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View Full Version : Duke football notes, 11-17-14



jimsumner
11-17-2014, 12:15 PM
With Duke’s next game on Thursday, the weekly Tuesday media lunch morphed into a Monday media breakfast.

Everybody said the right things about putting Saturday’s loss behind them and moving forward.

Cutcliffe said he went to sleep Saturday night watching the FSU-Miami game, woke up at 3 A.M., checked the final score, did a arm thrust and went back to sleep.
Cutcliffe reaffirmed that there were “no effort issues” Saturday. “We have to be more consistent in our execution in all areas.” When asked to elaborate, Cutcliffe called Saturday’s execution issues thusly: “Sometimes it’s just a mystery.” Edwards’ fumble on a kick return was “out of the realm. We prepared the same way but we’re all human.” Same teaching, same habits going forward.

Cutcliffe said Boone’s passing difficulties were a combination of lack of separation by receivers, errant throws and protection issues. Cut was visibly disturbed at Boone having to throw away the ball because of poor protection. “He has to realize he has experience. You don’t always have to make the play that wins the game but you can’t make the play that beats you.”

Cut reminded us that he has lots of experience with the Saturday to Thursday turnaround, mostly Thanksgiving games between Mississippi and Mississippi State, so he has a workable system in place.

Speaking of rivalries, he says the Duke-Carolina rivalry is unique because of the two school’s proximity. "We're all over each other. We’re in enemy territory all the time.” He says he’s reminded of this fact every time he goes to the grocery store.

Laken Tomlinson says the team is keenly aware of the rivalry. “It’s the big drive for us. We desperately want to beat this team, not because they’re another ACC opponent but because they’re UNC.”

Tomlinson added that being on Thursday night national TV did not enhance the game in his mind. It would be the same if nobody was watching.

After a dominant first period against VT, Duke’s running game went sour. Tomlinson attributed this to “some schematics, some missed assignments. That’s why we’ve got to look at the film and learn from what happened and get ready for the next game.”

He also cited penalties putting Duke in down and distance holes.

Pass protection problems? “It’s within ourselves. We had some breakdowns, weren’t really working in unison. “

Carolina? “I have a lot of faith in our defense. I don’t think they’ll score a lot. But I think our offense will be extremely effective. “

Duke sacked Michael Brewer six times Saturday. But Carolina quarterback Marquise Williams is a different kettle of fish, bigger than most of Duke’s defensive ends and as fast as the linebackers.

Cutcliffe said that you always hope to pressure the quarterback with just the four down linemen but said it in such a way that makes it seem like some blitzing will be in order. He noted that Williams thrives on breaking tackles and said that Duke had better tackle him when they got the chance.

Defensive end Dezmond Johnson had 1.5 of those sacks. His take on rushing Williams. “He can stay in the pocket but he has the ability to run. He has the ability to make big plays. We have to be focused as possible, knowing they have threats everywhere. We want to go after him the same way [as Brewer] but being smart about your rush. You don’t want to rush too high because that opens up a gap for him to take off and break one. You want to be aggressive but be aggressive smartly.”

DeVon Edwards said the quick turnaround is being aided by the coaches. "Our coaches are real good with adjusting to what type of schedule we have. They teach us so that we are able to pick up faster ad learn their tendencies better. There's nothing too new to them."

Edwards on stopping Carolina. "Staying disciplined and doing what you're supposed to do and trusting that your teammates are going to do their jobs to bring it all together."

Safety Jake Kite suffered a season-ending knee injury Saturday. Kite wasn’t playing much from scrimmage but was a special-teams mainstay.

OldPhiKap
11-17-2014, 12:26 PM
Thanks for the summary, hope that is our only significant injury.