{"id":6132,"date":"2013-10-27T15:49:19","date_gmt":"2013-10-27T19:49:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=6132"},"modified":"2013-10-27T15:49:19","modified_gmt":"2013-10-27T19:49:19","slug":"dukes-self-destruct-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=6132","title":{"rendered":"Dukes Self-Destruct (Again)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Really<\/a>

Really getting tired of running this pic.<\/p><\/div>\n

JMU lost 17-7 in an incredibly disappointing, frustrating, ugly game at William & Mary yesterday. \u00a0Pathetic is really the only word to describe nearly everything about this one. \u00a0We really would rather not rehash much of this anger-inducing game and would love to get on to Homecoming but here’s the usual thoughts.<\/p>\n

The Good<\/strong><\/p>\n

???<\/p>\n

Most people hated them, but I actually thoroughly enjoyed the Griffins’ wonderfully incompetent and gloriously homerish announcing tandem. \u00a0Hard to believe that’s the only thing I can come up with, but the truth is the truth.<\/p>\n

Some might argue the defense was “alright” and created turnovers but that “alright” came against a second and third string QB and wasn’t there when it had to be.<\/p>\n

The Bad<\/strong><\/p>\n

O-Line just refuses to play a clean game. \u00a0We don’t call student-athletes out by name often, but let’s just say that the supposed leader of this group has gotten to the point that we were betting the over\/under on his number of penalties yesterday with a group of fans before the game even started.<\/p>\n

Daniel Brown – One catch unless I missed something. \u00a0W&M’s defense is legit and I’m sure they were rolling a double-team to him even if we couldn’t see much on W&M’s poor-man’s version of MadiZone (and that’s a really poor man). How JMU couldn’t find a way to get him involved is pathetic.<\/p>\n

3 turnovers by W&M in their own territory led to a whopping grand total of ZERO points for the Dukes.<\/p>\n

Obviously the GinjaNinja’s dreadful overthrow for the INT late gets the headlines, but that’s just a bad throw. \u00a0What’s annoying lately is his consistent lack of situational awareness on things like when to throw it away instead of taking a sack once he’s already out of the pocket, and confusion over where the first-down marker is. \u00a0Obviuosly he can improve, but those kind of things can be coached. \u00a0A lotta regressive Logan Thomas in this one right now, not that there’s any coaching connection between the two or anything.<\/p>\n

Kicking game. \u00a0Not sure if that was on Starke for the line-drive or the line for the blocking, but special teams errors are also reflective of sloppy coaching if you’re seeing a theme develop.<\/p>\n

The Ugly<\/strong><\/p>\n

The utter lack of an identity continues to plague this team. \u00a0It’s almost like once the Dukes get any kind of scant lead at any point in the game, we get only the really bad part of old Mickey and none of the good. \u00a0It’s very confusing and is killing this team. \u00a0The thing that scares us the most is that Mickey appears to have lost his nerve and\/or is coaching like a guy on a really hot seat, always deflecting criticism to his players and failing to explain why he’s completely abandoned his old gunslinger mentality. \u00a0If nothing else, the old Mickey didn’t give a shit about “the percentage play,” especially on 4th down decisions. \u00a0We all painfully remember the results of taking this to its extreme in the playoff game in Boone, but it also earned JMU bonus points, stretched leads, continually put pressure on opponents, and maybe best of all instilled a sense of confidence and belief in the players on the field. \u00a0Yesterday the Dukes, having already had a FG blocked, were faced with a 4th and a foot (and another 4th and 5 later) solidly in W&M territory down 10-7. \u00a0Anyone who came to love JMU football between 04-09 knows that would have been a no-brainer no matter what the hell all of us armchair QB’s thought. \u00a0This bullshit, fraidy-cat version of MM just orders another cutesy pooch punt by a field-goal kicker or Birdsong, inevitably ending up in the end zone and gaining a whole 14 yards of field position in the process while broadcasting the “we’re playing not to lose and I don’t believe in you” message to the players.<\/p>\n

This team also plays great at home and\/or with a lead, but is a shell of its potential on the road or when facing adversity. Might even invoke the “soft” moniker.<\/p>\n

The Big Picture<\/strong><\/p>\n

Before this game, we thought that 8-4 would give JMU a great shot at the playoffs. Not anymore. \u00a0Because they now will finish behind both UD and W&M even if they “tie” them by virtue of awful head-to-head losses, that really means 8-4 will be unlikely to get them any higher than 5th or 6th place in the CAA and leave them on the outside looking in no matter how much MM protests. \u00a0That means only 9-3 will do it and that, in turn, means they have to run the table to make the playoffs and potentially save MM’s job. \u00a0Obviously this is unlikely, but we’ll all be rootin’ next week against an equally desperate, three-loss Villanova team at Homecoming. \u00a0And hey, cynics and the pitchfork crowd can celebrate even in defeat as one more almost certainly signals the end of the MM era.<\/p>\n

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