My reaction is somewhat mixed. It seems clear from the N&O’s writeup of Tom O’Brien’s comments that the coach and I saw Beck’s performance similarly. Beck was light years better than a shellshocked Daniel Evans (last night was his worst performance in a Wolfpack uniform - and that’s really saying something). However, Beck continues to be somewhat reckless with the ball, and makes at least half of his throws off his back foot. He can (and did) throw the ball 40-50 yards downfield that way…but it’s still not a good idea. A legitimate defense will bait Beck into serious mistakes, and have CBs better suited to defend the jumpballs that Beck frequently throws. The biggest red flag last night was not the late pick six - it was a throw that Beck completed. Harrison scrambled under pressure, and at the last second found the tight end across the middle for a seven yard gain. However, the throw was against his body, off his back foot, and in the general vicinity of five defenders. If that extremely difficult pass floats, or is off just a little bit, it’s intercepted, with 50/50 odds of being returned deep into Wolfpack territory. Simply put, it was a major risk for a fairly small reward - and over time, those kind of decisions will bite you in the ass, hard. Russell Wilson knows how and when to throw the damned ball away.
Author Archive for BJD95
(The following entry was originally logged by BJD and then “piggybacked” with more from Jeff.)
* First, I don’t know squat about William & Mary. I assume this is a team that 99% of BCS opponents would beat easily, so we must have at least a 50/50 shot. Know something about the Tribe? Put it in the comments. UPDATE: Section Six has one of their great previews that provides some mathematical insight into the match-up (Thanks, Trip). Pack Pride has the good old SID released generic game notes. CFN seems pretty accurate with their prediction…except for the part about Jamelle Eugene playing as he is questionable and probably won’t be risked in a game with William & Mary.
With so many dark clouds looming on the football front, it would be nice to have a good basketball season to look forward to. Sadly, that’s not the case for us long-suffering Wolfpackers. But we can look forward anyway, as Ken Tysiac does this morning:
Courtney Fells, the easygoing senior who recently moved from shooting guard to small forward, impressed his teammates with his no-nonsense photo pose. Ben McCauley, Trevor Ferguson and Farnold Degand also were among the players who tagged along.
After a fractious 2007-08 season that saw the Wolfpack stumble to the No. 12 seed in the ACC Tournament and a 15-16 record, an exhibition trip to Canada could provide much-needed healing.
- It took less than a half for NC State to break Russell Wilson. No way, no how can we risk playing Mike Glennon this year. I don’t care if we have to play Bradley Pierson at QB. Tough question to ask yourselves - how could we justify putting Wilson’s baseball career at risk by letting him back under center with an OL like we have?
- In about 2.5 quarters of play, South Carolina’s starting QB threw 4 INTs and 0 TDs (with a YPA just over 4). He left the game ahead by 10 points.
I don’t care who wins or loses this game anymore. I just want confirmation that he can move his legs (Erin Andrews claims he was moving his feet). If you hear anything, please say so in the comments.
UPDATE: Andrews says they are calling it a concussion. More tests pending.
A great rivalry is renewed tonight, for all the nation to see in glorious high definition. That said, you are about to witness a major challenge - Tom O’Brien is bringing a knife to a gunfight (thank God he’s a Marine). But we’ll be watching and hoping anyway. Set your baseline appropriately - as long as we get everyone back to Raleigh alive and in one piece, that’s a positive after the week we’ve had.
Depressing fact for the day - South Carolina placed more players on The Sporting News’ pre-season all-SEC first team (4). That’s four more than NC State before everybody got hurt.
NC State is ranked #83. For the record, I think these rankings are incredibly biased against land grant universities, especially those that place heavy emphasis on science and engineering.
That said, NC State is more than 10 slots behind #71 Virginia Tech, and more than 20 slots lower than #61 Clemson. I consider these schools very comparable in geography and mission.
NOTE: We expanded the “Daily Update” blurb with additional analysis. This happens when two of us write an article at the same freaking time!
Tom O’Brien won’t publicly name a starter until he exchanges depth charts with Visor Boy this weekend. Harrison Beck will hold the clipboard as the #3 QB. Full article is here.
Redshirting Glennon is really the only option, given the state of the Pack’s OL. Glennon is likely the QB of the future, and there’s no reason to break him in what is likely to be a losing season. For the record, his mobility is not much better than Evans’, and he could use 10-15 more pounds of muscle before taking hits at this level.
Short version - NC State’s offense sucks, its defense sucks, its special teams suck, and its schedule is hard. The only positive mentioned is that Tom O’Brien is a really good coach, and should win COY if he gets this team to 6-6. Full writeup is here. I would like to disagree, but I really can’t.
One particularly notable observation:
But for now, in 2008, it’s about staying out of the league basement and finding the right players for 2009 and beyond.
Ben McCauley reinforces much of what SFN has said about last season, in a surprisingly candid interview with GoPack.com. There are several notable passages, but we’ll start with:
I have been here in Raleigh all summer, getting my body right. I have lost 10 to 12 pounds. Last year, I started the season a little heavy. So now I feel good. I had an ankle problem from something that happened in the Clemson game, but it is 100 percent now. I am really looking forward to the season.
Obviously, that’s great news. It was overshadowed by Costner’s lethargy, but Big Ben was clearly a step slower last season. Next:
Like a long-lost friend, football is back! The Panthers open their pre-season slate tonight, and many questions abound. Can our old friend Muhsin Muhammad fill the black hole that has been #2 WR ever since…Moose left the first time? Is Dwayne Jarrett a complete bust? Is Jeff Otah the last puzzle piece for the OL, or is he just an overrated stiff? Will Julius Peppers be Julius Peppers again? Can Godfrey fill a glaring void at safety? He sure as hell better, after the Panthers passed on DaJuan Morgan in the 3rd round to take him.
We previously analyzed the point guard position, the two guard slot, small forward, and power forward. Today, we wrap things up with the center position.
J.J. Hickson was frequently dominant in the low post. Unfortunately, none of the other players on the roster had played with this style of center, at least since high school (if at all). Once opponents figured out that Hickson must be stopped at all costs, triple teams soon followed. Hickson struggled at passing out of them, and the rest of the team struggled moving without the ball to take advantage of playing 4-on-2.
The Fort Mill Times (Fort Mill has a newspaper? Really?) has a nice write-up on former Wolfpack kicker Steven Hauschka. Stuck behind steady, strong-legged Ryan Longwell on the depth chart, it’s unlikely that he’ll be in a Viking uniform this year. Still, it sounds like he is at least getting notice in camp:
Longwell and special teams coordinator Paul Ferraro have helped Hauschka change his kicking style, with the biggest adjustment involving shortening his delivery and reducing the amount of time it takes him to get a field-goal attempt off.
Read the whole article here. From this excerpt, I can tell we’re going to like watching this guy lead the Pack in the fall…which we will be doing…since we told you earlier in the week that he will be starting for the Pack:
What gives Avent the confidence that his star pupil can develop into the next Brian Jordan is not only Wilson’s extraordinary athleticism, but his unrelenting work ethic. In the dead of winter bridging the end of football season and the beginning of baseball, Wilson regularly hit the weight room at 5 a.m. before heading off to class. If he was exhausted come class time, it didn’t show: Wilson posted an impressive 3.6 grade-point average his freshman year at NC State.
As we wait for football to heat up, it’s as good a time as any to analyze the coming basketball season. Over the next few weeks, we will analyze the logical rotation and depth chart, based on position. We analyzed the point guard position, the two guard slot, and small forward previously. Next is the Pack’s strongest position - power forward.
Last year, NC State boasted what looked to be a three-headed monster in the post. Brandon Costner and Ben McCauley had always been solid, and occasionally great in 2006-07. JJ Hickson was easily the most talented player on the team, with a work ethic to match. National publications rated the Pack’s frontcourt among the nation’s elite.
WRAL.com/99.9 FM has posted an audio interview with Rivals.com chief recruiting analyst, Jerry Meyer. Some more background and insight on the Pack’s latest two recruits as well as other recruits like John Wall and Derrick Favors.
This guy does not seem optimistic re Favors.
If Howell is truly a “warrior” down low, then we’re going to like him very much.
Meyer repeats these rumors that we discussed last week.
It’s just a small blurb from last week - Tom O’Brien discussing the five potential starters at QB. It’s not really an embarrassment of riches, as past performance or inexperience means that all candidates come with question marks.
But it’s really an academic discussion. Russell Wilson will start, and barring injury or extreme ineffectiveness, will do so all year. So - who do you think should be Wilson’s backup? I would bet on Justin Burke, but that’s a complete guess.
As we wait for football to heat up, it’s as good a time as any to analyze the coming basketball season. Over the next few weeks, we will analyze the logical rotation and depth chart, based on position. We analyzed the point guard position and the two guard slot previously. Next is the biggest wildcard for 2008-09 - small forward.
Remember when Chuck Amato’s initial “million dollar staff” was big news? Seems a bit modest in 2008 - see more info here.
LINK. He was looking at a lot more time than that, and we all wish him the best of luck as he tries to turn his life around.