Tight End U Returns: The U is about Smashmouth Football

Saturday's victory over Florida State was significant in many ways for a reeling Miami football program. Perhaps the two most notable things were a definite message by Offensive Coordinator Patrick Nix: He wants to run the ball down the opponents throats and he wants to get the Tight Ends involved in Miami's passing game much like past Miami teams were able to do.

The early somewhat surprising decision by Greg Olsen to seek an NFL career left Miami with three inexperienced Tight Ends all of whom had little experience to fall back on. That was obvious early in the season as Miami failed to utilize the Tight End and Miami's Wide Recievers continued their recent subpar play.

But when the chips were down yesterday and Miami needed to win a huge rivalry game, the Canes returned to the well which has yielded so much positive "holy" water in the past. The Tight End. Near the goal line early in the game Richard Gordon got open and was held by an FSU defender. The ACC crew led by Ron Cherry failed to throw a flag but Miami would go back to that twice: once on a fake field goal where DajLeon Farr caught his third TD of the season and most notably on the winning TD when Kirby Freeman found Dedrick Epps all alone in the end zone for six points. Miami's poor red zone offense this season can be attributed directly to the loss of the option of the Tight End, which has been since the days of Glenn Dennsion and Willie Smith, the Canes default go to red zone play.

Back to the Running Game. Miami is a weak team on both sides of the ball, inferior in talent to most ACC opposition. Miami fans don't seem to want to admit this but it is without question the case. Where Miami does have an advantage is along the offensive line (when Jason Fox is healthy) and at the tailback position. After a confusing, error prone first half which found the Canes chasing the game in Tallahassee, Pat Nix and Randy Shannon determined to get back to what Miami can do better than anyone. PLAY SMASHMOUTH FOOTBALL.

The Hurricanes came out in the second half and ran the ball down FSU's throats. Despite being behind Nix, unlike so many of his peers in the business didn't abandon the run- instead he basically abandoned the pass and rededicated the Canes to doing what they can do best. Javarris James ran right through FSU's defense and if not for a fumble by Shawnbrey McNeil, Miami may have been able to continue running right down FSU's throat the rest of the half and kill the game. But Miami's turnover prone offense kept giving FSU good field position and conceding Field Goals to the kid they call weed (Gary Cismesia), but Nix didn't waver from running the ball. By keeping Miami's weary defense on the bench, the Canes D was able to step up and make the big stops when they had to for the victory.

The 37-29 scoreline looks like a shootout, but it wasn't. While FSU has to rely on the pass to make big plays, Miami has been for several years primarily a running team. The problem is Miami has fallen behind so much in games recently that the run was abandoned early for the pass, and Miami predictably lost. What Pat Nix showed us yesterday is even when behind Miami is going to be patient and do what we do best. Run the football and look for the Tight Ends on short patterns. This should also allow Miami to return to a more play action based attack in the future, something I know both Nix and Shannon hope to accomplish before the year ends.

Impressions From the Marshall Game

I'm very mixed about today's performance. I was happy to see the defense make plays and create turnovers, but not happy to see misdirection, and gadget plays out of the shotgun continue to work against this defense. Going back a few years to when Rasheed Marshal of West Virginia used to torch the Hurricanes out of the shotgun on gimmick plays that involved misdirection, Miami's front seven have a problem reading and breaking down these plays. One good thing was that we didn't see the number of mistakes created by over pursuit among our defenders as we have seen in the past. Colin McCarthy was particularly impressive as the strong side outside linebacker.

On offense I think Kirby Freeman proved today that he can manage a game if the gameplan is conservative, but that his decision making and accuracy is very poor. I will be shocked if he can do anything other than minimize mistakes next week in Norman. Perhaps Patrick Nix will put some option plays and bootlegs in the playbook for next week, but Freeman isn't decisive enough to be trusted to make the right decisions on option plays. The running game was solid, with Graig Coope showing flashes of brilliance in his first game and Javarris James dominating between the tackles. This is no surprise as Miami could have similarly dominated on the ground in 2004 and 2005 had then Offensive Coordinator Dan Werner trusted Tyrone Moss and Frank Gore more than he did. The great legacy of Larry Coker's reign with the Hurricanes wasn't simply the slippage in the program but the failure to play to the team's strength as a potentially lethal power running team. Miami's WRs once again proved today that they are average at best and save a nice effort by true Freshman Leonard Hankerson the Hurricanes cannot be considered more than a below average passing team. This means we should continue to see a double dose of Javarris James and Graig Cooper and throw the ball as little as possible. If Miami's line blocks well, the Hurricanes can run the ball down the throat of the opposition and limit turnovers, sacks and the other foolish mistakes the Hurricanes QBs have made over the past five seasons.

A word about the Orange Bowl. I've loved everything the stadium has to offer from atmosphere to great site lines. But today when feeling fatigued in the hot afternoon sun the concessions ran out of water, I was longing for the move to Joe Robbie Stadium. Later the concessions had water, but it was a warm bottle. Once again the Orange Bowl seemed unprepared for a Noon start and with only 39,000 in attendance it is totally unacceptable.

Final Poll Results: Starting Tailback

Who Should Be The Canes Starting Tailback in 2007?
12 (50%)
Javarris James
10 (41%)

Charlie Jones
1 (4%)

Graig Cooper
12 (50%)

Derron Thomas
1 (4%)

Someone Else
0 (0%)

Running Back Situation Open Thread

I noticed we have a close race among the few people who have voted in the poll for Starting RB. Discuss your thoughts in the comments section of this thread.