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The Lowdown 2006 Schedule Coach: Greg Robinson (2nd season, 1-10) 2005 record: 1-10 Big East finish: 0-7 (8th) 2005 I-A offensive rankings: Rushing: 105th (106.6 ypg) Passing: 105th (150.8 ypg) 2005 I-A defensive rankings: Rushing: 97th (187.3 ypg) Passing: 21st (185.5 ypg) Date Opponent Sept. 2 at Wake Forest Sept. 9 Iowa Sept. 16 at Illinois Sept. 23 Miami (Ohio) Sept. 30 Wyoming Oct. 7 Pittsburgh Oct. 14 at West Virginia Oct. 21 Louisville Oct. 28 at Cincinnati Nov. 11 at South Florida Nov. 18 Connecticut Nov. 25 at Rutgers Depth Chart: Offense 6 returning starters in red Ps. No. Player Yr. No. Player Yr. WR 81 Tim Lane Sr. 80 Lavar Lobdell So. WR 12 Rice Moss Jr. 82 Taj Smith Jr. LT 64 Corey Chavers So. 72 Ian Hammond Jr. LG 59 Carroll Madison Jr. 76 Mike Sklarosky Sr. C 60 Justin Outten Sr. 67 Marvin McCall Jr. RG 75 Ryan Durand So. 68 David Bouchard So. RT 78 Eugene Newsome Jr. 74 Ryan Ehrie So. TE 84 Brandon Darlington Sr. 89 Tom Ferron So. QB 10 Perry Patterson Sr. 5 Joe Fields Jr. FB 48 Stephen McDonald Sr. 38 Breyone Evans Jr. TB 31 Paul Chiara So. 22 Curtis Brinkley So. Depth Chart: Defense 4 returning starters in red Ps. No. Player Yr. No. Player Yr. DE 95 Nick Santiago So. 61 Brandon Gilbeaux Fr. NT 56 Chris Thorner Sr. 97 Arthur Jones Fr. DT 51 Tony Jenkins Jr. 99 Cornelius Campbell Jr. DE 55 Lee Williams Jr. 52 Jameel McClain Jr. SLB 57 Jerry Mackey Sr. 30 Vincenzo Giruzzi So. MLB 8 Kelvin Smith Sr. 58 Mike Stenclik Fr. WLB 19 Luke Cain Sr. 45 Jake Flaherty So. CB 28 Tanard Jackson Sr. 4 Terrell Lemon Sr. CB 27 Nick Chestnut So. 23 Derek Bailey Fr. SS 26 Dowayne Davis Jr. 86 Bruce Williams So. FS 17 A.J. Brown So. 18 Reggie McCoy Jr. Special Teams Ps. No. Player Yr. Ps. No. Player Yr. K 6 John Barker So. P 47 Brendan Carney Sr. KR 21 Kareem Jones So. PR 86 Bruce Williams So.

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Woozy from slogging through the first 10-loss season in school history and still feeling its way through the coaching transition, the Orange are a bit humbled and pained. But players understand no one is feeling sorry for them, and they're ready to fight for their football lives.

"This is my senior year," middle linebacker Kelvin Smith says. "We've got to get up and get it rolling. We go 1-10, that should be a jumpstart like, 'Listen, we've got to turn this around right now.' Things aren't down. There's a sense of urgency. Let's put it like that."

This is Year 2 for coach Greg Robinson, who believes his defense and special teams will be solid and that his offense is progressing in its transition to the West Coast-based philosophy.

Robinson made important, if not necessary, staff changes in the offseason with the addition of veteran Wisconsin assistant Brian White as offensive coordinator and Phil Earley as quarterbacks coach. White's assignment is to revive a comatose offense (ranked 115th in total yards) that could not stretch the field with the deep pass, and to rehabilitate quarterback Perry Patterson, who admitted he was lost in a system that championed the three-and-out possession (ranked 117th in third-down conversions).

The problem for Syracuse remains its offensive line. The unit appears to be a mess and came out of spring practice with only two designated starters.

White wants defenses to stop daring the Orange to pass by crowding the box, which closes down the running game and leaves Patterson under constant stress. Receivers must do a better job getting open and catching passes. White says the one thing he knows the Orange will do well this season is execute the short-passing game. At this point, that's at least something.

OFFENSE

The Orange ranked 117th in third-down conversions. Patterson finished 100th in the nation in passing efficiency and had a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 6-to-11.

The problem for Syracuse remains its offensive line. The unit appears to be a mess and came out of spring practice with only two designated starters. That's not a good thing for an offense that struggled to protect Patterson (37 sacks) and did little about establishing a running presence (106.6 yards per game).

The Orange have talent at tailback in Paul Chiara and Curtis Brinkley. They are also improved at wide receiver with a healthy Rice Moss and the addition of junior college transfer Taj Smith. What the Orange need most is for the offensive line to function and for Patterson to find a comfort zone to operate a scaled-back playbook.

DEFENSE

Robinson, who acts as defensive coordinator, is fond of saying he plays to his strengths and hides his weaknesses. The strength of the defense is at linebacker, with three senior starters in Kelvin Smith, Jerry Mackey and Luke Cain. There is depth with Vincenzo Giruzzi and Jake Flaherty. It's why Robinson moved Jameel McClain to defensive end. Tackles Chris Thorner and Tony Jenkins have played in every game for two years, so the loss of three starters on the line is not so severe.

There's no way to hide the problems in the secondary. Tanard Jackson was suspended in spring practice, and while he's expected to return, the Orange simply have no one else of Jackson's ability. Marcus "Gator" Clayton looked like the starter at the other corner but he left school in the spring. Now, Nick Chestnut, who played receiver last year, appears to be the starter. Dowayne Davis is solid at strong safety, but free safety is a position with issues. A.J. Brown is the leader heading into camp.

Generating a pass rush will be essential because of the inexperience and uncertainty in the secondary.

SPECIALISTS

All-Big East punter Brendan Carney returns and is a vital piece of the field position/defensive struggle Syracuse must play to compensate for its offense.

There's a good battle brewing between placekickers John Barker and Patrick Shadle. And though it took awhile, the Orange have found some stability in punt returner Bruce Williams and a rotation of kick returners including Brinkley, Smith, Kareem Jones and Jeremy Horne. This is a unit that stumbled early and quietly got better a year ago. Expect more progress here.

FINAL ANALYSIS

It's really all about the offense. The Orange have turned to White to design a plan that will generate a passing game that can allow the running game some room to operate. Patterson made significant improvement in the spring. And so did the receivers, who dropped too many passes last season. The Orange seem to have some weapons. What they need most is protection from the offensive line.

Robinson believes the Orange have enough defense and special teams to be as good, if not better, than last season. Those efforts, however, were completely lost in the futility of the offensive follies. Still, the road remains treacherous. It looks like another last-place finish at Syracuse.