University of North Carolina Athletics
Tuesday Practice Notes
August 15, 2006 | Football
Aug. 15, 2006
By Adam Lucas
A scrimmage doesn't always have to take place in Kenan Stadium. The Tar Heels turned in about eight plays of scrimmage action Tuesday morning and also got in some two-minute situational work. "We probably would've done more," head coach John Bunting said, "but I didn't feel good about the health of the defensive tackles or some linemen. The sustaining of play has got to improve. A lot of that is mental. Some of it might be physical."...There were more red jerseys (injured players) on the practice field than any other time during camp. "We've got to stay away from the red jerseys," Bunting said. "We had too many today." One player who wasn't in red was Rock Wells, who is back in green and was able to run some routes...
One of the negatives Bunting cited from Saturday's scrimmage were the Carolina coverage teams. Since then, they've been a point of emphasis. It's approaching a turning point in camp, as young players who have been given an opportunity need to start capitalizing on those chances or risk losing the jobs to more experienced players. "We have played a lot of young players," Bunting said. "We want to see if they can back up or help us this year. As we go forward this week, they're going to have to show us they can help us or we will back them out and give guys who have done it before all the opportunities. I feel good about the progress of the punt team over the last couple of days."...Chase Rice drew praise from Marvin Sanders after some solid pass coverage...Special emphasis was placed on clock awareness during the 2-minute portion of the team situation period. Bunting said the new clock operation rules could trim, "4, 5, or 10 plays" from games...
It's preseason training camp time, which means there is plenty of talk about chemistry. Every team boasts they've improved it; players talk about what they've done to find it.
Usually, chemistry talk revolves around players. But one of the quiet stories of training camp is the chemistry found by the Carolina coaching staff, especially defensive tackles coach Ken Browning and new ends coach Danny Pearman. It's evident in the way they work drills together. It's evident in the way Browning and Pearman run shoulder-to-shoulder from drill station to drill station.
And the Tar Heels hope it will be evident in the performance of the 2006 defensive line. Every coach has a different style, but in recent years the difference between the way the ends were instructed and the way the tackles were instructed was jarring. Now, it's much more similar.
"They're on the same page as far as communication with the guys and getting the younger guys to understand the defense better," senior Brian Rackley says.
Until the games are played, every coach thinks he's assembled the best staff. Based on feedback from players, though, John Bunting has legitimate reason to believe it in 2006.
"All the players have noticed the chemistry between all the coaches," the head coach said. "There's a lot more demanding out there and therefore a lot more rewards. That's a statement about all the staff.
"Kenny has taken Danny under his wing. They are working extremely well together and do so many things together. In football camps, they would separate and work drills just like you want them to when you have two coaches coaching the line. I didn't think of that the first years when we had two coaches coaching those guys, but I certainly thought about it when Kenny returned to coaching defense. We could duplicate technique and responsibility and get more work on individualized fundamentals by separating groups. Sometimes Kenny will work with the tackles on a drill and then Danny will work on the same drill with the ends."...
On a related note, there's been plenty of publicity given to new offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti. The advantages of bringing in not just a new offense, but an offensive line coach already familiar with that new offense have been somewhat overlooked. Cignetti is still teaching many players some offensive nuances. He doesn't have to teach them to line coach Mark Weber, who also came to Carolina from Fresno State. That's paid off in a more uptempo pace of practice. "Coach Cignetti trusts Coach Weber," center Scott Lenahan said. "He doesn't have to walk down to the offensive line to make sure we're learning concepts. He knows Coach Weber knows what to do, so they don't have to waste time checking each other."
Adam Lucas is the publisher of Tar Heel Monthly and can be reached at alucas@tarheelmonthly.com. He is the coauthor of the official book of the 2005 championship season, Led By Their Dreams, and his book on Roy Williams's first season at Carolina, Going Home Again, is now available in bookstores. To subscribe to Tar Heel Monthly or learn more about Going Home Again, click here.
