Let me start by stating that I was upset with the coaching search after Richt retired. Mario was number one on my list because he recruited at Oregon after Willie T left and a 7-6 season. Oregon was 9-4 last season and he has Miami ties. Any "search" was non-existent and the dude should have been interviewed. Any program needs recruiting.
That being said, I hold no grudge against Manny and rooting for him 100%. It is just hard to succeed as a first time HC at a big time program. It has been done, but VERY rare.
Going into this season my number one hope was to have 9 or 10 win season, that can help give the coaches something to pitch in recruiting. Manny won't be able to recruit based on clout as a first time HC, he needs results to aide his TNM sell to keep the big fish home and keep bringing the brevin jordan's of the world in. It's about Recruiting, recruiting, recruiting.
Now for some other areas of concern/progress:
1. Jarren. I like Jarren, he has shown improvement, but still holds on to the ball too long at times. Rewatching CMU game, there were too many occasions Jarren had an open 5 yard receiver with some space and he let the pressure get to him. Oline was horrible, but Jarren still has room to grow. We need to see the growth, it isn't going to just happen because he is a first time starter and young (like some seem to think).
2. Oline - Zion Nelson should not be starting, but our Recruiting (key word in this post) failures have thrust him out there. That's not to say he won't be a solid starter at some point in his career, but year one it isn't happening. Same with Jakai Clark. Both have some good plays, but if we
are honest it has been mostly bad. Jalen Rivers is the most important recruit this class (and that's a problem, should have at least 2 or 3 players his caliber every cycle). I hope to see Zion and Jakai progress, so we have something to look forward to next season, but not holding my breath. This unit is holding this team back, it cannot be said enough. This is one area our team is below the conference average in talent, and unfortunately for us, it is one of the most important position groups.
3. Dline rotation - Patch is solid, but his mistakes last game hopefully open the door for GR and TH. We need guys who can make big plays (TFLs, and strip sacks) and these guys are the ones to help us do it. Having Nesta back sometime next month should help inside but the DT play has been average, not a real liabiility but pretty MEH. The Edge rushers should be better with personnel changes rest of the season IMO.
4. Back 7 in pass coverage - I was glad to see Gurvan Hall play well (PFF agrees with what my eyes saw, 87 grade on 68 snaps) and we can only wait and see if bolden is the upgrade many expect (Going to take a few games before coaches give him significant burn I suspect). But the LB's stink against traditional routes (pretty good against screens). Amari Carter is often out of position and refuses to wrap up. Knowles is limited. Corners have been average, even Bandy has not been himself. That said, Redwine's first year the secondary looked suspect early in the season and was far better conference play later that year (and horrible against Clemson). But this unit should be good enough to win games.
5. Coaches. Manny's staff needs to Recruit. Maybe these underrated guys are all greg rousseau types, but I'm not buying it. First they need to win. After that crap performance on Saturday, Manny has called out the preparation of the team. If that happens again, it is on him and the staff. These players should be dying to win for him. He is a player's coach. That is supposed to be his strength. Inexcusable. To me, a 35-21 win would have been disappointing, so would have been a 28-0 win. But what happened on Saturday was beyond disappointing. It was HORRIBLE.
Dan Enos has been an upgrade from last year. No doubt about it. More motion (everyone wanted that last season), great route concepts and the QB play is best it has been since Kaaya, and may get better still. The RPO game has been quite successful but not called frequently enough. But there are a number of concerns here as well:
- 3rd and long play action with this Oline?
- Bunch formations most of the time (I'm okay with it for a quarter of the snaps, but it is almost exclusively tight)
- Not consistent enough help for the oline on play actions.
- lack of noticeable adjustments (maybe I'm wrong here, but adjusting to player skill sets was supposed to Enos' thing according to the offseason hype).
All that being said, this team is only needs a little quicker decision making from Jarren, or a little more help to the tackles, or a little more use of explosive talent like Mark Pope, to win 9 or 10 games. That is improvement enough to give the coaches ammo in recruiting and that is what this program needs. That is what we should all be hoping for because, like it or not, this staff is here for the next 3 years. I'd rather see them succeed and this program get back to where it belongs than wait for another coaching change.
Saturday was a major cause for concern, but it does not automatically determine the rest of the season and the fate of this staff. Go Canes!
That being said, I hold no grudge against Manny and rooting for him 100%. It is just hard to succeed as a first time HC at a big time program. It has been done, but VERY rare.
Going into this season my number one hope was to have 9 or 10 win season, that can help give the coaches something to pitch in recruiting. Manny won't be able to recruit based on clout as a first time HC, he needs results to aide his TNM sell to keep the big fish home and keep bringing the brevin jordan's of the world in. It's about Recruiting, recruiting, recruiting.
Now for some other areas of concern/progress:
1. Jarren. I like Jarren, he has shown improvement, but still holds on to the ball too long at times. Rewatching CMU game, there were too many occasions Jarren had an open 5 yard receiver with some space and he let the pressure get to him. Oline was horrible, but Jarren still has room to grow. We need to see the growth, it isn't going to just happen because he is a first time starter and young (like some seem to think).
2. Oline - Zion Nelson should not be starting, but our Recruiting (key word in this post) failures have thrust him out there. That's not to say he won't be a solid starter at some point in his career, but year one it isn't happening. Same with Jakai Clark. Both have some good plays, but if we
are honest it has been mostly bad. Jalen Rivers is the most important recruit this class (and that's a problem, should have at least 2 or 3 players his caliber every cycle). I hope to see Zion and Jakai progress, so we have something to look forward to next season, but not holding my breath. This unit is holding this team back, it cannot be said enough. This is one area our team is below the conference average in talent, and unfortunately for us, it is one of the most important position groups.
3. Dline rotation - Patch is solid, but his mistakes last game hopefully open the door for GR and TH. We need guys who can make big plays (TFLs, and strip sacks) and these guys are the ones to help us do it. Having Nesta back sometime next month should help inside but the DT play has been average, not a real liabiility but pretty MEH. The Edge rushers should be better with personnel changes rest of the season IMO.
4. Back 7 in pass coverage - I was glad to see Gurvan Hall play well (PFF agrees with what my eyes saw, 87 grade on 68 snaps) and we can only wait and see if bolden is the upgrade many expect (Going to take a few games before coaches give him significant burn I suspect). But the LB's stink against traditional routes (pretty good against screens). Amari Carter is often out of position and refuses to wrap up. Knowles is limited. Corners have been average, even Bandy has not been himself. That said, Redwine's first year the secondary looked suspect early in the season and was far better conference play later that year (and horrible against Clemson). But this unit should be good enough to win games.
5. Coaches. Manny's staff needs to Recruit. Maybe these underrated guys are all greg rousseau types, but I'm not buying it. First they need to win. After that crap performance on Saturday, Manny has called out the preparation of the team. If that happens again, it is on him and the staff. These players should be dying to win for him. He is a player's coach. That is supposed to be his strength. Inexcusable. To me, a 35-21 win would have been disappointing, so would have been a 28-0 win. But what happened on Saturday was beyond disappointing. It was HORRIBLE.
Dan Enos has been an upgrade from last year. No doubt about it. More motion (everyone wanted that last season), great route concepts and the QB play is best it has been since Kaaya, and may get better still. The RPO game has been quite successful but not called frequently enough. But there are a number of concerns here as well:
- 3rd and long play action with this Oline?
- Bunch formations most of the time (I'm okay with it for a quarter of the snaps, but it is almost exclusively tight)
- Not consistent enough help for the oline on play actions.
- lack of noticeable adjustments (maybe I'm wrong here, but adjusting to player skill sets was supposed to Enos' thing according to the offseason hype).
All that being said, this team is only needs a little quicker decision making from Jarren, or a little more help to the tackles, or a little more use of explosive talent like Mark Pope, to win 9 or 10 games. That is improvement enough to give the coaches ammo in recruiting and that is what this program needs. That is what we should all be hoping for because, like it or not, this staff is here for the next 3 years. I'd rather see them succeed and this program get back to where it belongs than wait for another coaching change.
Saturday was a major cause for concern, but it does not automatically determine the rest of the season and the fate of this staff. Go Canes!
