Sunday, November 30, 2008

2010 Committments

Most Canes already know the news that 2010 stud DT Louis Nix from Jacksonville is already a Cane (he committed on Thanksgiving Day), but new breaking news is that 2010 Miami Northwestern DT Todd Chandler has committed to the Miami Hurricanes.

Chandler, a do-it-all defensive tackle, tore his knee up this past season but still remains one of the hottest rising juniors in the nation. He has been on Miami's radar for quite some time now and according to sources, pulled the trigger.

Some were worried about Florida swooping in, but Chandler appears to be all about the Canes.

This is a tremendous pickup for the staff and 2 great building blocks to start what could be the best recruiting class Miami has ever had. The talent in Dade next year is that good. It's simply silly how stacked SoFla is next year.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Apologies

Sorry fellas, been busy with a lot of stuff. We promise to get back on it after the break.

No huge news lately.

Rumblings on potential OC replacements but nothing really big yet.

NC State is going to be a tough game. They are really playing well.

I will be watching closely to see how our players respond mentally to the Ga Tech beatdown. This will be a tell tale sign if Randy is doing his job or not. Look for that.

Friday, November 21, 2008

Ga Tech reaction

Wow, it feels like 2007 all over again.

I didn't know what to expect from the GT option and how we were going to defend it, but good god, we got our lunch eaten last night.

Georgia Tech thoroughly dominated Miami in every single facet of the game. With a gimpy offensive line and quarterback, they ran for FOUR HUNDRED SEVENTY TWO yards against a stout Miami rush defense.

This game just shows that we're not "back" yet. The warts of this team reared their ugly head last night. Poor tackling. Little leadership from the upperclassmen.

Let's be honest. Bill Young had nothing to do with what happened last night. These players know what they were supposed to do. Nobody could tackle. Nobody kept their assignment. It was a complete beatdown issued by the Ramblin' Wreck and mental collapse from the Miami defense.

As for the offense, both quarterbacks were bad but Jacory just a little less than Marve. These guys aren't ready to play big time football yet and it showed last night. The pick 6 to Michael Johnson was one of the worst decisions I've seen in a long time from a quarterback at any level. Marve has GOT to know better than that.

Georgia Tech -- Miami's biggest nemesis since joining the ACC. We just can't beat this team. Randy has a lot of work to do on the recruiting trail still if we hope to get to their level.

The Yellow Jackets are going to be scary good when Nesbitt and Thomas are seniors.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Prediction

Just noticed I never posted a prediction for this game. I'll say we are able to hold them pretty well on defense and keep them from scoring a bunch (they only got 10 points against Gardner-Webb) and that we will be able to break the 20 mark this time on offense.

Miami 24 - GaTech 13

Game Day

What's up guys, got my computer back and running.

Anyways, just a quick update on what could be the big points of the game tonite. Don't got much time. Less the 3 hours til kickoff and I still gotta get the beer and chicken wings.

Anyways, here's the scoop:

- 1st and foremost, don't get overaggressive. Let the option play out, stick with your man and make your tackle. This is a game were we should see solid, generally uninspiring players like Glenn Cook, Romeo Davis and JoJo Nicolas really stand out.

- Their OL is beat up pretty badly. We need to get pressure up the gut from Josh Holmes, Marcus Forston, Dwayne Hendricks and Joe Joseph. Getting pressure from the DT's in the middle will throw off the timing of the option and allow the DE's an easier time of fighting off blocks to shut down the option lanes and create some turnovers.

- GT is the heaviest turnover team in the ACC. Strip the damn ball!! Plain and simple, we get 2 turnovers and we win.

- Our OL needs to have a solid game. No reason to think they can't. We've gone against better DLs then GT although GT is one of the seasons better DLs. If we get solid play from our OL and get some running lanes for JJ and Coop, we will be able to keep Dwyer off the field and us in control.

-As in the VT game, if our WRs can turn short passes into nice gains, we will be able to keep the offense on the field and win this game.

Sit back and enjoy the ride folks.

((( Look for a nice recruiting update after the GT game is a wrap )))

Jerseys

Green tops with white pants again via source. Randy's not messing with the streak.

Again, my prediction is Miami 19, Georgia Tech 13

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Georgia Tech Preview

The Ramblin' Wreck from Georgia Tech has ruined nearly every season Miami has been in the ACC. It's time to change that.

Everyone remembers in 2005 when we wore our Nike REVO jerseys (the all greens with the orange shoulder patch) and we laid an egg and lost to the Fighting Calvin Johnsons. We were #3 in the nation, coming off a huge VT win and in the thick of things for the national title. USC and Texas never ended up losing, but if they did, Miami was in a position to play for their 6th national title.

This team is quite different from the Georgia Tech teams of the past. Former Navy coach Paul Johnson has installed his triple option offense at GT and while there's been some bumps in the road, GT has played well this year.

This is gonna be another ugly game, folks. One huge play will probably be the difference in the game. A fumble return for a touchdown, a long run, a deep pass. I wouldn't expect more than 30-35 points total out of these teams.

Georgia Tech's main quarterback, Josh Nesbitt, has a bad ankle and is a game-time decision tomorrow. The Yellow Jackets backup, Shaw, also is banged up and could miss tomorrow's game. I would expect Nesbitt to play, albeit limited. This is a huge bonus for Miami. They can cheat a little bit towards the pitch on the option.

I honestly don't know how we're going to respond against the option. I think we'll be fine, but if people start missing assignments, it's gonna be a long night. I wouldn't expect GT to light the world on fire, but they'll have some nice drives and holding them to field goals instead of touchdowns is going to be absolutely huge. Our offense needs the D to save as many points as possible because Miami is just not an offensive team right now.

Offensively, Graig Cooper and Javarris James are going to need to be stellar. No fumbles, no missed blocks, no soft runs. Georgia Tech has a tremendous defensive line, led by freak on the edge Michael Johnson who appears to be one of the most physically gifted players in the country. He disappears at times, and Fox is good enough to handle him, but he could get loose at any moment and cause havoc. Marve and Harris are going to need clean pockets to have success through the air -- if Cooper and JJ can block like they're capable of, it's going to do wonders for the offense.

Running the football is going to be tough. The big thing here is vision. GT loves to stunt their defensive line towards one side of the ball and if Cooper and James can read the cutback lanes, we could have some real success running the football.

Like I said last week, short passes are going to be a key to the offense. I expect Nix to come out throwing downfield and test the Georgia Tech secondary. Then, he'll get into his shell and start playcalling conservatively again. I just hope we make enough plays early in the game and that we play smart football.

GT is NOT a come-from-behind team. They struggle throwing the ball and really only have one receiver, Deynarius Thomas who accounts for an unusually large amount of their offense. Like I said earlier in the week, we should have bracket coverage on obvious passing downs on Thomas. If we can keep GT to 3rd and 7 and longer, we'll win the game.

If we get out to a 2-score lead, I think we're going to win the game. They just don't have the firepower on offense to come back and our D-Line has been great at getting pressure on the QB.

An ugly game, but we're hot right now and extremely confident. The seniors and juniors on this team know what Georgia Tech has done to Miami in the past and it's time for revenge.

PREDICTION : Miami 19, Georgia Tech 13

Last year, there's no way we even have a chance in this game.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Road to the ACC title game

Here's the quick rundown on our chase of the title game folks.

Here's the rundown:

BEST OPTION: We beat GT and NC State. Run the table and guarantee ourselves a spot in the ACC title game.

2nd BEST OPTION: We Beat GT but lose to NC State. We can still get in this way but we would need UNC to lose 1 more game for this to happen.

DISASTER: We lose to GT. This effectively puts us way behind the 8-ball. We would not be mathematically elimanted but we would need losses from GT, VT, and UNC as well as a win against NC State to get in the game. We would have basically blow everything we worked towards.

BOTTOM LINE: Much like last week's game against VT, GT is now the biggest game of the year. Win and we are pretty much set to play BC or Maryland for a shot at a BCS Bowl. Lose and we are looking at the MPC Computers Bowl again.

First Glance : Georgia Tech

I'll be touching on this subject in more detail on Wednesday, but here is the First Glance for the Yellow Jackets.


The triple option is based around their QB, Josh Nesbitt. He has some real problems throwing the ball but when he does throw it, it goes in the direction of Deynarius Thomas, a 6'3'' sophomore that appears to be a poor man's Michael Crabtree. He's not as good, but chew on this stat.

Thomas : 559 receiving yards
Next closest receiver : 150 yards (on 7 catches and it's their RB)

So basically, if we want to make this team completely one-dimensional, we bracket Thomas all game and see what Nesbitt can do throwing the ball. Like I said, he's struggled and throws a ton of incompletions.

To be honest, I don't know what to expect when they run their option against us. We have a great run defense but we take some poor angles sometimes and that's the key to stopping the option. Nesbitt has improved in running this from game-to-game. We are gonna need some big games from Forston, Joseph, Hendricks, Dixon, Holmes, and the rest of the DT crew. I got a pretty good feeling we will be able to stop them on the off tackle with Bailey, Spence, Ojomo, Cook (he's played great, don't kid yourself) and the rest of the front 7.

This offense is predicated on if you can beat your man. GT gives it to you straight up. If you beat our guy, you stop us and force us to throw. If you don't, we control the clock and sequentially, the game as well.

On offense, we need to find some sort of identity early in the game. The 5 WR look was a good wrinkle, Nix just used it too much. VT adjusted and caught on to the QB draws. I actually think we will be able to run a few draws and bubble screens (the bread and butter of our offense, LOL) successfully against this team. They are extremely aggressive and just like I said in the VT game, we are gonna have to make them pay by taking the bubble screens 20-25 yards a few times instead of 1,2,3,4 yards. They are gonna challenge us to beat them through the air -- Marve played a good game on Thursday.

Keys to the game

1) Do your job on defense -- if you have a chance to wrap up, DO IT! Don't get ur ass pancaked! See the ball -- if you lose it, you'll look like an idiot chasing after a phantom ball carrier and the other guy will be running downfield.
2) Catch the ball on offense -- The drops in the VT game hurt bad. We recovered, but we won't be able to survive many more games with the drops we had.
3) No DUMB PENALTIES! -- This team DOES NOT need any help. We played a GREAT game in terms of avoiding penalties against Virginia Tech and I truly believe that was the difference in the game. ZERO FALSE STARTS! That is phenomenal. We need to keep that up.

I think Randy will have the team well prepared mentally and I hope to God that we get the same performance out of our defense because that was truly a thing of beauty to watch on Thursday.

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Computer Problems & Quick Thoughts

Sorry It's taken so long to write on the big win guys, but it's gonna be a little longer.

My laptop died on me and I'm sending it in for a fix so I might be offline for while. However, this was a huge win for us.

Quick Notes on the game:

-Fuck Obama! Bill Young for President! Teams better score on us in the 1 quarter because after halftime, Bill has got your offense on lockdown.

-Fire Patrick Nix: Why was he running QB draws and bubble screens inside the 10 yard line? The failed RZ attempts had as much to do with his play calling as the OL not getting push.

-Marve doesn't read the defense nearly as well as Jacory, he's just more of an athlete.

-Too many drops: Key ones where by Farq, Baby J and Benjamin, who has looked gun shy the last 2 games.

-Props to DJP for getting really close on his final score prediction.

-Props to me for calling the game ending on an Allen Bailey sack.

-Go Maryland!!!

Big win!

Wow, sorry there's no post game response yet. I spent Thursday night celebrating and was super busy today. I finally have a minute, and will update this in more detail tomorrow.

What can you say about Thursday's win? It was monumental for this program. To be able to win at home in front of your fans vs one of your biggest rivals is no small feat.

The defense played absolutely phenomenal. I give all the credit in the world to Bill Young. He used his game plan from last year's Orange Bowl and it worked once again. A big part of the success was due to the defensive line. Marcus Robinson, Marcus Forston, Allen Bailey, Joe Joseph, and Dwayne Hendricks all played great games. Marcus Robinson appeared unblockable for a stretch of about 3 possessions and everybody knew it was just a matter of time before Allen Bailey got to Taylor.

Taylor is one slippery player, I tell ya. Canes had some trouble wrapping him up. He's going to be great and you'd think he'd be a 4 year guy because of his size. Bad news for us.

Bud Foster had a great game plan, and I was actually pleased with Nix for the first 2 1/2 quarters of the game, but he took his foot off the gas once again and it almost cost us.

The red zone woes are partly to blame on the offense as well, though. It seemed as if the line got no push outside of JJ's touchdown run. However, what really pissed me off was when you could tell we were trying to kill clock and we ran a QB draw...... on 2nd down.... You are only supposed to run those when they are expecting pass...

I'll be honest, I was nervous once they got the ball back with plenty of time but the defense bailed out the team once more. I haven't seen a Cane defense play this well in a long time.

Bed time now, but GO MARYLAND!!!!!!!!!!!! FEAR THE TURTLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Everyone better root for them to beat North Carolina this weekend!

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Quick nugget on VT game

Green jerseys with white pants for tonight. Should be a blast.

Miami 17-14 over Virginia Tech is my prediction. 2nd half comeback after being down early.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Joey's Virginia Tech Pre-Game Re-Cap

I know y’all just read the title and did a double take but you read it correctly. This is my Pre-Game Re-Cap. That’s right, I’m going to give you a run down of the final outcome of the game before it happens. Here we go!

1st Quarter:

On O: Miami starts slowly. Marve looks shaky and has some troubles but keeps from turning the ball over. RBs are kept mostly in check although JJ shows some promise on tough inside runs. Macho Harris manages to keep Aldarius in check and Benjamin has trouble getting off the line and downfield in time. Dedrick Epps turns out to be a bright spots and has a couple big catches coupled with some JJ runs to get us into field goal range.

On D: Sean Glennon gets the start for VT. The Miami DL starts out hot and Bill Young’s blitz packages are on point as they are all over Glennon, forcing confusion, near intercepts and tons of incomplete passes. Miami is able to get 2 early sacks from Adewale Ojomo and Dwayne Hendricks. This masks much of the Miami secondary problems. However, Miami’s run D starts out slowly. Evans doesn’t have a huge 1st Quarter, but a solid one. He gets a few nice runs and doesn’t take any losses. Coupled with a wildcat style offense that get some yards and nice runs by Evans, VT is able to punch it in for an early TD.

End of 1st Quarter:
Miami- 3 Virginia Tech- 7

2nd Quarter:

On O: Marve starts the 2nd quarter but is quickly relieved by Jacory after a near interception. Virginia Tech starts creeping closer to the line to stuff those JJ inside runs that got some yardage in the 1st quarter. Jacory takes advantage and is able to complete some passes to Aldarius with Macho Harris starting to get too aggressive and biting on the play action/fake screens. Kayne Farq and Theron Collier also get in on the action with some nice catches that couple with a solid Craig Cooper run, leads to Miami’s 1st TD of the game. Miami adds a long Matt Bosher FG just before half as well.

On D:
We get our 1st Tyrod Taylor sighting. With Glennon unable to put together a passing attack and Evans getting some decent yards on the ground, Beamer decides to pull the trigger and see if the thread of TT on the ground will open up some passing lanes and get that game moving. The move has its pluses and minuses. Miami is able to make adjust like they have in the last few weeks and Evans yards start getting harder and harder to come by. TT isn’t able to open up the passing game but his speed does help against the Miami blitzes and he is able to get good yards on the ground. This leads to a VT FG. However, one positive is a late half fumble cause by Romeo Davis then leads to Miami’s FG just before half.

Halftime:
Miami- 13 Virginia Tech- 10

3rd Quarter:

On O: Jacory starts in the 3rd Quarter but Marve does get in for a few series throughout the quarter as well. It’s an up and down quarter for Miami. Patrick Nix play calling gets extremely conservative and Miami gets put in tons of 3rd and long and doesn’t manage much offense. Jacory is able to complete some passes to Shields and Aldarius but too many quick outs, off tackle runs and bubble screens that are getting pounced all over by Macho Harris. Add into the OL’s 1st struggles against Worilds and a sack of Jacory Harris and there are signs of trouble. The offense stalls until late in the 3rd when Marve is able to break off a nice QB draw and also finds LaRon Bryd on a rare crossing route that goes for nice yardage, Cooper is also able to break a nice run and get Miami’s 2nd TD of the game. Marve however, throws a bad interception on the next possession after his scoring drive and does not see the field for the rest of the game as Jacory finishes off the 3rd and 4th quarters.

On D: The Hokies throw Tyrod Taylor back out into the game things are up and down still. Bill Young has made adjustments and Evans is suddenly not finding much room at all to run with and Tyrod is not able to break off any runs either. However, he is able to improvise against Miami blitzes that are not as effect as early in the game and he finds some passing lanes. He is able to effectively move the chains thru the air for a score and with help from a turnover he is able to lead VT into Miami territory for a pair of VT FGs.

End of 3rd Quarter:
Miami- 20 Virginia Tech- 16

4th Quarter:

On O: Jacory plays from here on out and does a nice job. The off tackle runs and now turning to runs up the gut that are getting some yards late in the game. Benjamin is finally able to get lose and makes a huge 30+ yard catch and Jacory is even able to make some runs of his own. The OL is starting to really struggle now tho and the lack of depth is leading to fatigue late in the game. There’s a few drive killing false starts and a couple of sacks. Overall though, Miami is able to protect the ball and move it enough to get 2 FGs and try to hold on to their slim lead.

On D: Miami is clamping down and looks like they are on their way to winning the game. Evans isn’t getting much push and TT isn’t getting much done through the air. But Beamer throw out a prayer late in the game and switches back to Sean Glennon who is finding plenty of time in the pocket and completing passes all over the field. This opens up some lanes for Evans who takes advantage and punches it in for a TD. VT is closing the gap and with 3:20 left in the game he starts driving. Glennon is completing passes and Evans is running on Miami. The get down into Miami territory with under a minute left. This is where the crowd comes into play leading to some confusion by VT as well as some penalties. VT is very close to getting into FG range to send the game into OT when Allen Bailey comes off the edge and finally nabs Glennon for a huge sack that send them back and seals the win for Miami.

Final Score: Miami- 26 Virginia Tech- 23


Players of the game for Miami:
Allen Bailey, Romeo Davis, Theron Collier
Players of the game for Virginia Tech: Macho Harris, Darren Evans, Jarrett Boykin

After all that, you can see my prediction is a fairly reasonable scoring slug fest with a lot of back and forth and a late 4th quarter ending, much like other Miami-VT games of the past. We all know this isn’t going to play out exactly as I’ve laid it out but we can all agree that it won’t matter as long as we leave the stadium chanting, “We got some Canes over here!!”

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Complete Virginia Tech Preview

It's Tuesday - 2 days to gameday. It's an exciting time to be a Miami Hurricane! The team is still in the hunt for the ACC title and the Hokies come into Dolphin Stadium with both teams badly needing a win. Last week, Virginia Tech embarrassed Maryland on national TV by throttling the Terps on the ground and with an opportunistic defense. Miami, on the other hand, is coming off a huge road overtime win and is looking for a win versus a Tech team that has had its number the past few seasons.

This is a winnable game for Miami. They have more talent and while it is young and still somewhat undeveloped, there are three big things that will help Miami.

1) A night game atmosphere with a good crowd at home
2) Bill Young ate VT's lunch last year in the Orange Bowl as the defensive coordinator at Kansas -- He knows how to beat Virginia Tech.
3) Canes are coming off a huge win at Virginia and are riding a 4-game winning streak.

First off, some quick injury news about the game.

* Jason Fox will likely miss the game with a knee injury. Miami's best offensive lineman injured it during the Virginia game last week and while it's not as serious as once thought, apparently it is still really sore. The coaches will see how he feels on gameday and if he's feeling up to it, you have to believe that Randy Shannon would do everything possible to get Fox onto the field.

* Virginia Tech QB Tyrod Taylor is a game-time decision. The sophomore quarterback has been out since the Florida State game when he injured his ankle in the first quarter. VT coach Frank Beamer has been mum about Taylor and nobody is quite sure if he's going to play or not. Rivalry game, on the road, if I were to bet on this, I'd say he'll be available if needed.

GAME PREVIEW

When Virginia Tech has the ball.....

Look for the Hokies to implement a lot of play action early in the game. Miami has one of the best run defenses in college football and VT knows they will have to run the football if they expect to win. The only way to run successfully against Miami is to loosen them up early and try to get ahead. Bill Young loves to make offenses one-dimensional and whether the QB is Glennon, Holt, or Taylor, they are going to have to be effective on the play action pass and rolling out early.

VT implemented a Wildcat formation last week vs Maryland in order to give the defense a
few more looks and I expect that to be a miserable failure if they try it again on Thursday. Maryland simply did not have the bodies to penetrate on the line and got their lunch eaten by the Hokie offensive line.


Their running back, Darren Evans, ran for 253 yards last week. He looked great, making great cuts and using tremendous vision. He will have to have another phenomenal game against a stout Cane run defense. Evans is not a breakaway type guy. He is a similar runner to Virginia's Cedric Peerman, who ran for only 78 yards vs the Canes. He'll need to break a few long ones if he expects to break the 100-yard mark.

The Hokie WR corps is a young group, led by Jarret Boykin and Danny Coyle. I'll be totally honest, I don't know much about these guys, I've really only see VT successfully pass the ball in one game this year. If Glennon is on his game, these guys could be huge because Miami's secondary is absolutely brutal this year. The loss of Kenny Phillips has been enormous and the cornerbacks are extremely inconsistent.

I'd expect VT to throw out a few screens and swing passes right away because of two things. First, Bill Young loves to blitz. Second, Miami's corners have trouble taking down tackling dummies in practice. Our corners and safeties have missed more tackles than probably any team in the nation.

2 keys when Miami is on defense
1) Wrap up! Miami CANNOT let Virginia Tech get yards after contact.
2) Be aggressive, but don't lose contain. The Hokies are a notorious cutback/counter run team. They are tremendous at sealing off the backside.

When Miami has the ball......

Miami has really struggled on offense this year. A combination of young quarterbacks and receivers, bad play calling, and dumb penalties have the Canes towards the bottom of the NCAA in total offense and scoring. Add in a Bud Foster coached defense and you could have a disaster on offense. I don't expect us to score many points on offense. I just have not seen the type of production outside of 2 games versus really bad defenses (Duke, TAMU). Whether it's Jacory Harris or Robert Marve in the game, they need to take care of the football. Jacory seems to be lightyears ahead of Marve in this regard. Marve absolutely loves his arm and has all the confidence in the world. While it's true that you really need a few of those tight-window throws a game against a defense like Virginia Tech's, he's bound to throw 1-2 interceptions a game with the way he's been playing. I fully expect to see the usual bubble screen, off tackle, button hook offense that Cane fans have been (groan) getting accustomed to throughout the season. Bud Foster and Macho Harris will eat this alive.

Let's talk a little X's and O's here. A play that I think could get us a touchdown on Thursday : The bubble screen fake to wheel route play against Texas A&M. I thought this was an absolutely brilliant play call. Kayne came off acting like a bubble screen and Collier chipped one of the defensive backs and came on a wheel route on the back side and was WIDE open in the end zone. I REALLY think this play could work on Macho Harris' side of the field. He is an extremely aggressive corner and will try to jump the route and get a pick or tackle the guy for a loss.


Nix has called that play one time this year. A ratio of one fake bubble screen to about 50 bubble screens. He has saved that play again and I fully expect to see it again in one of the key games to finish the season.


Two keys when Miami has the ball

1) Bubble screen execution - Benjamin and Collier will need to turn 3-5 yard screen plays into a few 20-25 yard gains. This will do wonders in loosening up Bud Foster's defense and will open up the run game immensely.
2) NO DUMB PENALTIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't count how many mistakes we made against Virginia but still scratched out a win. We will not win the game if we have the same amount of stupid false start, holding, and illegal motion penalties. Period. The last thing the Canes want to do is shoot themselves in the foot versus a great defense.

Virginia Tech Player Matchups

Here is my take on what will be the key match-ups heading into the big game against Virginia Tech this Thursday.

WR Aldarius Johnson vs. CB Macho Harris
The Canes are going to need the young WRs to step up and move the chains in this game. Macho Harris is one of the better CBs in the country. This is going to be a huge matchup. Aldarius is going to have to come up with 2 or 3 big catches to keep drives going for Miami at points in this game because VT is going to make sure we get in plenty of 3rd and longs. Aldarius has to make sure he stays physical with Harris who will be every bit as physical back. If Aldarius can get a step on him during those comeback routes and use his body to keep Harris away from the ball, this should be an area that Miami can win. This game will tell us how far Aldarius has come this season facing a good CB and having huge amounts of pressure on him after being shaky with drops the last 2 games.

QBs Robert Marve and Jacory Harris vs. Defensive Coordinator Bud Foster
Foster is one of the best DCs in college football. He is going to make sure he is able to stuff the run and he is going to get creative and inventive with his blitz packages for these young freshmen QBs. The key is not for the QBs to make big plays, but simply not to make mistakes. Miami has enough play makers at WR, TE and RB that all the QBs have to do is get it in their hands. If Jacory and Marve can avoid turnovers, it will go a long way to getting Miami in position to win this game. I personally expect to see a lot of Jacory with the recent penchant that Marve has shown for forcing the ball and trying to do too much. Jacory does a better job of taking what is given to him limiting mistakes which will be key in this match.

LB Sean Spence vs. RB Darren Evans
Evans is the reason behind VTs offensive explosion last week at Maryland. Without Evans, VTs offense will struggle to put up points against Miami’s defense. The good news is that Evans has only broken the 100 yard mark once all year. Spence is the best Miami LB in pursuit (and likely best LB period) and will need to make sure he keeps Evans from bouncing some runs the way Peerman was able to do at times last week. If Spence can keep himself from overrunning the play, something he has been prone to at times, he should be able to help effectively keep Evans in check and force VT to throw the ball more which will play into Miami hands with both VTs QBs being nicked and their WRs being uninspiring to the point that Macho Harris has spent some time over there.


Honorable Mention: OTs Reggie Youngblood and Matt Pipho vs. DE Orion Martin

There you have it. Will be back tomorrow with the keys to the game and final prediction.

Monday, November 10, 2008

Canes in the NFL - Week 10

A new feature we'll be introducing every Monday is the "Canes in the NFL" feature, where we let you know which former Canes stood out.

RBs

* Willis McGahee, Baltimore Ravens : 25 carries, 112 yards, 2 TD
* Clinton Portis, Washington Redskins : BYE, "50-50" for next week vs Dallas
* Frank Gore, San Francisco 49ers : vs Arizona tonight on Monday Night Football
* Edgerrin James, Arizona Cardinals : vs San Francisco tonight on Monday Night Football

WRs

* Reggie Wayne, Indianapolis Colts : 6 rec, 114 yards, 1 TD
* Santana Moss, Washington Redskins : BYE, next week : Dallas
* Andre Johnson, Houston Texans : 7 catches, 66 yards
* Devin Hester, Chicago Bears : 4 catches, 64 yards

TEs

* Kellen Winslow III, Cleveland Browns : 10 catches, 111 yards, 2 TD
* Jeremey Shockey, New Orleans Saints : 2 catches, 16 yards
* Greg Olsen, Chicago Bears : 5 catches, 40 yards

Defensive Players (there are so many, we will just pick the standouts)

* Ray Lewis, Baltimore Ravens : 6 tackles (3 solo), 2 interceptions
* Kenny Phillips, New York Giants : First career start, 5 tackles

Miami Hurricane Rushing Leaders

1. Clinton Portis (2nd in NFL) : 995 yards, 7 TD
2. Frank Gore : 629 yards, 4 TD
3. Willis McGahee : 463 yards, 4 TD
4. Edgerrin James : 380 yards, 3 TD

Miami Hurricane Receiving Leaders

1. Andre Johnson (1st in NFL) : 67 catches, 900 yards, 3 TD
2. Reggie Wayne : 49 catches, 700 yards, 5 TD
3. Santana Moss : 44 catches, 672 yards, 5 TD
4. Kellen Winslow III : 36 catches, 362 yards, 3 TD
5. Greg Olsen : 29 catches, 346 yards, 2 TD
6. Devin Hester : 25 catches, 311 yards, 2 TD
7. Jeremy Shockey : 24 catches, 223 yards

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Rivals Top 250 for 2010

Rivals.com released their 250 watch list this past week. Here is a quick rundown of the players Miami has been linked to. Added next to the player name is my very early prediction of where they end up playing ball and what percentage Miami has with them.

DT- Louis Nix, Jacksonville (FL) Raines (Miami)- 70%

DT- Todd Chandler, Miami (FL) Northwestern (Miami)- 90%

DT- Calvin Smith, Hialeah (FL) Hialeah (Miami)- 65%

CB- LaMarcus Joyner, Miami (FL) Southwest (Miami)- 50%

CB- Joseph Randle, Wichita (KS) Wichita Southeast (Illinois)- 20%

S- Alec Ogletree, Newnan (GA) Newnan (Georgia)- 20%

DE- Corey Lemonier, Hialeah (FL) Hialeah (Miami)- 80%

DE- Lyndon Trail, Miami (FL) Booker T. Washington (Miami)- 75%

LB- Gideon Ajagbe, Coconut Grove (FL) Ransom Everglades (Florida)- 15%

TE- Gerald Christian, West Palm Beach (FL) Dwyer (Florida)- 30%

RB- Eduardo Clements, Miami (FL) Booker T. Washington (Miami)- 65%

RB- Brandon Gainer, Miami (FL) Miami Central (South Florida)- 55%

RB- Jahkari Gore, Miami (FL) Columbus (Miami)- 100%

RB- Giovanni Bernard, Ft. Lauderdale (FL) St. Thomas Aquinas (Rutgers)- 50%

RB- Corvin Lamb, Miami (FL) Northwestern (Florida)- 40%

QB- Jeffery Godfrey, Miami (FL) Miami Central (Miami)- 70%

QB- Blake Bell, Wichita (KS) Bishop Carroll (Oklahoma)- 35%

WR- De’Joshua Johnson, Pahokee (FL) Pahokee (Florida State)- 30%

WR- Ted Meline, Davie (FL) Westlake Prep (Florida)- 40%

WR- Ivan McCartney, Miramar (FL) Miramar (Miami)- 60%


There's the rundown. Mighty impressive list and the fact that I feel pretty solid on about 10 of the guys this early in the process is a very good sign. Let's see how it plays out but it's looking like we have a chance to put together another class to rival that mighty 2008 class and get us over the hump.

Friday, November 7, 2008

Early thoughts on VT game, recruiting updates

Before I start, CaneSport has a great piece on how the coaches go about their recruiting. Clint Hurtt is a tireless worker and it's a great insight onto how things work at Miami. If you have read Meat Market by Bruce Feldman, it reminds you a lot of the Ed Orgeron process (and Ed used to coach at UM before the liquor got to him) -- they try to outwork every0ne. Calls every day, handwritten letters, the whole deal. Great stuff by Gary Ferman as always.

Watched VTech play tonight against Maryland. Their RB looked great, ran for over 2 bills. Maryland's run D is pretty garbage, and they got their lunch eaten up front by VT's offensive line. Miami has the 1st ranked run defense in the ACC, and if Tyrod Taylor isn't playing, I would bet the VT RB gets about 70 yards next week. Bill Young has been doing a great job of making his blitzes effective not only against the pass but getting interior pressure and forcing the potential RB outside. It's why you see Cook make so many tackles just off tackle.

Defensively, they are stout as always as Bud Foster is probably the best defensive coordinator in the country. The guy just knows how to use his personnel to their best ability. I anticipate many blitzes trying to rattle our freshman quarterbacks. Nix's screens and draws could be huge if he calls them at the right time.

I will write a full preview next Tuesday or so, but our WR's are going to have to be on their game for us to muster any kind of offense. I am talking taking the button hooks and outs for 15, 20, 25 yards instead of 4 or 5. This will loosen up coverage and make them put some LBs and safeties into the flat, and opening up our running game as a result.

We will have no success running on first down early. VT just doesn't allow early success running the football. They make you prove your QB can beat them before they call off the dogs somewhat. Early passing, like usual, will be a monster key.

Now, some recruiting updates.

* DB Brandon McGee, a Cane commit, was invited and accepted a bid to play in the Army All-American Bowl. This is still the best all-star game in the nation and let's hope that McGee gets in some ears and turns some kids orange and green. Congratulations, Brandon.

* DT/TE Sheldon Richardson of Missouri will visit Minnesota this weekend. Miami still is very much in the picture for Sheldon, but it's no longer a 2-team race with Mizzou and UM anymore. I am told his interest is genuine and Minny will be putting out the full court press on him.

* DE Olivier Vernon, soft Cane commit will visit FSU for the 2nd time this weekend. He has most Cane insiders worried and it wouldn't be surprising to see him jump ship. However, Randy Shannon is a powerful recruiter and if he leaves without committing, I expect him to be a Cane.

* OL Malcolm Bunche, a Rutgers commit, still says he is a Rutgers commit despite reports saying he decommitted. It is believed that he is in Miami's corner and will end up a Hurricane. He will visit Miami and probably commit shortly thereafter. Rutgers shitting the bed this year has really hurt their chances with him.

* Gotten a request asking me what the biggest recruiting priorities are for the rest of the year, and it's easily offensive lineman. Cane coaches are expecting to add 3-4 more lineman to the class, with targets such as Xavier Nixon and Bunche still very much in the picture.

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

First round streak?

A lot of people have been asking me if I think that Miami will have a first rounder in this year's draft.

My answer, right now, is no.

The best chance before the season had to be DE Eric Moncur. He has all of the tools to be a first round defensive end, and was UM's most productive lineman last year.

However, his mother passed away right at the beginning of the season, and then he suffered a pretty serious injury in the early part of the season, derailing any chances that he had to impress scouts. He will probably get a medical redshirt and be a very important part of the Miami defense next year.

Second in line was probably OT Jason Fox. He has an NFL frame on him at 6 feet 6 inches and is weighed in at around 305 lbs to start the season. However, his play has been inconsistent this season and while he shows flashes of being an excellent line prospect, he appears to be headed for the 2nd or 3rd round of the draft.

Fox is the best remaining chance that Miami has, and if they win out and win their bowl game with a successful run game, Jason Fox will be a huge part of that. Even if that does happen, he will also have to impress at the Combine and Miami's Pro Day to have a remote chance of going in Round 1. He should run pretty well, remember, he was a TE in high school and only started playing tackle when he got to Coral Gables, reminiscent of Eric Winston.

The third guy here is Graig Cooper. He is technically eligible for the NFL Draft, as he went to prep school for a year before coming to UM last year. However, all signs point to him coming back next year as he is still raw. He definitely has the tools to become a high draft pick, although he is probably not as physical as some scouts would like. He's greatly improved at hitting the hole hard and not dancing, which was a problem for Coop last year. He will run a legit 4.4 at the combine whenever he chooses to come out and has continually added weight since leaving Melrose HS in Tennessee.

All in all, I do think the tradition will pause for a year in this coming NFL Draft, but in my opinion, there is around 5-6 underclassmen on this team with first round potential and it will be up to the coaches to get them to that plateau.

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TIDBITS

* Cane recruit Stephen Plein of Fort Myers (TE/OL) has had his suspension reduced. Apparently, he was accused of swinging his helmet at a guy (who does he think he is, Anthony Reddick?) but was cleared by numerous eyewitnesses. He is still suspended for 1 game as of now, but is fighting to have the ruling completeley repealed.

* Head coach Randy Shannon says OT Jason Fox is okay and will play next Thursday at Virginia Tech. He had a scary knee injury against Virginia in the 2nd half and it didn't look good. He got his knee checked out and apparently it was just a small sprain. This is huge news. For one, it keeps our best OL in the game and keeps either Pipho or god-awful Reggie Youngblood away from the blindside of our two prized QB.

* On the recruiting front, DT commit Luther Robinson says he will take visits, but is still committed. The general feeling around insiders is that Robinson is not quite sure of his committment. I have heard as much as a 40 percent chance that he will not be a Cane, but once Randy does his thing, I wouldn't worry much about him leaving. The guy simply knows how to recruit Florida.

* Ray Ray Armstrong, an athlete from Sanford High School and a huge priority for Miami, says he will visit Georgia, Miami, and Florida. He has already visited LSU (although it is believed that he will not end up there). The word is that Ray Ray has been close to committing to Miami before, but now is trying to decide what's best for him. I still expect Ray Ray and Dye to end up Canes, but Andre Debose (his teammate and the highest rated recruit out of the Sanford trio) is going to be a tough get. Florida is on him hard, and Debose is not exactly in Cane country.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Election Day Distraction (Recruit Update)

I'm sure most of you guys are sick of seeing election commercials in the middle of our football games every week. So today, I decided we'd interrupt the 10 minute long Obama ads and the McCain negative campaigning to bring you a little Canes talk.

The big news in Cane land today is Rueben Randle's top 5.

Randle of course is a 5 Star WR from Bastrop, Louisiana. He is rated as the number 2 overall prospect in the nation by Rivals.com and the number 11 overall prospect in the nation by ESPN. He is being heavily recruited by the Canes, who are rumored to only be looking to land 1 WR in the 2009 recruiting class.

The newest news on Randle has him listing his top 5 schools: "I have just been sitting around watching games and seeing what the teams are doing on offense. I am just looking for the best opportunity to come in and play, and help the team win a national championship." said Randle.

He goes on to name LSU, Bama, USC, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State as his top 5.

So what's the story here? Many knowledgable Canes are in a state of confusion over this. As recently as July, Randle had said Miami would likely make his top list of schools and as recently as August he had promised to visit Michigan. Now suddenly those schools are out, being replaced by Oklahoma and Oklahoma state.

The new report on Randle also has him announcing on National Signing Day instead of the Army All American Game like he previously said he would announce at.

My take on this: As in the Brandon McGee case, when something sounds funny, it usually is funny. The report was by an ESPN site (wrong more often then not) and completely contradicts that general idea that it was a three way battle between LSU, Bama and Miami. Add in the fact that his annouce date also contradicts previous statements and I'm having trouble buying this one. Hard to have the number 2 rated player in the nation make big changes to his top schools and it go completely unnoticed until now.

No need to freak out just yet Cane fans. This one is far from over. He will be a tough pull from LSU and chances are small that he actually ends up here but getting him down here after the season to sit with the coaches and finishing with a big bowl win will go a long ways to getting us in real good with this kid. We are without a doubt a darkhorse on the outside looking in but we are not out of the picture just yet. Just sit back and enjoy the show. He's a fun one to watch.

Monday, November 3, 2008

Winning streak, Bill Young, 2008 recruit off the team?

Enough of the intro shit. Let's talk Hurricane football.

When was the last time the our Canes won 4 games in a row? The answer is 2006, when we beat Houston, North Carolina, FIU (literally), and Duke. Not exactly Murderer's Row, but nonetheless, any time you win 4 in a row, it's important.

But what happened after we won our 4th game? We proceeded to lose the next 4 games to Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, Maryland, and Virginia. Part of this was the backlash from the FIU brawl, part was Larry Coker, but one thing that everyone forgets about that season is the complete lack of passing on first down.

In 2008, Passing on first down is going to be the key to sustaining success on offense. While Patrick Nix has opened up the playbook up the past few weeks, he still needs to get his QB into a rhythm earlier in the game.

Anyone who has watched a Miami game can predict what play is going to be called at least 70 percent of the time in the first half. Nix seems to have been following this game plan early lately.

1st down : Deep playaction pass down the sideline or draw
2nd down : Bubble screen, run off left tackle, or draw
3rd down : Button hook or middle screen to Cooper

Coach Nix has to use the middle of the field more earlier in the game. Granted, it is a more risky method of throwing, but it's imperative that he test the defense early and attempt to get Marve into a rhythm. Another wrinkle he should put in is the use of more pick routes over the middle. Most teams tend to play either a 2 man under or matchup zone against us early in the game. Pick routes could get guys like Aldarius Johnson and LaRon Byrd (guys who appear to be great at crossing routes) free early in the game.

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How about Bill Young? He's allowed a grand total of ten points of offense in the 2nd half over the last 4 games (Kick return vs UCF doesn't count). Granted, the level of competition is going to get better, but any good coach must make adjustments at half time in order to be successful.

Talk about clamping down after halftime....

One thing that I have noticed that he's done is use more delayed blitzes after half and really try to defend the flats. Did anyone see how UVA got 2-3 yards on their dump passes instead of 6-7 yards in the 2nd? I think the main reason for this is to prevent the deep ball and try to keep the game close. In my estimate, he does this because he doesn't trust the offense to get off to a hot start and wants to give them time to get into the game.

He still does not have his personnel on this team yet. In an interview with CaneSport.com a few weeks back, he stated that he barely even has half of his defensive scheme in place. He likes bigger corners to help press the receivers right away to give the QB less options to throw right away when he sends his patented blitz packages. Brandon Harris is going to be a good player here, but he's simply not strong enough yet to be effective in Young's defense. Same with Chavez Grant. If you notice, the times that they have been turned into burnt toast this year is due to the fact that they have tried to press the WR but the guy has gotten a clean release off the line.

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There is a strong rumor going around that a class of 2008 defensive recruit has left the team due to personal reasons. Stay tuned for more updates.

We Ballin' Boys

Whats up guys?

Gonna steal DJP's thunder for a minute and give a little introduction about myself.

Y'all can just call me Joey. Grew up a die hard Cane fans like most on here. I was too young to follow the glory days in the 80's so I was stuck watching guys like Ryan Clement (worst QB in Cane history for my money). Anyone that started off in that era you know ain't a bandwagon fan.

Anyways, like some of us, I was really hooked during the late 90's and early 00's and I have been able to stop my Cane addiction since. There's nothing better then watching the players pump up the fans late in the 4th quarter with the game on the line only to watch our defense get our classics stuffs at the goal line to take over on downs and seal the win. Just so much got me into the Canes. Santana Moss, Andre Johnson and Antrel Rolle. Nothing I love more then physical skill position guys that will line up and beat you for no other reason then they are just that much better then you.

I was born and raised in Miami with a family of Cane fans and then I did the unthinkable. I went to school at Florida State. (Go ahead and heckle all you want). I was 1 of about 4 Cane fans in all of Tallahassee so you can just imagine what I went through for my team. Proud to say I was able to go back to Tallahassee last year and celebrate on their field with my fellow Cane fans while my ex-roommates just watched in disgust. No better feeling.

Enjoy reading about the best team in college football. C-A-N-E-S! Canes!

Welcome!

Hey everyone, just wanted to give you a quick background of me and what you can expect from this blog.

When you access this blog, you are going to be receiving information on everything relating to the Miami Hurricanes. The writers of this blog don't claim to be super-insiders, reporters, or even serious journalists. but we do hear things from time to time. But be sure of this, we know the Miami Hurricanes inside and out.

As far as me,

You can call me DJP... I have been a Miami Hurricanes fan since 1998. I grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota, but my dad is and has been a monster Cane fan since they came to national prominence. My dad took me to the Miami-UCLA game in which the Canes upset UCLA on Edgerrin James' record breaking day in 1998. Ever since I experienced that game, I have been hooked.

The smoke. Sebastian. The swagger. Melvin Bratton calling Brian Bosworth's hotel room (This is Melvin Fuckin' Bratton). Fatigues. Ken Dorsey. Sean Taylor in the Rain Game. Green and orange. The premier college football program in the nation since 1983. First round picks. Innovation of college football. Jimmy Johnson going for 2 against ND. 3rd and 43. 1993 Cotton Bowl. Thrill Hill. Russell Maryland.

Those are just a few of the many things that I love about the Miami Hurricanes.

It is not only about the success, but the struggles. For years, Miami has gone through obstacle after obstacle but still always seems to come out on top. It doesn't matter what anyone thinks or says in the media -- Miami will always be a part of college football. People hate the Canes. But why? Is it jealousy? Is it they way Canes carry themselves? Who really knows?

But the best part about all of that, is that nobody who is associated with the University of Miami Hurricanes gives a flying fuck about what people think.

It's a 'Canes thing, you wouldn't understand.