Consigliere
Co 2020 Cali Award Winner, Record Thru 5 Games
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- Aug 27, 2011
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Haven’t had a chance to watch a replay and probably won’t this week, so please be gentle. ;-)
Big Plays – Like high school girlfriends, you always remember the ones that break your heart but sure is nice to be on the side that wins games on big plays rather than the alternative. Talked last week about the emergence of playmakers on both sides of the ball and, while no surprise we can certainly add Ish and Brisly to the list of players that have delivered in the first two games. Dungey made 2 great throws on the move – the Ishmael play was a big time throw – but the ability to get just a bit of separation and YAC it up is a beautiful thing.
Defense – Front 7 – Another strong performance. Thompson and Bennett really stood out yesterday with Simmons turning in his second straight standout game. All about aggressiveness with this group and with the relative youth they will only get better. BTW, if you’re a future Orange DE starter (I’m talking to you Jake, Amir and Qaadir), make sure you set your DVR when we play Wake Forest over the next few years. 3 TDs by DEs in 2 years tells me odds are pretty good you’ll get a career highlight in one of these games. Beyond the obvious, the concern over depth can be put to rest. Contribution from as many as 15 players in the front 7 yesterday and with only 2 seniors and another handful of youngbloods ready to make their mark things look very bright. On the other hand….
Defense – Backfield – I’d be kind if I called it an uneven performance and I think Williams, Scissum and Cordy had some good moments at safety but the corner play as discussed in multiple threads was really disturbing. I know coach mentioned pre-season that there were 5 CBs he was comfortable with but I haven’t seen it yet. Morgan is the only guy who appears to be comfortable in press and all of the guys who played yesterday looked a step slow breaking to the ball in the air. I think Winfield may be the only guy with anything close to lockdown potential but he’s still raw at the position and could use a bit more muscle. Need to find some answers here because current approach - either 10 yard cushions or getting torched on bump and runs will kill us against better competition.
Coaching – I’m not an X’s and O’s guy but the sequence at the end of the first half provided a glimpse at just how sound our defensive scheming is. After a Wake timeout with a 3rd and 5 from the Cuse 9 HCSS/DCCB see the formation Wake breaks out in and call a TO to adjust. Wake comes out of that TO and shows the exact same look and Cuse immediately calls a second timeout. Now I may be all wet here and I’m not sure if it was Bullough or Shafer who get the credit, but the only difference I noticed was that we moved the SAM in tight to jam the TE off the line instead of having him out in the slot looking to read and react. Looked to me like the primary was a quick hit to the TE, our adjustment took that away and Wake was left with a lower percentage fade to the corner.
Outlook – Get on the bandwagon folks! Look, there are certainly going to be some setbacks and struggles the rest of this year as the quality of competition continues to ramp up and the growing pains of youth become more apparent. But I firmly believe this program is in a great place – maybe the most promising state we’ve been in for 20 years. EVERY offensive playmaker returns next year. Most for at least 2 more years. We’ll need to rebuild the O-Line next year with 4 starters departing but there heirs apparent and more talent on the way. Defense and specials lose only 3 starters and if we get improved DB play – and I have no doubt we will with experience and new talent – hardnosed defense will remain a hallmark of Cuse football. Recruiting targets consistently cite the family atmosphere and the values exhibited by the current staff, so relevant on a day we honor Coach Mac, and with the combination of that atmosphere and success on the field the sky is the limit.
And speaking of Coach Mac – We’re 2-0 and you can’t be any better than that. God luv ya!
Big Plays – Like high school girlfriends, you always remember the ones that break your heart but sure is nice to be on the side that wins games on big plays rather than the alternative. Talked last week about the emergence of playmakers on both sides of the ball and, while no surprise we can certainly add Ish and Brisly to the list of players that have delivered in the first two games. Dungey made 2 great throws on the move – the Ishmael play was a big time throw – but the ability to get just a bit of separation and YAC it up is a beautiful thing.
Defense – Front 7 – Another strong performance. Thompson and Bennett really stood out yesterday with Simmons turning in his second straight standout game. All about aggressiveness with this group and with the relative youth they will only get better. BTW, if you’re a future Orange DE starter (I’m talking to you Jake, Amir and Qaadir), make sure you set your DVR when we play Wake Forest over the next few years. 3 TDs by DEs in 2 years tells me odds are pretty good you’ll get a career highlight in one of these games. Beyond the obvious, the concern over depth can be put to rest. Contribution from as many as 15 players in the front 7 yesterday and with only 2 seniors and another handful of youngbloods ready to make their mark things look very bright. On the other hand….
Defense – Backfield – I’d be kind if I called it an uneven performance and I think Williams, Scissum and Cordy had some good moments at safety but the corner play as discussed in multiple threads was really disturbing. I know coach mentioned pre-season that there were 5 CBs he was comfortable with but I haven’t seen it yet. Morgan is the only guy who appears to be comfortable in press and all of the guys who played yesterday looked a step slow breaking to the ball in the air. I think Winfield may be the only guy with anything close to lockdown potential but he’s still raw at the position and could use a bit more muscle. Need to find some answers here because current approach - either 10 yard cushions or getting torched on bump and runs will kill us against better competition.
Coaching – I’m not an X’s and O’s guy but the sequence at the end of the first half provided a glimpse at just how sound our defensive scheming is. After a Wake timeout with a 3rd and 5 from the Cuse 9 HCSS/DCCB see the formation Wake breaks out in and call a TO to adjust. Wake comes out of that TO and shows the exact same look and Cuse immediately calls a second timeout. Now I may be all wet here and I’m not sure if it was Bullough or Shafer who get the credit, but the only difference I noticed was that we moved the SAM in tight to jam the TE off the line instead of having him out in the slot looking to read and react. Looked to me like the primary was a quick hit to the TE, our adjustment took that away and Wake was left with a lower percentage fade to the corner.
Outlook – Get on the bandwagon folks! Look, there are certainly going to be some setbacks and struggles the rest of this year as the quality of competition continues to ramp up and the growing pains of youth become more apparent. But I firmly believe this program is in a great place – maybe the most promising state we’ve been in for 20 years. EVERY offensive playmaker returns next year. Most for at least 2 more years. We’ll need to rebuild the O-Line next year with 4 starters departing but there heirs apparent and more talent on the way. Defense and specials lose only 3 starters and if we get improved DB play – and I have no doubt we will with experience and new talent – hardnosed defense will remain a hallmark of Cuse football. Recruiting targets consistently cite the family atmosphere and the values exhibited by the current staff, so relevant on a day we honor Coach Mac, and with the combination of that atmosphere and success on the field the sky is the limit.
And speaking of Coach Mac – We’re 2-0 and you can’t be any better than that. God luv ya!
