Are Seminole Fans’ Expectations of Deondre Francois Too High?

“Dad, I know who I want to be for Halloween: Deondre Francois,” my son to me.

I was Team (James) Blackman when it came to the Noles off-season quarterback competition. I still love Slim Reaper One, but my son has been a big Frenchy supporter since he met him and got a chance to catch passes from him when he volunteered at Ernie Sims football camp in Tallahassee this past summer.

Since that day he’s been an avidly Team Frenchie.

At first when he asked me, I said there is no way in hell I’m letting my son walk around like Deondre Francois for Halloween until he plays better. Cue up the Wake Forest game where Frenchie and the FSU offense put on a show. This made me go back and evaluate what I have seen so far this season.

Have we been too harsh, too lenient or just right in our criticism of Francois’ command of the Gulf Coast Offense? The answer to all those questions is “yes.”

Our eyes tell us one thing and his stats tell us an entirely different story.

Too Harsh

No quarterback is perfect. Add to this Francois’ 2017 season ending with a devastating injury, one that many stated wouldn’t be fully healed until 2019. He’s also learning a new system that is foreign in comparison to the pro-style offense Jimbo Fisher ran. An offense more suited to his talents. We should have expected a slower learning curve/.

But very analyst in America expected “Lethal Simplicity” to take the ACC by storm. Coming out of the gates with a one and two record and the offense looking remedial at times left us with one person to blame, other than the offensive line, and that was No. 12.

The numbers that Francois has put up through the first seven games put him on pace to replicate, possibly even surpass, his numbers from 2016 when the Noles went 10-3 defeating Michigan in the Orange Bowl. His stat line read 3350 yards, 20 touchdowns, seven interceptions with a completion percentage at 58.8%.

Currently he is averaging about 264 yards, two touchdowns, one interception and a 62.4% completion percentage per game. This puts him on pace for 3430 yards, 26 touchdowns and 13 interceptions if FSU makes it to a bowl game. This is without an all-world run game.

This also doesn’t take into consideration key drops or an offensive line that is patch-worked together and not giving him the best protection at times. When he is comfortable and attacking vertically he is a damn good quarterback. The numbers prove this and make the case for why Taggart hasn’t benched him when he seemed to be struggling.

Too Lenient

Numbers aside, the offense as a unit has not performed to the level of expectations anybody had coming into the 2018 season. Something that FSU has been able to do relatively well with a bad offensive line is run the ball. Frenchie has the stats to show he’s doing an adequate job, but what you see on film is a consistent lack of execution of the offense and the quarterback is the key making this thing go.

The quarterback is like a point guard in this system, with him facilitating every facet of the offense. The staple in Willie Taggart’s Gulf Coast Offense is the zone read. Frenchie simply isn’t reading it well. He doesn’t need to be a Lamar Jackson style home run threat, his legs just need to be seen as a threat – in the running and passing game. You help a struggling offensive line by keeping a defense honest.

Fans easiest go to in excusing a lack of execution from Francois is by blaming the offensive line. The reality is you can’t be a statue in the pocket, sitting back and allowing defensive ends to attack you by not climbing the pocket. Francois has to have better pocket awareness.

He also needs a better understanding of what defenses are trying to do as a player in his fourth year in college.

Simple things like understanding your protections, changing them to help pick up blitzes, or knowing when a defense is bringing more players than you can block should come naturally to someone who has as much experience as Frenchie. Virginia Tech and Miami really exposed this; when FSU needed a positive play he gave up negative plays in sacks or turnovers.

Another weakness is a lack of exploiting coverages and taking what the defense gives him at times. He doesn’t seem comfortable going to his backside progressions when you can see on film guys are open. We can make football as complicated as we want, but it’s still a numbers game in run and pass. If everyone is on the right, you’ve got to look left. The more you exploit this early, the easier it becomes because the more you burn the defense the more they’ve got to over compensate.

Maybe Both Camps Are Right

Expectations are what they are. Criticism is a part of being a major college football player. You should expect the best no matter what. Excellence is not a sometimes thing.

Frenchie is talented, but he also leaves points on the field. As the season progresses, you should expect to see more of what happened in 85% of the Wake Forest game as opposed to what you saw during the earlier part of the season.

Many play calls have been criticized during the season, the reality is there have been opportunities not taken advantage of. Each week this team has gotten better and Frenchie is one of the key pieces I see progress in. It hasn’t fully clicked yet, but when it does, it’s going to be fun to watch.

In these last five games, three teams will have defenses that you’re going to have to use all of the tools you possess to score points. You’re going to have to keep them honest.

Stepping back and using the stats to better help you analyze what you see, you’ll see that Francois is not where our expectations should have him, but he and the FSU offense is not far off.

With that being said, my son gets to choose between being The Black Panther and Deondre Francois. I’m just not allowing him to wear a man bun.

Article Originally Appeared on Gridiron Now: http://gridironnow.com/are-seminole-fans-expectations-of-deondre-francois-too-high

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Florida State Plays its First Complete Game of the Season to Beat Wake Forest

The Seminoles’ back half of the season started with a satisfying win against a conference foe. Wake Forest came to Doak Campbell stadium facing an FSU team that has been playing without consistency. FSU was also dealing with a hurricane that wrecked Florida’s panhandle and cut short bye week practices.

It was clear in the first few drives of the game that rust still needed to be knocked off. Fans saw more of what they’ve consistently seen this season: slow starts on offense and defense.

Trailing 10-0 in the first quarter had folks thinking upset.

Then something happened which fans have been waiting for all season: “Lethal Simplicity” clicked.

Willie Taggart’s offense was not executed perfectly, but compared to what has been shown the first six games, it was the best offensive output seen so far.

As I wrote before the season, this offense is predicted on how well the quarterback reads defenses and his decision making when choosing to run or pass. After the first three drives, Deondre Francois ran effectively, making good decisions for the most part. He went 29-for-40 through the air with two touchdowns and 353 yards; more effective was the running game with Cam Akers showing flashes of what we saw in 2017.

The real bright spot in this game was the defense.

Brian Burns has been quietly playing well all season, but was dominant leading the team in QB pressures as well as being tied for sacks. I was surprised by how well the defensive line unit played in general. You saw Joshua Kaindoh and Emmit Rice provide sacks, look back at the game film and you’ll see Cory Durden and Janarius Robinson shine as well.

More names making plays should create more problems for opposing offensive coordinators, taking their focus off Burns, providing him more opportunities to make plays.

This FSU team isn’t there yet, but seeing progress is refreshing. This is the first full game FSU has played as a team. If it continues taking these steps, maybe the bowl streak will remain, maybe it could be more.

Saturday demonstrated an exciting brand of football which can’t be dismissed by belittling the opposition because last year’s team almost lost to Wake Forest.

Article Originally Appeared on Gridiron Now: http://gridironnow.com/florida-state-plays-its-first-complete-game-of-the-season-beat-wake-forest/

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Broadcast 10-22-18

https://soundcloud.com/sportsden_live/sports-den-oct-22-2018

Denny and James discuss the Jaguars’ offensive and defensive woes, preview Georgia/Florida game, and talk about FSU’s win over Wake Forest

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Broadcast 10-21-18

https://soundcloud.com/sportsden_live/sports-den-october-21-2018

Denny and James go over the Jaguars’ loss to the Texans, take calls

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Answering FSU’s Biggest Questions for Second Half of Season

FSU has completed the first half of its season. No fan or pundit imagined the team’s first six games going this badly. Most were expecting a 5-1 record, maybe 4-2 at worst.

What should the second half of FSU’s season look like? What expectations should FSU fans have now? Let’s answer the most important immediate questions facing the team heading into the off week.

Will FSU be bowl eligible?

Thirty-six consecutive bowl appearances. The bowl streak is one of FSU’s great football achievements traditions. Rivals may joke about its importance, but a bowl game is important to those who play the game and this streak should matter to everyone associated with the program.

Only four teams can go to the College Football Playoff, but that doesn’t mean the rest of the nation doesn’t have something to play for in the postseason. Bowl games beat being back at home early. If for nothing else, it gives you an extra month of practice to be able to hone skills for the next season or provide more film for the NFL.

Will this team be able to get its act together enough to win a minimum of three more games to reach six total wins and bowl eligibility?

In short, yes.

The second quarter of the FSU season – the last three games – saw signs of life in the offense. Playmakers are starting to emerge.

However, this offense can only go as far as the quarterback takes it. Deondre Francois is improving, along with every other position group, but he has to show more of what everyone expected after his 10-3 redshirt freshman year.

FSU goes as far as he can read the defense.

It’s apparent that Willie Taggart is not going to put James Blackman in barring an injury.

FSU has four games left it should be able to compete in and two where it appears out-matched (Clemson and Notre Dame). Maybe I’m being optimistic. Florida is a better overall team than FSU currently and N.C. State is ranked and that game is in Raleigh.

Can FSU beat a ranked team?

If we are to believe the first half of the Miami game, FSU can compete with anybody when firing on all cylinders. FSU’s greatest obstacle isn’t the opposing team, or the ACC officials as fans are quick to point out, but themselves.

The four ranked teams currently on the schedule are Clemson, Notre Dame, N.C. State and Florida. The first two present a steep challenge considering how their offenses put consistent pressure on a defense. FSU’s secondary has made poor decisions at times and it’s difficult imagining them holding up against the Tigers or Irish.

N.C. State has one of the best quarterbacks in the nation and will host the game in a traditional house of horrors for FSU – including much better teams than this one. Dan Mullen has Florida performing better as a team than FSU, winning games it probably shouldn’t, that’s what a well-coached team does.

Clemson and Florida are rivalry games that mean to FSU and perhaps playing the spoiler, as they did against Miami, will bring out the best in them. Clemson’s offensive line struggled against Syracuse, bouncing back the next week. Florida has offensive line issues, but is playing better. Potential weaknesses there and familiarity with the opponent make those, along with N.C. State, who, despite all its advantages over FSU is far from a world-beater, the most likely wins.

I don’t see FSU beating Notre Dame.

I can’t see them going 0-4 in those games, but I thought FSU would finish the regular season with a 10-2 record before the season began. What I can tell you is FSU will go 0-4 in those games if it doesn’t figure out a way to put together four solid quarters of football.

Will FSU have consecutive games with one offensive line combination?

FSU’s offensive line has been a patchwork of different combinations. Landon Dickerson’s absence due to injury has proved more serious than originally thought. There are no good answers here.

Almost everybody on the line is playing out of position. Most people don’t understand how hard it is for a guard to play tackle. Hell, it’s difficult for a right tackle to play left. It’s like asking a wide receiver to play running back.

Injuries have really hurt this position group which didn’t have much depth to begin with due to attrition.

Based on how this season is going, you’ll probably see more injuries. The off-week is well timed for the offensive line so hopefully FSU gets healthier here.

Who emerges on defense other than Brian Burns?

Brian Burns finally broke through from coming close to sacking the quarterback to actually sacking him. It’ll be harder for him to do that now as teams will shift protection towards him, forcing him to fight off double teams.

One guy who has emerged is “Honey Fried” Marvin Wilson. His pushing the pocket and had a breakout game against Miami.
Fred Jones is also turning in a solid season.

Names along the defensive line who need to emerge are Joshua Kaindoh and Demarcus Christmas. Time to live up to your press clippings.

Bigger than the defensive line, or the poor linebacking corps, is the secondary. Someone has to step up and be “that guy” consistently. There’s entirely too much talent there for them to give up as much as they have, especially in clutch situations.

What’s the matter? If you’ve seen the movie “Space Jam,” that might help.

I believe opposing teams have come into the FSU locker room like the Monstars and stolen the ability of some of our key defenders. We have the size and look of four and five-stars, but the talent has been sucked out.

Hopefully they look in the mirror during this break and remember they’ve got talent.

The second half of the season presents numerous serious questions and also opportunities for FSU to show what the future can look like under Taggart. His being able to keep the 2019 recruiting class in tact despite the dreadful start is a testament to how well he can sell potential.

This off week present the chance for FSU to recalibrate and push towards the goals that remain and finish strong.

RELATED: Grading the second quarter of FSU’s season.

Article Originally Appeared on Gridiron Now: http://gridironnow.com/answering-fsus-biggest-questions-for-second-half-of-season

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Seminoles’ Second Quarter Grades Better, Still Not Good

The second quarter of the season is done for FSU. The team is still not playing good football, but is much improved. FSU very well could have gone 3-0 this stretch, losing a tough one on the road to Miami in which they held a 20 point lead.

I had high expectations for this team and will still hold this team to those expectations. I’m keeping my grading based on an eight to nine win season, which won’t happen now, but 3-3 is still better than the 2-4 they were at this point last season.

Offensive Grade: C

FSU’s offense has made strides in the last three games. When it’s all connecting, you can see how tough this offense is to stop. Lack of consistency continues plaguing this unit, but you cannot say you don’t see marked improvements. Improvement was especially noticeable in the first half of the Miami game.

Offensive Line: C+

Most pundits will say I’m crazy for giving this high of a grade, but FSU has recorded a zero sack game, a two sack game, and then seemingly imploded against UM giving up six sacks. I went back and watched that game and can only assign two of those sacks on the line.

I’m also grading the line on a bit of a curve because it’s still a patchwork of players being made to look worse by poor decisions from Deondre Francois. Between Francois holding the ball too long, questionable protection calls, and forcing inside runs out of shotgun, which just isn’t working, the offensive line hasn’t received help from teammates or coaches.

Wide Receiver/TE: B

FSU now has players you can count on to make plays. Tamorrion Terry has one of the best per-catch averages in the nation. Nyqwan Murray continues to be one of Francois favorite targets. DJ Matthews is growing in his role.

Most encouraging is that you see guys running wide open. When Francois starts seeing the entire field, FSU could catch a team off-guard and put points up.

Running Back: D

Until FSU shifts to a pistol formation, consistently uses a two tight end set, or simply holds the QB accountable on the zone read, this will not improve.

Quarterback: C-

The entire Gulf Coast Offense accelerates or decelerates based upon quarterback play. Frankly, it’s the QB play that has not allowed this offense to be as high powered as possible.

When the pressure was on against NIU and Louisville, Francois rose to the occasion. Against Miami, he showed very little poise in the second half.

The same problems from the first quarter of the season are plaguing him. When he had time, he has not consistently taken advantage of what’s there. You can slow up a defense by making them pay when you have the opportunities.

The more glaring issues are his lack of awareness in reading coverage and understanding slide protection. Against UM, he literally stared down a blitz that he could’ve shifted to protect him. I don’t want to hear about how tough he is, he’s bringing the hits on himself.

Defensive Grade: C+

I don’t understand some of what’s going on with the defense. They consistently buck up for a half. Coverage matchups in the redzone don’t make sense. Placing 5-foot-9 corners on 6-foot-5 WRs is not a recipe for success if you can’t get to the QB.

The inability to get off the field on 3rd-and-Kelly (3rd and long) still haunts this unit. That being said, they’ve performed flawlessly at times and the offense hasn’t stepped up to help them with momentum.

Defensive Line: B+

This unit has improved tremendously over the last three games. The defensive line is one of the highest-ranked in terms of QB hurries and has 19 sacks. They are doing a better job of pressuring the QB as well. Brian Burns is performing at the level we all expected and Marvin Wilson is providing pressure up the middle.

Both still need to be better in rushing situations and third and long; when you know a slow developing pass play is coming, you’d like them to get the sack.

Linebackers: C-

This unit remains a weakness, but is improving. DeCalon Brooks was ACC LB of the week against Louisville. FSU doesn’t have that thumper yet.

Dontavious Jackson is starting to become more consistent.

I’m hoping the linebackers are just a year away with these guys becoming more familiar with the system and more recruits being added.

Secondary: D

We’ve seen too many blown coverages and misalignment start games. Fortunately, corrections have been made in the second half of games.

Mismatches occur too often with smaller corners being left on an island against bigger receivers and teams have been exploiting that. Teams went right after Levonta Taylor this season. I don’t understand how opposition receivers get so wide open, and I also don’t understand why it seems like FSU is funneling receivers to the middle of the field where the defense is weakest.

It seems like everyone is playing out of position. It might be time to move Taylor to covering the slot and put Stanford Samuels back at corner. With all this talent available, it just seems like something is off.

Special Teams: C

DJ Matthews saved this unit from receiving another bad grade. His punt returns have provided a spark; punt coverage and field goal protection is still lacking. FSU literally cannot get anybody down on punt coverage and how easily the Noles are fooled by returners makes no sense.

FSU also can’t make a field goal in a clutch situation that matters.

All in all, FSU has made strides and would’ve received a better grade had it beaten Miami. Not being able to close a game out due to a lack of converting opportunities prevented the grades from being higher.

The culture is slowly changing, but the standard I’m grading this team on is eight or nine wins. Anything short is unacceptable, even though I do like some of the changes I see from Willie Taggart’s club.

Article Originally Appeared on Gridiron Now: http://gridironnow.com/seminoles-second-quarter-grades-better-still-not-good

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Seminoles Offense Disappears in Latest Heart-Breaker vs. Miami

This year’s FSU-Miami game was, well, pretty much like every FSU vs. Miami game. It was full of emotional highs and lows. Full of big plays and guys making a name for themselves.

The result came down to turnovers and special teams, something very few, except me, saw coming. Most people expected a blowout.

Bravo to Willie Taggart and staff for putting together 2-and-a-half quarters of solid football that showed when you come to play, nobody can beat you. Here’s the thing though, to quote Shawn Corey Carter, “Moral victories is for minor league coaches.”

Florida State experienced a complete and utter meltdown in the second half offensively. FSU put up 14 points of offense and special teams put up the other 13. When it mattered, all the Noles needed was one drive to put up points.

That’s on Taggart.

Not because the play calling was bad or conservative, as I’ve seen some foolishly state on Twitter, ut simply because Taggart has yet to hold his players accountable in-game when they mess up. Maybe this game wasn’t the time or place, maybe it’s too big of a game, but this has been consistent with the offense.

It needed a spark. It needed… something.

What happened to the running game? Where did Jacques Patrick go in the second half?

These are questions that make me really wonder.

You attack vertically and the game is good, but I understand when you have back-to-back fumbles.

The game shouldn’t come down to a terrible call that shouldn’t have been made, period. But don’t put the game in the hands of the referees. They’ve been saying this since Pop Warner days.

For the love of the defense, and recruiting class, put someone in who makes the offense run or tell us the truth. If you don’t have the quarterback to run your system just say it. It doesn’t mean that they aren’t great people or potentially great men of high character. It just means they don’t fit your system.

Routinely looking this bad on offense is getting hard to explain away.

The defense does have some explaining to do. Like our red zone coverage. We have natural mismatches with a 5-foot-9 corner on a 6-foot-5 wide receiver.

It might be time to switch Stanford Samuels back to corner.

In general, we still have major holes in our secondary. Miami had receivers running open and quarterback Nkosi Perry with more game reps probably hits those guys in future games.

The defensive line did a good job getting to the QB with sacks and hurries, but the next two levels need correcting ASAP.

With all the mistakes and lack of offense in the second half, this game should’ve been 30-21. A Ricky Aguyo blocked field goal stopped FSU from hemorrhaging points at that time. Placekicking should be routine and approached with more pride since FSU finally has a fully dedicated coach on staff focusing on special teams.

Props to punt return and punt block being for being much better, but damn, the most important moment of the game and the Noles have a lapse in protection.

I’m not gonna lie, maybe I’m more heated because I’ve got PTSD. FSU lost to Miami at Miami by this same exact score 16 years ago and our last opportunity to score came with a missed field goal that should’ve been automatic.

I saw what this game was an opportunity for. It was an opportunity to change the course of the season. There were a “who’s who” of recruits at that game. FSU had the chance to show them Tallahassee is still the capital of the state until further notice. FSU had a chance to go into the bye week with tons of momentum riding a high that only comes from beating a rival – on the road, as a two touchdown underdog no less.

To quote Snoop Minnis, “I wasn’t worried about no play call, I was worried about making plays. This is where you become a household name!”
FSU had the perfect opportunity to “Do Something” and came up short. They caught an “L,” when the emotions calm down they’ll get an “E” for effort.

Article Originally Appeared on Gridiron Now: http://gridironnow.com/seminoles-offense-disappears-in-latest-heart-breaker-vs-miami

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