Duke football notes, 11-24-15

[jimsumner]

Subdued atmosphere. But more thoughtful than anything else.

Still, hard to get a handle on things. Why is Duke struggling? Not making enough winning plays.

How do you make more winning plays? Practice.

How is Duke practicing? Very well. Great practices. Just not translating good practices into game competition.

How do you make that transition?

Keep practicing well.

So, there. Now you have it.

Some concrete stuff. Sirk practiced today. Still day-to-day. Cut said the medical staff will make the final call and that Sirk's long-term health will be paramount. You hope that would be the case but it's nice to hear it stated so emphatically.

Duke passed a lot more than it ran against Virginia. Cut attributed some of that to take-what-the-defense-gives you but mostly to the huge early deficit. The sacks also were a result of Virginia not having to respect the running game. Duke expects to get back to a more balanced attack against Wake Forest. And needs to.

Somewhat connected Cut quotes.

"Nobody wants to win more than our players. What we haven't done is do things that win games. Obviously, we haven't trained them to the point where they can do that."

Corbin McCarthy likely replaces Jeremy Cash in the starting lineup. Cut says the best way to approach the one-half suspension is to look forward to getting a fresh Cash for the second half.

Cut says he thinks the refs made the right call on Cash as the rule in written. But he thinks their should be more wiggle room to determine intent or lack of intent on targeting calls. Happens really quick.

Cut says there are no lessons to be learned from the long losing streak that ended the 2012 season. "It doesn't change each week, what you need to do to win. We've done the right things more than we've done the wrong things.

Several players said Duke was trying to build on the fourth-quarter comeback at Virginia. Matt Skura-"it just shows that we're never going to back down. We have a lot of pride in this program and we're going to give it everything we've got until the final seconds."

Skura on how to get back on the winning track. "You just can't get complacent. . . . Wanting to strive for more and understand that we're a better team than we've been playing. . . . We had a players-only meeting and I told the guys this is our one last chance to be together as a team before the bowl game and the seniors have got to think about what their legacy is going to be . . . It's going to take all of us being accountable for each other."

Dwayne Norman on the same subject. "You have to go out and be confident. . . . We have to forget about those mistakes and look forward to a good Wake Forest team and be confident. . . Practice today was really good. A lot of people were focused and knew the plays and I think a lot of people have done a lot of studying."

[OldPhiKap]

Thanks as always, Jim.

Gotta shake it off and finish the regular season strong. Send the seniors out of the regular season with a win.

[devildeac]

Subdued atmosphere. But more thoughtful than anything else.

Still, hard to get a handle on things. Why is Duke struggling? Not making enough winning plays.

How do you make more winning plays? Practice.

How is Duke practicing? Very well. Great practices. Just not translating good practices into game competition.

How do you make that transition?

Keep practicing well.

So, there. Now you have it.

Some concrete stuff. Sirk practiced today. Still day-to-day. Cut said the medical staff will make the final call and that Sirk's long-term health will be paramount. You hope that would be the case but it's nice to hear it stated so emphatically.

Duke passed a lot more than it ran against Virginia. Cut attributed some of that to take-what-the-defense-gives you but mostly to the huge early deficit. The sacks also were a result of Virginia not having to respect the running game. Duke expects to get back to a more balanced attack against Wake Forest. And needs to.

Somewhat connected Cut quotes.

"Nobody wants to win more than our players. What we haven't done is do things that win games. Obviously, we haven't trained them to the point where they can do that."

Corbin McCarthy likely replaces Jeremy Cash in the starting lineup. Cut says the best way to approach the one-half suspension is to look forward to getting a fresh Cash for the second half.

Cut says he thinks the refs made the right call on Cash as the rule in written. But he thinks their should be more wiggle room to determine intent or lack of intent on targeting calls. Happens really quick.

Cut says there are no lessons to be learned from the long losing streak that ended the 2012 season. "It doesn't change each week, what you need to do to win. We've done the right things more than we've done the wrong things.

Several players said Duke was trying to build on the fourth-quarter comeback at Virginia. Matt Skura-"it just shows that we're never going to back down. We have a lot of pride in this program and we're going to give it everything we've got until the final seconds."

Skura on how to get back on the winning track. "You just can't get complacent. . . . Wanting to strive for more and understand that we're a better team than we've been playing. . . . We had a players-only meeting and I told the guys this is our one last chance to be together as a team before the bowl game and the seniors have got to think about what their legacy is going to be . . . It's going to take all of us being accountable for each other."

Dwayne Norman on the same subject. "You have to go out and be confident. . . . We have to forget about those mistakes and look forward to a good Wake Forest team and be confident. . . Practice today was really good. A lot of people were focused and knew the plays and I think a lot of people have done a lot of studying."

All encouraging/upbeat to read instead of depression/despondency/resignation. Thanks again, Jim.

[Avvocato]

Jim, thanks for the great summary. Has there been any discussion or hinting by the coaches about playing Boehme more? Is there a sense of how they view Sirk long term? I know they won't say Sirk isn't the guy, but wondering if there has been any chatter or discussion aside from the injuries.

I know they need to publicly support Sirk, but I think they need to get Borhme more snaps so they can properly evaluate the QB position for next year.

Thanks again, as always.

[Bob Green]

Thanks, Jim!




Duke passed a lot more than it ran against Virginia. Cut attributed some of that to take-what-the-defense-gives you but mostly to the huge early deficit. The sacks also were a result of Virginia not having to respect the running game. Duke expects to get back to a more balanced attack against Wake Forest. And needs to.

The staff acknowledging the need for a balanced attack is music to my ears. Jumping out to an early lead would go a long way toward beating Wake Forest. We cannot afford another slow start on Saturday.

[duke09hms]

All encouraging/upbeat to read instead of depression/despondency/resignation. Thanks again, Jim.

Though to be fair, that would never come out in public.

The playcalling was mostly fine against UVA I thought. Sirk missed on open throws, no surprise there. Can't really run that much down 22 pts with a porous defense. Then Jela fumbles it on the first good RB touch, and they score a TD off it.

Rahming Nash and Deaver are more than enough to cover the loss of Barnes and Alls. Maybe even more consistent.

Short of a Sirk revelation, Boehme needs to get the majority of the snaps for us to win on Saturday.

[CameronBornAndBred]

I know they need to publicly support Sirk, but I think they need to get Borhme more snaps so they can properly evaluate the QB position for next year.

I'm guessing they will do lots of that evaluation in the spring.
I'm hoping Boehme starts the next two games. The plays won't change, so since that's not an option, I would like to see us go with the guy that executes them better. Nothing against Sirk, but Boehme has shown me he's the better option.

[bedeviled]

Cut attributed some of that to take-what-the-defense-gives you but mostly to the huge early deficitHmmm, I'm not fully buying into that explanation, mainly because a specific series of downs that upset me.

Like DU82, I thought the 4th & 15 drive was our final chance in the game...and a chance we likely only had due to UVA's 15yd DPI + 15yd unsportsmanlike penalties on one play. On that drive, we were down 8 with 3 minutes left, 3rd and 1 on the UVA 35. We did not need to pass for reasons of time or size of deficit. It was of primary importance to move the chains and maintain possession. Yes, we fumbled once, but running the ball was still a better option than risking an empty down, sack, or interception in picking up one yard, right? Our RBs were getting ~5 yds per carry on the day. Can they not pick up 1 yd in two downs? I guess if the Seahawks can't trust Marshawn to get a yard, we can't trust our guys. Anyway, we threw incomplete on 3rd, an empty down. Then, thankfully, we complete a 4yd pass on 4th down. Then, the incomplete-sack-incomplete-incomplete series ends the drive.


The sacks also were a result of Virginia not having to respect the running gameA large percentage of our runs are QB carries. I suspect it makes pass rushing much easier when the defense only has to work angles and spacing with one guy in mind.
Sidenote: out of curiosity, I quickly compared us to some other teams. QB runs are over 21% of our plays.
2015 UNC with Marquise Williams, QB runs are just under 18% of plays
2012 Texas A&M with Johnny Manziel, QB runs were just under 21% of plays
2010 Auburn with Cam Newton, QB runs were over 29% of plays
1999 Virginia Tech with Michael Vick, QB runs were 17% of plays (15% in 2000)

Only half-joking, if our RBs aren't getting carries and we're going to use 'goal line package' quarterbacks throughout the field, maybe we should play with an empty backfield to beef up the holes, the protection, and the options for the QB.

[jv001]

Subdued atmosphere. But more thoughtful than anything else.

Still, hard to get a handle on things. Why is Duke struggling? Not making enough winning plays.

How do you make more winning plays? Practice.

How is Duke practicing? Very well. Great practices. Just not translating good practices into game competition.

How do you make that transition?

Keep practicing well.

So, there. Now you have it.

Some concrete stuff. Sirk practiced today. Still day-to-day. Cut said the medical staff will make the final call and that Sirk's long-term health will be paramount. You hope that would be the case but it's nice to hear it stated so emphatically.

Duke passed a lot more than it ran against Virginia. Cut attributed some of that to take-what-the-defense-gives you but mostly to the huge early deficit. The sacks also were a result of Virginia not having to respect the running game. Duke expects to get back to a more balanced attack against Wake Forest. And needs to.

Somewhat connected Cut quotes.

"Nobody wants to win more than our players. What we haven't done is do things that win games. Obviously, we haven't trained them to the point where they can do that."

Corbin McCarthy likely replaces Jeremy Cash in the starting lineup. Cut says the best way to approach the one-half suspension is to look forward to getting a fresh Cash for the second half.

Cut says he thinks the refs made the right call on Cash as the rule in written. But he thinks their should be more wiggle room to determine intent or lack of intent on targeting calls. Happens really quick.

Cut says there are no lessons to be learned from the long losing streak that ended the 2012 season. "It doesn't change each week, what you need to do to win. We've done the right things more than we've done the wrong things.

Several players said Duke was trying to build on the fourth-quarter comeback at Virginia. Matt Skura-"it just shows that we're never going to back down. We have a lot of pride in this program and we're going to give it everything we've got until the final seconds."

Skura on how to get back on the winning track. "You just can't get complacent. . . . Wanting to strive for more and understand that we're a better team than we've been playing. . . . We had a players-only meeting and I told the guys this is our one last chance to be together as a team before the bowl game and the seniors have got to think about what their legacy is going to be . . . It's going to take all of us being accountable for each other."

Dwayne Norman on the same subject. "You have to go out and be confident. . . . We have to forget about those mistakes and look forward to a good Wake Forest team and be confident. . . Practice today was really good. A lot of people were focused and knew the plays and I think a lot of people have done a lot of studying."

I may be missing something here and if I am, then I'm sorry. But going into the last game of the regular season and there were some people that didn't already know the plays? If he's talking about players that have changed positions, then I can see it, but if not, that's surprising. GoDuke!

[tux]

I may be missing something here and if I am, then I'm sorry. But going into the last game of the regular season and there were some people that didn't already know the plays? If he's talking about players that have changed positions, then I can see it, but if not, that's surprising. GoDuke!


I took it to mean that the guys on defense had studied the Wake film and knew the Wake plays... not that they're still learning their own defensive calls. But I could be wrong...

[jv001]

I took it to mean that the guys on defense had studied the Wake film and knew the Wake plays... not that they're still learning their own defensive calls. But I could be wrong...

Now that would make sense. Thanks and GoDuke!

[OZZIE4DUKE]

I'm guessing they will do lots of that evaluation in the spring.
I'm hoping Boehme starts the next two games. The plays won't change, so since that's not an option, I would like to see us go with the guy that executes them better. Nothing against Sirk, but Boehme has shown me he's the better option.
Start Boehme and then bring in Sirk on short yardage to run the "Connette" package, which he does very well!

LGD! GTHc!

[jimsumner]

I think the high usage rate of running QB plays is a tacit admission that Duke's OL has run-blocking shortcomings. Using Sirk or Boehme as a runner turns the RB into an extra blocker. Using a RB as the ball carrier does not result in the QB becoming an extra blocker.