University of North Carolina Athletics
CAR-O-LINES: Work Needed On Defense As Carolina Faces Hokies
September 8, 2006 | Football
Sept. 8, 2006
by Rick Brewer, Sports Information Director Emeritus
If I hadn't known who was talking, I would have thought it was Bill Dooley.
"They ran the ball right down our throats. It will be a long, long season if we don't play better defense against the run than that."
Instead, it was Carolina Coach John Bunting speaking to the media following last weekend's 21-16 loss to Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights had just ripped through the Tar Heel defense for 217 yards on the ground in spoiling Carolina's season opener.
Bunting came into the fall hoping his defense would play better than it did last year. In fact, it had performed that way in pre-season practice. That's why he was especially upset.
Rutgers deserves a lot of credit for what happened last Saturday. Ray Rice and Brian Leonard are quality backs, probably the best pair of runners on any Big East team.
What really had Bunting fuming was a first half when his defense could not get off the field. Rutgers was able to sustain a 12-play, 93-yard touchdown drive that took 5:33 off the clock. On their next possession the Scarlet Knights kept the ball for 6:36 although Carolina was able to prevent a score. But, that was followed by an eight-play, 63-yard touchdown march that lasted 4:11.
Drives like that would wear any defense down. Rice and Leonard were able to take advantage of that.
Despite the disappointing defensive play, Carolina had chances to win the game in the second half. What may have been the key series in the game came on the first possession of the third quarter when the Tar Heels had a first-and-goal on the five, but could not score.
Considering the offense has so much inexperience it played pretty well. And the defense made some big plays in the second half.
"We had some guys who really played hard and I'm proud of that," said Bunting. "It's amazing we were even in the game. We hung in there and had some opportunities to win in the second half. But, overall we were physically outplayed and made a lot of mental mistakes.
"I played defense and I know that when things start going wrong, people sometimes start trying to do too much. That leads to mental mistakes. We would end up out of position and Rutgers was able to take advantage of that."
Bunting played linebacker at Carolina from 1969-71 and learned the college game from Dooley. Like most coaches, Dooley said the game was as simple as blocking and tackling. But, he phrased that differently.
"In order to be a good football team, you have to be able to run the football and keep your opponent from running it against you," he said.
As a coach, himself, Bunting knows how true that is. That is one of the reasons he was so upset.
Despite his concern after the game, Bunting knows one loss won't wreck his team's season. There were bright spots in the game against Rutgers. His mission in practice this week has been to build on those and retool his defense.
The most important thing Bunting and his staff learned last week was that Joe Dailey can be a quality quarterback. He completed 24 of 36 passes for 234 yards. He threw for one touchdown and ran for another. Quarterbacks are regarded as a team's leader and Dailey tried to take the blame for the Rutgers loss. He felt a pair of interceptions, especially one in the final minutes cost Carolina the game.
"I let a lot of people down," he said. "People give a lot of money for our scholarships. We get a free education and a chance to play football. I know those people are disappointed and I'm going to do everything possible to correct my mistakes."
Bunting said to forget that.
"He played really well for someone who hadn't been in a game for two years," said the Tar Heel coach. "Our problem on offense was not having the ball enough. Rutgers controlled the ball so much we couldn't get on the field."
Dailey, a 6-1, 205-pound junior, transferred to Carolina after starting throughout the 2004 season at Nebraska. He set a number of Cornhusker passing records that year, but never felt fully comfortable in the west coast offense that was installed by new coach Bill Callahan.
The biggest surprise last week was probably the play of the wide receivers. This was the team's most inexperienced area. Rutgers tried to keep the ball away from Jesse Holley, a senior with big-play potential. Dailey turned to redshirt sophomore Brooks Foster and freshman Hakeem Nicks. Neither had ever touched the ball in a college game. But, Foster had 11 catches for 120 yards and Nicks added seven receptions for 63 yards. He also managed to stay inbounds and make a two-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter.
The offensive line generally gave Dailey time to throw. Ronnie McGill ran well at tailback, but he was in and out of the lineup due to leg cramps.
In addition to the defensive problems Carolina also was hit with a number of penalties at key moments. Those mistakes certainly drew special attention during this past week.
Rutgers was a good football team last Saturday. Now things get much tougher against nationally-ranked Virginia Tech. A year ago the Hokies had great success running the ball against the Tar Heels.
There's an old adage in football that teams make their most improvement of the season between their first and second games. Bunting is hoping that indeed will be the case with his defense.
