Also known as the 2/3 pole evaluation for those who enjoy forced, nonsensical sexual innuendo. Regardless, a breakdown of this team and this program through the 8 games this season while trying not to get too excited about a couple wins over a couple of not-very-good teams. I'll start with Nassib and paraphrase the immortal Dennis Green ...
Ryan Nassib is who we thought he was
It's hard to start the eval of this team anywhere other than at QB where Nassib has been a lightning rod in his time on the Hill. His supporters will point to his impressive overall numbers and say Nassib is great. His detractors will point to turnovers or missed deep balls or check downs or passes lacking touch and say he blows. At the end of the day, Nassib is a good, not great QB. That's it. This endless debate is pointless. Take the last two games -- probably the best two-game stretch offensively in the past, what, 8-10 years? Nassib was great. But, we also played very well on specials, ran the ball for around 225 a game and got enough plays from our defense (obviously far better vs. UConn). Nassib certainly deserves some credit, but the point is that improved line play, specials, etc. are much bigger factors.
New for 2012! Special Teams that don't make you cover your eyes!
Fisher's not eliciting memories of Pat O'Neil but he's been better (a long of 51 and two inside the 20 vs. USF, two inside the 20 vs. UConn, 42 yds/punt, 2 inside the 20 vs. RU). Krautman makes things interesting but he's 4/5 since missing two vs. RU. Norton may be the single biggest addition to this team outside of Sales' return this year. Desir has made an impact in the PR game. Eskridge blocked a kick. There remains room for improvement here, but there are at least signs of life from this unit the past few games.
OL has come around a bit
The most troubling unit on this team, for my money, the past few years has been the OL. It was just always worrisome when your HC was considered an OL guru and your OL coach was considered arguably your best recruiter and yet your OL play was, well, below average at best. At times it's been downright ugly. The past couple games have been excellent running the ball and good in pass pro. In general, line play has been inconsistent, but it at least appears to be getting better. As Go pointed out, 3-1 since Pugh's return. Good test to see if they play as well vs. Cincy/L'ville.
The beginnings of a youth movement
With Nassib, Sales, Lemon, Pugh, Macky, Chibane, Sharpe, Bromley, S. Thomas, Spurill, etc. leading the way, the vets have been leading this team. But as this year has gone on we've seen a few more of DM's young guys sprinkled in. Broyld is a very intriguing player, Smith has been solid at RB, Clark's made a couple plays, Desir/Reddish/Eskridge look really solid in the defensive backfield, D. Davis is going to be really good, IMO, at OLB and has made quite a few plays already this year. MPB is contributing, Crume had some nice plays late vs. USF. Still looking for a few more playmakers, but we're starting to see a few more contributions.
DM is safe for 2013
I'm not really convinced this was much of a question prior to the season but I think getting 5 wins makes it an absolute no-brainer. Six would be a decent season given the schedule and 7/8 would be legit progress and obviously we're discussing how long an extension he should get. But realistically, I think DM is back for 2013 and rightfully so.
This new offense is better regardless of personnel
There is a contingent on this board who feel like the only day of the football calendar that matters is the first Tuesday of February (or whenever National LOI Day is each year). I don't buy that and I think part of the reason is what you're watching on the field. this team, with a pretty solid schedule, is averaging 460+ a game. That's ~100 ypg better than last season IIRC with very similar personnel. It's a new offense (tempo is a huge part of it, read option, more shots downfield, etc.) and it's paid dividends. That's great to see and speaks to DM's willingness to change things up if needed.
What questions linger
How good are UConn/USF?
For this program, simply winning those two games is excellent and I'm not taking anything away from being 3-1 at this point in conference. That said, we still don't really know who we've beat (Pitt has won four of it's past six but that's not a murderer's row, even Va Tech). How this team does vs. UL, Cincy and Mizzou will be really interesting to watch. I actually think taking 2 of 3 in that stretch is absolutely possible. We'll see, obviously.
Recruiting remains something of a mystery
I don't buy into stars for the most part and think you have to be pretty patient with a new coach's recruiting. I also think there are some positive signs out of DM's classes and this next one seems to have some pretty solid commits. That said, it's currently pretty small and there appears to be some kids wavering, at least judging by that RU weekend. I'm not commenting positively or negatively as much as simply pointing out that we lose some really productive players after this season -- Nassib/sales/lemon/pugh (potentially)/sharpe/S. Thomas ... we are going to need even more of these young kids stepping up in big roles. we'll see how this works going forward.
In-game decisions
Not my favorite part of DM's tenure so far, ranking just below STs in terms of frustration. But I like that we were consistently aggressive in the second half vs. USF and really executed well in the 2-minute drill. Here's hoping that's a new trend going forward.
Ryan Nassib is who we thought he was
It's hard to start the eval of this team anywhere other than at QB where Nassib has been a lightning rod in his time on the Hill. His supporters will point to his impressive overall numbers and say Nassib is great. His detractors will point to turnovers or missed deep balls or check downs or passes lacking touch and say he blows. At the end of the day, Nassib is a good, not great QB. That's it. This endless debate is pointless. Take the last two games -- probably the best two-game stretch offensively in the past, what, 8-10 years? Nassib was great. But, we also played very well on specials, ran the ball for around 225 a game and got enough plays from our defense (obviously far better vs. UConn). Nassib certainly deserves some credit, but the point is that improved line play, specials, etc. are much bigger factors.
New for 2012! Special Teams that don't make you cover your eyes!
Fisher's not eliciting memories of Pat O'Neil but he's been better (a long of 51 and two inside the 20 vs. USF, two inside the 20 vs. UConn, 42 yds/punt, 2 inside the 20 vs. RU). Krautman makes things interesting but he's 4/5 since missing two vs. RU. Norton may be the single biggest addition to this team outside of Sales' return this year. Desir has made an impact in the PR game. Eskridge blocked a kick. There remains room for improvement here, but there are at least signs of life from this unit the past few games.
OL has come around a bit
The most troubling unit on this team, for my money, the past few years has been the OL. It was just always worrisome when your HC was considered an OL guru and your OL coach was considered arguably your best recruiter and yet your OL play was, well, below average at best. At times it's been downright ugly. The past couple games have been excellent running the ball and good in pass pro. In general, line play has been inconsistent, but it at least appears to be getting better. As Go pointed out, 3-1 since Pugh's return. Good test to see if they play as well vs. Cincy/L'ville.
The beginnings of a youth movement
With Nassib, Sales, Lemon, Pugh, Macky, Chibane, Sharpe, Bromley, S. Thomas, Spurill, etc. leading the way, the vets have been leading this team. But as this year has gone on we've seen a few more of DM's young guys sprinkled in. Broyld is a very intriguing player, Smith has been solid at RB, Clark's made a couple plays, Desir/Reddish/Eskridge look really solid in the defensive backfield, D. Davis is going to be really good, IMO, at OLB and has made quite a few plays already this year. MPB is contributing, Crume had some nice plays late vs. USF. Still looking for a few more playmakers, but we're starting to see a few more contributions.
DM is safe for 2013
I'm not really convinced this was much of a question prior to the season but I think getting 5 wins makes it an absolute no-brainer. Six would be a decent season given the schedule and 7/8 would be legit progress and obviously we're discussing how long an extension he should get. But realistically, I think DM is back for 2013 and rightfully so.
This new offense is better regardless of personnel
There is a contingent on this board who feel like the only day of the football calendar that matters is the first Tuesday of February (or whenever National LOI Day is each year). I don't buy that and I think part of the reason is what you're watching on the field. this team, with a pretty solid schedule, is averaging 460+ a game. That's ~100 ypg better than last season IIRC with very similar personnel. It's a new offense (tempo is a huge part of it, read option, more shots downfield, etc.) and it's paid dividends. That's great to see and speaks to DM's willingness to change things up if needed.
What questions linger
How good are UConn/USF?
For this program, simply winning those two games is excellent and I'm not taking anything away from being 3-1 at this point in conference. That said, we still don't really know who we've beat (Pitt has won four of it's past six but that's not a murderer's row, even Va Tech). How this team does vs. UL, Cincy and Mizzou will be really interesting to watch. I actually think taking 2 of 3 in that stretch is absolutely possible. We'll see, obviously.
Recruiting remains something of a mystery
I don't buy into stars for the most part and think you have to be pretty patient with a new coach's recruiting. I also think there are some positive signs out of DM's classes and this next one seems to have some pretty solid commits. That said, it's currently pretty small and there appears to be some kids wavering, at least judging by that RU weekend. I'm not commenting positively or negatively as much as simply pointing out that we lose some really productive players after this season -- Nassib/sales/lemon/pugh (potentially)/sharpe/S. Thomas ... we are going to need even more of these young kids stepping up in big roles. we'll see how this works going forward.
In-game decisions
Not my favorite part of DM's tenure so far, ranking just below STs in terms of frustration. But I like that we were consistently aggressive in the second half vs. USF and really executed well in the 2-minute drill. Here's hoping that's a new trend going forward.
