Let's talk football now.

[BigShoop]

Amidst the hoopla and pandemonium, there WAS an actual football game played on friday night, and I think there are some things on the field that need to be discussed. Besides, there are only so many "OMG I LOVE USF 4EVA" posts that a man can take.

- As good as our defense has been at creating turnovers, our offense has been equally inept at converting them into points. 5 turnovers forced @ Auburn, 4 vs UNC, and 6 vs WV = how many points? Very few.

- Tyrone McKenzie is a ball hawk. He's as good as advertised.

- Brouce Mompremier went from a heralded recruit, to a forgotten special teams player buried on the depth chart, to an absolute tackling machine. He's everywhere, and it shouldnt go unnoticed.

- Coach McCarney has the DLine playing better than I've ever seen them at USF. Selvie gets all the credit(deservedly), but Clebert is an absolute animal on the inside and Buie is playing MUCH better than we all expected. Remember the days when teams ran the ball down our throat?

- Nate Allen is going to be special. We're set at safety for awhile, but which young corners will step up next year?

- Grothe locks onto his recievers too long. At some point, a throw is going to go the other way for 6.

- Jim Leavitt's dog house is a weird place. Mike Ford can fumble once, after a HUGE play, and be gone for 2 quarters. Amarri Jackson can drop passes, consistently run and juke east to west(turning 7 yd gains into 3 yd juke-fests), and hold the ball like a loaf of bread, and never leave the field. Mike Ford is averaging over 5 yds/carry. FEED HIM THE FOOTBALL. If he fumbles, give it right back to him. He is a workhorse.

- The OLine is giving Grothe time to throw and making holes for the RBs. Our offense has been extremely disappointing to me because of this. There seems to be so much potential that just isnt being taken advantage of.

- Why are there no crossing routes deep(15-20 yds) over the middle? Is Grothe not seeing them, or are they just not in the playbook? Everything is a quick slant or quick hook or a WR screen.

- I realize we have about 23 WRs on the roster who have speed to burn, but seemingly everytime we've lined up in our "big" package, we run the football at will. I'd like to see more of the power running game.

- The crowd. I was proud to be a USF fan on friday night. The entire stadium STANDING for every, yes every, defensive play. Not only did it look nice, but we obviously were the 12th man. Got me feeling all tingly inside. Good job, Bulls fans.

Discuss.

[deters]

Amidst the hoopla and pandemonium, there WAS an actual football game played on friday night, and I think there are some things on the field that need to be discussed. Besides, there are only so many "OMG I LOVE USF 4EVA" posts that a man can take.

- As good as our defense has been at creating turnovers, our offense has been equally inept at converting them into points. 5 turnovers forced @ Auburn, 4 vs UNC, and 6 vs WV = how many points? Very few.

- Tyrone McKenzie is a ball hawk. He's as good as advertised.

- Brouce Mompremier went from a heralded recruit, to a forgotten special teams player buried on the depth chart, to an absolute tackling machine. He's everywhere, and it shouldnt go unnoticed.

- Coach McCarney has the DLine playing better than I've ever seen them at USF. Selvie gets all the credit(deservedly), but Clebert is an absolute animal on the inside and Buie is playing MUCH better than we all expected. Remember the days when teams ran the ball down our throat?

- Nate Allen is going to be special. We're set at safety for awhile, but which young corners will step up next year?

- Grothe locks onto his recievers too long. At some point, a throw is going to go the other way for 6.

- Jim Leavitt's dog house is a weird place. Mike Ford can fumble once, after a HUGE play, and be gone for 2 quarters. Amarri Jackson can drop passes, consistently run and juke east to west(turning 7 yd gains into 3 yd juke-fests), and hold the ball like a loaf of bread, and never leave the field. Mike Ford is averaging over 5 yds/carry. FEED HIM THE FOOTBALL. If he fumbles, give it right back to him. He is a workhorse.

- The OLine is giving Grothe time to throw and making holes for the RBs. Our offense has been extremely disappointing to me because of this. There seems to be so much potential that just isnt being taken advantage of.

- Why are there no crossing routes deep(15-20 yds) over the middle? Is Grothe not seeing them, or are they just not in the playbook? Everything is a quick slant or quick hook or a WR screen.

- I realize we have about 23 WRs on the roster who have speed to burn, but seemingly everytime we've lined up in our "big" package, we run the football at will. I'd like to see more of the power running game.

- The crowd. I was proud to be a USF fan on friday night. The entire stadium STANDING for every, yes every, defensive play. Not only did it look nice, but we obviously were the 12th man. Got me feeling all tingly inside. Good job, Bulls fans.

Discuss.

- I've noticed it too, that our offense isn't putting up points when we need to take advantage of the TO's and it will come back to haunt us.

- The D-line is playing solid, but we need to Rotate more so we stay fresh and get more pressure.

- Grothe is still young and his 2 INT's could have easily been TD's for us if it was released 1-2s earlier. I think he will be fine.

- Yea i like Amarri as much as others but he has become very inconsistent. He needs to work on ball placement and YAC. Sometimes his moves work out for the best but other times they can hurt us by giving excess time to strip the ball. As for Ford, he is still getting back into FB, he hadn't played in like 2 years prier to this season. He has made more big plays for us then bad - FEED HIM THE BALL. Our RB situation is fine, we have Taylor and Williams making big plays and stepping up along with Samuels and Ford. We need to have Ford and Taylor as the power runners, Williams as runner/pass block, and Samuels as the speedster for the screen plays.

- I too am wondering why we don't have many deep routes, please someone tell the OC to open it up more.

- My main problem is the lack of keeping teams on their toes. We almost always run on 1st down. We are to predictable on offense, and i would like to see more 5-10yrd pass plays on 1st, then resort to power running if needed.

[Who'sYourData?]

Too many things to hit all at once, I think...

- As good as our defense has been at creating turnovers, our offense has been equally inept at converting them into points. 5 turnovers forced @ Auburn, 4 vs UNC, and 6 vs WV = how many points? Very few.  Very True.

- Tyrone McKenzie is a ball hawk. He's as good as advertised.  Brouce Mompremier ... He's everywhere, and it shouldnt go unnoticed.  Too many standouts on defense to hit them all.  Is anyone on defense not playing well???

- Coach McCarney has the DLine playing better than I've ever seen them at USF. Selvie gets all the credit(deservedly), but Clebert is an absolute animal on the inside and Buie is playing MUCH better than we all expected. Remember the days when teams ran the ball down our throat? 

- Nate Allen is going to be special. We're set at safety for awhile, but which young corners will step up next year?  See Above.

- Grothe locks onto his recievers too long. At some point, a throw is going to go the other way for 6.  Not sure I agree.  I think he has pretty good vision,and has only been picked twice in four games.

- Jim Leavitt's dog house is a weird place. Mike Ford can fumble once, after a HUGE play, and be gone for 2 quarters. Amarri Jackson can drop passes, consistently run and juke east to west(turning 7 yd gains into 3 yd juke-fests), and hold the ball like a loaf of bread, and never leave the field. Mike Ford is averaging over 5 yds/carry. FEED HIM THE FOOTBALL. If he fumbles, give it right back to him. He is a workhorse.  Weird, but Jackson is a Senior and Ford a Frosh.  I think it's as simple as that.

- The OLine is giving Grothe time to throw and making holes for the RBs. Our offense has been extremely disappointing to me because of this. There seems to be so much potential that just isnt being taken advantage of.  I think it will come in time.  Gregory and Grothe are trying to integrate a new found running game with Grothe's running ability and eight zillion receivers.  The RB rotation has shortened up (haven't seen Samuels in a while), and the WR rotation seems to be as well.  With the O-Line playing well, there are too many weapons not to become more productive.

- Why are there no crossing routes deep(15-20 yds) over the middle? Is Grothe not seeing them, or are they just not in the playbook? Everything is a quick slant or quick hook or a WR screen.  See Above.

- I realize we have about 23 WRs on the roster who have speed to burn, but seemingly everytime we've lined up in our "big" package, we run the football at will. I'd like to see more of the power running game.  Agreed.

- The crowd. I was proud to be a USF fan on friday night. The entire stadium STANDING for every, yes every, defensive play. Not only did it look nice, but we obviously were the 12th man. Got me feeling all tingly inside. Good job, Bulls fans.  Agreed.

Discuss.

[Who'sYourData?]

I wonder why people keep saying we aren't running a lot of deep routes.  I'd guess Grothe threw the ball over 25 yards at least six times Friday night.  He only completed one that I can remember.  If three or four of those get completed everyone will be happy with how we stretch the field.

[Matt]

amarri is out best WR with the ball in his hands

and mike ford is good in the redzone

BUT...

taylor bounced off so many tackles.

i love USF so much that i cant really give you an honest feedback

but so what.

[Who'sYourData?]

I think Ford will still make a huge impact before this season is over, but he has given Taylor a shot at more carries.  Williams should move more and more into a 3rd and Long RB role, while the other two get to fight over the feature back role.

[Matt]

i think taylor won the starting job on friday

[Who'sYourData?]

i think taylor won the starting job on friday

Maybe, and Taylor has looked darned good.  But Ford has show a much better ability to make big plays.  Once they get him holding on to the ball better, he'll see plenty of time.

[bsrn12]

Where to start...hmmm, lets start with the offense:

- Grothe is certainly a playmaker and has been a HUGE reason for our belief that we can put points on the board and win games, BUT he certainly doesn't seem to have taken the passing step forward yet. Seems to come up with a poor throw just a bit too often in situations (i.e. twice v. WVU Friday) where we can step on the other teams throat, thus keeping them alive in a game that maybe they have no business being in. That said, I am happy he's on our side, but it would be nice to see that improve or it will come back to haunt us one day.

- The RBs and CJL's use: Ok, Ben Williams has worked his ass off to be where he is...but the workhorses and game-changers are clearly Mike Ford and Jamar Taylor. I know Shoop is a mark for Ford, but Jamar Taylor was huge on Friday, a game in which he got his most work. The kid just kept making plays, whether there were running lanes or not. Mike Ford has been big (see: @Auburn, v. Elon), but he has put the ball on the ground and he will need to correct that or he will never be "the man". The o-line has been better, not outstanding, but better, particularly in the run game. To be honest, I believe that's as much a reason we have been able to go into Auburn and win and also win again Friday v. WVU. It's been a pleasant sight to watch the running game stick it right down the opposing teams throat (see 1st series 2nd half v. WVU). Personally, I'd like to see more Jamar Taylor early, then Mike Ford...with Ben Williams being a 3rd down back and a change of pace guy.

- Opposing teams TOs = ?? : As Shoop pointed out, the offense has not put up nearly enough pts off opposing teams TOs. Yes our defense is stout, but there always comes a day where they need the offense to reward their hard work. Hopefully, Grothe and company can start cashing in just a little more often.

- WRs: Uhmm....Amarri, will you please locate your hands and some forward progress?? CJL, can we get Taurus and Hester the football and allow them to make some plays. There is LOTS of single coverage out there to be exploited by crossing routes, posts, and corners by the slot receivers...just an observation.

- Defense: How fun is it to consistently rush just 4 and allow the LBs to roam the field. Lots of big hits, pretty good tackling, and obviously lots of big plays. As long as the offense does its part with T.O.P, this defense looks like it will be special all year.

[BigShoop]

- The RBs and CJL's use: Ok, Ben Williams has worked his ass off to be where he is...but the workhorses and game-changers are clearly Mike Ford and Jamar Taylor. I know Shoop is a mark for Ford, but Jamar Taylor was huge on Friday, a game in which he got his most work. The kid just kept making plays, whether there were running lanes or not. Mike Ford has been big (see: @Auburn, v. Elon), but he has put the ball on the ground and he will need to correct that or he will never be "the man". The o-line has been better, not outstanding, but better, particularly in the run game. To be honest, I believe that's as much a reason we have been able to go into Auburn and win and also win again Friday v. WVU. It's been a pleasant sight to watch the running game stick it right down the opposing teams throat (see 1st series 2nd half v. WVU). Personally, I'd like to see more Jamar Taylor early, then Mike Ford...with Ben Williams being a 3rd down back and a change of pace guy.

Jamar Taylor deserves the ball as well. I'm not discounting his play at all, and its only a matter of time before he breaks one. A 50/50 split in carries between he and Ford would not disappoint me at all.

What I dont want to see is Ford making one mistake and being punished for 2 quarters. Dont kill the kid's confidence, put the ball back in his hands and build it up.