Rattlers battle Hurricanes in Sunshine State showdown
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09/01/2010 - Miami Gardens, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 13th-ranked Miami-Florida Hurricanes appear to be one of the best teams in the ACC heading into the 2010 season, and they will have a chance to show off their skill in Thursday's opener against the Florida A&M Rattlers.
Florida A&M, which plays its football at the Football Championship Subdivision level, was recently predicted to finish second in the MEAC standings this season behind only defending conference champ South Carolina State. The Rattlers placed five players on the league's Preseason All-Conference First Team and three on the Second Team, so there is significant talent for coach Joe Taylor to work with. Taylor has posted over 200 career victories and is a well-respected member of the coaching fraternity, but his team is a significant underdog entering this opener.
"I think it's time to take the next step," says coach Taylor, who has turned around the program he inherited in 2008. "The ship has been righted."
Miami was a program in despair when Randy Shannon took over four years ago, but the well-regarded coach has restored the 'Canes to respectability. In 2009, Shannon guided his team to the program's best mark since the 2005 at 9-4, including 5-3 versus ACC competition. Miami made its 35th bowl appearance and returns a wealth of talent from that squad.
Miami owns a 7-1 series advantage over Florida A&M, which includes a 48-16 romp over the Rattlers last season.
Speaking of 2009, FAMU scored 28.0 ppg and averaged 370.3 total ypg, but maintaining that level of success without the services of MEAC Player of the Year Curtis Pulley will be difficult. Eddie Battle and Martin Ukpai both saw limited action under center in '09, and it wouldn't be surprising if both players saw action in this opener.
There is no doubt that Florida A&M will depend on both Philip Sylvester and Isaac West to be playmakers both in this game and all season long. Sylvester is a diminutive running back, but the 5-7 senior ran for 455 yards and seven touchdowns on 112 carries a season ago. Now the full-time starter, there is little doubt that those numbers could potentially double in 2010.
"We're really going to feature him a lot more this year," said Taylor, who also wants Sylvester to take direct snaps. "Last year the offense when through Pulley. This year it's going through Sylvester."
As for West, a 6-2 senior receiver, he made 36 catches for 641 yards last season. West only reached the end zone twice, but he figures to be more of a red zone target this year. Kevin Elliott is another reliable target at 6-3, and he posted 44 catches last season for 554 yards and seven touchdowns.
On the defensive side of the ball for Florida A&M, players such as Qier Hall and Alvis Graham are expected to stand out against the mighty Hurricanes. Hall is a 6-2 senior defensive back who broke up six passes and intercepted three balls in 2009. He registered 42 tackles and is the leader of that back tier. As for Graham, he recorded 69 tackles as a sophomore and figures to be even better as a junior. Graham posted 6.5 TFLs in 2009 and never shies away from contact. Another player worthy of mention is actually the team's punter, Trevor Scott, who plays a major role in determining field position. Helping Hall in the defensive backfield will be Curtis Holcomb, who registered a pair of interceptions and 35 tackles as a junior.
The Rattlers managed to limit foes to 21.2 ppg and 332.5 total ypg a year ago, solid numbers for sure. Still, the defense may need to be even better to help offset the loss of Pulley on the offensive side.
Miami was formidable on the offensive side of the football last season, averaging 400 yards per game, 261.9 ypg of which came through the air. A lot of the success had to do with the play of sophomore QB Jacory Harris, who completed nearly 60 percent of his passes for 3,352 yards and 24 TDs. Harris has an injured thumb but is fully expected to play in this opener. While five starters are gone offensively, the team's top five receivers are back in the mix, including Biletnikoff Award candidate Leonard Hankerson (45 receptions, for 801 yards, six TDs). Expect Damien Berry (616 yards, 6.6 ypc, eight TDs) to carry the load on the ground in this opener, as Graig Cooper (695 yards, 5.2 ypc, six TDs) continues to recover from a serious knee injury. Receiver LaRon Byrd will almost certainly miss this tilt as well with a knee injury.
The Miami defense did a solid job a year ago, and with eight starters returning for the 2010 season, major improvement is expected. The defensive line figures to be an area of great strength, as three starters are back in place. All-America candidate Allen Bailey is a man to watch, as he can be used at both tackle and end. Bailey posted seven sacks in '09 and hopes to establish himself as the most recent in a long line of great Hurricane defensive linemen. The linebacking corps will be paced by senior Colin McCarthy (95 tackles, 9.5 TFLs) and junior Sean Spence (36 tackles, three sacks). The secondary returns three of four starters, including talented cornerbacks Brandon Harris (58 tackles, 15 PBUs, two INTs) and DeMarcus Van Dyke (30 tackles, one INT).
"Colin McCarthy, Allen Bailey and another young man in Brandon Harris. Those are the three guys that will lead us in far of communicating and talking," says Shannon.
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The NFL preseason is approaching. Time for players, coaches and teams to turn over a new leaf. General managers have hired some new coaches, while coaches have added some offensive and defensive assistants to try and improve things. Here’s a look at some changes to look for in the preseason.
New York Jets: The Jets were one of the surprise teams in the NFL last season, making the playoffs under hard-driving first-year coach Eric Mangini. Mangini rebuilt the offensive line with rookies D'Brickashaw Ferguson (the No. 4 pick in the 2007 Draft) and Ohio State center (the 29th pick in the first round). This season he upgraded the defense with rookie linebacker David Harris (Michigan) while the secondary picked up a much needed top-notch corner in Pitt CB Darrelle Revis (No. 14 overall).
The Jets have added balance to the offense for QB Chad Pennington with RB Thomas Jones, essentially stolen from the Bears. He will upgrade a New York ground game that was 20th in rushing with a weak 3.5 yards per carry. They have their first true feature back since Curtis Martin. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer prefers ball control, like his father Marty. In preseason, behind Pennington you’ll see second-year QB Kellen Clemens and mobile newcomer QB Marques Tuiasosopo.
Jacksonville Jaguars: The heat is on Jack Del Rio in Jacksonville as the Jaguars flopped last season despite a ton of talent. Keep in mind that under Del Rio the Jaguars have been outstanding in preseason with a 12-4 SU, 11-5 ATS August mark. online football betting Their defense is loaded, it’s the offense that has been stuck in first gear the last few years.
Enter a new offensive coordinator in Dirk Koetter, the former Boise State and Arizona State pass-happy coach. He will try and upgrade a passing game that ranked 24th last season. Del Rio has criticized wide receivers and Matt Jones this summer, both of whom have battled injuries. It will be interesting to watch the “new” Jaguars passing game in preseason.
Arizona Cardinals: Word out of Arizona is that the players like new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was the Steelers offensive coordinator last year. We think of Arizona as all-passing because their running game has been awful of late because of a poor offensive line. However, keep an eye on the running game in preseason as they’ve made a lot of changes.
The new coach brings in Russ Grimm to coach the offensive line (Grimm did a marvelous job building the Steelers line). They took Penn State OT Levi Jones in the first round and signed two offensive linemen, Mike Gandy and Al Johnson, to provide depth. Reggie Wells was moved from right tackle to left guard and they want more speed out of the offensive line for pulling and traps, a Pittsburgh staple under Bill Cowher.
Atlanta Falcons: While all the attention has been focused on QB Mike Vick’s off-field problems, new coach Bobby Petrino is revamping the Falcons from an all-running team to a more balanced one. Petrino likes the experience of backup QB Joey Harrington and he has veteran backup Chris Redman, who used to play for Petrino at Louisville and knows his offenses better than anyone. Petrino wants Vick to be more of a pocket passer.
The addition of FB Ovie Mughelli is a sign Petrino wants a power rushing attack behind a physical fullback and newcomer WR Joe Horn should upgrade what was a below average wideout corps. Petrino is changing their old zone-blocking scheme to a more traditional in-line blocking scheme and the offensive line is bigger. Rookie DE Jamaal Anderson was grabbed in the first round and the secondary got younger with former Auburn cornerback David Irons, who the Falcons think was a steal as a sixth-round pick.
Cleveland Browns: The 2007 Browns look like a double-edged sword. There was the excitement of the offseason, trading for RB Jamel Lewis, upgrading the offensive line with Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas (the No. 2 pick in the draft) and free agent LG Eric Steinbach, then trading for Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn when he fell to No. 22. GM Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel feel they have a talented, balanced offense with these new pieces, plus TE >Kellen Winslow and WR Braylon Edwards.
However, were these moves made in desperation? And were they foolish ones? The Browns gave up their 2008 first-round pick for Quinn and we all know QBs take time to develop. And even first-round QBs can be busts (Joey Harrington, Akili Smith). We also don’t know if the offensive line is that much improved (31st in rushing in 2007) and they did nothing to improve a defense that was awful against the run (142 yds pg allowed).
The Browns have a new offensive coordinator in Rob Chudzinski. This is a young offense and Quinn looked tentative, indecisive and inaccurate early in camp. Crennel will play Charlie Frye, Quinn and Derek Anderson in preseason. And there is a mixed bag for rookie QBs receiving significant starts: Tim Couch (14), Kerry Collins (13), Ben Roethlisberger (13), Vince Young (13), Joey Harrington (12), Matt Leinart (11) and Kyle Boller (nine). While all the focus will be on the Browns new-look offense, I’m more concerned with the defense.
Carolina Panthers: Coach Jon Fox loves the ground game, but Carolina has made some interesting changes for 2007. Fox fired offensive coordinator Dan Henning and brings in Jeff Davidson to run the offense. Davidson has brought in zone-blocking schemes to the Panther offense, a dramatic change for a system that's been built around a power-running style.
In zone-blocking, offensive linemen are responsible for blocking any defender who appears in their zone, instead of focusing on one defender. The Broncos and Falcons have had success with the system, which features smaller, more athletic offensive linemen and can create running lanes on the inside and outside. Keep an eye in preseason on how Carolina adjusts as it will take time to learn the system. Fox has been one of the top coaches in preseason, with a 15-5 SU, 12-7-1 ATS August record.
Dallas Cowboys: WR Terrell Owens is still here, but QB Drew Bledsoe and Bill Parcells are gone. New head coach Wade Phillips takes over, replacing Parcells. He ran the Chargers defense last season. Phillips was chosen by teary-eyed owner Jerry Jones partly because he is one of the best 3-4 coaches in football and the Cowboys have loaded up on players for that scheme.
Remember that Phillips was blitz-happy with the Chargers last season and early reports out of the Dallas camp have mentioned how the Cowboys have been blitzing a lot, a departure from Parcells. The theme of the 2007 Dallas defense appears to be one of attack.
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