Brief Synopsis of the Sucking

– 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.

– Daniel Evans still loves to throw off his back foot. John Elway could get away with that. Connect the dots.

– NC State was in field goal position exactly once (badly missed 49-yard attempt).

– NC State’s offensive line is perhaps the worst unit in Division I. Jake Vermiglio must have pissed in TOB’s coffee mug to be stuck behind this collection of stiffs.

– Harrison Beck has apparently signed up for the Brandon Costner off-season conditioning program.

– My proposed gameplan? Start Beck, and either run or throw a Hail Mary on every play. Maybe we’ll accidentally score a few times, and will at least control field position better.

– On our last 2 drives, NC State did not attempt a pass. And I was very glad that we didn’t.

– If you have hope for the season after tonight, you need psychiatric care.

About BJD95

1995 NC State graduate, sufferer of Les and MOC during my entire student tenure. An equal-opportunity objective critic and analyst of Wolfpack sports.

'08 Football

95 Responses to Brief Synopsis of the Sucking

  1. shelbypackfan 08/29/2008 at 12:08 AM #

    Speaking of Jake Vermigilo…..did anyone see Andy Barbee (the few plays he got) at center…..damn….how in the hell did Larsen get back in…..Barbee looked great!!!! Maybe we don’t need true linemen playing the line.

  2. Ismael 08/29/2008 at 12:22 AM #

    Barbee had something going on with his knee or he had cramps…the flavor-of-the-day-espn-bimbo didn’t think it important enough to talk about i guess. But he went off the field fine, just had to be helped, i think it was cramps. DeAndre got cramps too, last i heard, it wasn’t an injury.

    Barbee looks like he’s got a sam’s club junkfood membership though.

    When Beck came in the game, the ESPN announcers were like “woah, look at all that meat…”

    Who was that Jesse Palmer guy, did anyone else see his 6 inch clip on tie??? I was LMAO

  3. MatSci94 08/29/2008 at 12:28 AM #

    Palmer was a QB at Florida under Spurrier.

  4. inhoc... 08/29/2008 at 2:20 AM #

    “- On our last 2 drives, NC State did not attempt a pass. And I was very glad that we didn’t.”
    i was pretty sure that i saw beck throw 3 incomplete passes on the last drive. not that it matters. ha maybe those last three passes where my mind gave up and started wishing i had secret service to escort me out of williams brice. some of those fans are nuts….
    well last two games 37-0 34-0. thats f-ing great boys, way to lay an egg…

  5. inhoc... 08/29/2008 at 2:25 AM #

    i hate to be that guy who critiques the coaches, but i can think of several third and short opportunities where we would line up in shot gun (snap results in turnover on one occasion and an int on the other) and try two throw the ball when we were pounding out 4 and 5 yards a pop on the ground. why the hell couldnt we just stick to the simple one dimension that we were surviving with. i hate being one dimensional so much, but in this one case why couldnt we just keep pounding it until they stopped. it just seemed to me like they refused to run the ball on the ground on third and short. i understand that evans needs time back there and the shot gun allows for some extra time but geez…..any ideas???

  6. wolfpacker 08/29/2008 at 2:40 AM #

    I must say…unfortunately Daniel Evans is the son of one of our own…However, there is not a question that if this kid wasn’t Johnny’s son, he wouldn’t be playing Division 1 football at all. I doubt he’d be playing football…period!

    I am absolutely baffled that he was even considered as a starter…obviously they don’t run a defense during practice…because…he would be getting picked there too…unless they are told to take it easy on him…Statistically, he’s got to be one of the worst QB’s we’ve ever had.

    The offense doesn’t have a leader and it’s scary…the offense is weak and we learned tonight that this South Carolina team (which isn’t great) made us look like a cupcake and we will be lucky if we win a game all year…at this point I just hope we score a point…the defense looked good early on…but fell apart…the offense doesn’t have a chance

  7. shelbypackfan 08/29/2008 at 5:01 AM #

    Ismael, sorry I didnt make myself clear. Barbee was in the game in the first hslf as well….Barbee and Vermiglio were in for about 5 plays right before Wilson got hit and we were finally driving the ball into Cock territory. FUNNY WHAT OFFENSIVE LINEMEN CAN DO. With those two and the addition of Crouch that line would have had to have been better.

  8. papackman 08/29/2008 at 5:24 AM #

    Paul Johnson had an impressive opener. Granted J-State is no USC but the Jackets did score 41 pts. Looks like this season will be more of the same. TOB was looking for a pot of gold before retirement. The end of his rainbow was NC State!!

  9. Wolf Dog 08/29/2008 at 6:14 AM #

    Evans looked terrible, winging floaters off his back foot. Defense played three good quarters but wore down/ quit playing in fourth. Beck looked like Pilsbury Dough Boy. Anthony Hill had no impact on the game. Brown ran good but still looked a little tentative at times and still does not look as good as he did 2-3 years ago. Our receivers didn’t fight for the ball, dropped passes etc. Amazing the O line did give our backs some roon to run and SC was playing the run. 20 yards passing in first half says it all. I hope Wilson returns soon, he truely is our best option at QB and we can only hope he grows into the roll.

  10. Wulfpack 08/29/2008 at 6:31 AM #

    First: It goes without saying, but I wish nothing but the best for Wilson.

    I was proud of the way we hung in there for three quarters in a hostile environment. When your offense couldn’t score on a JV team if it tried, it tends to make things a little difficult. Hats off to the defense. We look to be much improved there.

    However, our offense is putrid, and it is putrid in every way. I don’t even know where to start, so I won’t. USC had four turnovers and we didn’t score a point? Not good.

    Lastly, what in the hell was TOB thinking throwing Evans in there on the third possession of the game? Had Wilson not won the starting job? Having played the game, as well as the position, it would seem to me that a coach would know a player, a freshman player at that, needs some time and reps to get into the game. I don’t care if he threw two picks on the opening drives, Wilson needed to be in there. If Wilson is able to come back, which I have mixed feelings about considering the safety issue, I sure as hell hope he doesn’t play this card again.

  11. Sw0rdf1sh 08/29/2008 at 6:43 AM #

    You risk Wilson’s baseball career because he is on Football scholarship and is our best option to win.

    We need our offense to find a groove. The running game did not look to bad, but we have to be able to pass the ball.

    Our defense looked solid until the fourth quarter, and obviously when you are on the field all night it is understandable to be exhausted.

  12. Noah 08/29/2008 at 6:46 AM #

    Honestly…I don’t think we win more than one game this year. Winning one will require a pretty strong degree of luck.

  13. blpack 08/29/2008 at 6:48 AM #

    I hope RW is ok and comes back soon. We knew TOB might pull RW out a series just to give him a look at the D from the sidelines. We need more weapons on O, but more importantly the O-line needs help. They had a lot of trouble pass blocking and got overwhelmed by blitzes. I think the coaches are looking for 5 good men up front. Still looking after game one. They’ll get it straight.

  14. Astral Rain 08/29/2008 at 6:55 AM #

    I still think Duke and William and Mary should be wins.

    How many OL freshmen are redshirted?

  15. Pack92 08/29/2008 at 7:03 AM #

    The D looked better than I thought. Our D line and linebackers did a great job for 3 qtrs.
    The drive RW was hurt on was going pretty well. The running game was clicking and I was waiting for A. Hill to catch one on the backside of their linebackers for a big gain. I still don’t have much of a feel for RW passing but he would have made a difference had he stayed in the game.
    How in the world did Daniel Evans EVER get a D-1 scholarship to NC State? My 7 yr old daughter has a stronger arm and her decision making couldn’t be any worse. Without RW Noah’s prediction for wins might be generous.

  16. graywolf 08/29/2008 at 7:09 AM #

    I said from the get go that the entire season hung on the OL. If a RB or QB is running for their life its hard to get the job done. I think that last night answered the questions regarding our OL……poor is an overstatement.

    Redshirt every freshman just like Wake and continue that process….look what it did for the Deacons.

  17. BJD95 08/29/2008 at 7:14 AM #

    I have to think we can still beat W&M. The alternative is just unthinkable.

  18. haze 08/29/2008 at 7:18 AM #

    Wow. I really hate that the USC fans got to go home feeling good. They were horrible last night.

    As for our guys, it was bad but not “1-win season” bad.

    The D was solid, particularly on the line. Yes, they are shallow and, yes, they fatigued badly in the fourth but they are a competent bunch. Irving and Young were both excellent. I really hope that Morgan is OK b/c starting a converted walk-on at CBis more than a little scary, no offense Koyal. My biggest complaint was on 3rd and medium-to-long. USC only converted 5 3rd downs but I’ll bet 3-4 of them were 3rd & 6-12. Need to step up there.

    On O, goodness, what can you say? Wilson was OK during his brief appearance. He was willing to chuck it OOB when needed, which is a good thing. He’s got feet but I don’t get the sense that he’s the next coming of Randle-El. He also looked really small out there. Seems that he wasn’t hurt too badly. I hope he can get back for Clemson.

    After Wilson, you really just have AB and the OL, which did a solid job run blocking. Nice to see Andre sticking it up inside and not dancing too much. He looked strong. OL wasn’t nearly as solid on pass protection or on slow-developing stuff. Seems they can get to their spots but not hold blocks for too long. Bedics & Larson had that “I got the start b/c I sacrificed for the team” feel. Vermiglio was in early and stuck. Obviously, Larson’s snapping is a problem, maybe less so with Wilson back there but still a problem. Hill is back but he looked rusty in his limited ops in the passing game; strong but stiff.

    I don’t know how to read the WR’s b/c they never had much of a chance to show anything. Graham didn’t make that big catch (short throw, admittedly) but he was on the field a lot. You have to think that the coaches really like him.

    Pierson’s punts and KO’s were surprisingly strong. That going to be OK. Josh had a tough chance and missed, not much to say on that.

    Overall, we have something to build on once Wilson is back. Until he gets back, our passing game is a steaming pile and our running game will suffer as we become entirely one-dimensional. Evans has gone off even the mediocre rails that he laid down last year. He looked like a HS Jr out there; weak, slow, scared and, er, not smart. Beck didn’t have any chance but, seriously, who’s happy with him back there? Who’d of thought that we’d miss having Burke available already?

    All in all, about what we might have thought going into the game. Bad offense. Serviceable defense. So-so kicking game. A key injury. At least TOB has something to work on this week.

  19. vtpackfan 08/29/2008 at 8:02 AM #

    So by saying it’s a Synopsis you are just putting in a word here to invite folks to vent. You don’t actually expect the hordes of people who are obviously coming from message board sites to offer much of anything.

    A year or so back before the volume increased we had a majority of viewers read the title, think about it, read the comments others had made, think about it, and then comment. Not so anymore.

    Can I honestly read more comments about how USC is not a very good team? Does anyone here believe that their players on defense aren’t very good? Do you think NFL teams will pass on alot of these guys when the time coes up? If you don’t think that defense wasn’t a fine collection of studs then you can’t tell me that you thought the collection we had 3 years ago was very good.

  20. Noah 08/29/2008 at 8:12 AM #

    I think South Carolina is a very average SEC team.

  21. ChiefJoJo 08/29/2008 at 8:12 AM #

    Having gone into this game with little to no expectations, I’m actually not that upset with the performance, considering everything that has transpired the last 2 weeks.

    Look, we were not a very talented nor deep team to start with, and you loose your best WR, RB, 2 safeties, OG, and backup RB *before* the game and to top it off you lose your starting QB (who the O was built around) in the 2nd qtr and what do you expect?

    While Russell wasn’t lighting it up, you could see the potential there, and he clearly has the ability to rack up a few yards on read options and/or scrambles, and he was leading us down the field when he got nailed. We all knew Evans wasn’t the answer, and he confirmed that yet again last night. No big surprise.

    The defense was ready to make it a game had Wilson not gone down. They showed some real brights spots, playing stout up front, and intercepting anything that was in the neighborhood. Nate Irving is a stud! Cash and Holmes are tough, and Young got in the backfield a few times. Bottom line, they wore down and I don’t fault them for the offense’s ineptitude.

    Incidentially, I don’t fault SC for hitting hard (Gray’s and Neal’s hits were hard and high too), but I do think roughing could have been called once or twice, as ESPN mentioned.

    Bad:
    * If Wilson remains out, we are screwed (get well Russell!)
    * OL is still a huge problem (Crouch?)
    * Passing game (Hill?) was a complete non-factor
    * Zero offensive playmakers
    * Too many mistakes

    Bright spots:
    * Defense is solid, but needs some rest
    * Nate Irving is All-ACC caliber at LB
    * Brown looked more physical than years past
    * OL run blocking was decent
    * Wilson showed some potential
    * SC might be the best defense we see all year

  22. Ismael 08/29/2008 at 8:14 AM #

    inhoc – I’m not saying we can NOT criticize coaching decisions, but its a little unfair to criticize the two plays – the INT and the shotgun snap.

    Getting 4-5 yds/carry on 1st and 2nd down with a D whose playing 6 to 8 in the box is a coach’s dream because that means the D will likely bite on play-action on third down, or at least be expecting run – it just came down to the shotgun snap not being executed and then…well…DE happened. If the two worst possible scenarios didn’t happen on those plays at best you may get a first down or a big gain and normally the worst is that you punt.

    BTW, Pierson’s avg was 42.7 – that’s actually pretty good and the last punt must have been close to 55 yards with a ridiculous hang time.

    RW didn’t pass much, but there was 1-pass the ESPN announcers were pretty impressed with which was the one where he threw it to AntHill on his inside shoulder which was the ONLY place you could throw it to. It was rifled in there and was a thing of beauty.

    DE – i was actually surprised but…DE had the same look in his eyes when he started against Central Florida last year…like a little kid who can’t find his mom in the mall. Maybe its just me, but i look at QB’s eyes.

  23. newt 08/29/2008 at 8:21 AM #

    Ditto ChiefJoJo + add that Pierson did a pretty good job kicking.

  24. tcthdi-tgsf-twhwtnc 08/29/2008 at 8:23 AM #

    I understand the desire for things to turn around but when the AD allows coaches to completely dismantle the football AND basketball programs we must understand it will take several years just to get back to the sucking stage.

    I think it is fair to say you can turn around a basketball program much faster than football.

    Chuck and Herb left the programs in shambles and we now have to sit back and give the new guys a chance to turn things around.

  25. Wulfpack 08/29/2008 at 8:23 AM #

    SC will undoubtedly finish behind Florida, UGA, and Tennessee in the brutal SEC East. This does not mean they are not a good team, but it does mean they are nowhere close to an elite team. Their defense is stout. Their offense is abysmal. A Spurrier-coached team without a quarterback that can throw the ball just doesn’t work. They will lose more than they will win in the SEC.

    Because we play in the ACC, we should be ok to get a couple of wins. Based on last night’s performance, I think we’d be fortunate to win three league games.

Leave a Reply