Charlie Jones latest injured Cane...
Charlie Jones is out. What does that mean for the Canes? We'll see.Two years ago Jones was making highlights when he stepped in for an injured Tyrone Moss. A 97-yard one touchdown performance in a 27-7 upset of then #3 Virginia Tech helped put Jones on the map until 2006 when he was supplanted by freshman tailback Javarris James. Since then, #34 has been relegated to a back up role.
Jones entered this fall as third string tailback behind James an superfrosh Graig Cooper, so the injury isn't a huge blow at this point of the game. It also opens up the door for another highly touted freshman, Shawnbrey McNeal.
I never want to see our kids injured and I consider some of our fans sick regarding those who want to see one player go down so another will start. That said, I look for the silver lining in regards to the back up who will see the field by default. A lot of times seniority wins out and it takes an act of God to get a future star in the game.
Sort of like the injury to Glenn Cook. Miami's most experienced linebacker suffered a recent injury which will sideline him at least three games. In his place, sophomore linebacker Darryl Sharpton will take over. Sharpton came on strong late last season, looks to have 'superstar' written all over him and is primed to break out in 2007.This quandary puts the coaching staff in a pickle. How do you bench the experienced senior for the promising sophomore? When do you pull the starter for the back up? How do you answer questions regarding if one is successful and the other fails?
An injury, though disappointing for the team and individual, can eliminate all of that. It almost provided head coach Randy Shannon the perfect scapegoat for his current quarterback dilemma.
The sore knee of Kyle Wright almost made Kirby Freeman the starter by default, keeping the heat off the coaching staff should #7 falter.Instead, Wright will be good to go and the critics will be ready to pounce when a starter is named next Tuesday. And Godforbid the chosen starter doesn't "bring it" in a season-defining match up at Oklahoma in two weeks. Look out.
Here's hoping all injured Canes get healthy as soon as possible, but in the meantime let's hope the back ups prove to be superstars in the making.
For every suspended George Mira Jr. there's a Bernard "Tiger" Clark just waiting to take over a game and lift a team.Is there a Tiger on this squad waiting in the wings? We'll see.
.:Canes305:.
posted by allCanes.com at
8:35 AM
2 Comments:
I really thought CJ would push Baby J this year. How quickly we forget how good CJ looked in Blacksburg two years ago. A big game on a big stage and he stepped up. Most of the guys on our team have absolutely no record of making big plays in big games, but he did. Sad to see the injury.
I don't know why any true Cane fan would want an injury to occur for any player on any team. I think this is really growing frustration of fans of wanting players to start stepping up and being playmakers. I echo the frustration but would never wish injury on anyone. The thing that separates programs in today's game is the depth, and we've been lacking lately. We need all players healthy, pushing each other and may the best man win for each position. I don't think we need to look at any other program, given our history of success, but we do need to create an atmosphere of competition like USC does. It sounds as though Coach Shannon has brought that back and we need that. If you don't perform in practice, whomever beats you out gets the shot in the game. Especially on the offensive side of the ball, we need this mentality more now than ever. Our lines have been sub par for the past 5 years, WR's have been average, QB's have been poor, RB's have been average at best. We need some sort of jolt for the guys on this side of the ball. It all starts up front and they have been getting destroyed for the past few years. There is no excuse getting outworked by your opponent. It's time to start getting back to how it used to be- killer instinct and killer execution. We weren't just beating teams because we were better- we beat them because we worked harder. We have to do that this year! We need to bury these teams we are supposed to beat and battle back to the top among the elite teams again. I expect that to happen this Saturday against Marshall. They shouldn't even be on the same field as us and we need to crush them from the openeing whistle. Force turnovers, create havoc and put up big points. It's time to shake off the past and step up. I can't wait for this season to begin and know that this team will make us proud. As Chris said, this is a huge foundation year on where this program will be going. We can be great again!
-Columbus Cane
Post a Comment
<< Home