Random thoughts on Miami/Houston 2006

Miami and Houston faced off yesterday and the Canes prevailed, 14-13. I watched the game on TiVo this morning and actually took it all in - knowing Miami won. Watching it live, I had that "here we go again" feeling down 13-7 in the third quarter. Especially when the Cougars looked like they were a play or so away from making it 20-7.

This wasn't a pretty game by any stretch of the imagination. At times it was downright ugly. Mistakes on both sides of the ball, penalties and no real flow during the second and third quarters. The Canes defense did actually hold their own against statistically the #3 offense in the nation. That said, fans were looking for Miami to set the tone early (they did) and then find their own offensive rhythm against Houston's average defense.

I hope no one was holding their breath.

At day's end, it was a win and it's a building block. What Miami can make out of this, who knows. North Carolina, FIU and Duke are on tap. These three doormats have a combined record of 1-12 -- all but ensuring that the Canes will be 5-2 heading into Atlanta on October 28th. Of course that means little after seeing Georgia Tech smack up Virginia Tech, 38-27. (The Yellow Jackets entered the 4th quarter up 38-13 before letting up.)

Still, sitting at 1-2 the resurgence had to start somewhere. 14-13 against Houston or 41-13 -- the Canes got the "W" on Saturday and now have three more weeks to fine tune before facing Georgia Tech, Virginia, Maryland, Virginia and Boston College five straight weeks.

Some other random thoughts:

>>> I liked the opening drive of this game, but I didn't love it. Javarris James proved he's a special back. Something Miami hasn't seen in four seasons now. It was obvious early on that the Canes were going to prove they could get it done on the ground. The opening drive spanned 80 yards over 7 plays and took just under 3 1/2 minutes. James carried five times for 19 yards and caught a designed 15-yard pass on a 1st and 10 from the 33-yard line. Kyle Wright had a Hail Mary-esque, underthrow 46-yard pass to Lance Leggett, setting the Canes up at the 4-yard line.

In hindsight, the second-biggest offense play of the day and Miami was lucky Leggett readjusted and made the grab as it originally appeared to be nothing more than a poorly thrown pass by Wright.


>>> I wish I had watched Houston against Oklahoma State last weekend. They won 34-25 behind 509 yards of offense on a day where Kevin Kolb threw for 313 yards. He was 21/28 with 4 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. The Cowboys are no offensive juggernaut, but they're a decent Big XII team and that was a good win for the Cougars. Point being, I went into Saturday viewing UH as the same bunch they were in 2004 when the Canes spanked them 38-13. They're a better team than that and conversely, Miami has slipped the past two seasons. This wasn't a huge win - but it was a bigger win than I originally gave it credit for.


>>> Watching the game I swore it seemed Miami was running on every first down. Going back and rewatching the game, Olson actually mixed it up better than I thought. By the end of the third quarter the Canes had run on first down 10 times. They also threw 10 times on first down. The fourth quarter Miami rushed seven times on first down and threw only twice. Still, the run was working and with the lead the Canes coaches were conservative in protecting the lead. Understandable being Miami hadn't scored in the second half of their last five losses.

My only knock - throw to receivers more on first down. Lots of passes were dink & dunk type plays to running backs. I still long to occasionally see a deep ball on first down (show off the receivers speed) or an inside slant - which seem to have disappeared from the Miami playbook when Santana Moss graduated.


>>> Midway through the third quarter, facing a 3rd and 17 deep in the closed end zone, Houston completed a 36-yard pass for a first down. Maybe it's just me, but that play felt like the complete opposite of 3rd and 43 against Notre Dame when Craig Erickson hit Randall Hill in stride, en route to a 27-10 victory of the #1 Fighting Irish.


>>> Regarding the use of fullback, this is James Bryant's time. This reminds me of the D.J. Williams move back in 2000. In an effort to see the field, the then-Canes linebacker switched to offense in an effort to get on the field and help his team. Bryant has seen a similar career thus far. Not high enough on the linebackers depth chart, but more than capable enough of getting it done at fullback. Especially with Jerell Mabry looking sloppy in his limited play thus far in 2006.

I remember a few years back when Bryant and former Cane LB Willie Williams were jawing at practice, needing to be separated. Williams ducked and ran as this season began, but Bryant stuck it out (amid rumors of transferring to Pitt) and proved he's a team player. His third quarter touchdown catch was huge. There was no kid on that field who I wanted to score more than Bryant.

Show him he made the right move switching to offense. Let him get a feel for scoring. Watch him blow up some defenders while opening holes and blocking. Bryant looked fired up late in the game and afterwards. I want to see him incorporated into the game plan similar to the way Quad Hill was used the past few seasons. Bryant's blocking is huge - especially with James at running back. JJ's still working on the blocking. The extra body will help.


>>> 4:10 left in the 3rd quarter and inside the 20-yard line, it looked like a guarantee that Houston would go ahead 20-7. It seemed like another one of those, "here we go again..." moments until Lovon Ponder made the hit, Chavez Grant recovered the fumble and Miami was back in business.

I have no clue how Miami will fare as the season progresses - especially with Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech back-to-back four week from now. IF the Canes do turn things around, the Ponder/Grant play could be viewed as the one which saved the season. Fundamental defense - a Miami staple - saved the day.

The next offensive play, the Canes threw on first down - with Wright hitting Sam Shields for 22-yards. Three plays later, James tore off a 44-yard run to the Cougars' 15-yard line. Bar none the best run I've seen out of any Miami back since 2002. If James has fresh legs, he takes that to the house - but the coaches ran him too hard the first half. Much like they did Tyrone Moss at Florida State last season.

Par for the course the play was followed by a holding penalty, a dropped pass by Greg Olsen and another Wright sack had the Canes facing a familiar 3rd and long (24 yards, to be exact).

In what was the MOST important offensive play of the game, Wright hit Leggett for 27 yards - down to the Houston 2-yard line. Wright threw the ball before Leggett even broke and although it wasn't perfect, it was effectively placed. A play later, Wright dumps it off to Bryant for what proved to be the game winner.

From the Ponder/Grant fumble play up to the Bryant touchdown - a lot was accomplished over the next four minutes of football. Miami needs to build on that.


>>> The defensive line brought the thunder this past week. Keep it up because you're going to need to double that effort in a month at Georgia Tech. Reggie Ball and Calvin Johnson look scary. The Canes front four are going to have rattle Ball's cage if Miami is even THINKING upset.


>>> Regarding Larry Coker's decision to go for it on 4th and Inches... anyone who calls this a 'gutsy' play needs to have their head examined. As the play began to unfold, part of me thought "kick the ball" and let the defense do their job. Then it quickly hit me that this team was 1-2 and if they couldn't pick up the three inches, they deserve to be 1-3. Coker's decision to go for it was really the only option. It was one out of desperation. There was nothing ballsy about it. I'm amazed some in the local media (Edwin Pope) are giving Coker such praise for the decision and the win.

Ballsy is Tommy Tuberville going with the onside kick against South Carolina last Thursday night. Up 17-10 on the road, midway through the third quarter, Tuberville had his team go with an onside kick. He felt the Gamecocks' defense was on the ropes and he wanted to deliver the knockout blow. The Tigers recoverd, went up 24-10 on that possession and barely held on to win 24-17.

THAT'S ballsy. Going for it on 4th and Inches at home against Houston with a 1-point lead? That's expected.


>>> Jon Peattie, please get it together. This is embarrassing, my man. What happened to the kid who was carried off the field after drilling five field goals in a 22-20 comeback against West Virginia in 2003? Rechannel that ghost, sacrifice a pig - whatever it takes. You proved you had the skills. All of this is in your head. Figure it out and get back to your old self. This team is going to need you down the stretch.


>>> Greg Olsen, I'm talking to you as well. What good are the one-handed circus catches if you're dropping potential third-down conversions which hit you between the "8" and the "2" every week? Concentrate. I'm sure you're frustrated with the limited role and the amount of blocking you're doing. Not exactly Shockey-esque. That said, you need to reel in the easy ones and prove you're a threat before you're consistently worked into the offense.


>>> Coach Coker? Congrats. You needed this one more than anyone. I am still skeptical about how your next 8-10 games are going to play out at The U. But I'm glad you got this win after being raked over the coals all week. In a month you'll be coaching a 5-2 team and you'll have probably re-entered the Top 25 again.

Blowout the next few opponents and the media will be right back on your side - praising the four-game win streak and starting the "Miami's back" rumblings to hype up the Georgia Tech game.

Don't believe the hype.

These Canes are far from being 'back' - but they can build on this win over Houston and attempt a run at an ACC crown. Stranger things have happened. Miami has a long way to go and a short time to get there (I'm eastbound, just watch ol ' Bandit run) but a resurgence has to start somewhere.

Remember the fictional book "Baby Steps" by Dr. Leo Marvin in the movie What About Bob? This problem didn't start in a day and it's not going to be solved with one win. Baby step your way back to being a winner.

Get the kids' heads on straight, get twelve quarters of valuable playing time under their belts and then gear up for a five game stretch which will either save OR cost you your dream job at The U.

Good luck, Coach. You might be faced with the second toughest job in America right now.



.:Canes305:.