Brian Paratore Posts

After years of pressure from FSU faithful, Jeff Bowden finally announced that he was resigning as offensive coordinator of the Seminoles on Tuesday. The resignation is effective at the end of the season (the official end of the season).

It took nearly 6 years of an underachieving offense for this to happen, but not a moment too soon. It is painfully obvious week-after-week that our offense is not prepared going into every game. 90% of the time our running game is nonexistent, even though we have 2 running backs that were ranked #1 in the nation coming out of high school. Just think about how pathetic that is.

Baby Bowden leaving Tallahassee is just the first step to a return to glory. There are more changes that must be made. Next up: QB coach Daryl Dickey. With him teaching our signal-callers, the position will never improve to be at the level it should. Charlie Ward and Chris Weinke would not have ever made even all-conference learning the position from this clown. Like I've said before, FSU QBs have only gotten worse the longer they are tutored under him.

I could go on about the things that need to be done in this program, but we'll take things one step at a time. This is truly a great day for Florida State fans, players, and their families. There will be much rejoicing tonight throughout Seminole Nation. However, there is one member that might not do too much celebrating. After the announcement, Bobby Bowden had this to say, "I am disappointed in Jeff's decision. This is a big loss to me personally. His decision is an emotional one for me." Sorry Bobby, but at least one Bowden was willing to do what it took to get this program headed back in the right direction.

FSU lost 30-0 at home Saturday night to Wake Forest. That's right, 30-zero. As in not one single frickin point. I don't even want to talk about the actual game itself. The score says it all: We are terrible. Things need to be done. QB changes are not the answer. We have the players most coaches would give their first born for (insert Bobby-Jeff joke here). Both QBs were less than unproductive in this game, but I've seen enough FSU football to know why that is. They both have the goods to be great college QBs. They were both top QB recruits coming out of high school. The problem lies in that no QB here since Mark Richt and Chuck Amato left have improved even one little bit from the time they step on campus to when they leave. Chris Rix? He looked pretty good his freshman year. . . never improved. Fabian Walker? Never improved. Wyatt Sexton? Well I'm not even going to go there. Drew Weatherford looked good for a freshman last year. While his numbers haven't been all that poor, his play seems more disappointing than that of a year ago. Like with Rix, he may actually be getting WORSE with FSU coaching. I wish I was joking. Lee seems like he has only learned one thing since he arrived on campus as well. That he made a mistake. These players and their families have trusted their futures with the coaches. It is their job to develop their outstanding talent and get them to be the best football players they can be. That just is not happening. Hasn't been since 2000.

We know that changes need to be made. Everybody in the country can see that. However, Bobby Bowden has insisted that he will not fire Jeff. When asked this week about the situation, he responded that he does not believe in firing people. This is honest to God the first thing that came to my head: What he just said was the most stupid statement I have ever heard in my life. Well what the hell do you do when someone can't do something right? If they can't perform the job that they get paid to do then what do you do Bobby? We just got shut out at home while compiling a total of 139 yards with a bunch of 5 and 4 star recruits. If you get paid to do something and don't do it, well that's as good as stealing. And it's not just Jeff. He doesn't deserve all the blame. Daryl Dickey has not done his job as QBs coach. He simply can't develop talent. Billy Sexton (RBs) hasn't seemed to have done too great of a job either. Some of that is probably due to other factors on offense, but we have to clean house and only a select few should stay in my book. But of course this all falls from the top. Bobby, if you don't believe in firing people, you will get fired. Here's why. If changes are not made VERY soon, boosters will stop giving their money (they've already said so), obviously we will not be getting the $14 million each year for making a BCS bowl game, and oh yeah, the top recruits will no longer come here. This wouldn't be as much of a problem if we had good coaching (see Wake Forest), but then again that's why I'm writing this. And if we have only mediocre talent with this horrible coaching staff then 1-11 and 2-10 seasons would not be out of the question. Our stadium will only be half full each home game. The money FSU football generates for the university each year would take an incredible hit from a number of areas. And we all know that money is power so if you are holding the school back from receiving tens of millions of dollars each year while you are making over $2 mil a year yourself. . . well, I think you know what happens then.

Florida State's defense finally looked like the dominating crew most thought they would be this year in a 33-0 smackdown of Virginia. Even with all of the injuries to key players, the defense only gave up 190 total yards to the Cavs.

Xavier Lee didn't look quite as good as he did last week against Maryland, but he did enough to get the job done. He had a 37-yard TD toss to Chris Davis in the 3rd quarter and accounted for a team-leading 48 yards on the ground. Drew Weatherford saw a little time at the end of the game as well.

But this game was all about the defense for the Noles. On the first drive of the game, Tony Carter stepped in front of a Jameel Sewell pass and took it 35 yards for a score. Carter was on top of his game all day long. He is really stepping up as one of the elite shutdown corners in the country. LBs Buster Davis and Lawrence Timmons were making their presence felt all afternoon as well. Buster had 9 tackles and a sack for a safety. LT also finished with 9 stops and a sack of his own. Freshmen DE Kevin McNeil and S Myron Rolle had big days. McNeil had his breakout game with 2 sacks. Rolle joined Buster and the Law with 9 tackles, including 2 in the backfield. 2nd year CB Michael Ray Garvin played tough with 9 tackles and a sack.

Walk-on DE Eli Charles was a nice surprise, getting 2 tackles and blocking a punt in the 1st quarter which gave FSU the ball on the 1-yard line. Lorenzo Booker made it a 1-play drive as he jumped over the line for a TD. Antone Smith finished the game's scoring with a 3-yard run in the 4th.

I was very happy to see the cut back on the amount of penalties we commited. Only 4 flags for 35 against us on the day. I almost mistaked us for a disciplined team.

FSU plays a very tough Wake Forest team next week in Tallahassee. If the defense shows up like they did today, there's a good chance we can put a dent in Wake's dream season.

FSU lost yet another conference game this week against Maryland's football - not basketball - team 27-24. Even though the loss is very disappointing to see, there were a lot of positive things to take from it.

Former 5-star QB Xavier Lee found out he was going to make his first collegiate start about an hour before game time because Drew Weatherford had tendinitis in his ankle (or so they say). The sophomore made the most of his opportunity as he looked great all night. Lee threw for 286 yards with 2 TDs and no interceptions. He made all the throws and played well enough to win, but numerous drops by his receivers hurt the Seminoles again. Lee also contributed 50 yards on the ground and used his mobility to move around until a teammate would break open somewhere. His performance was very encouraging and definitely has opened up a true QB controversy. I would like to see him start again next week against Virginia.

This is very rare, but I really liked the play-calling by whoever that was in the booth. ESPN kept saying that it was Jeff Bowden when they showed FSU's box, but honest to God I didn't see him in there. And from seeing the plays we were running throughout the night, especially in the ground game, I really do question who was calling the shots. In the past, we would abandon the running game as soon as we fell behind. And when I say abandon, I mean absolutely zero running. However, last night we fell behind very early and still ran the ball the entire game and with success. As a team, we had 34 carries for 172 yards. That is over 5 yards a carry. The type of running plays we ran is also what surprised me. There was a lot more misdirection and plays that allow the line time to move guys out of the way. This balance allowed us to rack up 458 yards of total offense. Let's see more of this in the future.

FSU lost to Boston College today 24-19, which pretty much ends any chance we had at making it back to the ACC Championship Game in December. It wasn't a loss that was unexpected, but it still stings once it becomes official.

The Eagles' 3 TDs all came thanks to big Seminole mistakes in the first half. Freshman TE Caz Piurowski had a fumble that was returned to the 1-yard line, resulting in BC's first TD. Then FSU had a personal foul roughing the punter that led to their 2nd TD. And as though that wasn't enough, Drew Weatherford threw an interception returned for a TD with less than a minute left in the half to give BC a 21-10 advantage.

The defense played very solid considering how many injuries they have and how many true freshmen started today. BC only scored 3 points in the second half.

The offense almost pulled out a nice comeback in the 4th quarter, but a long drive was stopped deep in BC territory with just over 2:00 left and a last second hail mary was intercepted in the end zone.

I did like the look of the new all-black uniforms we came out with, but unfortunately the tribute to the Seminole tribe of Florida still ended in defeat. It really is ironic since the left leg of the uniforms read "unconquered." I guess the designing of the new gear began last decade sometime and they forgot to make a few updates. Yep, FSU's season really means nothing the rest of the way except for the Florida game. What a disappointing season.

Today's game against Boston College should be quite interesting. If FSU wins, they stay alive for a conference title. Should they lose, their season will be all but over, except of course for the last game of the regular season against the Crocs. Criticism after another loss at home would reach an all-time high. Big-time recruits would really think twice about coming here. Basically, it is pretty freaking important to pull out a W today. Here are some keys that will go a long way to helping this cause.

First, there has to be pressure put on BC's quarterback. It looks like the ACC's leading passer, Matt Ryan, is going to have to sit this one out for the Eagles. This is really good news for the Noles. Honestly, he probably would've picked us apart for most of the day. Instead, sophomore Chris Crane will make his first career start in Doak Campbell Stadium. Do you smell something Rabbit? Fear. We must consistently make Crane feel uncomfortable. FSU is 9th in the conference with only 10 sacks this year. BC has only allowed 6 sacks all season. I don't like the odds of us doing it, but that doesn't mean it can't be done.

Next, don't be stupid. We had 10 penalties for 130-something yards last week -- in the first half! Against Duke! If that happens today, the game won't be close. Taking care of the football falls into this category as well. Dropped passes, people missing assignments, and wasting all of our timeouts early in halves have also plagued this team all season long. All the symptoms of a poorly coached team are glaring. Let's cut down on these mistakes and watch our productivity increase. They go hand-in-hand. Trust me.

If Florida State wants to have any chance at returning to the ACC Championship Game in Jacksonville this season, they cannot afford even one more loss in conference play. That quest continues this weekend against 22nd ranked Boston College. The game will be played in Doak Campbell, but that's not quite the guaranteed victory it used to be.

The Noles are 2-2 in conference games. 4 teams in their division have only 1 loss, headlined by Clemson at 3-1 in ACC play. Since Clemson beat FSU earlier in the year, we can only win the division as long as Clemson finishes with 3 or more conference losses. The same goes for NC State. This is very possible, as Clemson faces 13th ranked Georgia Tech this Saturday night and have to play at Virginia Tech next Saturday night, which is nearly impossible to win at after the sun goes down. NC State has tough games against Georgia Tech and Clemson upcoming.

Now IF Clemson and NC State both somehow finish with at least 3 losses in the conference, this only means something as long as we don't lose any more games. There are 3-way tie-breakers that can give us a shot, but I'm not even going to begin to get into those right now.

Winning our games is the only thing FSU can control right now. We have put ourselves in a very uncomfortable position, but we can't lose sight of the fact that we do still have a chance to make something of our season.

Saturday's 51-24 thumping of Duke was not anything shocking. FSU's offense will rarely be confused for potent but Duke is, well, Duke and even Mom knows, that's not very good. Even with the handicap, here are some thoughts on what took place on Tobacco Road this past weekend.

Drew Weatherford was money. Simple as that. He only played in the 1st and 3rd quarters and threw for 231 yards with 4 TDs and 0 INTs. Those numbers could have been even more gaudy had it not been for a case of the dropsies by his receivers. . . again.

On the other side of the spectrum, Xavier Lee struggled mightily. Trying to state a case for more playing time, Lee led 4 drives in the 2nd quarter. These drives resulted in 3 INTs and a 3-and-out. His first INT was returned for 6. Considering this lack of production was coming against such inferior competition, this was not a very promising performance. He did have one bright moment in the game, throwing a 14-yard TD to Damon McDaniel in the 4th quarter.

Antone Smith showed the type of explosion we all know he possesses, but rarely is able to display. He only carried the ball 4 times, but his 80-yard TD run to open the 2nd half was the offensive play of the game.

Greg Carr once again showed up big against the Dookies. After a 6 catch, 95 yard, 3 TD day last year, the 6'6" sophomore grabbed 4 passes for 100 yards and 3 more TDs on Saturday. Now who thinks he'll even get 50 yards with 1 score this upcoming weekend against BC? As much as I hope I'm wrong, my money is with no.

FSU bounced back from their loss last week to NC State by taking out their frustration on lowly Duke 51-24 in Durham on Saturday.

The Noles didn't take long to establish their dominance. A 37-yard fumble return by freakish LB Lawrence Timmons put FSU on the board just over 2 minutes into the game. A couple Drew Weatherford TD tosses to De'Cody Fagg and Greg Carr gave the Tribe a 21-0 lead after the first quarter.

Then things got interesting. Xavier Lee came in at QB in the second quarter to get some experience and hopefully learned a lot. In his 4 second quarter series, Lee threw 3 interceptions and had a 3-and-out. His first interception was returned 46 yards by John Talley for a TD, Duke's only points of the 1st half. The extra point was blocked by Timmons and returned by CB Patrick Robinson for 2 points. That put the score at 23-6 going into halftime.

Once again, it didn't take long for FSU to make their mark in the 2nd half as Antone Smith took the first play 80 yards for a TD. I believe the coaches are trying to keep him secret, as he carried the ball a total of 4 times this game. Anyway, Duke answered back with a safety and a FG to get them to double digits on the scoreboard.

DW threw a couple more touchdowns to Carr before calling it a day after the 3rd quarter. Lee was finally able to get something going, throwing a 14-yard TD to freshman Damon McDaniel in the 4th. Duke ran in a TD at the end of the 3rd and was able to hit on a 41-yard garbage TD pass with 7 seconds left in the game.

FSU's injury crisis continued, as starting LB Geno Hayes and starting TE Brandon Warren both left the game in the 1st half.

Oh, and I gotta say, watching games play-by-play online because the game is not being broadcast on TV ANYWHERE (including satellite and pay-per-view) in this state is not how I envisioned spending 3 hours of my life and hope I never have to go through that again or I may have to take a laptop up the ol' watering hole. Thank God the never-any-love-for-TV Duke game is out of the way until next year.

Florida State will have a new starting punt returner when they visit Duke this weekend. Freshman CB Patrick Robinson will get more reps after turning in an impressive 16-yard return against NC State that could have gone the distance had it not been for one of his own teammates knocking him down.

The 6'1" Robinson has earned more and more playing time as the season has progressed and is now starting at CB with Tony Carter out with an injury and J.R. Bryant getting demoted. Coaches are hoping the Miami native can fill the void at punt returner left by the graduated Willie Reid. Reid was the top punt returner in the nation last year and one of the greatest returners in school history.

Veteran WR Chris Davis will handle punts in crucial situations when catching the punt is absolutely needed. I really hope that we do not find ourselves in any such position this week. If it is ever less than a 3 possession game in the second half against the Dookies things are even worse than we could ever have believed.