cheesy intro and here is the breakdown:
QB
Call me crazy, but I thought Jacory was a bright spot last week. Improved decision making, pulled it down and ran a few times, managed the game well and did it while hurt. The problem is his receivers let him down again, dropping balls that hit them in the hands. Duke will start promising Sena Renfree, who is probably still a year or two away from being a major threat but can definitely sling it. EDGE: Miami
RB
Damien Berry quietly ran for 101 yards against FSU and ran hard all game. Miami compiled 185
total yards on the ground and seems to have made it more a priority of late to establish the run game, which will help Jacory out immensely. Duke's leading rusher is Desmond Scott. They don't run it much but he is a big play threat, bringing in an average of 5.7 ypc and a long run of 63 yards on the season. If Miami gets Lamar Miller back for this game it will be hard to decide who gets the secondary carries between Miller, Graig Cooper and Mike James, as each has had their moments. EDGE: Miami
total yards on the ground and seems to have made it more a priority of late to establish the run game, which will help Jacory out immensely. Duke's leading rusher is Desmond Scott. They don't run it much but he is a big play threat, bringing in an average of 5.7 ypc and a long run of 63 yards on the season. If Miami gets Lamar Miller back for this game it will be hard to decide who gets the secondary carries between Miller, Graig Cooper and Mike James, as each has had their moments. EDGE: MiamiWR
Leonard Hankerson is clearly Miami's go to guy, and the rest of the receivers have battled major inconsistency. I personally think it is LaRon Byrd's time to shine. I also think if I were Shannon I would send out freshman Allen Hurns and sophomore Kendall Thompkins for the first two series just to send a message. Miami is hurt by the lack of a viable threat at tight end. Meanwhile, Donavan Varner and Conner Vernon have been great in Duke's pass happy attack. Never thought I would type this...EDGE: Duke
OL
Miami on both talent and caliber of opponent this Saturday. EDGE: Miami
DL
Miami is more talented and if they play the way I think they will then they should have at least 5 sacks. Allen Bailey must make more of an impact. Duke brings back senior defensive ends that will put pressure on Jacory if allowed. EDGE: Miami
LB
Sean Spence is Miami's best player, but it is time for someone to step up and make plays aside from him. Colin McCarthy looks a step slow and out of position at middle linebacker, and Ramon Buchannan seems to take two steps forward and one step back. Shannon said he will work Kelvin Cain more into the mix, and if healthy, hopefully we will see more Jordan Futch as well too. Duke runs a 3-4, which means they will be attacking Jacory with blitzes all day in hopes of forcing a mistake downfield. EDGE: Miami
Secondary
Miami is more talented and is beginning to get a knack for turnovers. If they ever get a game where all four guys play well together then they will be a force. EDGE: Miami
Special Teams
Who knows at this point. Miami is too inconsistent in all phases, and yes, that includes you now Mr. Bosher (my man crush). EDGE: Even
OTHER PICKS
Last Week: 3-6
Season: 24-18
Upset Specials: 0-5
Texas over Nebraska (Upset SPECIAL!)
Cincy over Louisville
Auburn over Arkansas
Iowa over Michigan
Texas Tech over Okie State
Wisconsin over Ohio State (Hopefully the meteor though)
'Bama over Ole Miss Blackbears
And yes, don't worry, at some point soon I will definitely do something about the state of the program and the FSU loss. Still too soon. Just know that I am in the type of mood that I hope every team loses every week just so all fan bases are as pissed as me.
Also, turns out I have the ability to see what my readership is. All jokes aside, I am getting like 3000 reads per month, which is awesome and a little humbling. I also have readers in Europe, South America, Asia and Australia as well as North America. Shout out to you all, but most specifically those in Afghanistan and Iraq. I have a hard time believing any native Afghanis or Iraqis are reading this, which means that those readers are serving this beautiful country of ours and protecting the freedom of chuckleheads like me. Provides a lot of perspective when contemplating a win or loss. Thank you all very much and get home safe.
I love the 'Canes, but the only thing I love more is America.
Have enjoyed reading your Cane perspective since the UM blog days. Would be curious to hear your take on recruiting going forward including current commits and prospects if you ever get a chance.
ReplyDeleteThanks Adrian,
ReplyDeleteI will do more on recruiting once the season ends and I have nothing else to think about.
Right now, I think we are in good position given our limited number of scholarships.
I think Bridgewater is a good player and we need to hold on to him, and at the end of the day I do not think he bolts. Missing on quarterbacks altogether would be bad news though, because I believe one a year at that position is crucial.
Skill position wise, I really like Dorsett. Sammy Watkins is our number one target at receiver and he seems like a 50 50 ball at this point. Either way, we need about three and it seems like we passed on some early, which means the staff must know something we don't. My favorite recruit last time around, Jeremy Davis, probably will be playing recevier after prep. He will add instant excitement to this team.
Nick O'Leary, the tight end from Palm Beach, is our number one overall target and he is probably an FSU lean at this point. Lot of time left to sway him to stay close to home, but I don't have a great gut feeling about it. Other options are out there, most notably Brandon Fulse and A.C. Leonard, who has decommitted and recommitted to UiF three times already.
O-Line will be a small group and we seem to find good players. Marcus Jackson is a good player and we will take one more only if it is an elite type of guy. Rumors are that Miami is going to take Derrick Campbell from Hargrave Prep. He would be 21 or 22 by the time he got on campus, so I am for it.
D-Line is the one that needs the most work. Anthony Chickillo is a great start but we need an explosive pass rusher type and a couple of tackles. Defensive end is never a problem given our recruiting ground, but the tackles are sparse this year. Look for a JUCO guy (maybe Couch?) and maybe an under the radar out of state kid.
Linebackers are looking good with Menocal (a freak athlete) ready to come in and Denzel Perryman projected by everyone to choose The U on signing day. I would like to see us get another big kid to put in the middle, but after the early reviews of Jimmy Gaines and Kelvin Cain have been positive I trust the staff to find players here.
Secondary features in my opinion our top current commit, Albert Louis Jean, and a whole bunch of SoFla targets. I think the 'Canes should grab Jabari Gorman, Robinson Therezie and Dallas Crawford (Watkins' teammate) here and then choose one of the following to target: Gerrod Holliman, Karl Williams or Wayne Lyons. All of these kids have shown they make plays and are physical. It is a bit much to sign 5 defnesive backs, but this would set us up well for the next 3-4 years depth wise. Add that to Johnny Bailey and Amos Leggett on their way in the 2012 class and we are stocked up with ballhawks.
Long shot out of state kids: Quan Bray, George Farmer, Todd Barr, Marquise Lee, Brandon Shell. Ishaq Williams, Anthony Wallace
Top Remaining Targets: O'Leary, Gorman, Watkins, Therezie, Perryman, Fulse, Bryant Dubose
Overall, good prognosis that will get better as the class takes shape.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete