Syracuse Football

It is now official: Chandler Jones announced today via Twitter that he is ending his career with Syracuse to try his luck in the NFL. 

Jones garnered first team all Big East honors this season even though he missed five games with a lower body injury. Jones finished the season with 39 total tackles and led the team with 4.5 sacks.

In his return against West Virginia, Jones overwhelmed the Mountaineer line and racked up six tackles and two sacks. For his career, Jones will leave the Orange with 10.5 sacks and 148 total tackles. 

Jones' departure was expected, as he has the most upside and draft potential out of all the Syracuse underclassmen testing NFL waters. 

Doug Marrone cannot be thrilled with the news that Jones is leaving as the future of the Syacuse defense is already murky enough. Now must find a way to replace both Jones and graduated fifth year senior Mikhail Marinovich. 

Although it is painful for the Orange to watch him leave, Jones was always a class act on and off the field with one of the best personalities on the team. He will surely be missed, but will make Syracuse Football proud to call him an Orangeman. 

The Syracuse Orange are currently held under contract with the Big East through the 2013 season, but that has not slowed down the ACC hype.

Several recruits have already said that the ACC move has swayed their decision while West Virginia is working hard to set the precedent to escape the long wait to switch conferences. 

All the while, basketball may dominate the ACC move discussion but the reality is the move was made for the increased football exposure and revenue. So then, Orange fans must ask: Who will Syracuse be playing in the ACC? 

Because of the expanded format of the ACC, this is largely going to be based upon which division the Orange get thrown into. 

It is fairly safe to say that the Orange and Pitt Panthers, also making an ACC move, will be split in order to keep the divisions even and not force a huge conference realignment. 

As of now, the Atlantic has Clemson, Florida State, Wake Forrest, NC State, Boston College and Maryland. The Coastal has Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, Virginia, North Carolina, Miami and Duke. 

After looking at the current set up, it would make most sense to send Syracuse to the Atlantic and Pitt to the Coastal. In the Atlantic, Syracuse would be able to renew the football rivalry with Boston College, start a potential rivalry with Maryland, and play Pitt as their cross-division rival. 

Pitt would also win this scenario as they would be able to restore old rivalries with Virginia Tech and Miami, making for an old Big East reunion of sorts. 

From a "homer" point of view, the Atlantic also will benefit Syracuse on the field as well. There is no doubt the Orange will struggle more in the ACC as compared to the Big East, at least that is how it appears on paper. 

The Atlantic does have powers such as Clemson and Florida State, but the rest of the division looks to be in the same talent level as the Orange. In fact, Syracuse defeated Wake Forrest in their season opener and the Demon Deacons finished third in the Atlantic this season. 

Meanwhile over in the Coastal, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, North Carolina and Miami all look as if they would be able to handle the Orange and have much stronger recent histories as compared to Doug Marrone's squad. 

In the Coastal, it is safe to say Syracuse could be duking it out with Duke and Virginia for fifth place year after year unless recruiting significantly picked up.

Overall, the Orange are best suited to join the Atlantic division. However, when they join the ACC has still yet to be decided. 

The Syracuse Orange are currently held under contract with the Big East through the 2013 season, but that has not slowed down the ACC hype.

Several recruits have already said that the ACC move has swayed their decision while West Virginia is working hard to set the precedent to escape the long wait to switch conferences. 

All the while, basketball may dominate the ACC move discussion but the reality is the move was made for the increased football exposure and revenue. So then, Orange fans must ask: Who will Syracuse be playing in the ACC? 

Because of the expanded format of the ACC, this is largely going to be based upon which division the Orange get thrown into. 

It is fairly safe to say that the Orange and Pitt Panthers, also making an ACC move, will be split in order to keep the divisions even and not force a huge conference realignment. 

As of now, the Atlantic has Clemson, Florida State, Wake Forrest, NC State, Boston College and Maryland. The Coastal has Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, Virginia, North Carolina, Miami and Duke. 

After looking at the current set up, it would make most sense to send Syracuse to the Atlantic and Pitt to the Coastal. In the Atlantic, Syracuse would be able to renew the football rivalry with Boston College, start a potential rivalry with Maryland, and play Pitt as their cross-division rival. 

Pitt would also win this scenario as they would be able to restore old rivalries with Virginia Tech and Miami, making for an old Big East reunion of sorts. 

From a "homer" point of view, the Atlantic also will benefit Syracuse on the field as well. There is no doubt the Orange will struggle more in the ACC as compared to the Big East, at least that is how it appears on paper. 

The Atlantic does have powers such as Clemson and Florida State, but the rest of the division looks to be in the same talent level as the Orange. In fact, Syracuse defeated Wake Forrest in their season opener and the Demon Deacons finished third in the Atlantic this season. 

Meanwhile over in the Coastal, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, North Carolina and Miami all look as if they would be able to handle the Orange and have much stronger recent histories as compared to Doug Marrone's squad. 

In the Coastal, it is safe to say Syracuse could be duking it out with Duke and Virginia for fifth place year after year unless recruiting significantly picked up.

Overall, the Orange are best suited to join the Atlantic division. However, when they join the ACC has still yet to be decided. 

The Syracuse defense was and will continue to be the biggest question mark on this team.

This past season, the Orange had issues in all three main areas of the unit, and the end result was a unit that was shredded by the pass or run at different times of the year.

To begin the season, the front seven became the stronger half of the defense, while the secondary struggled against mediocre opposition at best. As the season progressed on, the reverse occurred: the secondary strengthened while the front seven was literally run over by Big East play.

So, what was the cause of this inconsistency?

First, looking at the first half of the season, the secondary was heavily injured and inexperienced.

Syracuse never had a healthy secondary until the Cincinnati contest, and that lasted for just one game. Keon Lyn and Ri’Shard Anderson were by far the best two cover corners on the team, but Lyn especially struggled on deep one-on-one matchups. Furthermore, his pursuit was not always at 100 percent (remembered this play against Louisville?).

But as the season progressed, the secondary became more and more effective, thanks to the play of the Orange’s two safeties.

Phillip Thomas was a playmaking, ball-hawking, heavy hitter all in one. Thomas’ ability to make big plays in the backfield as well as the secondary made him the best player on the Orange. However, his late-season suspension almost guarantees he has played his last game for the Orange.

Shamarko Thomas did not possess the same playmaking abilities as Thomas, but he did show heavy hitting and an ability to make plays at the line that helped compliment his decent abilities in coverage.

To the front seven, the best unit on the defense has to be the linebackers.

Freshman Dyshawn Davis finished the season with 43 tackles and four sacks to be the rookie of the team. Marquis Spruill was not to be outdone, finishing with 62 tackles and three sacks, as many saw him as the best linebacker on the team. While his name may not have been said much, Dan Goggins also had a strong campaign, racking up 43 tackles and 1.5 sacks.

This unit was called upon early to play more of a role in pass coverage and rush the passer effectively and often. They performed admirably, and while their run-stopping abilities at the end of the season may be called into question, this linebacking core may have been the best in the conference.

However, the rest of the front seven have a different story.

The linemen were inconsistent all year. Two veterans, junior Chandler Jones and Senior Mikhail Marinovich, led the defensive line, and while both performed well, they perhaps did not deliver what was expected.

Jones was injured in the Wake Forrest opener and would not return until Syracuse had six games left on the schedule. He did play well in his six games, racking up 34 tackles and leading the team with 4.5 sacks. His absence made pressuring the quarterback difficult early on in the season, but when he returned, he was targeted by opposing teams and could not help the rest of the line with the running game woes.

Marinovich was never the game-breaker Jones was.  He only had two tackles a game, and while he did not under-perform, he did not provide the defensive spark the Orange needed at times. The rest of the defensive line struggled, and the lack of another solid inside presence is why the Orange allowed 125 yards per game rushing.

Overall, the defense was the weak link of the team, but that was not unexpected. What was perhaps unexpected was the ease that teams had scoring on the Orange. Pitt, Cincinnati and South Florida are the three most egregious examples, as Syracuse’s defense could not simply stop the offenses faced.

Next season, things are not looking any better.

Recent news has shown that Chandler Jones and Shamarko Thomas may be headed to the NFL draft. Syracuse’s defensive line will be shattered losing Jones and Marinovich, while the safety position will also be a weak spot without Thomas.

The strength will be the linebacking core. Dyshawn Davis, if improved, can be the leader by example for the Orange. Spruill will also be looked upon to potentially take a captain role, and if the linebackers can play at a high level, the Orange defense may be held together just enough to win big games. 

The defense did not lose games for the Orange, the entire team did. However, they did not help matters. Hopefully this can change going forward, but it is not going to be a smooth transition. 

Syracuse Orange Football is not quite at the point of rebuilding where a good number of their players are going to declare early for the NFL draft. However, that does not mean there are not talented underclassmen on the team. 

Junior defensive end Chandler Jones and junior Shamarko Thomas along with true senior wide receiver Dorian Graham were all testing NFL draft waters a couple of weeks ago. Now, the news is that Dorian Graham will definitely not be returning to Syracuse while Jones and Thomas will not sign with agents, but continue to prod. 

So how will these players translate into professional football players? First to Graham. 

Dorian showed flashes of his play making ability all year, separating from coverage on deep routes and explosiveness on kick returns early in the season. However, after the West Virginia kick return, he was moved up to the number two receiver and did not take kicks or punts.

Graham never had more than six catches in a game (once vs West Virginia) and never eclipsed 25 yards receiving in the games following West Virginia while only passing that mark three times prior. Furthermore, Graham was not immune to the dropsy's that plagued all of the Syracuse receivers in the five game losing streak. 

Essentially, unless the 5'10" Graham can have an incredible showing at the combine, this move is a bust for Graham as his game does not translate to the NFL level. 

The defensive players show more upside, but both could become solid NFL picks with another year of experience. 

First to Thomas. Shamarko missed three games this season with a lower body injury, but he still finished third on the team with 67 tackles. While Thomas is a solid safety, he was not better than former counterpart Phillip Thomas who showed a play making ability Thomas did not seem to possess on the field.

Right now, Thomas' work ethic and athleticism may be enough to get him drafted, but he is still on the fence until he shows a Phillip Thomas like ability to find the ball and force turnovers.

Finally to Mr. Chandler Jones. Jones showed his ability to take over a game against West Virginia, as he shut down Geno Smith with his domination of the line. However, Jones dealt with his first major injury at the beginning of the season and missed five of the first six games.

Aside from the West Virginia contest, he looked good but never could replicate the performance against what many would say was inferior competition. Jones never had less than four tackles in a game, racking up 34 in six games along with four sacks.

Jones is the best prospect out of the bunch to be drafted and most likely a final day selection. If Jones were to return and post those numbers for a whole season, he could very well move up into the 3rd-4th round.

Overall, these players are crucial to Syracuse success next year as they fill holes that otherwise will become weaknesses in the Orange defense and passing attack. Hopefully for Thomas and Jones, they will return to the Orange with the resolve to improve while everyone in Orange Nation wishes the best of luck to Dorian Graham. 

This was a unit that started off the year as the strength of Syracuse football.

Through the first seven weeks of the season, the Orange scored under 20 points just twice and both games ended in defeat. However, the offense was averaging 35 points a game in those beginning wins. After looking like a machine that ran over West Virginia for 49 points (more than LSU scored on the Mountaineers), it took the Orange four games to score a combined 49 points in four loses.

Looking at the offense as a whole, seniors Antwon Bailey and Nick Provo were the most consistent weapons for the Orange, but defenses soon learned that stopping this duo would force Ryan Nassib to look elsewhere for playmakers.

Antwon Bailey ran hard all year and although had an early tendency to look for cutbacks and slashing runs, discovered his ability to move the chains when plunging into the pile. Nick Provo played just as well as any tight end being honored as a Mackey Award finalist, smashing Orange records that Mackey set while in orange.

Ryan Nassib’s performance only dwindled throughout the year and it is perhaps fitting that his final pass of the year was a ball tipped into the hands of a waiting Pitt defender in yet another effort not quite good enough to win.

Nassib’s receiving corps was just as inconsistent as anyone else on the unit. Van Chew started off the year a hero, but finished Big East play with just 18 catches and 150 yards and no scores. Alec Lemon showed that he is going to be a threat next year, but two key drops at big moments in games (Cincinnati and South Florida) will haunt him in the offseason.

The offensive line struggled early on but with different game-planning and strategy, they were soon much more consistent with their protection and ability to open running lanes.

The general consensus here is that the Orange really lost a step as the season went on.

It could very well be because of the quality of teams they faced. Rhode Island, Tulane and Wake Forrest do not have the defenses fielded by Louisville and Pitt. But the Orange still managed 17 on USC in the Coliseum and had an opening drive that showed the versatility of Antwon Bailey and reliability of Ryan Nassib.

Those two aspects were gone by season's end, as Bailey had to primarily run the ball while Nassib looked more like Troy Nunes.

Lastly, no season recap of the offense would be complete without a discussion on Nate Hackett. Hackett is going to have a lot of explaining to do with Doug Marrone in the coming weeks, as his play-calling and game preparation have been called into question every week since West Virginia. I cannot for sure say how much of the blamed is placed on the players as compared to Hackett, but most fans would agree that the inability to sustain drives put much more pressure on an inexperienced defense.

Looking forward to next season, the offense is going to have potential, as dangerous as that word sounds.

Ryan Nassib should return and as a fourth-year player in Marrone’s system, have the ability to execute and take risks within games because of his comfort within the system.

Alec Lemon will be returning and be Nassib’s primary target. With the loss of Provo and Bailey, Lemon will play the role of a Hines Ward or Wes Welker for lack of a better analogy. He will have to make the catches along the sidelines as well as over the middle. If Lemon is able to do so, then the Orange offense should be able to settle into a rhythm early in games.

Jerrod West is the next receiver on the depth chart with any experience from this season (16 catches 151 yards and one touchdown) and therefore the Orange passing attack will need someone to step up and be a game-breaker (Jeremiah Kobena would be the obvious choice, but as a current freshman that may be unreasonable) or become the consistent hands player to allow Lemon to break out (West or current sophomore tight end Beckett Wales making a huge leap).

The reason this offense could be special is because of the running game. The Orange next year will have the coveted dash-and-bash combination offenses dream of. "Dash" will be taken over by a healthy Prince Tyson-Gulley, who before being injured had a breakout game against Toledo.

The "bash" will be a player who should be nicknamed “The Bus.” Jerome Smith reminded fans of Jerome Bettis with the game he had in Pittsburgh. Carrying the ball 10 times for 56 yards, the capstone was a 10-yard touchdown run that flattened Pitt linebackers and cornerbacks on Smith’s way to the end zone.

If the offense line can improve even moderately moving into next season, the offense will be set for success.

Next season could be exactly as Marrone likes it: run heavy, pass to keep the defense honest.

Coming next week: Syracuse Orange Defense: Weakest Link Exposed, Yet Promising

Remember this enthusiasm? Remember how after an emotional family weekend game against West Virginia everyone and their mothers watching were ready to have the Orange make a return to national prominence?

One horrendous and gut-wrenching, five-game losing streak later, the Orange finish the season with more questions than there were after their shaky start.

In retrospect, while the general feeling around this team is disappointment, the end result was what was expected after the 4-2 start the Orange posted.

Scarily close wins against Wake Forrest, Rhode Island, and Tulane had fans asking about the consistency of the offense, durability and physicality of the defense and the Achilles heel the special teams presented.

What happened was that Orange fans claimed lack of execution as the reason for the narrow wins.

The talent was there. There were skilled players at skilled positions, but no unit performed at 100 percent any week.

This is what led to the hype after the West Virginia upset.

In this game, the Mountaineers came out flat and the Orange came ready to play. There were literally no holes you could find within Syracuse’s execution or game plan and everyone in the nation saw the POTENTIAL the Orange had.

I cannot stress potential enough because in the end, this season will be remembered not for the cardiac kids to start the season or the dream team that made WVU look pathetic, they will be remembered for the potential they never fulfilled.

Over the next few days, we will be looking at the different aspects of Syracuse football and how they performed this season, and who on the team can and will be a playmaker next season.

This was a disappointing year. We get it.

Now let’s see what Doug Marrone can learn from this season and change for the next make-or-break year.

Up Next: Syracuse Orange Offense: High Flying Attack Grounded in Big East.

This one hurt most of all. 

A faithful crowd of Orange students and alumni filled Heinz Field with cheers usually reserved for the Carrier Dome and supported their beloved Otto the Orange when a montage celebrating Roc the Panther came across the Jumbotron. 

In a game that was never out of reach, it all came down to what is considered the final Orange drive. 

Down six with three minutes to play, the Syracuse Orange would have to channel that cardiac kid spirit that carried them at the onset of the 2011 season. 

Ryan Nassib could redeem himself for the fumble earlier that led to another Pitt Panther score by simply orchestrating one more miracle. It felt as if this game, this season, had been building for this drive.

Everyone was electric and buzzing as Nassib found his favorite target of the season, Alec Lemon, for 12 yards over the middle to start the comeback. The Orange rushed into their no-huddle and it looked as if they had rhythm on offense for the first time in weeks. 

Then, with the fateful dive of Brandon Lindsay as Nassib wound up to throw a strike to Jarrod West, the ball popped free and the Orange faithful become silent as stone when the Panthers' Antwuon Reed ran the fumble in for a score. 

To add insult to injury, on the next Orange possession, Nassib once again found Blue and Gold as his pass was deflected into the waiting hands of Andrew Taglianetti.

In retrospect, the box score stats show that Pitt was the better team and deserved their 33-20 victory. The Orange committed six turnovers and had ten penalties, though the validity of these are debatable. 

However, the Orange had dominated the ground game, once again relying heavily on Antwon Bailey's 53 tough-earned yards. The surprise of the game was sophomore Jerome Smith.

Channeling the spirit of another former Jerome who played in the Steel City, "The Bus" ran over the Pitt defense for 56 yards on ten carries, the highlight being his ten-yard bulldozing of Pitt linebackers for a touchdown to cut the Panther lead to three.

Perhaps the most frustrating part of this loss, and season, is that Doug Marrone's squad had the talent to win this game as well as other Big East games this season. Especially so on this sunny Pittsburgh afternoon, the Orange found ways to make the game difficult.

They fumbled twice to kill promising drives and give the Panthers prime field position. They started off drives looking for 15 yards due to delay of game or false-start penalties, already putting the pressure on Nassib and Bailey to make a big play. 

In essence, they played as "un-Doug Marrone" football as you can get. This offseason is going to raise questions with the talent departing and calls for Doug Marrone's job have already been put out there (more on this later in the week). 

Ultimately, although many viewed 5-7 as a reasonable finish for the Orange, no one ever thought it would be this painful.

In the words of seniors Dan Lyons and Adam McMonagle "That's Syracuse football: just good enough for expectations." 

Watching Syracuse football has been painful, to say the least. It's not so much that the Orange have struggled of late, but rather that the Orange pulled the cardiac kid card, decimated West Virginia on national television, and looked poised for an Orange Bowl run, at 5-2. 

Since then, a four-game losing streak has made a bowl game even seem dubious, as the Orange (and a good number of Orange fans via Otto's Army) travel down to Heinz Field to take on the Pitt Panthers. 

Unfortunately for the Orange, the Panthers are just as desperate. Starting the year off as Big East favorites, the loss of Ray Graham hurt the Panthers, and they too are looking at their potential sixth win and ticket to an early-December Bowl game. 

For the Orange, Ryan Nassib and Antwon Bailey are both fighting for legacies and an extra game while they try to jump-start what has been a lethargic offense this season. Nassib, one of the best quarterbacks in the history of Syracuse statistically, has never really had his Don McPherson or Donovan McNabb moment of glory. 

Leading the Orange to a bowl game after this recent stretch would be a nice touch to his Syracuse memories. Antwon Bailey is two yards shy of 1,000 yards on the season after he put the team on his back last week. Another game like that for Bailey would be something remarkable for the fifth-year senior who worked so hard to earn a starting role. 

Bailey will have his chance to get lots of touches, as news came down that Syracuse RB Andonis Ameen-More will miss the rest of the season with an upper body injury. Even more tragic, senior co-captain fullback Adam Harris will have to end his career in football after another concussion sustained against Cincinnati. "The Natural" will still have a great life after football, as he has been a star student at the University. 

Overall, there is not much more analysis to give on Syracuse rather than "play better." Seriously, the Orange just looked flat, tired and defeated against Cincinnati, and the scoreboard showed it. This team is better than they have played, and this is their last shot. 

With a depleted Pitt running attack, the defense may be able to have their breakout game and terrorize the Pitt offense. The once-high-powered Syracuse offense will more than likely run through Bailey on this cold Northwestern PA day and could be the X-Factor for the Orange. 

Here's to a completed Beef O'Brady quest, Syracuse Orange. At least the sports dog has faith in you.