Salomon: Letters To Al

Dear Al:

It looks like Mother Nature gave us a bolt of lightning that we needed on offense.  We cannot count on that every week and the kids are going to have to get motivated on their own, or your staff is going to have to motivate them before they leave the locker room.  You are not going to get a 75 minute timeout every week and they need to be ready to go from the first whistle.

When the offensive unit came out of the locker room at the start of the game, they were listless. They were tired, they looked horrible. The play calling was deplorable. I mean, how many screens can you run to the strong side before you actually get some yardage. They call it a vertical passing game for a reason. With the firepower that you have on offense and the speed that you have at the receiver position, you need to let them run hog wild. Let Brad chuck the pelota down the field and get some touchdowns. Don't get allergic to scoring points early.

After the lightning storm ended, some of that must have hit the Gatorade bottles as the team came out explosive and ready for action. The running was crisp and the routes were downfield and there were even passes over the middle. That is Hurricane football and what the fans want to see.  These bubble screens have not worked for years and the players bunch up and give no room for separation. Time to scrap the screen and work the middle of the field and the hash marks.

On a positive note, I was real impressed with the ground game and I thought that Walton and Gray did a good job in their first considerable action. For Walton it was his first game as a collegian and he showed that he can carry the mail. I would count on him first and Yearby second, although both looked good. Walton just looks like he ran harder.

The defense finally had a good game, but we have to realize that it was just against Bethune-Cookman and not against Nebraska or Florida State. Before we tip our caps and offer Coach D'Onofrio any congratulatory words, let's do it again against a team that is capable of going bowling.

I was impressed with the secondary as well as the pressure from the front-seven. They played with tenacity and I hope that you can motivate them to get another shutout against FAU, a team that we should defeat handily.  Corn Elder was spectacular in the return game and belongs back there and also played well at corner. His first quarter sack on the corner blitz was simple perfection and it was called at the right time.

In conclusion, I wish you well this week and hope that you can keep the engine moving forward.

Regards,

SAS