The good, the bad, the ugly

[Alsacs]

The good:
Winning the game. This wasn’t a gimme but we won and it was pretty comfortable outside of a 15 minute stretch (not game time but actual time) window in the 3rd where we melted down.
Dungey- he was great no more needs to be said.
Custis- he showed he could possibly be replacement to Ishmael this year.
OL- they got push and pretty much every short yardage situation gave confidence we were converting.
Thrill Willliams- he was good during his series in the backfield.
Kicking game: both kickers were great. It was awesome to see the FG operation look smooth and kicks not even close to missing and the punter did a good job and the coverage units were solid.
2 takeaways. We didn’t get many takeaways last year so getting 2 INTs was a good sign.

The bad
LBs- they were out of position on a lot of plays and didn’t confidence they were ready. They can get better hopefully.
WRs not Custis- too many drops from Butler, Riley didn’t catch his targets. Now Dungey missed some reads where they were open. I saw one wheel route on the goal line where Butler was open but he didn’t get the ball.
Pass rush: We got very little pass rush this game. Robinson was MIA and Slayton had the one rush which led directly to a INT was the moment the game was over. We need more from the 4 and they have the talent to be better.

The ugly:
Explosion plays. Way too many plays we where give up 25 yards plus. I counted 6.
The 59 yard run in the first quarter, 36 yard pass to start 3rd quarter, 84 yard TD catch, 64 yard TD run, 59 yard pass catch, 26 yard catch the last drive of the game.

We can’t be giving up 6 explosion plays a game. Now we know why Dino has been recruiting safeties and secondary talent hard.

I am not going to single any player out on the ugly as it was a unit.
I will say Brian Ward better be working a scheme that fits the talent of the back 7 better. If we are playing 3 safeties like we did in our base defense the freaking free safety can’t be letting fast wide receivers behind them.

Also we need to tell DBs penalties aren’t bad when you are beat. Bradshaw was beat one play and he took a PI that stopped a TD and that drive for Western stalled and they missed the chip shot FG.

 

[A Clockwork Orange]

Great post. I'm not sure what was going on with Butler, but on one pass from Devito he just straight gave up on the play way too early. He had a 1/2 yard separation from the defender, and stopped running about 10 yards from where the ball landed. Even so, he got to the ball after it bounced on the ground once. If he had run full speed, he had a great chance to get that ball.

Is there a potential rift between upperclassmen, and the younger guys? I can't think of one reason why he would so obviously give up on that ball so early. Not sure what was going on there, and I hate to jump right to the crazy conspiracy theory, but it seemed very strange, both in real time and watching it back.

 

[Newhouser]

Our DBs have no understanding of space and angles. Has been a weakness for years. I also was less than impressed with both lines probably due to the higher expectations.

 

[texascpa]

2 big runs by WMU, IIRC. Whitner stuffed the running back on a 3 and 1. Whitner with the INT and a breakup. Guthrie was sideline to sideline, even had a TFL. I thought the LBs played pretty well understanding we had no clue how they would perform. I was most disappointed with the DL. With the exception of the hit on QB by Slayton that allowed for Whitner's INT, they didn't get much pressure on passing plays.

 

[leftytg]

2 big runs by WMU, IIRC. Whitner stuffed the running back on a 3 and 1. Whitner with the INT and a breakup. Guthrie was sideline to sideline, even had a TFL. I thought the LBs played pretty well understanding we had no clue how they would perform. I was most disappointed with the DL. With the exception of the hit on QB by Slayton that allowed for Whitner's INT, they didn't get much pressure on passing plays.

I thought Alton Robinson was pretty invisible for most of the game.

 

[MikeSU02]

Great post. I'm not sure what was going on with Butler, but on one pass from Devito he just straight gave up on the play way too early. He had a 1/2 yard separation from the defender, and stopped running about 10 yards from where the ball landed. Even so, he got to the ball after it bounced on the ground once. If he had run full speed, he had a great chance to get that ball.

Is there a potential rift between upperclassmen, and the younger guys? I can't think of one reason why he would so obviously give up on that ball so early. Not sure what was going on there, and I hate to jump right to the crazy conspiracy theory, but it seemed very strange, both in real time and watching it back.

Butler has such a good opportunity, but it just feels like he’s giving it away. He has to dig in and make those catches, even if they are tough.

 

[721Comstock]

Butler has such a good opportunity, but it just feels like he’s giving it away. He has to dig in and make those catches, even if they are tough.

Or at least *attempt* to make those catches.
He totally gave up on several throws, and dropped others.

 

[reedny]

Agree with the OP. Not much to complain about with the offense. We ran RPO and they had no answer for Dungey. Once DeVito came in - he had a nice throw over the middle and gained a few first downs on the ground. But clearly his comfort zone is the pocket, where he needs time and targets - neither of which his teammates gave him yesterday. When he did have a chance to throw, he and Butler appeared to be playing in different stadiums.

Special teams were ACC-level all day. Excellent. Our punter is amazing and the new FG kicker seems like money.

Defense was obviously an issue in the second half. Weak performance by our D-ends and our secondary guys not named Fredericks. They took poor tackling angles against WMU's RB (Bellamy). And our safety's - including Cisco - failed to get enough depth against Eskridge and Reed all game. Clearly, we need more speed in the secondary and the sooner we can work Trill and some of the other new guys into the rotation the better.

 

[PhatOrange]

I was disappointed with the safety play.

 

[A Clockwork Orange]

I was disappointed with the safety play.

I think both Cisco and Cordy had a difficult time adjusting to the speed of Eskridge. They were cheating constantly and getting beat because they couldn't get back over the top quickly enough. Hopefully it's a lesson learned for both of them moving forward.

 

[reedny]

I think both Cisco and Cordy had a difficult time adjusting to the speed of Eskridge. They were cheating constantly and getting beat because they couldn't get back over the top quickly enough. Hopefully it's a lesson learned for both of them moving forward.

Cordy needs PT. He has the skills and knows the game .. he just hasn't played enough. With only a couple games in 2 years, his tackling angles were poor. I think he'll be ok once his legs come back. I'm also giving Cisco a break b/c it's his first game and Eskridge is a load to handle. Cisco was too shallow on deep routes all day and paid the price. He'll learn also. Scoop is another story. He's had his struggles before and was beaten repeatedly by Eskridge. I think we'll see Trill getting more reps out there - which is a good thing. Time for our young talent to step up. With ACC receivers being just as fast (and probably bigger), we need speed in the defensive secondary like oxygen.

 

[P Vasiloff]

2 big runs by WMU, IIRC. Whitner stuffed the running back on a 3 and 1. Whitner with the INT and a breakup. Guthrie was sideline to sideline, even had a TFL. I thought the LBs played pretty well understanding we had no clue how they would perform. I was most disappointed with the DL. With the exception of the hit on QB by Slayton that allowed for Whitner's INT, they didn't get much pressure on passing plays.

Robinson was the invisible man!

 

[OttoinGrotto]

I was disappointed with the safety play.

On the plus side, Thong Song did hang on to that tip drill interception.

Seems like we normally drop those.

 

[PhatOrange]

Cordy needs PT. He has the skills and knows the game .. he just hasn't played enough. His tackling angles were poor on their speed guys but he'll be ok. I'm also giving Cisco a break b/c it's his first game and Eskridge is a load to handle. Cisco was too shallow on deep routes all day and paid the price. He'll learn also. Scoop is another story. He's had his struggles before and got burned repeatedly against Eskridge. I think we'll see Trill getting more reps out there - which is a good thing. TIme for the young talent to step up. We need speed in the defensive secondary.

That dude was just running a straight fly and he blew by the coverage. I watched Scoop backpedal and by the time he turned to run, the kid was at full speed and gone. Trill might’ve had trouble with it to. Plus he was supposed to have deep safety help and the WR ran by that to. It was discouraging we didn’t adjust. I think the safety and ward were just as culpable

 

[reedny]

That dude was just running a straight fly and he blew by the coverage. I watched Scoop backpedal and by the time he turned to run, the kid was at full speed and gone. Trill might’ve had trouble with it to. Plus he was supposed to have deep safety help and the WR ran by that to. It was discouraging we didn’t adjust. I think the safety and ward were just as culpable

No doubt our safeties needed to give WMU's jet-fast WR's a LOT more room. Hard to believe Ward didn't warn Cicso and Foster to do that - Eskridge is one of the fastest players in CFB. I think both Monroe and Ward were on the sidelines. Lots of red flags about execution and coaching after those 3Q chunk plays.

A lot of it was not being prepared for Eskridge's incredible wheels. Hats off to the kid. He can fly. Unfortunately as you mention, Scoop's pretty good covering underneath routes but is way too slow turning his hips to stick to a go-route by the other team's world-class field stretcher. Maybe Fredericks would have been a better choice there ... so Scoop could cover Harris (who ran mostly in/out routes).

 

[Ish88888]

Our DBs have no understanding of space and angles. Has been a weakness for years. I also was less than impressed with both lines probably due to the higher expectations.

Spot on, who is our db coach? Monroe, correct? Playing 3 safeties at times we got thrown over and guys running by with poor angles way too much. Love Monroe as a recruiter, but we need to see more fundamental and technical play in the secondary.

 

[upperdeck]

and why does every assume they coaches didnt tell the kids exactly what they should have been doing?

 

[007]

and why does every assume they coaches didnt tell the kids exactly what they should have been doing?

There are only a select few - I hope - who think this simplistically.

 

[Chip]

and why does every assume they coaches didnt tell the kids exactly what they should have been doing?

We tend to make the same mistakes a lot, so I don't think it's crazy to wonder.

 

[shu 49]

I see it as the players aren’t flipping their hips fast enough and we are deciding to run with them too late. Oh and their 2 receivers are really fast but we made it look worse by not turning quick enough. Cordy was just bad on pass plays, Bradshaw needs to not get beat deep or move to nickel and Trill needs to play more. If Cisco was suppos3d to cf then he needs to get his ars back way faster and deeper or play Clarke could also put foster at nickel, he took one bad angle on first touchdown series but was much better in run support than last year.

 

[SoBristol]

…..

Defense was obviously an issue in the second half. Weak performance by our D-ends and our secondary guys not named Fredericks. ...

Funny -- cause we don't have anyone named Fredericks. Our RB with that name is at U Mass. And our DB is Chris Fredrick.

 

[SmilinBob]

WMU can run and pass with a QB that can move enough in the pocket and for a run. That combo is tough for any team to play D against and the SU D at this point is not talented enough to stop that...right now. Was the DL just playing the run and when it was a pass just bull rush? If so, WMU matched up with that very well with good solid OL play once they decided to open it up.

Cordy has to get his sea legs and there was one play in particular on a long run by WMU he pinched on the other side of the ball was was completely out of the play.. I know he'll bounce back.

 

[Bambrewer]

So I’ve gone back and forth or posting this about a million times and slept on it a couple nights and have come to the conclusion of it doesn’t matter if I do or not so here it is.

I’ll tell you what bothered me about the defense the other night.

First yes my son didn’t play and I’m ticked about that. Shy was built for stopping runs and getting after qaurter backs. At first glance the linebackers seemed to have played well but watching the game a few times and rewatching some of the big plays there was mistakes made by linebackers that gave up those really big plays. A few things happened that were really positives so it hides those mistakes but without those mistakes that game would have looked much different.
Second we are doing the same thing we did last year. 3 guys all game. You can’t complain about depth and experience if you don’t put the younger guys in when you are up huge. If you don’t give the rest of the roster a shot and give your starters a rest during those times you WILL NEVER HAVE EXPERIENCE OR DEPTH. What are they going to do if one of the guys god forbid gets hurt? Put a guy out there with 0 play time and talk about experience... that’s on you coach.
Now I have inside knowledge of course and as usual I won’t discuss the behind the scenes stuff I know but I have a lot more about this that has made me mad but from just a general watching the game point anyone can see what I just talked about and as far as I can see unless things change we are heading towards the same performance we saw last year when the 3 starters. Got beat up and tired. Let’s hope things change

 

[SmilinBob]

The position coaches are responsible for who they sub, Correct?

 

[Bambrewer]

The position coaches are responsible for who they sub, Correct?

I assume Dino has ultimate control but yes on the position coach and coordinators are the first decision makers