University of North Carolina Athletics
Five With Fedora - Sept. 18
September 18, 2017 | Football
By Jeff Greenberg, GoHeels.com
1. When you watched the game film, what specific areas did you feel the defense performed well in compared to the first two weeks?
"First, the communication that we talked about previously was much improved this week. But we didn't really need to wait until we saw the film to see that because you could see it and feel it during the game and on the sidelines. Everybody made sure they knew what they were doing and what their teammates were doing. They cut down the missed assignments that were putting us in bad situations the last two weeks. That alone can change an entire game with regards to the defense. It's one thing to get beat physically on any one play. It's another thing to just completely miss your assignment and let the other ten guys down. So I thought that the defense did that for most of this game. Lastly, I think our pressure execution was much improved this week. We told them to be ready to increase the pressure on their quarterbacks. Again, it's one thing to have that plan going in but it's another to actually get it done; and I thought our guys got it done in that area. So I think those were the keys to our success on defense in this game, but like I said after the game, we've got to keep improving this week in order to give ourselves a chance to win next Saturday."
2. You were missing your starting middle linebacker, Andre Smith, in this game. How would you rate how the linebackers played in his absence?
"Well, Cole Holcomb played the best game that he's played so far this season. In every phase he did what we needed him to do from his position, but he also did everything we needed him to do from a leadership position on the field with Andre not being there for this game. I also thought we got great reps from Jonathan Smith. The two of them communicated well with each other and more importantly, they communicated well with the defense and got the right calls to our guys. We need them to continue to grow in these roles and lead our defense. We need Jonathan to keep growing with every rep because we're going to depend on him taking the next steps he needs to take to play more as the season progresses. Both Cole and Jonathan know we need this to be the bar that they set and that with each game they need to raise that bar higher."
3. Chazz Surratt seems to be growing and improving week over week with how he is making his progressions and how he is getting multiple guys involved in the offense. Does that help your confidence in him grow and change the way that you guys can call the game?
"That growth he is starting to show enables you to do more things from a play-calling perspective. It allows us to get closer to doing more of the things we like to do in our offense. That includes what we like to do with our RPOs. It includes going deeper into what type of looks you can run out of different packages. When you start to feel confident in knowing he's going to make good decisions then you feel more confident in expanding what types of situations you can put him in and have him be successful. When you're not confident in a quarterback's ability to make the right reads and make the right decisions, then you're restricted to certain calls because you're taking those decisions out of his hands. So yes, my confidence in what we can do with Chazz has grown as he's shown that ability to make good decisions. As a result we've been able to expand the playbook with him and that will continue to grow as he grows."
4. When you looked at Duke's game film, what position battles do you envision playing a key role in the outcome of this week's game?
"I think it's going to come down to the battle up front, primarily our offensive line against their defensive front. I think that's going to be critical for us in this game. Duke has 10 sacks in the first three games they've played. So they've done a great job with their pressure so far, which has allowed them to play more man coverage that they have in the past. We have to hold up in pass protection to give us chance to move the chains. That also involves us running the ball effectively like we did this past game. I don't think Duke has given up more than 60 yards rushing in a game yet so our guys on the line are going to have to play hard and play well against their front. Our defensive front will be another key position for us to win as well. We managed to get better pressure this week but we have to build off of that going into this game with Duke because we can't let their guy just sit back there and get comfortable. Our guys understand more of what it is that J.P. wants and when they execute on what they know we're able to call more of those pressures. So I think those are two position battles that will be key to this week's outcome."
5. Whether it's later in the season or early in the season like this one, a rivalry game holds a different atmosphere around it. What does it mean to you and your team to see that Victory Bell on the other sideline?
"I can assure you nobody likes it. To be honest with you, it's not even something that we as coaches have to bring up to the players. They're already talking about it. As soon as that game this weekend was over the seniors made it clear to the younger guys what the meaning of this rivalry is and the significance of that bell. We all know it and we all feel it. You look at this rivalry and it's two teams from the state of North Carolina. Two teams separated by less than 10 miles. Two teams in the Coastal division. The goals that both teams have for the season are surrounded by those factors and it's why this game is a big game every year."
1. When you watched the game film, what specific areas did you feel the defense performed well in compared to the first two weeks?
"First, the communication that we talked about previously was much improved this week. But we didn't really need to wait until we saw the film to see that because you could see it and feel it during the game and on the sidelines. Everybody made sure they knew what they were doing and what their teammates were doing. They cut down the missed assignments that were putting us in bad situations the last two weeks. That alone can change an entire game with regards to the defense. It's one thing to get beat physically on any one play. It's another thing to just completely miss your assignment and let the other ten guys down. So I thought that the defense did that for most of this game. Lastly, I think our pressure execution was much improved this week. We told them to be ready to increase the pressure on their quarterbacks. Again, it's one thing to have that plan going in but it's another to actually get it done; and I thought our guys got it done in that area. So I think those were the keys to our success on defense in this game, but like I said after the game, we've got to keep improving this week in order to give ourselves a chance to win next Saturday."
2. You were missing your starting middle linebacker, Andre Smith, in this game. How would you rate how the linebackers played in his absence?
"Well, Cole Holcomb played the best game that he's played so far this season. In every phase he did what we needed him to do from his position, but he also did everything we needed him to do from a leadership position on the field with Andre not being there for this game. I also thought we got great reps from Jonathan Smith. The two of them communicated well with each other and more importantly, they communicated well with the defense and got the right calls to our guys. We need them to continue to grow in these roles and lead our defense. We need Jonathan to keep growing with every rep because we're going to depend on him taking the next steps he needs to take to play more as the season progresses. Both Cole and Jonathan know we need this to be the bar that they set and that with each game they need to raise that bar higher."
3. Chazz Surratt seems to be growing and improving week over week with how he is making his progressions and how he is getting multiple guys involved in the offense. Does that help your confidence in him grow and change the way that you guys can call the game?
"That growth he is starting to show enables you to do more things from a play-calling perspective. It allows us to get closer to doing more of the things we like to do in our offense. That includes what we like to do with our RPOs. It includes going deeper into what type of looks you can run out of different packages. When you start to feel confident in knowing he's going to make good decisions then you feel more confident in expanding what types of situations you can put him in and have him be successful. When you're not confident in a quarterback's ability to make the right reads and make the right decisions, then you're restricted to certain calls because you're taking those decisions out of his hands. So yes, my confidence in what we can do with Chazz has grown as he's shown that ability to make good decisions. As a result we've been able to expand the playbook with him and that will continue to grow as he grows."
4. When you looked at Duke's game film, what position battles do you envision playing a key role in the outcome of this week's game?
"I think it's going to come down to the battle up front, primarily our offensive line against their defensive front. I think that's going to be critical for us in this game. Duke has 10 sacks in the first three games they've played. So they've done a great job with their pressure so far, which has allowed them to play more man coverage that they have in the past. We have to hold up in pass protection to give us chance to move the chains. That also involves us running the ball effectively like we did this past game. I don't think Duke has given up more than 60 yards rushing in a game yet so our guys on the line are going to have to play hard and play well against their front. Our defensive front will be another key position for us to win as well. We managed to get better pressure this week but we have to build off of that going into this game with Duke because we can't let their guy just sit back there and get comfortable. Our guys understand more of what it is that J.P. wants and when they execute on what they know we're able to call more of those pressures. So I think those are two position battles that will be key to this week's outcome."
5. Whether it's later in the season or early in the season like this one, a rivalry game holds a different atmosphere around it. What does it mean to you and your team to see that Victory Bell on the other sideline?
"I can assure you nobody likes it. To be honest with you, it's not even something that we as coaches have to bring up to the players. They're already talking about it. As soon as that game this weekend was over the seniors made it clear to the younger guys what the meaning of this rivalry is and the significance of that bell. We all know it and we all feel it. You look at this rivalry and it's two teams from the state of North Carolina. Two teams separated by less than 10 miles. Two teams in the Coastal division. The goals that both teams have for the season are surrounded by those factors and it's why this game is a big game every year."
Players Mentioned
Linebacker
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Linebacker
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Linebacker
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Quarterback
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