Mickey's farewell tour
posted by LW, Tuesday, November 03, 2009
Boy is it going to be strange not seeing Mickey Andrews on Florida State's sideline after this season.
For years and years and years, he's been quite the entertaining presence with that perpetual scowl-and-spit routine. It looks like he always has a hair stuck in his mouth and he's trying unsuccessfully to spit it out.
Andrews, who has been the Seminoles' defensive coordinator for something like 67 seasons (26, actually) said yesterday he plans to address his future today.
It is pretty much assumed Andrews will announce he's hanging it up at the end of the season. That will allow Florida State to give him the sendoff worthy of a true icon in the profession.
Yesterday, I sat and listened to Kevin Steele gush about Andrews. Steele worked for him in Tallahassee for four seasons before moving on to Alabama, and he raved about him as a person and as a coordinator. You hear that a lot about the man.
The Seminoles' astounding defensive struggles this season have brought Andrews to his knees. Their total defense is on pace to be the worst since the early 70s. Their rushing defense is on pace to be the worst since 1982, two years before Andrews took over.
I've watched Florida State a few times this season, and the Seminoles' are undoubtedly less talented than those dominant bunches fielded years ago. But there aren't many scrubs running around out there; they are still athletic and fast -- the parts are better than the sum.
The Noles have allowed FORTY NINE plays of 20 yards or more. On first down in last week's escape of N.C. State, they surrendered 309 yards.
More on Andrews here.
Andrews said on Monday that he didn't know why his defense has appeared better in small stretches at the end of each of the past two games than it has throughout most of the season.
"It doesn't seem like we've got as much enthusiasm and spark and spit flying around, knocking people around," Andrews said. "You've got to enjoy what you're doing. What you want is a guy lined up out there and say, 'I hope they come at me this time. I hope I get the opportunity to make a difference.'
"Sometimes, it appears that it's just the other way, like, 'I hope they don't come my way.'"
Looks like Christian Ponder is feeling much better.
"It wasn't as bad as I was expecting," Ponder said on Monday. "It was definitely a little sore. It's something I can overcome. It will be alright. It's football. It's a contact sport."
Ponder said he will participate in practices this week.
"As much as I can. … If it doesn't feel good then I'll slow down and back off a little bit," Ponder said. "But I'm going to try to practice as much as I can."
Asked about his chances of not playing at Clemson, Ponder replied: "Slim and none."
After all, Ponder played through worst last season. Offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher said that Ponder played with two cracked ribs after FSU's early October game at Miami last season.
"Last year, people don't realize, he had two cracked ones," Fisher said. "… He's a tough nut now.
"This guy is as tough as I've coached and I've been around. ... You watch performance. If this guy, if he gets banged up and bruised up, it doesn't bother him. It doesn't bother his execution."
Interesting notebook in the Tallahassee Democrat.
Apparently Dekoda Watson isn't planning on having tea with Kevin Steele after Saturday's game.
Don't expect a warm embrace between FSU linebacker Watson and Clemson defensive coordinator Kevin Steele. That's the take on comments from Watson who was recruited by Steele when he was the linebackers coach at FSU.
When asked if he had stayed in contact with Steele, Watson replied: "Not at all. I want to be as nice as I can. Nah, I haven't talked to him. I wish him the best. That's all I got to say about that."
N.C. State beat writer Ken Tysiac writes about the Wolfpack's "MacGyver Defense" that's "held together with gum and chicken wire."
Tough times in Syracuse. The Orange offense blew two red-zone opportunities in last week's loss to Cincinnati, and now folks are questioning the philosophy of offensive coordinator Rob Spence.
If SU wants to start thinking about a bowl game, which seems to be slipping away more and more after every Big East game, the Orange will have to start stretching the field consistently like it did when the team was peaking around the midway point of the year.
Syracuse has the pieces to be a vertical team. Mike Williams is a nightmare for opposing defensive backs with his 6-foot-2, 204-pound frame. He has shown that he can beat some of the best defensive backs. Williams alone gives Syracuse a weapon to attack the middle and long portions of the field.
Instead, in the last two weeks we have seen a passing game that has become too complacent with bubble screens and short routes. Playing without Williams against Akron, Syracuse averaged 8.75 yards per catch and threw for just 105 yards. This shows the value of Williams to this offense, as the longest completion on that day was 20 yards. There was no vertical component without the star.
This week, Syracuse rarely tried to beat Cincinnati deep. Williams was relegated to bubble screens, where he loses his value as a receiver. Why have Williams breaking a play at the line when he has the ability to beat cornerbacks and safeties?
For the first time in, oh, forever, I feel compelled to watch Duke-North Carolina ... in football.
Caulton Tudor writes about the ... wait for it ... big game in Chapel Hill while speculating that Virginia could snap up David Cutcliffe after his remarkable gains in Durham.
In The Post and Courier, the Tigers face yet another hot QB. They did pretty well against Riley Skinner and Jacory Harris. Now they get Ponder, who might just be the best of the bunch.
The Man of Steele gives his take on Andrews.
And in The ACC Sports Journal, some hack takes a look back at Clemson's signing class of 2006.
Not a bad class. But the jury is still out on that Spiller kid from Florida.
LW
For questions or comments on this blog entry, please visit The West Zone message board.
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Boy is it going to be strange not seeing Mickey Andrews on Florida State's sideline after this season.
For years and years and years, he's been quite the entertaining presence with that perpetual scowl-and-spit routine. It looks like he always has a hair stuck in his mouth and he's trying unsuccessfully to spit it out.
Andrews, who has been the Seminoles' defensive coordinator for something like 67 seasons (26, actually) said yesterday he plans to address his future today.
It is pretty much assumed Andrews will announce he's hanging it up at the end of the season. That will allow Florida State to give him the sendoff worthy of a true icon in the profession.
Yesterday, I sat and listened to Kevin Steele gush about Andrews. Steele worked for him in Tallahassee for four seasons before moving on to Alabama, and he raved about him as a person and as a coordinator. You hear that a lot about the man.
The Seminoles' astounding defensive struggles this season have brought Andrews to his knees. Their total defense is on pace to be the worst since the early 70s. Their rushing defense is on pace to be the worst since 1982, two years before Andrews took over.
I've watched Florida State a few times this season, and the Seminoles' are undoubtedly less talented than those dominant bunches fielded years ago. But there aren't many scrubs running around out there; they are still athletic and fast -- the parts are better than the sum.
The Noles have allowed FORTY NINE plays of 20 yards or more. On first down in last week's escape of N.C. State, they surrendered 309 yards.
More on Andrews here.
Andrews said on Monday that he didn't know why his defense has appeared better in small stretches at the end of each of the past two games than it has throughout most of the season.
"It doesn't seem like we've got as much enthusiasm and spark and spit flying around, knocking people around," Andrews said. "You've got to enjoy what you're doing. What you want is a guy lined up out there and say, 'I hope they come at me this time. I hope I get the opportunity to make a difference.'
"Sometimes, it appears that it's just the other way, like, 'I hope they don't come my way.'"
Looks like Christian Ponder is feeling much better.
"It wasn't as bad as I was expecting," Ponder said on Monday. "It was definitely a little sore. It's something I can overcome. It will be alright. It's football. It's a contact sport."
Ponder said he will participate in practices this week.
"As much as I can. … If it doesn't feel good then I'll slow down and back off a little bit," Ponder said. "But I'm going to try to practice as much as I can."
Asked about his chances of not playing at Clemson, Ponder replied: "Slim and none."
After all, Ponder played through worst last season. Offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher said that Ponder played with two cracked ribs after FSU's early October game at Miami last season.
"Last year, people don't realize, he had two cracked ones," Fisher said. "… He's a tough nut now.
"This guy is as tough as I've coached and I've been around. ... You watch performance. If this guy, if he gets banged up and bruised up, it doesn't bother him. It doesn't bother his execution."
Interesting notebook in the Tallahassee Democrat.
Apparently Dekoda Watson isn't planning on having tea with Kevin Steele after Saturday's game.
Don't expect a warm embrace between FSU linebacker Watson and Clemson defensive coordinator Kevin Steele. That's the take on comments from Watson who was recruited by Steele when he was the linebackers coach at FSU.
When asked if he had stayed in contact with Steele, Watson replied: "Not at all. I want to be as nice as I can. Nah, I haven't talked to him. I wish him the best. That's all I got to say about that."
N.C. State beat writer Ken Tysiac writes about the Wolfpack's "MacGyver Defense" that's "held together with gum and chicken wire."
Tough times in Syracuse. The Orange offense blew two red-zone opportunities in last week's loss to Cincinnati, and now folks are questioning the philosophy of offensive coordinator Rob Spence.
If SU wants to start thinking about a bowl game, which seems to be slipping away more and more after every Big East game, the Orange will have to start stretching the field consistently like it did when the team was peaking around the midway point of the year.
Syracuse has the pieces to be a vertical team. Mike Williams is a nightmare for opposing defensive backs with his 6-foot-2, 204-pound frame. He has shown that he can beat some of the best defensive backs. Williams alone gives Syracuse a weapon to attack the middle and long portions of the field.
Instead, in the last two weeks we have seen a passing game that has become too complacent with bubble screens and short routes. Playing without Williams against Akron, Syracuse averaged 8.75 yards per catch and threw for just 105 yards. This shows the value of Williams to this offense, as the longest completion on that day was 20 yards. There was no vertical component without the star.
This week, Syracuse rarely tried to beat Cincinnati deep. Williams was relegated to bubble screens, where he loses his value as a receiver. Why have Williams breaking a play at the line when he has the ability to beat cornerbacks and safeties?
For the first time in, oh, forever, I feel compelled to watch Duke-North Carolina ... in football.
Caulton Tudor writes about the ... wait for it ... big game in Chapel Hill while speculating that Virginia could snap up David Cutcliffe after his remarkable gains in Durham.
In The Post and Courier, the Tigers face yet another hot QB. They did pretty well against Riley Skinner and Jacory Harris. Now they get Ponder, who might just be the best of the bunch.
The Man of Steele gives his take on Andrews.
And in The ACC Sports Journal, some hack takes a look back at Clemson's signing class of 2006.
Not a bad class. But the jury is still out on that Spiller kid from Florida.
LW
For questions or comments on this blog entry, please visit The West Zone message board.
Link to this entry - Discuss this entry - Return to Blog Home
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Larry Williams. Larry has covered the daily beat at Clemson since 2004. Williams, who worked for the Charleston Post & Courier from 2004-08, joined Tigerillustrated.com in November of 2008. He may be reached by email at ldubya08(at)gmail.com. Replace (at) with @.