{"id":7197,"date":"2014-10-26T20:58:36","date_gmt":"2014-10-27T00:58:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=7197"},"modified":"2014-10-27T07:00:28","modified_gmt":"2014-10-27T11:00:28","slug":"offense-keeps-up-the-pace-dukes-down-charlotte-48-40","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=7197","title":{"rendered":"Offense Keeps Up the Pace, Dukes Down Charlotte 48-40"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some things never change. Dan Synder is an ass, April 15th sucks, and no matter what, some elements of our fanbase will find things to complain about. Yes, I’m looking at you guy a few rows back who complained about Vad Lee the first time the Dukes failed to get a first down yesterday when they were already leading 21-0 on a beautiful day at Charlotte. But then again, occasionally some things do. Like the JMU offense, which is quickly turning into a Big 12esque machine capable of scoring points in bunches and the JMU defense, which is beginning to be more reminiscent of the Alex Wood days than the staunch group we’d all grown accustomed to under Mickey and his visor.<\/p>\n

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

The start. After a string of sluggish play to start games, the Dukes were in shockingly fine form early on, boatracing the 49ers on their way to a 21-0 lead. Obviously this didn’t hold up and when you play at the speed JMU does, this can make for a lot of really quick possessions and punts at times, but there’s no denying the Dukes are finding their rhythm on offense as the season progresses and it can be impressive in that Baylor\/Oregon type way at times. We screamed “pass more” and “modernize” for years under the Mickey regime, and now we’ve got a team blowing the doors off the CAA in plays per game and no matter what it’s tough to argue with the point and yardage totals of late.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The Normbulance – a myth no longer. Thanks to Rob and Mandeeb for being such great hosts!<\/p><\/div>\n

Charlotte. Really everything about this game was outstanding. Their fans are warm, welcoming, and incredibly pro-tailgating, pro-partying. So refreshing to get outside the utter lack of a fanbase in general at nearly every CAA school save Delaware. \u00a0The commingled pregame tailgate was fun and the Niner fans seemed genuinely happy to have what many of their fans said was the first team that’s really brought a meaningful fan base to a game there. The weather was great, the stadium and campus clean, well thought-out, and generally great looking. We only wish there were more games scheduled with Charlotte (yes, we really wish they were conference games, but at this points we’ll take what we can get) as this seems like a team and school that really has the potential for a great rivalry. It should be noted that my friend that works at Charlotte said of their fans hospitality that “We just haven’t won enough for anyone to get chesty yet” but it’s not hard to have fun on nice days with great scenery in the south.<\/p>\n

Vad Lee. Accounted for over 400 yards of offense and six TD’s. Sure the long passes are as shaky as anything Thorpe or Landers ever threw, but his decision making is quickly veering towards the Landers side of the ledger and that’s great news. He’s keeping the ball when it matters, does a a great time buying time and looking downfield (even to backup TE’s), and is underrated in some subtle ways like throwing the ball away (the right way) to save a drive and picking up on down and distance issues. Again, 400 plus yards and 6 td’s. If you’re still missing the Ginger Giant, keep it to yourself till Vad does anything except lead this offense in the right direction. Also nice to see his line coming together, though it’s admittedly tough to evaluate against Charlotte’s D. We’ll see everything we need to know against the featherless Tribe next week.<\/p>\n

The JMU friends – Dave, Ronnell, Cam, Sarah, Tay – great to see you all and looking forward to next week!<\/p>\n

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

Big plays given up on the defensive side of the ball. We get it, the Dukes are struggling on D. We also get it that Charlotte is what their record says they are. But having seen them in person, their top WR, the tastefully named Austin Duke (#10), and RB Kalif Philips, would be absolute studs for any FCS team in the nation including our own. It’s also noteworthy that each of their respective biggest plays of the day produced the Niners two first half TD’s right up the middle while JMU Senior Safety Dean Marlowe sat on the sideline due to the bogus targeting penalty and subsequent suspension from the Towson game. \u00a0That said, Charlotte scored even more points in the second half, usually on drives made of up a few huge plays and chunk yardage. The Dukes also struggled to get pressure once Rhakeem Stallings went out injured (but man are they dangerous when he and Harold are working together). We’re just not sure what the answer is at this point, but we were encouraged by the big play late from Gage Steele who’s finally starting to look like himself and the continued improvement on the perimeter from Taylor Reynolds and Jeremiah Wilson.<\/p>\n

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

A few small notes: Bounced passes counting as completions, amateur hour chain gangs (slowing down the JMU offense by having generally zero clue what’s going on) \u00a0and scoreboard ops (how many timeouts did Charlotte get in the 2nd half and is it really necessary to have two third down reminders for the crowd every time?).<\/p>\n

On the bigger side, the clock management during the last five minutes was downright Andy Reid-ish. We absolutely get that JMU’s pace is a huge factor in wearing other teams down and giving the Dukes an advantage, but snapping the ball with 20 seconds on the playclock up two scores with four minutes left is unacceptable. Doing it over and over and having to face an onside kick is just hideous. I will note that the decision to kick the FG on fourth and goal at the one was one I understood despite my constant desire to go for it more. After all, the Dukes had already given up on 98 yard TD earlier in the day and their was no reason not to make it two scores again there. Also liked the willingness to stick with what was working, particularly the dive to Latney. If it weren’t such a hot day filled with so much cramping, he and the line might set records.<\/p>\n

“Uh-Huh!” Man – If you were there, you know what I’m talking about. I know Charlotte is short on homegrown traditions, but boy is this guy a pain.<\/p>\n

Now, on to Homecoming and our last true rival!\u00a0<\/strong>(Stop it with UR, they play in the A-10 in everything else and laugh their heads off at our dumbasses when their conference gets five bids to the tournament and the CAA goes to Dayton). If the Dukes can get to 6-3 and pull ahead of W&M, they’ll be in great position for the home stretch. HUGE game.<\/p>\n