Whoa, whoa, whoa … did you say our STs have been good? I totally agree that our leg-men have been exceptional. But that’s 2 guys on the STs. They mask a lot of deficiencies. But we’ve almost had several punts blocked, and our return game has been outright atrocious. Remember Jeff Thomas? This year it was Mark Pope. Every year it feels like we have issues there.
We have had 1 KG blocked this year and blocked 3 or 4. The return game has been ugly but that is all about finding the right kid. I actually like X at punt returner. Sure he had the ugly muff vs Clemson but overall he is the type of kid you want back there instead the of the fair catchers like Pope/Hall/Thomas…
We have also had a good on-side kick and a bad fake FG. Overall, I would say that our ST are good.
If we want to throw Patke under the bus for the weak punt return game then we should look at the WR coach. Most of the top punt returners are WRs (19 of top 29 are WR, 2 RB and 5 DB). Kick return- I haven’t liked our return game but we only get 1-2 a game with the current rules.
Again, we can fire Patke, Rumph, Baker but I’m not going to get my hopes up. Just give me Rumph who is killing us at a position that should be “easy” with south florida talent.
Ya it is inexcusable for a Miami Hurricanes cornerback coach to be a 1 in a scale of 1-10 as a recruiter. Rumph seems like a nice guy…I probably would get along with him, as I’m not much for pushy, bullshytters, and used salesman types. But you can’t be allergic to recruiting to the point of kids just avoiding you like the plague and you can’t land one out of say…3 or 4?
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Absolutely agree with this. Unless the DC deferred to Manny b/c he was not familiar enough yet to make a call, he should be the one making the decision.
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I believe X has had at least 2 muffs, but the comment about the fair catching caught my attention as I recently saw an article about how as a whole, college football punt returners are punted to less, are given less chances to return the ball and are calling for fair catches much more often. Overall, total punt return yardage per game is down significantly. So it’s not just Miami.
Some highlights from the article:
But since its exciting start to the season, the punt return has cooled to something resembling normalcy. And by normalcy, we mean boredom.
There was a time when a return felt like the most breathtaking play in football. Now it feels like a palate cleanser. Offense continues to govern the sport, with this season projected to set an all-time single-season high in expected points added per play (0.07), according to ESPN Stats & Information Group, and an all-time low in three-and-out percentage (28.8 percent). The latter is instructive: As drives are extended, punt opportunities have dried up. Just 35.8 percent of drives through Week 9 of this season had involved a punt, a rate that if maintained would represent the lowest mark of any season since at least 2004 by more than 2 percentage points.
But even the appearance of a punter and a return man hardly induces anything but a yawn. Just 27.5 percent of punts through Week 9 had been returned, an all-time low. This could be the byproduct of a number of factors — rugby-style kicking, improved hang time and directional punting, among them — and a rise in skill and strategy may have led to returners either not having the opportunity or ceding it.
For fans of players waving their hands in the air, the 2020 season has been historic. More than one-third of punts have been fair-caught, an all-time high and a spike of more than 20 percentage points since 2004.
Full Article:
Do you think Manny worries about the SoFla backlash for firing an alum?
Also, no way Manny fires Baker if Miami finishes 9-2ish. It’ll be blamed on staff continuity, weird season… blah blah blah. 8-3… and a total meltdown on D, I would still say 75% Baker returns. Lose the next 3, and bowl game 50/50.
With Miami it is always about the dollars and cents so if Baker goes whoever his replacement is he will be inexpensive.
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I don’t think there will be a big backlash. Was there one when Swansey was finally fired? Not much when he landed at the local Y. Rumph will end up at a local HS and we likely won’t land his kids.
So long as we see a marked improvement in CB recruiting and play, his departure will be a big positive even if he does land at a local school…
I also agree that with Miami it is always about the money which is why I’m focused on Rumph vs a bunch of coaches. Let manny micro manage the Hell out of Baker, focus on recruiting, figure out how to help the kids make money from their name, retain more kids looking at the NFL because they make six figures at Miami vs a little more in the NFL.
I don’t watch much NFL. This may be because I root for the Jets. That said, when I do watch them (while concurrently reading the Sunday paper) I have noticed the increase in punt fair catches. For the Jets, of course. (Now with Berrios doing most of the returns [sic].) But even the other teams of higher caliber don’t return many and I can’t recall seeing anyone break one for say 15+ yards. It seems the rules do not favor this aspect of the game. Albeit scheming can improve the final results.
How can it be about the money after Miami probably reduced budget a million on Richt exit even after accounting for the Enos/Lashlee hires? A good DC costs $1M, that’s a wash.
Well COVID is likely crushing every athletic budget and Miami has never had big pockets.
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Ed Reed. Why not!?!
Has Ed ever coached at any level before?
Also, would he want to make the time commitment it takes to be a college coach? Not just the planning and practices, but the recruiting? Just my take based on interviews I have seen with him, but I don’t think that is what he is looking for in his life currently.
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Correct me if I’m wrong - isn’t Baker Manny’s prodigy? What’s the reality he gets rid of him? I don’t see it this year if we finish 10-1 or 9-2.
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Just a name I was throwing out
Question to how come NFL HOF isn’t good enough to be qualified
I mean if you’re the best of the best in playing shouldn’t that be enough?
I am not sure if you are just trolling me now, but being an exceptional player does not necessarily mean that you are a good play caller and vice versa.
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he is and i don’t expect a change…diaz strikes me as a guy that would go down with the ship rather than fire his guy.
Fire Rumph. Anything less is unacceptable. Anything more and we likely find out that Manny was making the calls and wants to take us to the elite level. Personally, I doubt Miami gives him the green light to spend money on an elite DC let alone that matches his scheme or even his approach.
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No I was being serious…
It just seems like there are re-tread coaches…meaning same faces different places
The retread concern is a valid one, but that doesn’t mean that one should make such a hard turn that they go to someone totally unproven as a coach just b/c they were a great player. Sure, that they were a great player can factor into the decision as they are likely to have respect right off the bat, but there are so many things that go into coaching besides just having been a good player or even one as smart as Reed.
Now maybe Reed would be a great coach, but I don’t think we can assume that just b/c he was a great player.
To further the point, here are 22 high profile examples of great players that were not good coaches:
https://www.nbcsports.com/great-players-were-bad-coaches-sports