ncsu1987:
I suspect the staff would say that they blitzed on X percent of plays and I’m sure X would sound high. I’ve not mapped the plays, but even if I did, I think that our defensive philosophy is fairly vanilla. I can’t remember a jailbreak blitz, edge blitz or zone blitz this year. I’m sure they’d say we’ve run them and it’s just my poor memory or inability to actually see the play.
I’m also sure they’d say that they couldn’t switch course mid season. This isn’t video game football and you can’t change course mid season. Lord knows we heard that enough from TOB and from HWSNBN. As much as Lowe was an epic failure, he was at least willing to try something different.
I’m sure the staff would say that they’re showing recruits how they want to play defense, and they’re going to recruit and build towards it. They did the same with the offense last year. I guess that’s valid because I’ve long argued it is better to take lumps early when there’s still blame to pass on the previous administration, particularly if it helps with recruiting. If you try to maximize wins early, it becomes harder to sell that change.
I’m also sure that the staff would say (and DD said it this week) that the cupboard was empty. I’m not arguing to the contrary, but I am concerned that the defense this year looks worse than it did last year. I’ve been schematically concerned about the offense since watching N. Illinois tape, but that is another discussion. I figured the defense would be more sound. That is concerning to me given this is year two and with each passing year there is more influence of the new staff.
I also think it is increasingly difficult to recruit in the face of poor performances. There will be a certain point where PT and a promise of things to come won’t really matter. The product on the field will be the product on the field. We saw this with TOB — where his best year of recruiting was his first.
I definitely think that 0 fer is starting take its toll. BC was important for that reason. Now the pressure will really be on against Syracuse.
Regardless, I don’t think any of it matters. DD is back for at least 2-3 more years. Our best path as fans is to rally behind the team, support them and hope for the best. I do expect to see staff changes though.
