The Verdict Is In: GUILTY!

Eric Rivera, the worthless punk who shot and killed former University of Miami football legend Sean Taylor in 2007 during a botched burglary attempt was found guilty today of second degree murder. He was also convicted of burglary and assault while armed.

We are not going to waste any more time or typing on the scum who killed our Hurricane hero. Instead we will post the article that we wrote about ST#26 a several years ago and post every year in April and November on the anniversary of his birth and death in honor of one of the greatest players ever to put on a helmet at The U. We post it today as a result of the verdict being announced:

Sean Michael Maurice Taylor was born in Miami on April 1, 1983.

Perhaps by fate, maybe by coincidence, it was later that same year that the University of Miami, behind a quarterback named Kosar and coach named Schnellenberger, would win their first college football National Championship by beating heavily favored Nebraska in the Orange Bowl.

That game, which put the UM program on the big-time college football map, has often been referred to as the "Miracle in Miami".  Sean's Taylor's birth in April of that year could also be seen as a miracle for what this young man would soon bring to this team and its fans in his home town.

Sean would grow up in a tough South Dade neighborhood and later attend Gulliver High School where he would help them win the Class 2A State Title and become the #1 ranked prep player in the County by the Miami Herald.  Sean was so dominant at this level that he played multiple positions including running back, linebacker and defensive back for that team.

After a spectacular Senior season and a hotly contested recruiting battle for this star athlete, Sean decided to attend the University of Miami.  It would prove to be somewhat ironic that Sean would wind up being one of only four true freshmen to play in 2001 on the Hurricanes fifth National Championship team.

Even at this early stage, Sean's life had seemingly come full circle.  From being born during the Miracle in Miami season of 1983 to contributing to what was arguably the best UM team ever, the Canes 2001 championship team.  Sean Taylor had already become a hometown hero and would soon become a true legend in the 305.

As Junior at UM in 2003, after beating FSU at Doak Campbell Stadium in the pouring rain seemingly all by himself, Sean would win a slew of college football awards.

After that season, Sean decided it was time to take the next step and would opt for the NFL draft. He would be the first of six Canes selected in the first round that year (an NFL record) when he was drafted fifth overall by the Washington Redskins.

By 2006 there was no doubt that Sean Taylor had become the dominant player at his position and was honored by being selected to the NFL Pro-bowl that year.  Nicknamed "Meast" by teammates for being part man, part beast, Sean would become one of the most feared hitters in the NFL.

Entering his third year as a Redskin, Sean seemed to be at the top of his game and the NFL talent pool.  By the tenth week of the NFL season he was tied for the league lead in interceptions and was considered an automatic selection for his second straight Pro-Bowl.

Then came the fateful night of November 26, 2007.

Sean Taylor, while at home asleep with his wife and 18 month-old daughter, awoke to a loud noise in his home.  In an effort to protect his family, Sean confronted the would-be burglars.  He was shot once and would later die from the severe loss of blood as his femoral artery was torn apart by the single bullet.

That night would end the life of a real Hurricane hero.

Sean Taylor's sudden and tragic death shocked his family, friends, teammates and the Hurricane faithful.  When he died the day following the shooting, we promised to never forget his contributions to the University of Miami.

This blog article is our simple way of proving that we have not forgotten Sean Taylor, #26, who played at The U and was proud to wear the orange and green.

Some memories and images never fade.

Even now, if you close your eyes, you can probably still see him, #26 back peddaling into open space, picking off another deep pass, splashing through the rain and the mud at the Doak, weaving down the field behind several blockers, refusing to be denied and diving into the end zone for a pick six.

That is how we will remember Sean Taylor, as a miracle of a man who at times seemed completely capable of beating the other team all by himself.

 

Related articles

Sean Taylor's Legend Lives On

The Birth Of A Man And A Miracle

Sean Taylor murder trial jury deliberations day four

Jury in day 4 of deliberations in Taylor case

Comments

[CoCane]

I got your back jsy.

Football is about match ups. Put a 6'2 Gunter on Benjamin & Howard on Green man to man. Now you can really get creative on covering everything else. This is just an example. Nothing is easier than 3rd & 5 with your LB's & DB's all with 10 yard cushions.

I ain't mad at No'd anymore. This is Golden's defensive philosophy. He has said since day 1 he runs a soft zone defense. He will not change it. He believes this scheme will dominate when he stocks top notch South Florida talent in it. I am here to warn you. Even with the #1 recruit at every position this scheme will not dominate. It lacks aggression & the ability to adjust to a players skill set. The 2 main ingredients a system needs to dominate. Limited man coverages & the lack of a wide variety of blitzes is because there ain't much in the fukkin playbook. It's a SOFT ZONE. All of you that keep saying the defense will get more aggressive with better talent & pass rush, you are delusional. GOLDEN RUNS A SOFT ZONE. I don't care how good your pass rush is, 3rd & 5 will get picked up with 10 yard cushions 90% of the time. Every week our defensive rankings drop. Watch it continue...

Fukk giving Coley a pass. This offense only lost Mike James. He wasn't even the best RB! The offense is obviously worse than last year. WARNING: If the offense got worse after returning 11 starters, next year will be a rude awakening...

[SOUP]

NEW BLOG IS UP!

[SOUP]

j.w called jsy jysm.

Posted by: CalgaryCane | November 05, 2013 at 05:40 PM

Well, with that ONE exception. LOL

[RCCF]

CaneRock....

Shannon didn't have bad defenses under his DC under his HC yes but under his DC Shannon I believe was always top10...

12%RCCF

[generalcane]

Scouting opinion of FSU vs MIAMI

http://www.optimumscouting.com/draft/articles/2014-nfl-draft-scouting-notes-from-miami-fl-vs-florida-state.html

[Ohio_Cane]

Lmao @ Calgary!!

[CalgaryCane]

What is going on here today? Smart, balanced blogging with opposing opinions and no name calling or personal attacks?

Posted by: SOUP | November 05, 2013 at 05:29 PM

j.w called jsy jysm.

[SOUP]

WHOA, WHOA, WHOA!

What is going on here today? Smart, balanced blogging with opposing opinions and no name calling or personal attacks?

Man, U guys are GOOD!

[LA3]

We are ALL CANES fans.....and we all want same thing. BEAT VA TECH!

I think the DEF will play better. I think some of the things we tried against FSU can be built on and run against VA TECH or other future foes.
I am GLAD we tried....Now lets build on it and use it!

If the STAFF can start running different things off of same sets, then we can make other team guess or doubt. We need to do that more on OFF and DEF....never seems like we come back to formations or plays to set teams up.

We are 7-1. I thought we would be 6-2. Are we going to win out or are we going to lose to teams we should be. There is still a lot to play for and rematch with FSU would be NICE!!!!

LETS GO CANES!

[CaneRock]

TH3 INT against UF...ZONE!
RJ26 INT against UF...ZONE!
DB2 INT against FSU...ZONE!
RJ26 INT against FSU...ZONE!
TH3 2 INTs against UNC...ZONE!
DP52 INT against BC...ZONE!
RJ26 INT against GT...ZONE!
LG37 P6 against GT...ZONE!

It's no panacea, but ya'll get my drift. LMAO!

[SOUP]

The soft zone with no pass rush is a completion waiting to happen.

Posted by: canesteeler | November 05, 2013 at 04:53 PM

Oh STOP making so much sense!

[canesteeler]

Jsy I agree with your post. I know the NCAA has hampered our recruiting which means we don't have the talent we need. I think AG is the man for the job but I have doubts about DNO. Our D will struggle this weekend against a QB who has looked horrible the past two weeks. Load the box and make VT throw the ball. Go Canes.

[canesteeler]

I don't like the defense we play and I think the majority of ex canes don't like this current defense. How in the hell does your DB's make plays when they give 10 yards of cushion every play. Short yardage plays our LB,s are 7-8 yards off the ball. I know we don't have FSU talent but how do we expect to attract elite defensive talent when the philosophy is to sit back and not attack? The soft zone with no pass rush is a completion waiting to happen.

[Ohio_Cane]

U know what the Queen said right?

"If I had balls, I'd be King!"

Posted by: SOUP | November 05, 2013 at 04:47 PM
-------------------------------------

And IF a frog had wings, it wouldn't bump it's a$$ when it hopped.

[CaneRock]

Some folks just think that man to man is a panacea...IT'S NOT!

You don't get the big hits in man to man, that you get in zone...matter of fact, I would be willin' to bet that biggest hits in UM history, have come from zone coverage. Case in point, look at the catch that the FSU WR made just before that skirmish, if Jenkins would've timed it up better, then He could've either picked it off, or jarred the ball loose from the WR...that's got NOTHING! to do with talent, but everything to do with timing and experience. Now I'm not saying that zone is a panacea, but we would've been lookin' STUPID ASS HELL! out there chasin' their WRs.

[SOUP]

Seriously... if our Offence did get going, FSU would have been shaken.

Posted by: CalgaryCane | November 05, 2013 at 04:17 PM

Ahhhh, the old IF word shows up again. I mean I agree with your statement, but IF doesn't make it so. U know what the Queen said right?

"If I had balls, I'd be King!"

[LA3]

Just as another point....we have base scheme we run all the time.
Our guys don't run mult sets and run them often enough to be good at them...
So, against #3 team in country that is on fire...you have GUYS that are not comfortable or sure. So, they can't play at full speed!!!! Over thinking and not reacting!

Like I said, LET EM PLAY!

[Ohio_Cane]

FWIW FSU's results thus far;
41-13
62-7
54-6
54-6
48-3
63-0
51-14
49-17
41-14

Pitt did better than us... must be a whole lot of bad DC's out there.

Posted by: CalgaryCane | November 05, 2013 at 04:17 PM
----------------------------------------

This is good stuff here, and proves a point.

However, one thing to note, Pitt did not do better than us. Almost exact same, but not better. It was also AT Pitt, not The Doak.

[LA3]

CaneRock....1st Qtr they tried. But by 2nd QTR the were in BIG BOX...5+ yards off.

And I was speaking "general terms"....We never line up like aggressive NFL or College team! STACKED at the LINE and then bail LB out!

[CaneRock]

I would be happier if we lined up with 8 in box with men over the gaps....not just position players so O-line can engage them every play. And that WEARS out D-line.

Posted by: LA3 | November 05, 2013 at 04:10 PM

We played 8 in the box damn near the whole game.

PS...the next time you watch a UM game, and you see the FS rotate to the MIDDLE OF THE FIELD, AND!, the CBs are bailing...THAT'S 8 IN THE BOX!

And that's exactly what we were doing damn near the whole game...that's how Bush got that 1st INT!

[LA3]

Defense Talent....I think we have some good to great talent. Just throwing some young "BALLERS" out there....given chance or allowed to play!!!

DB's will be good:#3 Howard.#2 Bush. #1 Burns will be shut down corner. #26 Jenkins will get better. All under classmen. Not sure if #21 Crawford, #12 Carter, or #29 Elder. Bethel III should be GOOD too.

Need one with elite cover skills and one hybrid S/LB that can run with TE or come up to support run. (Think #26 ST). And then let loose....let em play to their strengths and not so much scheme!

[jsy]

I'm just sensing a pattern similar to nix bc at first with nix all he kept saying was team needs to follow assignments and very similar excuses dno uses and we even as fans kept saying it was the lack of talent due to Coker. It worries me that dno isn't like him

[j.w.]

sorry about that jys, my fingers hit inadvertant keys all the time and after 25 years of trying I haven't figured out how to avoid typos.

[CalgaryCane]

FWIW FSU's results thus far;
41-13
62-7
54-6
54-6
48-3
63-0
51-14
49-17
41-14

Pitt did better than us... must be a whole lot of bad DC's out there.

Seriously... if our Offence did get going, FSU would have been shaken.

[LA3]

Def....our def has not been good all year. Even against UF...their off was just worst than ours. But against NC and WF were bleedling out. We won because we scored last..NC almost did. FSU...they played hard but they were on the field way to long.
It is TEAM sport. Def get worn out becuz Off has not and can not sustain drives on regular basis.

And we all have to look at STAFF....Off playing calling is not good but WR were running open in last 3 games. Oline and QB need to step up. Def. we can pressure with 4 and LB/DB take bad angles and mis tackles...or is it lack speed...or being told don't get beat deep. NO ONE comes up to lay a HIT on anyone. No one is wreckless! We had chances to hit Winston but it was not a manic attempt to HIT him...it was controlled effort...worried about gaps. And our BLITZ packages stink.
I would be happier if we lined up with 8 in box with men over the gaps....not just position players so O-line can engage them every play. And that WEARS out D-line.

Big Al's nature is not gambling or risk taker. And he will never get Def C that does. He is blue collar, hard working, stay within the norms, kind of guy. He is not inventing anything or cutting edge!!!!!

[j.w.]

jsym if you've been associated with the U for that long, you've seen a lot worse than this before. And for what its worth, other teams are saying D'Onofrio gave them the blueprint of how to contain Winston.

[Terrance Sullivan]

Rock give em hell Bruh! I love It!

[CGNC]

Posted by: Ohio_Cane | November 05, 2013 at 01:05 PM

I know. I thought maybe the lights contributed to the squinting

[jsy]

Hahaha soup that is true. CR I guess it comes across that way but i guess when I kept hearing ppl saying its the lack of talent constantly after fsu I just wanted to add that I really feel it's more on dno than lack of talent. Trust me man in the end we want the same thing it's just we have defferring views on how to get there

[SOUP]

Only ONE way to tell a REAL Canes fan:

They have green AND orange hoses on the side of their houses.

[SOUP]

He ran a HELLUVA! better defense than one Will Muschamp...with LESS TALENT!

Posted by: CaneRock | November 05, 2013 at 02:53 PM

I see what U did there!

[CaneRock]

JSY, where was all this Negative Nancy-ing when we were 7-0? You sound like one of those folks who's all for you when you're up, but wanna jump on somebody when they're down.

You see, that's dat $hit that CaneRock don't like!

[jsy]

CR why am I not a "real" fan? Is it bc I want DNO gone? Is it bc i want excellence and accountability at every level? Is it bc I dont think DNO will ever allow us to be elite when he game in and game out gets out coached? And yes i did bitch and moan when those above happened except the difference is that those were isolated incidences squeezed between alot of good wins. I know all teams can lay an egg once in a while but DNO has been consistently bad and laying eggs for almost 3 years. its not just an isolated incidence. And butch only got blown out 1 yr to fsu and that was 47-0.

I dont know who you are or anything about you but I wouldnt call you a fake fan for disagreeing with my view point. Isnt the mantra of this blog for the fans by the fans. Every point I made was an opinion based on my obervations. I never once made a personal attack or said anything remotely unprofessional towards another so why question my fan realness?

Btw i went to undergrad, medical school, and I did my residency at the U. After finishing residency I moved up to NY and I gave half my first check to Miller School of Medicine bc I love the U so much. So please dont question if I'm a real fan. U can go to their wall of donors in the lobby and see my name there if u want. Disagree with my points and arguments but dont question my intentions all im trying to do is express my disappointment in DNO

[Go Canes]

jsy in the second half of games leading up to FSU we gave up a very lated TD to Georgia Tech up 24 with our second string in, six points to UNC and one broken play TD to Wake Forest.

With those results who is give Coach D a pass?

FSU was just better than us, in every way a team can be. Live with it and move on my friend.

We will still finish 10-1 and go to the ACC Championship game then a very good bowl.

That's really good considering where we have been for the last three years.

[jsy]

CR 413 vs 212 the only reason we won was bc driskel decided to channel his inner kyle wright/ freeman against us. We won and a good win at that but to say dno is a better defensive mind than muschamp is just crazy talk.

[CaneRock]

JSY, fact of the matter is, you woulda been bitchin'-n-gripin' after Maryland came back on JJ's team His 1st year...after JJ got blown out in the Sugar Bowl to UT...after Shannon got blown out the OB to UVA...after Shannon got blown out to OU in 08'...after Butch got blown out to Syracuse...after Butch got blown out to FSU for several years.

You sound like a Johnny Come Lately fan, while the real fans, have seen this movie before.

[jsy]

Soup we keep pointing to depth and talent as the reason our defense is subpar gt is ranked 14 currently in total d, vt is number 3 can we as fans honestly keep saying that depth and talent is the biggest issue when teams who consistently have less talent do more. I know our talent isn't where we are used to but to keep giving dno a pass saying its the talent nd depth that's the issue is wrong and not fair to the players or the fans.

[SinisterCane]

Don't nobody want Foster except Beamer.

Did you not see what Andrew Luck do to that HIGHSCHOOL DEFENSE!

Did you not see Lamar Miller run through that HIGHSCHOOL DEFENSE in 2010!

Do you not remember Willis McGahee RUN THROUGH that defense for 6 TDS!

Did you not see Dorsey TORCH! that defense in 2000?

And besides, why would I want a coach, who was a part of a staff, that THREATENED! one of OUR recruits on NSD!

PHUCK! Foster!

Posted by: CaneRock | November 05, 2013 at 02:29 PM

That's NOd stats sheet for 1 season

[CaneRock]

And if foster runs a hs defense what does dno run? A two hand touch defense?

Posted by: jsy | November 05, 2013 at 02:42 PM

He ran a HELLUVA! better defense than one Will Muschamp...with LESS TALENT!

[SOUP]

Just because the NCAA thing is over today, we can't forget the damage it did to this program. We lost out on perhaps a dozen top recruits over that period directly because of what was going on. There is little depth on this team in large part because of that.

Plenty of brighter days ahead.

Thanks and Go Canes!!

Posted by: Go Canes | November 05, 2013 at 02:01 PM

THIS.

[jsy]

And if foster runs a hs defense what does dno run? A two hand touch defense?

[jsy]

Canerock I'm not saying he's the answer but he's still superior to dno. Those examples you gave are true but basically dno has career days put up against him almost every game.

[CaneRock]

Don't nobody want Foster except Beamer.

Did you not see what Andrew Luck do to that HIGHSCHOOL DEFENSE!

Did you not see Lamar Miller run through that HIGHSCHOOL DEFENSE in 2010!

Do you not remember Willis McGahee RUN THROUGH that defense for 6 TDS!

Did you not see Dorsey TORCH! that defense in 2000?

And besides, why would I want a coach, who was a part of a staff, that THREATENED! one of OUR recruits on NSD!

PHUCK! Foster!

[j.w.]

JSY: Butch had a lot more talent, especially on the line, than D'Onofrio did almost every year. And the defense wasn't good at all in Butch's 1997-1999 years, we were torched worse than ever against Syracuse and UCLA in the late 90's, on Butch's watch. Shannon's defenses in the mid-2000's played against mostly inept ACC offenses, their stats may have looked better, but they were beaten badly by good offenses several times. We need difference makers, and they were hard to find with the NCAA cloud overhead for three years.

[jsy]

Foster just has stayed loyal to Beemer for too long it's not a lack of talent that keeps him there it's just speculation but I believe if by a miracle we got foster this year after 3 years teams would come calling.
And I only wanted foster bc there is a potential situation up at vt that would make him available. But I would rather have barrow running the d than dno.

[CaneRock]

When the u is the u we sent just as many coaches to the league as players can u honestly say dno will make it one day?

Posted by: jsy | November 05, 2013 at 01:58 PM

And you want Bud Foster why?...PLEASE!

[Go Canes]

I'm really happy with every aspect of this team.

In my opinion they are light years ahead of where they should be considering everything that's happened in Coral Gables over the last three years.

Just because the NCAA thing is over today, we can't forget the damage it did to this program. We lost out on perhaps a dozen top recruits over that period directly because of what was going on. There is little depth on this team in large part because of that.

We still have major gaps to fill and in my opinion Coach D is playing a defense that best suits the talent we have AT THIS MOMENT.

Plenty of brighter days ahead.

Thanks and Go Canes!!

[jsy]

My issue is not just the fsu games and Dabo and miles are just examples of a hc who is proactive. At least they are trying to fix the issues. Golden needs to be proactive and we as fans need to stop saying its just talent gap from the players side because our biggest talent gap is with opposing coaches not players. I know the players arent all American yet but golden is actively trying to make that a reality but he needs to find a better dc too. When the u is the u we sent just as many coaches to the league as players can u honestly say dno will make it one day?

[jsy]

Ohio I agree we made improvements but let me show u something currently we rank at 31 in total defense giving up 364.1 yds per game. Now if u subtract the truly scrub teams of fau, usf, sav state and look at only acc play and uf we are giving up 438.4 yds per game and currently Boise is in 94 place giving up 438.2 yds per game so our adjusted ranking would be 95 in total d. Last year when I adjusted the stats with only acc, kstate and nd we gave up 492 yds a game. That would have placed us between Indiana and temple at 117. So our improvement is not that impressive it's fools gold bc of the scrub teams.

[CaneRock]

How can golden tell his fans we are going to go get the best recruits when he doesn't hold his dc to the same standard. Last year Clemson gives up a lot of yards in their bowl game and Dabo goes out and gets the dc from ou.

Posted by: jsy | November 05, 2013 at 01:12 PM

LMAO!

And what did FSU do to that DC this year...

And you say Shannon never had bad defenses, what do you call our last game in the OB?...or to Oklahoma that same season? You know why we got DRUBBED! in those games...TALENT! Or lack thereof!

And I disagree with you on Butch, He fielded some HORRIBLE! defenses His first couple of years!

[CalgaryCane]

Posted by: Ohio_Cane | November 05, 2013 at 01:27 PM

Please keep in mind too that our less than stellar results have been in large part due to our Offence.

[herbieibis]

JSY,
It's a combination of both but we don't have enough talent and that's all I'll say in Deno's defense or Al's or whomever is running that defense. Blitzing has not been the answer because we suk at trying to blitz. It seems that when we try we are 3 weeks late getting there. as far as talent goes, it's been 10 years since we've gotten our talent to play at the level they should play at, consistently and yes we've had more talent than anyone in this league, with the exception of FSU.
Butch did have a bad defense, although it was young at the time when we coughed up 66 pts. to the Cuse in the late 90's But those pups would go on to be the foundation for our success in the early 2000's, plus he was just coming out of probation and the loss of 20 to 30 ships.

[Ohio_Cane]

I understand the Coach D criticism and have watched it basically since he came here.

I'm not always a fan of what he's doing with our defense, but the improvement from last year to this has been dramatic.

I realize we had to go up from where we were, but that big of a jump? Come on, he's doing SOMETHING right.

[SOUP]

jsy...I gotta admit U do make some GOOD points in your arguements.

[SOUP]

Ohio...fair enough, I don't want anyone fired either.

But also consider that the criticism of Coach D did not start AFTER the FSU game, it has been going on for over 2 years now.

Let's finish STRONG, continue to improve on offense, shut down VT, UVA, Pitt and Duke (toughest of all?) defensively and meet FSU again in a few weeks for the ACC title and ALL will be forgotten and forgiven.

[CGNC]

Oh Miami Dolphins. Why can't I just have a normal team?

[CGNC]

Hell Stevie Wonder plays the Piano, maybe if we close our eyes we might be able to bump into the QB.

Posted by: herbieibis | November 05, 2013 at 11:55 AM

NOW THAT IS FUNNY!!!

[SinisterCane]

How many times have you heard Al in post game interviews saying players have to trust the coaches? Basically recruiting aggressive players who don't believe in NOd butter-scotch scheme.

[jsy]

Golden is a great ceo and coley needs time it's dno and only dno I wish could be replaced. We as fans talk about talent and needing more talent why don't we hold our dc to that same standard. I know we improved this year but come on we couldn't do anything but improve we were ranked in the 100s last year and how can u say that it's purely lack of talent. Butch during probation with a group much less talented never fielded a defense that bad. Shannon with dough boy cook and Romeo I'm going to pull on this guys hand warmer Davis didnt field a defense this bad. How can golden tell his fans we are going to go get the best recruits when he doesn't hold his dc to the same standard. Last year Clemson gives up a lot of yards in their bowl game and Dabo goes out and gets the dc from ou. Les miles at lsu sees his oc is sub par so he gets cam Cameron and now look at how their offense is now. Why will golden not hold his dc accountable? There are many teams even within acc that has far inferior talent than we do yet consistently play better d than us since dno was here. Can anyone of u guys please explain how that is possible if our biggest reason for subpar defense is lack of talent? How does bama get shut down by vt who had a far worse offense than we do, how do teams with inf talent play better defense than us? If u guys can honestly say its the talent and not dno then I will accept that fact and move on but please I can't think of any good reason to say the talent is worse than dno when I see so many dc field better defenses with so much less than we have.

[Ohio_Cane]

wwin - lol if he cannot see he sure can throw LOL. I think it was probably due to the lights.

Posted by: CGNC | November 05, 2013 at 01:02 PM
-----------------------------------------

Winston wears contacts. Doesn't wear them while playing football. Has to squint to see play calls.

[CGNC]

wwin - lol if he cannot see he sure can throw LOL. I think it was probably due to the lights.

[Ohio_Cane]

@InsideCarolina: BREAKING: Sources confirm shoulder injury ends QB Bryn Renner’s #UNC career. http://insideca.ro/175bC64

WOW!

[CaneRock]

And when you look at it, football is basically 5 games in 1.

The QB is playin' His game with the safeties...the WRs are playing their games with the CBs...the OLine is playing their games with the D-Line...and the RBs are playing their games with the LBs.

So let's see here, FSU has Winston,Freeman,Wilder,Williams,Green,Benjamin, and O'Leary. So we're supposed to play man to man against THAT! LMAO!

[Ohio_Cane]

^^ Oh, and "we" was not limited to this blog, just happened to be where I posted it.

[Ohio_Cane]

Ohio...I don't think it is "WE" the collective blog at large, I think it is just one or a few. Don't generalize it that far to include the whole group as "WE".

Posted by: SOUP | November 05, 2013 at 12:46 PM
----------------------------------------

Fair enough, and wasn't meaning to generalize an entire fanbase, as I'm one of those fans and don't want to fire any of the coaches.

We, specifically, was aimed at our Canes Family of fans. Small or large in group should've been specified.

[Terrance Sullivan]

Well said Soup. Most in the group have perspective unfortunately we do have a few space cadets in our group lol. Love em all though. CaneSpace Fam rocks!

[SOUP]

Ohio...I don't think it is "WE" the collective blog at large, I think it is just one or a few. Don't generalize it that far to include the whole group as "WE".

[SOUP]

Susan Miller Degnan ‏@smillerdegnan 3m

#UM coach Al Golden on Duke's surgery: "All indications are everything went well. He has a great personality and is resilient.''

[SOUP]

Chris Yandle ‏@ChrisYandle 49s

Al Golden on bullying: "There's no place for bullying in the workplace or in athletics. It's our job as leaders to protect the workplace."

[WWIN]

From the game....

Was it just me or was everybody else annoyed by seeing Winston squinting to the sidelines every play??? No way he could see, his eyes were completely shut, he has to be legally blind.

[Terrance Sullivan]

Ohio Cane yes its crazy. If I didnt know any better peeps acting like we that team in Gainesville that was preseason ranked in the top 10 and is now currently 4-4. Peeps have no perspective.

[j.w.]

Ohio, I nearly spit my coffee all over the screen when I realized that people were seriously saying that! Perspective, people! Our D was atrocious last year. Now it's at least average. Our O is inconsistent this year, and that's mostly because our QB can't make the plays that he made last year when he was healthy. F$U didn't even bother defending against his running ability because it was obvious enough to them that he can't do it. And the ankle/achilles hinders his throws as well. Despite that, we're 7-1, likely to win 10 games again, maybe 11. In the regular season.
People ragging on this coaching staff must have forgotten the Shannon and Coker regimes.

[CaneRock]

On the contrary, you play zone when you HAVE talent. We play a lot of Cover 3, which means, both CBs, and the FS have to cover their 1/3s OF THE FIELD! Whereas in straight man, if an eligible receiver runs say 10 yards, then the man covering him runs 10 yards. Now tell me, which one is harder to do, cover an entire section of the field, or, run with a man for 10 yards...

And frankly, zone defense is better against the run, why?...Because you have all 11 pairs of eyes on the ball.

[Ohio_Cane]

Let me get this straight...

We lose 1 game out of 8 to the #2-3 ranked team in the country, with a very strong Heisman candidate QB, 3 NFL-bound recievers, 4 NFL-bound OL, 2-3 NFL-bound RBs, at THEIR home field, and we want to fire our OC, DC, and head coach?

My goodness.

[raizecane]

OK, NOW THAT'S NOT VERY SMART.

Posted by: SOUP | November 05, 2013 at 12:23 PM

****************************

The guy was a punk while at Nebraska and Oregan and nothing has changed since. He needs to be kicked out of the league.

[SOUP]

Bruce Feldman ‏@BFeldmanCBS 1h

RT @NFL_CFB #FSU junior RB James Wilder Jr. tells recruit he and Devonta Freeman likely leaving for NFL. http://on.nfl.com/17K60lG

[SOUP]

Chris Yandle ‏@ChrisYandle 33m

Duke Johnson had successful ankle surgery Monday by Dr. Lee Kaplan and UM Medical Center. Expected to be back on campus Thursday.

[Texcane]

So do we get rid of Golden too? D'Ono is running his defense...then we are starting from scratch again with a new staff.

[Meast]

I feel your pain JSY. I would LOVE to see us be aggressive as hell like we used to be. But I also believe that the coaches don't trust every player on defense. If there was more talent to mask those mistakes, I'm sure they could live with that. If the players ran a simple zone defense without a breakdown, the coaches would trust them more. When they decide to run man, a breakdown occurs all the time. At least with a zone, you can recover from your mistakes. Once you get burned on man, it is a bigger play given up. Players have to do their job, and do it right.

[SOUP]

The Associated Press ‏@AP 11m

AP VIDEO: Sources tell the AP that Dolphins' Richie Incognito sent racist texts to teammate Jonathan Martin: http://apne.ws/1aCxUSY

OK, NOW THAT'S NOT VERY SMART.

[AfriCane]

Food for thought:
If D'No can get 3 years to prove his worth, Coley should definitely get as long to prove his. Fair is fair. So the call for his head is both unfair & pre-mature. And I trust he will produce stellar results because he inherited a 'bag of treats' on offense, in comparison to the bag of tricks D'No got on defense.

[jsy]

I guess I'm easier on the offense bc coley is in just first year and has time to grow and he's a great recruiter but dno has been here for 3 years and its still the same soft soft zone and from most accounts he's not even a good recruiter so besides dno being BFF with golden I don't see what warrants more time with him. Teams fire coaches in season all the time. Let barrow call the plays for rear of the year and see how things go. But soup your right unless golden goes we will have dno it's just wishful thinking on my part.

[AfriCane]

Good job guys ! This debate is worthy of '1st take.' Both arguments r so compelling, I cannot honestly pick a side. Maybe u r both right.

[SOUP]

Currently I consider our defense to be an opportunistic defense. But our offense needs to help and stay on the field instead of sending our defense on the field after a quick series.

Posted by: Meast | November 05, 2013 at 12:06 PM

There IT is right there.

[SOUP]

Good blogging today by JSY and Meast.

jsy...remember the Canes defense is STILL much improved over last year and the reality is YES, FSU is that good. And calling for firing Coach D in the middle of the season is silly IMHO and you don't know how the season will turn out in the end so hold that though until December.

And BTW, the reason D'Onofrio ain't going anywhere IMHO is that he is really calling Golden's defense, not his alone. In other words Golden would have to change his philosophy for Coach D to change the defensive scheme.

I think that they will become more agressive as they continue to improve the talent on defense via recruiting, espcially in the front 7.

[Meast]

I agree with the bump and run. Except we are just starting to see Bush and Jenkins in the secondary as starters. We didn't exactly have "2 deep safties" with Highsmith and Rodgers. I think they are the worst safety duo ever and don't understand how to take angles or play a ball on a pass. Eg. Highsmith on Benjamin.

JSY: His defense is frustrating as hell most of the times, but during those games you mentioned, our offense didn't exactly give our defense a break. A lot of times it was a 3 and out or a quick 4-5 play series until the final drives where he had to sustain a drive. We sustained those drives when the defense gave us a stop we needed badly. Currently I consider our defense to be an opportunistic defense. But our offense needs to help and stay on the field instead of sending our defense on the field after a quick series.

[jsy]

From 1980 - 2000 u had Bowden vs Howard, jimmy, Dennis, and butch besides the late 90s with bad sanctions miami owned fsu
It's not the amount of coaches as long as u get the right one.

The problem is Bowden and fisher vs Coker and Shannon that was a two on two battle but it was all fsu and now golden has to play catch up

[raizecane]

In my opinion....the following is the reasdon FSU is currently ahead of Miami

FSU Coaches since 1980 - Bobby Bowden, Jimbo Fisher

Miami Coaches since 1980 - Howard Schnellenberger, Jimmy Johnson, Dennis Erickson, Butch Davis, Larry Coker, Randy Shannon, Al Golden

Booooyahhhh.....

[herbieibis]

Nice comments about our pin-cushion defense or I think the correct thing to say is bend but don't break or as they do in the pros prevent defense, which really prevents nothing.
Meast, great analogy and The Herb agrees whole heartedly with your evaluation of our NFL potential on defense. Chick is a good player but would be better if he had some talent along side of him in the middle. Perrymen is the only NFL quality LB, that we have at this time. The secondary has 3 or 4 that could become good NFL-ers. Mohammed & McCord have that same potential but whit that being said, it doesn't bode well for us when you say that we have 2 descent linemen and both are Dee-ends and we have 1 good LB of NFL caliber. It doesn't make a recipe for a very good run defense & no pressure on the QB. I know with the talent DENO has to work with, his main objective is to give up field goals, well how's that working out? Your best unit is your DB's let them play bump and run, with 2 deep safties. To the Herb maybe if you can jam these guys up at the line of scrimmage, maybe just maybe these pedestrians we have playing DL can find their way to the QB. Hell Stevie Wonder plays the Piano, maybe if we close our eyes we might be able to bump into the QB.

[jsy]

Meast yea man it's frustrating and I agree fsu was a game when we could honestly say we lost on talent but unc and wake was not bc of talent. Exactly against unc why not even try to press the te at the line and rough him up with Gunter or burns those are both big strong dudes belichek did it to jimmy graham with Talib, dude didnt have a single catch and graham is a true stud now. When we played wake why not stick Howard on camapnero with tight man rough him up and have howard get in his head. ESP on third downs so our DBS know where the first down mark is so they can position their bodies to keep the receiver away from the first and even if the qb does throw it he has a tiny window. Instead they run past the first down and just sit in an empty zone all day.

[jsy]

With Jed there were a few games where u said wow that was a good game plan and he had better x and os than the other coach even golden I feel is a great CEO but have u once felt dno out coached anyone?

[Meast]

I understand. It can be frustrating as well when our defense isn't aggressive. It really does suck. I'm not one to defend D'Nofrio because he had me fed up with his coverage of Michael Campanero when we played WF. How he had a LB until the very end was frustrating. I just think he had a a good game plan for FSU and we just lost on talent. I'm hoping for better days ahead with recruiting and filling up the depth.

I'm 10000% sure UM would want that kind of attitude or talent on the team. We haven't exactly been the spot to play at until Al Golden got arrived and finally had the NCAA cloud lifted.

[jsy]

Look we use the excuse of lack of talent all the time and according to that logic we should have no problem with vt bc we have superior talent even without duke we have better stable of backs and even without 4 our receivers are better and thomas might be the only qb who plays as bad and streaky as Morris. But we know deep inside that foster will coach circles around coley. Do u truly feel dno will out coach the opponent have U ever felt he did?

[Meast]

That was posted on CanesInsight

[Texascane]

When I watch players like Easley and Clowney and Jernigan...they are an entirely different species of football player. Just don't know if UM wants that attitude in its locker room or on the field anymore. Used to. Just a thought.

[Meast]

Regarding our defensive approach to Winston/F$U...
Here's some fodder for the "blitz more/less" and "defensive strategy" discussions...

The conventional wisdom from the outset of the season was to blitz Winston, forcing the inexperienced quarterback into a mistake. But Winston has made defenses pay for such an unimaginative approach. Entering Saturday’s game, he was exceptional against the blitz, completing 70 percent of his passes for an average of 12.4 yards per attempt with 11 touchdowns and just two INTs, according to ESPN Stats and Information.

By the time Miami arrived in Tallahassee, the secret was out.

“They blitzed a little bit, but they did it more like fire zone, slanting the line,” tackle Cameron Erving said. “They were coached well.”

Miami still blitzed on roughly one-third of Winston’s attempts, but the Hurricanes prioritized coverage over the top, hoping to lull the aggressive Winston into a mistake downfield. In the first half, the plan mostly worked.

http://espn.go.com/blog/acc (See "Winston's 'bad' game still looked good")

[jsy]

My point is there are many dcs out there that get more out of their unit with less talent than dno. Over the past ten years how much "talent" has foster truly had that would just make u go wow he's a stud. The only guy who sticks out to me like that is maybe deangelo hall. But he consistently fields a top ten defense. Vt defense went toe to toe with bamas 5 star offense and shut them down and talent gap was huge. When was the last big time offense we shut down. A good coach makes his team believe u are good enough to compete with anyone. How can a player feel when dno runs zone all day bc he doesn't think he has the talent. What kind of message does that send your players? How can they play to their max ability with confidence and belief in yourself when your own coach doesn't believe in you.

[CaneRock]

I agree with Sileo, PHUCK! Freeman! PHUCK! FSU!

[Meast]

I just don't see the NFL talent on defense yet. Saying a guy is NFL talent and actually making an NFL roster are different things IMO. You can be talented and get drafted to a team and then cut. To me it just seems you are good to possibly make the NFL but not good enough to stay in the league.

I love Chickillo, but he's not an NFL talent IMO. Maybe in a year. Right now, I think he's a guy that tries and gives 100% but isn't an NFL player. Outside of Perryman, Gaines and Armbrister or Cornelieous aren't NFL players IMO.

McCord and Muhammed are still young guys and situational pass rushers. If we have a true stud at DT or better DT play overall, then it would make a huge difference. They come off the edge but if the QB steps up and there is no rush up the middle, its a nice comfortable pocket.

I see the potential in the secondary but I would be terrified if we played man every moment with a very weak pass rush.

[jsy]

I'm just saying the point of a zone is to bring pressure from multiple angles and cover the receivers with less players by playing a zone behind the pressure. Our zone drops 7-8 into coverage ala a prevent defense. If u can't generate pressure with your dline it's the dc job to invent creative ways to bring heat. Dno needs to see he has a guy like Howard who can take away a receiver and bush and Jenkins are ball hawks and adjust to the strengths of his team. If u truly feel that the guys in our secondary are better suited for 10 yds off zone then I guess my argument has no merit but I just don't see it that way.