University of North Carolina Athletics
Extra Points Mailbag
October 17, 2008 | Football, Featured Writers, Lee Pace
Oct. 17, 2008
by Lee Pace, Extra Points
Brandon Tate: How will the Tar Heels deal with his absence?
Greg Little: Will he play more at wide receiver given Tate's injury and the emergence of Shaun Draughn at tailback?
Dwight Jones: Might the red-shirt come off and the highly touted freshman debut this week at Virginia?
Those issues dominate the Mailbag this week. Unfortunately, you'll get no clear-cut answers until 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, when the Tar Heels and Virginia kick-off in Charlottesville.
Tar Heel coach Butch Davis has spent nearly a decade in the NFL, and much of his system in running a program reflects an NFL mindset. That extends to being very protective of information prior to a given game--from potential personnel, tactics and the health of his players.
Davis is unfailingly polite and cooperative with the media, and if you've watched his "Coaches Corner" videos on this website, you know he's open and engaging talking about Xs-and-Os--after they have occurred on the field. During game week, though, good luck getting a shred of insight that might find its way to the opposing coaching staff. All week, reporters probed and prodded with the same questions Tar Heel fans have sent my way.
"We have taken a look at several different options," Davis answered one day.
"We're still experimenting," he added another day.
"We're not going to fax our plans to you guys and to Al Groh," he said with a smile on yet another occasion.
So what we are left with are a few educated guesses based on the depth chart released this week and some things the Tar Heels have done this year and last. Hakeem Nicks will start at split end as he has all along, and Brooks Foster will take Tate's spot at flanker when the Heels are in their "regular" offensive personnel. When they go to three or four receiver sets, Cooter Arnold will replace Tate as he did last week against Notre after Tate's knee was injured in the first quarter. Anthony Parker-Boyd and Kenton Thornton are possibilities as well.
Little played 10 games as a receiver in 2007 and brings enormous athletic ability to the lineup. You can be sure he will not be wasted. It's clear to everyone Draughn has some skills at tailback unmatched on the team--particularly where his vision, balance and explosion are concerned. So you might see Little in a variety of spots on Saturday--at tailback, taking a direct snap from the center, or as a receiver in a multi-receiver set.
Jones is the true freshman from Burlington who joined the team in early August after originally attending preseason camp at Valdosta State before some admittance hurdles to Carolina were cleared. He has not played, but you have to assume the odds are reasonable that he will see some action in 2008.
"Dwight's a naturally gifted receiver," QB Cameron Sexton says. "He's really talented. I feel like over time--and it's not going to be a long time--he'll develop into an extremely good receiver. He's raw right now and he needs to work on his route running. But he's going to get a crash course now. If necessary, I think he'll be ready."
Carolina is halfway through its regular season schedule and could become bowl-eligible with a win Saturday. That is plenty of time left to pull a player off the red-shirt shelf, particularly given the coaching staff's mindset.
"It's all hands on deck," offensive coordinator John Shoop says. "We will use anybody, anytime, anywhere. We have six games left, and we're trying to make a push. We've lost some key guys. We have to do everything in our power to replace them. We're not saving anything for next year. We're trying to hang in there right now."
One set of those hands will come from true freshman Christian Wilson, a tight end who'll be called into service with the ankle injury to Zack Pianalto. Wilson played for the first time last week against Notre Dame. Now seven true freshmen have played this season: linebackers Zach Brown and Ebele Okakpu, defensive ends Quinton Coples, Robert Quinn and Michael McAdoo, kicker Casey Barth and Wilson.
The Tar Heels have had trouble scoring against Virginia's 3-4 defense since Al Groh became the Cavaliers' head coach in 2001 (we're 2-5 against them and have scored just four TDs in three years). What is Groh's philosophy with the 3-4 and do you think we can move the ball this year?
Ross Howell, Concord
Groh's connection to the 3-4 runs through Bill Parcells, his boss with the New York Giants and New England Patriots in the late 1980s through the mid 1990s.
The 3-4 defense was originally devised by Bud Wilkinson at the University of Oklahoma in the 1940s. Chuck Fairbanks learned the defense from Wilkinson and is credited with importing it to the NFL when he became the New England coach in 1974. Parcells learned the defense as an assistant with the Patriots under Fairbanks' successor, Ron Erhardt, and installed it in New York when he became the Giants' defensive coordinator under Ray Perkins in 1981.
The defense employs three down linemen, four linebackers and four backs. It relies on its linebackers, who are the most athletic and versatile players on the field and generally stand 6-3 to 6-4 and can run with the wind. They can rush the quarterback, drop into coverage or defend the run--but the offense never knows from snap to snap which of the four linebackers are going to do what. Eight NFL clubs used the defense in 2007, and now that Parcells is general manager of the Miami Dophins, the Dolphins use the 3-4 scheme as well. The gold standard of the 3-4 was the stifling array of linebackers Parcells had with the Giants in winning the Super Bowl after the 1986 season--Lawrence Taylor, Carl Banks and Harry Carson.
"The 3-4 constantly keeps you guessing," Shoop says. "Who's coming? The Sam? The Mike? The Will? The fourth? You never know. Then sometimes they'll rush three and drop eight. Try telling your quarterback where to throw the ball when you've got eight men dropping. You can only send out five, so it's almost unfair. The windows are really tight."
The Tar Heels use some 3-4 on occasion and call it their "Okie" front--getting back to Wilkinson and Oklahoma. They used quite a bit in the second half against Notre Dame last week and mixed up their coverages and pass rush to the detriment of Irish QB Rick Clausen's rhythm.
"We went to Okie and rushed five some and were able to get Bruce (Carter) and Quan (Sturdivant) on the edge," defensive coordinator Everett Withers says. "That opened up some 1-on-1 battles on the inside and we won a few of those. We rushed three, rushed five, rushed three, rushed four. We got him off-balance in the second half."
The key to the Tar Heels generating some offense Saturday is being able to run the ball and Sexton being patient against the tight zone coverage the Cavaliers will present in passing situations.
The Heels have scored 191 points so far this year for an average of almost 32 per game and have given up 119 for an average of slightly less than 20. They have an average winning margin of 12 points. What is the highest average of points scored per game and allowed for a season? What is the highest gross difference of points scored versus allowed?
William Parker, Wilson N.C.
The most prolific scoring output for a Tar Heel team was the 35.1 points a game average in 1993--the 10-3 team that opened the year with a win over USC and ended with a Gator Bowl loss to Alabama. There were some single-digit defensive averages a century ago when games were generally low-scoring affairs, but in recent years, the 7.4 points allowed by the 1977 ACC title team is tops. The 1996 team that finished 10-2 averaged winning by 20.6 points a game--easily the most lop-sided differential in school history.
That provides a good segue into the subject of stats. A couple of interesting quotes have come up the last few weeks on the science of number-crunching in sports.
This from Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis after the Heels' 29-24 win last week: "I can give you all sorts of stats, but stats are for losers. The big thing is: Did you win or did you lose? We lost. That's really the bottom line."
And this from Butch Davis: "If you torture stats long enough, they'll tell you whatever you want to hear."
I bring the subject up because the Tar Heels are 5-1 and ranked 18th in the country, but they are not impressive from an examination of the stats.
Carolina is 91st nationally in total offense with 325 yards, 37th in scoring offense with 32 points a game, 92nd in rushing offense with 121 yards, and 71st in passing offense with 204 yards.
On defense, the Tar Heels are 74th in total defense with 367 yards a game, 41st in scoring defense with 20 points, 61st in rushing defense with 135 yards, and 92nd in pass defense with 232 yards.
Carolina's scoring offense and defense ranks in the top third in the country while the Heels' yards outputs are well back in the pack. That is a direct connection to the one stat category in which they are certainly dominating--turnovers. Because the Heels' turnover ratio is so strong--1.83 differential per game, first in the country--they are scoring more points on the yards they gain and taking the ball away from teams that are moving the ball between the 20 yard-lines but not getting into the end zone.
"The bottom line when all is said and done, the important number is what you're giving up point wise," Withers says. "All other stats are great, interceptions are great. But the biggest thing is to not let them in end zone."
The Tar Heels have 14 interceptions, best in the country, with eight players nabbing at least one opposing pass (safety Trimane Goodard leads with four).
"I love the fact we're in a position to make a play," Davis says. "We're good enough athletes that when we're in position, we're going to get our share. Our guys are breaking on the ball and they're seeing the ball well and catching their share of them."
"Our kids believe we're going to get the picks," adds Withers. "That's a big part of it now--we just believe someone is going to make a play. We have a knack of having people in the right spot."
Thanks to Brandon Tate and wish him nothing but a 100 percent recovery. He sure has been fun to watch his entire time here. My question: How long has it been since the Heels have been unbeaten non-conference? This fan is trying to employ what I've heard Roy Williams say: "Let's enjoy the journey!"
TJ Stikeleather, Statesville N.C.
The Tar Heels have bounced McNeese State, Rutgers, UConn and Notre Dame in their four non-conference games. The last time they ran the table against non-conference foes was the 1996-97 era. Both years they won three non-ACC games--over Syracuse, Houston and Louisville in '96 and Indiana, Stanford and TCU in '97.
Do you think Shaun Draughn has a decent chance of rushing for 1,000 yards considering he has 297 now and a fairly soft schedule from here on out?
Matt Williams
I am not sure how "soft" I would classify the rest of the Heels' schedule, but that point aside, Draughn would have to average 117 yards a game for six games. I don't think the offense will be that dependent on the tailback in general and on one in particular to generate those kinds of yards. But Draughn has the ability to get the hot hand and he's still evolving--so anything is possible. And remember he lost 44 yards of rushing when 34 against Miami and 10 against Notre Dame came back via penalty.
Chapel Hill writer Lee Pace is in his 19th year of chronicling Carolina football through "Extra Points." He'll answer questions about the Tar Heels weekly throughout the season through his "Extra Points Mailbag" and on the pregame show for the Tar Heel Sports Network. Email him at leepace@nc.rr.com and include your name and hometown. No recruiting questions, please.
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