The crazy part about today's effort is that if this defense and offense had played just half this good versus SMU, Florida State would probably be ranked around 15th in the country come next week. What a nutty sport! Go Noles!
Hey Doc. I think you absolutely nailed this preview and I'm right in-phase with you as far as how I expect this game to play out. Any sensible DC would play Kevin Wynn and Jordan Sanders - the only two DTs on this FSU roster that look like potential NFL linemen from a physical standpoint - at least 35 snaps each in this game and every game after for that matter. Will Norvell and White take this approach? Highly unlikely. They're instead almost certainly going to continue to play their two highest-paid linemen (Mandrell and Lyons) the majority of the snaps, which is totally bonkers since neither of those guys is any good playing over or near the ball.
So I'm expecting to see tomorrow the same ole, same ole from Norvell/White as far as lineups and play calls - lots of 3-man fronts with guys like Diggs and Anderson and the two lighter guys mentioned above being asked to play alot inside. No Bear fronts likely. And I'm also expecting the same, silly deep drops by the CBs and safeties. I'll set the Over/Under on combined snaps by Wynn and Sanders versus UVa at 40. If we greatly exceed that number, FSU will likely win tomorrow. If not - forget about it.
Offensively, let's see if Daniels will be put in a position to succeed by Norvell via his lineups and play calls. Or will Norvell be his usual stubborn self and continue to roll out a bunch of sets with our useless TEs (minus Loftin who is eventually going to be a stud.....somewhere). Whether he knows it or not, Norvell has found something with sets that really emphasize our top four receivers (Duce, Boggs, Danzy, and Lopez). If he'll lean into the 3-WR looks this offense can potentially take off. Will he? Probably not.
Tony White employed Wynn way more than I expected, so good on him. Still not as much of Sanders as I'd like to see but it's a long season. I also liked White's play calls today. Dare I say FSU was the more physical team versus a good team for the first time since Bama last season? UVa QB isn't great throwing the ball but in fairness much of that was because FSU's defense really beat him up physically - both in the pocket and when he ran the ball.
Well, I have to admit that I'm shocked by today's performance - both offensively and defensively. Pleased yet flummoxed in some ways. Brilliant game plan by Norvell offensively with an assertive (finally!) Daniels executing it. Daniels also looked twitchy for the first time this season. Maybe he was dealing with something the first few games.
The crazy part about today's effort is that if this defense and offense had played just half this good versus SMU, Florida State would probably be ranked around 15th in the country come next week. What a nutty sport! Go Noles!
Hey Doc. I think you absolutely nailed this preview and I'm right in-phase with you as far as how I expect this game to play out. Any sensible DC would play Kevin Wynn and Jordan Sanders - the only two DTs on this FSU roster that look like potential NFL linemen from a physical standpoint - at least 35 snaps each in this game and every game after for that matter. Will Norvell and White take this approach? Highly unlikely. They're instead almost certainly going to continue to play their two highest-paid linemen (Mandrell and Lyons) the majority of the snaps, which is totally bonkers since neither of those guys is any good playing over or near the ball.
So I'm expecting to see tomorrow the same ole, same ole from Norvell/White as far as lineups and play calls - lots of 3-man fronts with guys like Diggs and Anderson and the two lighter guys mentioned above being asked to play alot inside. No Bear fronts likely. And I'm also expecting the same, silly deep drops by the CBs and safeties. I'll set the Over/Under on combined snaps by Wynn and Sanders versus UVa at 40. If we greatly exceed that number, FSU will likely win tomorrow. If not - forget about it.
Offensively, let's see if Daniels will be put in a position to succeed by Norvell via his lineups and play calls. Or will Norvell be his usual stubborn self and continue to roll out a bunch of sets with our useless TEs (minus Loftin who is eventually going to be a stud.....somewhere). Whether he knows it or not, Norvell has found something with sets that really emphasize our top four receivers (Duce, Boggs, Danzy, and Lopez). If he'll lean into the 3-WR looks this offense can potentially take off. Will he? Probably not.
Go Noles!
Tony White employed Wynn way more than I expected, so good on him. Still not as much of Sanders as I'd like to see but it's a long season. I also liked White's play calls today. Dare I say FSU was the more physical team versus a good team for the first time since Bama last season? UVa QB isn't great throwing the ball but in fairness much of that was because FSU's defense really beat him up physically - both in the pocket and when he ran the ball.
Well, I have to admit that I'm shocked by today's performance - both offensively and defensively. Pleased yet flummoxed in some ways. Brilliant game plan by Norvell offensively with an assertive (finally!) Daniels executing it. Daniels also looked twitchy for the first time this season. Maybe he was dealing with something the first few games.
By the way - kudos to your daughter on making a brief cameo appearance in this week's preview episode.
She wanted to hang out during the show.