jimsumner
09-29-2015, 03:28 PM
Best news of day. Everybody practiced this morning. Everybody. Casey Blaser took every snap at RT.
Coming the week after playing the masters of the known cut-block universe, the sign of relief is palpable. Cut did say Duke has a lot of bumps and bruises, but that is nothing unexpected.
But Duke will be without Johnell Barnes for the first half of the BC game, part of his punishment for a targeting personal foul.
Cutcliffe is a member of the rules committee and thinks this rule needs to be re-evaluated. He says the word "targeting" suggests intent and there clearly was no intent from Barnes. He favors severe penalties when intent is clear but thinks more flexibility is called for.
Duke likely will start McCaffrey, Rahming and Taylor at WR but Barnes' absence creates an opportunity for others on the depth chart to make a statement. Cutcliffe specifically mentioned Anthony Nash as having a good practice this A.M, then added Ryan Smith and Quay Chambers.
Cutliffe also mentioned that Barnes should be well-rested and motivated for the second half.
Deaver with two receptions after four games? Duke running the ball more than they did two years ago when he had a big season, he's sharing time with two other tight ends, blocking well. But "there's another level for all three of those guys." Duke would like to play more two tight-end sets but needs more consistency to justify that approach.
Duke got stand-out performances on D last week from DT A.J. Wolf and DE Deion Williams, both of whom started at Duke at other positions.
Wolf started at DE. Cut says his weight gains--he's up to 280--have been crucial to his development. But there's more to it. "His motor is wide open in practice. Young people see that in practice and you build on that."
Duke moved Williams from LB to DE this spring. He's a senior. Usually when a player changes position that late in a career, not much comes of it.
But Williams made the move work. Cutcliffe says Williams is "playing the best football he's played. He's maturing, he's strong, this is a more natural position for him, playing closer to the ball, which takes advantage of his aggressiveness. He's happy and comfortable."
Fellow defensive end Britton Grier says of Williams "He actually beat me out for the starting spot [last week]. I told him before the game that I love the way you compete against the scout-team offense, now I want to see you take it out on another team. He really embraced the change. He wasn't down about it or anything."
Cut also discussed safety Jeremy Cash and corner Breon Borders at some length.
On Cash. "He makes everyday a masterpiece when it comes to game preparation. He has that ability to make every day as special as it can be."
Borders? "He has fun playing the game, likes the challenges and has the skills. He has a pure love of competition."
The botched PATs last week? The first was a slightly off-target snap by Hennessy, caused by a slippery football. Duke is very precise on this. Cut says it should take 1.25 seconds and he can tell right away if it's 1.29. Monday couldn't adjust the hold. The second time? "It got in his head."
Other than that, special teams were superb. Cut says the special teams were "embarrassed" after the Northwestern game. "You don't fix something in a week. You've got to call on who you are." The word "focus" was used. Lesson learned we would hope.
I talked to DeVon Edwards about his TD kick-off return.
"It happens very fast. Once you pick a certain gap, you have to run with what you see. They [the coaches] are very big on making more than one cut, go with your gut and get what you can get. When you see open grass, you just get as much as you can get. When everybody gets up and cheers for you, it's motivation, it makes you run faster."
I confirmed that Nico Pierre will remain at running back for the season. Next year? TBD. But Duke thinks he could be really good at RB. If this works, Duke could redshirt either or both of the incoming RBs.
On to Boston College. The word for the Eagles seems to be "physical." Great defense so far, meh offense. Cut says of their D "big, well-oiled machine. They do a lot of things."
Their offense? "Big, physical, a lot of formations."
RG Tanner Stone says of BC "They have a wide variety of looks they can give, lots of movement. They're very physical. We need to be more physical than them, have a balance between running and throwing the ball."
BC's defense has allowed two touchdowns this year. Two other scores were against special teams and their offense.
Grier on BC's offense. "We kind of know what to expect because we've seen on film that they are going to run the ball a lot. We know they're going to attack us."
Edwards? "You have to be disciplined. They have keys that take you to the ball. Everybody has an assignment, It's very important that we train our eyes well."
Rain this weekend? Good chance. Thomas Sirk says that Duke's experience playing in the rain last week should be helpful. Duke made a point of practicing in the rain last Friday to get some comfort level with wet footballs.
Sirk says the key to his improvement is "third-down execution. I have to be more comfortable and calm in the pocket. I try to critique myself. I did a great job of critiquing myself after the Northwestern game." When asked if the interceptions are more decision-making issues or execution issues, Sirk responded execution.
Coming the week after playing the masters of the known cut-block universe, the sign of relief is palpable. Cut did say Duke has a lot of bumps and bruises, but that is nothing unexpected.
But Duke will be without Johnell Barnes for the first half of the BC game, part of his punishment for a targeting personal foul.
Cutcliffe is a member of the rules committee and thinks this rule needs to be re-evaluated. He says the word "targeting" suggests intent and there clearly was no intent from Barnes. He favors severe penalties when intent is clear but thinks more flexibility is called for.
Duke likely will start McCaffrey, Rahming and Taylor at WR but Barnes' absence creates an opportunity for others on the depth chart to make a statement. Cutcliffe specifically mentioned Anthony Nash as having a good practice this A.M, then added Ryan Smith and Quay Chambers.
Cutliffe also mentioned that Barnes should be well-rested and motivated for the second half.
Deaver with two receptions after four games? Duke running the ball more than they did two years ago when he had a big season, he's sharing time with two other tight ends, blocking well. But "there's another level for all three of those guys." Duke would like to play more two tight-end sets but needs more consistency to justify that approach.
Duke got stand-out performances on D last week from DT A.J. Wolf and DE Deion Williams, both of whom started at Duke at other positions.
Wolf started at DE. Cut says his weight gains--he's up to 280--have been crucial to his development. But there's more to it. "His motor is wide open in practice. Young people see that in practice and you build on that."
Duke moved Williams from LB to DE this spring. He's a senior. Usually when a player changes position that late in a career, not much comes of it.
But Williams made the move work. Cutcliffe says Williams is "playing the best football he's played. He's maturing, he's strong, this is a more natural position for him, playing closer to the ball, which takes advantage of his aggressiveness. He's happy and comfortable."
Fellow defensive end Britton Grier says of Williams "He actually beat me out for the starting spot [last week]. I told him before the game that I love the way you compete against the scout-team offense, now I want to see you take it out on another team. He really embraced the change. He wasn't down about it or anything."
Cut also discussed safety Jeremy Cash and corner Breon Borders at some length.
On Cash. "He makes everyday a masterpiece when it comes to game preparation. He has that ability to make every day as special as it can be."
Borders? "He has fun playing the game, likes the challenges and has the skills. He has a pure love of competition."
The botched PATs last week? The first was a slightly off-target snap by Hennessy, caused by a slippery football. Duke is very precise on this. Cut says it should take 1.25 seconds and he can tell right away if it's 1.29. Monday couldn't adjust the hold. The second time? "It got in his head."
Other than that, special teams were superb. Cut says the special teams were "embarrassed" after the Northwestern game. "You don't fix something in a week. You've got to call on who you are." The word "focus" was used. Lesson learned we would hope.
I talked to DeVon Edwards about his TD kick-off return.
"It happens very fast. Once you pick a certain gap, you have to run with what you see. They [the coaches] are very big on making more than one cut, go with your gut and get what you can get. When you see open grass, you just get as much as you can get. When everybody gets up and cheers for you, it's motivation, it makes you run faster."
I confirmed that Nico Pierre will remain at running back for the season. Next year? TBD. But Duke thinks he could be really good at RB. If this works, Duke could redshirt either or both of the incoming RBs.
On to Boston College. The word for the Eagles seems to be "physical." Great defense so far, meh offense. Cut says of their D "big, well-oiled machine. They do a lot of things."
Their offense? "Big, physical, a lot of formations."
RG Tanner Stone says of BC "They have a wide variety of looks they can give, lots of movement. They're very physical. We need to be more physical than them, have a balance between running and throwing the ball."
BC's defense has allowed two touchdowns this year. Two other scores were against special teams and their offense.
Grier on BC's offense. "We kind of know what to expect because we've seen on film that they are going to run the ball a lot. We know they're going to attack us."
Edwards? "You have to be disciplined. They have keys that take you to the ball. Everybody has an assignment, It's very important that we train our eyes well."
Rain this weekend? Good chance. Thomas Sirk says that Duke's experience playing in the rain last week should be helpful. Duke made a point of practicing in the rain last Friday to get some comfort level with wet footballs.
Sirk says the key to his improvement is "third-down execution. I have to be more comfortable and calm in the pocket. I try to critique myself. I did a great job of critiquing myself after the Northwestern game." When asked if the interceptions are more decision-making issues or execution issues, Sirk responded execution.