I sure felt like I got punched in the stomach last night around 11:00 PM Central Time. I did my usual post-game loss ritual and sat in my room with all the lights off and stared into darkness with the not so occasional man-tear falling from my eyes. For whatever reason, this seems to help and I felt okay enough to try to get in bed and catch a few hours of sleep. 30 minutes later, laying there thinking about what the rest of the season holds, I decided to review the game at that time rather than waiting and watching it the next day as I usually do. I am just going to list some observations that I had- hopefully this will be therapeutic. These are in no way intended to be excuses, just preliminary jumbled thoughts that I have. I want to say congratulations to Miami- you played a heck of a game. Off we go:
-Very, very disappointed with Mickey Andrews and the defense.
- Ochuco Jenije looks completely scared and intimidated out there playing boundary corner opposite of Patrick Robinson. And we will return to this, but why in the world is he returning punts? I also was very disappointed in Patrick Robinson. The guy is supposed to be all world, but he had a few mishaps that were very costing. Take a good angle and make a sure tackle and we would have had a huge stop on a third down. Anyway, not worried about him in the long run.
- Korey Mangum (although a Texas Native) has me bumfuzzled as to how he received a scholarship and the coaches have me even more bumfuzzled as to why you would move a senior corner back to play free safety. It just doesn't add up.
- We had absolutely zero pass rush last night. We are completely undersized on the interior of the defensive line. I am putting a lot of faith in the 5 star billing of Jacoby McDaniel and hope he proves that an undersized defensive tackle can produce. I would also like to see Moses McCray step his game up a little bit. Odell Haggins has to take some responsibility here. Do us a favor and don't take another 5 years off before you decide to recruit a d-linemen that is worth a damn.
-Craig Yarbourough? Very nice story. In case you missed it, he went to TCC for two years from 06-07. Yes, Tallahassee Community College. He then transfers, walks on, redshirts, and STARTS and PLAYS significant minutes in the tone-setting game of the season. Look, I am all in favor of the "Rudy" moments, and he played hard, but lets save these emo moments for next week against Jacksonville State. We are supposed to have two young studs in Toshmon Stevens and Everette Dawkins and they see very limited action? Jody Allen- how do you have a job? I have a vision of you ending up at Northern Alabama in the future with the other Florida State Outcasts.
-Jody Allen. Jody Allen. Our beloved "Special Teams Coordinator". Let me save the suspense- they ain't very special. Somebody, anybody, PLEASE explain our punt formation. WHY? This fucking gimmick shit has to go. If you wanted to run a fake punt, how could you possibly do it out of this formation? I realize that this formation is supposed to allow for the rugby style punt, but we didn't do that. I get terrified every time we snap it and let the 3 guys run full speed into the wall 4 feet in front of the punter. Our kick coverage was awful. Terrible. Craig Cooper ran wild on us on kick offs. Dustin Hopkins- very proud of you. And I am quite confident that Jody Allen doesn't have much to do with your kicking abilities. With the exception of your mistimed extra point, very pleased. Greg Reid- great job returning the ball. You're a little spark plug. Soon, you will be renamed to Greg F. Reid. One smart thing Coach Allen did (it probably wasn't his idea) was move Greg F. Reid to the up man on the kick off so that someone other than a bumbling, fumbling walk on would get the squib kick. Once again, our special teams weren't very special.
-Greg F. Reid. The guy is a player. 3 solo tackles, an intercept as Coach Mickey Andrews calls it, a forced interception where he almost took Jacory Harris' arm off, and great kick returns. Why he isn't returning punts for Jenije is beyond me. My favorite thing about him was that he said after the game that on his interception he was out of place and missed an assignment. This is beautiful. We need more of this. Someone with a knack for the football going to make a play even if it means he may or may not be out of position. Play with instinct sometimes fellas. Greg F. Reid has the ability to do this. Expect him to start in the base defense this weekend. Really excited about this kid's future.
-This next observation has me a little perplexed. The 1-5-5 defense. One down lineman, 5 backers, 5 defensive backs. Supposedly Coach Andrews got this idea from Bill Belichick, the mad genius himself. I really don't know what to think about this and therefore don't have much to say. It was really weird. I need to see this formation a few more times to develop an opinion, but I sure do miss the days when we could line up in a base 4-3 and apply pressure and play man coverage and not give up 17 big plays a game. Stay tuned on the 1-5-5 also known as The Prowler. Great name by the way.
-Christian Ponder. Really, really pleased. I think he really only made two mistakes. One on the option that was run with 23 seconds left and the other just throwing it low and late to Jarmon on the last play, but I am NOT going to dwell on these. He has confidence. He has a calmness about him that, quite frankly, hasn't been present in a Nole signal caller in recent memory- probably not since the Weinke. You could call the interception before the half a mistake, but I don't consider it one. He was late on the throw, but not gonna dwell on this one too much. He also threw some great balls that could have sealed the game. The one to Jarmon at the corner of the pylon was a perfectly thrown ball that could have put the game away early in the 4th quarter. I thought CP was very accurate and very collected in the pocket- he wasn't looking to bail like he did at times last year. He trusted his pocket and made some great throws.
-A few quick thoughts on Jarmon Fortson. I really truly believe that he will be a dominant receiver before his time at Florida State is done. Everything you hear about him is that he is at times unstoppable in practice and we are just awaiting to see it in the game. Last night he had some drops, but I'm not too worried. I think Jimbo showed great confidence in him and showed everyone that he is our main receiver by going to him constantly when the game is on the line. Keep your head up Jarmon. Learn from this.
-Very, very disappointed with Mickey Andrews and the defense.
- Ochuco Jenije looks completely scared and intimidated out there playing boundary corner opposite of Patrick Robinson. And we will return to this, but why in the world is he returning punts? I also was very disappointed in Patrick Robinson. The guy is supposed to be all world, but he had a few mishaps that were very costing. Take a good angle and make a sure tackle and we would have had a huge stop on a third down. Anyway, not worried about him in the long run.
- Korey Mangum (although a Texas Native) has me bumfuzzled as to how he received a scholarship and the coaches have me even more bumfuzzled as to why you would move a senior corner back to play free safety. It just doesn't add up.
- We had absolutely zero pass rush last night. We are completely undersized on the interior of the defensive line. I am putting a lot of faith in the 5 star billing of Jacoby McDaniel and hope he proves that an undersized defensive tackle can produce. I would also like to see Moses McCray step his game up a little bit. Odell Haggins has to take some responsibility here. Do us a favor and don't take another 5 years off before you decide to recruit a d-linemen that is worth a damn.
-Craig Yarbourough? Very nice story. In case you missed it, he went to TCC for two years from 06-07. Yes, Tallahassee Community College. He then transfers, walks on, redshirts, and STARTS and PLAYS significant minutes in the tone-setting game of the season. Look, I am all in favor of the "Rudy" moments, and he played hard, but lets save these emo moments for next week against Jacksonville State. We are supposed to have two young studs in Toshmon Stevens and Everette Dawkins and they see very limited action? Jody Allen- how do you have a job? I have a vision of you ending up at Northern Alabama in the future with the other Florida State Outcasts.
-Jody Allen. Jody Allen. Our beloved "Special Teams Coordinator". Let me save the suspense- they ain't very special. Somebody, anybody, PLEASE explain our punt formation. WHY? This fucking gimmick shit has to go. If you wanted to run a fake punt, how could you possibly do it out of this formation? I realize that this formation is supposed to allow for the rugby style punt, but we didn't do that. I get terrified every time we snap it and let the 3 guys run full speed into the wall 4 feet in front of the punter. Our kick coverage was awful. Terrible. Craig Cooper ran wild on us on kick offs. Dustin Hopkins- very proud of you. And I am quite confident that Jody Allen doesn't have much to do with your kicking abilities. With the exception of your mistimed extra point, very pleased. Greg Reid- great job returning the ball. You're a little spark plug. Soon, you will be renamed to Greg F. Reid. One smart thing Coach Allen did (it probably wasn't his idea) was move Greg F. Reid to the up man on the kick off so that someone other than a bumbling, fumbling walk on would get the squib kick. Once again, our special teams weren't very special.
-Greg F. Reid. The guy is a player. 3 solo tackles, an intercept as Coach Mickey Andrews calls it, a forced interception where he almost took Jacory Harris' arm off, and great kick returns. Why he isn't returning punts for Jenije is beyond me. My favorite thing about him was that he said after the game that on his interception he was out of place and missed an assignment. This is beautiful. We need more of this. Someone with a knack for the football going to make a play even if it means he may or may not be out of position. Play with instinct sometimes fellas. Greg F. Reid has the ability to do this. Expect him to start in the base defense this weekend. Really excited about this kid's future.
-This next observation has me a little perplexed. The 1-5-5 defense. One down lineman, 5 backers, 5 defensive backs. Supposedly Coach Andrews got this idea from Bill Belichick, the mad genius himself. I really don't know what to think about this and therefore don't have much to say. It was really weird. I need to see this formation a few more times to develop an opinion, but I sure do miss the days when we could line up in a base 4-3 and apply pressure and play man coverage and not give up 17 big plays a game. Stay tuned on the 1-5-5 also known as The Prowler. Great name by the way.
-Christian Ponder. Really, really pleased. I think he really only made two mistakes. One on the option that was run with 23 seconds left and the other just throwing it low and late to Jarmon on the last play, but I am NOT going to dwell on these. He has confidence. He has a calmness about him that, quite frankly, hasn't been present in a Nole signal caller in recent memory- probably not since the Weinke. You could call the interception before the half a mistake, but I don't consider it one. He was late on the throw, but not gonna dwell on this one too much. He also threw some great balls that could have sealed the game. The one to Jarmon at the corner of the pylon was a perfectly thrown ball that could have put the game away early in the 4th quarter. I thought CP was very accurate and very collected in the pocket- he wasn't looking to bail like he did at times last year. He trusted his pocket and made some great throws.
-A few quick thoughts on Jarmon Fortson. I really truly believe that he will be a dominant receiver before his time at Florida State is done. Everything you hear about him is that he is at times unstoppable in practice and we are just awaiting to see it in the game. Last night he had some drops, but I'm not too worried. I think Jimbo showed great confidence in him and showed everyone that he is our main receiver by going to him constantly when the game is on the line. Keep your head up Jarmon. Learn from this.
-I surprisingly thought the officials were very good. There were a few holding calls that I thought were missed, but that's going to occur every game. It did look to me that there was one or two seconds left after the last play (see above), but other than that, thought it was a very well, balanced, and fairly officiated performance.
-Trick Daddy's Unit. Incredible how good the pass pro was. With the exception of a holding call on Ryan McMahon and the sack given up by Zebrie Sanders that caused a fumble, the offensive line did a really good job. I am a little concerned about the lack of a running game as I thought this would be our decisive advantage over the Hurricanes. The 4th quarter showed we have the ability to do it, and I truly believe we will be a great running team this season. If the running game clicks with this passing game, we will have a salty offense folks.
-Not a huge fan of "The Pistol" offense, but it worked out okay. Bottom line, I really feel comfortable with Jimbo's offense so I will put my trust in him on this one. If he likes it, I can live with it. One thing I did not like though was our option plays. I really don't think we are a generic option running team out of the traditional I-formation. But once again, I trust Jimbo. At first glance last night I was furious at the option call from the 4 with 23 tics left, but after reviewing the game, it was there. Carlton "Ty" Jones walks into end zone untouched if the pitch is made. One of the few mistakes on Ponder's part. Ty Jones is a hard runner and I look forward to his continuous development. Jermain Thomas didn't look like the JT of last year. Also look forward to seeing some of J. Pressley, Lonnie Pryor, and Chris Thompson. The running backs also were great blockers last night.
-The Doak looked rocking last night. There were probably around 1,000 empty seats but that's understandable due to the economic climate and the Monday night game. Crowd did a great job of being loud. I just hope Seminole Nation doesn't give up on this team and start giving half ass attendance the rest of the year just because one ball didn't fall our way.
-It's time to give Jimbo the decision making on the defensive staff. He has shown that his offense is there. We looked leaps and bounds better than we EVER looked under Jeff Bowden last night. Bobby, I want you to stay on as long as you want, but let Jimbo decide who is going to coach his defense. Mickey is a great Seminole and the program wouldn't be where it is without him, but he has lost his touch. We haven't recruited well on that side of the ball in a few years and it is showing. Maybe some new blood and some new schemes would go a long way to bringing back the Seminole Defense.
-Overall, pleased with the linebackers. Dekoda could have won the game with the sack on Harris on third down if he could have hold on, but give credit to Jacory on that one. Nigel Bradham is a beast. Kendall Smith was surprisingly quiet last night-maybe because he changed his number to 29 and I kept looking for 41 out there. And once again defensive staff, why is Smith playing corner back after a timeout? How does that happen? He gets burned by Cooper for the td. I just don't understand. I am not too worried about this position. We have a lot of talent here with more coming in next year.
-I felt it at the time, and it came to fruition. The burned time out to call the two-point play after the caused interception by Greg F. Reid and the ensuing return for the touchdown by Markus White (another relatively silent performance that bothered me) hurt in the end. I hate using time-outs for stuff like this. Jimbo should already have the two point play ready that he wants knowing that we will have to go for two at some point. No need to waste a time out there in my opinion.
-Now to clock management. There are a lot of people out there blaming this loss on clock management. I understand this point of view but don't agree with it. Yes, the clock management could have been significantly better, but so could have a lot of things. If we had kept the other time out you can call a run at the end of the game instead of throwing it three times from the 2, but we didn't have it. The one huge "what the hell" that happened was when Jimbo called CP7 to the sideline in between plays with the clock running. Yes, we could have had better clock management, but also, we had 2 chances to score in the last series with the Ty Jones ghost option pitch and Jarmon and Christian's execution on the last play.
-With the exception of a few routes that seemed to be cut short, I was very pleased with our receiver by committee. All of the "experts" said we don't have any stars at the wide out position, and they might be right, but we sure do have 7 or 8 capable receivers on our squad that are going to produce. Really happy to see Taiwan Easterling out there after a brutal Achilles injury in the off season. Really excited about this group as a whole. Also, great blocking by this group the entire game.
-The Tight End! For the second game in a row (going back to the bowl game) a tight end has caught a touchdown pass! I am not sure that has happened in the last 10 years- 2 games in a row with a tight end touchdown. My only complain is we didn't throw to Caz, Jabarris, or Beau enough. Get them the ball. They present a mismatch with their size and hands. They also have shown to be solid blockers. Really pleased with the tight end. Did we even have a tight end with Jeffey calling the plays?
These have just been some preliminary thoughts to last night's game after 2 viewings. I am sure I am missing some observations and maybe have some over-the-top observations that probably weren't as bad as I thought. Anyway, it sure was a game to remember. An Instant Classic. Once again, I'd like to congratulate the Miami team for a hell of a game.
I went to bed around 3:30 last night and slept until about 5:00. When I woke up, I didn't feel like I got punched in the stomach like I did when I had gone to bed- I felt like life was over. It was the most empty feeling I have felt in a long, long time. I then thought about the next course of action, and it was easy to see that I just needed to stick behind these guys. Your true character reveals itself in times of adversity. And like Rocky Balboa says- it ain't about how hard you hit, it's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward- about how much you can take and keep moving forward. I have no doubt that we will keep moving forward. I am hurting right now, but this hurt will relieve itself later on down the line. I cannot wait to get back on the field Saturday evening against Jacksonville St. This team is the most important thing in my life, and I'll be damned if one loss makes that waver. I'll be here through the tough times. It is these tough times that make the good times even more worth while. Everyone Bleeds Garnet and Pisses Gold.
Go Noles.
-A Safety in Football
-Trick Daddy's Unit. Incredible how good the pass pro was. With the exception of a holding call on Ryan McMahon and the sack given up by Zebrie Sanders that caused a fumble, the offensive line did a really good job. I am a little concerned about the lack of a running game as I thought this would be our decisive advantage over the Hurricanes. The 4th quarter showed we have the ability to do it, and I truly believe we will be a great running team this season. If the running game clicks with this passing game, we will have a salty offense folks.
-Not a huge fan of "The Pistol" offense, but it worked out okay. Bottom line, I really feel comfortable with Jimbo's offense so I will put my trust in him on this one. If he likes it, I can live with it. One thing I did not like though was our option plays. I really don't think we are a generic option running team out of the traditional I-formation. But once again, I trust Jimbo. At first glance last night I was furious at the option call from the 4 with 23 tics left, but after reviewing the game, it was there. Carlton "Ty" Jones walks into end zone untouched if the pitch is made. One of the few mistakes on Ponder's part. Ty Jones is a hard runner and I look forward to his continuous development. Jermain Thomas didn't look like the JT of last year. Also look forward to seeing some of J. Pressley, Lonnie Pryor, and Chris Thompson. The running backs also were great blockers last night.
-The Doak looked rocking last night. There were probably around 1,000 empty seats but that's understandable due to the economic climate and the Monday night game. Crowd did a great job of being loud. I just hope Seminole Nation doesn't give up on this team and start giving half ass attendance the rest of the year just because one ball didn't fall our way.
-It's time to give Jimbo the decision making on the defensive staff. He has shown that his offense is there. We looked leaps and bounds better than we EVER looked under Jeff Bowden last night. Bobby, I want you to stay on as long as you want, but let Jimbo decide who is going to coach his defense. Mickey is a great Seminole and the program wouldn't be where it is without him, but he has lost his touch. We haven't recruited well on that side of the ball in a few years and it is showing. Maybe some new blood and some new schemes would go a long way to bringing back the Seminole Defense.
-Overall, pleased with the linebackers. Dekoda could have won the game with the sack on Harris on third down if he could have hold on, but give credit to Jacory on that one. Nigel Bradham is a beast. Kendall Smith was surprisingly quiet last night-maybe because he changed his number to 29 and I kept looking for 41 out there. And once again defensive staff, why is Smith playing corner back after a timeout? How does that happen? He gets burned by Cooper for the td. I just don't understand. I am not too worried about this position. We have a lot of talent here with more coming in next year.
-I felt it at the time, and it came to fruition. The burned time out to call the two-point play after the caused interception by Greg F. Reid and the ensuing return for the touchdown by Markus White (another relatively silent performance that bothered me) hurt in the end. I hate using time-outs for stuff like this. Jimbo should already have the two point play ready that he wants knowing that we will have to go for two at some point. No need to waste a time out there in my opinion.
-Now to clock management. There are a lot of people out there blaming this loss on clock management. I understand this point of view but don't agree with it. Yes, the clock management could have been significantly better, but so could have a lot of things. If we had kept the other time out you can call a run at the end of the game instead of throwing it three times from the 2, but we didn't have it. The one huge "what the hell" that happened was when Jimbo called CP7 to the sideline in between plays with the clock running. Yes, we could have had better clock management, but also, we had 2 chances to score in the last series with the Ty Jones ghost option pitch and Jarmon and Christian's execution on the last play.
-With the exception of a few routes that seemed to be cut short, I was very pleased with our receiver by committee. All of the "experts" said we don't have any stars at the wide out position, and they might be right, but we sure do have 7 or 8 capable receivers on our squad that are going to produce. Really happy to see Taiwan Easterling out there after a brutal Achilles injury in the off season. Really excited about this group as a whole. Also, great blocking by this group the entire game.
-The Tight End! For the second game in a row (going back to the bowl game) a tight end has caught a touchdown pass! I am not sure that has happened in the last 10 years- 2 games in a row with a tight end touchdown. My only complain is we didn't throw to Caz, Jabarris, or Beau enough. Get them the ball. They present a mismatch with their size and hands. They also have shown to be solid blockers. Really pleased with the tight end. Did we even have a tight end with Jeffey calling the plays?
These have just been some preliminary thoughts to last night's game after 2 viewings. I am sure I am missing some observations and maybe have some over-the-top observations that probably weren't as bad as I thought. Anyway, it sure was a game to remember. An Instant Classic. Once again, I'd like to congratulate the Miami team for a hell of a game.
I went to bed around 3:30 last night and slept until about 5:00. When I woke up, I didn't feel like I got punched in the stomach like I did when I had gone to bed- I felt like life was over. It was the most empty feeling I have felt in a long, long time. I then thought about the next course of action, and it was easy to see that I just needed to stick behind these guys. Your true character reveals itself in times of adversity. And like Rocky Balboa says- it ain't about how hard you hit, it's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward- about how much you can take and keep moving forward. I have no doubt that we will keep moving forward. I am hurting right now, but this hurt will relieve itself later on down the line. I cannot wait to get back on the field Saturday evening against Jacksonville St. This team is the most important thing in my life, and I'll be damned if one loss makes that waver. I'll be here through the tough times. It is these tough times that make the good times even more worth while. Everyone Bleeds Garnet and Pisses Gold.
Go Noles.
-A Safety in Football
I admire your ability to take a punch like that (and I've been there before) and still carry on. I'm usually destroyed for a week, miserable and making everyone else around me miserable. I was rooting for FSU and that loss was a really really tough one.
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