2014 Football Preseason Discussion Thread

[Bob Green]

Lots of Blue Devils on the list:

http://www.philsteele.com/Blogs/2014.../DBJune04.html

1st Team: Jamison Crowder (WR), Laken Tomlinson (OG), Kelby Brown (LB), Jeremy Cash (S)
2nd Team: Braxton Deaver (TE), David Helton (LB), Will Monday (P), DeVon Edwards (KR), Jamison Crowder (PR)
3rd Team: Anthony Boone (QB)
4th Team: Takoby Cofield (OT)

Nice balance with five offensive players, three defensive players and three special teams players selected. The team has the potential to have another solid season in 2014.

[chrishoke]

Good point Bob, that balance bodes very well for another strong team next year.

[Bob Green]

This SBNation preview was linked on the front page on Friday and it is a good read which I believe deserves discussing. There is no need to start a new thread so I'm going to throw this up in the Preseason All ACC thread and if the article generates some lively discussion I'll edit the title of the thread:

http://www.sbnation.com/college-foot...chedule-roster

The author calls out our punt coverage as needing improvement plus there is a good section on Anthony Boone. The author states Boone's decision making must improve but goes on to say we have all seen his upside.

Our offensive line experience sits at 84 career starts. That is impressive especially when one takes into account Lucas Patrick has only 1 career start and Cody Robinson has 0. Those two guys have played a lot of snaps so in my opinion 84 is artificially low in terms of describing experience. Experience is gained by playing snaps not just by starting games.

When the preview turns to the defensive line, the author says it probably will not be better than last year against the run and could be worse in terms of generating a pass rush. There is no question in my mind the defensive line is the biggest question mark headed into the season. Somebody young has got to step up and Jamal Bruce has got to stay healthy. If either of those don't happen, the DL will be an ongoing issue.

It sure would be nice to get a lively football discussion going to help pass the summer months while we wait for the season to kick off!

[Bob Green]

There is no question in my mind the defensive line is the biggest question mark headed into the season.

It might be the biggest question in my mind, but Coach Cutcliffe sounds optimistic:

http://vimeo.com/97562654

[Bob Green]

I'm seriously questioning whether there is any interest in discussing Duke football on this forum, but here is another attempt to generate some excitement/discussion. Three Blue Devils have been named Preseason All America...let that sink in...THREE Blue Devils have been named Preseason ALL AMERICA!

PR Jamison Crowder and OG Laken Tomlinson have been named to the 2nd Team by Athlon Sports:

http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.db...DB_OEM_ID=4200

KR DeVon Edwards and OG Laken Tomlinson have been named to the 2nd Team by Phil Steele with PR Jamison Crowder named to the 4th Team:

http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.db...DB_OEM_ID=4200

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

I'm seriously questioning whether there is any interest in discussing Duke football on this forum, but here is another attempt to generate some excitement/discussion. Three Blue Devils have been named Preseason All America...let that sink in...THREE Blue Devils have been named Preseason ALL AMERICA!

PR Jamison Crowder and OG Laken Tomlinson have been named to the 2nd Team by Athlon Sports:

http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.db...DB_OEM_ID=4200

KR DeVon Edwards and OG Laken Tomlinson have been named to the 2nd Team by Phil Steele with PR Jamison Crowder named to the 4th Team:

http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.db...DB_OEM_ID=4200

The hardcore observers are still here 24/7!

[OldPhiKap]

Very interested, but hard for me to discuss college hoops or pigskin in June. It's way too hot here to think about fall sports.

As you well-illustrate, we have come light years from the Duke program of the last quarter century. Players and coaches with national accolades; recruits who have offers from major programs; quality depth building each year. Hard not to be happy and optimistic!

[Farlan]

I am really looking forward to this season! I am hopeful that there are some young athletic d linemen in the program who have been developing and are ready to show their stuff. The defensive backfield and linebackers should be a strength so that the up front guys can take some risks and play aggressive.

[roywhite]

The overall special teams/kicking game can be outstanding for this Duke team. Ross Martin and Will Monday are experienced and talented, now at a point where a little more consistency can be expected, too. Does any team have two return men like Crowder and DeVon Edwards? The coverage teams have improved as the overall team athletic ability has improved. Add in good coaching, and Duke has a really strong component in the kicking game. It's important.

[devildeac]

I'm seriously questioning whether there is any interest in discussing Duke football on this forum, but here is another attempt to generate some excitement/discussion. Three Blue Devils have been named Preseason All America...let that sink in...THREE Blue Devils have been named Preseason ALL AMERICA!

PR Jamison Crowder and OG Laken Tomlinson have been named to the 2nd Team by Athlon Sports:

http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.db...DB_OEM_ID=4200

KR DeVon Edwards and OG Laken Tomlinson have been named to the 2nd Team by Phil Steele with PR Jamison Crowder named to the 4th Team:

http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.db...DB_OEM_ID=4200

Don't feel neglected or unappreciated, Bob. I believe there are a number of us here who truly appreciate your passion and updates like this and also about recruiting. Keep 'em coming!

[arnie]

The overall special teams/kicking game can be outstanding for this Duke team. Ross Martin and Will Monday are experienced and talented, now at a point where a little more consistency can be expected, too. Does any team have two return men like Crowder and DeVon Edwards? The coverage teams have improved as the overall team athletic ability has improved. Add in good coaching, and Duke has a really strong component in the kicking game. It's important.

Absolutely - very important. Under Roof we lost numerous games due to poor special team play. If Roof had special teams anywhere close to that which Cut has developed, Roof may still be our coach.

[Faison1]

I'm seriously questioning whether there is any interest in discussing Duke football on this forum, but here is another attempt to generate some excitement/discussion. Three Blue Devils have been named Preseason All America...let that sink in...THREE Blue Devils have been named Preseason ALL AMERICA!

PR Jamison Crowder and OG Laken Tomlinson have been named to the 2nd Team by Athlon Sports:

http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.db...DB_OEM_ID=4200

KR DeVon Edwards and OG Laken Tomlinson have been named to the 2nd Team by Phil Steele with PR Jamison Crowder named to the 4th Team:

http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.db...DB_OEM_ID=4200

Frankly, I'm more fired up about football than I am about basketball these days. Is that wrong to say? BUT, I think we have multiple threads going about football right now.

We all know the D-Line continues to be our Achilles heel. I think the younger Brown brother has been moved to DE from LB, and there's a young kid who's showing promise. So, hopefully we improve there. If we have even a halfway decent D-Line, I think our season goes pretty well. If it's nonexistent, we may have some problems.

I still don't completely understand why we've had such a tough time landing higher level D-Line prospects....

[Olympic Fan]

Frankly, I'm more fired up about football than I am about basketball these days. Is that wrong to say? BUT, I think we have multiple threads going about football right now.

We all know the D-Line continues to be our Achilles heel. I think the younger Brown brother has been moved to DE from LB, and there's a young kid who's showing promise. So, hopefully we improve there. If we have even a halfway decent D-Line, I think our season goes pretty well. If it's nonexistent, we may have some problems.

I still don't completely understand why we've had such a tough time landing higher level D-Line prospects....

Maybe I've been burned too many times by positions that were REAL Achilles heels, but while there are some questions on the defensive line, I think is easy to overestimate the problem. We're not exactly wiped out there.

At Defensive End, we have four fifth-year seniors who all have starting experience.

-- Jordan DeWalt-Ondijo has seven career starts (32 career games) and has twice won games with fumbles caused on sacks -- against FIU in 2011 and Wake Forest in 2012. Credited with 5.5 career sacks.
-- Dez Johnson has six career starts (38 career games). He has five sacks and nine QB hurries his career.
-- Jonathan Jones (formerly Woodruff) has two career starts (37 career games) with 5.5 career sacks and five QB hurries
-- Jamal Wallace has eight career starts (several at DT) and has played in 27 games. He has 2.5 QB sacks

That's a pretty experienced quartet. DeWalt-Ondijo and Jones, especially are quality pass rushers.

Behind them, we have Kyler Brown, a junior who has seen a lot of action at LB (two starts, one career sack, three QB hurries) and Britton Grier, who played as a true freshman in 2012, but redshirted last season. Two young guys to watch are redshirts Allen Jackson (who looked like a very good pass rusher the times I saw him scrimmaging) and Michael Mann, who was a big-time recruit.

I think that is a solid group -- if that's our Achilles' heel, we ought to be pretty damn good.

We are not quite as strong at defensive tackle.

We do return Jamal Bruce, who has been plagued by injuries. He did start all 14 games last season (although losing him early in the A&M game really hurt us). Bruce has started 15 games in his career and, if healthy, is a stud.

A.J. Wolf and Carlos Wray both saw a lot of action last season as backups. Mike Ramsey is one of the most highly anticipated redshirts in this class. Keilin Rayner was a big-time recruit (although at LB). Cut has only played a handful of true freshmen on the DL, but Edgar Cerenord is a 292-poind recruit who may be the highest rated DL recruit Cut has landed.

On paper, the two tackle spots (actually Duke labels them a NG and a DT) represent the least experienced, least proven position on the team. But we're talking about a returning fifth-year senior starter, two players with a ton of backup experience, a heralded redshirt and the best recruit at the position in almost a decade (since Oghobaase). Plus, Wallace can -- and has -- helped at tackle in the past.

I realize that people have to write about something in preseason. Our DL is a tempting subject. But I keep saying, if that's our biggest problem ... wow, the program has come a long way.

[Bob Green]

I realize that people have to write about something in preseason. Our DL is a tempting subject. But I keep saying, if that's our biggest problem ... wow, the program has come a long way.

Thanks for the informative post. Your optimism is encouraging. What position do you see as our biggest problem?

[Faison1]

I think that is a solid group -- if that's our Achilles' heel, we ought to be pretty damn good.

I realize that people have to write about something in preseason. Our DL is a tempting subject. But I keep saying, if that's our biggest problem ... wow, the program has come a long way.

I appreciate your optimism, Olympic, and I really hope to see improvement on the D-Line, but your response seems slightly snarky, therefore I feel compelled to respond.

First, if you look back at my post, I was talking about the entire D-Line, not just Defensive Ends.

Second, from just about every credible and trustworthy source I know, everyone points to our D-Line as being the last piece to put us over the top. We are very good at the skill positions, and we're especially good at O-Line and Linebacker.

Having said that, we graduated Justin Foxx, Sydney Sarmiento, and Kenny Anunike off a line that ranked dead last in the ACC for Rushing Defense, was #13 out of 14 for Passing Defense, and #14 out of 14 for Total Defense.

So, yes, I'm hopeful we will improve at D-Line. Am I overly optimistic? Probably not....but I hope to be pleasantly surprised.

[Olympic Fan]

Thanks for the informative post. Your optimism is encouraging. What position do you see as our biggest problem?

Bob,

I do think that the defensive line is Duke's weakest position. My point is that we've reached the point where our biggest problem is a very solid position. That's a testament to how Cut has built this program.

I'll lay it out -- this is a deeper, more talented and more experienced team than the one that won 10 games a year ago.

That does not mean we'll necessarily win 10 (or more) in 2014. A year ago, the team chemistry was terrific and the confidence exploded after the win at Virginia Tech. Even then, Duke didn't blow a lot of people out -- except that the Devils dominated the fourth quarter time after time. But games with Miami and even weaklings such as NC State and Wake were close going into the fourth. No guarantee that Duke does that again.

Last year's team was also lucky from a physical standpoint. Yes, we lost starting QB Anthony Boone for three games (and went 1-2 in those 3 games), but for the most part our key players stayed healthy (unlike 2012 when the team won six games despite a devastating string of injuries, especially on defense). We have depth at a number of positions, but no team can survive the lost of key players -- if Crowder, Boone, Kelby Brown Cash or Laken Tomlinson were to go down for an extended period, we would be hurting.

But given reasonable health and reasonable good fortune and Duke should be in the mix for the Coastal Division title again.

And, Faison, I did not mean to be snarky towards you -- you are quoting -- as you said -- credible and trustworthy sources. Of course, most "credible and trustworthy sources" picked Duke dead last in the Coastal Division last season. I agree that's the story line going into the season, but while Duke lost three experienced players on the DL, just one was an all-star quality player (Anunike). There are five fifth-year seniors returning on the DL line (as a whole) with a combined 38 career starts and some younger players with a lot more raw talent (obviously, less experience) than Sarmiento and Foxx. The program has reached the place where it can replace experienced players with other experienced players. You have seen that happen on the O-Line over the last few years ... now you are seeing it on the D-Line.

And BTW, Duke was 11th, not last in the ACC in rushing defense last year -- ahead of Miami, NC State and last-place UNC. Duke was also 11th in total defense and --in the single most important category -- ninth in points allowed:

http://raycomsports.com/sports_labs_...bl_release.pdf

(that's the entire ACC release -- you have to go near the end to get the final overall team stats)

And just to be clear -- none of this is meant to be snarky towards you -- just the overblown "concerns" about our defensive line.

[Faison1]

And, Faison, I did not mean to be snarky towards you -- you are quoting -- as you said -- credible and trustworthy sources. Of course, most "credible and trustworthy sources" picked Duke dead last in the Coastal Division last season. I agree that's the story line going into the season, but while Duke lost three experienced players on the DL, just one was an all-star quality player (Anunike). There are five fifth-year seniors returning on the DL line (as a whole) with a combined 38 career starts and some younger players with a lot more raw talent (obviously, less experience) than Sarmiento and Foxx. The program has reached the place where it can replace experienced players with other experienced players. You have seen that happen on the O-Line over the last few years ... now you are seeing it on the D-Line.

And just to be clear -- none of this is meant to be snarky towards you -- just the overblown "concerns" about our defensive line.

My apologies, Olympic. I'm sorry I misunderstood the tone of your post. Thanks for the reply and correction.

I got my stats from Sports Illustrated. I'm not sure how they calculated, but they listed Duke as allowing 188 rushing yards per game...worst in the league. Probably not accurate, but it still shows we have a lot of work to do with our D-Line. I certainly hope you're right about our younger talent.

And in regards to the "credible" sources...I definitely don't trust the guys who pick us last...but I do trust people like Jim Sumner. I think he's been pretty candid about concerns with our D.

[Bob Green]

Bob,

I do think that the defensive line is Duke's weakest position. My point is that we've reached the point where our biggest problem is a very solid position. That's a testament to how Cut has built this program.

Thanks for the detailed response!

Seeing as it is summertime (almost) and I have to fret about something, there are a couple of other positions I am a bit concerned with. First up is wide receiver where we have a ton of talent but, outside of Jamison Crowder, the talent is either unproven or hasn't quite broken through to expectations. Sophomores Johnell Barnes and Ryan Smith plus incoming freshman Trevon Lee are examples of unproven talent, while guys like Max McCaffrey and Isaac Blakeney haven't maximized their potential. To exploit Crowder's explosive talent, we have to be able to force defenses to focus on multiple receivers lined up on both sides of the formation. Who is going to step up?

The second position is running back and my concern is 100 percent about depth. We ran out of running backs in the 2nd half of the Texas A&M game. With Thompson graduated and Duncan suspended, I am concerned because we will be dependent upon freshmen for depth. Snead and Powell are experienced, talented running backs but third and fourth on the depth chart will be redshirt freshman Joseph Ajeigbe and true freshman Shaun Wilson. Ajeigbe looked great during the Spring Game so I am optimistic he will be ready to contribute. Wilson is a complete unknown at this time. Our offensive line is extremely talented so we need to capitalize on that talent with strong, fast running backs who can punish the opposition.

[Sandman]

I appreciate your optimism, Olympic, and I really hope to see improvement on the D-Line, but your response seems slightly snarky, therefore I feel compelled to respond.

My apologies, Olympic. I'm sorry I misunderstood the tone of your post. Thanks for the reply and correction.

THIS is why I love DBR and the folks who live here!!!

[loran16]

Not to be my typical self here, but I think Olympicfan overstates things heavily when he says our DLine was solid. Yes, we have experience and yes the guys returning have made some big plays.

But on average, the D Line has been pretty godawful. As the SBN preview by a pretty good writer points out, last year the DLine was:
1. Well below average against the run (117th in the Country at getting stops behind the line)
2. Well below average at getting sacks (84th in sack rate once adjusted for competition).

And our best D Lineman, Kenny Anunike, is gone.

There's a serious case that our D Line could be, as that post mentioned, seriously one of the worst in the ACC, if not the worst. If we didn't have such a good young secondary, the D would be unsalvagable. But as it is, this is far from a solid unit.