LEE PACE'S EXTRA POINTS: No Comfort In Carolina's Trip To Maryland.
September 3, 2001 | Extra Points
Sept. 3, 2001
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Comfort for some people takes the form of a five-mile run. Others go to church and pray. A pint of Jack Daniels does the trick for some. Chicken soup or an afternoon under the covers in a dark bedroom offer good results. Me, I'll go to Ye Olde Waffle Shop on Franklin Street and drown my sorrows in black coffee, a pecan waffle and hash browns.
I've brought with me on this Sunday morning before Labor Day, 2001, a stack of newspapers, print-outs from websites and the official statistics book from Saturday's Carolina football game. As the line cooks go about their business in front of me at the counter (did you know all the bacon and sausage is pre-cooked, then warmed on the grill as it's ordered?), I start to plow through my stack of stuff. Is there any way to make sense of the Tar Heels' numbing 23-7 loss Saturday at College Park?
Here's a column by Michael Wilbon in The Washington Post about the dandy hire the University of Maryland made in Ralph Friedgen as its new football coach. It's certainly a great story, Friedgen returning to his alma mater after 32 years as an assistant coach to try to re-ignite the fires in a moribund program. "I've waited so long for this," said Friedgen, a man nicknamed "The Fridge" for his rotund appearance. "I always thought I could do this. So many times I was disappointed. Yeah, this is special."
That could have been just as special a story the other way if the Tar Heels had been able to mount a semblance of an offense (beyond Willie Parker's 77-yard run to open the game). Carolina coach John Bunting was making a homecoming as well, back to the stadium where he first witnessed a college football game, back to the north side of the nation's capital where he grew up in the 1950s and '60s. His parents were there from Silver Spring, his two children from Philadelphia, ex-coaching mates from Glassboro, N.J., sundry friends from D.C. to New York. "Ten more games to go," said one of the group, Frank Kaufman, a boyhood friend of Bunting's. "John won't give up. And he won't let his players, either."
Here's a story from The Charlotte Observer built around the Tar Heels' unsettled quarterback situation.
Ronald Curry was 6-of-12 passing for 61 yards and an interception. Darian Durant subbed for Curry in the third quarter and had somewhat better results-10-for-14 for 97 yards but two interceptions, one of them a freak that bounced off receiver Sam Aiken.
If there's anything the Tar Heels do not need this fall, it's a quarterback controversy. But they have a full-blown one in the makings. As Curry trudged off the field midway through the third quarter after missing Kory Bailey by 10 yards on an out pattern and watching Maryland's Tony Okanlawon catch the ball, I drifted back in thought six years to this very stadium. Another early
constant pressure all afternoon, was just 6-for-12 for 61 yards. |
Here's story written by the Associated Press that said Bunting "blamed" the poor offense on a young line.
That's taken out of context to a degree. It's not all the line's fault, but with four neophytes starting along the offensive front, the physical and mental demands of the position are proving overwhelming so far. In a scheduling twist dripping with irony, Carolina football comes face-to-face this week with ex-coach Mack Brown of Texas. Brown did an outstanding job for 10 years managing the program and recruiting fast defensive players, good receivers, fullbacks and tight ends, an average job recruiting quarterbacks, and a poor job recruiting offensive linemen. It was the omission by Brown and his staff in the signing class of 1997 of any offensive linemen and signing only two of note, Metts and Isaac Morford, in the following class that has led to the current mess. If there's one position on the field where you want fourth- and fifth-year players, it's the O-line.
The stats book is a document that runs up to 20 pages or more that is provided by the home sports information office, usually about 30 to 45 minutes after the final whistle. It contains team, individual and defensive stats. There's a "drive chart" listing each possession, where it started and where and how it ended. There's a play-by-play account and coaches and sometimes player quotes. There's a lot here to decipher as I drizzle syrup over my waffle ...
Telling team statistics: Tar Heels three turnovers against, none for. Heels 4-of-17 on third-down conversions, Maryland eight-of-18. Carolina just over one yard rushing per attempt when you back out the run by Parker of 77 yards, Maryland more than five yards per rush.
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Key defensive stat: Maryland had three of four sacks from a linebacker, Aaron Thompson, and its leading tackler with 10 was another linebacker, E.J. Henderson. Those guys plus an occasional safety shot the gap around the center all afternoon, causing all manner of misery to the Carolina offense.
"We knew they were going to bring the double-dog," Bunting said. "Oklahoma hit us with it and we still were not as effective as we need to be. We have got to solve that problem."
On the Tar Heel defensive stat sheet, Julius Peppers had three sacks, which is good. No one else did, which is bad.
"We need to generate more heat with a four-man rush and force the quarterback into more bad throws," Bunting said. "Julius can't do it alone."
Cornerback Errol Hood had 13 tackles, which indicates he hustled and played hard, but part of that was because Maryland viewed him to be the softer of the Tar Heels' two cornerbacks and threw at him much of the day instead of at Michael Waddell. Hood was beat on a slant pattern for one Maryland touchdown, and safety Billy-Dee Greenwood missed a tackle on that play.
"Missing tackles was apparently a problem last year, and it reared its ugly head again today," Bunting said. "That's got to stop. That can't happen."
All told, it was a miserable afternoon for the Tar Heels. No offense. Pretty good defense until the latter point of the third quarter, when the Terps began marching smartly down the field for the first of two game-clinching TDs. Obviously Carolina faces a long growing and maturing process ahead on the offensive line. "That's not a total surprise," Bunting said. "They're young kids. That's why we played Oklahoma and that's why I'd hoped we'd see a big improvement today."
As I finished my breakfast, two blocks away the coaching staff was ensconced in the Kenan Football Center addressing its problems. Six hours later, Bunting emerged to offer the following review:Q: Did you think your guys ran out of gas in the fourth quarter, leading to some of the missed tackles?
A: "I don't think it's conditioning as much as it is mental attitude and toughness. We have to get tougher in that situation. I think Maryland really believed going into the fourth quarter that they'd taken our best shot and were ready to capitalize on any errors we made. We made some-I went for it on fourth-and-one and we threw two interceptions. They capitalized. We have to develop more mental toughness and resiliency. That's something you learn, you grow into. It's got to happen quickly. We have a lot of football left."
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"There might be something to that. Any time things don't go quite your way, the back-up quarterback sometimes infuses a little spark. That's not just here, that's everywhere. One of my best friends is Ron Jaworski [former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback]. We used to joke that the most popular person in the city of Philadelphia is the back-up quarterback."
You've been hurt two weeks in a row by the inside blitz.
"We've gotta stop the bleeding, figure it out. We've got to protect enough so we can take the deep shot, make the big play, and take people out of it. I know I would bring it. Anybody down the road, the next four or five games, will bring it. It'll be kinda fun to see if we can get it figured out and blocked up."
Have you inherited a bigger problem on offense than you thought?
"No, we knew we were young. That's why we scheduled Oklahoma. What's disappointing is that when we have an opportunity to make a play or two, our big-play people aren't doing it. They've got to step up, catch the ball, run it, help the young guys. These young guys aren't going to become 30-year-old veterans overnight."
And so it's on to the University of Texas in the first of a home-and-home series scheduled in the mid-1990s by former Carolina AD John Swofford. At the time, the Heels were perennial Top 20 residents. Today they're far from it. The Longhorns, meanwhile, are national title contenders.
Could be a long week of running, eating, sleeping or drinking-whatever gives you comfort.
Many Tar Heel fans enjoyed Lee Pace's six-part series chronicling the playing and coaching careers of coach John Bunting that appeared at TarHeelBlue.com last spring. Now those same stories are available with new material in a book that promises to be a collector's item in the future.
Born & Bred is now available. It will be on sale at a variety of venues around campus and Chapel Hill, as well as on TarHeelBlue.com and by mail order.
New chapters cover Bunting's coaching staff, his visit in May to Tar Heel legend Charlie "Choo Choo" Justice, and efforts to improve the game-day experience in Kenan Stadium. In addition, there are sidebars on the 1980 Carolina championship team, led by Kelvin Bryant, and Bunting's key role in the 1982 NFL players' strike. Contact Lee Pace today at leepace@earthlink.net for ordering information.
Extra Points, now in its 12th year, is published 15 times a year, once following all Carolina football games as well as at the beginning of the season, the end of the season and at the end of recruiting and spring practice. Subscriptions $30 per year, payable by check or MC/Visa to:
Extra Points Publishing Co.
101-A Aberdeen St.
Chapel Hill, NC 27516
Lee Pace, Editor & Publisher
919/933-2082, leepace@earthlink.net
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