This Edition of NC State Football Has Turned Into a Solid Team.
While the attention and much of the credit for NC State’s football renaissance in the past month rightfully goes to Russell Wilson, the simple truth of it is that this is a team that has come together and is working as one.
That’s not overlooking the massive contributions of Wilson’s play under center and his leadership. Ask any Marine and they’ll tell you a good platoon has a great leader – the guy who is calm under immense pressure, the guy who sets the example for others to follow and the guy who can see the situation as the battle unfolds and figure out a way to win. Wilson has all of those traits and more. It’s not false praise when comparisons between Wilson and Philip Rivers are made. Like the retired #17, Wilson gets the job done and sets the tone that his team follows.
Still, and Rusell Wilson might even tell you this himself, he can’t win games all on his own. He’s not on the football field when NC State’s defense is, for example. For their part, the defense have stepped up their play through hard work and smart study, and lately, that’s paid off. Consider Jeremy Gray, the Wolfpack defensive back’s comment about his own improved play in stopping passes:
During a 41-10 defeat of North Carolina, cornerback Jeremy Gray recognized what he called a “China Seven” route combination run by two Tar Heel receivers.
One receiver drew his attention with a 7-yard stop route so another Tar Heel could sneak behind Gray for a long pass on third-and-15. Gray wasn’t fooled and got back to deflect the pass away from Brooks Foster.
Seven weeks earlier, Boston College converted a similar route for a first down on a third-and-9.
“I just missed it,” Gray said. ” … That’s a makeable play, and I probably should have made it. [Now] we’re making the plays we need to make.”
Gray is one of many of the Wolfpack defensive players who have improved. Willie Young and Markus Kuhn have also improved, and the Wolfpack defensive front is no longer porous up the middle, and likely as not runs through it are stopped for short gains or losses. Additionally, with the improvement behind them, that same defensive front now has the critical extra second or two needed to end the play by sacking the quarterback.
Another area that has improved as the year progressed was the offensive line. In the beginning of the 2008 campaign, it was a major liability, and its ineffectiveness limited the Wolfpack’s offensive options because without them blasting open holes for running backs Andre Brown and Jamelle Eugene to slash through, the Pack was more of a one-dimensional offense and all too often found itself “off schedule” in terms of down and distance. Not so any more — the past month, Brown and Eugene have been able to run into the opposition defense’s second and even third levels regularly enough that coaches playing the Wolfpack have had to adjust their game planning to slow the NC State running game. In football, you have to give to get, and when the Wolfpack running game is countered, the passing game opens up. There again, the offensive line’s improvement has helped the entire team improve. They’ve given Russell Wilson a little more time in the pocket, and that gives the Wolfpack receivers a little more time to get open. Moreover, that’s also given Wilson escape routes when the pocket inevitably breaks down and he skeedaddles off on a run.
All together, this is an improved Wolfpack team that’s a lot better than their record. Even if they lose today against the University of Miami, it is a team that has a lot to be proud of and a lot to look forward to in 2009. While other teams generate the hype and the attention, the Wolfpack has quietly gone about its business and turned itself into a dangerous opponent that cannot be overlooked.
