I finished the recording of the game, but it was a shortened version where ESPN cut out some plays. I may watch the entire game on espn3.com later, but I decided to go ahead and offer my thoughts now.
OFFENSE
-Running game
As I've said before, I've really liked the development of the offensive line and the running game in general. Perry Jones, Keith Payne and Raynard Horne combined for 179 yards on the ground. The Payne-Jones duo is really solid, and something that I think really keeps defenses off balance since they have different styles. As a defense, you don't want to give Payne an opening, or it's all aboard the Pain-Train! When he gets up to full speed, watch out. And Jones is very deceptive with his cuts and jukes--almost Chris Johnson-like. Morgan Moses still really excites me on the line. He could really be a future anchor for the line and a stalwart as Mike London gets his regime under way in the next couple years.
-Passing game
The offensive line has also been really good in pass protection recently. I think Marc Verica has just been sacked once in the past two games, and that was in the Eastern Michigan game. Miami was near the top of the country in sacks so kudos to the line for a terrific game. Speaking of Verica, the Marc Verica circa 2008 four-game winning streak showed up Saturday for the first time in a long while. He's had good games this year, but they were against Richmond, VMI, and EMU. Only one pass--the interception--was poor. Otherwise, he was accurate in both his passes and his decision-making. His pocket awareness also seemed to be sharp. He moved around to get better looks at receivers when he needed to. And what can you say about those two third-down conversions on the final drive? They were extremely clutch, especially the 20-yard gainer on 3rd and 8. For a guy that has been shrouded in negativity recently, those were huge throws and he deserves all the praise in the world for coming through when it mattered most. Those throws were great, right on target, and good job by the receivers to haul those two passes in. I think one was Matt Snyder and the other one was Dontrelle Inman or Kris Burd. The receivers also did a good job all day of getting open and making catches. I don't remember many dropped balls. Colter Phillips is really filling in well for Joe Torchia at TE, too.
-Playcalling
I really like how OC Bill Lazor seemed to keep it simple for Verica. Most of the passes were short and kept within Verica's range. As we've seen, he gets in trouble when trying to push the ball downfield too much. He just isn't that great of a deep threat against fast defenses. The playcalling balance was really good, too. All year, opponents have not known whether we will run or pass, and the number of plays for each is about equal. This probably hasn't mattered as much when we've been far behind, but in games where we've played well, I think it's been a real asset. Miami did not look like the fierce, fast, attacking defense I feared and expected they'd look like, in contrast to FSU's defense. The only play call I truly questioned that stuck out to me was near the end of the game when we just needed to run out the clock. I'm not sure why we got into a shotgun formation and then pitched out to Perry Jones. The Verica-Jones exchange was fumbled but luckily we got the ball back and there was an offsides penalty on Miami. Why we would risk first a shotgun hike, and then a pitch out with the game all but wrapped up is beyond me. But it's ok since we won.
DEFENSE
-Run defense
Obviously, a huge improvement from the defense from basically all the games except for the Richmond and VMI contests. Against EMU, the Hoos allowed 290 rushing yards so I figured we were in real trouble against ACC teams. But we mainly stuffed the run, especially the looks up the middle, where Georgia Tech gashed us for huge gains. Miami was only able to gain 179 yards on the ground, which is awesome when compared to giving up 290 just a week ago against EMU. Night and day difference.
-Pass defense
The pass defense was, of course, phenomenal with Chase Minnifield (2ints), Corey Mosley (2) and Rodney McLeod (1) all getting interceptions. Minnifield's tiptoe interception in the back of the end zone was eye-popping, as was Mosley's dazzling run back on the final interception which set up Payne's second touchdown to go up 24-0.
-One of, if not the biggest play of the game
One of the biggest plays of the game though, in addition to to the picks, was John Kevin Dolce's ferocious and completely legal hit on Jacory Harris, which knocked him out of the game. It changed the complexity of the contest. Who knows? We might have went on and won if he had never gone out, but there's no doubt that Harris never coming back definitely helped us win the game.
-Why so much better on D?
The players' effort on defense is probably not all that was different. DC Jim Reid or London must have made some technique/scheme changes to look that much better. If Reid did something, great job by him. He's come under fire from the fanbase and a little on this blog because some of the atrocious showings his unit has had. If London stepped in and did some things, about time. Our best years defensively under Al Groh were when he was present so I have no doubt that what he saw defensively in the other ACC games was unacceptable.
MIKE LONDON
I almost teared up watching London on the sideline at the end of the game on the recording. Couldn't be happier for someone like him. You could tell how much this win meant to him and how much time, effort and emotion he's put into this football team. The way he motivates the team, and the student body, is special. If you haven't given this article a read then do it: http://www2.timesdispatch.com/sports/college-sports/2010/nov/02/uvaf02-ar-622791/
A few weeks ago, there were reports that some players weren't paying attention in meetings. Then, last week, two players sat out all or portions of the EMU game because of academics. This game against Miami seemed to show that he has control in the locker room and the players seem to respect and respond to him. They don't seem to be giving up on the season, even though the outlook is bleak and it looked like we weren't going to get any more than three wins.
THE BIG PICTURE
No doubt this was a spectacular win. It was nationally televised on ESPN and lots of recruits were present. Hopefully it was one of many building block wins for London. But let's be honest. The fourth quarter was ugly. We need to close out games. The fourth-string quarterback almost won the game for the Canes. There are still lots of problems and we need to get a lot better to get where we were during Groh's best years (nine wins twice) or to where we want to be. Virginia has a tough ACC road game this weekend at Duke. The Blue Devils aren't very good, but they will be hungry and look at the Cavs as their potential ACC win since we have been weak overall. Hopefully, London won't let us have a letdown. The possibility is all too real because we aren't that good and are coming off a big win. We need to focus on this game, this one game, fans as well, as opposed to look at the next three matchups as winnable games (and thus saying we can get to 7-5 and bowl eligible). One game at a time, as usual.
OFFENSE
-Running game
As I've said before, I've really liked the development of the offensive line and the running game in general. Perry Jones, Keith Payne and Raynard Horne combined for 179 yards on the ground. The Payne-Jones duo is really solid, and something that I think really keeps defenses off balance since they have different styles. As a defense, you don't want to give Payne an opening, or it's all aboard the Pain-Train! When he gets up to full speed, watch out. And Jones is very deceptive with his cuts and jukes--almost Chris Johnson-like. Morgan Moses still really excites me on the line. He could really be a future anchor for the line and a stalwart as Mike London gets his regime under way in the next couple years.
-Passing game
The offensive line has also been really good in pass protection recently. I think Marc Verica has just been sacked once in the past two games, and that was in the Eastern Michigan game. Miami was near the top of the country in sacks so kudos to the line for a terrific game. Speaking of Verica, the Marc Verica circa 2008 four-game winning streak showed up Saturday for the first time in a long while. He's had good games this year, but they were against Richmond, VMI, and EMU. Only one pass--the interception--was poor. Otherwise, he was accurate in both his passes and his decision-making. His pocket awareness also seemed to be sharp. He moved around to get better looks at receivers when he needed to. And what can you say about those two third-down conversions on the final drive? They were extremely clutch, especially the 20-yard gainer on 3rd and 8. For a guy that has been shrouded in negativity recently, those were huge throws and he deserves all the praise in the world for coming through when it mattered most. Those throws were great, right on target, and good job by the receivers to haul those two passes in. I think one was Matt Snyder and the other one was Dontrelle Inman or Kris Burd. The receivers also did a good job all day of getting open and making catches. I don't remember many dropped balls. Colter Phillips is really filling in well for Joe Torchia at TE, too.
-Playcalling
I really like how OC Bill Lazor seemed to keep it simple for Verica. Most of the passes were short and kept within Verica's range. As we've seen, he gets in trouble when trying to push the ball downfield too much. He just isn't that great of a deep threat against fast defenses. The playcalling balance was really good, too. All year, opponents have not known whether we will run or pass, and the number of plays for each is about equal. This probably hasn't mattered as much when we've been far behind, but in games where we've played well, I think it's been a real asset. Miami did not look like the fierce, fast, attacking defense I feared and expected they'd look like, in contrast to FSU's defense. The only play call I truly questioned that stuck out to me was near the end of the game when we just needed to run out the clock. I'm not sure why we got into a shotgun formation and then pitched out to Perry Jones. The Verica-Jones exchange was fumbled but luckily we got the ball back and there was an offsides penalty on Miami. Why we would risk first a shotgun hike, and then a pitch out with the game all but wrapped up is beyond me. But it's ok since we won.
DEFENSE
-Run defense
Obviously, a huge improvement from the defense from basically all the games except for the Richmond and VMI contests. Against EMU, the Hoos allowed 290 rushing yards so I figured we were in real trouble against ACC teams. But we mainly stuffed the run, especially the looks up the middle, where Georgia Tech gashed us for huge gains. Miami was only able to gain 179 yards on the ground, which is awesome when compared to giving up 290 just a week ago against EMU. Night and day difference.
-Pass defense
The pass defense was, of course, phenomenal with Chase Minnifield (2ints), Corey Mosley (2) and Rodney McLeod (1) all getting interceptions. Minnifield's tiptoe interception in the back of the end zone was eye-popping, as was Mosley's dazzling run back on the final interception which set up Payne's second touchdown to go up 24-0.
-One of, if not the biggest play of the game
One of the biggest plays of the game though, in addition to to the picks, was John Kevin Dolce's ferocious and completely legal hit on Jacory Harris, which knocked him out of the game. It changed the complexity of the contest. Who knows? We might have went on and won if he had never gone out, but there's no doubt that Harris never coming back definitely helped us win the game.
-Why so much better on D?
The players' effort on defense is probably not all that was different. DC Jim Reid or London must have made some technique/scheme changes to look that much better. If Reid did something, great job by him. He's come under fire from the fanbase and a little on this blog because some of the atrocious showings his unit has had. If London stepped in and did some things, about time. Our best years defensively under Al Groh were when he was present so I have no doubt that what he saw defensively in the other ACC games was unacceptable.
MIKE LONDON
I almost teared up watching London on the sideline at the end of the game on the recording. Couldn't be happier for someone like him. You could tell how much this win meant to him and how much time, effort and emotion he's put into this football team. The way he motivates the team, and the student body, is special. If you haven't given this article a read then do it: http://www2.timesdispatch.com/sports/college-sports/2010/nov/02/uvaf02-ar-622791/
A few weeks ago, there were reports that some players weren't paying attention in meetings. Then, last week, two players sat out all or portions of the EMU game because of academics. This game against Miami seemed to show that he has control in the locker room and the players seem to respect and respond to him. They don't seem to be giving up on the season, even though the outlook is bleak and it looked like we weren't going to get any more than three wins.
THE BIG PICTURE
No doubt this was a spectacular win. It was nationally televised on ESPN and lots of recruits were present. Hopefully it was one of many building block wins for London. But let's be honest. The fourth quarter was ugly. We need to close out games. The fourth-string quarterback almost won the game for the Canes. There are still lots of problems and we need to get a lot better to get where we were during Groh's best years (nine wins twice) or to where we want to be. Virginia has a tough ACC road game this weekend at Duke. The Blue Devils aren't very good, but they will be hungry and look at the Cavs as their potential ACC win since we have been weak overall. Hopefully, London won't let us have a letdown. The possibility is all too real because we aren't that good and are coming off a big win. We need to focus on this game, this one game, fans as well, as opposed to look at the next three matchups as winnable games (and thus saying we can get to 7-5 and bowl eligible). One game at a time, as usual.
glad to get the win, but i agree, that last play call was not necessary.
ReplyDeletegreat showing by the d. although it probably would have been different with harris in the game the whole time, i'll still hand it to them. they played really well.