OVERALL
Wake used a 4-2 turnover margin, 2 missed FG’s and a late goal line stand to beat a Boston College team that otherwise outplayed them. Do Clawson and Co have to make any apologies? Absolutely not. Close games are decided by turnovers. That’s football and that was the consistent theme of the threads leading up to the game.
Either Wake’s offense was horrible, or BCs defense was great. Or both. BC decisively won measures like # of first downs (18-5) and total yards (270-142). Wake’s offense had been averaging 4.25 plays of 20 or more yards in the last four games, but would manage only 2 against BC. In fact they managed only five plays of 10 or more yards.
Wake also had to overcome FIVE 15 yard penalties (all in the 2nd half). The 15-yard penalties – which could have been devastating – were: three unsportsmanlike conduct, one personal foul and one pass interference.
Other than the turnovers what stood out to me on defense was the solid tackling. I thought the tackling was poor against Indiana but solid since. It makes me wonder what was going on against IU.
WOLFORD AND THE PASSING GAME
The short, quick-hit passing attack that had some success against Florida State was largely missing against Boston College. Where Hinton managed to complete 27 passes against FSU, Wolford completed only 11 against Boston College. Some of this may be attributable to Wolford, but it likely has more to do with the coverage played by BC trying to take away what worked for Wake last weekend.
I think it is very easy to say Wolford doesn’t have time to throw. The reality is that he does have time to throw IF he can get the ball out quick. There is more time to throw than last year. The challenge for both Coach Ruggiero AND the receivers against defenses that can generate a lot of pressure will be to find ways to give the QBs options for quick hitting plays. Then it’s up to QBs to get the ball out.
I don’t like the jump passes that Wolford started turning to in the 2nd half. Unless you are Aaron Rodgers it seems unlikely that good things are going to come from having your QB throw with both feet in the air.
Part of your evaluation of Wolford’s performance likely depends on how much of the blame you assign to him for the 2Q interception and what you think about the ball that was thrown up for grabs in the 4th quarter. While there was obviously a pass deflection involved, I think the INT was caused by Wolford trying to force the ball to Serigne when the opening wasn’t really there. I’m sure that the play where he threw the ball up for grabs in the middle of the field to avoid a sack reminded many of you of the pick-6s that Wolford has thrown. It looked like it could have been disastrous, but it is hard to be too judgmental without knowing exactly what he was seeing when he let the ball go.
RUNNING BACKS
Not a good day for the running backs or the running game in general. The running backs carried the ball 20 times with only 6 of those carries (30%) going for 3 yards or more. Two very discouraging stats: 1) Tyler Bell ran the ball 6 times for a total of NEGATIVE 11 yards and 2) the RBs were stopped behind the line of scrimmage EIGHT times (that’s 40% of the times that they touched the ball).
OFFENSIVE LINE
To be honest I thought the pass protection looked better during the replay than what I expected. They gave up pressure but in all but a couple of cases the pressure came from 5/6 man rushes or well-executed stunting that BC did on some 4 man blitzes. These are areas that the OL will need to continue to improve on now that they are better are handling standard 3 and 4-man rushes.
The miscue that almost cost Wake the game came late in the 4Q when Justin Herron was beaten inside by a DL that disrupted a Colburn run. Colburn ended up getting bounced around and ultimately fumbled.
Here is my very unofficial negative play count for the game:
Phil Haynes (5) – 1Q allowed defender to blow up the unusual formation where everyone was split wide, 2Q allowed defender to get in the backfield for a TFL on Bell, 3Q beaten inside leading to a tackle for loss on Tyler Bell, 3Q false start penalty, 3Q beaten by DL for pass deflection
Ryan Anderson (3) – 2Q gave up a pass pressure, 3Q beaten for a sack, 3Q beaten by DL for pass deflection
Justin Herron (3) – 3Q allowed QB hit, 3Q holding penalty after being beaten on an outside rush. 4Q beaten inside on Colburn run
Ty Hayworth (2) – 2Q allowed pressure when he failed to pick up stunting DT, 3Q beaten when he wasn’t able to move laterally quick enough on a blitz
Josh Harris (1) – 3Q was easily shoved to the ground by the opposing DL
I’m on board with everyone else that is saying that the OL is significantly improved, but still below average. I’m definitely not embarrassed by this group anymore, and I think they will continue to make progress this year.
DEFENSIVE LINE
Without question this was the best performance by the DL this season. More pressure on the QB. More disruption of running plays. It started right from the first play from scrimmage when Josh Banks was able to get through and hit the QB’s arm as he was throwing. Overall I thought the most impressive individual play was Duke Ejiofor’s 2Q sack. He easily shed his blocker and made the most impressive pass rush play that I’ve seen from a Wake DL this year. The most important plays were the forced fumble late in the 4Q that was credited to Wendell Dunn and the run stop with :25 seconds left.
Here are the official stats compared to an average from the FSU, Indiana and Syracuse games:
FSU/IND/SYR average: 3 solo tackles, 0.5 sacks, 0.2 tackles for loss, 0 forced fumbles, 0.7 QB hits
BC game totals: 11 solo tackles, 1 sack, 1 tackle for loss, 1 forced fumble, 1 QB hit
Here is a very unofficial tally of positive plays from the DL:
Wendell Dunn (4) – 1Q tackle for loss, 3Q strong play in run support, 4Q pass pressure, 4Q forced fumble
Zeek Rodney (2+) – Two pass pressures in the second quarter, plus extra credit for playing what looked to me like a lot of snaps down in the trenches.
Josh Banks (2) – 1Q QB hit, 4Q pass pressure
Duke Ejiofor (2) – 2Q sack, 4Q pass pressure (he also JUST missed a TFL in 1Q)
Chris Stewart (2) – 2Q pass pressure, 3Q penetration disrupted run
Playing time note: Sheldon Lewinson has entered the rotation. I didn’t see Willie Yarbary all game. I’m not sure if that is injury or performance-related.
LINEBACKERS
I don’t post about the LB’s often because they are just consistently excellent. Not much of an observation to make. But Brandon Chubb – who sometimes gets overshadowed by the flashier Marquel Lee – was the player of the game on Saturday. He’s so solid all-around. I’ve noticed that they even line him up as an outside pass rusher occasionally on third down. If you have time go to the 4:29 mark of the 4th Q and watch him demolish a RB that tried to pick him up in pass protection.
Lee got a good hit on the QB in the 4Q when he shot through a gap. Jaboree Williams and Grant Dawson – who typically enter the game together – saw meaningful snaps in an effort to keep Lee and Chubb fresh. Jaboree had at least one good play, and you don’t see a drop off in the defense overall when those two enter the game.
THE DECISIVE FINAL RUN STOP
Boston College had 1st and goal from the 1 with :25 left on the clock. Wake had base personnel with the exception of a 3rd LB (Williams) instead of a DB. The D-Line was Dunn, Banks, Rodney and Stewart. At the snap it was Chris Stewart who shot the gap and I believe disrupted the play by getting an arm on the RB behind the line of scrimmage. The BC RB then met a swarm of Wake defenders including Williams and Brandon Chubb. Huge play. Full credit to all the players on the field for having the awareness to take their time getting back to the line of scrimmage after the play was over.
CORNERBACKS
I know there is some discussion of weaknesses that Wake has at the corner position. Don’t lump Watson and Gaulden together. I think Watson has been playing well in coverage. He had a great pass backup in the 4Q and has had several of those this season. Unfortunately, Watson was the victim of some questionable calls by the officials on Saturday (the late hit out of bounds when Watson was pushed into the BC player and a pass interference call that left the announcers wondering where the contact was). Watson has been inconsistent in run support (he was part of the 94 yarder against FSU) but looks like a willing tackler and made a nice play in the 4Q in run support.
It would like to see both corners turn their heads towards the pass more consistently.
SAFETIES
I’m eager to see the snap count. It looked to me like Thomas Brown saw some meaningful snaps on first and second down in addition to the third down role he has occupied lately. I thought Brown had three impact plays: 1) 1Q - forced the QB to thrown the ball away when he blitzed up the middle, 2) 1Q run pursuit on a key third down play and 3) 3Q QB pressure that forced BC’s QB to throw the ball out of bounds.
The trend with Zach Dancel seems to be that he does his best work at or behind the line of scrimmage. He forced the fumble in the third quarter with a classic “hat on football” play and then came back on the next series with a great sideline pursuit that ended in a tackle for loss. He added another good sideline pursuit in 4Q.
Cameron Glenn’s 2Q INT was obviously a right place/right time moment, but how many of those have we failed to convert this season? A nice job for the ascending Glenn in securing the ball to break the “no turnover” streak.
SPECIAL TEAMS
It’s time to start questioning how solid our special teams are (obviously outside of Kinal and maybe Weaver too). Against FSU there was a long kickoff return and two sloppy penalties. Against BC’s poor special teams Wake gave up a 41 yard kickoff return and a 19 yard punt return. Then there was the Hines punt return at the end of the game.
OTHER NOTES
I watched the 3Q fumble by the BC QB several times and can’t really figure out what was going on. Was he really trying to pitch the ball with three Wake defenders around him? If so, it was a truly boneheaded play. Reminiscent of some of the Tanner Price plays when we first tried to have him run the option.
Wake used a 4-2 turnover margin, 2 missed FG’s and a late goal line stand to beat a Boston College team that otherwise outplayed them. Do Clawson and Co have to make any apologies? Absolutely not. Close games are decided by turnovers. That’s football and that was the consistent theme of the threads leading up to the game.
Either Wake’s offense was horrible, or BCs defense was great. Or both. BC decisively won measures like # of first downs (18-5) and total yards (270-142). Wake’s offense had been averaging 4.25 plays of 20 or more yards in the last four games, but would manage only 2 against BC. In fact they managed only five plays of 10 or more yards.
Wake also had to overcome FIVE 15 yard penalties (all in the 2nd half). The 15-yard penalties – which could have been devastating – were: three unsportsmanlike conduct, one personal foul and one pass interference.
Other than the turnovers what stood out to me on defense was the solid tackling. I thought the tackling was poor against Indiana but solid since. It makes me wonder what was going on against IU.
WOLFORD AND THE PASSING GAME
The short, quick-hit passing attack that had some success against Florida State was largely missing against Boston College. Where Hinton managed to complete 27 passes against FSU, Wolford completed only 11 against Boston College. Some of this may be attributable to Wolford, but it likely has more to do with the coverage played by BC trying to take away what worked for Wake last weekend.
I think it is very easy to say Wolford doesn’t have time to throw. The reality is that he does have time to throw IF he can get the ball out quick. There is more time to throw than last year. The challenge for both Coach Ruggiero AND the receivers against defenses that can generate a lot of pressure will be to find ways to give the QBs options for quick hitting plays. Then it’s up to QBs to get the ball out.
I don’t like the jump passes that Wolford started turning to in the 2nd half. Unless you are Aaron Rodgers it seems unlikely that good things are going to come from having your QB throw with both feet in the air.
Part of your evaluation of Wolford’s performance likely depends on how much of the blame you assign to him for the 2Q interception and what you think about the ball that was thrown up for grabs in the 4th quarter. While there was obviously a pass deflection involved, I think the INT was caused by Wolford trying to force the ball to Serigne when the opening wasn’t really there. I’m sure that the play where he threw the ball up for grabs in the middle of the field to avoid a sack reminded many of you of the pick-6s that Wolford has thrown. It looked like it could have been disastrous, but it is hard to be too judgmental without knowing exactly what he was seeing when he let the ball go.
RUNNING BACKS
Not a good day for the running backs or the running game in general. The running backs carried the ball 20 times with only 6 of those carries (30%) going for 3 yards or more. Two very discouraging stats: 1) Tyler Bell ran the ball 6 times for a total of NEGATIVE 11 yards and 2) the RBs were stopped behind the line of scrimmage EIGHT times (that’s 40% of the times that they touched the ball).
OFFENSIVE LINE
To be honest I thought the pass protection looked better during the replay than what I expected. They gave up pressure but in all but a couple of cases the pressure came from 5/6 man rushes or well-executed stunting that BC did on some 4 man blitzes. These are areas that the OL will need to continue to improve on now that they are better are handling standard 3 and 4-man rushes.
The miscue that almost cost Wake the game came late in the 4Q when Justin Herron was beaten inside by a DL that disrupted a Colburn run. Colburn ended up getting bounced around and ultimately fumbled.
Here is my very unofficial negative play count for the game:
Phil Haynes (5) – 1Q allowed defender to blow up the unusual formation where everyone was split wide, 2Q allowed defender to get in the backfield for a TFL on Bell, 3Q beaten inside leading to a tackle for loss on Tyler Bell, 3Q false start penalty, 3Q beaten by DL for pass deflection
Ryan Anderson (3) – 2Q gave up a pass pressure, 3Q beaten for a sack, 3Q beaten by DL for pass deflection
Justin Herron (3) – 3Q allowed QB hit, 3Q holding penalty after being beaten on an outside rush. 4Q beaten inside on Colburn run
Ty Hayworth (2) – 2Q allowed pressure when he failed to pick up stunting DT, 3Q beaten when he wasn’t able to move laterally quick enough on a blitz
Josh Harris (1) – 3Q was easily shoved to the ground by the opposing DL
I’m on board with everyone else that is saying that the OL is significantly improved, but still below average. I’m definitely not embarrassed by this group anymore, and I think they will continue to make progress this year.
DEFENSIVE LINE
Without question this was the best performance by the DL this season. More pressure on the QB. More disruption of running plays. It started right from the first play from scrimmage when Josh Banks was able to get through and hit the QB’s arm as he was throwing. Overall I thought the most impressive individual play was Duke Ejiofor’s 2Q sack. He easily shed his blocker and made the most impressive pass rush play that I’ve seen from a Wake DL this year. The most important plays were the forced fumble late in the 4Q that was credited to Wendell Dunn and the run stop with :25 seconds left.
Here are the official stats compared to an average from the FSU, Indiana and Syracuse games:
FSU/IND/SYR average: 3 solo tackles, 0.5 sacks, 0.2 tackles for loss, 0 forced fumbles, 0.7 QB hits
BC game totals: 11 solo tackles, 1 sack, 1 tackle for loss, 1 forced fumble, 1 QB hit
Here is a very unofficial tally of positive plays from the DL:
Wendell Dunn (4) – 1Q tackle for loss, 3Q strong play in run support, 4Q pass pressure, 4Q forced fumble
Zeek Rodney (2+) – Two pass pressures in the second quarter, plus extra credit for playing what looked to me like a lot of snaps down in the trenches.
Josh Banks (2) – 1Q QB hit, 4Q pass pressure
Duke Ejiofor (2) – 2Q sack, 4Q pass pressure (he also JUST missed a TFL in 1Q)
Chris Stewart (2) – 2Q pass pressure, 3Q penetration disrupted run
Playing time note: Sheldon Lewinson has entered the rotation. I didn’t see Willie Yarbary all game. I’m not sure if that is injury or performance-related.
LINEBACKERS
I don’t post about the LB’s often because they are just consistently excellent. Not much of an observation to make. But Brandon Chubb – who sometimes gets overshadowed by the flashier Marquel Lee – was the player of the game on Saturday. He’s so solid all-around. I’ve noticed that they even line him up as an outside pass rusher occasionally on third down. If you have time go to the 4:29 mark of the 4th Q and watch him demolish a RB that tried to pick him up in pass protection.
Lee got a good hit on the QB in the 4Q when he shot through a gap. Jaboree Williams and Grant Dawson – who typically enter the game together – saw meaningful snaps in an effort to keep Lee and Chubb fresh. Jaboree had at least one good play, and you don’t see a drop off in the defense overall when those two enter the game.
THE DECISIVE FINAL RUN STOP
Boston College had 1st and goal from the 1 with :25 left on the clock. Wake had base personnel with the exception of a 3rd LB (Williams) instead of a DB. The D-Line was Dunn, Banks, Rodney and Stewart. At the snap it was Chris Stewart who shot the gap and I believe disrupted the play by getting an arm on the RB behind the line of scrimmage. The BC RB then met a swarm of Wake defenders including Williams and Brandon Chubb. Huge play. Full credit to all the players on the field for having the awareness to take their time getting back to the line of scrimmage after the play was over.
CORNERBACKS
I know there is some discussion of weaknesses that Wake has at the corner position. Don’t lump Watson and Gaulden together. I think Watson has been playing well in coverage. He had a great pass backup in the 4Q and has had several of those this season. Unfortunately, Watson was the victim of some questionable calls by the officials on Saturday (the late hit out of bounds when Watson was pushed into the BC player and a pass interference call that left the announcers wondering where the contact was). Watson has been inconsistent in run support (he was part of the 94 yarder against FSU) but looks like a willing tackler and made a nice play in the 4Q in run support.
It would like to see both corners turn their heads towards the pass more consistently.
SAFETIES
I’m eager to see the snap count. It looked to me like Thomas Brown saw some meaningful snaps on first and second down in addition to the third down role he has occupied lately. I thought Brown had three impact plays: 1) 1Q - forced the QB to thrown the ball away when he blitzed up the middle, 2) 1Q run pursuit on a key third down play and 3) 3Q QB pressure that forced BC’s QB to throw the ball out of bounds.
The trend with Zach Dancel seems to be that he does his best work at or behind the line of scrimmage. He forced the fumble in the third quarter with a classic “hat on football” play and then came back on the next series with a great sideline pursuit that ended in a tackle for loss. He added another good sideline pursuit in 4Q.
Cameron Glenn’s 2Q INT was obviously a right place/right time moment, but how many of those have we failed to convert this season? A nice job for the ascending Glenn in securing the ball to break the “no turnover” streak.
SPECIAL TEAMS
It’s time to start questioning how solid our special teams are (obviously outside of Kinal and maybe Weaver too). Against FSU there was a long kickoff return and two sloppy penalties. Against BC’s poor special teams Wake gave up a 41 yard kickoff return and a 19 yard punt return. Then there was the Hines punt return at the end of the game.
OTHER NOTES
I watched the 3Q fumble by the BC QB several times and can’t really figure out what was going on. Was he really trying to pitch the ball with three Wake defenders around him? If so, it was a truly boneheaded play. Reminiscent of some of the Tanner Price plays when we first tried to have him run the option.
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