This was a tough loss. The frustrating part is that we didn’t play all that well, our consistent weaknesses were exposed (no pass rush, trouble with athletic defensive lines, Ryan pressing/forcing at times) and yet we still had chances to win this game. Even thought we didn’t play well, I am not disheartened. We can still win the division if we play well the next three games.
Offense: B-
It was a Helter Skelter day for Ryan. He threw some beautiful balls. The TD pass to Robinson. The long bomb to Gunnell (which was the same play the two hooked up on for a TD against Wake). Few college QBs can make those throws. Yet for all the good things he did, he offset them with some bad plays. He pressed and rushed a few throws. The first INT was a great play by the FSU defender. The second two were on Ryan for making bad decisions and bad throws. He missed some opportunities for big plays by dumping off to a safety valve. The two best examples of Ryan pressing were the passes across the line of scrimmage. The game was going so fast and he was so intent on trying to make something happen that he lost awareness of where he was on the field. Even with all those questionable plays I bet most of us thought were we winning that game when he got the ball back down 20-17. Tough day. I think the Heisman is gone.
Ryan wasn’t the only inconsistent star. AC had a few nice plays and some tough runs but dropped four balls. LV never really had much to do. One nice run on his part. Although he did give a half-hearted effort on a pass thrown to him. McLuskey was rusty and it showed. His holding penalty in the redzone proved to be a huge error.
Brandon Robinson was unbelievable. I thought he’d have some big plays, but nothing like that. He ran hard. Showed his speed and toughness. He made a ton of plays and had 219 total yards. He gets the gameball. Rich Gunnell showed me a lot too. Outside of his big play, he had two very nice grabs where he just made a play one on one. He also showed he can catch a ball under pressure. Purvis also put together another solid outing. Not only can he catch the ball in traffic, but he makes sure to hold onto the ball. Speaking of holding onto the ball…Kevin Challenger had a rough night. First the fumble. Then he followed up with a few more drops. Also, the first interception is on Ryan but Challenger could have adjusted and tried to make a play. Jarvis missed a chance to make a big play when we were pinned deep in our own end. Nothing was thrown Megwa’s way.
The offensive line was really a tale of two halfs. In the first they had problems with speed, were getting blown up at the line and couldn’t get much push on run plays. By the second half they adjusted to the speed and gave Ryan more time. The pocket was still collapsing but the unit did well. Cherilus looked much better. He was holding his blocks and engaging his men better. Castonzo showed similar improvement. Ramsey still has trouble with speed. Hall got called for a false start in the redzone but played well enough. Solid day from Tennant.
A few people on the message boards, in the comments section of the blog, and my own father questioned Logan’s play calling. I did not. The main gripe was we didn’t run the ball. I don’t think abandoning the run was about style points or stubbornly trying to win in a certain way. I think Logan looks at what we do well and what would work best against the opponent. I thought Logan called a heck of a game. We had 478 total yards on offense. We couldn’t score in the red zone but it wasn’t from poor play calling. In fact I think the red zone play calling was pretty good. Player miscues stalled those scoring drives. Sure we didn’t run much, but when your line cannot give you the push, don’t stubbornly stay with it. Wasn’t that the main complaint against our old OC? In my opinion Logan was not the coordinator with the problem yesterday. His design, preparation and adjustments were all there.
Defense: B-
Our pass rush has been a problem all year and came back to haunt us last night. It begins at the front four. These guys couldn’t get to the QB and when the pocket did collapse, they couldn’t close on Weatherford. Now for the kudos. Ramella played a hell of a game. He is very disciplined with holding contain and was making plays and hustling all night. Brace played well. Albright started slow but also made some big plays. Off night for Scafe. He was missing tackles and out of position a few times. Giles got pushed around and was a non factor. Brady Smith was the biggest disappointment. He had been playing very well of late, but was not a factor in this game. Willette got on the field and made a few plays. Larkin: non factor in the second half.
Dunbar looked like he was ready to play and made a few big tackles early. I think his absence was a big factor, but not the reason the defense struggled. Pruitt made some big plays early but had trouble in pass coverage. McLaughlin was an adequate substitute – he tackled well, but was slow to react to both the pass and runs. Akins remains a mystery. I remember him getting to Weatherford last year in Tallahassee. This year – he didn’t even get close enough to say hello. Akins also cannot react or stop the run. Francois was ok. Herzy was being used as a rusher for much of the night. But he made two huge plays on 3rd downs on consecutive drives that kept us in the game.
The secondary like their counterparts in other units, had some good moments mixed with some bad. Obviously they came in ready for the jump balls and handled them well. Silva has really become a complete Safety and is very good in pass coverage now. He made some huge hits and tackles. Anderson had the best game of his career. He hustled and made some really tough tackles. Morris didn’t get challenged much nor do much. Tribble – made some big plays but also missed way too many tackles. His sloppy arm swipe costs us the TD that took the ‘Noles to 20. The good news is that Gause, Rollins and Bowman all played well in limited time.
I liked Logan’s gameplan. I didn’t like Spaz’s. Let me explain. Logan seems to know what we do well and don’t and finds a way to work with it (see 450+ yards). In my opinion the biggest reason we lost is that we could stop FSU’s clock killing drives through the first three quarters. I give Spaz credit for keeping the other team out of the endzone, but when the “bend but don’t break” scheme doesn’t create any turnovers or big plays, it can be a slow death. If we make one or two more earlier stops perhaps Ryan and the offense score one more time.
Special teams: C-
Good: Robinson and Smith’s returns. They didn’t break anything long, but each run was productive. Newman also showed good composure by holding onto their short kick. Ayers had a good night.
Bad: In my opinion Tribble’s continued avoidance of punt returns is costing us big. I know that earlier in the season I was complaining about his fair catches…I would have killed for a few more fair catches last night. Letting it go and roll puts our offense in a huge hole. The squib kicks drive me nuts. Sure we had some success with it, but it is such a low probability play that I don’t think it is worth it. And not having a consistent field goal kicker is killing us on the scoreboard and in momentum.
Overall: C+
You turn over the ball four times, you allow a mediocre QB have a career night against your defense, you give the opponents great field position because you cannot kick it deep, you cannot establish the run, and yet late in the fourth quarter you have a chance to win the game. This was not a moral victory by any means, but it wasn’t a disaster. At this point I will give a lowish grade...hopefully this is just a small bump in the road.
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16 comments:
Bill,
I think you're too tough on Spaz. BC lost the turnover battle 4-0, and STILL was in great position to win the game. BC had Dunbar out early, and Pruitt out midway through the third. Brace was playing on half a leg. How could they not have played "bend but don't break"? The defense that was on the field in the 3rd and 4th quarters was seriously lacking in field-ready talent. It's really that simple. Unfortunately if the play-makers made the plays that were there for the taking--as they normally do--the result would have been different. Let's hope they make enough plays in two of the next three games, and we'll be headed to Jax.
Also, I try and try to be objective. But given my rooting interests, that's impossible. So from that perspective, I thought the officiating, yet again, was horrid. The ACC refs do not have control of the football game. If they do not call pass interference when it's committed against our guys they are not big enough or strong enough to hold their position and make the catch--example #1 was the pass interference on Gunnell that occurred right before the game-ending INT.
Maybe I am being too tough. But how can we be nine games into the season and still have no pass rush? Try anything. And I guess I felt not getting FSU off the field was also on the D. I also don't buy the field ready talent arguement. Francois, McLaughlin, and Akins have all been on the field and contributed for two and three years.
Agree with the pass rush issues. Its getting very frustrating watching quarterbacks have all day to throw against us. The thing that was real upsetting was the fact that we get inside the 10 twice in the first half and come away with no points. Unacceptable. I really felt if we got a lead on these guys, FSU would fold. Never got the lead. This one is tough to take. Reading idiots like Dennis Dodd is whats most frustrating.
It's called a blitz. Spaz should look into it sometime.
I think in some ways, next weeks game at Maryland, also on Saturday night @ 8:00 PM, is a bigger game for the Jags era. Win on the road and we are still focused on an ACC title game which would be an outstanding season. Lose with Clemson away on the horizon and we are back to TOB era of Top 35 program. Not a bad place to be but clearly a disappoinment from a week ago.
Jags needs to regroup and I agree with the above we need to stop feeding the Matty Ice machine and run the ball.
I am surprised that no one has mentioned the role played by horrendous BC kickoffs. How many times did the Noles start with great field position after some weak line drive kickoff? The Sid Vicious story was a nice one but enough is enough. He's ok with FG's but his range is too limited. They have to find someone else to kick off. Top 10 teams need Top 10 kickers.
The only linebacker on the field capable of making plays at the end of the game was #94. I think that's because of injuries. Maybe it's because of coaching. I don't know. But that's why the defense couldn't get off the field--I know that.
I think we beat Maryland, but I am concerned about our final two games. We clearly have trouble with fast, athletic teams. Clemson beat Florida State and Miami has been our nemesis for 23 years. Further, we don't play mistake-free football. We got away with it during the stretch of weaker teams, but it caught up with BC vs. Florida State.
The worst case scenario is we lose 2 out of 3 and go to Boise, Charlotte or San Fancisco. Best case scenario is we win out or just lose 1 game and still make the ACC Championship game. Even then, if we face Va tech, I think we lose. If we meet Virginia, I think we match up much better. But, we're a long, long way off from talking about championships. Need to beat Maryland first. I guess the good news is Jags should not have trouble getting the team's attention during practice.
Not to look ahead, but if Clemson knocks off Wake this week, and we take care of business against Maryland, we'll be fighting for a Jacksonville birth against Clemson. The winner most likely goes to the title game.
eagleboston - I disagree with the assumption that we'll lose to Va Tech. Our defense was outstanding in Blacksburg, and if not for some questionable calls, VTech would have came away with 0 points. Also, in Logan we trust. After he got a shot to see them once, I think we'll establish the run more and he will call an excellent game.
Bill
You do an unbelievable job with this blog but you are way off on the grades today.
The offense deserved an F. The quarterback deserves an F minus. Tribble on special teams deserved an F.
Our QB (I will not be Mike Gundy) has failed in clutch situations in our last 4 losses. Last year he threw bad 4th quarter interceptions against Wake, NC State and Miami. Against FSU not only did he throw 3 bad ones but he could have had 4 more forcing the ball into tight spots. He went over the line twice in the red zone, the second one costing first and goal from the 1 and he missed Purvis wide open down the middle in the late 3rd/early 4th that would have had us on the 10. Not being hard on the kid but Ryan was awful. He needs to make those plays. Maybe our other players are "pedestrian" but making the right decisions on throwing the ball is mental.
Tribble killed us by not catching those 2 punts. Whoever is coaching special teams or even Jags at this point has to stop that nonsense. If he is too tired from his D responsibilities get someone else in there.
The coaches put this team in position to win on the offensive side and defensive side and the players did not make plays. Spaz does a great job and we were very shorthanded. We left a bunch of points on the field.
Tough one
You can't possibly be serious, right? Matt Ryan "not clutch?" Did you watch the Virginia Tech game at all? You reference “our last four losses?” Do you realize that Matt Ryan played nearly all of last year on one leg? Do you realize that he is 22-5 as a starter?
Yes, his final pass got intercepted, but that ball was basically ripped out of Purvis' hands. Yes, he made a couple of misplays (first two INTs, Purvis up the middle, two forward passes), but he also made some great plays that were either a) dropped (Challenger/Calledar) b) wrongfully overturned (bomb B-Rob) or c) misran (bomb to Jarvis).
There were a lot of mistakes in that game, but if those plays had gone differently, they would have won the game. Period. It was a tough loss, but don't blame Ryan. Without him, this year's team wouldn't be where it is today.
If want perfection, root for the Patriots.
On a positive note: the crowd was really into it and pretty loud through most of the game. I'm usually not an advocate of hokie fan ploys, but the yellow pom poms looked pretty cool in the Superfan section.
Fans arrived early for the most part. By the time of kickoff, all of the seats aside from the upper end zones were filled.
Go Eagles!
My God, talk about a post that should be deleted.
An F for the offense? Really?? I think that'd be in the neighborhood of like 150 total yards for the game. Not, say, THE 500 YARDS that our offense gained.
And I really feel bad for you if you can't appreciate how good Matt Ryan is because you will never enjoy watching BC football if you feel that way. He is a once-in-a-generation if not once-in-a-lifetime talent. If you can't see that, your loss.
And, perhaps best of all, Ryan would never be classless enough to write a post like that.
For a game where everything went wrong, and everything did go wrong, to be down 3 points with a chance to win was a good situation. Against Tech, we made it happen; this time, a pass into traffic went the other way.
First, the weather. Cold, rainy, and windy would have played to our advantage this week, but the rain stopped in the first quarter, and the temperature went up about 8 to 10 degrees as the game progressed.
Second, injuries. Clearly, Brace was not at 100% and they did not have to doube-team him on every play. This allowed FSU to run some, especially the counters and cutbacks, and took away anypass rush we normally get from our front four. Then both Dunbar and Pruitt going down opened up the middle of the field. This also eventually led to Akins lining up at corner most of the fourth quarter, which fooled nobody, and finally resulted in Fagg's TD.
Third, the officials. I was standing about 18 yard from where Parker dove and could see him trap it. The BJ was lost in the congestion in the endzone and must have missed it. Then turning it around, it sure looked like Robinson came down with the ball, and let's just say they didn't show the replay on the Jumbotron for fear that we would go Georgia Tech on the refs and field. That alone is a 10 point swing.
Fourth, blitzing. Spaz rarely blitzes which is why it works so well. Other teams have to hope their QB can digest 3 to 4 reads against a 7 man drop. Eventually, he will hold it too long or make a bad read. Sure, we give up yards, but when we do dial up the blitz, it usually works. I counted 4 blitzes in the first half, and Weatherford easily beat 3 of them. Why? Because their receivers are too big and too quick to play one-on-one. Once Dunbar went out, it was no longer an option at all.
Look did Ryan play well? NO he played like crap. I like the player but face the facts. Was he clutch the first 3 quarters against Va Tech? Washe clutch when he threw a Garfield Heard 3 against Wake last year? Or when he threw the interception against the Canes that cost us the BCS trip or the 4th quarter problems against NC State? NO.
I am not looking for
perfection but 17 points and 500 yards blows.
The guy in your name Flutie was clutch and don't you forget it.
Stop looking at the world thru #12 Maroon and Gold glasses.
The post was about Bill's grade of a B minus. BC gained 600 yards against Penn State with Flutie , ask Flutie how that went. They got crushed.
Go hide in your fantasy football hole.
You remind me of the people who thought Sean Marshall was good, good in the small games, never came up big when he played the big competition.
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