Hurricanes looking for more TDs out of red-zone trips

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Posted 4:18PM on Tuesday, September 27, 2005

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) Moving the ball has not proven to be terribly difficult for Miami, which has managed nearly 350 yards of offense per game against three fairly solid defenses. Scoring, though, has been a bit of problem especially when the Hurricanes reach their opponents' 20-yard line, the so-called red zone that's perhaps the biggest trouble spot for Miami's offense this year. Through three games, the No. 9 Hurricanes have taken 36 offensive snaps inside that red zone, managing only 75 yards with four touchdowns in 11 possessions, a mediocre ratio at best. Raising production there is one of the biggest points of emphasis right now for Miami (2-1), which hosts South Florida (3-1) on Saturday. ``We all have to do better running the football, throwing the football, catching the football down in the red zone,'' Miami quarterback Kyle Wright said. ``That's something we have to work on. We're close. If we would have been able to convert down the red zone (against Colorado), that score would have been pretty ugly.'' He's probably right. Sure, the Hurricanes beat Colorado 23-3, with the outcome seemingly in safe hands throughout the afternoon. But Miami left the Orange Bowl believing that it failed to convert several great opportunities. Miami took 20 snaps inside the Colorado 20 last Saturday, managing 25 yards 15 of them on one play. The Hurricanes got only 12 yards from nine rushes, and Wright was 3-for-11 passing for 13 yards, with two of those completions not going for positive yardage. Out of five red-zone possessions, Miami got one touchdown a 2-yard run by Wright and three field goals. That was more than enough to beat the Buffaloes, yet not nearly enough to satisfy the Hurricanes. ``From 20 to 20, we're pretty good,'' Miami left tackle Eric Winston said. ``Right now, we've got to get better in the money zone, especially inside the 10. We've got to come away with touchdowns.'' For the season, 19 red-zone rushes have led to only 40 yards not including one sack that knocked six yards off Wright's rushing total. The Hurricanes have collected 43 points from their 11 red-zone trips, and have only four completions of 1 yard or more inside the critical area. ``You can't add a lot of new plays every week,'' Miami coach Larry Coker said. ``We need to get better at the plays we have.'' Miami's first red-zone trip this season indicated that execution is a bit of problem. In the season-opener at Florida State, Miami never penetrated the Seminoles' 20 until the waning minutes, except for one 34-yard second-quarter scoring pass from Wright to Ryan Moore. Needing a touchdown to win or a field goal for overtime, Miami marched to the Florida State 2 but came up empty, when the snap for a field goal was botched and kicker Jon Peattie never got his foot on the ball. And things still aren't clicking to Miami's liking but the Hurricanes believe they're getting closer. ``It's a work in progress and it's been a work in progress,'' Winston said. ``There's a lot of things we need to iron out.'' (Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)