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McC in broad strokes I agree – not time to start count hatchlings. However I do see some positives with the Pack this year which I have not seen in decades. I guess I’m generally positive but wary. I think we are seeing a program on the rise but to keep rising you jave to keep winning (no I don’t mean win out but I do mean the team cannot flop). Each week we have seen the college football landscape change drastically – that could mean the Pack gets shuffled out if they don’t take care of business or it could mean vaulting into that rarefied air of a top 10 program if they don’t flop. So far I’m pleased at the progress but that can quickly turn so I make no predictions. What I have seen so far is the best over football by a Pack team in a long time – still not perfect obviously but the best performance over a number of games. The question is will that continue.
Bits and pieces
it seemed like was that if any positive comments or optimism were offered on this site then it was met with criticism.
In Talkin’ New York Bob Dylan says it, “Some people ain’t got much food on the table but they got a lot of forks and knives and they gotta cut something.”
Rye, it’s Doeren’s influence on the D.
Not a knock on Hux but he’s in the twilight of his career and likely was happy to carry out Doeren’s wishes with regard to the D. On a personal level Hux is a good man and somebody the other coaches would feel comfortable going to.
With the addition of Barlow (Assistant Head Coach for Defense/Cornerbacks) and Kevin Patrick there is some good experience in the D coaching group and just speculating I’d bet that Doeren’s concepts are in place but the coaches are owning the defense and have a freedom that most assistant coaches don’t have.
Drink’s free will within Doeron’s….conceptual frame.
Mr. DOG, I’m going to give you credit for the above statement the first few times I use it then it’s mine. 😉
“Drink’s free will within Doeron’s….conceptual frame.” That is dangerous.
Ledford was a fantastic hire and I thought so at the time. Hire like and we’ll be in very good shape.
I’ve got a good feeling about our new DL coach, Patrick. He and Ledford, 2 old NFL pros, seem to work together well. Ex: our D1’s going against our O1’s in practice. If our O-line can block our D-line, they can block anybody. Doeren likes it. Says it makes both lines better.
Personally I like the tone I’m seeing on here right now. And there is nothing wrong with “guarded optimism”. My old ball coach had some great sayins’, I’m sure they all came from other people he admired. A couple of them have gotten me through times of trouble and despair, while others served as a limit to create a sense of humility. One of my most favorites was “You can hate losing, but don’t hate yourself for losing”.
I saw that in DD from the beginning. I never saw it in TOB. In CTC I felt he blamed others for the loses. In just about every presser DD had after a loss he never got down on his team, not that I saw. Considering how much negativity he faced I think he had a strong sense of what he wanted to build. Even last year the naysayers wanted his head.
All through last season I saw us coming very close to being very successful. I know we could catch some bad breaks in the games ahead, I feel we already did in the SC game. Two bad instant replay calls, and a blatant pass interference close to the goal line. I don’t pretend we could roll over roll tide, but I do believe if we played them they would know they had a worthy opponent. And THAT is the definition of a team that could be great (another of my old ball coach’s sayins’)
Smarter than the average bear
McCallum: Agreed. There’s a lot of ball left to be played and the ND/Clemson stretch for us is brutal. We’re also closing with 2 teams we’ve historically not played well against (UNC and BC) and one that we find ways to lose to (WF).
Yogi: I’m fine with looking at the bright side, but let’s not be revisionist either. There’s a path behind the DD’s bus of post game press conferences. He clearly needs some schooling on handling the media. It’s easier to say the right thing when you are winning, but even this year he’s thrown some “none of you believed me” nonsense out. Be gracious in victory, accept the blame in losses, and act like you’ve been there.
Amato publicly said the right things. What he did behind closed doors obviously had some glaring gaps, but to the public was almost always spot on. The revolving door of assistants and the general downward trajectory of the hires made it clear we had huge problems in how the sausage was made.
I think we can agree on TOB. Coming off of HWSNBN in basketball, he was a really bad hire from the start and I was pretty vocal about that. He was the perfect Fowler hire — a “name” and one that was just good enough not to get fired, but not really trying to go big either. Run it cheap, run it tight, make a buck and avoid controversy. TOB’s general attitude in the media was that he was going to say what he wanted (which I appreciated), but at the same time if we fired him he was fine with it as well. It was his last rodeo and one that got him closer to his retirement lifestyle. There’s nothing wrong with that. I think Larranaga made a similar (and brilliant move) in going to Miami, but Larranaga’s had paid off better for him professionally.
Grey: I hope you are right on the DL coach. I contend with the talent we have on the field right now, I could coach them and they’d look good on the field. We’ve probably got enough depth for next year as well. The key will be the year after that. Do we have anything in the pipeline? This is a hire that we won’t really be able to judge for a couple of years. I’d tread with caution before judging, and would suggest we do the same relative to rewards. Larry Coker looked like a genius for 2 years as well………
In contrast, the OL hire is a very different situation. I thought we saw immediate improvement last year, and a line that improved all through last year. This year’s line is the best of the DD or TOB eras. App had a great line, particularly given their talent level. Quick returns on that hire, and I hope we lock him up.
We are also closing with 2 teams we’ve historically not played well against (UNC and BC)
We are 7 wins out of our last 10 games vs UNC. If that is historically not played well, I’ll take it.
My concerns with BC are unrelated to the past but are related to the present BC team.
1Pack1Goal
I think this applies to the coaches as well as the players. Ledford and Patrick are working to create “Trench U.” Other coaching groups are working together to create the best units possible.
I contend with the talent we have on the field right now, I could coach them and they’d look good on the field.
Probably right, Rye. Why don’t we just turn them over to a GA and hire a Special Teams Coach? Or use George McDonald our WR coach to coach special teams and turn the WR group over to a GA. Heck, the OL is doing so well we don’t need Ledford either.
You could coach the D-line and I could coach the O-line. I can be had for a lot less than Ledford is being paid.
I say all the above with tongue in cheek but I don’t think either of us is aware of what goes into coaching. Adjustments made at half-time are not made by the players. There is more to it than just sending them out on the field hoping they look good.
Before the season, most experts had us picked to go 4-4 in the ACC and make a bowl (rightly so imo). Great news is that we’ve met those goals!
So now we’re just over halfway through the season and I think we all have a pretty good idea of what this is capable of as well as where realistic expectations should be. We’re in the national conversation as we should be at this point, but I don’t hear our fans talking championships or bowls after New Year’s Day.
We all realize next week in South Bend is a very big game and Clemson the following week likely determines whether we make another trip to Charlotte before bowl season begins.
But c’mon, if we can’t be optimistic (guarded, cautious, or otherwise) now, when can we be? Enjoy the ride gents!
Before the season, most experts had us picked to go 4-4 in the ACC and make a bowl (rightly so imo). Great news is that we’ve met those goals!
So now we’re just over halfway through the season and I think we all have a pretty good idea of what this is capable of as well as where realistic expectations should be. We’re in the national conversation as we should be at this point, but I don’t hear our fans talking championships or bowls after New Year’s Day.
We all realize next week in South Bend is a very big game and Clemson the following week likely determines whether we make another trip to Charlotte before bowl season begins.
But c’mon, if we can’t be optimistic (guarded, cautious, or otherwise) now, when can we be? Enjoy the ride gents!
+1. Well said. Let’s try to enjoy this ride
On another note let’s keep this good vibe going as it relates how we debate. Whether it ends great, somewhere in the middle or badly. Maybe we attract some Wolves back to the den. This is a great time to be Wolfpack football fan. I’m going hype them, love them. I just discussed with my brother that this team is every bit as good as Georgia. No I’m not drunk.
I will feel alot better about all of this extremely positive conversation after ND. I don’t doubt the team can be even better than we’ve seen but I don’t want to jinx them.
Notre Dame game I a very interesting match up. They stink at passing and rush for over 300 yards a game. It would appear that our D sets us up to do well on this game.
It’s going to be a tough one. I will be there. I think we can do it if we handle the moment and force Notre Dame to pass. (For the record, we ate the 2nd best d they have faced. The best D they have faced this year thus far is UGA.
McCallum: Agreed. There’s a lot of ball left to be played and the ND/Clemson stretch for us is brutal. We’re also closing with 2 teams we’ve historically not played well against (UNC and BC) and one that we find ways to lose to (WF).
Over the past 3 seasons:
1-0 vs. Notre Dame
0-3 vs. Clemson
1-2 vs. BC
3-0 vs. Wake
2-1 vs. UNC7-6 overall against these teams, with 2 losses to this group in each of the past 3 seasons. Obviously, our team this season is better than in the past 3 seasons, a lot better than in 2014 and 2015.
The fact that we beat Notre Dame last season and should have beaten Clemson’s national championship team in Death Valley, combined with the current 6 game winning streak with wins over Louisville and at FSU, shows that we are good enough to win every one of our remaining games. Notre Dame and Clemson are going to be tough, but I’m not worried about the other three.
While Wake appears to be improved, none of the Wake games the past 3 seasons were close. The “we find ways to lose” to Wake comment is rooted in history that does not apply to this team this season.
The fact that BC has beaten us 2 out of the last 3 seasons, including last season, pretty much ensures that our team will not look past them, which should ensure we beat them.
And UNC is hated UNC. Our team will be up to destroy them, and they aren’t good. It should be a beatdown.
Even if we lose to Notre Dame and Clemson, I see our team as being very motivated to win the rest and secure a 9 win regular season.
Notre Dame game I a very interesting match up. They stink at passing and rush for over 300 yards a game. It would appear that our D sets us up to do well on this game.
That does sound like a good set up in theory. If State can have some nice long TOUCHDOWN drives and get ahead while getting some stops against them, ND will be forced to pass more and get away from their strength. Or if they refuse and stick to the run, as long as they’re not rushing at 20-30 yards a clip, they’ll be hard pressed to catch up. We’ve seen them be stubborn before. Just based on how State has performed thus far and their approach, there’s cause for optimism. However, given that Notre Dame is probably the best team they’ve faced yet and it’s on the road, advantages tend to get offset in these types of situations. As far as intangibles, I like the way the Pack plays – they don’t play like someone should hand them the game, rather they play like they belong on the field and can play against anyone. They do a lot of things well even if they don’t play perfect. They play hard and compete which should, at the very least, provide for an entertaining game to watch and a team worth pulling for.
Boston College is breaking bad on Virginia. They seem to be upward trending. That’s fine as long as it stops on November 11th.
*Do we detect a tone of “optimism” ???
HOLES lose FIFTY NINE to 7….
IF nothing else, we should hang 50 or 60 on ’em and let Chubb && Co. take care of the rest…
POP!!!
#NCSU-North Carolina's #1 FOOTBALL school!We bout to get blasted on next week yall.
I was not expecting ND to obliterate USC. The D has its work cut out for them in South Bend. This is shaping up for an exciting game. WOLF!
Alias – I hope that’s what the domers think.
Me, I don’t think they e played a team with as good an offense and defense as us since UGA.
I do believe they are the best football team we have faced this year. Statistically, they are solid. However, they rely on turnovers and a stout running game. I think we can make them earn it, and my hope, is that our passing game is the differentiator here.
This is a huge game for us nationally. It’s the first time since we played on the “shoe” that college football fans will be intentionally tuning in to see about this team from Raleigh, NC. Unlike that year, we haven’t totally screwed the pooch with a momentum killing loss to wake Forest the week before.
We need to show up in this game. The college football playoff talk for Notre Dame after their USC blow out is a recipe for good things for us.
I will be in South Bend..and unless forecast changes so will our buddy the rain
Chop, I said it somewhat tongue in cheek. We get to play them at a real good time coming of a bye week while they are coming off a huge win. It sets up nice. However, make no mistake about it, you are right we haven’t played a team the caliber of the Irish to date. So nobody should be totally caught off guard if we catch a beat down.
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