Axeman

Has anybody read the Axeman's blog today. If you haven't, The Axeman has been writing a three part piece on Syracuse, midway threw the season. This is worth a read.

Here is a link to part 2.

http://blog.syracuse.com/axeman/2007/10/su_football_halfway_home_to_no_1.html

Some key things to pay attention to.

1. The lack of punt returns by Syracuse, What the hell is going on back there. Maybe we should try somebody else cause this is not working!

Punt Returns Incomplete
I had to look at this number over and over to let it sink in, but 'tis true.
Syracuse has a TOTAL of 3 punt returns for 26 yards. 22 of 25 punts sent Syracuse's way were not returned.
Opponents have returned 19 of 38 Syracuse punts for 239 yards.
W-O-W.

2.Defensive line

check out this one, here is the once thought of strength!

Tony Jenkins has made some plays (2 sacks and 4 tackles for a loss) and Brandon Gilbeaux shows some promise, but the bottom line is this group graded as a unit misses way too many "first tackle" opportunities and has not gotten to the QB enough in big spots. They do have 5 sacks, but rank 112th in the nation in the "team sacks" category when you factor in yards lost and other numbers.

3. the secondary

this actually is a no brainer, but i love the way he puts it. Well done Brent, well done!

The rest of these guys? Uggg.
No offense big guy, but Nick Chestnut, you need to just get off the field. Chestnut gets beat more than an egg getting ready to go in an omelet every single game. The fact that he has 30 tackles is just a sign of how often opposing offensive players make it into the secondary. I'll give A.J.Brown credit for his 2 INT's and Dowayne Davis credit for his 4 broken up passes, but their theme song could also be "Beat it."