University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: Defense Asks for Three Percent
September 29, 2004 | Football
Sept. 29, 2004
By Adam Lucas
The news that Wyatt Sexton would replace Chris Rix at quarterback for Florida State had virtually no impact on Carolina co-defensive coordinator Marvin Sanders.
"It means nothing," Sanders said. "They're Florida State. He's a good player on a long list of Florida State's good players. They're never going to panic when one guy goes down at any position."
Sanders should know--he played against the Seminoles three times as a defensive back at Nebraska, including a 34-17 victory in 1986 and a 31-28 loss in the 1988 Fiesta Bowl. Although he has more experiencing playing against a Bobby Bowden-coached team than many of his charges on the Tar Heel defense, he says the game experience makes no difference in his gameplanning.
Where it does make a difference, though, is in the way he approaches Saturday's noon kickoff on ESPN2.
"The fact that I've been able to play and coach in big games helps me," he said. "These games are the ones you live for as a player. All games are important, but this is a game against a traditional powerhouse on national television. Each of our players should look at this as an opportunity to show we can play against anybody."
The last time they had that opportunity on television, the outcome wasn't good--Virginia posted a 56-24 whipping on Sept. 11 in an ABC game. Since then, however, the defense has made some strides. They held Georgia Tech to 13 points in Carolina's first ACC win, and then allowed just 10 points in the first half to Louisville before fatigue took over in the second half of last Saturday's 34-0 loss.
The game against the Cardinals has widely been interpreted as a step back for a defense desperate to improve after a dismal 2003. On the practice field and in meeting rooms this week, however, that hasn't been the outlook.
"I don't know if we were ever down," linebacker Mahlon Carey said. "Of course the loss doesn't make us happy, but I'm here to say that none of us have our heads down."
In recent weeks, Carolina coaches have tried to focus less on big numbers like total yards and more on the details. They're asking their players not for wholesale improvement, but for a tiny improvement--three percent, to be exact.
"I'm trying to get them to look at winning each individual battle," Sanders said. "I told them that if we have 30 players on defense we count on to play, and each of those 30 players improves three percent, we're getting close to 100 percent improvement as a whole. Look at how miniscule three percent is. That's just one or two plays better. That's what you lose sometimes when you look at the broad picture."
To help facilitate that improvement, which Sanders said he saw in the Georgia Tech game and the first half of the Louisville game, there have been some position changes this week. Khalif Mitchell, who moved to tackle after Chase Page's season-ending injury, will go back to end. He'll swap positions with Kyndraus Guy, who played the first four games at end but is probably more physically suited for tackle.
Mitchell's charge is simple: get some pressure on the quarterback from the end position, something the Heels have been lacking so far in 2004. Carolina has notched just two sacks so far, both by part-time end Hilee Taylor. Of the Heels' 15 tackles for loss, only three are by players who have spent most of their time at end.
They'll have a somewhat less mobile target to focus on at Doak Campbell Stadium on Saturday. In limited duty through two games, Sexton--who made an official visit to Chapel Hill during his recruiting process and was offered a scholarship by the Heels--has rarely tried to run, something FSU quarterbacks have done frequently in recent years against Carolina.
"Sexton isn't as fast as Rix," Sanders said. "I'm not saying Sexton won't run, but you know that if you let Rix loose, he can run with the best of them. Where Sexton can hurt you is throwing the deep ball."
Adam Lucas is the publisher of Tar Heel Monthly and can be reached at alucas@tarheelmonthly.com. To subscribe to Tar Heel Monthly, click here.
