Now that my beer buzz has worn off after the 6 hour drive back home, I thought I would add some insight into what I saw at the the Dome last night.
I know I talked to a few of you before the game, and the majority felt this matchup was going to be an easy one for us. I have seen enough of Wake over the last few years to know that a Jim Grobe coached football team is not going to be an easy out. IMO, Grobe is one of the 10 best coaches in all of collegiate football, and has his chance to leave Wake and coach the big boys but decided that a place like Wake Forest was more than enough for him and his family. Marrone had been issuing warnings all week to not let Wake's 2010 record fool you -- SU was going to be facing a tough, skilled opponent. He was right.
Offense: I don't need to rehash any posts about the O looking like a Perry Patterson-led Gump era offense. We were horrid. However, (I believe Rahme may have touched on this in an article this morning), the defense we prepared for was nothing like the one we saw yesterday. Wake has historically employed a soft zone / zone blitz scheme over the last few years. Lots of cover 4, cover 3 looks. Last night Wake employed several defensive fronts out of the 3-4, used a lot of man press with a single free safety over the top, and lots of stunts at the line of scrimmage.
We had probably game planned short, quick passes and attempt to gain some YAC's. We obviously chucked that at the half and started to employ some misdirection plays to counter Wake's aggressive scheme (boots, two screens, waggles, etc). We also spread the field a bit -- employing the same two tight end two wr look, but splitting Stevens and Provo out -- spreading the field and getting Wake's 8th man out of the box. Nice adjustment.
QB: Thought Nassib played a decent game. He really played a nice second half and made all the throws required of him. I thought the coaching staff put Ryan in a position to be successful and he was -- throwing for 3 TD's and completing a lot of high percentage passes.
Right now, I think Ryan is an excellent game manager who is not going to play us out of game. This is not meant to be an insult to Ryan, but as of right now, that is what he is. The offensive line (more on them later) certainly didn't give Ryan all the time in the world to throw, but I want to see more pocket awareness out of Ryan.
I think Ryan does a fine job with his progressions, but he needs to learn how to buy time by moving a bit right, left stepping up, etc in the pocket. In a sense, I would like him to be a bit more patient back there. I sense a bit a panic when he gets some pressure, and tends to focus on one or two in his reads, where if he bought himself a half second in the pocket, he could get to three. He missed a wide open Chew on a play where he hit Lemon for a decent game. Had he slid right and stepped up in the pocket that may have been 6. What I love is that even though he gets a tad bit of happy feet, he is willing to throw the ball away and live to fight another day. Plus the kid is tough as nails.
RB: I don't think Antwon played as good as his stat line showed last night, and I think he would tell you the same thing. I think Ant was a bit impatient in the beginning of the game, not waiting for seams to develop and plowing in to the line for small gains. He also missed a couple blocks that Ant makes 9 times out of 10 in pass protection. However, the kid kept plowing away and chugging away -- was finally rewarded with the nice TD run (props to the OL on that one) but was more impressive with a series of 5, 6 yard runs in the 4th quarter. He was patient and made some nice cuts on a few stretch plays.
I am a bit worried about RB behind Ant right now. I think a few fans underestimated what a back like Delone Carter did for this offense. Say what you want about his lack of breakaway speed, but he was always good for 3-4 yards on first down. I felt we lost too many battles on first down in the first half -- putting us in 2nd and long way too often. That's a recipe for three and outs. We need a big back to emerge after Ant in order for the offense to achieve its full potential.
I thought Harris played very well. He did a great job blocking, and had a few nice runs to boot. The young man is an asset to this team and it was nice to see the big fella get into the end zone.
WR/TE: What can I say about Van Chew? The young man made two big league grabs and stole this game for us. Nassib just missed him earlier in the game (although Ryan was pressured on the throw) for a sure fire TD. AT this point there are no surprises with Van's game. Good wheels, great hands, but struggles at times with press coverage. I thought Wake's CB's employed excellent technique and could be some of the better corners we will see all year.
Lemon played pretty well and seems to be a bit quicker this year than in year's past. Got some nice YAC's after some catches. Solid possession kid.
Thought Provo had his ups and downs. Had a big drop in the first quarter that would have resulted in a first down. He obviously had a nice catch and run for our first TD. I believe he will be a reliable, multi faceted TE in our system. It could have been the 8 Labatt's I had, but he appears to be a bit slower than he was last year. I'm sure the added weight and injuries may have robbed him of some mobility.
David Stevens is a pleasant surprise. The young man can really run for a kid his size and showed some nice wheels in the open field. I would like to see if the staff can take advantage of this more and motion him out against an in the box SS or LB. Wouldn't be surprised to see him score a few deep TD's this year.
OL: Let's start with everyone's favorite whipping boy, Macky. I don't think he played nearly as bad of a game as everyone else did. I think Wake's early stunts and complex blitz schemes confused a first time, true sophomore starter. I think that could be and should be expected. Wake's nose is also an damn good football player and will be one of the better physical talents he sees all year. What I did like is the kid's wheels, tenacity, and technique. Check out Provo's TD -- Macky was running down the field making blocks on that play. He is also excellent on zone read plays, as he has no problem exploding out of his stance, reaching across his defender's nose and sealing the player. His blocks on Ant's long TD were absolutely textbook.
I bet his performance grades out well when Atkins analyzes the film. I think he could have used another year in the S and C program before he started (we don't have that luxury of depth yet), but I really believe he will be an all conference player by his senior year.
Pugh also played a hell of a game. His block on the Wake corner was what sprung Ant. He also did a good job in pass protection on any one on one matchup. By far our best lineman.
I think the scheme confused the line more than anything else. The twists and stunts that Wake employed on almost every snap really disrupted things in the first half. They did a nice job adjusting and opening holes in the second half. This will be a very solid unit by the end of the year.
Defense: Performed just as most of us expected. Lots of young, fast, talented, and repeat young players out there. Definitely missed assignments in both coverage and called blitzes. I saw several LB's and DT's hitting the same gap on blitz calls, lots of over pursuit by DE's, DT's, and LB's. ****, we had trouble aligning properly on a handful of times.
Despite all of that, I saw a defense oozing with speed and talent. I honestly cannot recall a more athletic Syracuse defense in the last 15 years. I do worry that a well coached, veteran team will out execute us. I think we saw that in the first half.
Schaeffer really tried to dial up the pressure, but the combination of inexperience and moxie out of Wake's QB doomed us. The young kids ddn't do a very good job of hiding the impeding blitz or coverage package, giving Wake's QB an early line of scrimmage read. This will improve with time, at least I hope it does.
DL: Chandler Jones looks like a man amongst boys out there. He has really filled out his frame and the the makings of an early round NFL pick. I don't think he ended up with a sack, but you probably could have called Wake's T for at least 6 holds against Chandler. He missed a few sack opportunities with some aggressive over pursuit. Did a much better job holding up at the line of scrimmage.
Marinovich is one of my favorites, but didn't quite have his best game. He tends to struggle against bigger, physical lineman, and he did a bit today. He certainly wasn't terrible, and his motor always runs high. He made a few nice hustle plays down field.
Thought Ball and Sharpe did a good job filling in. Keep and eye on Sharpe -- might have a very good year for us next year.
Thought Crume had the best game of any DL. He is an absolute force out there and only a true freshman. I saw a few mental mistakes out there, but he is an immense talent and already has upperclassman strength as a true frosh. He was a real steal for marrone and company.
Goggins was inconsistent -- which appears to be the theme of his SU career thus far. He has remarkable athleticism for a kid his size -- he literally ran down a running back from behind on a play (someone made the tackle before him). He has a lot of power. He still plays raw. He gets himself out of position trying to make a play on every single down instead of doing his assignment. If, and that may be a big if at this point in his career, the light bulb every goes off he will be a very good collegiate DT. Part of me wonders if he is best suited as a SDE.
Bromley had a nice sack where he beat his man cleanly off the ball. However, I didn't follow him enough to write up a report.
LB: I think Dy Davis has jaw dropping speed for a LB at any level. He moves like a free safety out there. His sideline to sideline range is the best I have seen in a long long time, probably SEC like. However, I'm not sure if he is ready physically right now. I don't care so much about the over pursuit on occasion, as that will happen with a young kid. However, he struggles at the point and missed some tackles more due to strength than technique. Playing him this early (former WR/S) illustrates the lack of depth Marrone is dealing with. He will be a very good one though, and I'm excited to watch him develop.
Spruill did a decent job out there. Looks like he is still adjusting to the position. He didn't stand out good or bad, and that's not a bad thing for a MIke backer. Like Davis, a tad undersized in musculature but has great speed and above average instincts.
Didn't watch enough of Vaghaun to post a lot -- although his is a better athlete than I anticipated. Runds pretty well but I wonder if he can hold off Lynch all year, considering Cam looked decent in his few snaps with the one's. Cam is a keeper. Very strong for a kid his age and showed pretty good shedding skills in the few plays I watched.
There appears to be lots of talent here, but it is very young and inexperienced. I can't wait to see them in 2 years. Spruill, Davis, and Lynch could be scary good.
DB: Lots of good, bad, and ugly here. Wake really called a good game for 3 quarters here. They rolled the QB out against the blitz, using a lot of quick strike routes out there. Holmes and Merk has enough experience to know when and when not to jump those routes. Right now it appears the younger guys are more conscious of not getting beat deep and are afraid to jump a quick out or hitch (which Wake ran some beautiful timing routes on us BTW).
Wake's long strike after Provo's TD was a result of the DB having his eyes in the backfield and blown coverage. I haven't watched a replay, but it looks like Phillip Thomas jumped the dig or deep cross route, leaving the WR one on one with a corner who should have had inside help. Not sure on that one. K Scott missed an open field tackle allowing another score, and someone else got beat on a wheel (fake out and up) route (may have been a LB).
However, just like the LB position, the DB's are flush with young talent that can flat out run. Keon Lyn just looks like a player out there. He moves very well, long armed, and is physical. Right now his ball skills aren't there, but once again, that is expected for a true frosh who idn't used to seeing these types of throws being made in HS. I like him a lot.
Also liked the way Reddish moved in his limited snaps. I focused on his hips and agility -- he is a smooth looking and fluid athlete. I can understand why the staff is high on him.
Phillip Thomas wasn't himself out there. He was hurt in the game and playing with a broken jaw. I'll give him a pass. Usually he is damn tough in run support and only makes errors by being aggressive. He looked a bit tentative and undecided on a few routes -- but the kid missed a **** load of camp.
Finally, I want to give Shamarko my CIL game ball. This young man was all over the field. He closed on Wake's rb so fast on multiple occasions I thought I was watching Bob Sanders part 2 out there. I'm not sure how many tackles he made out there, but it doesn't matter, he was always around the ball. Also made a great pbu in the end zone preventing a Wake score. I would go so far as to say he was the best player on the field yesterday. Simply was a man amongst boys out there and hope this isn't an aberration but rather the emergence of the best SS since Darius.
Odds and Ends:
- I know people say we won because Wake's QB got hurt -- maybe, maybe not. People don't point out we were without Anderson, Scott, and Thomas for a bit in the secondary, allowing Wake to take advantage of a woefully inexperienced group.
- Too bad about Wake's QB. Loved that kid's pocket presence. Really knew how to move int he framework of the pocket.
- Our defensive speed is borderline elite (SEC level without the size -- TCU lite maybe). There were a handful of plays where Wake's RB looked like he had an easy 7 yard gain, only to be chased down by a Cuse LB or Shamarko. Great upgrade over the gump years.
- Need to work on FG snapping boys. Lots of short hops. Props to Ricky and Charlie.
- Really disappointed in the fanbase. Not as much in the leaving early but more for the turnout. 33k in the seats flat out sucks for a team coming off an 8-5 season playing a BCS opponent. Don't give me the Thursday night holiday weekend story either. We draw 28k in the middle of winter on Monday nights for hoops. It sucks for the kids who have busted their collective a$$es all summer to come out of the tunnel to a half empty Dome.
- Love me some Grobe. Hell of a coach and would win a title at a bigger program.
- Sucks to see Ehrman's kid running ragged over our offense. Young man is a heck of a football payer and would be a starter here for sure.
- GREAT PHUCKING COMEBACK WIN. ONE WIN DOES NOT A SEASON MAKE, BUT IT TELLS THE FANBASE THAT WE ARE FOR REAL.
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sorry wakes quaterback was not that good at all!!!he hit the targets ONLY when he had plenty of time .he missed everything when he had the slightest bit of pressure. what i took from the game was simply no power back that we desperatley need, poor secondary performance, no pass rush which allowed price great success.
