Nervous Is As Nervous Does

When will you people ever learn?

When will all of you ever learn not to tell me: "Don't be nervous."

I told you all day before the Miami Hurricanes faced off against the North Carolina Tar Heels that I was "nervous". And as usual, nobody would listen.

Instead, everybody was too busy prancing around in their high-heeled shoes and worried about being "right" rather than practicing their active listening skills, which is a skill that most people have never learned and do not practice in the first place. 

So now I need you to practice. Put down your cell phone, turn off the TV, close the door, set aside your thoughts and replies and just listen very carefully to what I am about to tell you:

• The Miami Hurricane football team is very, very lucky to still be undefeated after last night's debacle in Chapel Hill. UM looked unprepared and dazed and confused all night long on the road against a seriously overmatched opponent. Nervous is as nervous does and this Miami team looked not only nervous but scared and unprepared on the field at Kenan Stadium.
• QB Stephen Morris may have had his worst game as a Hurricane and may have played his way out of a first round draft pick in the upcoming NFL draft. Simply put Morris was malo (bad) all night long and nearly cost the Hurricanes the game. During the game several fans (not me) were even calling for back-up QB Ryan Williams to replace him late in the game. MoMo definitely has certain skills (arm strength) but is seriously lacking in other areas (decision making, game management) and is nowhere near being NFL ready. First round?  Well, maybe not so much.
• Before the season even began I selected Dallas Crawford as my Legend of the Fall (LOF) but again nobody would listen (common theme here). Now as the season has progressed everyone can clearly see that not only was I absolutely right but that Crawford is clearly on track to be Miami's Most Valuable Player this season. Crawford single handedly saved Miami's bacon last night and is a player of talent, character and strength. I was right: Dallas Crawford is without a doubt a true Legend of the Fall.
• The UM offensive line, the supposed strength of the team, looked like garbage in prime time. Kehoe and crew have to do better.
• Offensive coordinator James Coley's play calling is just slightly better than awful and looks better suited for high school teams than a major college powerhouse. Get it right Coley!
• Al Golden almost blew his big raise and five year extension to a team that had no business being on the same field as Miami. Golden did not follow the 5 P's (Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance) and simply did not have his team ready to play on the national stage in prime time. While we were all rooting for Golden to win the game you could just imagine the haters like OGV sitting in a dark corner somewhere mumbling something about Temple and how Golden was not qualified to win and win big at UM. The sad part is they were almost right too.
• Miami must get significantly better, and better quickly, if they are going to have any chance of knocking off real ACC powerhouses like Clemson and FSU. The Hurricanes were exposed last night and have several areas that need fixing before the real season starts on November 2 at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee. We will be in Tally at The Doak, but the question is: "Will U be there too?"

We would like to thank you for your time and thank you for listening.

Now you can turn on your phone, open the door and resume normal activities.

That is all.

Related articles

Game Night: Hurricanes vs Tar Heels

UM vs UNC: The Game

Dallas Crawford, Miami Hurricanes rally to beat North Carolina

Dallas Crawford Proves Miami Is a Running Team as Stephen Morris Tanks

Comments

[LB]

Yup.

[Terrance Sullivan]

A ugly win is always better than a pretty loss. 6-0 baby! M-I-A-M-I fight, fight, fight!

[Ohio_Cane]

TRACY HOWARD! 2 INTS

[SOUP]

Ohio...please report to the head coach's office regarding the coverage of the UNC TE last night. And bring your playbook with you.

[Ohio_Cane]

Former Cane great Clinton Portis to Dallas Crawford: "This is your moment"

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/um-hurricanes/miami-hurricanes-blog/sfl-dallas-crawford-gets-pep-talk-from-former-cane-clinton-portis-20131018,0,960374.story

[jgatsby1112]

Wait...we did win the game last night, right? We are 6-0? Just checking...

[SOUP]

Gatsby...eat rocks. If U think that garbage U saw from Miami last night was National Championship football, much less ACC championship football, then U are sadly mistaken. Try that crap against Clemson, FSU, Alabama, Oregon or TAMU and U are losing BAD, like 45-13 bad.

[Sinistercane]

If his ankle is that bad then he should sit, he could easily had 6 ints that night

[Atvong]

Anyone that is a fan, would appreciate an ugly W any day.

[The Dude]

Wow, I feel better today about the W than last night. That one was a roller coaster.

[UMike]

Ohio...you didnt bet on that 17+ did you? lol

[Ohio_Cane]

UMike, LOL no I didn't. I don't bet often. Especially a spread on the road in prime time vs a good team that's been struggling.

[SOUP]

Anyone that is a fan, would appreciate an ugly W any day.

Posted by: Atvong | October 18, 2013 at 10:36 AM

Guess I am not a fan then?

Just because I am an UM Alumni, a Hurricane club member, a season ticket holder since 1980, spend thousands of dollars supporting the U and attending ALL of the games and run a blog 24/7/365 for UM sports does not make me a "fan"?

LOL

[CalgaryCane]

Posted by: LB | October 18, 2013 at 10:19 AM

yeah LB... but were you listening? (reading the article) or just posting a first!

[SOUP]

Ohio...In my office, pronto! Oh, and bring your playbook.

[UMike]

SOUP...pretty sure he simply means a fan should be happy with 6-0 over 5-1 lol

[The Dude]

SOUP, come to the dark side.

[UMike]

I am just happy we are 6-0. I mean, we lost are best play maker, a top WR, threw 4 ints and were on the road in a hostile environment and STILL piled up 500 yards on O and found a way to win at the end. In years past we easily lose this game.

[SOUP]

SOUP, come to the dark side.

Posted by: The Dude | October 18, 2013 at 10:50 AM

I am already there. Lights off, curtains drawn, no shower, no shirt, no shoes, half empty bottle of scotch by my side...

[canezilla]

SOUP ONE QUESTION.U SAID IN THE ARTICLE WE WERE LUCKY TO WIN???I DISAGREE MY MAN.PAST TEAM WOULD OF FOLDED UP,BUT THIS TEAM FOUGHT AND PULLED OUT A LAST MIN VISTORY.DONT'T REALLY COUNT IT AS BEING LUCKY THAT CRAWFORD TORE SHYT UP ON THE LAST DRIVE?

[SOUP]

Pretty sure he simply means a fan should be happy with 6-0 over 5-1 lol

Posted by: UMike | October 18, 2013 at 10:47 AM

That TRASH talk is for punks!

Are we talking happy to BARELY beat a sorry azz UNC team or happy that IF we keep playing like this we will have NO SHOT at an ACC title in 2013. U tell me?

[SOUP]

CRAWFORD TORE SHYT UP ON THE LAST DRIVE?

Posted by: canezilla | October 18, 2013 at 10:54 AM

I sent flowers to my LOF today.

[UMike]

I am with you Zilla..Coley made adjustments, the OL blocked better and Crawford did his thing. The D also had big stops when it counted. Nothing lucky about it. You want luck, 1 miss tackle allowed Ebron to score at 71yd td, that was lucky lol... we normally (at least not this year) miss that tackle.

[UMike]

Geez SOUP...who is the negative nancy now lol

[UMike]

SOUP..would you have preferred a high scoring game with no turnovers that we lost? lol

[UMike]

we normally dont******* miss that tackle

[SOUP]

Geez SOUP...who is the negative nancy now lol

Posted by: UMike | October 18, 2013 at 10:59 AM

Oh I have not even gotten started, YET!

[360Cane]

Trivia question -

When was the last time we blocked a FG attempt and ran it back for a TD???

Posted by: raizecane | October 18, 2013 at 08:41 AM

That impressed me the most and is another example of heading in the right direction.

Love the lack of entitlement with this team. ;-)

[The Dude]

Ha ha ha ha, yeah, that's the dark side alright. It pisses me off when people question how much of a fan others are. Morris threw the game winning interception a couple of times last night. Has he really sustained a drive yet this year? Consistantly inconsistant is dead on to describe him. I feel like his play is officially holding us back.

[UMike]

Im going to save all these comments for those days SOUP gives me grief about not being positive...maybe he is bipolar lol

[SOUP]

Would you have preferred a high scoring game with no turnovers that we lost? lol

Posted by: UMike | October 18, 2013 at 11:00 AM

I NEVER want to lose, that is a stupid question. I want to win and win convincingly over an inferior team. How many years has it been now that we have played DOWN to our competition? How many?

We should have wiped the field with UNC. Instead we are just LUCKY to get out with a win. I am SICK of it!

[UMike]

SOUP..isnt this the only team we have played down to all year? It is ONE game..just one buddy...breath lol

[UpNorthCane27]

I think alot of people knock fans who question Morris, I really don't see nothing wrong with fans saying maybe Williams should get a few series and Morris should be benched to wake his ass up. It's not that those individuals are terrible fans or back stabbing Morris. At the end of the day one player is not bigger then the team or THE U. There shouldnt be any gaurantees you want people ready to go if the starter isn't producing.

I believe in Morris and will support him as our QB, but his inability to go through his progressions, his dumb desicions to run out of the pocket too then throw a floater to a DB is unexcusable for a senior QB.

And those questioning Duke's durability are crazy, when you take a knee to the head or any knock to the head that shit's serious and no matter how much muscle you gain it aint gonna prevent a concussion. i think Duke looks good and is running, cutting, and trucking very well this season.

[SOUP]

UMike ...maybe U should have read this from the last article I wrote and LISTENED ACTIVELY instead of trying to be right?

1.Total Offense: UM is ranked #21 in the NCAA, UNC is #76.

2.Total Defense: UM is ranked #12, UNC comes in at #94.

3.Scoring Offense: Miami is at #9 while UNC is at #93.

4.Scoring Defense: Again UM is ranked at #9 while UNC is at #95.

5.Turnover Margin: UM is at #14 and UNC is found at #102.

6.Penalties/Game: UM is #101, UNC is at #107.

[The Dude]

WWiN, where are you in Nashville?

[SOUP]

UMike...or maybe it was simply WAY too much to ask U to read and REMEMBER these simple "Keys to the Game" from the last article (U can still go back and re-read it if U need to):

Here are the Canespace "Keys to the Game":

1.Miami must avoid the costly turnovers that have plagued them in recent games. Miami has turned the ball over four times in each of their last two contests.

2.Miami must get star RB Duke Johnson and the running game un-tracked after a few below average efforts by the offensive line.

3.Miami must find a way to stop big and talented Tar Heel Tight End Eric Ebron who averages 4.5 catches and over 66 yards/game.

4.Miami must score early to silence the crazed Carolina fan base who will show up all dressed in black instead of the traditional Carolina Blue for the special "Zero Dark Thursday" promotion going on at Kenan Stadium for tonight's nationally televised tilt on ESPN.

5.Miami must find a way to win the special teams battle and get speedy WR Phillip Dorsett some much needed room on punt returns so he can take one to the house.

[UMike]

SOUP..you need to calm down buddy lol..who is trying to be "right"?? lol..All those numbers dont mean SHYT during a conference game on the road when you lose your top player lol

I am ONLY saying...we are 6-0..we won a game we would have lost in recent years..so I am choosing to be happy about it..no trying to be right...just trying to be happy we are 6-0...do any of those spam comments sell pills for bipolar people? lol.. jk SOUP..you know ur my boy..but geez dude lol

[UMike]

SOUP..are you really gonna try and talk smack to me about reading articles simply because you wanna be negative? Were is 86 when you need him lol

[SOUP]

BOTTOM LINE: UM struggled mightily against an unranked, inferior team in all respects. I told U EXACTLY what they needed to do BEFORE the game and they did NOT do it.

THAT is unacceptable.

[The Dude]

I can stand inaccurate passes. I can stand not being able to convert 3rd downs with great regularity. But turnovers in scoring position is 100% unacceptable from the QB position. Its proof that he has no idea of what's going on in the big picture. He needs to actually manage the game, not force the game.

[UMike]

Well Im sorry the game didnt live up to your expectations and the UM didnt follow your rules to winning...by why take it out on me? lol WE WON!!! lol

[CGNC]

UMike - Soup is being realistic. Are we happy we won? Yes. Was it a mess on offense for most of the game? YES. I almost turned it off after Momo hit Seantrel in the helmet. I watched to the end though.

[Canezitis]

Okay, let's not compare Dorsey to Morris. There is no comparison. I like Morris, but he's not a film rat like Dorsey. He's an artsy guy, not a football geek and that's what sets decent qb's apart from great ones. All the greats are gym and film rats. I'll take Dorsey's decision making and limp noodle arm over a spastic big arm any day of the week. As a qb your job is to make sound decisions before and after the ball snaps and distribute the ball to the most open receiver. That takes great preparation and fast processing. I like Morris and his grittiness, but his mental make up has put us in really bad spots time and again. How many times did Dorsey throw multiple ints in one game? Umike, you named one example for Dorsey. Dorsey was a winner because he prepared well, knew his own weaknesses, lead by example, and distributed the ball to his playmakers dispite his arm strength. He just made sound decisions. That's all I want out of my qb's. Like the commenter said, " Morris is consistently inconsistent". Bad ankle or not. That said, he is our qb, and I support all of our players, but get it together bro. And let's not try to compare him to Dorsey. Just stop it.

[86Cane]

Here I am! I took the computer away from SOUP. The party is ova. LOL

[CGNC]

On a positive note, the team could have folded and not continue to fight but the didn't and pulled out a win. THAT in and of itself is progress

[UMike]

CGNC...no no no no...when I am being "realistic" he gives me crap all day..he is being negative lol...We had ONE bad game..did we expect the 2001 team to show up (oh wait, they had a bad game too)?? lol...If we play like this next week I will begin to worry lol

[UMike]

Theres my boy 86 lol

[UMike]

CGNC..I agree..I was very happy with that progress

[LB]

"yeah LB... but were you listening? (reading the article) or just posting a first!"

Both. I get firsts as mere coincedences.

UM isn't a top 10 team. If they ever break through the turnover bug, they can be a top 5 team.

[86Cane]

Well Im sorry the game didnt live up to your expectations and the UM didnt follow your rules to winning.

Posted by: UMike | October 18, 2013 at 11:15 AM

Apology accepted.