Marrone looks to get Syracuse back to full strength
With a thin depth chart, injuries were bound to play a role for Syracuse at some point this season. In preseason camp, it was an issue SU head coach Doug Marrone had hoped wouldn’t come into play this season.
Standing at the podium at his weekly press conference Monday, Marrone stressed the importance of his team getting healthy this week in preparation for a Saturday contest at Rutgers. Though only one starter – right tackle Michael Hay – missed the game against Louisville, the coach said the team collectively was ‘banged up.’
‘It’s time to get back to work and play a Rutgers team that’s a good football team, and we have to keep our kids healthy,’ Marrone said. ‘We are a banged up football team right now. So we have to get everyone back and get ready to go and compete like heck for this upcoming game on Saturday.’
Last year, injuries to a thin roster hurt the Orange. The issue appears to be affecting the Orange again this year. Aside from Hay, Marrone noted ‘a lot’ of other players playing with nagging injuries.
This time of year, with the week-to-week grind, injuries can be more difficult to come back from quickly. And with a thin roster again this year, Marrone doesn’t want his team to get into a similar condition it was in last season.
‘I don’t want to get into a situation where we were last year at the end of the year,’ Marrone said, ‘where we lose two players within a series and next thing you know we might have had to put a player out on the field who really has never played that position. And we were close this week.’
Those injuries had an effect on the execution of Marrone’s scheme Saturday. And that, the coach said, changed how SU carried out its game plan. With the UL defense focused on stopping the run, the Orange was unable to take advantage of downfield opportunities through the air.
Defensively, it may have added to the breakdowns that allowed the Cardinals to average 11 yards per completion and 4.1 yards per rushing attempt for the game.
‘When you are banged up and try to rest people and all of a sudden you put them out of the football field, it’s hard,’ Marrone said. ‘You have to get your reps and have to be able to know what you are doing and be able to go out there and perform. We are still dealing with young players, especially on offense.’
Louisville’s defensive blueprint
After Louisville shut SU down to just 62 yards and three points of total offense in the second half Saturday, Marrone was asked if the Cardinals have established a blueprint for other teams to follow when facing the Orange this season.
Though Marrone doesn’t exactly see it that way, he said it is concerning.
‘It’s not a blueprint, but for me to sit here and say it’s not a concern is a lie,’ Marrone said. ‘Anytime someone has success of doing something that you have to make sure you cover it and you handle it. … Now you know that people will challenge us that way and we have to step up to the challenge.’
The Orange seemingly became a one-dimensional offense Saturday, when UL stacked the box in an attempt to stop running back Delone Carter. The senior had carved up the Cardinals in the early going, but that came to a screeching halt in the latter stretches of the game.
To keep defenses honest, it needs to employ a vertical passing game to stretch the field. SU was able to do that Saturday, only reeling off three passing plays of 10 yards or more. Part of that, Marrone said, is a result of some injuries to the receiving corps.
Regardless, it’s quickly become a concern for the Orange. And it perhaps gives other teams a leg up after studying film from this game.
‘Yes, it’s a concern and it’s one that will have to address and be able to stand up for,’ Marrone said. ‘Is it a blueprint? I don’t know if people will try to do that and follow it.’
