SB Nation - Corey Surrency

More Testimony In Favor Of Mike Balogun

ccmachine — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 05:48:38 -0000

On a day where Florida State University was back peddling more than a defensive back in a two-a-day practice, Mike Balogun’s lawyer was prepping for an important court date tomorrow. Balogun’s camp already had his former NAFL team president’s testimony that he only played for two seasons and was done before the age of 21. Now they’ve gotten three more people speaking up for him, including the person responsible for putting him in the stat book. According to the Tulsa World, attorney Woody Glass filed three affidavits in Cleveland County District Court. In those affidavits are the testimonies off these three men.

James Walsh, a coach for an all-star game for small college and semi-pro players, says Balogun didn’t play in the 2004 All-American Bowl, despite being named on Mid-Americafootball.com as a 2004 all-star linebacker.

John Phillips, a statistician for 2005 NAFL2 championship game in Orlando, said roster and even jersey information is often incorrect and unreliable within the league, and that "rosters ... were likely inaccurate and players I mentioned in the game report likely did not play in the game." Balogun was listed on SemiProFootball.org as playing in the 2005 NAFL2 championship game.

Tony Hall, president of the Diamond Football League, certified that Balogun "did not play with the Prince George Jets," as it was reported during the 2008 BCS Champoinship game on FOX.

We’ll see how it all turns out tomorrow but if these testimonies hold up in court then Balogun could be knocking helmets with Mormons in a couple of weeks.

As for the party responsible for starting this mess, Florida State is taking a much different stance than what the public perception is. According to the FSU compliance director, Brian Battle, they only called OU to find out how they got Balogun eligible and never turned them in to a governing authority. That certainly goes against everything we’ve heard so far. Maybe the Seminoles suddenly remembered that they have a trip to Norman next fall and don’t want to provide any extra motivation for the crowd to be even more hostile towards them.

"The purpose of the inquiry to Oklahoma University was to gather information regarding a similar eligibility case involving former Florida State wide receiver Corey Surrency," Battle said in the statement. "Florida State’s compliance office did not contact the Big 12 or the NCAA."

Yeah right, and Brad McRae never paid Rhett Bomar for not working! There are already documents in court that state otherwise on this so someone is going to get left out to dry. If it’s Balogun then his career at OU was short lived because if they can’t get that part of the story right then they won’t be able to prove much else either. If its Florida State then Mr. Battle putt even more egg on the face of an institution where the outside perception is that they’ve got so many NCAA infractions that a Texas lineman would need to borrow his teammate’s toes to count and yet they spend time digging up dirt on the team that beat them in the national championship game almost ten years ago. Bitter much?

Florida State's Receivers Embrace New Roles

FSUncensored — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 14:45:44 -0000

Taiwan Easterling hauls in a pass against Colorado. He will work mostly from the slot this year.

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As redshirt freshmen in 2008, Taiwan Easterling and Bert Reed didn't think they would be relied upon, as Florida State returned senior Greg Carr and junior Preston Parker. But they would soon be asked to come through on crucial plays. Early in the first quarter against hated rival Miami, Easterling caught a 9 yard pass on second and 10, setting up an easily convertible 3rd & 1 which FSU converted on the way to scoring a touchdown for the early 7-0 lead. As the half wound down, FSU was again driving, hoping to add to their 21-0 lead. With less than a minute left, Reed took a short pass, made a 'Cane miss, and scooted 19 yards up the sideline for the first down. FSU would add a field goal to close out the half. Late in the third quarter as Miami cut the one time 21 point lead to just 9, and with the rain pouring down, FSU again dialed up Easterling's number, as quarterback Christian Ponder hit Easterling for a 27 yard strike on third and 13 as Taiwan ran a beautiful route on a drenched field. Then in the 4th quarter, as the Hurricanes had cut the lead to just 2, Easterling ran a reverse for 20 yards. The play was ballsy given the circumstances and it caught the 'Canes totally off guard.

The way Reed and Easterling were thrown into the fire was refreshing for Seminoles fans, who had become accustomed to an unnecessary amount of deference to upperclassmen under the previous offensive coaching staff, led by Jeff Bowden. That's not to say that Carr and Parker weren't used effectively, but Easterling was the 'Noles best wide receiver in 2008 and Reed was a dangerous weapon who changed several games with his speed. I sat down with both of them Sunday to discuss what we can expect to see from them and the receiving corps this year.

Taiwan will play mostly slot this year (the "Y). This is good for the 'Noles because he is excellent at reading defenses and sitting down in the vacated areas in zone coverage. He's also decent at running the bubble screens FSU used so well last year when teams showed certain alignments. I asked Easterling about playing the slot. "I can really play all over. I know all the routes for all the positions. ," Easterling said. He talked about making the reads in the slot. "it's not harder than the outside, I don't know, it's just different. You have to see the safeties and once you get the safeties you know the defense. I just watch a lot of film and it seems to come natural to me." He also credited his high school program with helping him get ready for the college level "we threw the ball a lot, no huddle stuff and the QB and I would make the checks at the line, so that helped me a little, but I didn't play there but for one year, so it was still a huge adjustment for me and I had to watch a lot of film."

Easterling is quite the film rat, and if he is recovered from his surgery (he says he is 100%, which is remarkable), he will be quite the weapon for FSU, particularly on 3rd downs. On his recovery, Easterling had this encouraging nugget "I feel a lot more explosive, because when i was doing my rehab I worked a lot of my smaller muscles in my leg that I normally wouldn't work." Easterling said he's a little sore, but feels good. He's also a lot bigger in the upper body.

Bert Reed was up next. The speedster with the newly shaved head said that he was excited about his move to the "X", which is the outside. "I really have to work on my release because the corners are up on me, and they weren't like that when I was in the slot, but I also don't have to block those 225lb linebackers, because at 175lbs that doesn't work too well." "I'm excited about playing on the outside where I can get the ball in space and only have to make one guy miss, even though I won't be catching those bubbles any more." [Realistically, Reed can and probably will still catch bubbles when FSU uses a trips (3-WR to one side) formation, or even in twins. FSU won't stop putting the ball in his hands.]

Reed also talked about feeling a greater responsibility this year. Last year, teams didn't respect FSU's run game (though it was very good), but they did respect the deep passing game (though it was poor), because FSU had two 6'6" wideouts in Carr and Corey Surrency. I asked Bert about the challenge and opportunity he would face as teams are likely to play single coverage against the 'Noles. "Oh we know they are going to try to stop the run game. The pressure is on us to make them pay when they bring those safeties down and play single coverage. But that also gives us opportunities for big plays. Ponder has more authority this year. If he sees them playing like that he'll let me know and I'll take off deep. We have to stretch the field and prove we can get separation and big plays deep. They have to fear us getting behind them." I asked Bert if any team showed that look last year. "Virginia Tech challenged us like you we expect to see this year, but other than that, nobody else really did. I guess NC State did a bit. Greg made Virginia Tech pay though with those two bombs." "We have opportunities to make big big plays deep this year through play-action and when teams pack the box. We were way short of our goal last year in big plays, and this year teams know we can run and we have to hit them deep if they try too much to stop the run."

I asked Bert about the hidden things Corey Surrency did. "His attitude was amazing, his attitude he brought to practice was great, and he did have the best things on our team. The catches he had to make were really tough. He was so tough and I made a lot of plays through Corey. I'm gonna miss running them bubbles and having him drive his guy." Bert thinks the wideouts need to step up to replace Surrency's blocking.

Bert also said that the game is really slowing down for him. "It really is. It's a comfort thing. I started to see that my 2nd year of quarterback in high school. Catching the ball now is almost effortless. It is becoming second nature and playing wideout now in my third year helps that." [Bert played QB in high school.]

Contrary to what Easterling said, Bert feels the reads at the "X" position are much easier than those at the slot (the "Y"). "Oh yeah, absolutely, because you have more time. You have less guys to read, and you can see everything because you only have to look in, not both ways. It makes it easier for me to know what to do." It seems that Easterling in the Slot and Bert at the "X" should be a good fit.

For more on what FSU could do with their wideouts this year, see Strategy Session: Bubble-N-Go

Will the Florida State Offensive Line Pass Protect in 2009?

FSUncensored — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 20:57:35 -0000

There's a secret in coaching circles that most 'Nole fans don't know about and those who do know don't want the rest of the college football world to know: FSU's offensive line was very good last year- for being the youngest line in the nation. It's that qualifier that should dig at FSU's starting five. It's like saying "that's a nice jumpshot- for a girl." The truth of the matter is that without the qualifier, the statement that "Florida State's offensive line was very good in 2008" is false. All told, if you evaluated their performance without knowing how young they were, you'd be hard pressed to come up with anything more than average. There's a big difference between wildly exceeding expectations and being elite on a national or conference scale. When FSU needed their offensive line to dig in and provide protection in 2008, in passing situations like 2nd & 8+ or 3rd & 5+, the line failed miserably. They simply could not pass protect. Sure, they made big strides in other areas, and looked much better than some of the garbage produced by Jimmy Heggins and Mark McHale in the early and middle parts of this decade, but 'Nole fans eager to have a decent offensive line jumped all over the idea that their boys up front were now elite. They have not yet earned the pre-season accolades being strewn upon them by the media. Not with last year's performance. This year the challenge is to become elite- not just elite considering their youth.

This piece uses advanced measures. You may be familiar with how some of baseball's advanced and highly-specialized, opponent-normalized measures are taking over the way the sports world operates. Baseball is being dominated by all kinds of super metrics, and football is swiftly moving in that direction as progressive athletic departments and professional teams move to hire the advanced minds to give their team the edge in self-scouting and talent evaluation. They seek to improve their performance through a better understanding of the macro and micro elements of the their approach. Here's a look at FSU's 2007 and 2008 offense through the lense of the best available measures.

Measure	2007	2008
Fremeau Efficiency Index: Adjusted Offensive Efficiency (Drive Based)	82nd	15th
Vartisy Numbers Offensive Rating (Play-By-Play Based)	71st	33rd
Varsity Numbers Rushing Rating	89th	15th
Varsity Numbers Passing Rating	47th	57th

Fremeau Link | Varsity Numbers Link A big thank you to Brian Fremeau and Bill Connelly. Without their work, none of this would have been possible.

Everyone knows that Florida State made an improbable leap with their running attack last year, improving from the 89th rated rushing attack in 2007 to the 15th rated rushing attack in 2008. (Rating based off Varsity Numbers S&P close measure, which is adjusted for opponent and removes garbage time possessions). They did this despite having the youngest offensive line in the nation with three true freshmen and two sophomores. The end result was the top offense in the ACC, earning Jimbo Fisher the ACC Offensive Coordinator of the Year Award. All was not perfect, however, as the passing attack went from being rated 47th to 57th nationally (Rating based off Varsity Numbers S&P close measure, which is adjusted for opponent and removes garbage time possessions).

We've already spoken about the running game at length here, here, and here. Today we'll talk about the passing game, and specifically the much-heralded offensive line.

By almost any measure, be it the very basic total yards, or the hyper-advanced Varsity Numbers Close S&P+ measure, FSU's passing offense took a step back in 2008. But the step back was not nearly as large as some of the unrefined numbers indicate. In terms of yards per game, FSU fell from 47th in 2007 to 82nd in 2008. That's quite the drop, but the smarter measures suggest the drop was really only about ten spots, not 35, as the 'Noles saw their passing game fall from 47th to 57th nationally. Why is this so?

To better understand just how far the passing game fell (not as far as you might think), it is important to understand the components of the super advanced passing metric. Close S&P+ is comprised of Success Rate, and Points Per Play (a measure of explosiveness), in situations where the game is not wildly out of hand, and then normalized for opponent quality.

Measure	2007	2008
Passing S&P (combination of the two)	47th	57th
Success Rate +	62nd	28th
Points Per Play +	48th	73rd

To understand what this means please follow (and read) this link follow link. It's detailed but you will learn a lot. If you do not read it, this will not make much sense.

Success Rate

This one immediately jumps out at me. Back in early 2008, I argued against Drew Weatherford and stated that he was selfish for taking a 6 yard gain on 3rd and 11 in order to not throw an interception. It helped his numbers, but not the team, as the punt team was called upon a record number of times. In 2008, Christian Ponder was almost the exact opposite, as he tried to throw for the first down a bunch. Throwing for 7 yards on 3rd and 10 is a great example of how regular statistics can be misleading. Everything about that play looks good for the quarterback, but it doesn't help the team much. When FSU needed a conversion, they typically got it in 2008 where they did not in 2007. The jump from 62nd to 28th is excellent and FSU would do well to maintain that 28th Success Rate position in 2009.

Points Per Play (explosiveness)

While the Success Rate was better in 2008 than in 2007, the 'Noles Points Per Play was not. Think of Points Per Play as Slugging Percentage (and Success Rate as On-Base-Percentage). FSU's 2008 offense lacked the big plays of the 2007 year, and the difference was noticeable, as FSU fell from 48th to 73rd in PPP+ (explosiveness). Why was this? Did FSU simply trade big play potential for more consistency? Sort of. It's not that simple.

To understand the results we have to examine the process. Last summer FSU knew that it had a very difficult situation at offensive line, as they suffered transfers, injuries, and had their most promising offensive tackle flunk out of school. The offensive line was the youngest in the nation. FSU decided that their makeup could do well in most games as a quick, double-teaming run blocking unit and a passable quick game protection unit. They didn't come out and say so, but the makeup of the offensive line (very small and young) wasn't going to be conducive to pass protection. That runs counter-intuitive to what many often think of when they conjure up images of a young line- as young lines typically do okay in pass protection but lack the tenacity and push needed to dominate in the run game. Typically, young offensive linemen are soft, but they do have bulk and it is that bulk which is needed to sustain the initial jolt delivered by the pass rusher. If a pass rusher knows he will have success witl the bull rush (straight ahead), he will not attempt other moves. FSU's line was different because it had the quickness to attain angles to block for the run, but the young guys were simply too small to effectively pass protect. The Problem was physical maturity. Kid's seemed for the most part to be assignment smart but lacked the bulk and strength to compete play to play. They couldn't withstand a bull rush and as a result, had to keep tighter than ideal splits in an attempt to force the pass-rushers outside. Think of FSU's 2008 pass protection as a high school basketball pack-it-in defense. It worked sometimes, but ACC edge rushers (more 1st round draft picks on defense than any other conference over the last 5 years) could beat the freshmen tackles to the outside. Additionally, Ryan McMahon struggled with injury and the sophomore center was routinely driven back. The pocket rarely existed for Christian Ponder.

Here's an important quote about pass protection:

Pass protection usually begins with the understanding that if the defense rushes five or six guys, you can pick them up, but your blockers will have to be able to block at least one defender one-on-one. No pass protection scheme can count on double teaming all possible rushers. If you can't handle Lawrence Taylor man-for-man, then a five man rush becomes like a seven or eight man blitz, but also with sound coverage behind it.

And trusting your protection as a quarterback really begins with an expectation of protection. Quarterbacks are told not to pay attention to the rush. You have to feel the rush but not look at it. That whole concept is built upon the assumption that most plays will be blocked successfully and to adapt to protection breakdowns. With FSU in 2008, no QB could reasonably have an expectation of protection, because it was not there. The Offensive Line's pass protection was nonexistent in summer practice, Fall Camp, and by most defenses. Sure, they did okay on some of the shorter passes and the screens- plays that didn't require them to have the initial bulk to sustain a rusher's jolt, but the dropback pass protection was just not there.

Aside from the offensive line's makeup, there are yet other reasons for the contrast in the run and the pass game. For a long, long time, FSU was pass first, second, and last. Heck, Bobby Bowden even wrote essays by the name of "The Pass First Offense". Forever and ever, teams geared up to stop FSU by stopping the pass. And going into last year, teams did not fear FSU's run game, nor their quarterback. No, they were scared of FSU's wideouts, however, in a big way. Greg Carr and Preston Parker, along with newcomer Corey Surrency (who teams regarded as a Carr clone) scared opposing defenses. Teams absolutely played to stop the deep ball. They kept their safeties back. Wayyy back. They did not stack the box. Defenses allowed the 'Noles to throw short passes and run the ball but they declared, via their pre-snap alignment, time and again, that they would not allow the deep ball. While Surrency and Carr had disappointing years, the very threat of the deep ball to them made playing back an easy choice for defenses. No team really challenged FSU's wideouts with single coverage- except for Virginia Tech- against whom Carr caught two crucial bombs.

And even after FSU began to run the football really well (Colorado and Miami), teams did not respect FSU's run game. The 'Noles were putting up top 20 rushing performances, and yet their past reputation of rushing ineptitude still carried the day. Most of the time, Fisher did a good job of running the ball against these looks. Occasionally, he tried to force pass plays against teams when the defensive formation dictated that a run be called- most notably Clemson.

But teams did make some adjustments to what FSU was doing. Teams saw Wake Forest shut FSU down with their excellent front 7 and not involve their safeties. Opponents continued to try to emulate that game plan. It didn't work against the run for the most part, as FSU started to gash opponents, but it did work against the pass. NC State, Georgia Tech, Boston College, and UF all did a great job generating pressure without bringing any blitz. They kept everyone else back in coverage. Unfortunately for the 'Noles, the youngest offensive line in the country could not protect against a simple 4-man rush. Typically when a team faces pressure, there are easier throws available because the defense is sacrificing a coverage player and rushing him, but the 'Noles faced great coverage and enormous pressure because opposing defenses were able to generate that pressure without sacrificing that coverage player to the rush. The other part of this was the complete lack of respect for the FSU play-action game, which is of course based off the threat of the run.

Here's a more detailed look:

Performance- Varsity Numbers 2007/2008	'07 Rank	'08 Rank
Passing Close S&P + (combo if Success Rate and Points Per Play)	47th	57th
Success Rate +	62nd	28th
Points Per Play+ (PPP+)	48th	73rd
Non-Passing Downs (1-10, 2-7 or less, 3rd and 4 or less) S&P+	47th	53rd
Non-Passing Downs (1-10, 2-7 or less, 3rd and 4 or less) Success rate +	37th	56th
Non-Passing Downs (1-10, 2-7 or less, 3rd and 4 or less) Points Per Play +	86th	47th
Passing Downs (2nd & 8+, 3rd & 5+) S&P+	53rd	27th
Passing Downs (2nd & 8+, 3rd & 5+) Success Rate +	96th	69th
Passing Downs (2nd & 8+, 3rd & 5+) Points Per Play +	82nd	57th

Okay, so you're probably trying to make sense of this, as you should. How could FSU's passing attack be rated lower in 2008 than in 2007, yet be slightly better on passing downs? The key is in the measurement. The performance on Non-Passing and Passing downs measures all plays run on those downs- not just passes. And if there was one thing Florida State did very well in 2008 it was run in passing situations.

Here's a look at every successful play (see definition of success rate linked above) the 'Noles fan on passing downs during the 2008 season. See if you can sense a pattern.

Against Wake Forest, FSU succeeded on 8 of 32 plays on Passing Downs (2nd & 8+, 3rd & 5+). FSU ran the ball 11 times in those situations, and had success on 4 of them (36% success rate). FSU ran 21 pass plays in passing situations, and was successful on only 4 of them (19% success rate). While neither are good, the Wake game was a microcosm of the stark differences had on the ground and in the air. Here are the runs:
Wake Forest: 2-10, run for 8
Wake Forest: 2-10, run for 11
Wake Forest: 2-10, run for 9
Wake Forest: 3-8, run for 18
FSU ran 21 pass plays in passing situations (2nd & 8+, 3rd & 5+), and was successful on only 4 of them (19% success rate). This should be the worst passing game in Fisher's history. Here are the passes:
Wake Forest: 3-5, pass for 8
Wake Forest: 3-8, pass for 16
Wake Forest: 3-5, pass for 21
Wake Forest: 3-10, pass for 10
Against Colorado, the 'Noles had a success rate of 35% on passing downs (6-20)
The 'Noles were successul running the ball 3 of 8 times on passing downs. (38%)
Colorado: 2-15, run for 60
Colorado: 2-7, run for 12
Colorado: 2-10, run for 7
The 'Noles were successful throwing the ball on 4 of 12 passing downs (33%)
Colorado: 2-8, pass for 6
Colorado: 2-10, pass for 15
Colorado: 3-8, pass for 17
Colorado: 3-7, pass for 24
Against Miami, the 'Noles faced 28 Passing downs, and were successful on 14 of them, for a great 50% success rate.
The 'Noles ran 15 times on passing downs, and had success on 8 of them! That's 63% successful running in long situations.
Miami: 2-10, run for 30
Miami: 2-10, run for 7
Miami: 2-15, run for 11
Miami: 2-7, run for 6
Miami: 2-11, run for 9
Miami: 3-20, run for 20
Miami: 3-8, run for 12
Miami: 3-11, run for 13
That's pretty remarkable. One of the best performances running in long situations I have ever seen. They were 6/13 on passes in those situations (46%)
Miami: 2-12, pass for 11
Miami: 2-10, pass for 9
Miami: 2-10, pass for 19
Miami: 2-10, pass for 17
Miami: 3-7, pass for 13
Miami: 3-14, pass for 27
Against North Carolina State's porous defense, the 'Noles faced 29 Passing Downs, and had success on 41% of them (12/29).
The 'Noles ran 17 times on passing downs against the Pack, finding success an impressive 7 times (41%)
NCST: 2-8, run for 27
NCST: 2-7, run for 8
NCST: 2-10, run for 11
NCST: 2-7, run for 12
NCST: 2-8, run for 16
NCST: 3-14, run for 15
NCST: 3-8, run for 8
Of the 'Noles 7 successful passing down situation runs, 4 gained a first down by exactly 1 or 0 yards. Talk about knowing where the marker is!
The 'Noles threw 12 times on passing downs, and had success 5 times (42%). You may find it odd that the 'Noles ran a lot more than they threw on passing downs, but consider that NCST's defensive line was abusing FSU's offensive line early in the game to the tune of 5 holding penalties and three sacks.
NCST: 2-14, pass for 13
NCST: 2-16, pass for 17
NCST: 2-10, pass for 17
NCST: 3-21, pass for 30
NCST; 3-17, pass for 23
The Wolfpack really hates playing the run apparently, but they were damn good rushing the passer.
Against VTech the 'Nole offense struggled on most every down. They faced 25 passing downs and had success on only 5 of them, for a horrid success rate of 20%.
VTech was very draw-conscious. FSU ran 10 times in passing situations, finding success only 1 time.
VTECH: 2-10, run for 8.
Because VTech was more focused on the run, FSU's success rate in the passing game was higher (27% on 4 of 15, compared to the 10% above)
VTECH: 2-8, pass for 13
VTECH: 2-15, pass for 13
VTECH: 3-20, pass for 39
VTECH: 3-10, pass for 21
Obviously, VTech's defense was top 10 nationally and Miami's and NCST's weren't in the top half, but this game showed FSU making a good late adjustment (discussed below).
Against Georgia Tech, the 'Noles did an excellent job staying out of Passing Downs, because they did well on first downs. The 'Noles faced only 17 Passing downs, and found success on 10 of them, which is an excellent 59%
The 'Noles ran 4 times in passing situations and absolutely dominated tech doing so, finding success on 3 of the four:
GTECH: 2-15, rush for 39
GTECH: 2-12, rush for 11
GTECH: 2-10, rush for 10
In a departure from the previous games, FSU threw 3X more passes than runs on passing downs (13), successfully doing so on 7 of them (54%)
GTECH: 2-15, pass for 14
GTECH: 2-8, pass for 20
GTECH: 2-17, pass for 13
GTECH: 2-10, pass for 9
GTECH: 3-7, pass for 12
GTECH: 3-8, pass for 10
GTECH: 4-6, pass for 9
The Clemson game is where we really start to see Ponder's injury impact the playcalling. While FSU was a great run team on passing downs earlier in the year, they tailed off considerably at mid-season. That's probably because Fisher didn't want to further injure Ponder. The 'Noles were 6/18 on passing downs (33%). Let's see how that happened:
The 'Noles had 8 runs on passing downs, and were successful on 4 of them, an excellent 50% rate. Interestingly, only one of them was Ponder.
CU: 2-13, run for 21
CU: 2-10, run for 11
CU: 2-10, run for 8
CU: 2-7, run for 27
I was really quite irritated with Jimbo's playcalling in this game. He was trying to force the passing game despite the huge pass protection issues FSU had (linemen pulled in the first quarter for massive blown assignments and poor play). FSU passed 10 times on passing downs, and were only successful 2 times, for a pitiful 20% success rate. Clemson was an extremely good team against the pass and while I've often praised Fisher, he was way too stubborn in this game. If FSU stuck with the run game (and the Clemson's alignment and ability to generate pass pressure with minimal rushers dictates that they should have), the 'Noles could have scored 60. Here are the two successful passes in passing situations:
CU: 3-7, pass for 14
CU: 3-13, pass for 14
Clemson's defense is extremely good and should content for the top spot in the nation in 2009. FSU must be patient and willing to run the ball against Clemson until Clemson shows that they are concerned with FSU's run game.
The Boston College game really showed just how good the Eagles defense was (2nd nationally). While most teams paid dearly for ignoring FSU's run game, BC was able to stop it with minimal personnel and still devote full attention to the 'Noles run game. The results were disasterous, as they would be for any offense in that situation (and most were against BC, as only two teams had more yards per play against BC). Florida State was just 5/21 in passing situations, which probably says as much about Boston College's defense (stacked with NFL starters) as it does FSU'S offense. Still, 24% succcess in passing situations will not get the job done. Let's look at the breakdown:
FSU only ran 4 times in passing situations, but were successful twice (50%, duh).
BC: 2-10, rush for 11
BC: 2-8, rush for 7
This really begs the question, why not run more in these situations? Clearly the 'Noles were quite good at doing so. The answer was Ponder, of course, as he was injured and the backups were not a reasonable alternative for a variety of personal and football reasons. Where earlier in the year the 'Noles would mix their runs and passes in passing situations, they did not do so starting with the GTech game- probably because of the QB injury.
In the passing department, the 'Noles were terrible here, successfully throwing in passing situations only 3 of 17 times! That 's 18%! I am yelling! Let's take a look at the three successful throws:
BC: 2-9, pass for 30
BC: 2-10, pass for 14
BC: 3-5, pass for 14
Again, BC had three top 40 NFL draft pick types- including two top 10 types, and they absolutely manhandled the 'Noles offensive line- even making Rodney Hudson looking terrible. It didn't help that Andrew Datko and Ryan McMahon were injured. Simply put- BC, like Clemson (passing plays only) and Wake, and UF, had an all-decade quality front-7 and rushed few men yet generated a lot of pressure while playing 7 or 8 men in coverage. FSU simply could not block them.
Against Maryland, the 'Noles did a great job on first down and avoided having a lot of passing downs, facing only 16, and converting 5, for a 31% success rate. That's not good, but given the context of the overall game it wasn't a big deal because there just weren't many of the situations.
The 'Noles ran 6 times on passing downs and were successful three times, again posting a decent running success rate of 33%. Ponder took off only three times and had the two successful runs. Go figure.
MD: 2-10, run for 8
MD: 2-10, run for 12
In the passing department, FSU, threw the ball 10 times, and was successful three times.
MD: 2-10, pass for 7
MD: 3-7, pass for 7
Md: 3-11, pass for 18
Maryland's pass rush was not very impressive and it's worth noting that FSU completed a lot of short stuff that just missed counting as a "success."
And against UF, nothing went right. FSU faced 27 Passing Downs, and found success on only 5 (19%). UF had the best defense in the nation and they are in line to have the best defense of all time this season. They shut down everyone in scary fashion.
FSU ran 8 times on passing downs, doing to successfully only twice. That's 25%.
UF: 2-10, run for 8
UF 2-7, run for 9
In the passing game, our offensive line couldn't handle the Gator rush, and they were able to generate a lot of pressure with minimal rushers. I've said this a lot now throughout this piece, but FSU's run blocking was at a level many would call "good", but their pass blocking was in the bottom 30 of all teams Nationally. FSU threw 19 passes on Passing downs, and was successful on only 3. 3 of 19 is 16% and that is bad.
UF: 2-10, pass for 8
UF: 2-9, pass for 12
UF: 3-14, pass for 19
In the Bowl game, FSU got back on track somewhat. The 'Noles faced 23 passing downs, and ran successful plays on 10 of them. That's not too bad- a 43% clip.
The 'Noles ran 6 times on Passing Downs, and were successful on 3, for a success rate of 50%. That's pretty consistent with the 'Noles performance all season when running in passing downs. Here were the plays:
UW: 2-13, run for 11
UW: 2-10, run for 8
UW: 3-5, run for 5
FSU threw 17 passes in passing situations, and had success on 7 of those tries. Let's have a look:
UW: 2-7, pass for 10
UW: 2-10, pass for 9
UW: 2-8, pass for 20
UW: 2-8, pass for 29
UW: 2-15, pass for 12
UW: 3-19, pass for 20
UW: 3-9, pass for 18

I know some of you like things in chart form. Let's do that.

Game	Success Rate on Passing Downs	Rushing Success on Passing Downs	Passing Success on Passing Downs
Wake	8/ 32 (25%)	4/ 11 (36%)	4/ 21 (19%)
Colorado	6/ 20 (35%)	3/ 8 (35%)	4/ 12 (33%)
Miami	14/ 28 (50%)	8/ 15 (63%)	6/ 13 (46%)
NC State	12/ 29 (41%)	7/ 17 (41%)	5/ 12 (42%)
V Tech	5/ 25 (20%)	1/ 10 (10%)	4/ 15 (27%)
G Tech	10/ 17 (59%)	3/ 4 (75%)	7/ 13 (54%)
Clemson	6/ 18 (33%)	4/ 8 (50%)	2/ 10 (20%)
BC	5/ 21 (24%)	2/ 4 (50%)	3/ 17 (18%)
Maryland	5/ 16 (31%)	2/ 6 (33%)	3/ 10 (30%)
Florida	5/ 27 (19%)	2/ 8 (25%)	3/ 19 (16%)
Wisconsin	10/ 23 (43%)	3/ 6 (50%)	7/ 17 (41%)
Totals	86/ 256 (34%)	39/ 97 (40%)	47/ 159 (30%)

And there we have it. The success on passing downs was undeniably buyoed by the ability ot Ponder, Smith, and Thomas to run in situations where the defense was expecting the pass.

Author Nole44 had an excellent comment I wanted to highlight:

1. FSU was 25% more likely to succeed running the ball on passing downs than throwing the ball on passing downs (40% success rate v. 30%). This makes me think we didn't run the ball enough on passing downs.

2. Based on my own recollection, a decent amount of the successful pass plays in passing situations came from bubble screens and similar quick hit passes (which were not featured in 2007). These operated almost like a run in my opinion, keeping the linebackers from cheating up too much and giving our lineman space to run out into the second level after hitting their double team. This bubble screen inflation, for lack of a better term, only underscores how incapable the offensive line was of creating and holding a pocket.

I touched on this above, but he's right. The dropback passing game was even worse when you consider that FSU threw a ton of screens (not dropback passes) and often had success with them.

Though I probably didn't need to list out all of those passes, I think you can see the point. FSU rarely had a completed pass go further than the 1st down marker. That's where the PPP+ (explosiveness) statistic comes in. FSU's passing game was not explosive because the line could not pass protect long enough for the players to run down the field. Almost all of the big pass plays came on screens (which don't require good protection) and jump balls (which don't require good protection). It's okay to have a low completion- high yards per catch passing game, but FSU's yards per catch were not even remotely high enough to make up for all of the blown protections.

The other obvious takeaway is that the success on passing downs came disproportionately from the run game, which isn't a bad thing, but it could be quite misleading to see the success on passing downs. One would think that the 'Noles passing game on 3rd downs was quite good, but we now see that it was the run game and particularly Ponder's legs in the passing situations that propped up the performance. There's a reason the passing numbers got worse and the overall offensive performance on passing downs improved: line play. The line was super quick and could adeptly lock onto smaller defenders when running the ball on passing downs. As discussed above, they still lacked the physical maturity to pass protect. Luckily, there are other ways to demonstarte this:

Bill Connelley discusses these here and here. It's a great measurement which separates offensive line play from the other players in the best available way. No measure is perfect, but it does do a nice job of comparing year to year performance. It doesn't disproportionately reward draw plays, as most of a draw play after the first few yatds is a back making people miss- even though FSU's offensive line is probably the best in the nation at downfield blocking, due to their athleticism. Here you go:

Performance	'07 Ranking	'08 Ranking
Close Line Yards +	85th	52nd
Passing Downs Line Yards +	56th	112th
Non-Passing Downs Line Yards +	91st	36th

Contrast much? Remember our discussion above on FSU switching to an ultra-light and young offensive line which was atypical of a young line which would be big and uncoordinated. This 112th ranking might surprise some of you who are constantly inundated with the Seminole media's praise of the offensive line. We're guilty here as well, as we too often said the offensive line was playing great instead of saying they were playing great considering they are the youngest group in college football. It's like saying she's not a bad ballplayer-- for a girl. The 2007 offensive line was decent in pass protection and abysmal in the run game. The 2008 offensive line was very good in the run game and terrible in pass protection. The tables turned.

I also found this article interesting, http ://www .footballoutsiders .com/walkthrough /2009/walkthrough -i-am-gm, I pulled some pointers on dealing with young quarterbacks. It doesn't discuss dealing with a young offensive line specifically, but some of this should apply to our discussion.

Run the football. It seems simple enough, but some teams forget that the newbie probably isn't ready to pass 45 times per game. Run more often on first-and-10 and second-and-long. Don't be afraid to run or throw a short pass on third-and-long; sometimes it's better to give the defense a chance to go to work than to put too much pressure on the first time QB.

As you can see from the numbers above and the numbers last season, FSU did a great job with this. They limited risk through the run game in an attempt to keep the pressure off the passing game- a passing game they knew was likely to perform poorly at times due to the choices they made in dealing with a pretty unfortunate situation at offensive line.

Increase your protection: Rookie quarterbacks, even great ones, aren't going to read a defense and expertly find the fifth option on a pass. Given the choice between more reads and more blockers, choose extra blockers. Use six and seven man protection schemes often (keeping in backs and tight ends).

Rolling the pocket and using additional blockers limits the offense, but when a rookie is calling the signals, it's better to be limited and well-executed than complicated and confusing.

A friend of ours, Oline0175 (highly respected high school offensive coordinator), had this to say about how FSU did with this idea: Thats definitely how I'd classify our passing game. FSU tried to keep it simple. They limited the scheme for the sake of the QB and WR's, but thats more because they couldn't count on the protection to be there for down the field stuff and the WR's to run the correct routes. Ponder also struggled at times to know where to go with the ball though, particularly in post-snap reads.

Run some low-risk junk. QB runs, direct snaps, unbalanced lines, etc.

This is obvious, FSU ran their QB more than they had in 15 years.

Limit the decisions. Handoffs, option, play-action, screens, pre-snap reads to constraint plays, and rollouts. Get the ball in the hands of the playmakers without having to make difficult downfield throws or complex reads.

This of course depends on experience and time. Balanced teams will usually be more simple. All pass teams will be more pass difficult (Texas Tech) and run teams will be more run difficult(Georgia Tech). I prefer a balanced offense with an even mix of running schemes and pass schemes. Your pass schemes will need to be less intensive so the players can learn and get the necessary reps to be successful. Theres a reason option teams run option. The goal of an OC always should be to get the ball into the playmakers hands but sometimes you have to be creative. You need to move him around, just like UF did with Percy

Mix easy-to-read passes with a good running game, extra protection, and a dash of trickery, and you have an offense that a (good) rookie can succeed in throughout the season. It's that simple- provided you're not also dealing with a terrible pass blocking offensive line. Then it's not that simple.

And there's also Coach Saban on young QB's.

Q. From a defensive point of view, when you're facing a quarterback that doesn't have much experience, how do you try to take advantage of that? At the same time with an inexperienced quarterback this year, how do you try to guide him through games until he gets that experience?

COACH SABAN: Well, you know, I think that everyone develops at a little different pace and rate, depending on their ability to learn the knowledge and experience, how they learn from their lessons. And I think specifically in our case Greg McElroy learns very quickly and has had some experience. But I also understand that until he makes plays in the game, he's not gonna fully have, you know, the trust and respect of all of his teammates, even though they really, really like him and they really like him as a leader.

I think the biggest mistake you can make in development of any new player, young player, inexperienced player, is give him too many things to do, and increase the multiples of the kind of mental errors that they can make.

I think that it depends, from a defensive perspective, who the guy is that you're trying to defend. If he's a smart guy, if you try to pressure him, you may enhance his chances of making plays because he understands it, he sees it, and his reads actually become a little easier.

If you try to play all coverage against him and don't pressure him and he's a good runner, he may hurt you with his feet.

So I think to really answer that question effectively, you'd have to know the specifics of who you were trying to defend.

We ask our own coach about this. Oline0175 pays his bills by coaching offensive football and he recently won a state championship.

"I think we ask every player to do the same thing whether they are a freshmen or a senior. It's holding them to a higher standard. But the case here was different; Jimbo is building for the long haul. He wanted the class of 2008 to be the class that changes things for this program, so alot of them were asked to play as freshmen and we took our lumps while they learned on the job. In the future, freshmen won't be asked to play as big of roles so they can learn at their own pace and do what they can successfully if they play. Also every player learns at a different speed. We'll have some kids come through here or pick up on things quickly but struggle getting acclimated to the speed of the game and we'll have some who just can't pick the game up and play fast enough that it doesn't matter,

You'll notice that he discussed bringing pressure or not bringing pressure. What he didn't discuss is being able to get pressure without bringing extra rushers. He didn't discuss it because it is a huge luxury for a defense, and one that they normall do not expect to have, but that teams did have against FSU in 2008.

The Look Ahead

There is much reason for optimism. The 'Noles return their entire starting offensive line in LT Andrew Datko, LG Rodney Hudson, C Ryan McMahon (who should havea healthy foot), RG David Spurlock, and RT Zebrie Sanders. The line bulked up more than 10lbs per man while actually losing body fat. Their play in the spring was much improved and they have been the most impressive group in the summer workouts. There will be much more on this in the preview, but the future for this offensive line looks very bright.

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Progression, Stagnation, or Regression? Wide Receivers and Tight End

FrankDNole — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 15:11:11 -0000

Every day while catching up on my daily Nole must reads, I very often wonder to myself, "Are my 2009 Noles going to be better than last year’s team?"

In the first part of this series, we analyzed the Defensive Line. Today we will take a look at the Wide Receivers and Tight Ends to determine if this unit has progressed, is stagnant, or has regressed in comparison to last years group.

Even though Jimbo Fisher and WR Coach Lawrence Dawsey have already released the preliminary and projected depth chart, I am willing to bet that if you were to talk to either one privately and off the record, neither one really knows who our top receivers will be this season.

I will not, and I do not think any of us need to beat a dead horse any longer by rehashing the fiasco that was our WR corps last season. Therefore, I will ignore the logistic nightmares that this group caused the coaches and their teammates with their "issues", and only present what they accomplished when they were actually allowed to be on the field and allowed to participate.

While it seems that the coaches have a laundry list of players available to put into game situations this year, none of those players have yet earned a reputation or can be considered a pass catching weapon that will really scare any of the opposing defenses. Will this be a problem that could affect the running game?

Last seasons lack of a deep passing game (other than the occasional jump ball downfield) along with the poor pass blocking have been very well documented here, and is something most of our regular TN readers are all too familiar with. While these two factors did contribute to an inadequate passing game, much of the blame also lies with the receivers running lazy and sloppy routes, they lacked clean and crisp cuts, and had a high number of dropped passes during the ‘08 campaign. Relying only on my memory and without any research to back this up, I believe our passing game’s bread and butter consisted of the WR or bubble screen. Fortunately we had above average down field blocking that created some very nice gains and kept us competitive in many close games.

Here are a couple of interesting (sad?) tidbits.

A) Three out of the top five wide outs from last season, Greg Carr, Preston Parker, and Corey Surrency are no longer on the team and the third most productive receiver, Taiwan Easterling missed all of the spring drills with a ruptured Achilles. He is apparently recovering nicely and ahead of schedule and may be ready by the first game. The first few weeks of practice will be very telling as to his recovery and his potential to play. Of the 174 passes caught by receivers in 2008, players responsible for 91 of those receptions are gone, and 30 (Easterling) are questionable.

2) Outside of Bert Reed’s 23 catches, not a single receiver on the roster caught more than 20 passes in 2008 and only one (Rod Owens) caught 10 or more.

D) FSU should get a boost with the return of redshirt senior Richard Goodman who caught 20 passes as a junior in 2007, and now has his legal problems behind him, but who must still serve his music suspension.

Last year the tight ends were once again not a factor in the passing game since they had to stay at home to help with the pass protection, thus eliminating another receiving threat and allowing the defense to either double up on a WR, or send another defender to rush and to pressure our QB. When this last scenario occurred the blocking TE, usually Caz, was very often cancelled out by the extra pass rusher and in many cases, the QB did not have time to look at his first, much less his second read.

Caz was basically playing as an extra lineman more than a receiver to help a young and inexperienced offensive line. On top of that, the Seminoles’ other two tight ends were both true freshmen. Despite his decent work as a blocker, Piurowski still established single-season career highs for catches (8), yards (83) and touchdowns (1). For the second time in the last three years, Piurowski averaged over 10 yards a reception in 2008. Bo Reliford and Ja’Baris Little combined for just one catch in their true freshman seasons. The bottom line though, our TE’s only caught a total of 9 passes all season.

Jimbo has said on several occasions during this off season that the tight end WILL be a factor in the passing game this year. If he keeps his word, Ponder will have two different 6'7" targets that can release a few moments after, or at the snap, find a seam in the secondary, and do what opposing teams have been doing to us for longer than I care to remember. Also, if Jimbo keeps his word, our defense will be forced to cover the TE during practices, and maybe this will teach them that the TE is indeed a eligible receiver in football (but I digress and this will be covered at a later date).

Once again just as in the previous story, we realize we lost some very good individual talent. I ask that you please remember that we want to try to look at the unit as a whole when you finally do vote, as to whether this collective unit has progressed, has remained stagnant, or has regressed, compared to last years unit.

OK now we will compare the two groups of Wide Receivers and Tight Ends.

2008 X WR=Greg Carr started 12 games and Jarmon Forston started 1 against Chattanooga. Carr is gone (Rec=39, Yds=542, Avg=13.9, TD=4, Avg/Gm=41.7).

2009 PROJECTED X WR=Bert Reed and Avis Commack

2008 Y WR (Slot)=Taiwan Easterling started 8 games, Ja’Baris Little (TE) started one, and Marcus Sims (FB) started 4 games.

2009 PROJECTED Y WR=Taiwan Easterling and Louis Givens

2008 Z WR=Preston Parker started 8 games, Rod Owens started 3, Corey Surrency started 1, and Bert Reed started 1 game. Parker (Rec=40, Yds=372, Avg=9.3, TD=2, Avg/Gm=37.2) and Surrency (Rec=12, Yds=237, Avg=19.8, TD=4, Avg/Gm=21.5) are both gone.

2009 PROJECTED Z WR=Jarmon Forston, Richard Goodman (Suspended first 3 or 4 games), and Rod Owens

2008 TIGHT END=Caz Piurowski started 9 games, Josh Dobbie started 2, Preston Parker (WR) started 1, and Corey Surrency (WR) started 1.

2009 PROJECTED TIGHT END=Caz Piurowski, Beau Reliford, and Ja’Baris Little.

OTHERS WHO CONTRIBUTED IN 2008 AND ARE NOW GONE=Corey Surrency (probably one of the best downfield blocking WR I have seen since Anquan Boldin).

OTHERS WHO MAY CONTRIBUTE IN 2009=Cameron Wade, Matt Dunham will play more of a H-Back role (think smaller pass catching tight end), Josh Gehres, Timothy Orange, Ashuwa Richardson, Willie Haulstead, Rodney Smith

Well there you have it. I guess the real question is not if Carr, Parker, and Surrency can be replaced, but whether their replacements will be able to make up the 10 TD’s, the 91 Rec’s, and the over 100 yards per game that left with them, and are no longer available to us. The question is whether any of the receivers will be able to provide the down field blocking that Surrency and Parker (sometimes) provided. The question is whether Easterling will return to close to 100% of his former self. The question is whether Fisher will keep his word and finally throw to one of the TE’s as promised, at least 3 or 4 times a game.

I believe these are a lot of obstacles to overcome. I also believe that we have heard the last of our WR "issues" and this will provide Ponder with the stability at WR which was so desperately missing last year. Things got so bad that we had TE’s and FB's starting games at WR, and WR's starting at TE, which I believe is something that is now behind us and in the past. I believe Easterling will be close to his old self. And finally, I believe Jimbo will make the TE’s a integral part of the offense like we have not seen in many years, because our OL should be much improved in their pass blocking to where Caz or Beau can finally be utilized as receivers.

MY BOTTOM LINE FOR THE WIDE RECEIVERS AND TIGHT END=PROGRESSION.

What is your bottom line? Please vote now.

Now with the defensive line, receivers and tight ends out of the way, please stay tuned for the linebackers, secondary, backfield, offensive line, and special teams.

Poll

2009 FSU WIDE RECEIVERS AND TIGHT END-PROGRESSION, STAGNATION, OR REGRESSION? Please read the story before voting. Poll closes Sunday August 2 at 7:00 PM

PROGRESSION

181 votes

STAGNATION

73 votes

REGRESSION

52 votes

306 votes | Poll has closed

Vikings Not Likely to Participate in the Supplemental Draft

Gonzo — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 13:54:47 -0000

Today, the National Football League will hold their annual Supplemental Draft. For those of you who don't know quite how the Supplemental Draft works, it is for players that have been declared ineligible in some way for the upcoming college football season and have chosen to leave school and try their luck with the National Football League. Those reasons may be academic, they may have to do with rules violations, or for numerous other things.

Every General Manager in the NFL will send an e-mail to the NFL's league office with the eight players that are eligible for this year's Supplemental Draft and what round pick they'd like to "bid" for each player, if they'd like to offer anything at all. When it comes to establishing priority, the 2009 NFL Draft order will be used. So if, for example, the Detroit Lions and the Vikings offer a fifth-round pick for a particular player, the Lions would be awarded that player since their fifth-round pick in the 2009 Draft was higher than Minnesota's. In turn, the Lions would then forfeit their fifth-round selection in the 2010 NFL Draft.

There are eight players eligible for this year's Supplemental Draft, but the Vikings are seen as unlikely to make an effort to acquire any of them. After the jump, there's a brief look at each of these players, to include what round they're projected to be taken in and why they're eligible for the Supplemental Draft.

Jeremy Jarmon, DE, Kentucky - Entered the Supplemental Draft due to a failed drug test. Honorable mention for the All-SEC team this past season. Outstanding sophomore year, but fell off a bit as a junior. Projected to fetch a fourth-round pick.

Deon Murphy, WR, Kansas State - Dismissed from the Wildcats' program a few months ago. Not a big guy, only standing at 5'9" and weighing in at 170 pounds, but is a very good open field runner. Could go somewhere in the fifth or sixth round range.

Corey Surrency, WR, Florida State - A very tall target (6'4", 205), at this point Surrency is a better athlete than a wide receiver. Surrency lost his college eligibility after it was found that he played two years of semi-professional indoor football after he turned 21 but before he enrolled at Florida State. Will probably end up in the fifth or sixth round range as well.

Joe McMahon, G, Central Michigan - Big, mauler type of guard that doesn't possess a lot of athleticism. Left school for "undisclosed personal reasons," which may or may not send up a red flag, I suppose. Not expected to be drafted today.

McKinner Dixon, DE, Texas Tech - Dixon joined the Supplemental Draft after becoming academically ineligible for the 2009 season. He was pretty much a backup in 2008, and while he has some pass-rush ability, he's non-existent against the run. Not expected to be drafted today.

Demetrice Morley, S, Tennessee - The good news on Morley is that he's a very athletic safety. The bad news is that he was kicked off the Volunteers' team by two different coaches, had an academic suspension, and a 2008 arrest in Florida for armed robbery. Some team might gamble a seventh-round pick on him, but I'd be shocked by anything higher than that.

Blake Boyd, LB, Western Kentucky - Classic overachiever. . .sort of a Heath Farwell-type. Academic issues have caused him to leave the Hilltoppers. Not expected to be drafted, but should get a camp invite as a special teamer type of addition.

Torris Magee, WR, Southern Miss - Got kicked off of the Golden Eagles' team after a burglary arrest. Fairly athletic receiver, and has good size (6'2", 215), but only average speed and fairly inconsistent hands mean that it's unlikely someone will burn a pick on him with the character issues he brings to the table.

I hope this has given everybody a bit of insight on the Supplemental Draft process and some of the names that are available. While the Vikings don't appear to be actively involved in this year's proceedings, it remains to be seen if any of the other NFC North teams will jump in or not.

Top supplemental prospect Jeremy Jarmon gaining attention

Mocking Dan — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 01:38:54 -0000

Former Kentucky defensive end Jeremy Jarmon worked out for 18 NFL teams today at UK's Nutter Field House.

Among those in attendance was Vinny Cerrato, Washington's executive vice president of football operations. He seemed impressed with the 6-foot-3, 273-pound Jarmon.

"I think he worked out well," Cerrato said. "He ran well and was in good shape. He needs to get a little stronger, but he represented himself well. He's a great kid, solid in the locker room, he's smart. He's got all of the intangible things."

Another NFC East team, Philadelphia, has shown the most interest in Jarmon. During workouts, Jarmon's 40-yard dash times were between 4.79 and 4.83 seconds. During Kentucky pro day earlier this year, Jarmon ran a 4.76 40.

The supplemental draft will be held July 16. Other possible prospects who could be drafted are Florida State wide receiver Corey Surrencey and Central Michigan offensive tackle Joe McMahon.

Monday Morning Tomahawks 06.02.09

FSUncensored — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 13:40:16 -0000

First up, Bert Reed turned 21 yesterday. If you see him around campus (and I hope some of you are watching Ponder, Manuel, and the wideouts throw in the afternoon!), wish him a happy Belated.
Last night via Facebook: Corey Surrency: "missing my team y'all boys hold it down for me and I will do the same for y'all its time for me to get to the money....NFL...pray for me..." I'll keep him in mine. If you pray, do the same in yours.
One guy on our official TomahawkNation.com FACEBOOK Page didn't like us discussing UF's legal troubles. Since he had been repeatedly rude over the last week, I decided to examine his argument.
FSU baseball got the Super Regional! Go to the games!
A tip of the cap to Warchant.com. I was writing a piece on WR Jarmon Fortson, and Gene Williams wrote a quality piece on the guy. It's definitely worth a look. Gene and I have had our differences, but I'll give credit where it's due. I'm not blowing smoke when I say that Jarmon is the closest thing to Terrell Owens I've seen. Their on-field mannerisms and movements are exactly the same. From the way they catch the ball, to their hop into the end zone, to their similar build:
Before BYU's offensive coordinator hit the big time, he was the offensive line coach under Mike Leach, the offensive genius. He also wrote about his pass protection beliefs: "I believe the first fundamental of pass protection is to stay between the defender and the quarterback. As you leverage yourself between the defense and the quarterback the next step is to offer enough resistance to form a pocket. Centers and guards keep the pocket tight to the line of scrimmage. Tackles keep the pocket wide to the quarterback. Pad level and a powerful punch are the tools used to offer resistance to the defense. In the course of doing this, there are occasions in which you need to switch guys. It is our approach that all first level guys that twist should be switched-off. When picking up the twist, you use the same fundamentals you would if you were blocking individually up until that point where you bump hips, then simply switch guys and continue to protect. The basic idea of picking up the twist is that you have to set the drive guy first. Once you have set the drive guy, the freedup lineman needs to trap his helmet into the drive guy. This force alerts the lineman next to him that he needs to switch. There are basically three types of twists. Two-man, three-man and four-man twists. Everyday, we work on picking up the twists during individual period. We later go on to pass rush with the defensive line and work on picking up the twist also. We view picking up the twists as fundamental as pass blocking an individual rusher. If you are to be successful in picking up the twists, you must devote practice time." This is now in our scouting report page!
Recruiting Note: I was informed that FSU commit Chad Abrams was offered by Alabama. Nick Saban is an excellent evaluator of defensive back talent and this makes me very happy. During the nepotism era, FSU rarely beat the recruiting services to a kid, but rather waited until rivals had finished their rankings before they offered. They were even "rumored" to use the rivals.com rankings as their guide, and were also rumored to have relied on highlight tapes rather than game film to make their evlaution. Want to know a major change Jimbo brought? Our coaches now could legitimately be called movie buffs. The amount of film they watch is a credit to their improved work ethic. When Abrams was initially offered by FSU(video in link), he was a complete unknown to all the major services. Now, ESPN loves this kid (see link in his name), as does Alabama and I assume rivals will soon follow suit. Chantrant had a solid interview with his coach sometime back. When Miami made their run to the top under Butch Davis, they didn't land all 5* recruits. Obviously the 5*'s are the best on average, but they are not guaranteed, and the difference between an elite recruiting class and a good one can be one or two 4* types who the coaches correctly evaluate and know will blossom into a star.
Steve Ellis of the Democrat updates us on the NCAA process. Today's the extended deadline for the NCAA Committee on Infractions' response to FSU's appeal of sanctions. Upon receipt, FSU has 15 days to file a rebuttal. The university has already requested a hearing before the NCAA Infraction Appeals Committee. This garbage could stretch into the fall and we allegedly would not be in this mess had T.K. not had a vendetta against Dave Hart. Meanwhile, Andrew Carter provides some clarification on the matter: The COI isn't responding to FSU today, but rather to the NCAA's Division I Infractions Appeals Committee, which is the ruling body that has the ultimate say on FSU's appeal.
Scalpem, the newlywed that he is, has a very in-depth breakdown of the 2010 softball team. I read it with interest.

Seminole offense back on track in Monday scrimmage

FSUncensored — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 08:04:18 -0000

The Florida State offense had ripped the Seminole's defense for 10 more more yards per play in four of the five spring scrimmages, so after a shocking spring game performance that saw a rather limited Seminoles playbook and a general lack of fire from the offense, everyone was anxious to see what would happen in the Monday's scrimmage.

I wonder if ACC Offensive Coordinator of the Year Jimbo Fisher gave them a talkin' to after Saturday's performance.

Allow us here at Tomahawk Nation to extend a huge thank you to TRMNole and CSINole for providing us with some great photos!

I don't know what the second team did because the guy (or girl) we usually get our information from didn't have a lot of time to share. My apologies.

The 1st team offense ran 10 plays (2 or 3 more were nullified by various holding or offsides penalties) for 140 yards. 10 plays. 140 yards. That is more than 14 yards per play.
Over the course of a normal game, a team runs about 65 plays. 65 plays at 14 yards per play is over 900 YARDS. 900 YARDS.
For the 5th time in the last 6 scrimmages, the offense averaged more than 10 yards per play.
I'm not aware of any huge contingent of defensive recruits at Monday's practice. Could be wrong, but I didn't hear about it. Check with our friends Jamey Givens of www.NoleInsider.com ($) or ThaRinger.com (free) for more.
Considering the offense's domination in 5 of the now 6 scrimmages, Is it really reasonable to think Jimbo was going all out on Saturday? (See the comment section to the Spring Game Recap if you want details on this)

I wonder if the offense spread the defense out and ran on them? You bet.

Jermaine "MacMaine" Thomas.
A big thanks to CSInole for these great shots!

Thomas had 4 runs for 85 yards, 3 of which were over 25 yards.
The offensive line crushed the defensive line, especially the smaller interior guys.
Jermaine Thomas is clearly establishing himself as the #1 running back for the Seminoles. At this point I don't want him to take any more hits this spring.
The best two comparisons we have come up with for Thomas are Ricky Watters and Jeff Cheney.

Passing, you say? Christian Ponder was 3-4 for 61 yds with 1 TD and no INT's. That's basically a perfect QB rating.

Of the 10 plays ran by the 1st team offense, only three went for less than 5 yards. One was a run by Thomas and the other two were a result of the "one-hand touch" QB treatment rule.

Overall, it was a good day for the offense (though I'm not sure how the 2nd team did). Importantly, it was a very good day for Florida State wide receivers coach Lawrence Dawsey's crew. Bert Reed and Richard Goodman had a nice showing for the 1st team offense.

Lawrence Dawsey coaching the wideouts. Photo courtesy of TRMNole.

This was especially important for Dawsey because the last 36 hours have been rough for his guys. First, Rod Owens picked up a DUI Sunday night. Then...

Corey Surrency's application for an extra year of eligibility was denied by the NCAA

Photo by TRMNole

Photo by CSINole

If you've been lucky enough to meet Corey in person, you know what a special guy he is. I don't know if he can handle another bad break like this. If he doesn't win his appeal, I hope some Tomahawk Nation faithful will step up and help us organize a campaign to help Corey pay for his senior year of school or find him a decent job.

We will have much more on Surrency later this week.

A bright spot for the defense:

Apparently defensive end MarKus White is still giving our tackles some trouble. Photo by CSINole

Scrimmage Recap Excerpts from Seminoles.com (FSU Sports Information) [I have inserted comments where necessary for clarification]:

1st Series (From own 35): Jermaine Thomas picked up almost 50 yards on just two carries but on 3rd-and-9 Kevin McNeil crashed the pocket forcing Christian Ponder to run and come up short of the first. As the ball moved back to the -35 Ponder hit Jarmon Fortson deep but the play was wiped out by offensive holding. The one's series ended on a positive though as Ponder hit Richard Goodman to convert a 1st-and-20.

2nd series (from 50) Things started out well for the defense with a Kevin McNeil sack on 1st-and-20 [after a hold]. On 2nd-and-27 Thomas picked up the first with a 28-yard run. Ponder and Fortson connected for 18 and then Ponder was forced out of the pocket but found Bert Reed on the run for a 21-yard TD.

Ball on Defense's 20: The first team offense dug themselves a big hole after moving the ball down inside the 10. Thomas ran it to the one-yard line but a holding, a sack by McNeil, a false start and another hold that wipe out a big Ponder run, put the one's in a 2nd-and-goal from the 41-yard line. Ponder salvaged the drive with a 19-yard pass to Thomas and then another Thomas run for six yards. That allowed James Esco to convert a 34-yard field goal.

1:30 (modified 2-minute drill): The first team offense looked like an entirely different group starting from the -30 with 1:30 on the clock. On the first play Everett Dawkins pressured Ponder but the junior was still able to find Reed for a gain of 43. He then hit Goodman for nine yards and then again for a TD.

Please visit that link as there is a video interview with Jimbo Fisher as well.

GO NOLES!!

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Incident in the Union-- updated 11.14.08

FSUncensored — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 19:06:55 -0000

"The police report has not been concluded but from the information that I have gathered, I am suspending five players who were apparently involved in the fray. Taiwan Easterling, Bert Reed, Corey Surrency, Cameron Wade and Richard Goodman will all be suspended for the Boston College game."_ Bobby Bowden

Impact: Senior Rod Owens will take Easterling's spot. That's fine. Louis Givens will replace Reed. That's a downgrade, though he is a serious burner. Fortson will replace Surrency, and that's a downgrade. The other 2 guys are roster fodder.

I'm hearing the 2 guys we all think are done... are done. Bummer. (Please Note: this has not been announced)

Andrew Carter has the press release from FSU PD (investigation continues)

Thursday Update: I'm heading out for a bit, but I wanted to share my thoughts first. I am now more unsure about this situation then ever. I can't say how, but I've confirmed that the two users claiming to be sisters in the comment section (including the alleged victim) are at the very least, FSU students. I want everyone to treat all other posters with respect, especially if something big comes down later this afternoon. I also want to clarify the facts that we know, and then set out the remaining questions.

We Know with a reasonable degree of certainty:

That reports claim Easterling was involved at the beginning. Whether he was the instigator or the initial victim is up in the air.
There were 4 injured people who received some sort of medical treatment.
A chair was thrown, and someone did end up in Tallahassee Memorial Hospital as a result. The consensus here seems to be a severely broken nose. Some sites are claiming that it required surgery, but that is unconfirmed and I am labeling that as rumor at this point.
The fight did involve more than 10 total people.
No arrests have been made as of 2:20 Eastern Time.

I'm hearing (this is the rumor section) I'm not endorsing these, but rather trying to keep track.

That 2 guys are gone. A third strike for one, and the other for the chair throwing. We will see.
This was almost certainly not a random incident, and it seems to be related to someone disrespecting another person sometime earlier in the week; possibly at a club.
That the injured people may have been more participants than innocent bystanders.
From a lot of members associated with the Fraternity in question. I am concerned that they are all repeating the exact same story, and I am curious if they were told to by leadership to echo those same lines. While the football team isn't talking, friends of Phi Beta Sigma certainly are, and they are saying that the 'Nole players started this and went to the Union with a purpose. Keep that in mind when reading reports. I am not saying that their accounts are incorrect or fabricated, but since they are the only voice trolling message boards with an actual first hand interest in the outcome, we need to view their accounts with a cautious eye. It is not as if the football players are out there openly giving their side of the story (which would be wildly different).

Finally, if you see a comment that is way out of line for this board, e-mail me at FSUncensored@gmail.com I allow pretty much everything on here, but some will take this opportunity to troll their advertisements, post pornographic links, or generally conduct themselves in a manner that could make this site NSFW.

There was a good sized fight in the Student Union today, allegedly between some members of the Phi Sigma Beta Fraternity and some Seminole football players.

There are various conflicting accounts at this point. I'm not sure which to believe. Neither story is good as people were hurt. Dumb decisions were undoubtedly made by parties on both sides. As Florida State Fans, let's all hope that the players didn't bring this upon themselves. As Seminoles, let's all hope that Florida State gets to the bottom of this.

Chantrant has more.

Jamey Givens at NoleInsider has the after practice info, here's a bit:

"The incident today, I really have no comment on it,'' FSU coach Bobby Bowden said following Wednesday night's practice. "The police will look into it and let us know what they think. That's all I've got to say about that.''

7:45 UPDATE: All players are at practice and no arrests have been made. Players practiced with their normal position groups. Players and Coaches were not available.

Wikipedia on Phi Beta Sigma (ΦΒΣ):

a predominantly African-American fraternity which was founded at Howard University in Washington, D.C. on January 9, 1914.

UPDATE: Since people have asked, this is NOT Myron Rolle's fraternity (He's in Kappa Alpha Psi).

I should note that Wednesday is "Market Wednesday" in the Union. Market Wednesday basically consists of local merchants peddling their goods. Some student organizations demonstrate, and some African American fraternities do their step routines as well. The place is pretty rowdy. In any case, these people who are saying that players can't go to the Union need to quit. They are students like anyone else and this is an on campus area of commerce; not some shady back alley. Scalpem points out that players must remain ever vigilant of their surroundings and appearances; regardless of whether they have the right to be somewhere.

Meanwhile, ChantRant asks you to put yourself in the player's shoes. Intriguing read, but it is all dependant on the facts, or lack thereof.

Sunday Running PostGame Reactions and Observations: Clemson 27, FSU 41

FSUncensored — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 00:29:53 -0000

Post your thoughts here.

Here are your 5 Questions:

1. What was the most encouraging thing you saw tonight?

2. Who was the best player on the field?

3. What was the most discouraging aspect of this win?

4. What is your most lingering concern after this victory?

5. What player or aspect of this team do you most want to see re-emerge?

Bonus: what do you want me to look for in "Inside the Seminole Film Room"?

Quotes:

"It was exciting. We talked about it all week about how other teams weren’t able to run on them. We just stuck with our blocking schemes and we just felt like they hadn’t played a team like us."_ Jermaine Thomas

Early Observations:

Continued 3rd down dominance: Clemson ran 15 3rd down plays and converted only 2. It's safe to say that the Noles will continue to lead the nation in this category. Clemson ran 12 3rd down pass plays. The results? 3 Sacks, 1 Interception, 5 incompletions, 2 completions that were tackled 5 and 2 yards short of the first down, and only ONE conversion. 1-12 on 3rd downs passing. Think about that. That is sheer dominance.
Running for points; not maintenance. FSU had 10 runs of 10+ yards. 7 runs of 20+ yards. No player with over 100 yards. Few teams actually use the running game as a weapon instead of a "stay out of 3rd and long" method. This is good from an explosion standpoint, but I'll need to review some more stuff before I make up my mind RE: are we too boom or bust in the run game. Another positive of this is that teams must really respect the run on 2nd and 3rd Passing Downs

The importance of winning 1st down.

... it is not necessarily how many big defensive plays you make that determines how well you do; it is more about leveraging the offense into uncomfortable situations -- in other words, Passing Downs. The reverse is true for offensive success

I've preached this all year, but we are finally beginning to understand why. No matter how good you are throwing the ball, you won't have sustained success in 3rd and 5+. In fact, we discussed our propensity to convert 3rd and long last week. Several commentators (including myself) commented that we probably cannot keep that up. As you will see, it was finally time for the Noles to pay the proverbial piper, as they converted on only 2 of 7 3rd and 5+ situations. A detailed breakdown follows. See what you can do with this while I crunch other stuff.

Leverage: FSU faced 51% passing downs (16/31) Of those, 16 were passing downs (passing downs defined as 2-8+, or 3rd/4th- 5+). Some new school thinking indicates that staying out of passing downs is hugely correlated to winning.
Leverage: FSU forced Clemson into 75% passing downs (30/40)
Read the explanation of Success Rate. This is similar to the leverage idea, but instead of measuring the ability to stay out of / put your opponent in a bad position; Success Rate measures the chance of success. Let's go to the Chart!

Situation	Success Rate	Successes	Failures
Overall Offense	50%	31	31
Rushing Offense	58%	19	14
Passing Offense	41%	12	17
Non-Passing Downs	69%	11	5
Passing Downs	33%	5	10
Running in Non-Passing Downs	80%	8	2
Passing in Non-Passing Downs	60%	3	2
Running in Passing Downs	50%	3	3
Passing in Passing Downs	22%	2	7
1st Down Offense	48%	15	16
1st Down Rushing Offense	50%	8	8
1st Down Passing Offense	47%	7	8
2nd Down Offense	52%	11	10
2nd Down Offense in Non- Passing Downs	62%	8	5
2nd Down Offense in Passing Downs	38%	3	5
2nd Down Rushing Offense	67%	10	5
2nd Down Running in Non-Passing Downs	78%	7	2
2nd Down Running in Passing Downs	50%	3	3
2nd Down Passing Offense	20%	1	4
2nd Down Passing in Non-Passing Downs	33%	1	2
2nd Down Passing in Passing Downs	0%	0	2
3rd Down Offense	50%	5	5
3rd Down Offense in Non- Passing Downs	100%	3	0
3rd Down Offense in Passing Downs	29%	2	5
3rd Down Rushing Offense	100%	1	0
3rd Down Running in Non-Passing Downs	100%	1	0
3rd Down Running in Passing Downs	NO Draws?
3rd Down Passing Offense	44%	4	5
3rd Down Passing in Non-Passing Downs	100%	2	0
3rd Down Passing in Passing Downs	29%	2	5

As We've discussed at length, our offensive line is not good enough to execute a bunch of straight dropback pass plays. Our numbers reflect that. Also, because of the more hit or miss explosive nature of the passing game, Success rate will almost always be higher for rushing than passing. More explanations on this tomorrow.

We did an excellent job of staying committed to the run on 2nd and 8+, running 6 times and getting into 3rd and 4 or better 3 of the 6 times.

I'll enter the Defensive Data into Table form soon.

Defensive Success Rate: 63% (45/71). 50% on non-passing downs (5/10). 73% on passing downs (22/30).
1st Down Offensive Success Rate 64% (18/31).
2nd Down Defensive Success Rate 59% (13/22). 50% on non-passing downs (3/6). 63% on passing downs (10/16).
3rd Down Defensive Success Rate 87% (13/15). 50% on non-passing downs (2/4, including a turnover). ONE HUNDRED % on passing downs (11/11). That's incredible. Believe in the concept of leverage now?
4th Down Defensive Success Rate 33% (1/3, all passing downs)

What were certain non-scoring plays really worth?

How costly was roughing the passer?

How would we even go about figuring this out? Let's use a field position point expectancy chart.

via www.rockmnation.com

This chart shows how many points they can expect to score then they have the ball at a specific part of the field. The punt was fair caught at the FS 28 by Preston Parker. Having the ball at your own 28 on 1st down is worth exactly 2.00 points. The penalty not only wiped out our expectancy of 2.00 points, but it also gave Clemson a 1st down at their own 46. Having the ball at your own 46 is worth about 2.9 points.

So, 2.00 + 2.90= 4.90. The roughing the passer penalty cost the Noles 4.90 points. Intuitively, you know that penalty really hurt us. Now you know mathematically.

How costly was Tony Carter's muffed punt?

via www.rockmnation.com

The punt went from the Florida State 43 to the Florida State 11, where Tony Carter tried to fair catch it.

Having a 1st down at your own 11 is worth roughly 1.8 points. That's not all that special. The real killer in this play came from the turnaround. Clemson recovered the fumble at the Florida State 9. A first down at your opponent's 9 yard line is worth about 5.3 points. All in all, Carter's muffed punt was a 7.1 point swing. What a huge play. Again I ask: why is a starting cornerback returning punts? Let's hope this is the last we see of Tony Carter returning punts.

Other key non-scoring plays:

Harper's pass to Ford on 3rd down from the FSU 45 (1.5 expected pts) to the FSU 23 (4.25) was worth an expected 2.75 points. Credit the defense here for holding CU to a field goal.
Ponde'rs toss to Parker on 3-3 from the CU 44 to the CU 32 was deceptively important. It was worth 2.5 expectancy points (4.00-1.50).
Spiller's 8 yard rush on 4th-6 from the FSU 38 to the FSU 30 was worth 2.5 points (4.00-2.50)
Surrency's 38 yard grab on 2-7 from the 50 to the CU 12 was worth 2.50 expectancy points as well. (Jumping from 1.50 for the 2-7 @ the 50 (1.50 pts), to a first down @ the CU 12 (4.00pts) )

Truer Drive Charts

I don't think that Clemson should be credit for one drive because FSU roughed their punter. I also don't think that Neefy's interception or Tony's muff were offensive drives. It's a pet peeve, but I think this gives a better sense of how each offense (and defense) really played.

Clemson (split the roughing the punter drive in two)

	Drive Start				Drive End				Consumed
Team	Qtr	Spot	Time	Obtained	Spot	Time		How Lost	Pl-Yds	TOP	RZ
CU	1st	C20	15:00	Kickoff	F00	12:52	*	TOUCHDOWN	5-80	2:08
CU	1st	C25	11:19	Punt	F23	7:43	*	FIELD GOAL	9-52	3:36
CU	1st	C20	5:56	Kickoff	C26	4:16		Interception	3-6	1:40
CU	1st	C20	4:16	Kickoff	C22	2:28		Punt	3-2	1:48
CU	2nd	C19	12:58	Kickoff	F43	8:55		Punt	7-38	4:03
CU	2nd	F09	8:55	Fumble	F00	8:17	*	TOUCHDOWN	2-9	0:38	#
CU	2nd	C37	6:53	Punt	C42	5:15		Punt	3-5	1:38
CU	2nd	C22	1:19	Kickoff	C15	0:38		Punt	3--7	0:41
CU	3rd	C09	10:52	Kickoff	C31	7:15		Punt	5-22	3:37
CU	3rd	C46	7:15	Penalty	F02	3:43	*	FIELD GOAL	10-52	3:32	#
CU	3rd	C20	0:38	Interception	C11	13:44		Punt	3--9	1:54
CU	4th	C09	10:24	Kickoff	C14	8:30		Punt	3-5	1:54
CU	4th	C03	5:04	Punt	F00	2:00	*	TOUCHDOWN	11-97	3:04	#
CU	4th	C36	1:42	Kickoff	C41	0:44		Fumble	6-5	0:58

We really need to start better. Clemson's first 2 drives went 5-80 and 9-52. Mickey said that he didn't make a scheme adjustment, but rather, an attitude adjustment.

After Mickey laid into his crew, Clemson ran 42 plays for 141 yards (3.4 per play-- absurdly good defense). CU was completely shut down.

Then, we went into a prevent and allowed a 11 play, 97yd drive. However, that drive did last 3:04 and cost Clemson all of their timeouts.

Florida State (removed the Neefy Score and the Punt Muff)

	Drive Start				Drive End				Consumed
Team	Qtr	Spot	Time	Obtained	Spot	Time		How Lost	Pl-Yds	TOP	RZ
FS	1st	F34	12:52	Kickoff	F34	11:19		Punt	3-0	1:33
FS	1st	F28	7:38	Kickoff	C34	5:56	*	FIELD GOAL	5-38	1:42
FS	1st	F25	2:28	Punt	C19	13:03	*	FIELD GOAL	10-56	4:25	#
FS	2nd	F30	8:12	Kickoff	F30	6:53		Punt	3-0	1:19
FS	2nd	F30	5:15	Punt	C00	1:25	*	TOUCHDOWN	10-70	3:50	#
FS	2nd	F33	0:38	Punt	C41	0:00		End of half	4-26	0:38
FS	3rd	F37	14:52	Kickoff	C00	11:01	*	TOUCHDOWN	9-63	3:51	#
FS	3rd	F38	3:35	Kickoff	C11	0:38		Interception	7-51	2:57	#
FS	4th	F32	13:44	Punt	C00	10:31	*	TOUCHDOWN	7-68	3:13	#
FS	4th	F49	8:30	Punt	C43	5:04		Punt	5-8	3:26
FS	4th	C41	1:58	Kickoff	C00	1:49	*	TOUCHDOWN	1-41	0:09
FS	4th	C41	0:44	Fumble	C43	0:00		End of half	1--2	0:44

I don't like how most of the sites are reporting Clemson's drives. To me, the drive when we roughed their punter was really 2 separate offensive drives.

I really like the 5 drives of 7+ plays and 50+ yards. That's very good.

Thanks to Seminoles.com and Woody Hayes, Tommy Sabourin, Pat Campbell, Andrew Brady, Steve Heil, and Brian Taylor for compiling this.

More to come...

Wow Notes

Wow!, on the 2nd drive, we faked bubble screen action and ran a middle screen off of it. Unfortunately, Clemson didn't respect givens on the bubble and batted the middle screen pass down. Still though... Wow! That's creative. I think we will see this again.
Wow! We were trying to go deep. 3 or more times we ran a design short pass fake to try to get deep, but alas, the pressure was too much. Maybe someday?
Wow! Moses McCray is an absolute beast! I wonder what the battles between him and Freshman Guard David Spurlock are like? Watch the 1st down run @ 2:28 of the first quarter. Moses drives Clemson's Senior Center 3 yards into the backfield, hits the CJ spiller with his arm, and slows him up enough to have our defender converge. Moses IS the next Brodrick Bunkley. Mark that down. He plays with such great leverage.
Wow! I forgot just how much faster a healthy Dekoda Watson makes out defense. His constant intensity level doesn't hurt either.

Have something that needs to be in the Wow! notes? Lemme know.

Photos (Courtesy of Tallahassee.com)

Last week, I told you that we played much worse than the score indicated.

This week, we played much better than the score indicated.

The Media's Take

Chantrant has their 'Nole Nuggets
Scalpem has a great photo gallery and a recap.
Andrew Carter has a really good grading piece. We agree on pretty much everything. I also posted twice over there.
Dinnich gives the 'Noles Defensive Ends a Helmet Sticker.
Doc Saturday takes Notice of our run game!
Nolesports.com has a bunch of articles.
Lemme know if I missed any.
ESPN has highlights

Check back throughout the day as I add more thoughts. I'd really like to hear yours, however, so don't be shy!

Poll

Who was the MVP of the Clemson Beatdown?

Louis Givens

31 votes

31 votes | Poll has closed