I'm relieved that the tone of the board has about done a 180 from Saturday and the content is now discussion rather than accusation and posturing. It is not to say any of the heated postings were all wrong, but temper never solved anything. As Boomer noted in another thread, Johnson is the ph.d in football and the rest of us are just pretenders, which is I guess the function of a message board. Now having cooled down myself and able, I think to look at the cold reality of the season, I think three of the five remaining games -- Virginia, VT, Miami -- are tossups that we can win. Georgia and FSU are the outliers, but then nobody gave us much of a chance against either last year and we should have won both. What we should all know by now is this: Johnson, and therefore the team, is not afraid of them. Of the two it seems to me that FSU is the more likely roadkill, and if we can perform to the mean in the three, winning all, and get one of the two "upsets" we could wind up with six wins. Big ifs, all, I know, but we got a whiff of what could be in the first half against Pitt. (The second half we either got out-playered and outcoached, and I don't know which, but Johnson's halftime magic failed him Saturday. It could be something as simple as Thomas falling back to his performance level of the first half of the season, which he did, or I think he did.)
I don't like the idea, ever, of "playing for next year." This year's seniors deserve some respect, and not be tossed aside. So while the young players showed great promise, I prefer performance, which we saw smatterings of. I understand injuries and why nobody wants to hear about them, really I get it. It does not mean their impact has hurt us any less. I have no answer for the D. Not even a suggestion. Well, play better, or even get more pressure. Except I'm sure they're trying, and they can't get more pressure or they would have. In my mind Jabari Hunt has been a disappointment in occupying blockers for others to go after the QB, but whatever, only Gotsis has lived up to the hype. Like Boomer I can't fault the secondary when they have to spend an eternity in coverage, and even average receivers given that time will win the battle.
The youngsters did well. As for Mr. Marshall, wow. Don't know about anybody else but I appreciate the runs down main street more than the edge. The edge requires speed. The middle requires great vision, quick hips, quicker feet, and sharp cuts into small gaps. The first down the sideline had Dwyer/Georgia written all over it. His 58-yarder in the middle had all that and more. I hope he beats his fumble problem, and learns to block. As a freshman, he should.
Yes, I think we can beat FSU. I really do. There is no reason for them to be afraid or less than wildly confident, and Johnson has a history of gouging their run defense. If we do we have taken the first step toward six wins, and I don't even care about a bowl game. If Thomas returns to his mean, if our execution is sharpened, and if the defense will just kind of show up and impede people, we could surprise people
As for special teams, well. All year we have allowed gangbusters penetration up the middle, and all year we have had field goals blocked. I don't know why and wish some real football guy on the board would tell us. I hope it is as simple as telling the O line not to do that any more.
On to FSU and prime time. And the hope his team will mirror his personality and attitude, punch 'em in the mouth.
