If the eye was on the coast, the circulation was impacting the mountains ( and vice versa)
Whatever... the point is: the worst of the forecast called for a turn before Irma had much interaction with Cuba. Thankfully, she did.
The NHC forecast tracked showed a eyewall hit on Cuba, basically the Cuban Keys. But their discussion said they thought that would not weaken Irma. They were wrong about that even though their predicted track was correct.