some of the small things that offer hope

[upperdeck]

2019 beat a 8 win team in wake , 7 win liberty
2018 beat a 9 win team in nc st,. 7 win BC, 7 win Wake, 7 win WMU, 8 win BC
2017 beat 12 win Clemson, 8 win CMU
2016 Beat 10 win VT, 7 win BC

its the losses to some avg teams that hurt us. like ncst / maryland where we were a bit lost with the oline issues..
maryland week 6-7 instead of week 2 would have helped.

 

[nzm136]

2019 beat a 8 win team in wake , 7 win liberty
2018 beat a 9 win team in nc st,. 7 win BC, 7 win Wake, 7 win WMU, 8 win BC
2017 beat 12 win Clemson, 8 win CMU
2016 Beat 10 win VT, 7 win BC

its the losses to some avg teams that hurt us. like ncst / maryland where we were a bit lost with the oline issues..
maryland week 6-7 instead of week 2 would have helped.

We also beat an 8 win WVU team in the bowl game last year. This year wasn't great, but the world isn't ending. We aren't that far away.

 

[Shrmdougluvr]

Our o-line improved. Our QB should improve. Almost all of our playmakers return. Our schedule could not get easier (except for maybe 2021).

 

[OrangeTarheel]

I’ve said it elsewhere but getting wins late in the season is a good sign. Definitely can be interpreted in a number of ways but avoiding/overcoming/adapting to injuries is part of it. Of the winning we have done in the last two decades it strikes me that very little has been at the end of the regular season.

 

[sufandu]

We have some good pieces. I like that the oline was more functional at the end of the year. My hope is that the young guys grow, literally, in the offseason so that we can be more physical next year.


The obvious concerns are the defensive front seven with how much we lose there. At least we have some linebackers that saw significant time this year, so we shouldn't be starting from scratch there. The depth on the dline scares me. I'm also concerned about TD. He has amazing physical tools. I hope he can get the mental part down. For some guys that's something they either get or they don't. Sometimes it's instincts more than intellect. Hopefully a better oline and running game take some of the strain off him.

I hope we find a million different ways to get Jordan the ball next year. It would be nice if he could field punts in addition to kick return. A game breaker there could mean a game or two.

 

[upperdeck]

we lose a lot in the front 7 but we also cant really say we lost more than a system guy except for the 2 DEs,

 

[qdawgg]

2019 beat a 8 win team in wake , 7 win liberty
2018 beat a 9 win team in nc st,. 7 win BC, 7 win Wake, 7 win WMU, 8 win BC
2017 beat 12 win Clemson, 8 win CMU
2016 Beat 10 win VT, 7 win BC

its the losses to some avg teams that hurt us. like ncst / maryland where we were a bit lost with the oline issues..
maryland week 6-7 instead of week 2 would have helped.

We didn’t lose to MD because of the oline.

 

[sufandu]

we lose a lot in the front 7 but we also cant really say we lost more than a system guy except for the 2 DEs,

Don't we lose Berry too? He saw a lot of time as a backup. That's three of our top 4 DE's. Do we have decent replacement depth there?

 

[sufandu]

We didn’t lose to MD because of the oline alone.

There, I fixed it for you.

 

[BomberOrange]

2019 beat a 8 win team in wake , 7 win liberty
2018 beat a 9 win team in nc st,. 7 win BC, 7 win Wake, 7 win WMU, 8 win BC
2017 beat 12 win Clemson, 8 win CMU
2016 Beat 10 win VT, 7 win BC

its the losses to some avg teams that hurt us. like ncst / maryland where we were a bit lost with the oline issues..
maryland week 6-7 instead of week 2 would have helped.

I wouldn’t hang our hat on winning vs liberty, wmu, or cmu. Their 7-8 wins do not translate to playing in a P5 conference. But I agree with your assessment that we do have plenty of losses to average teams.

 

[SmilinBob]

Don't we lose Berry too? He saw a lot of time as a backup. That's three of our top 4 DE's. Do we have decent replacement depth there?

Did Berry really lead the team in sacks? I thought I read that in the paper in his senior year write up.

I think the DE's will be fine coming up it's the DT's that need to make an impact and having bear back helps that quite a bit.

This LB rotation each year thing has to stop and finally getting some young guys reps will hopefully stop this find 2/3 LB's each year.

 

[rrlbees]

Did Berry really lead the team in sacks? I thought I read that in the paper in his senior year write up.

I think the DE's will be fine coming up it's the DT's that need to make an impact and having bear back helps that quite a bit.

This LB rotation each year thing has to stop and finally getting some young guys reps will hopefully stop this find 2/3 LB's each year.

yes, he led the team with 5.5 sacks.

 

[sufandu]

Did Berry really lead the team in sacks? I thought I read that in the paper in his senior year write up.

I think the DE's will be fine coming up it's the DT's that need to make an impact and having bear back helps that quite a bit.

This LB rotation each year thing has to stop and finally getting some young guys reps will hopefully stop this find 2/3 LB's each year.

My concern with DE is the depth. I would think losing 3 of the 4 rotation guys has to cause at least a bit of a dip. I know KJ is expected by many to be great as a starter next year, but do we have enough depth there to keep he and whoever the other starter is fresh?

 

[SmilinBob]

My concern with DE is the depth. I would think losing 3 of the 4 rotation guys has to cause at least a bit of a dip. I know KJ is expected by many to be great as a starter next year, but do we have enough depth there to keep he and whoever the other starter is fresh?

I think it'll depend on how quickly the young DE's figure things out. I can't stress how much I would have liked to see 3 LB's coming back instead of 1...hopefully the young LB's show they're ready.

 

[nzm136]

Honestly, our OOC schedule is soft next year. That’s 4 wins. Then matching this year would mean going 2-6 in conference for a 6-6 record. We’ll realistically have a better OL and a more experienced QB, which should be good for *at least* 1-2 more wins (3-5 or 4-4 in conference). We should be at least 7-5 next year, with 8-4 not unrealistic.
Going 10-3, 5-7, and then 7-5/8-4 isn’t bad given where we were. And honestly, given how short memories are of 17 year olds, it would set us up for success moving forward (our OOC the year after next is another 4-0 cake walk).

 

[kirbivore]

I’ve said it elsewhere but getting wins late in the season is a good sign. Definitely can be interpreted in a number of ways but avoiding/overcoming/adapting to injuries is part of it. Of the winning we have done in the last two decades it strikes me that very little has been at the end of the regular season.

encouraged that the team didn't quit after falling to 3-6.

 

[baggerbob]

Did Berry really lead the team in sacks? I thought I read that in the paper in his senior year write up.

I think the DE's will be fine coming up it's the DT's that need to make an impact and having bear back helps that quite a bit.

This LB rotation each year thing has to stop and finally getting some young guys reps will hopefully stop this find 2/3 LB's each year.

Playing Elmore there all year, without using him on offense would help greatly.

 

[upperdeck]

I cant believe that we cant find a walkon or TE to fill that same role. we didnt really run him or throw to him anyway.

 

[cuse62]

Bear is coming back

 

[Scooch]

I’ve said it elsewhere but getting wins late in the season is a good sign. Definitely can be interpreted in a number of ways but avoiding/overcoming/adapting to injuries is part of it. Of the winning we have done in the last two decades it strikes me that very little has been at the end of the regular season.

Agree with this. Winning 2 of 3 down the stretch was a marked improvement from Dino's first two seasons, when we lost our last 4 and last 5 respectively. I hope it means that our always fragile depth is improving.

 

[ORRange]

encouraged that the team didn't quit after falling to 3-6.

I agree but losing to seven P5 teams by an average of 24 points per game says they had plenty of quit in other games.
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