University of North Carolina Athletics
Extra Points Mailbag: Play-Calling A Fan Favorite
September 16, 2005 | Football
Sept. 16, 2005
by Lee Pace, Extra Points
Since the advent of email about a decade ago, I've fielded thousands of missives on the subject of Tar Heel football. And the most popular subject, hands-down, is play-calling. My in-box has loaded up week after week about Carolina's various offensive coordinators and their deployment of Xs and Os - from Darrell Moody to Greg Davis to Steve Marshall, from Mike O'Cain to Gary Tranquill.
The opening of the 2005 season reminded me how much fans love the subject. A handful of Tar Heel fans were particularly interested in Tranquill's call for a deep throw with just over two minutes left in Carolina's 27-20 loss at Georgia Tech. The Tar Heels had a first down at the Tech 26 and were hopefully driving toward a winning touchdown.
But QB Matt Baker launched a weak pass toward Mike Mason, who was streaking down the left sideline and had beaten cornerback Dennis Davis inside the 10 yard-line. Davis intercepted the pass and killed the Tar Heels' best threat. Baker played a very good game for his first career start, but this was perhaps his worst mistake of the game. He was hit as he was throwing the ball, causing the "wounded duck" flight pattern, but the correct throw was a second sooner to either Jarwarski Pollock over the middle or Jesse Holley on the right boundary.
The Tar Heels ran four vertical routes, with Mason on the left, tight end John Hamlett down the middle, Pollock on a post-pattern from the right slot and Holley on the right edge. The Tech cornerback in front of Holley busted his assignment and Holley was never defended. The safety covering Pollock was in a "robber" coverage that called for him to break on the line of scrimmage on the snap before looking for pass, allowing Pollock to beat him easily. Pollock was free and clear inside the 30 and would have advanced at least to the 25 or more had he caught the pass.
One reader was even annoyed that, had Baker connected with Mason for a score, Tech would have had plenty of time to score.
That's a problem I'm sure the Tar Heel defense would have loved to face.
I had the opportunity to see the game at Tech, and it was unsettling to watch our entire defense looking to the sidelines for a set call on every play -- even with two minutes left in the game -- which many times didn't come until Tech was nearly snapping the ball. If I am Wisconsin, I am throwing a few corner routes on the Heels from a no-huddle set, sprinkled liberally throughout the game. Offense was similar, with Baker often waving his arms to get a play called in, so consequently we snapped the ball many times with 2-3 seconds left on the play clock. This had to be unsettling for a new QB.
Steven L. McKeel, Lawrenceville, Ga.
You are correct that there were some mechanical problems on both sides of the ball Saturday. Tranquill on offense and Marvin Sanders on defense have addressed the problems and hope things will be quicker and smoother against Wisconsin.
The problem for the Carolina defense was that Tech was employing a somewhat sneaky but otherwise legal means for getting around the offensive substitution rules that require a team to huddle with no more than 11 men. If a team were to huddle with 12 or more players, it's a great advantage to the offense because the defense can't know which personnel group the offense will actually use when it lines up. That's why the huddle can have only 11 players.
Tech was huddling with 11 men, minus its quarterback. QB Reggie Ball would stand to the side of the huddle to get the signal from the sideline. Then he would call for one player to leave the huddle before he entered the huddle himself. So Tech was technically never huddling with more than 11 players, but the Jackets were achieving the deception element they wanted. That gave the Carolina coaching staff a delay in identifying which personnel group the Jackets would employ on that down - One back? Two backs? Two tight ends? Three wides? Four wides? That's crucial information for the coordinator to counter with his personnel and defensive call.
Against Tech, Sanders signaled the call into middle linebacker Doug Justice, who then communicated it twice to the defense. This week, the defense will not huddle. All 11 players will look at Sanders for the call, saving precious seconds. Justice will also communicate the call verbally in case someone can't see well or is slow with a read on the signals. You'll notice that Sanders will wear the opposite color shirt of the Tar Heels' jerseys that game in order to be more easily picked out from the field. Carolina will wear blue jerseys Saturday, so he'll be in a white shirt.
Tranquill hopes having one game in the books will make the offensive communication system more fluid. It was the first time that Tranquill, who calls the plays, reserve QB Jay Spence, who signals the plays, and Baker, who reads the signals and runs the offense, have worked together.
"There's no question we've got to play a little quicker," Tranquill says. "We were breaking the huddle with 14 to 15 seconds and not getting the snap off until two seconds. We should be better than that. But for his first game, I thought Matt did well. He lost track of the clock on the one delay penalty we had, and he busted one formation. But he was good with the signals and good with personnel. We've just got to be a little faster, and I think we will be."
John Bunting seemed to be counseling our running backs to be even more deliberate in their running style, yet for us novice fans, it looks like our running attack is slow to develop and void of deception. I'd like to better understand the running game concept we've adopted and get your thoughts on how successful it can be this season.
Bob Orr, Raleigh
The reference is to Bunting's comments Sunday that tailbacks Cooter Arnold and Barrington Edward needed to develop patience in allowing plays to develop. I think you have misunderstood the thrust of the coach's remarks.
By no means do the coaches want the running attack to be slow or deliberate. But there are plays where the ball-carrier needs to let his blockers in front of him do their work and execute their blocks. Once Saturday the Tar Heel runner ran up the rear of guard Kyle Ralph and was essentially tackled by his collision with his teammate. Another time, the runner saw a defender out of the corner of his eye who was 15 yards away and reacted to that player, not taking the time to see that that reaction turned him into the teeth of a defender three yards away.
Edwards has had limited experience in big-time college football carrying the ball - 41 carries at LSU in 2003. This was Arnold's first game. No longer can their speed and athleticism run roughshod over weaker athletes as they did in high school. Their evolution over the 2005 will certainly be a key for the Tar Heel offense.
As for the perceived lack of "deception" in the running game specifically or the offense at large, I would suggest you consider all of the misdirections, counters, nakeds, bootlegs, throwbacks and the occasional "rooskie" that Tranquill called in 2004. A key TD in the N.C. State game last year was even named "sucker" because it was built around a fake screen pass and then a throw downfield.
One of the nicest pieces of slight-of-hand Saturday came midway in the fourth quarter with the Heels facing third-and-two at the Tech four. Tranquill guessed correctly that Tech defensive coordinator Jon Tenuta would play the run. Baker faked a hand-off and the Jackets swarmed the line of scrimmage, then dropped back to pass. Holley was open in the end zone, but he and Baker couldn't quite connect. If you have the game on tape, you might study the action in the end zone several times; there's some interesting stuff between Holley and the Tech cornerback occurring dead in front of the eyes of the back judge.
I am sure the coaches had a reason, but I kept asking why the defensive backs kept playing eight to ten yards off the wide receivers when Ball kept hitting open sideline cuts and flare-outs with little pressure. Even slants were open constantly with the DBs playing so far off. I thought that was the difference in the game. The long passes were just great catches with better-than-average coverage, but the major passing yardage came from the soft coverage. Seems to me the great defense during the Bly era played bump-and-run to disrupt patterns and timing resulting in more time to pressure the QB. What are your thoughts on the "Rude Boys" playing that way?
Norman Maultsby, Hendersonville
Press-man coverage will be an important part of the Tar Heel defensive package this year. Sanders said he used it some on Saturday and will use it more as the season evolves.
"I thought we did a good job with it," he says. "I have more confidence in our guys' ability to play it after this game. We played it sporadically last year - we were more of a zone team last year."
Carolina during the Dre Bly-Robert Williams era at cornerback from 1996-97 were indeed outstanding at cornerback. Deflecting a receiver's pattern can create timing problems for the quarterback. But I would argue for the opposite point of emphasis - it's great pressure that allows press coverage to work.
The ability of Greg Ellis, Mike Pringley, Ebenezer Ekuban, Russell Davis, Vonnie Holliday and a slew of future NFL linebackers generated too much heat to give quarterbacks time to find anyone downfield. Given enough time, a receiver can always beat one defender. But opposing quarterbacks never had enough time.
Press coverage works best if you can pressure the quarterback. Carolina went to Maryland in 2003 with a plan to use more press coverage against the Terps. But the Heels could never put any heat on QB Scott McBrien, and he chopped the defense to hash in a 59-21 win. That tight man-to-man looked nice and aggressive before the snap; it was a disaster when the play unfolded as McBrien stood in the pocket with plenty of time.
Disrupting and sacking the quarterback is priority No. 2 for the Tar Heel defense this year. Priority No. 1 is stopping the run. Carolina did that very well against Tech, allowing just 3.7 yards a carry. But the Heels didn't pressure the quarterback enough. As they get better in that department, the press-man will look better in the secondary.
I was looking at past recruiting classes and was struck by the large number of three-star, four-star and five-star recruits who would be on this team but have left for various reasons. Terry Hunter, Fred Sparkman, Isiah Thomas and Adarius Bowman are recent examples, but there are a lot of others. Wonder if you would give us a rundown?
Donnie Douglas, Lumberton
It is very difficult to build a program when you lose key recruits such as those four. Carolina's staff beat some of the top programs in college football for those guys, and a lot of time and effort went down the drain when various personal and disciplinary issues arose with them.
As for the star ratings, that's a slippery slope in football.
In basketball recruiting, if someone like Bob Gibbons or Brick Oettinger gives a prospect a certain rating, there's a level of validity to it because you know they have seen all of these players in summer camps.
But there's no way football recruiting services and gurus can see all of these prospects. Who is giving the stars and what are their qualifications, and have they seen the player in person?
The woods are full of highly regarded players from the mid-1990s who came to Carolina and bombed. Linebackers coach Tommy Thigpen gives a great talk on this subject, reeling off "blue chips" who were busts and lightweights who became all-stars.
I think John Bunting has improved his ability over four years at Carolina to evaluate high-school talent and to hire a staff of excellent recruiters. Let's hope the attrition level among the best players ebbs to a trickle.
What is the mat I see on the sidelines during football games? It has ten circles, and they are numbered 1-10. I first noticed it last year while in Kenan Stadium, then I saw it again on TV Saturday against Georgia Tech.
Mark Lutze, Pikeville, N.C.
Members of the various kicking teams - particularly the kick-off and kick-off return units - assemble on that mat before taking the field. It makes it easier for the coach in charge of that unit to make sure all 10 players (minus the kicker) are ready to take the field.
Have the Heels installed collapsible goal posts yet in Kenan Stadium? Hopefully not, since I am looking forward to tearing them down after we beat the undefeated Wisconsin Badgers.
Nicholas G. Rupp, Greenville
Sorry, but there'll be no more goal-post assaults in Kenan. The Carolina administration installed collapsible models after the 2004 season, which featured fan celebrations on the field after the N.C. State and Miami wins.
Send your questions about Tar Heel football to Lee Pace at leepace@nc.rr.com . Please include your first and last names and hometown. Individual replies are not possible because of volume of mail received, and names of recruiting prospects and commitments cannot be published on a school-sponsored site until the national signing day in February. The Q&A column will appear each Friday during the season.
