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Tuesday Practice Report (Plus Scrimmage Notes)

the_Oracle

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First of all, my apologies for the lateness of this post. I know this information is a bit dated now.

Scrimmage Notes
The scrimmage on Saturday was rather uneventful. They ran somewhere around 10-15 series I'd guess. Not a single point was scored (offense got in field goal range a couple times, but Jimmy Newman is not kicking right now). Closest we got to seeing a score was on an interception return. If I remember correctly, it was AJ Marshall that took the pass back to about the 5 yard line (ended up getting tackled along the sideline by Steve Chase. Brendan Cross was forced to roll out to his left, and there was only one receiver on that side. I think the whole defense knew where the ball was going; AJ broke on the ball in plenty of time. Unfortunately I think Brendan is still causing himself trouble by trying too hard. Just seems desperate to make plays, and ends up forcing the ball in situations where he needs to just tuck it and run or throw it away. Harris and BP each had a couple nice runs, but overall, the offense was shut down. Not having Camp out there made a huge difference. Scooby is definitely not ready for that role. Givens had a few catches, and Quan also played well. Again though, overall, it was domination by the defense.

Depth Chart Update
Probably the most talked about (complained about?) unit last year was the secondary, as it seemed opposing QBs could do whatever they wanted against our pass defense. Returning every contributor besides Alex Frye, I think most would agree that the secondary will be better this season. The question is, how much? Here's the current rep rotation:

Cornerback:
1s: KJ, Okoro
2s: AJ, Bud
Will be a factor: Tate

Safeties:
1s: Quarles, Bush
2s: Mack, Cooper
Will be a factor: Lowe

Tuesday Practice Notes
-Someone asked me the other day: who is my favorite player to watch during practice? I didn't have to think too hard before I said Nikita. Just like pretty much every single practice this spring, Nikita literally could not be stopped. Got to the quarterback dummy in 1 on 1s every single rep (and he typically matches up against the top center, Williams). When the lineman get in their stance, Lobo--standing behind the dlineman so only the offensive player can see him--holds up one or two fingers to indicate the snap count and keep the defense honest. On Tuesday he gave Williams the rare three finger count, in an special attempt to catch Nikita off guard. Somehow Nikita was ready for it, timed the snap perfectly, and got by Williams in under a second. He is just incredible to watch. Lobo was shocked after that rep.
-Amazement towards Nikita eventually became frustration toward his line. Lobo was unusually negative; justifiably so in my opinion. Outside of Looney (who is still perfect this spring on 1 on 1s by my unofficial count), most of the line looks shaky. The defense is really dominating in the trenches. Godfrey and Weaver have been alright, but that's about it. We really need someone to step up at RG. Second string O-line looks completely overmatched. I don't expect Bolling or Irby to start, but we really need them to get healthy so we have some quality depth.
-On the flipside of course, it's easy to get excited about our pass rush right now. Dorty and Zach Thompson were excellent again on Tuesday.
-Very first play of team drills was a sack by Okoro where he came in untouched off the edge (and by sack I mean that he touched Tanner. No tackling yet. Especially the QBs).
-Offense recovered from that embarrassment though, and actually scored a couple times finally. Terence Davis caught a jump ball for a score, and Matt James made a similar play at the end of practice. Both were from Tanner, who looked sharp. Before you get too excited, I wouldn't expect James to make a huge impact this season. His hands have been very shaky. Galloway has been all over him; I think he sees a lot of untapped potential.
-Running game was not very explosive with Josh Harris out.
-Camp was a beast as usual. Looks to me like he is going to be Wes Welker-lite. Besides the obvious that he's a short, fast, slot receiver, he's got a similar ability to find holes in the defense, he's not afraid to go over the middle, and he catches absolutely everything he can get his hands on. If he can stay healthy (which is a big if considering how often his body is exposed to LBs when he goes over the middle) I don't think Devon Brown's name will come up very much this fall.

Thoughts on the Grobe Comments
I know there is already another thread on this but I think it'd be easier if I just gave my quick take here. I was not the least bit surprised by his comments. We have an incredible number of players not practicing right now, and his point that some guys enjoy watching practice is absolutely true. Most notably, we had 2 available TEs for the scrimmage on Saturday. Roughly half of the DL is not practicing. I think most would agree that that is unacceptable. While most of our players understand that availability is a vital asset, there are a few that are trying to skate by doing as little as possible, in my opinion. Grobe was being quite honest and candid; I've got no problem with that.

Next practice is Thursday at 4:30 at the practice facility. Report should be up by Friday.
 
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Great report. Again thanks for telling us the good, the bad, and the ugly from practice.
 
While most of our players understand that availability is a vital asset, there are a few that are trying to skate by doing as little as possible, in my opinion. Grobe was being quite honest and candid; I've got no problem with that.

It's a shame that we recruited so many slackers and pussies. Is this an indication of a lack of leadership from the captains as well?
 
I'm really nervous about our O-line again. I don't know if Williams is going to be the answer at C, I don't particularly like our depth as I don't think Irby is going to contribute too much, and besides Looney being a beast I don't think the O-line is really that good at all.

O-line will be a struggle this year. If we can improve on this front I'll be impressed with Lobo.
 
O-line's been a problem for awhile. I think the optimists are asking a lot by expecting the redshirt class to improve a down position immediately. On the other side, we don't have the luxury to wait for a reasonable OL.
 
Players come, players go, and yet again, the OL looks to be a glaring weak spot.

Who's in charge of the OL again?
 
Excellent report, its nice to not have sunshine blown up our asses all the time. These reports definitely help keep things in perspective. Its an exciting time because a lot can change and isnt known but as for right now it seems like the exact same situation as last year maybe slightly better but negated by a tougher schedule. Thank you- real Oracle
 
I think our defense is going to be very good next year, particularly our front 7. If our secondary steps up then it could be something special.
 
A defense doesn't go from historically bad to very good in one season.
 
It's going to depend entirely on how long our offense can keep them off the field.
 
If our O-line is even serviceable then we should rely on the Grobe method like 2006. Good defense, TOP on offense, and reliance on the kicking game.
 
It's going to depend entirely on how long our offense can keep them off the field.

Yep. You have to have a stellar defense to win with such a poor offense. Little chance we have a defense on par with 2006-08.

deacfan, we've been trying to rely on the "Grobe method like 2006" since Caldwell's recruits and Calhoun left the program. The only years it worked were 2006-08 because we had a defense, kicker, and QB good or great enough to pull it off. Things went downhill in 2009 because we had the QB, but not the defense and kicker.
 
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Our D had its moments last year. They played well during the F$U game, but were on the field the whole damn game. Anyway, I just want them to go from terrible to competitive. I'm worried about the O line. When was the last time the O line was a strength? The year after the Orange bowl?

Oracle.. awesome report. I like the fair and balanced approach :)
 
Of course the defense won't be on par with '06-'07. I think it will be good enough to get us to at least 5 wins and perhaps bowl eligibility. Very good may have been overstated, but I think people are going to be very surprised about the improvement.
 
Of course the defense won't be on par with '06-'07. I think it will be good enough to get us to at least 5 wins and perhaps bowl eligibility. Very good may have been overstated, but I think people are going to be very surprised about the improvement.

The defense will have to be very good to get to 5 wins unless the offense improves dramatically. You can talk about relying on Newman, but last year's offense barely got into field goal position enough to pull out the 3 or 4 FG wins that we had with Swank. I think Newman could do that if the offense could get him there.

Last year, Wake was 6th in the nation in FG percentage, but #101 in FG attempts at 12-13.
 
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The defense will have to be very good to get to 5 wins unless the offense improves dramatically. You can talk about relying on Newman, but last year's offense barely got into field goal position enough to pull out the 3 or 4 FG wins that we had with Swank. I think Newman could do that if the offense could get him there.

Last year, Wake was 6th in the nation in FG percentage, but #101 in FG attempts at 12-13.

We were absolutely atrocious last year and won 3 games. We have a "gimme" game against G-W, so start with 1 win. The schedule is tougher than last year, but I see at least +2 wins on the schedule.

Duke and Vandy gets us to 3, and then we just have to get 2 out of the remaining 9 games, which I think we can do.
 
I like hearing that Camp is looking as good as he is. I know Oracle says that Yloo won't be missed due to Camp's emergence, but Brown was a damn good player, and one of our most consistent offensive threats that last few years. We'll need to get similar production from Camp at a minimum.
 
Man I would love to win @ UNC next year.

Duke and UNC back to back weeks on the road isn't bad. That will be a fun couple of trips.
Parents are paying for a trip to BC and I guess I'll go back to Clemson. Just need the Syracuse game to be set so I can work on getting up to that one to complete the senior football sweep.
 
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