Thoughts From the Morning After: FSU 38 Syracuse 20

Oct 11, 2014; Syracuse, NY, USA; Syracuse Orange wide receiver Steve Ishmael (8) makes a catch for a touchdown in front of Florida State Seminoles defensive back P.J. Williams (26) during the third quarter at the Carrier Dome. Florida State defeated Syracuse 38-20. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

The Secondary Wears It

One of the unfortunate side effects of having issues on the front end of your defense is that the secondary has to wear it when things go wrong. It goes without saying that pass coverage gets harder the longer you have to play it. Covering a guy for four seconds is much easier to do than covering him for seven or eight.

The longer you leave a DB in coverage the harder his job gets.

Things get even more complicated when — in a pattern-matching system — the call is contingent upon the front forcing a throw quickly or getting to the QB.

Take the coverage bust against NC State a few weeks ago. Tyler Hunter wore that one, but afterward, Fisher admitted Hunter made the right read– even if it didn’t seem like it at the time.

“We changed the blitz and we whiffed the quarterback,” said Fisher. “Tyler [Hunter] is taught to take the first move on that because the ball is coming out hot, it has to come out. You will see the play, we just whiffed the quarterback.”

Added Hunter: “I mean, people don’t really know the coverages, so I mean are they going to blame it on me? Of course.”

Yesterday, Florida State fans saw more of the same. With FSU’s front end struggling to apply a consistent pass rush — and with the middle of the defensive line vulnerable — the Seminole secondary gave up some uncharacteristic plays.

But uncharacteristic is the key word there. On several occasions — two third down plays and a touchdown — Syracuse’s receivers just went up and made plays despite good coverage. On other occasions the coverage lagged when the play got extended or an Orange receiver got away with a well-executed push off.

Jimbo Fisher likes to remind people that it’s never as good as it looks when things are going well, nor is it ever as bad as it looks when things are going poorly. Yesterday was a perfect example of that for the secondary.

This is still an elite secondary — keep in mind it also hauled in three picks — even if Syracuse did connect on a few passing plays against it.