Re-watch observations

[LeMoyneCuse]

I decided to go back and watch the game on ESPN3 this morning. Here are my thoughts:

1) Dungey didn't have his best game. His deep balls were all over the place, like he was worried his guys weren't going to get separation.

2) The drops. Phillips had a bad one at the end of the first half. Ish dropped one he probably shouldn't have on the drive that made it 24-0 in the 1st half. Butler and Custis did a few ugly things too. And Nykeim did too late. Hopefully, that's just a first game thing that will correct itself.

2A) I'm afraid Butler is going to develop into a hot-cold type of player. Beautiful catch on a post pattern from Culpepper? Yes! Drop a slightly difficult TD pass? No! Fumble on a short completion? No!

3) The offensive line created holes - sometimes. The line was pulling constantly - Heckel, McGloster, and Adams especially. That often created space. That said, CCSU always had 7 in the box. But the way things were schemed, that 7th guy was always a factor.

3A) The offensive line also did some terrible things. With 8:09 left in the third, Syracuse had the ball at the CCSU 5, 1st and Goal. Dungey tossed it to Strickland, who was immediately stood up for a two yard loss. The offensive line surged forward to the end zone, I believe with the intention of clearing a path. The intentions were good, but there were two defensive linemen waiting for Strickland because they had simply been brushed aside by the line and not actually dealt with. Things like this kept happening.

3B) I don't know much about zone blocking, but our line is incredibly passive on passing plays. They stand up and sink back, almost like they're trying to keep a crowd from rushing the stage as opposed to pushing guys off the line. Is that what zone blocking is all about?

4) There were cut back lanes for Strickland all over the place - he just didn't take any of them. I think Dungey has more vision than Strickland, which explains why he was the leading rusher.

5) Slayton blew up his man so many times. He really stood out. The defensive line in general played well. I'm glad Robinson came here. He was out of position a few times, but I think he's going to be a good player.

5A) The lack of sacks remains a concern, but a tip of the hat to the CCSU QB for his role in that. There are far worse pocket quarterbacks on FCS and low FBS rosters.

6) The lone CCSU touchdown was the only time our secondary was exposed. On the long pass play before the touchdown, Bradshaw was extremely isolated and did a poor job of containing his man, while Foster took an AWFUL angle to the ball, and was lucky to force the CCSU receiver to step out of bounds. That would have been an easy TD for Clemson or Florida State.

7) Pierre and Nykiem are playmakers. I hope their roles grow as the season goes on.

8) Gilfus sighting! I wonder when the last time someone from Jefferson County (not named Matt Gorman) contributed for the Orange.

Overall, I focused on the negatives. That said, we know what we want to do, and we seem to be executing it better than last year. On to MTSU.

 

[SUFaninNJ]

I rewatched yesterday. In addition to things you mentioned I will add my main takeaway from Rex in at QB. I'll optimistically chalk up his performance to shaking off a couple years of rust. If this performance is indicative of what we can expect if he were to come in again, I'd expect to see multiple pick 6's.

 

[SUinNYC]

Good summary. I've rewatched the game twice and noticed similar things.

Our D-line did play well. Josh Black had a nice game and Robinson had great speed out of his stance. I think we'll see improvement there if we can stay healthy.

RB is a concern. I don't think it's all on the OL. After watching CFB all weekend, the difference between our backs and the rest of the ACC is startling. There are holes and cutback lanes available. Strickland just does not see them.

 

[care taker]

It's amazing what you see when you watch something a 2nd time and more so when you can pause and rewind . What we need is some luck ! Anybody watch the UCLA comeback last night ? So much luck was involved especially with Rosen! I especially watched the game to see Rosen , for most of the game I wasn't exactly impressed but then in the 4th qtr the greatest thing in the world showed up ....LADY LUCK!!! He makes.a Horrible deep throw late which was under thrown the ball goes threw the defenders hand for a TD ! Another play he gets flushed out to his left looks like he is throwing it out of bounds its way short in a crowd ... TD ! And the announcers go wild . Lucky again !
Than on the last drive a dropped INT . He should have had s loss and 3 4th qtr picks , a huge blow to his heisman race and draft stock instead it's a comeback for the ages , and Rosen mania . It's always better to be lucky than good ! And if your both than your unstoppable.

 

[LeMoyneCuse]

RB is a concern. I don't think it's all on the OL. After watching CFB all weekend, the difference between our backs and the rest of the ACC is startling. There are holes and cutback lanes available. Strickland just does not see them.

Yeah, I think a better line would make Strickland look better, while a better running back would make the line look better. One or the other would help both issues.

 

[AAM62]

Ok, the zone blocking part made no sense. That's typically a run blocking concept. You can't "push guys off the line" when you pass block. Offensive linemen can't pass the LOS on pass plays.

 

[TheCusian]

Ok, the zone blocking part made no sense. That's typically a run blocking concept. You can't "push guys off the line" when you pass block. Offensive linemen can't pass the LOS on pass plays.

This gets put on it's head in this system. For like half the plays the line doesn't know if its a pass or run.

 

[upperdeck]

I think people are missing the point on how this system works.. We block most of the plays the same and then the QB makes the decision on what do do with the ball.

 

[LeMoyneCuse]

I think people are missing the point on how this system works.. We block most of the plays the same and then the QB makes the decision on what do do with the ball.

Ok, the zone blocking part made no sense. That's typically a run blocking concept. You can't "push guys off the line" when you pass block. Offensive linemen can't pass the LOS on pass plays.

I'll be the first to admit I don't know much about offensive line work. I just noticed that on some plays, the offensive line sucks back, but linemen don't seem to engage linemen individually, more of a keeping them at bay. These tended to be pass plays.

There were passing plays where guys pulled (Adams and McGloster were charging through on the TD pass to Pierce).

Again, I'm not sure what to call this.

 

[JackBauer44]

One of the things that stuck out for me, that I think will make it very hard for Rex, is the hitch in his throwing motion. He got away with it because of his arm strength, but the hitch causes a delay before his release which will get him in trouble more times than not while playing against BCS level players. Love his moxy and toughness, but hopefully depth causes a switch. Would love to see him in a cody catalina type mold.

 

[gocusecaz]

The thing I noticed about when Strickland was running, he would take the handoff and go straight into the hole whether there was a hole or not. When Pierre was in, although not against their best players, he would make a cut outside to where they had no one. I am sure that if Strickland did the same thing, his numbers would be better.

 

[kcsu]

The thing I noticed about when Strickland was running, he would take the handoff and go straight into the hole whether there was a hole or not. When Pierre was in, although not against their best players, he would make a cut outside to where they had no one. I am sure that if Strickland did the same thing, his numbers would be better.

Vision and instinct in an RB cant be taught. Its like pocket awareness in a QB. Strick doesn't seem to have it.

 

[019Jules]

8) Gilfus sighting! I wonder when the last time someone from Jefferson County (not named Matt Gorman) contributed for the Orange.

Good on Gilfus! I didn't notice one of those playful prediction threads this year, but my call would have been that Gilfus gets a catch in a game ... just because he always looked good in the RVA videos throughout the summer.

 

[Cuseregular]

Glad to see I'm not the only loser to rewatch even the lowliest of games
Can't add much more than said except to say the following: the OL at least looks the part for the first time in forever. And I think they'll be above average by mid year barring too many injuries. Rb's remain weak and Pierre may be the best bet (ah Fredricks...).

Db's definitely improved even the one TD he was there and an inch away if not for the perfectly thrown ball. My educated guess on Cordy based on mechanism of injury, how he looked walking off the field, preventative boot use, laughing on the side line is at worst a fractured fibula (4-6 weeks) or at best a deep bone bruise (0-2 weeks).

DL was better than I thought with some good looking athletes there that will be competitive with most. Believe it or not biggest D concern is our undersized LB's. WR's should be solid and the raw ability is there with Custis now the instincts re cutting off and readjusting his routes needs to improve. Ishmael will have a record year.

It appears we have a bevy of good capable qb's and, as usual, we will all be on edge all season on Dungy. That said after seeing the abilities of Rex and devito if Ed goes down its not a complete and total disaster as I have feared (hopefully we don't find out!).

Freaking love Babers with his approach, sideline demeanor, etc. Guy just oozes leadership. Finally as said elsewhere bring back the train whistle on top of the bell. Good first start.

 

[OrangeinBoston]

My educated guess on Cordy based on mechanism of injury, how he looked walking off the field, preventative boot use, laughing on the side line is at worst a fractured fibula (4-6 weeks) or at best a deep bone bruise (0-2 weeks).

Maybe CTO could walk on a cracked fibula, but I snapped mine and wasn't laughing. I'm guessing a high ankle sprain.

 

[Cuseregular]

My educated guess on Cordy based on mechanism of injury, how he looked walking off the field, preventative boot use, laughing on the side line is at worst a fractured fibula (4-6 weeks) or at best a deep bone bruise (0-2 weeks).

Maybe CTO could walk on a cracked fibula, but I snapped mine and wasn't laughing. I'm guessing a high ankle sprain.

Yeah in the differential is the dreaded high ankle sprain to the distal Tib fib ligament and/or interosseous membrane certainly but usually post injury you don't see that good a degree of dorsiflexion/plantarflexion he demonstrated walking off.

The way I refer to the bone injuries is a "fracture" different from a "break/broken" bone. Sounds like you had a break through and yeah no walking on that. I actually had this injury, a hairline fib fracture, playing college football. Played on it (painfully) for three weeks to end the season.

Finally at seasons end finally told the trainers, dr's and post X-ray they found a hairline type fracture, where the bone looks intact and congruent on X-ray til (back then) they put it under a "hot lamp" for further investigation and found it (today they'd do an MRI).

So yeah hopefully it's something like this (good quick full healing) or even better a deep bruise. The high ankle sprain takes forever to heal.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

I decided to go back and watch the game on ESPN3 this morning. Here are my thoughts:

1) Dungey didn't have his best game. His deep balls were all over the place, like he was worried his guys weren't going to get separation.

2) The drops. Phillips had a bad one at the end of the first half. Ish dropped one he probably shouldn't have on the drive that made it 24-0 in the 1st half. Butler and Custis did a few ugly things too. And Nykeim did too late. Hopefully, that's just a first game thing that will correct itself.

2A) I'm afraid Butler is going to develop into a hot-cold type of player. Beautiful catch on a post pattern from Culpepper? Yes! Drop a slightly difficult TD pass? No! Fumble on a short completion? No!

3) The offensive line created holes - sometimes. The line was pulling constantly - Heckel, McGloster, and Adams especially. That often created space. That said, CCSU always had 7 in the box. But the way things were schemed, that 7th guy was always a factor.

3A) The offensive line also did some terrible things. With 8:09 left in the third, Syracuse had the ball at the CCSU 5, 1st and Goal. Dungey tossed it to Strickland, who was immediately stood up for a two yard loss. The offensive line surged forward to the end zone, I believe with the intention of clearing a path. The intentions were good, but there were two defensive linemen waiting for Strickland because they had simply been brushed aside by the line and not actually dealt with. Things like this kept happening.

3B) I don't know much about zone blocking, but our line is incredibly passive on passing plays. They stand up and sink back, almost like they're trying to keep a crowd from rushing the stage as opposed to pushing guys off the line. Is that what zone blocking is all about?

4) There were cut back lanes for Strickland all over the place - he just didn't take any of them. I think Dungey has more vision than Strickland, which explains why he was the leading rusher.

5) Slayton blew up his man so many times. He really stood out. The defensive line in general played well. I'm glad Robinson came here. He was out of position a few times, but I think he's going to be a good player.

5A) The lack of sacks remains a concern, but a tip of the hat to the CCSU QB for his role in that. There are far worse pocket quarterbacks on FCS and low FBS rosters.

6) The lone CCSU touchdown was the only time our secondary was exposed. On the long pass play before the touchdown, Bradshaw was extremely isolated and did a poor job of containing his man, while Foster took an AWFUL angle to the ball, and was lucky to force the CCSU receiver to step out of bounds. That would have been an easy TD for Clemson or Florida State.

7) Pierre and Nykiem are playmakers. I hope their roles grow as the season goes on.

8) Gilfus sighting! I wonder when the last time someone from Jefferson County (not named Matt Gorman) contributed for the Orange.

Overall, I focused on the negatives. That said, we know what we want to do, and we seem to be executing it better than last year. On to MTSU.

If you are mixing sports, the Powell's come to mind.