Random Observations

[anomander]

Great win. Pretty much dominated the game against a team that I feel will be one of the better ones in the MAC this year,

- Other than a couple big runs the run game was pathetic as it has been over the first 2 games. There are times when Strickland has no where to run, but there are also times I see holes that he either can't hit hard enough, as well as poor vision for cut back lands. At least Neal gives you that ability to hit the hole and break off a long one. Strickland is very good catching the ball out of the backfield. He showed the same play making ability his Freshman year and did the same on Saturday. I would like to see him used more in that way instead of force feeding him up the middle for 1 or 2 yards a play.

- Dungey couldn't make a deep throw to save his life. He missed at least 5 or 6 WR's running wide open down the field. Ish was wide open multiple times as well as Riley, and the one Erv got hurt on. If Dungey is even semi-accurate he throws for 600 yards and 5 TD's. Does Devito make those throws? Now that I got that out of the way, you have to compliment Dungey on the things he does well, mainly making plays with his feet. That long run was the perfect example of the type of player ED is. Not pretty, but gets the job done. Should also mention that amazing roll out and actually hit Riley running down the sidelines. That's the frustrating part with ED. You get 2 amazing plays like that, but then you get some easy misses. At the beginning of the season I didn't want ED to run, but he's never going to be a pure PP, his game is his legs. You just have to let him do his thing and hope for the best.

- Defensive Line was dominant and for the most part has been through 3 games. I liked the move putting Robinson in as a starter. He was a menace off the edge all day. I think Dino really found a gem in that one. Slayton was his usual stellar self, and then have to give a major shout out to Josh Black, who was amazing in limited snaps at DT. He was able to use his speed to get past the much slower OG's and made some big plays. I wonder how that will work against an ACC OL? I think they might have found something there? All I know is the defense has really put a beating on the first 3 opposing QB's. While they aren't quite geting the sack, they are getting plenty of QB hits.

- DB's were solid. Really like what the grad transfers they brought in too solidify the defensive backfield. Martin has been superb and so has Butler. I will even go out on a limb and say Martin may be just as good, if not better than Cordy in this defense? He may not bring you that big play ability that Cordy does, but he gives you that consistently that Cordy, at times, didn't. I know people were down on Foster after the first TD, but imo the kid is a stud. Not only does he look the part, but the kid can fly. Evan has been really good this year and will only improve. Speaking of improvement, both Frederick and Scoop had their best games of the year. All these kids are Sophomores. We will be seeing plenty of them.

- imo this offense is better when they are trying to push the ball down the field. Sure Dungey missed on a whole bunch of throws, but he also made some. Stretching the field will loosen up the run game, which it did in that amazing 3rd quarter. I thought that's what this offense is? Down hill running and pushing the ball down the field? I'd like to see less dinking and dunking and more long throws. Ish hasn't had a problem getting open. If anything has failed him, surprisingly it has been his hands. Still he should be able to win his match up more times that not. I'd also like to see them get Erv involved earlier on. He seems to be the forgotten man this year. He's too good of a play maker to get lost in the shuffle.

- Finally the people calling for Babers head (yes, i saw a thread before it got nuked for PAsyraCUSE or something like that) saying he has already saw enough that Babers should be fired. The man needs to get his guys in. This is a complete overhaul. Offense and defense. He didn't inherit what Shafer did (mainly a team with an identity ). You see what guys like Clawson, Mason, and McIntiyre are doing at programs like Syracuse, havent' been relevant in 20 years. I don't know what people expect when you see what we are currently working with? There is young talent playing a ton of snaps up and down this roster. There are far better times ahead. I have always been and remain to be all in with Dino!

 

[Chip]

Agree on pretty much everything, but especially on Robinson. He's legit, proved it last week and this week. I think he'll make plays against the better OL we see as well.

As Dino said, Dungey made all the right decisions, which is good. Just needs to get more accurate down the field. I think (hope) he will as he gets more acclimated to life without AET.

I can't say enough about Riley yesterday. From start to finish he was the one constant. I really hope that's a sign of things to come and not just one great day. Best hands on the team, who knew.

 

[upperdeck]

i thought that was the best Dungey has ever thrown the deep ball. he had a couple dropped and called back too.

 

[CuseLegacy]

Great win. Pretty much dominated the game against a team that I feel will be one of the better ones in the MAC this year,

- Other than a couple big runs the run game was pathetic as it has been over the first 2 games. There are times when Strickland has no where to run, but there are also times I see holes that he either can't hit hard enough, as well as poor vision for cut back lands. At least Neal gives you that ability to hit the hole and break off a long one. Strickland is very good catching the ball out of the backfield. He showed the same play making ability his Freshman year and did the same on Saturday. I would like to see him used more in that way instead of force feeding him up the middle for 1 or 2 yards a play.

- Dungey couldn't make a deep throw to save his life. He missed at least 5 or 6 WR's running wide open down the field. Ish was wide open multiple times as well as Riley, and the one Erv got hurt on. If Dungey is even semi-accurate he throws for 600 yards and 5 TD's. Does Devito make those throws? Now that I got that out of the way, you have to compliment Dungey on the things he does well, mainly making plays with his feet. That long run was the perfect example of the type of player ED is. Not pretty, but gets the job done. Should also mention that amazing roll out and actually hit Riley running down the sidelines. That's the frustrating part with ED. You get 2 amazing plays like that, but then you get some easy misses. At the beginning of the season I didn't want ED to run, but he's never going to be a pure PP, his game is his legs. You just have to let him do his thing and hope for the best.

- Defensive Line was dominant and for the most part has been through 3 games. I liked the move putting Robinson in as a starter. He was a menace off the edge all day. I think Dino really found a gem in that one. Slayton was his usual stellar self, and then have to give a major shout out to Josh Black, who was amazing in limited snaps at DT. He was able to use his speed to get past the much slower OG's and made some big plays. I wonder how that will work against an ACC OL? I think they might have found something there? All I know is the defense has really put a beating on the first 3 opposing QB's. While they aren't quite geting the sack, they are getting plenty of QB hits.

- DB's were solid. Really like what the grad transfers they brought in too solidify the defensive backfield. Martin has been superb and so has Butler. I will even go out on a limb and say Martin may be just as good, if not better than Cordy in this defense? He may not bring you that big play ability that Cordy does, but he gives you that consistently that Cordy, at times, didn't. I know people were down on Foster after the first TD, but imo the kid is a stud. Not only does he look the part, but the kid can fly. Evan has been really good this year and will only improve. Speaking of improvement, both Frederick and Scoop had their best games of the year. All these kids are Sophomores. We will be seeing plenty of them.

- imo this offense is better when they are trying to push the ball down the field. Sure Dungey missed on a whole bunch of throws, but he also made some. Stretching the field will loosen up the run game, which it did in that amazing 3rd quarter. I thought that's what this offense is? Down hill running and pushing the ball down the field? I'd like to see less dinking and dunking and more long throws. Ish hasn't had a problem getting open. If anything has failed him, surprisingly it has been his hands. Still he should be able to win his match up more times that not. I'd also like to see them get Erv involved earlier on. He seems to be the forgotten man this year. He's too good of a play maker to get lost in the shuffle.

- Finally the people calling for Babers head (yes, i saw a thread before it got nuked for PAsyraCUSE or something like that) saying he has already saw enough that Babers should be fired. The man needs to get his guys in. This is a complete overhaul. Offense and defense. He didn't inherit what Shafer did (mainly a team with an identity ). You see what guys like Clawson, Mason, and McIntiyre are doing at programs like Syracuse, havent' been relevant in 20 years. I don't know what people expect when you see what we are currently working with? There is young talent playing a ton of snaps up and down this roster. There are far better times ahead. I have always been and remain to be all in with Dino!

So you are saying I'm not fast enough on nuking threads.

 

[TheCusian]

Great win. Pretty much dominated the game against a team that I feel will be one of the better ones in the MAC this year,

- Other than a couple big runs the run game was pathetic as it has been over the first 2 games. There are times when Strickland has no where to run, but there are also times I see holes that he either can't hit hard enough, as well as poor vision for cut back lands. At least Neal gives you that ability to hit the hole and break off a long one. Strickland is very good catching the ball out of the backfield. He showed the same play making ability his Freshman year and did the same on Saturday. I would like to see him used more in that way instead of force feeding him up the middle for 1 or 2 yards a play.

- Dungey couldn't make a deep throw to save his life. He missed at least 5 or 6 WR's running wide open down the field. Ish was wide open multiple times as well as Riley, and the one Erv got hurt on. If Dungey is even semi-accurate he throws for 600 yards and 5 TD's. Does Devito make those throws? Now that I got that out of the way, you have to compliment Dungey on the things he does well, mainly making plays with his feet. That long run was the perfect example of the type of player ED is. Not pretty, but gets the job done. Should also mention that amazing roll out and actually hit Riley running down the sidelines. That's the frustrating part with ED. You get 2 amazing plays like that, but then you get some easy misses. At the beginning of the season I didn't want ED to run, but he's never going to be a pure PP, his game is his legs. You just have to let him do his thing and hope for the best.

- Defensive Line was dominant and for the most part has been through 3 games. I liked the move putting Robinson in as a starter. He was a menace off the edge all day. I think Dino really found a gem in that one. Slayton was his usual stellar self, and then have to give a major shout out to Josh Black, who was amazing in limited snaps at DT. He was able to use his speed to get past the much slower OG's and made some big plays. I wonder how that will work against an ACC OL? I think they might have found something there? All I know is the defense has really put a beating on the first 3 opposing QB's. While they aren't quite geting the sack, they are getting plenty of QB hits.

- DB's were solid. Really like what the grad transfers they brought in too solidify the defensive backfield. Martin has been superb and so has Butler. I will even go out on a limb and say Martin may be just as good, if not better than Cordy in this defense? He may not bring you that big play ability that Cordy does, but he gives you that consistently that Cordy, at times, didn't. I know people were down on Foster after the first TD, but imo the kid is a stud. Not only does he look the part, but the kid can fly. Evan has been really good this year and will only improve. Speaking of improvement, both Frederick and Scoop had their best games of the year. All these kids are Sophomores. We will be seeing plenty of them.

- imo this offense is better when they are trying to push the ball down the field. Sure Dungey missed on a whole bunch of throws, but he also made some. Stretching the field will loosen up the run game, which it did in that amazing 3rd quarter. I thought that's what this offense is? Down hill running and pushing the ball down the field? I'd like to see less dinking and dunking and more long throws. Ish hasn't had a problem getting open. If anything has failed him, surprisingly it has been his hands. Still he should be able to win his match up more times that not. I'd also like to see them get Erv involved earlier on. He seems to be the forgotten man this year. He's too good of a play maker to get lost in the shuffle.

- Finally the people calling for Babers head (yes, i saw a thread before it got nuked for PAsyraCUSE or something like that) saying he has already saw enough that Babers should be fired. The man needs to get his guys in. This is a complete overhaul. Offense and defense. He didn't inherit what Shafer did (mainly a team with an identity ). You see what guys like Clawson, Mason, and McIntiyre are doing at programs like Syracuse, havent' been relevant in 20 years. I don't know what people expect when you see what we are currently working with? There is young talent playing a ton of snaps up and down this roster. There are far better times ahead. I have always been and remain to be all in with Dino!

Good post.

Seems like when this O is really working, it's taking what the D gives you - and sometimes that's deep go routes, sometimes it's a curl, sometimes it's running up the gut or a quick WR screen. If you take enough of those out (either because we're not effenctive or because the D can stop the run with 4 rushers like FSU or blitzing the crap out of ED like SS) ...

The thing Baylor had was the ability to do all of that consistently and at tempo. I see what Babers says about it taking a bit more time. But it seems less like a system problem and more like a talent/youth problem.

 

[SoBristol]

Interesting questions -- what do people expect with Dino?; and is this a complete overhaul? As I recall, most people here were expecting 5 wins, with an outside shot at 6, and expecting we could handle the 3 opening games at home. The expectations were very restrained. It would be surprising if fans weren't disappointed over the play against MTSU. Seems like Dino and the players were disappointed as well.
The improved defense is a blend of significant components of Shafer's 2014 class (5 of 7 spots in the front seven), 4 promising sophomores at DE in rotation (2 are jucos), 2 grad transfers in the secondary, adding to Foster, Bradshaw, Williams and Fredrick. Dino found some good additions to the base group. I expect that it what we will see year over year -- a blending, and ideally a step by step improvement in recruiting.

On offense, again, I am not sure we are seeing a complete overhaul. Far quicker tempo & more passing. But the elements are Dungey, Strickland, Ishmael, Phillips, Moe Neal, a few additions such as Pierce & Riley, and an OL that is a blend of inherited and new players. The overhaul will be step by step, as Dino recruits some better linemen (as he has in the 2018 class), and a few of his own skill players. Lose some of our better pieces to graduation (Ishmael, Phillips) and hope to replace them.

 

[JoeSU]

IMO the DL is playing better, but it seemed that we blitzed on 2/3 of the plays in the 2nd half. The DBs have definitely shown an improvement this season.
I also thought the offense opened things up a bit in the 2nd half. I think Babers realized that a loss would pretty much kill any bowl hopes, so there was no reason to keep things under wraps for future opponents.
For the record, I'm still very much pro-Babers.

 

[bevosu]

Dungey and the deep ball.

I wouldn't say it was a consensus, but a lot of posters felt that ED was consistently short on long balls last year (I think he was, more often than not). The last two games he has been long. I think he'll get there. New wideouts...takes a little time to gauge their patterns and speed..

 

[JeremyCuse]

IMO the DL is playing better, but it seemed that we blitzed on 2/3 of the plays in the 2nd half. The DBs have definitely shown an improvement this season.
I also thought the offense opened things up a bit in the 2nd half. I think Babers realized that a loss would pretty much kill any bowl hopes, so there was no reason to keep things under wraps for future opponents.
For the record, I'm still very much pro-Babers.

The blitzing was a very welcome sign and somehting I have been waiting for from Ward since last year. This team needs to blitz it has a lot of athletic LB's and DB's who can be a huge menace blitzing from all over the field especially if they are disguised. I really hope we continue to blitz as we get to the tougher parts of the schedule even if it burns us a few times.

 

[retro44]

Right now the Rush Defense is 10th in Average yards a game giving up at 84.3. and at ESPN are listed 21st. as they go by total yards allowed and some teams played only 2 games because of the Hurricanes and Miami they have listed as no.1 after only 1 game of stats.

 

[TheCusian]

Right now the Rush Defense is 10th in Average yards a game giving up at 84.3. and at ESPN are listed 21st. as they go by total yards allowed and some teams played only 2 games because of the Hurricanes and Miami they have listed as no.1 after only 1 game of stats.

2nd in the ACC. Impressive - def better.

But we haven't played teams with great running games yet.

 

[orangeinohio]

Yeah the blitzing was pretty huge yesterday.
Maybe the best part is that it didn't result in the secondary getting burned by a guy who threw for close to 500 yards the week before.
Keep it up, Brian Ward.

 

[anomander]

Interesting questions -- what do people expect with Dino?; and is this a complete overhaul? As I recall, most people here were expecting 5 wins, with an outside shot at 6, and expecting we could handle the 3 opening games at home. The expectations were very restrained. It would be surprising if fans weren't disappointed over the play against MTSU. Seems like Dino and the players were disappointed as well.
The improved defense is a blend of significant components of Shafer's 2014 class (5 of 7 spots in the front seven), 4 promising sophomores at DE in rotation (2 are jucos), 2 grad transfers in the secondary, adding to Foster, Bradshaw, Williams and Fredrick. Dino found some good additions to the base group. I expect that it what we will see year over year -- a blending, and ideally a step by step improvement in recruiting.

On offense, again, I am not sure we are seeing a complete overhaul. Far quicker tempo & more passing. But the elements are Dungey, Strickland, Ishmael, Phillips, Moe Neal, a few additions such as Pierce & Riley, and an OL that is a blend of inherited and new players. The overhaul will be step by step, as Dino recruits some better linemen (as he has in the 2018 class), and a few of his own skill players. Lose some of our better pieces to graduation (Ishmael, Phillips) and hope to replace them.

I can't answer for everyone else, but imo this is a complete overhaul just because they made drastic changes in style on both sides of the ball. Even our best players (Dungey, Ishmael, Zaire, Cordy) aren't exactly great fits for what they are trying to do on their respective sides of the ball. I think this offense will strive with more of a pure pocket passer (say someone like Tommy Devito) and fast, quick WR's. On defense the secondary needed a complete overhaul since they needed to improve the length of the entire defensive backfield outside of Frederick. As for the defensive line they needed to bring in DE's who can generate a pass rush so they don't have to rely on blitzing the LB's (even though that's what the current trio's of LB's strength is). So far, at least on the defensive side of the ball, I am extremely encouraged that they identified the exact type of player that they need to bring in so the defensive can succeed (see Robinson, Martin, and Butler), as well as recruits such as Foster, Coleman and Black. It looks like the changes on the offensive side of the ball are going to come at a slower pace. In order for the offense to succeed they need to be able to run the ball downhill. Between Strickland probably not being the right RB, and the youth of the interior OL (rsSO, rsFR, rsFR, trFR) it's just not happening right now. Combine that with Dungey's inaccuracy on the deep ball since he's more of a DT, than a PP, and we are seeing some struggles. You can't help but looks at the type of skill players Dino currently has either redshirting or committed to realize he is trying to bring in a totally opposite type of player that is currently there. We have what look to be dynamic playmakers at both RB and WR, not to mention the two 4 star O-Lineman. This years class on a per star avg it's right up there with basically everyone not named FSU and Clemson. They are right on par with VT, UNC, NCST, and L'ville. Give Dino time to bring in 3 recruiting classes similar to that and I have no doubt they will be competing with everyone in the ACC.....Which brings me to your other question...expectations. My expectations are to be competitive every time they step on the field. My ultimate, best case scenario, would be to be locked in for a bowl game every year, and average between 7-9 wins a year, with every 5 years they compete for the ACC Atlantic and every 10 years win the conference. If they can play in 5 ACC Championship games in my lifetime (i'm 36) I will die a happy man.

 

[Deano]

IMO the DL is playing better, but it seemed that we blitzed on 2/3 of the plays in the 2nd half. The DBs have definitely shown an improvement this season.
I also thought the offense opened things up a bit in the 2nd half. I think Babers realized that a loss would pretty much kill any bowl hopes, so there was no reason to keep things under wraps for future opponents.
For the record, I'm still very much pro-Babers.

Agree about the blitzing and if you have good CB's and Safety's you can do that. Last year was a different story. Hopefully this trend can continue.

 

[stuckinbig11]

9) Hofrichter is the next in a long and good line of Syracuse P's.

If the Dome gets a new roof while Hofrichter is still here, they better make it a lot higher or he may hit it.

 

[gocraz4dasu]

You never really know drive to drive how Dungey will perform. He struggled some early but settled in and looked good in the second. His deep ball definitely needs some work but, as you said, he does throw some absolute gems. The pass to Riley in the first half that got called back for an illegal formation was dropped into Riley perfectly (and it isn't like Riley is a big target to hit downfield).

I wish Peirre hadn't fumbled so he got some ore run. Strickland does look good receiving out of the backfield but he is not a guy who breaks off any long runs. I'd like to keep Strickland primarily in the James White kind of role of the Pats and rotate in Neal, Pierre, and Elmore in any other kind of situation.

Our offensive tackles struggled still which is troubling for LSU and the entire ACC gauntlet we have this year. The guards are playing well and Davis at center is alright (he makes mistakes but he is a freshman RS). Conway was blown almost into Dungey a couple times.

Ravian Pierce still needs to be utilized more in the middle of the field but Dino definitely had more passes in the middle in this game than against MTSU. Ravian Pierce also needs to calm down and not make boneheaded penalties.

Hofrichter is an NFL punter.

The defensive line has been a pleasant surprise through three games. I'd actually say the defense as a whole has. They aren't spectacular by any means but they were an absolute embarrassment last year. They will have some struggles against the better teams but I'd like to see them continuing to improve. The secondary is extremely young outside of the grad transfers but it was good to see Frederick get the interception. Frederick also had a fantastic TFL on a WR screen that he read perfectly.

 

[kcsu]

Great win. Pretty much dominated the game against a team that I feel will be one of the better ones in the MAC this year,

- Other than a couple big runs the run game was pathetic as it has been over the first 2 games. There are times when Strickland has no where to run, but there are also times I see holes that he either can't hit hard enough, as well as poor vision for cut back lands. At least Neal gives you that ability to hit the hole and break off a long one. Strickland is very good catching the ball out of the backfield. He showed the same play making ability his Freshman year and did the same on Saturday. I would like to see him used more in that way instead of force feeding him up the middle for 1 or 2 yards a play.

- Dungey couldn't make a deep throw to save his life. He missed at least 5 or 6 WR's running wide open down the field. Ish was wide open multiple times as well as Riley, and the one Erv got hurt on. If Dungey is even semi-accurate he throws for 600 yards and 5 TD's. Does Devito make those throws? Now that I got that out of the way, you have to compliment Dungey on the things he does well, mainly making plays with his feet. That long run was the perfect example of the type of player ED is. Not pretty, but gets the job done. Should also mention that amazing roll out and actually hit Riley running down the sidelines. That's the frustrating part with ED. You get 2 amazing plays like that, but then you get some easy misses. At the beginning of the season I didn't want ED to run, but he's never going to be a pure PP, his game is his legs. You just have to let him do his thing and hope for the best.

- Defensive Line was dominant and for the most part has been through 3 games. I liked the move putting Robinson in as a starter. He was a menace off the edge all day. I think Dino really found a gem in that one. Slayton was his usual stellar self, and then have to give a major shout out to Josh Black, who was amazing in limited snaps at DT. He was able to use his speed to get past the much slower OG's and made some big plays. I wonder how that will work against an ACC OL? I think they might have found something there? All I know is the defense has really put a beating on the first 3 opposing QB's. While they aren't quite geting the sack, they are getting plenty of QB hits.

- DB's were solid. Really like what the grad transfers they brought in too solidify the defensive backfield. Martin has been superb and so has Butler. I will even go out on a limb and say Martin may be just as good, if not better than Cordy in this defense? He may not bring you that big play ability that Cordy does, but he gives you that consistently that Cordy, at times, didn't. I know people were down on Foster after the first TD, but imo the kid is a stud. Not only does he look the part, but the kid can fly. Evan has been really good this year and will only improve. Speaking of improvement, both Frederick and Scoop had their best games of the year. All these kids are Sophomores. We will be seeing plenty of them.

- imo this offense is better when they are trying to push the ball down the field. Sure Dungey missed on a whole bunch of throws, but he also made some. Stretching the field will loosen up the run game, which it did in that amazing 3rd quarter. I thought that's what this offense is? Down hill running and pushing the ball down the field? I'd like to see less dinking and dunking and more long throws. Ish hasn't had a problem getting open. If anything has failed him, surprisingly it has been his hands. Still he should be able to win his match up more times that not. I'd also like to see them get Erv involved earlier on. He seems to be the forgotten man this year. He's too good of a play maker to get lost in the shuffle.

- Finally the people calling for Babers head (yes, i saw a thread before it got nuked for PAsyraCUSE or something like that) saying he has already saw enough that Babers should be fired. The man needs to get his guys in. This is a complete overhaul. Offense and defense. He didn't inherit what Shafer did (mainly a team with an identity ). You see what guys like Clawson, Mason, and McIntiyre are doing at programs like Syracuse, havent' been relevant in 20 years. I don't know what people expect when you see what we are currently working with? There is young talent playing a ton of snaps up and down this roster. There are far better times ahead. I have always been and remain to be all in with Dino!

Great post. The future is looking good. With the exception of LB on D i believe we will be better across the board at all positions including WR.
Cant wait to see both lines next year. Could be our best OL and DL in years.

 

[RF2044]

Agree on pretty much everything, but especially on Robinson. He's legit, proved it last week and this week. I think he'll make plays against the better OL we see as well.

As Dino said, Dungey made all the right decisions, which is good. Just needs to get more accurate down the field. I think (hope) he will as he gets more acclimated to life without AET.

I can't say enough about Riley yesterday. From start to finish he was the one constant. I really hope that's a sign of things to come and not just one great day. Best hands on the team, who knew.

Agree 1000% about Robinson. Impressive physical tools.

Gem of an add by our staff.