We Got Some NFLU Canes Over Here...

Greg Olsen (Carolina Panthers) - five catches, 122 yards, 78-yard touchdown

Trailing 10-7 to San Francisco in the second quarter Sunday, the Carolina Panthers needed a spark in a home matchup with the 49ers. Enter Greg Olsen. Quarterback Cam Newton found the Pro Bowl tight end  wide open in the middle of the field, and connected on a career-long 78-yard, go-ahead touchdown to take a 14-7 lead. Olsen, who made five catches for 122 yards, led all tight ends in yardage for Week 2, guiding Carolina to a 46-27 win.

Travis Benjamin (San Diego Chargers) - six catches, 115 yards, two TDs

In need of an explosive option for its offense this past offseason, the San Diego Chargers signed wide receiver Travis Benjamin to a four-year, $24 million contract. Benjamin came through in a big way in Sunday’s 38-14 blowout of Jacksonville, totaling a game-high 115 receiving yards on six catches with two touchdowns. Benjamin pushed San Diego’s early lead to 14-0 with a six-yard TD in the second quarter, and hauled in a 45-yard TD from quarterback Phillip Rivers in the third to help put the game away.

Clive Walford (Oakland Raiders) – six catches, 50 yards, one touchdown

Many experts predicted Oakland Raiders second-year tight end Clive Walford to have a breakout year in 2016. Walford displayed that potential in Sunday’s disappointing 35-28 loss to Atlanta. Walford caught six passes – double his Week 1 total of three – including a 31-yard touchdown from quarterback Derek Carr to open the second-half scoring. Walford, who caught 28 passes for 329 yards in his rookie season, is on pace for a big season with the Raiders.

Andre Johnson (Tennessee Titans) – game-winning 9-yard touchdown

With the game clock ticking down to under 90 seconds in the fourth quarter, the Tennessee Titans turned to their most player for a big play. As he has done on countless occasions through his 14 seasons in the NFL, Andre Johnson came through. Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota lofted a pass into double-coverage and Johnson came down with the ball, scoring a nine-yard touchdown to give Tennessee a 16-15 win over Detroit. The touchdown reception was the 69th of Johnson’s illustrious career.

Ladarius Gunter (Green Bay Packers) – six tackles, one forced fumble

Making his first career start in the NFL on Sunday Night Football, Green Bay Packers’ second-year defensive back Ladarius Gunter enjoyed an impressive performance in a 17-14 loss to host Minnesota. Gunter totaled a team-high and career-best six tackles (all solo) and also forced a fumble in the second quarter. Gunter, who had just two tackles in his rookie season of 2015, figures to be an impact player in the Green Bay secondary in 2016.

Comments

[UMike]

Alrighty then... but as we were discussing, I disagree he will be a bust come the end of the year.

[thirstybuzzardcane]

So who do we want to win tonight, Clemson or GT?

[CaneRock]

UMike, I feel ya', Golden totally screwed up Rudolph's recruitment...He seemed like a lock at the time.

[SOUP]

But anyways, if it was SOUP, He was right LOL.

Posted by: CaneRock | September 22, 2016 at 11:37 AM

Yes it was me. I can't remember when/where I saw him play but he took a bunch of plays off, lazy player, did not work on his craft, no urgency to him.

It was none other than my friend LT#36 who told me at a tailgate one time that you can always tell a GREAT WR by what he does on plays that are not designed to come their way. He said there should be no difference in the way they come off the ball or run their route because if you only go hard when the play is designed for you then you easily reveal which plays are coming to you. Always go 100% on every play whether catching, decoying, blocking or clearing a zone for the other WRs. That's what LT#36 told me.

[CaneRock]

Gotcha SOUP...excellent assessments by You & LT#36.

[CaneRock]

On another note, it's becoming apparently clear that *s don't matter that much at the QB position. Didn't Lamar Jackson start off as a barely recruited 3*? And like I said awhile back, either not offering, or offering Paxton Lynch late, cost quite a few HCs their jobs.

[CaneRock]

^^^^^^^^ Ditto with Kaaya, I think He started off as a barely recruited 3*.

[SOUP]

LT#36:

http://ukathletics.com/sport/m-footbl/2016/roster/56f9621ae4b0edec1fed6a8b

[UMike]

CR... it could be argued that the QB position is the hardest to forecast. But I do think the rankings from recruiting services have got better over the years.

[Ohio_Cane]

So who do we want to win tonight, Clemson or GT?

Posted by: thirstybuzzardcane | September 22, 2016 at 11:38 AM
-------------------------------------------

GT, but they have no shot.

[UMike]

If GT wins they move into the top 25 and that looks better if we beat them. However, if Clemson pounds them and exposes them, wears them etc that is good for us.

[BigWindyCane1]

I agree Cane Rock.

Paxton Lynch and Lamar Jackson demonstrate the point that there is so much talent in the state of Florida (and it seems to grow every year I have been following it), that it is essential that the Canes have the right coaches and scouts evaluating local talent because so much falls under the radar. Recruiting sites don't get it all right.

[Ohio_Cane]

We're gonna stomp a mudhole into GT regardless of the outcome of their Clemson game.

[UMike]

Spacers are mighty confident these days, you would almost think we've beat some good teams :)

[Lur-ker]

Screw LT36, and y'all know why.

He's in football hell anyway

[Lur-ker]

There's always that guy that tells you you're having too much fun.

You know, the hold-back guy:

https://spreegoogs.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/i.jpeg

[TheeMackJones]

Top 25 College Team Performances for Week 3

Phil Steele.com

3. Miami, Fl at Appalachian St

Rushing 164 Passing 385 Points 45

Rushing 126 Passing 115 Points 10

Game grade 118.64

[TheeMackJones]

Posted by: UMike | September 22, 2016 at 01:05 PM

You and like-minded Cane fans are going to be absolutely SHOCKED after Miami, Florida derails the Stumbling, Bumbling, Fumbling Rambling Wreck.

In other words, it's going to be another DOUBLE-DIGIT ( Perhaps 3 TD's ) road victory for CMR and squad.

[30CINCO]

Confidence in a Canes blog? How dare you!?!

[UMike]

Mack.. I wouldnt be shocked, not at all. Our D has been great and the O is still looking to break out, so I wouldnt be shocked. Ive just learned to temper my expectations over the last decade plus lol

[TheeMackJones]

Berrios Excels In The Classroom

By Steven Preciado

Imagine your alarm going off every morning at 5:00 a.m. to get up and be at treatment by 6:00 a.m., then be at practice from 9:00 to 11:30 a.m. and then devoting the rest of your day to schoolwork.

That’s the average life of a student athlete and although it may be a challenge, Hurricanes’ wide receiver Braxton Berrios accepts the challenges head on everyday.

“Once exams start it’s pretty terrible for the most part to be honest,” Berrios said jokingly, “It’s being in the library between classes, studying here, studying at night. I can’t tell you how many times last spring I stayed in the library until it had closed.”

At times the library closes while he’s still studying.

“You’ll be working in the back and then security will start flashing their lights to let us know they’re closing, then you realize it’s already 2:00 in the morning.” He said.

Berrios, who is in his junior year, has kept a perfect GPA not only at Miami, but also dating back to his days in middle school.

“I was one of two kids, it was me and another girl named Meredith and she was ridiculously smart,” he said. “We were the only two that got an award in the eighth grade for having all A’s throughout middle school.”

Then once high school came around, all Berrios’ grades were above a 4.0. He would get a B a few times, but since they were in honors classes they would still count as a 4.0 GPA.

“When I was in middle school, teachers would say ‘just wait until high school’, then once I got to high school they said ‘just wait until college’, now in college they’re like ‘WOW, you’re still going strong.” he said.

He’s had some close calls here at Miami, at times going into a final needing an A to keep his streak alive, but that streak came to an end this past spring semester, or so he thought.

“I got graded a B+ in one of my classes last semester, it was a big group project class,” he said, “The teacher emailed me over the summer telling me that they would review grades whenever they could and that they had made a mistake, turns out that my B+ was really an A-”

When he originally noticed the B+, he was a bit disappointed, but at the same time relieved.

“When I saw it I was like ‘dang’, I wanted perfection and after that I wasn’t perfect anymore,” he said, “But I took it in stride and just said ‘you know what? The pressure is over’ and now I could do whatever now, but luck has it that the streak came back. ”

Perfection is what drives Berrios to do what he does in the classroom, as well as in everyday life.

“I try to be perfect in everything I do,” he said, “It’s a great thing but it’s also a curse, at times my conscious will tell me ‘you know what? You’re not ready yet. Stay up a little later, stay up until 2 am, get this stuff down pat, before you get up to go to football then the test.’

His parents never pushed him to get these grades and always told him to strive for his best.

“I ended up finding out that this was my best and I think your best can be heightened by your work ethic,” Berrios said, “It was never anything anyone ever forced me to do, it just started to happen and I just like being different, doing things a different way.”

Berrios knows that his academic record is something special and he sees it as a great way to set an example.

“At the end of the day, it’s one of the key things that we have control of over here,” he said, “You know being student-athletes, playing football at the U, people do look up to us and think we are bigger than we actually are and it’s one more thing kids can look at and be like ‘ok, you know what, I can do that to.’”

His commitment to his grades, as well as football got him noticed by some of the nation’s top academic schools, including several institutions from the Ivy League.

“I got letters from some Ivy League schools, but nothing that I pursued,” he said, “I wanted to play college football and this was my dream school. My dad’s from South Florida, so I grew up a Miami fan, so this was perfect.”

When it came to deciding where to go to college, regardless of academic standing, the choice was simple. Miami was his dream school to play football for and academics played a bit of a factor.

“It definitely was a factor, I wouldn’t say it was a huge factor, because when you’re being recruited for football, there are a lot of factors that you don’t understand or see until you start to visit the campus, you start to meet coaches and you start seeing the facilities,” he said, “It was definitely a huge plus that Miami’s a top-50 institution academically, that it’s a private school and it looks great on a resume.”

Berrios is not only a captain on the field, but also off the field as many of his teammates, in particular the freshmen, come to him for tutoring advice and how manages both school and football so well.

“I give them all the advice that I can,” he said, “Sometimes they come to me for tutoring, but at times it’s for something that I haven’t seen in a few years or something off my track. So I try to help as much as I can.”

Most people wouldn’t expect a football player to be getting the grades that he receives, but Berrios loves the reaction from his fellow classmates when they see his perfect slate in the classroom.

“To say my classmates are shocked when they see my grades is an understatement.” He said.

He knows that it’s a stigma that comes with being a football player, where new classmates think that because he plays he football, he won’t take his schoolwork seriously.

“Not all football players are like that, none of my teammates are like that,” he said, “But that’s the stigma that comes with it and it’s fun to see the look on peoples faces, it’s nice to shed the stereotype.”

Berrios could have taken extra classes to graduate this upcoming spring, but the North Carolina native is in no hurry to leave his dream school. He plans on graduating next fall.

“I didn’t want to rush it having to take three or four finance classes next spring along with spring football,” he said. “There’s no point to try to put myself through that.”

Outside of the possibility of being overwhelmed from taking too many classes in one semester, his main reason is to not have anything distract him from football.

On the field, he has one main goal for this season.

“To win,” he says. “It’s time, we have to win.”

[TheeMackJones]

Article above borrowed from hurricanesports.com

[thirstybuzzardcane]

GT, but they have no shot.

Posted by: Ohio_Cane | September 22, 2016 at 12:34 PM

I agree, but its better for us if Clemson wins as far as the coastal goes.

[Lur-ker]

GT did beat FSU last year, but yea, I don't see how they have a shot, either.

[VA Cane]

Sinister, I am 58...years young!!!!LOL!!!

Epi 9/28 correct?

Hope we have a big win that WEEK!!!!!! Go Canes!!!

[VA Cane]

Berrios good student....how about that catch/ that was impressive....great kid.

Like to say how well we all are respecting each other...I know we have all had our moments...know i have....but hey winning makes things better...i know we all feel better...well except for GC.....tip one more big guy...it will help!!!!

I love this place!!!!!

[1mg of Epi]

Spacers are mighty confident these days, you would almost think we've beat some good teams :)

Posted by: UMike | September 22, 2016 at 01:05 PM

I still have that gnawing fear that we will at some point see a relapse.. that we will see that ol' not rising to the occasion shat. The next few weeks will be telling.

[1mg of Epi]

Sinister, I am 58...years young!!!!LOL!!!

Epi 9/28 correct?

Hope we have a big win that WEEK!!!!!! Go Canes!!!

Posted by: VA Cane | September 22, 2016 at 03:07 PM

Yes sir! 9/28!!

[Terrance Sullivan]

The Next 6 weeks from Saturday October 1st at Georgia Tech in Atlanta to 2 Straight Games at Home against FSU and UNC respectively to two straight Games on the Road against VT in Blacksburg and Notre Dame in South Bend and finishing at home on Homecoming vs Pitt on Saturday November 5th. That will be 5 ACC Games and a Game against long time arch rival Notre Dame. This 6 Game stretch will tell us most of whta we need to know about our Canes!

[Lur-ker]

Man, looking at it like that, that is an overdose of kings football

[Lur-ker]

*canes

[WWIN]

We can't focus on short term rewards... we need Clemson to win to keep the ACC strong and too possibly be ranked high for the ACC championship game.

Short term ranking boost will come from beating fsu

[Lur-ker]

Willie, you're assuming FSU wins the next couple of weeks.

USF, with Quinton Flowers, isn't going to roll over

[nemo2002]

So who do we want to win tonight, Clemson or GT?

Posted by: thirstybuzzardcane | September 22, 2016 at 11:38 AM

I want them both to lose!

[WWIN]

Yes I am assuming fsu wins the next couple of weeks, which I think they will.

Even if they don't I think we are fine where we're at and will continue to gradually move up in the rankings long as we keep winning. If Clemson goes undefeated and we play em in the ACCCG that will give us the huge jump we need!

Plus... we all know GA Tech is NOT going undefeated so they might as well lose now

[CaneRock]

USF, with Quinton Flowers, isn't going to roll over

Posted by: Lur-ker | September 22, 2016 at 05:07 PM

Yup. Like Louisville, USF gave em' fits for about a half last year.

[Terrance Sullivan]

Let's Just take care of business in this 6 game stretch and we can check out the situation come Sunday November 6th.

[Terrance Sullivan]

Canespace Roll Call for GT Game in Atlanta. Who is all in. So Far we know KYCane, SaraSota, UMike, Sinister Cane, MaryLou, CaneSteeler, Cold Cane, and Yours Truly will be in the ATL! Am I missing anyone?

[NicKane]

WWIN
We can't focus on short term rewards... we need Clemson to win to keep the ACC strong and too possibly be ranked high for the ACC championship game.

Short term ranking boost will come from beating fsu

Posted by: WWIN | September 22, 2016 at 05:03 PM

Well said wwin

[Sarasota 'cane]

Posted by: Terrance Sullivan | September 22, 2016 at 05:52

I would add who will be at Dantanna's for the pep rally at 6:30pm on Friday night? Melvins Bratton will be there along with several former players, Sebastian, and most likely the President of The U! Without a doubt the best away game on the schedule!

Go 'canes!

[Montie757]

Why are you guys rooting for GT we need them to lose we can take care od Clemson later id thwy even make the ACC championship

[Terrance Sullivan]

Thank U Sarasota Cane. Yes total agreement.

[Dude on a Pale Horse]

Win every game and it all falls into place anyways. No need to worry about who beats who win. Just win all of them.

[Dude on a Pale Horse]

*who beats who when*

[Dude on a Pale Horse]

And Clemson is rolling btw.

[Dude on a Pale Horse]

Brad should carve GT like a turkey. D get ready for a long night.

[SJMPARMAN]

GT does not look impressive at all. No dominance at any position on offensive line. Justin Thomas not very accurate. Paul Johnson going for halfback pass on his side of field. If this was last year's Clemson team, they would be up by 40 right now. I think this may have been a wasted bye week. GT just not that good. I would have prepared to have 2 weeks before FSU than GT right now.

[Lur-ker]

It's not like Clemson is blowing me away this yrpear either.

[58 Straight]

NEW BLOG IS UP!