Redemption Versus East Carolina

First of all, I think redemption is a lousy motivating factor going into a football game. If you have to use what happened last year to get up for a football game, then you may be in trouble. I watched the East Carolina-Virginia Tech game and in the First Quarter, all ECU QB Shane Carden did was throw jump balls to his Wide Receivers 50 yards down the field. This is the same QB that lit up the North Carolina defense last year. This year's UNC DB's do not have the experience that last year's DB's did. This year's UNC Defensive Line only has one returning veteran and that is Ethan Farmer. LB Norkeithus Otis making his return will aid the Tarheel defense. The 'Heels defense has had two weeks to prepare for this as well as having the benefit of being able to watch the game last week. UNC's offense has not exactly set the College Football world on fire either. The Tarheel offense was shutout against San Diego State in the first half of their game. They have a young offensive line going up against the Swamp Monster and a blitzing ECU defense. I think UNC also needs to settle on one or two Running Backs to carry the load. This three or four Running Back system is not allowing the Backs to develop any kind of rhythm with their Offensive Line. My top two are T.J. Logan and Elijah Hood. I think the Tarheels need to roll QB Marquise Williams out and get him out of the pocket and on the edge and let him make some plays.

First And Last Impressions Versus Georgia Tech

The 28-20 loss to Georgia Tech was tough to take. The defense played well enough but couldn't hold down a 20-7 lead but that was primarily because the offense could not sustain any drives in the second half and the defense eventually wore down. The defense has been the big focus but they have shown improvement over the first three games. Larry Fedora's high powered offense has not lived up to its potential and the running game has been a big problem. They have been trying to use the three running backs of Romar Morris, A.J. Blue, and True Freshman Khris Francis. I believe they need to settle on one and give him as many reps as possible so they can develop some consistency and get a feel for what the Offensive line is doing. Tight End Eric Ebron had a career game against Georgia Tech with over 100 yards receiving and a highlight reel one handed catch in the end zone. He has really stepped up his game and now the rest of the receiving corps needs to do the same. There have been far too many drops in the seasons first three games to develop any consistency in the passing game. One thing that has been missing from the passing game is the screen pass thrown to the running backs. This is was where they are really missing Gio Bernard. Romar Morris and A.J. Blue only have a combined total of 72 yards receiving on 10 catches in the first three games. Coach Larry Fedora and his staff have their work cut out for them on the offensive side of the ball. On the defensive side of the ball, the play has been much better but they are still giving up 25 points a game. Big plays and interior depth have been a problem. I am still not a big fan of the 4-2-5 but hybrid Linebackers Jeff Schoettmer, Norkeithus Otis, and Darius Lipford have developed a better feel for the system and are able to react to plays rather than think about what they are doing. Norkeithus Otis leads the team with 4 1/2 tacles for loss and 3 sacks and Darius Lipford after missing a full year and then some due to injury, is not far behind with 3 tackles for loss and 2 sacks. Jeff Schoettmer leads the team with 23 tackles.

Middle Tennessee State: The Good And The Bad

There were several good things that happened against Middle Tennessee State. One of the stats I was most impressed with was that 12 different receivers caught passes, including backup Quarterback Marquise Williams, who caught a 23 yard pass from Running Back A.J. Blue. They do have a lot of options at the Wide Receiver position. The 'Heels also had three running backs- Romar Morris, A.J. Blue, and true Freshman Khris Francis- that had ten carries in the game. The top rusher was Morris with 46 yards and none of the three broke any run longer than about 10 yards. Bryn Renner also had a strong game running the offense and as a fifth year Senior and in his second year in this offense, he has shown the ability to take charge of the many options in this offense. The defense came up with three turnovers in the Red Zone including Tre Boston's interception in the end zone. The play of Norkeithus Otis and Darius Lipford deserve special mention as well. I was also impressed with the play of true Freshman Dominic Green from the defensive backfield. The bad had to be the running game on both sides of the ball. The 'Heels only averaged a little over 3 yards a carry while giving up 5 yards a carry. The play of both lines left a lot of room for improvement. Luckily they have a week off before they take on ACC nemesis Georgia Tech.

The 4-2-5

Larry Fedora brought a high octane offense and a hybrid defense when he came with him from Southern Mississippi. The offense, in a season plus two games, has been everything as advertised, breaking 35 offensive records in his first season at North Carolina. The defense, not so much. After seeing the 4-2-5 for a season plus two games, I am not a big fan of the 4-2-5. I believe he needs to go to a more traditional 4-3 even with the pass happy offenses in college football these days. The 4-2-5 uses two hybrid linebacker positions called the "Ram" and the "Bandit", one being a hybrid linebacker/rush end position and the other being a hybrid linebacker/safety position. The front four is not getting much pressure on the opposing teams's QB without blitzing a lot, they are giving up a lot of yards on the ground, especially up the middle of the defense, and this defense is not turning defense into offense as Coach Fedora's teams did at Southern Mississippi. Granted, the majority of these players are not players that Coach Fedora and his staff recruited. I have always shared the belief that you tailor your gameplan to your players strengths and not try to force the square peg into the round hole. Norkeithus Otis and Darius Lipford have been playing lights out but when your linebackers and defensive backs are making the majority of the tackles, sacks, and tackles for losses, then it usually means those plays are happening 5 to 10 yards down the field or you are having to blitz a lot to make plays. Georgia Tech and their 68 points from last season are on the horizon and it will be interesting to see how much progress the Tarheels defense has made in a couple of weeks time.

First Impressions: North Carolina Vs. MTSU

It is hard for me to get excited about the North Carolina Tarheels 40-20 victory over Middle Tennessee State today. I thought their Offensive and Defensive lines got pushed around quite a bit by MTSU. MTSU has some talent on both sides of the ball and has been known to be an ACC killer before. Just ask Georgia Tech about last year's game. It if wasn't for three Red Zone turnovers by MTSU and a failed fourth and goal from the one yard line, it could have gotten very interesting at the end of the game. North Carolina did some good things and their offense and defense made some plays. Tre Boston's acrobatic end zone interception on MTSU's first drive of the game, Romar Morris' 26 yard Touchdown run for the 'Heels first score, Johnathan "Bug" Howard's leaping "Alley Oop" TD reception for their final score, and Norkeithus Otis and Darius Lipford being all over the field making tackles were several of the big plays that were made. Overall, the Offense had over 500 yards of total offense and the defense gave up over 400 yards. Head Coach Larry Fedora was worried about depth on both sides of the line going into the season and his worst fears are now being realized.

First Impressions: North Carolina Vs. South Carolina

My first impression of the Tarheels first football game of the season is that it could have been worse than it was. It was the same old story that we saw from the defense the last five games of last year. The only thing missing was the offense that could almost score at will. The final score was only 27-10 but the 'Heels defense was gashed for 228 yards rushing (75 of that on one crushing play after the 'Heels had pulled to within 20-10) to the tune of 6 yards a carry. The offensive line did not fare much better as the 'Heels only had 99 yards rushing and 194 yards passing but only 4.5 yards per attempt. South Carolina had 12 tackles for loss compared to 3 for North Carolina. The 'Heels offense longest play was only 24 yards, a pass completion to Wide Receiver Quinshad Davis at the beginning of the second half. Other than that, the offense did not try to throw the ball down the field. Wide Receivers T.J. Thorpe and Sean Tapley only had 5 receptions for 10 yards. South Carolina is the #6 ranked team in the college football and I was hoping that North Carolina would show the improvement necessary to make themselves a factor on the national scene and in the ACC but they have some work to do. My defensive MVP of the game is Bandit Norkeithus Otis. He had 5 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, and the only sack North Carolina registered. He seemed to be around the football the entire game. My offensive MVP would be Tackle James Hurst. He handle all everything South Carolina Defensive End Jadevon Clowney and held down his end of the line with a physical presence that the rest of the Offensive Line needs to learn from.

Versus East Carolina

It looks like the North Carolina Tarheels might finally be buying into Head Coach Larry Fedora's system. The 27-6 win over East Carolina yesterday was the most complete game they have played all season. The offensive tempo is improving although I am sure is not fast enough for Coach Fedora. The East Carolina defense threw a new wrinkle at QB Bryn Renner by only rushing three and dropping eight into coverage for the majority of the game. Renner took what the defense gave him and did not force the ball into coverage. He passed for over 300 yards and threw a couple of TD passes, one to Gio Bernard and a a 62 yarder to Sean Tapley. He showed some really nice touch on the ball on a first half completion down the middle to Gio Bernard for 30 yards and the TD to Sean Tapley. RB Gio Bernard made his return and only rushed for 50 yards but had over 100 yards of total offense. The 'Heels defense had their most impressive performance picking up a season high seven sacks and getting some of those from unlikely sources. Defensive Backs Jeff Schoettmer and Jabari Price and Sophomore Linebacker Norkeithus Otis all picked up sacks. Kevin Reddick, Jabari Price, and Sylvester Williams were all over the place. East Carolina QB Carden spent most of the second half running for his life. The 'Heels defense still got gashed by the run more than I would have liked and even allowed East Carolina to convert a third and thirty on a draw play from inside their own ten yard line.