My Take

[bcubs9497]

I watched the game again while focusing on the OL during running plays. There is fault to be had across the board. The OL is slow off the ball (No firing into the D) especially for those linemen that do not get in a stance. The linemen are basically letting the D come to them unless the linemen is pulling. If that is the case the pulling lineman was typically late to his assignment. As for the running backs, they seemed to be hitting their assigned holes with head down except for Pierre. He was looking for areas to run whether inside or outside. Never once did any other back bounce to the outside.

I feel this is going to be a HUGE issue as the season progresses and do not have a lot of faith that it will be resolved. If it was like this in preseason then I can't see how it could be fixed.

Don't necessarily have to blow the D off the line, although that'd help bunches. Did you happen to note whether the OL was able to "redirect" DL to open a hole?

 

[rrlbees]

The issue is that a majority of the students who park there arent moving their cars. I was there 5 hours before the game and the lot was at least 35-40% full already and almost no one had a fball parking pass.

A lot of dome workers park there also.

 

[Chip]

There's a lot student cars there even on the weekends.

That seems strange if you make it a permit lot. But what do I know.

 

[Scooch]

I watched the game again while focusing on the OL during running plays. There is fault to be had across the board. The OL is slow off the ball (No firing into the D) especially for those linemen that do not get in a stance. The linemen are basically letting the D come to them unless the linemen is pulling. If that is the case the pulling lineman was typically late to his assignment. As for the running backs, they seemed to be hitting their assigned holes with head down except for Pierre. He was looking for areas to run whether inside or outside. Never once did any other back bounce to the outside.

I feel this is going to be a HUGE issue as the season progresses and do not have a lot of faith that it will be resolved. If it was like this in preseason then I can't see how it could be fixed.

Helpful analysis, thanks.

 

[SWC75]

I thought Pierre looked the best of the RBs, caveat being it was in late game and not sure if CCS first team was on the field, I know we had new line personel in the game. He ran hard and seemed to hit the holes well.

He has taken over from Fredericks as the "Why isn't he in there?" guy.

I would love to see Pierre and Neal in there as a traditional FB-HB combo. The defense doesn't know who we are throwing to on a pass play. It would help if they didn't know who was going to run the ball on a running play.

 

[Killdozer]

Don't necessarily have to blow the D off the line, although that'd help bunches. Did you happen to note whether the OL was able to "redirect" DL to open a hole?

What I did notice is that the O-Lineman's first instinct is to stand straight up almost like pass blocking. Since SU is mostly a passing team now I think it is just part of their embedded skill. They are letting the D come to them and THEN trying to move the D player out of the path of the RB. Rarely did I see a linemen more then 3 yards down the field on a running play.

 

[GoSU96]

He has taken over from Fredericks as the "Why isn't he in there?" guy.

I would love to see Pierre and Neal in there as a traditional FB-HB combo. The defense doesn't know who we are throwing to on a pass play. It would help if they didn't know who was going to run the ball on a running play.

You're watching the wrong team if that's what you want to see.

 

[SWC75]

You're watching the wrong team if that's what you want to see.

I don't expect to see it. But if you want to run the ball, some deception and a lead blocker would help.

Dino did say on his show "Maybe it's time for some old-fashioned formations. You can't run the spread all the time."

 

[bcubs9497]

What I did notice is that the O-Lineman's first instinct is to stand straight up almost like pass blocking. Since SU is mostly a passing team now I think it is just part of their embedded skill. They are letting the D come to them and THEN trying to move the D player out of the path of the RB. Rarely did I see a linemen more then 3 yards down the field on a running play.

Well, that's very interesting. Seems, then, that the pass game is being heavily emphasized at the expense of the run. We'll need a STRONG running back to bust through the tangled mess.

 

[LeMoyneCuse]

I don't expect to see it. But if you want to run the ball, some deception and a lead blocker would help.

Dino did say on his show "Maybe it's time for some old-fashioned formations. You can't run the spread all the time."

That's why they brought in Elmore.

 

[SWC75]

That's why they brought in Elmore.

He was a lead blocker but he never got a hand-off. The defense still knew who to key on when we run the ball.

 

[LeMoyneCuse]

He was a lead blocker but he never got a hand-off. The defense still knew who to key on when we run the ball.

The I-Formation hasn't been a viable formation in college football for at least a decade. Syracuse's offense, like most offenses in college ball, have replaced the second runner with the run pass option.

 

[UnknownOrange]

Ahh parking. What a terrible situation, especially for friday night games. Students and professors purchase passes to those lots - meaning they're allowed to occupy the space.

Then the AD sells these parking spaces to fans - to occupy the same space ... but on friday night games? Hopefully they don't overlap but oh wait...they do.

 

[JoeSU]

Actually, they showed the cheerleaders doing pushups on TV. There was a closeup with the guys doing the pushup with a girl having her foot on his back.

If it was the other way around, people would be having a fit.

 

[SWC75]

The I-Formation hasn't been a viable formation in college football for at least a decade. Syracuse's offense, like most offenses in college ball, have replaced the second runner with the run pass option.

Football is cyclical. The option comes and goes. The nose tackle comes and goes. 4-3 or 3-4? If you bring back something that defenses aren't used to, they have trouble defending it. Look at Auburn 2013. Look at the wildcat.

What we are doing right now with the running game isn't working.

 

[LeMoyneCuse]

Football is cyclical. The option comes and goes. The nose tackle comes and goes. 4-3 or 3-4? If you bring back something that defenses aren't used to, they have trouble defending it. Look at Auburn 2013. Look at the wildcat.

What we are doing right now with the running game isn't working.

So you're arguing that introducing ground and pound will throw teams off balance? I disagree.

 

[upperdeck]

it seemed to me that the oline is not really trying to get push since they cant do that and make it look like a pass.. the issue comes when its clearly a running play in the red zone and they still dont get push.. the only thing that I took from it is that the dline was not in the backfield and it was mostly the fact that the D was over playing the run most of the time and the LB just filled every gap. not a great rushing game but it wasnt as bad as it has been.. whether that holds true over the next few weeks who knows

 

[SUskibum]

Agreed. Defense across the board seems faster, especially Kayton. He really impressed me last night. The passing game seems better than it was last year at this time. A good thing. The run, though, sucks. Don't know if it this is due to to the OL not being able to get a good push at the LOS, or if it's because the RBs can't find a door in a building full of doors. I kinda suspect it's the latter. Regardless, the inability to establish a running game is going to make it a long season with the teams the boys will face.

I agree that the latter seems more likely.

Last year Moe Neal and Fredricks seemed to find 1.5 ypc more holes than Strickland and already this Pierre has already found a couple extra ypc as well.

Also, seems weird (unlikely) for a line to be respectable pass blocking but totally inept run blocking.

 

[bcubs9497]

So you're arguing that introducing ground and pound will throw teams off balance? I disagree.

I would say that a pitcher who can only throw a fastball is gonna get shellacked the second time through the order.

 

[LeMoyneCuse]

I would say that a pitcher who can only throw a fastball is gonna get shellacked the second time through the order.

I'm not saying we can get by on passing the ball only.

 

[Dmcnabbrules]

I think I would include the screen game as part of our "running" game analysis. I agree the line didn't perform well yesterday day but I would be happy to average 4 yards a carry on the dive plays. Eric also made some solid reads on the option plays which is encouraging The passes to Ish are basically glorified outside runs. I think we will learn a lot in the next two weeks about the o-line.

 

[SWC75]

So you're arguing that introducing ground and pound will throw teams off balance? I disagree.

I wouldn't call it "ground and pound". It would introduce versatility and deception into the running game and give us more balance.

To me the ultimate was the Colts when they had Johnny Unitas, Alan Ameche and Lenny Moore with Jimmy oor, Raymond Berry and eventually John Mackey as a tight end. You could pass as much as you want with four potential receivers, (including Moore, who caught 40-50 passes a year. But you could run the ball between the tackles with Ameche and run sweeps with Moore. Unitas rarely ran the ball except for sneaks and scrambles.

Ameche: Alan Ameche Stats | Pro-Football-Reference.com

Moore: Lenny Moore Stats | Pro-Football-Reference.com

Unitas: Johnny Unitas Stats | Pro-Football-Reference.com

We don't have Unitas, Ameche and Moore but Dungey, Strickland, (or Pierre) and neal could do a reasonable imitation at this level.

There's no rule that says we have to do what everybody else is doing. Or that we have to cotniue doing something that isn't working.

 

[Ish88888]

"When did the cheerleaders stop doing a push-up for every point SU scores?"

When Babers was hired.

When that dumb, wanna be a southern school bell was added. God. That bell is bad.

 

[Bayside44]

When that dumb, wanna be a southern school bell was added. God. That bell is bad.

Less than 10 seconds in...

 

[Ish88888]

Arrived at the tailgate at 4:30. Problem. Almost no parking spaces left. It isn't that there are too many fans for the spaces available. It is that the students who ordinarily use the spaces aren't leaving them in a timely manner. Maybe some don't leave them at all.

Meanwhile, a block east, good news: the city block that was cleared of houses years ago has finally been paved over. Bad news: it was blocked off completely, so no one could use it. The wooden horses blocking access all had ESF clearly marked on them. If this program ever gets going, I don't see how playing games on weekday nights will be feasible,

On a positive note, the tailgate was well attended and the food was excellent. My favorite was the chicken pesto pasta dish. I also had an excellent sausage provided by TexanMark that was another standout. Props to JeremyCuse and Nell and everyone else involved.

Still no wifi available in the parking areas or the Dome. Whether the university has recognized it or not, the age of the Internet is upon us and people expect ready access to it at all times. Especially watching a stat filled affair like a football game. Very disappointing,

With the arrival of a new band director with a fancy resume, I watched the performance of the SUMB with great interest. It looked to me as though there was more ambitious marching than in recent years. The arrangement of the national anthem sounded a little different too. Sad to see the tubas march straight to the end zone after th band finished instead of doing their normal free lance disjointed and almost random tracing of a path to the end zone. They start up playing differently now too. Overall, thought it was a promising start for Tim.

Awful crowd. I think it was below 25K. The students were quiet and lame. The only section packed with people was weirdly in a corner in the upper deck above the student section. Was it overflow from the students?. Or something else? They didn't act like students or look like them either. When did the cheerleaders stop doing a push-up for every point SU scores?

There were some technical glitches with contests during timeouts. Specifically one involving a fan racing Otto during a timeout. They recovered and did it right later.

I missed the new entrance video. The numbers on the SU uniforms remain largely unintelligible from where I sit.

Regarding the game, SU was bigger, faster and stronger. Not much to be gleaned from playing such an inferior opponent but Dungey threw the long ball great. Today was Steve Ishmael's day as he caught a ton of passes, mostly on short passes to the flat. Philips didn't get as many touches but had some really nice moments.

I worry whether ED will be able to control his need for running the football. So sad for Cordy, really hope he can play again soon.

Was disappointed in how poorly we ran the ball against a weak defense. The interior linemen could not make holes. That does not inspire confidence for the rest of the season. Could have scored a lot more points but Dino didn't want to show much to future opponents.

Overall, thought the defense looked fast, hit hard and was vastly improved. There is reason to expect a big step up this season here, even if Giant is out all season. Murphy is in trouble with the PK job and the bell after scores was weird.

The Dome staff did a good job reminding everyone of the policy change (no re-entry if you leave the Dome).

Overall, a promising start to the season. I will take it.

Actually thought ED threw a few ducks deep last night. He wasnt on with his deep ball but was on the $$$ intermediate and short. A few other observations:
1. Why in the world did we have multiple run plays for ED against this team?
2. Yes, the running game is a concern, but i am getting we kept it vanilla and close to the vest last night.
3. The team entrance on the field was sudden and had no juice, no built up, weird music.
4. Bag the bell please.
5. The coaches looked sharp in the white/grey. Razor sharp.
6. Those unis with orange hats would pop.
7. Alot of positives, the team looks to be in fantastic condition, cant wait til this sat!