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davekay1971
04-18-2009, 12:15 AM
I didn't see a thread for the spring football game, but, unless I'm mistaken, it's today. After last year's change in football culture, I'm excited for some Duke Football! Any thoughts on the game? What are we looking for? What are we hoping to see? Any players of particular interest? Anybody gonna be a the game?

killerleft
04-18-2009, 08:57 AM
Oh, I'll be there! The news linked on the front page concerning the $10 million gift from Bob Pascal and Steve Brooks must have Coach Cutcliffe flying high. I bet he slept with a big smile on his face last night.

You can bet the energy level will incredible today!

Acymetric
04-18-2009, 11:30 AM
Boy, really wish I could've gone, but I had to be in Ohio this weekend. Hope everyone that goes can bring back a good report. Can't wait to see what these guys look like in year two of the Cutcliffe era!

jlear
04-18-2009, 02:12 PM
Was I the only one who went to Duke to attend the game and didn't stay because no parking?

Saw lots for plenty of other activities and no signs to football. I guess football is still not very important.

wandalee
04-18-2009, 02:50 PM
Parking was tight due to so many events going on on campus (football, lacrosse, lots of Duke reunions, etc). I saw signs for football parking in the lot off of Towerview (behind Gross Chem). I parked near hospital south and walked, since it was such a nice day. There were people swarming all over West Campus.
There were maybe 3000-5000 people there, so a decent crowd. Even a few students showed up! And the pep band was there to provide entertainment.
It was hard to tell how good we'll be since it was Duke on Duke. Renfree looked good at QB most of the time. Lots of young guys got some good playing time, which is nice to see. Let's hope for a good fall!!

Devil in the Blue Dress
04-18-2009, 04:27 PM
Was I the only one who went to Duke to attend the game and didn't stay because no parking?

Saw lots for plenty of other activities and no signs to football. I guess football is still not very important.

Along Towerview here were many signs for Game Day parking and Lacrosse parking. All classes ending with 9 and 4 have reunions this weekend.

jlear
04-18-2009, 04:33 PM
Along Towerview here were many signs for Game Day parking and Lacrosse parking. All classes ending with 9 and 4 have reunions this weekend.

I guess I should have gone the other way on Towerview. Oh well, glad I will have assigned parking during the season.

DukePA
04-18-2009, 05:30 PM
I guess I should have gone the other way on Towerview. Oh well, glad I will have assigned parking during the season.

Will you be Brunchgating with us? Hope so :)

RelativeWays
04-18-2009, 05:40 PM
I was able to park at the chem lab, which is where I always park for football. Game was fun, running game still needs work as the 1st team offense looked inept on two 1st and goal situations trying to run it in. Thad looked decent but still has a tendency to throw a bit too high. Renfree looked great. Crisp accurate passes to the jersey numbers, he has a good accurate throw. I think he only had like 3 incompletions and two of those were drops. No way Paulus would start over him. O line blocked well, 1st team D secondary seemed to play pretty well as they covered Williams and Kelly a good majority of the game. As a whole the team seems more athletic. Running game remains the only major concern. I don't think Boyette has shaken all the rust off yet.

CameronBornAndBred
04-18-2009, 06:33 PM
We parked at the 751 and Science drive lot, where beforehand we were told there would be football parking. There was, but they said they wouldn't allow tailgating. After some pressing enquiries and Ozzie influence, we were allowed to break out the grill. Brunchgate went ahead as planned!

RelativeWays
04-19-2009, 07:16 PM
I'm sad and disappointed in DBR that this thread only has 10 posts. Nobody else went? Anyway, it was fun and I will definitely be attending the spring 2010 game as well.
Forgot to mention that I saw Miles at the game, and quite a few fans got their picture with him. Its now official basketball related. Post away

Scorp4me
04-19-2009, 07:30 PM
Thad looked decent but still has a tendency to throw a bit too high. Renfree looked great. Crisp accurate passes to the jersey numbers, he has a good accurate throw. I think he only had like 3 incompletions and two of those were drops.

According the article Renfree completed 15 of 24 passes for 210 yards and two touchdowns to lead the White team. Lewis was 17-for-23 for 257 yards and ran for two touchdowns. Guess it's always a tendancy to think that the new kids are better than the ones we already have. And the article also says Boyette has a hamstrink injury and was held out for most of the scrimmage, may account for even more of the rust you saw.

CameronBornAndBred
04-19-2009, 07:56 PM
I'm sad and disappointed in DBR that this thread only has 10 posts. Nobody else went?
See the OTB for the backstory, but the spring game right now ranks way the hell up there on best days of my life. Working on paintings now.

743

Renfree looked good, he's skinny. Thad shaved his head. The rest of the day is a fog, an awesome fog.

Devil in the Blue Dress
04-19-2009, 08:46 PM
I'm sad and disappointed in DBR that this thread only has 10 posts. Nobody else went? Anyway, it was fun and I will definitely be attending the spring 2010 game as well.
Forgot to mention that I saw Miles at the game, and quite a few fans got their picture with him. Its now official basketball related. Post away

Miles was there with Martynas talking to lots of different folks.

The attendance was estimated to be 4,100+, more than I can remember being at the Spring Scrimmage in YEARS. Considering that there were reunion activities competing, Robert Redford was on campus to receive an award for his work for the environment and a lacrosse match overlapped the last quarter of the scrimmage, the football scrimmage attendance figure was pretty good. (Last year set a record with an estimated attendance of 3,250.)

The concessions were better organized than last year as well. The long line for the one vendor serving lunch last year compared to this year having several concession stands and vendors open worked well.

Construction was apparent up behind the seats at the open ends of the stadium.

All in all, it was a good day despite the heat and hot sun. If the attendance continues to increase, more parking will be necessary. There is the potential of reaching attendance of around 10,000 in the foreseeable future. What a wonderful change of fortunes!!!!!

devildeac
04-19-2009, 10:12 PM
See the OTB for the backstory, but the spring game right now ranks way the hell up there on best days of my life. Working on paintings now.

743

Renfree looked good, he's skinny. Thad shaved his head. The rest of the day is a fog, an awesome fog.

Too much sun, too many photos, too many home brews or all of the above;)?

CameronBornAndBred
04-20-2009, 07:46 AM
Too much sun, too many photos, too many home brews or all of the above;)?
I didn't notice the sun until after I got home and my stepson pointed out my burn.

davekay1971
04-20-2009, 08:48 AM
Thanks to all who posted. Wish I could have made it. To those who went, was there a noticeable difference in team speed compared to years past? That's something that Cutcliffe has talked about...

Devil in the Blue Dress
04-20-2009, 08:59 AM
Thanks to all who posted. Wish I could have made it. To those who went, was there a noticeable difference in team speed compared to years past? That's something that Cutcliffe has talked about...
Yes, play was quicker and crisper, looked more effortless. As in most spring scrimmages, the play was a bit restrained for various reasons (limited contact to prevent injuries, for example), but it was easy to see this program is changing for the better. Fans were more engaged in the action as well.

blazindw
04-20-2009, 09:29 AM
I was down at the Gothic Wonderland for my 5th reunion, and got a chance to go to the Spring Game. I was very impressed with Sean Renfree, with his decision making, his throws, the whole game. He will be quite a stud for us when Thad graduates.

I also agree that the play was quicker and looked sharper. It turned out to be a really hot day (high of 79 I think), and that combined with all the other events on campus probably drew down the attendance. Even I had to leave early for some '04 functions (and I never left football games). But, we have the makings of a sound team!

sagegrouse
04-20-2009, 10:19 AM
I'm sad and disappointed in DBR that this thread only has 10 posts. Nobody else went? Anyway, it was fun and I will definitely be attending the spring 2010 game as well.
Forgot to mention that I saw Miles at the game, and quite a few fans got their picture with him. Its now official basketball related. Post away

I went for an hour and a half, and then used my tix to the Robert Redford event. The QBs were sharp, as were both offensive teams. As always, I don't whether to say "good run" or "bad tackle" at an intrasquad game.

I thought the crowd was respectable, and I would have said more than 4,000 were in attendance.

The Redford event FWIW, was crisp and entertaining. Especially noteworthy were the three one-minute student films on the environment. The second one, "Everything Deserves a Second Chance," about the failure to recycle a soda can left in front of the Bryan Center, was good enough for a PSA on the networks. Redford, who spoke without notes or script, was cogent and relaxed. Not as good as the football game but well done nonetheless.

sagegrouse

jimsumner
04-20-2009, 10:35 AM
It's always difficult to evaluate an intra-squad game. It's zero-sum. Every sack by a Duke player was a sack allowed by a Duke plyer. Every tackle broken by a Duke player was a tackle missed by a Duke player. And so forth.

The format was curious. The theory was two distinct teams, first-team offense and second-team defense versus second-team offense and first-team defense. But the team is a bit thin to begin with and lots of players sat out for various reasons. So, some guys played for both teams.

Twelve-minute quarters in first half but then ten-minute quarters with the clock running in the second half. Not sure if the powers-that-be were concerned about injuries/heat or they were just trying to move people to the lacrosse game.

Lewis and Renfree were very sharp. Donovan Varner had a big game, as did Matt Pridemore (although Matt did have a drop). Not sure where Pridemore came from but he kept getting open. Again, was he that good or were the DBs that bad? Who knows?

The breakout performer was redshirt freshman RB Patrick Kurunwe. You will love this kid. Just runs through tackles. Boyette played sparingly because of a hammy problem and Hollingsworth didn't play at all; same reason. Jackson and Jones played well. Duke could be exceptionally deep next year at RB and some decisions will have to be made.

Weaknesses? Real thin at LB. A true freshman or two might get a chance to play early and often. Punt returns were dicey. Lee Butler left one on the ground, which brought back bad memories from last year. Duke needs to upgrade this and in a hurry.

In believe this was the only turnover. Again, great O or lousy D? Few penalties although I thought the officials swallowed their whistles on a few off-sides. But mistakes were few.

Between injuries and the absence of most of the incoming freshmen, Duke didn't really have enough bodies for a full game and I'm sure some punches were pulled. But Cut has made it clear that he wants a more explosive offense and I think we'll see that reflected in the fall. Johnny Williams didnt' do much but Varner looked like he might be ready to take a step towards replacing Riley. But OL and LB will be the real areas of concern going into fall practice.

Highlander
04-20-2009, 01:23 PM
Weaknesses? Real thin at LB. A true freshman or two might get a chance to play early and often. Punt returns were dicey. Lee Butler left one on the ground, which brought back bad memories from last year. Duke needs to upgrade this and in a hurry.


Well, they did announce early that there would be no punt returns allowed during the game. I agree the missed catch was bad, but other than that there really wasn't anything to evaluate in the way of the return game.

CameronBornAndBred
04-20-2009, 01:52 PM
Asack seems to have adjusted well to moving to safety. I know he had at least 2 solo tackles, one was negated however by his pulling a facemask.

Hancock 4 Duke
04-20-2009, 03:42 PM
My dad went to the game, without taking me, and said on the way there he walked right past Gerald Henderson. Then he said that Kyle Singler was a couple rows in front of him with his friends. Does anyone that went know about this? I wish I went with him!!!!

jimsumner
04-20-2009, 04:10 PM
"there really wasn't anything to evaluate in the way of the return game."

Let me put it this way. Duke's punt-return unit was a liability last season and upgrading it is an urgent and ongoing concern. No one has a firm grip on the job and auditions will continue in August.

RelativeWays
04-20-2009, 07:08 PM
Asack seems to have adjusted well to moving to safety. I know he had at least 2 solo tackles, one was negated however by his pulling a facemask.

Yeah FDA's mancrush looked pretty solid in the backfield, he should do well there. Keep in mind that the D DID NOT play full blast in this game. Both Thad and Sean got off throws where the line got beat, in a real game they would have been crushed. Still, I thought the line performed well after losing 3 starters. Things are looking up at WW.

watzone
04-21-2009, 10:12 PM
Here are several pictures from this weekends spring fb game -

http://bluedevilnation.net/?p=2125