Peter

Transgressions? You mean driving his car recklessly? Smoking pot? I don't condone that but I also know that he was and is a young guy who has had a very disadvantaged and tragic home life who has made some mistakes. Unlike Jerry Sullivan, I did not think that his mistakes were necessarily mortal sins. As for the dead cap space, that is what McBean opted for. I would rather have Dareus than eat the dead cap space these next two years, but hey, that's just me. If we were going to get rid of him, I would have done it in a couple of years and not now and certainly not for the bag of pucks that they got for him. By all accounts, Dareus' teammates liked him. I do not think he was a "cancer" as some would like to portray him to justify this trade. Dareus simply was a guy that McBean did not want on this team now. That was their choice. This is the team that McBean opted for this year. They decided whom to keep, whom to cut, and whom to trade and for what. Just my two cents.

Also, don't forget that Tolbert is in McCoach's breakfast club.

I did not see a lot of that against the Saints. The record? Just an example: The guy lost a family member to murder, played the next game, and had a great game. St. Doug apparently did not think he was too lazy and thought he could motivate him. It is a shame that McBean did not think McCoach and his staff could do the same with an elite talent. Whatever one may think the record was or is, it is going to be depressing to watch Dareus play for the Jags and St. Doug while other teams think that they can run the ball 20+ times in a row even though we have 8 in the box. Dareus is not perfect but he sure is much better than what we have and whoever we pick with that 6th round pick. McBean got the roster and schemes they want right now. We shall see what they do with those against the Chargers, Chiefs, and Pats. I do not think it is going to be pretty. Just my two cents.

This did not age well. It was so much fun to go to this game.

Sadly, you are correct. I cannot remember as bad a loss -- especially at home -- as today's game. This game and the Jets game were really bad. We also have some tough games ahead in this string.

At least the accountants will be happy in . . . two years. By all accounts, his teammates loved him.

I don't disagree with that. The wins are not as impressive and the last two losses are biblically bad.

There always is a chance of a controversy, but isn't it more likely that the top team in the country will be one of the top "ranked" teams and will be in the playoff (than the previous system)?

I read that our wins come against teams with a combined record of 19-27. I suppose that those five wins are not as impressive as some once thought . . . . As I have posted elsewhere, the string of games that started against the Saints are going to tell us a lot about this team and coaching staff.

Is that even possible?!? That has to be about the worst run defense stat I have ever read. It also is demoralizing when you commit to stopping the run with 8 men in the box, the other team nevertheless chooses to run the ball even though you have 8 in the box, and the other team runs right over the defense to the tune of 14.2 yards per rush. Ugh.

I cannot say whether these guys have quit on McCoach and the process yet. I could see where some guys might begin to get tired of him particularly after losing a couple of games like we have these past two games. These past two games have not been a good omen. These losses have been about as bad as a loss can be the way they were beaten. I still think it is probably too early to tell. These next string of games are going to be a test for these coaches.

The beginning of the season was a mirage. As of last week, we had one of the 10 easiest schedules in the NFL. As we start to play the good NFL teams in the string beginning today, I suspect that the "process" is not going to look as good . . . about as good as the run defense today.

These next few weeks are going to be rough.

Boy, it sure seems as the "process" outsmarted itself.

I was at the game last night. The atmosphere and game were amazing (from a UM perspective). In fact, the whole day was a great recruiting tool for the Hurricanes from Saturday morning's College Game Day (which the Game Day hosts said was the best ever or words to that effect) to the game itself. The stars certainly have aligned for UM's resurgance. FSU and UF are down and the Canes are back winning on the national stage. The key for Miami is keeping the elite talent in Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties. After last night, I have to believe that is going to happen. In fact, if you are an elite high school football player anywhere in the country, I have to believe that you are going to give the Canes serious consideration along with the other top tier programs. The Catholics v. Convicts bit always was a misnomer and offensive. It was fun though to see many fans turn it around and embrace it last night by wearing orange inmate costumes. I also have never heard that stadium buzzing or as loud as it was last night. When ND was on offense, it reminded me of the days at Rich Stadium during the super bowl and playoff years when opposing teams were on offense. The vaunted ND offensive line and run offense were outmatched and Wimbush and Book were rattled by the Miami defense and pressure. It was interesting to see Notre Dame's "first round pick" left tackle get beat by a true freshman for a strip and fumble recovery. I also think that Brian Kelly seemed to be rattled as well. Before the season, I was worried about the Cane's offense and QB situation. Malik Rosier was told that he would never start for this team. Instead of pouting or transferring, he worked hard and became the starter. He is a tough and productive college QB and makes plays in clutch time. Our best offensive player, Mark Walton, got hurt earlier in the year and what happened? Travis Homer steps up and runs the ball with both power and speed. The offensive line is developing into a great unit. The wide receivers have played really well (even a guy who does not get a lot of playing time - Langham - makes big time clutch plays in games against FSU and GT). Another guy who is getting more and more attention outside of Miami is Braxton Berrios. I have read people here joke about Berrios being drafted by the Pats. Those same jokes are made down here. The guy just makes plays and does his job. I fully expect the Pats to try and get him, but wouldn't be nice for the Bills to have a slot receiver like Berrios who also returns kicks and plays on coverage units. I don't know how UM will do against Clemson in the ACC Championship or against teams like Alabama, but I think UM is a LOT closer to those teams than in years past and is rapidly closing the gap. I think UM, like the Yankees, is about a year or two ahead of schedule. As mentioned above, because FSU and UF are down this year and Miami is way up, that will be tremendous for recruiting and solidify our already excellent position.

All of the above posts are right on. Cordy is one tough guy. This is a guy who came back to play football after having his kidney removed. Football is a tough sport. Injuries happen. I am not going to question Cordy's toughness after coming back from the kidney problem. Cordy is a very good tackle. No reason to get rid of him.

They appear to be very good - the offensive line in particular.

It is hard for me to compliment the Dolphins, but I have to say that they did a fantastic job with the renovations. It is almost like a brand new stadium and does not have that cookie cutter feel that it used to have. The canopy is great for us, because our UM season tickets are on the south side (home side) on the 30 yard line, 13th row. I no longer have to bake in that stadium. As someone who used to play football way back, I have no idea how 300 pound linemen play in that heat in an afternoon game in September. There also are four huge TV screens (one in each corner of the stadium) which are great when needed. If you go to a Bills game there, I think that you will like what they did. I don't know who is going to win and what you say is certainly possible (as well as a big Canes win). Nevertheless, I was at the game in South Bend last year. ND took an early lead. The Canes came back and should have won. In the end, ND won in a close game. This year's game is not in South Bend, but is here in Miami. I can tell you that the fans have not been as excited about this team since the early 2000's when the program was elite. I fully expect a huge and loud Miami crowd (there also will be ND fans as there always are around the country). In addition to it being a home game for UM, this year's team is better than the one that almost beat ND last year in South Bend. Again, I will be there as a UM fan. I don't know who will win, but I really got to believe that, going into the game, UM has has at least as much of a chance to beat ND as the other way around. We shall see.

That's funny. Your just mentioning him made me chuckle.

Indeed. It has been a long, long time. I read that College Game Day is coming down here as well. I am even thinking about going to that. I heard that also could be a lot of fun.

I am going to the Canes game against Notre Dame on Saturday. This game should be a lot of fun. I went to the Canes/Notre Dame game in South Bend last year. That was fun even though the wrong team won.

Losing is one thing. Losing the way the Bills did last night is another thing altogether. Thus far, we have had a relatively easy strength of schedule (after last night, the 10th easiest in the league if I recall correctly). Our next group of games is very important. Will last night be just one loss or will it be the beginning of a slide as has happened in previous years? We shall see. The next four games are going to tell the story.

I agree. We really could have used Dareus in run defense and pushing the pocket (as the Jets collapsed our pocket). I also think that these next several games are going to tell the story about this trade and the team. We have had a relatively easy schedule so far this year (after yesterday's game, we have had the 10th easiest schedule). http://www.espn.com/nfl/standings/_/view/playoff I think that our next four games (Saints, Chargers, Chiefs, and Pats) are very important. In the past, we have allowed one loss in a game like last night's to become a slide. These next few games are going to show what this team is all about. Yeah, but our accountants are so much happier with our cap space the year after next.

The same one that Mario, Gilmore, and others sent? Oh wait . . . . Hmmmmm.