University of North Carolina Athletics
Extra Points Mailbag, Virginia Edition
September 10, 2004 | Football
Sept. 10, 2004
By Lee Pace, Extra Points
In almost five years of answering fans' questions during football season, the No. 1 topic of conversation has been (and always will be) the offensive play-calling. The first game of the season is an excellent opportunity to sample a handful of questions and concerns and then provide a short primer on Tar Heel coordinator Gary Tranquill's mindset entering the season.
Why did Gary Tranquill try to trick W&M with misdirection plays, screens, and short passes when our advantage over them was our line and Madison Hedgecock versus their line and backers? Particularly, that call on Darian Durant's interception was horrendous. My question: Could you please ask Tranq to take what the defense is giving us and run it straight at them until they demonstrate they can stop us? Once we do that, then counter-trey and screens might work.
William Macklin, Carrboro
I was very pleased to see how successful the Tar Heels' running game was Saturday.
Kudos to the offensive line and three running backs--all of whom had very good games. Do you foresee Coach Tranquill utilizing the running game more at UVa so that Carolina: A) Controls the clock; B) Pounds on the UVa defense and wears them down; and C) Keeps our defense off the field.
Bryan Talbott, Charlotte NC
I know that the offense has been clicking the past two years with Durant at the helm, but I would like to see the long ball thrown more. Due to the increased difficulty in our schedule, do you see this weapon to be more utilized this year with the speed of Mike Mason, Adarius Bowman, and Jesse Holley? Watching Jaworski Pollack take those little route passes is fun, but I think spreading the field will be a major key to the Heels' success.
Jonathan Watkins, Greenville, SC
First, let's look at the 49-38 win Saturday over William & Mary.
There was never any real question that the Tar Heels would be able to move the ball almost at will against a team of smaller players and fewer players. Remember, it's on offense where the Davids can make up ground against the Goliaths -- it takes just a quality quarterback, a few good receivers, a good scheme and a commitment to throw the ball in order to build an offense that can light up the board. That's why teams with fewer resources always build around a high-powered offense. But playing good defense requires recruiting great athletes in large numbers. And it requires having an offense adept at running the ball in order for that defense to practice against all year. Schools known for throwing the ball are rarely good on defense because they're not tough enough against the run; they never see a good running game in practice.
So it was a given the Heels would move the ball and score on the Tribe, given Carolina's experience, weapons and a decided physical advantage. Tranquill's plan in the first half Saturday was to first get a feel for what the Tribe would do on defense under a first-year coordinator and then exploit it, and at the same time run a lot of plays from varied personnel groups, formations and packages. After 15 spring practices and more than 25 preseason sessions, the Tar Heels were bored with themselves. They wanted to try various stuff against another team. And they wanted to give Virginia plenty to have to prepare for the following week. Often a productive play one week is set up the week before -- a defense prepares for a certain run or pass, then a wrinkle to that play is added and the new component helps spring the play for a good gain the next week.
All of this was working fine Saturday except for four little, unanticipated problems -- turnovers. Durant made a sloppy throw on a screen pass that was picked off, and he, Jacque Lewis and Justin Phillips fumbled the ball away. The Tar Heels were moving ball smartly their first two possessions and were in W&M territory -- at the 38 and the 1 -- when they lost the ball to fumbles.
"Joe Paterno used to say that if you fumbled the ball, one of two things happened," Tranquill says. "You were scared or you weren't concentrating. I know our guys aren't scared. I think it's a concentration issue."
So when the Tar Heels fell behind 24-14 at halftime, it was indeed time to cut out being cute and run the ball down the Tribe's throats. And, of course, hold onto the football. They did both. And, as always happens, once you get the run going, it opens up the passing game. The result was an 11-point win that in reality should have been far more lopsided.
You can make the argument that "What is, is," and it makes no difference if you have 575 yards, one offensive penalty, punt twice and convert 10-of-12 third-downs if you ruin it with turnovers. Hopefully, the turnover problem on Saturday was an anomaly.
Now on to Virginia.
You can rest assured that the Tar Heels have worked on every element of their offensive package this week that might have a chance to work against Virginia's 3-4 defense and a very stout front seven. They will have to run the ball. They'll have to use some misdirection. They'll have to throw underneath and they'll have to take some shots downfield. Often what they do will depend on what Virginia shows them. Frequently Durant will come to the line of scrimmage having called a "combo" play. It could be a run to the strong side, a run to the weak side, or a pass if the opponent has more defenders bunching the line of scrimmage than the Tar Heels have blockers. It all depends on what the defense shows.
I believe that during the course of this season, every fan with an opinion on what should work will be given plenty of chances to see his play calls of choice. The Tar Heels have enough weapons and enough variety in their playbook that there will be a time for everything -- the power game, the outside running game, reverses, screens, some form of option and the passing game to a wide variety of receivers.
Who decides on the logo for the helmets and the design of the playing field? Does Coach Bunting decide if he wants the interlocking NC or the UNC on the helmet or someone else? As for the playing field, does the coach or team get to help "design" the field or is that left up to the grounds crew." Two things that I would love to see at Carolina are: (1) a game where the Tar Heels wear throwback jerseys similar the pros; (2) a blue-and-white checkerboard endzone.
Perry Gabriel, Kannapolis, NC
The opening of the season generally elicits some questions about any nuances in the Tar Heels' uniforms that are different from the previous year and some queries about game and stadium operations. This question is representative of a handful from this week.
The field design is a team effort with input from the head coach, the athletic director's office and the sports marketing department. The checkerboard idea is a good one and the design works well at Tennessee. To do the same thing in Chapel Hill would have perhaps too much of a copycat element to it.
The uniform design is directed by Bunting with input from his seniors, the equipment managers and the manufacturers. Essentially Bunting has wanted since his return to Carolina in 2001 to get as much of the navy blue elements out of the uniform as possible. There was no navy in the uniform he wore from 1969-71 and suffice it to say he's partial to that era.
So that's the reason for the white-only pants -- no navy stripes down the sides. Bunting might decide to add a Carolina blue stripe for next year and get even closer to the uniforms of the Dooley era. There are no longer any stripes on the sleeves of the jerseys.
And there will be no more blue pants.
The throwback jersey idea would be fun. But it would probably be a bit extravagant at the college level. Pro teams have far more financial resources to throw around on novelties like throwback jerseys to wear one time.
Finally, the problem with the video board Saturday was a blown computer chip in the scoreboard itself. It will be operational for Georgia Tech next week.
What sort of role do you see Jawarski Pollock assuming with this year's team? Last year he was Durant's go-to receiver on third down as Durant seemed to have the most trust in him to run the correct routes. It looks as though Adarius Bowman may assume that role this year, if the William & Mary game was any indication. How do you see Pollock's
role changing this year with the increased maturity of the sophomore receivers?
Jason Dalton, Chapel Hill
Pollock will play a key role this year. But you are right in recognizing that the growth and maturation of sophomores like Bowman, Mike Mason and Jesse Holley will change the face of the offense. While those three have obvious athletic ability, their newness to the college game in 2003 limited what they could do and what the offense could do when they were in the lineup. Now they know where to line up every play. They know how to read defenses as the ball is being snapped. They know how to read Durant's voice and hand signals. Carolina will continue to throw the ball often this year; but Durant's targets will certainly be spread around more receivers.
I understand that there were improvements displayed against William and Mary. My
concern listening on the radio was the amount of open receivers against the defense. I know William & Mary has a good quarterback, but how can their receivers be open as much as they were? Was this due to more zone by Carolina or just not being in the right position? With the outstanding receivers in the league this season, the prospects of more 300-400 yard passing games is quite frightening.
Gary Meyer, Columbia, S.C.
The Tar Heels gave up 322 yards passing. You are correct that is a total that secondary coach and co-coordinator Marvin Sanders would like to see reduced significantly.
The Tribe completions from QB Lane Campbell fell into a handful of categories.
Some were simply good throws and catches into the seams of a zone defense. The good news is most were tackled quickly after the catch.
Some were big plays when the Tar Heels brought heat, had the QB in their hands but couldn't follow through with the sack. When you blitz and don't get the QB on the ground, you can give up big chunks of yards.
And some were results of what Sanders thinks were young players still getting acclimated to the speed of the game.
"We had very few mental errors," Sanders says. "That's good. That's exciting to see. But we were inconsistent overall. The game was a blur to some of the young kids playing for the first time. That will change. They'll settle down."
Send your questions about Tar Heel football to Lee Pace at lpace@nc.rr.com . Please include your first and last names and hometown. His Q&A column will appear each Friday during the season.
