UPDATE: Allow me to add this quote from Carolina March which pretty much sums it up:
I want to say, “On the bright side…” here, but there is no bright side. There is only this. And this is very, very bad football.
–
I scarcely know where to begin. I do know if the football team continues this impersonation of a hen house the switch to basketball mode in Tar Heel Nation will be made within a week.
This was an atrocious performance on the offensive side of the ball since…well…last week. At least last week it was against a legitimate team that had some potential NFL players on defense not to mention a skewed time of possession which kept the offense of the field. In this one there was very little excuse. The defense did their job with the exception of not creating enough turnovers. Other than that, holding the opponent to nine points until the final five minutes of the game is more than enough to secure the win. And before I delve into the grossly dysfunctional offense let me point out that Robert Quinn is a beast. A freaking beast. The defense as a whole played well but Quinn was on a completely different level posting four tackles for loss and three sacks which is made more impressive by the fact UVa QB Jameel Sewell is fairly mobile. So kudos to Quinn and I hope he enjoys his evening because he showed up and did his job today.
The same could not be said for the offense which, as I poured over the stat sheet, presented not one single redeemable quality or individual from today’s performance. Seriously. The big contributor on the offensive end today was Greg Little and his paltry 63 yards receiving which was almost half of what T.J. Yates threw today. The run game sucks. It sucks so bad I think we may have to come up with a new name for it because “running” or “rushing” denotes you are actually moving forward in some way and based on what I have seen that is not happening. Shaun Draughn is not getting it done nor is Yates in the passing game.
Now I am fully aware UNC has offensive line issues and is dealing with a group of receivers that is either young or simply not that good. The former puts enormous burden on the running backs to make things happen and the latter calls on Yates to be more than I fear he is capable of being. Still we are talking about going against a UVa defense that had yet to surrender fewer than 26 points in an 0-3 start and the 26 was posted by William & Mary. There is no reason why UNC should not be getting something out of this offense. I have to think there is enough talent on the field even if the offensive line issues are somewhat crippling. What that leaves you with is two options: Either the players are just not playing well or there is some epic fail going on with the coaching. I am beginning to think the latter though I lack the acumen on football issues to know for sure.
I do know that with Yates, John Shoop has always employed short passes with the occasional downfield strike. In the days of Nicks and Tate, this was very effective because either of those guys were capable of creating space to make catches thrown underneath but also had the speed to pick up yards after the catch. Against UVa Yates was 20-36 for 135 yards. Twenty completions on 36 passes is a respectable completion percentage but 135 yards only gets you about 6.75 yards per catch. Again that is respectable but when UNC’s longest completion of the day was 23 yards it simply does not cause the opposing defense to open the coverage up any. On one level, you take what the defense gives you and UVa has a decent enough pass defense to perhaps give UNC some issues. However, it seems like a combination of questionable play calling, the failure of the running backs to actually produce and some inaccuracy with some of Yates passes created the incredible mess we witnessed today. I am not sure how to fix it but I do know that if UNC continues to struggle mightily on offense versus any team not named The Citadel and ECU, what do you think is going to happen when the Heels face teams who have actually won games like Virginia Tech. Heck, I am worried about Duke at this point.
This was a bad loss. UVa was 0-3 and a laughingstock in the ACC as well as nationally. For some reason, playing UVa turns into these low scoring ugly defensive struggles. The last time UNC beat UVa was in 2005 and the score was 7-5. Since then UVa has won four straight over the Heels but never scoring more than 23 points. Punts, turnovers and FG kickers make up most of the games between these two schools with UNC unable to get over the hump. In terms of the current season, this is simply a humiliating loss given what we thought UVa was coming into the game. If Georgia Tech could be seen as a wake-up call then I am not sure what your possibly call this other than the worse loss of the Butch Davis era to date.
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I wish I knew more about football recruiting. How is butch doing with that?
Football recruiting is hard to get a bead on. In basketball the commodities are pretty much known and while every top ranked player does not always pan out(hello Josh McRoberts!) most of them do and most of the ones Roy brings in seem to produce. In football, players’ ratings do not always translate as well. So much relies on physical development, fitting them into the system and various other factors I am not even aware of. For example Greg Little and Marvin Austin were supposed to be big time players and so far that have been big time disappointments.
As far as what it looks like right now, it was good last season. UNC had a top ten class for what that’s worth. So far this cycle it has not looked good but there is plenty of time to go still.
A few more points:
1. Is there any reasonable argument that we aren’t the doormat of the ACC?
2. The fact that the offensive line is quite banged up is no excuse. Injuries are part of the game. It is up to the coaches to (1) recruit in light of this fact and (2) develop the depth with the players on hand to deal with it. It is also up to the players to step up. None of this is happening.
3. It would be a longshot argument in any event that today’s result can be chalked up to Butch’s “rebuilding,” but it’s bleaker than that. The team is going BACKWARDS. We were better last season. Indeed, we were better at the beginning of THIS season — not that we were exactly super-dooper. Some “rebuilding.”
4. It is said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. But over and over we sent Draughn into the line for no gain or next to no gain. Good grief.
5. Highsmith is the one offensive player on this team (perhaps along with the injured Pianalto) who has shown star quality. But if he had a single pass thrown his way, I don’t remember it. What can the coaches be thinking about?
6. You would have to be nuts to pick Carolina to win even one more conference game this year. It’s not just that no winning team could have put on today’s performance; it’s that RESPECTABLE team could have.
7. THF is correct that one or two players looked really good today, and their performances shouldn’t be swallowed by the justified disappointment we all feel. But one or two players do not a football team make. Viewed as an overall effort (to use that word loosely), this game was a disgrace unto itself and a harbinger of even more searing disgraces to come.
THF,
No truer words could have been written about Carolina’s offense. There were 4 to 5 times today, at least, where the O-Line did create a hole for Draughn and he simply jogged into the line and fell down, literally. His play was pathetic.
Not that it would have mattered, but why didn’t Dwight Jones play today??? I thought he was supposed to be back in the lineup and if he played, I didn’t see him…
With the Heels playing Ga. Southern next week, I would give Braden Hansen and, dare I say it, Mike Paulus some work at quarterback.
I would also start Ryan Houston at running back and give some runs to A.J. Blue out of a NORMAL offensive set…
Also, if I see that Wildcat Formation in a game again, I’m literally going to blow a gasket. Every time Carolina has a semblence of a drive going, here comes that stupid Wildcat and we literally throw away down…With this offense, you can’t afford to have wasted downs.
I have to honestly say, I haven’t seen the offense look this bad since we had Dominique Williams at quarterback in Carl Torbush’s second season the year of the Furman loss.
I will say four things.
One: Yes, injuries are part of the game, but when the injuries are happening on an offensive line that’s already missing a couple cogs from last year that were expected to return that hurts A LOT.
Two: That said, if I’m Butch, I’m spending the next three weeks offering o-line recruits. Which reminds me, when Al Groh gets fired, can we PLEASE hire him for the strict purpose of scouting and recruiting o-linemen.
Three: I don’t think we can say the sky is falling yet, but it certainly is cloudy. Let’s not forget that we still managed to beat an ECU team that isn’t great, but isn’t awful and we’re the sole loss for a UConn team that managed to beat Baylor before it lost Robert Griffin for the year. If Ga. Southern, however, makes it close, I’m screaming the sky is falling with everyone else.
Four: With all that said, it’s time for Shoop to go and it’s DEFINITELY time for Everett Withers to go. John Shoop is a predictable loser. He was, after all, in charge of the Raiders offense when it went 2-14. Now, he uses the same bland, non-sensical play-calling with no rhyme or reason with us. Oh, it’s 3rd and 84? Sure, let’s run a drawn to Draughn? Oh, we’ve got a drive going? Hell yes, bring on AJ Blue and the wildcat.
And don’t even get me started on Withers. He, quite frankly, is awful. We have one of the most talented, fast and athletic defenses. So, hey, let’s not utilize that ability. Why take advantage of three speedy, pass-rushing LBs with sub-4.5 40 speed with that new-fangled blitz when you can just rush the front four? What? We have speedy, smart corners with a penchant for picks? Amazing, let’s abandon the press and, instead play our corners 15 yards off the receiver.
As bad as the offensive line may be, Draughn has had openings. He can’t seem to find the holes, and he goes down whenever someone breathes on him. His 3.7 YPC average is awful. Houston, Blue (from a CONVENTIONAL formation), and Whomble should be ahead of Draughn on the depth chart. The offense moves better when Houston carries the ball, and Blue could be a great change of pace back. Move Draughn back to safety and call it a day.
In terms of Yates, he’ll make bad throws every now and then. Every QB does. I’m not ready to give up on Yates quite yet because I think he has the potential to be an outstanding quarterback. He’s had some pretty freakish picks this year (the UConn game that bounced off of a shoulder pad and into a DL and the one today that was deflected and stayed in the air for what seemed to be forever)and he’s got a good arm. I think that defenses know what’s being thrown their way in terms of playcalling because Shoop seems to stick with the same six or seven plays he gets from a playstation game.
And I’m sorry to say this, but Withers should be looking for a new job. If not now, then after the season. UNC has one of the most talented defenses in the country with playmakers at every section of the defense. I love the “play cover 2 and let the offense convert on 3rd down” scheme he runs. These LB’s need to be bringing heat, and with Robert Quinn turning out to be the beast he is, QB’s should be wetting their pants before snaps.
There’s adversity out there. I know the o-line is hurt, but good coaching can alleviate a lot of things. I don’t think that UNC is getting that right now. This team better demolish Georgia Southern next week and make them think twice about coming to Chapel Hill for a good paycheck. Anything less than a dominating performance, and people will start to panic and call for Davis’ leash to get a lot shorter with Baddour.
Last week I took solace in the fact that FSU lost kind of like the ‘Heels did. This week I’ll look to the Clemson-UMd for comfort.
Those free tix to the game yesterday were almost worth every penny I paid for them. You were lucky you were busy, THF.
I’m too pained to comment on the game and need more time, read more Gin, to work through what happened yesterday. I don’t think it’s fair to call out Austin this season, he’s been all over the field and made some serious work out of opponents. I recognize that he had a high rating but so did many other players, Pinalto as well but apparently start ratings aren’t clearly linked to touchdown celebrations either. We had a huge discussion on recruiting as did every blog last year and the statistics favor the higher ranked classes. You can’t win without recruiting to be sure. I’m a victim of last year’s success but a season doesn’t make everything better so quickly:
2002 3-9
2003 2-10
2004 6-6
2005 5-6
2006 3-9
2007 4-8
2008 8-5
I need more coffee with my gin but I thought it would be at least useful to have some perspective. I want UNC to be successful, as much or more than anyone else and I’m certain that they will but it’s always slower than we would like and that perception comes from a lack of information and insight generally. It’s hard to judge what is happening on the personnel side from the stands but it’s easy to see the results. Hopefully we can turn this around and move forward. I do think it’s important to hold the kids above the fray. If you are making bad plays then you are allowed to make bad plays by the coaches. Nobody wants to win more than the guy on the field, the receiver that dropped the ball or the qb that threw the interception. I do wonder how much competition there is for playing time and position on our team today and in seasons past. You have to create a team but it has to be balanced with achievement, competition and success.
I agree wholeheartedly that the somebody needs to kill that “wildcat”. When Blue comes in the defense knows it’s either a run or a run. I wished they had brought Blue in for an entire series and let him stand in the pocket and throw the football.
Houston needs more playing time, period.
A good coach makes the necessary tweaks/changes during a game when he sees problems. I don’t know, maybe there were so many problems yesterday that Butch and his staff didn’t know what to do. But I do know that offensively we were dong the same crap in the 4th quarter (when we still had a chance) that we were doing in the 1st quarter. And clearly it wasn’t working.
^yeah, how does a guy like Houston, who can at least run through and over somebody even if the blocking isnt perfect, get only 3 carries?
That’s the good thing about Houston, if the holes aren’t there then you need a guy who can power through the line. That’s not Draughn’s style.
I’m just too embarassed. After all that talk, i might have to call in sick on Monday. I don’t think I can face all my colleagues making fun of me and my Tar Heels. I’ve got nothing to say. Ah this sucks.
I’m much more mad at Shoop than I am at Withers. Our offense must be the worst in D1 football.
It’s hard for me to type as I’m shaking my head even 24 hours after stomaching this game. I was encouraged by the ECU game as I thought, yes, Shoop has figured out how to give Yates a few seconds, yes that’s the key……. Now, I knew GT had slightly better athletes than ECU across the board and I thought, humm, maybe it was just a bad day for TJ. They’ll come back and stomp Virginia, yes, I have faith.
Well, now, and I’ve always tried to be positive, can plainly see that the offensive scheme is so predictable that I was literally calling 2 out 3 plays and making the folks around me laugh. That’s all you could do on such an otherwise beautiful day in Kenan Stadium. Now, I’m a realist, and I know the OL is probably the root of the issue, but this performance was truly, the first game of the Davis era, that was Torbusesque and Buntingesque all rolled up into one. I don’t care if UVA has good athletes, they were beaten by WILLIAM and MARY.
Yates, I’m sure he’s a great kid, but he is not one cent better than his first day on the field as a FR. It’s time to challenge Mike Paulas, Hansen, Jamal Womble…….heck start the daggone FR o-liners. Teach Ryan Houston how to block and teach Shaughn Draughn how to gain 3 yards instead of losing 2. Teach Wilson and J Boyd how to finish a route.
I’m done. Still shaking head however. Oh yea, congrats to UVA. I 100% agree with Heeled soul.
UNC won the national championship in basketball this year.
There are only two college championships that any one cares about and UNC won one of them this year. Run that by any of your coffee break colleagues.
William,
You’re right…But, as a life-long Carolina Football fan all the way back to the days of Bill Dooley, I sure wish Carolina could win a football championship. Even if they didn’t win but could consistently win 9-10 ball games a year, I would love it.
Everytime we’ve gotten close in the past something has messed it up. We were getting there with Bill Dooley, but we wouldn’t give him the AD’s job. Dick Crum did a good with Dooley’s players, but then alienated all the high school coaches in the state of North Carolina, making it virtually impossible to recruit in our own state.
Mack Brown had us on the precipice, but Dick Baddour botched the process and Brown ended up at Texas.
I just hope that we as a fan base will be patient with Butch Davis. I know we’re disappointed with the offense this year, but I would much rather have the Carolina team and staff we have now, over Carl Torbush and John Bunting any day of the week.
I agree. I don’t think they can do any better than Davis. If it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work.
Spurrier and Holtz didn’t exactly do the waltz at South Carolina, a school with a similar historical level of success as UNC in football, but one that actually disdains its basketball tradition, which is far better, and hopes to be an SEC football power.
Maybe we can do it again, but is it sustainable? Michigan, one of the few to win titles in both sports, is not exactly up to standards in either sport right now. Florida maintained its football success, even after Spurrier left, but has struggled in basketball.
Top talent in math and physics go to Cal Tech and MIT and top talent in basketball go to UNC, Kentucky and Kansas. These are schools where the focus is on basketball in October. I am just not sure that your top recruits want to go to a school like Florida where the student body doesn’t even think about basketball until close to February.
Texas has done a nice job recruiting in both sports but I get the feeling that a lot of that is due to the sheer amount of oil money going into beautiful facilities. In terms of fan interest, people in Texas care more about spring practice than they do about their perennially good basketball team.
^That is why you need a coach who is committed for the long haul and capable of doing more with less. We will see if that is Butch Davis. Some folks think Davis is a great recruiter but lacks the sense of Xs and Os. What UNC might ultimately need is a guy like Jim Grobe. Heck I was all for Paul Johnson who proved at Navy he could take lesser personnel and compete via superior offensive scheming.
That sounds like you think Baddour made Mack Brown decide to go to Texas. While I’d agree that Baddour “botched the process” after Mack Brown left, I’d assert that UNC could not have won a bidding war with Texas 12 years ago, and there was little chance Mack Brown was staying anyway.
Also, I think comparing Mack Brown to Butch Davis isn’t far off. Mack Brown was a great recruiter who could sell ice to Eskimos, but wasn’t the greatest sideline general. So far, that’s Butch Davis, IMO.
I agree with ChuckHeel in that I’d take butch davis over the carl torbush / john bunting days anytime. i was a senior during the 2002-03 campaign, in which my fellow senior buddies and I toughed out every home game of the season. Most of the games seemed to be played in the rain, and the jack daniels of those years MIGHT have me fuzzy a bit, but i recall losing every single home game that season. I do believe we faced ECU w/ David Garrard, a Miami-OH team who had big ben roethlisberger at qb, and texas as a few of the non conference games, which didn’t help. but losing every single game at home that year SUCKED> Butch can be judged or criticized for x’s and o’s, but let’s be honest, i don’t think we can get the best of both worlds here at carolina, and i’d rather put out a team of studs and eventually fill the roles of assistant coaches with up and comers who can right teh ship than have a coach who is an x and o genius who has to game plan and try to outmaneuver even the least quality opponent.
as far as this year’s team, last year we lost 3 NFL players, one of which just today (nicks) broke open a ridiculous WR screen and took it to the house, on the NFL level…that makes a young defense and an inexperienced qb look REALLY good when you just throw it in the general area of WR’s and you’re practically guaranteed to score 21 points per game. Plus, with recruiting, the first step is get top recruits, so butch is going after top players to start and fill starting roles. I think that football being such a huge roster, it probably takes until the second cycle or recruiting (accompanied by some success) until we get experienced players that are top tier caliber as backups. Right now, 3 or 4 years into his recruiting/program building, we really just can’t afford to get hit w/ the types of injuries we’ve had. It’s really been the perfect storm: 3 18 year old receivers and one converted RB to receiver, a not so mobile QB, and one experience offensive lineman (jolly, any updates on his late game injury).
Watching the game was sad and yes i don’t think we can beat anyone unless we specifically game plan for the fact that the pocket lasts about 1 second and then the ball has to come out, utilizing draws, quick screens, and moving the pocket on bootlegs and rollouts. TJ had zero time to throw, and he’s not comfortable enough yet to take a beating all day and still deliver to guys he hasn’t even practiced with for an entire year. Draughn maybe could fall forward and hit holes a little bit better, but he’s a game changing running back, not a battle ram. If we went full time to Houston, we might move the chains a few more times, but it takes away the big play capability.
Look, i’m not a football expert, but no O-Line seems to be 100% of the problem and it’s not even the players faults, they’re getting thrown in a year or two before they’re ready, playing with new guys, and the rest of the team is suffering b/c of it. we can’t throw down field b/c there is hardly enough time, and we can’t pick up 3 or 4 yards on 1st and 2nd down to give us managable 3rd downs. thus we have to throw on 3rd and long and the defense is ready for it. then, when we inevitably don’t convert, our defense is asked yet again to get stops. against GT, it was excusable, but against UVA, it is not, but there were only a handful of times we didn’t punt from our 20 and give them the ball on their 40, forcing the D to hold them to 9 points (for most of the game) on short fields. Our defense is good, but they’re still a year away too from being dominant. so i don’t think it’s fair to say that they should not only get every single stop, but also score for us too. and i don’t think our D is good enough to get basically zero time of possession against a veteran GT team and think they should shut them out.
Hopefully the GA Southern game gives us some confidence boostage, people get healthy, and the coaches actually build a plan around our young and inexperienced o-line.