PDA

View Full Version : Duke football notes, 9-27-16



jimsumner
09-27-2016, 03:22 PM
DeVon Edwards update.

He has to rehab his MCL before he can have ACL surgery.

Cut said Duke has timed Edwards at 21.2 miles per hour in kickoff returns, getting to the 20.

He also praised Joe Ajeigbe’s lead blocking on kick returns. Says his assignment is to find and block the MDM, e.g. Most Dangerous Man.

Ben Humphries on Edwards. “DeVon’s presence made you want to be better. He made you better just by being out there. I’m sad that I didn’t get to finish out his last year. Just playing with him was one of the highlights of my career. That’s a big puzzle piece and it’s going to take a lot of smaller puzzle pieces to replace him.”

Edwards and Sirk are both co-captains and are out for the season. They are still co-captains but Duke might add an additional co-captain down the road. Still under consideration.

Shaun Wilson will be the special-teams captain against Virginia.

Duke is “working different combinations” at the safety spot. The current depth chart lists DeAndre Singleton, Corbin McCarthy and Alonzo Saxton II as the starters. But look for Jordan Hayes to get a long look.

Key to beating Virginia? Limit explosives and pressure the quarterback [Kurt Benkert].

Cutcliffe concerned about special teams. Says Duke almost gave up two long kick-off returns for scores against Notre Dame.

Asked when he thought Duke could beat Notre Dame, Cutcliffe responded “when we got on the bus.”

Duke has 17 sacks this season, equaling last season’s 13-game total. Cutcliffe says Duke has prioritized improving pass-rushing techniques and varying defensive schemes.

Improved running game? Duke “narrowed the plan to focus on execution against Notre Dame.” Duke moved Zach Harmon from backup center to starting left guard after determining he was one of Duke’s five best offensive linemen. Cut would like enough depth to substitute an entire second-team offensive line as a unit. Not there yet.

You probably saw most of the team pumping up A.J. Reed before his game-winning kick. Cut says you can’t fool football players and they all recognize that Reed is smart, focused and working hard on overcoming his early difficulties.

Daniel Jones’ improvement? “He played better before the ball was snapped.” He has a good plan before the ball is snapped and is seeing the ball better.

Quay Chambers earned his playing time with great practices, “working hard, playing at a much higher level.”

Humphries says Duke found its identity at Notre Dame. “As a team, you feel comfortable in your toughness and your ability to go into other places and play at your best. Our identity is as a touch, gritty football team. We’re going to hit you in the mouth. Our confidence level is high.”

Austin Davis on Duke’s final drive. “Our mindset is just finish them. We had been moving the ball all night. It’s the final drive. Let’s give it all you have. We know our defense is going to get a stop, so we need to get some points and finish it off, just seal this win. We put in the work all day. Just finish it. With five or so minutes left, might as well run it and run down the clock. It just worked out that drive and it was great."

Bryon Fields on Edwards’ absence. “The veterans have to really step it up and continue to be veterans and the younger guys are going to have to step it up, not only on the field on Saturday but also in the film room, understanding what other teams are going to do.”

Fields on forcing a fumble. “I felt like I had pretty good coverage on the ball. Once he caught it, I wasn’t really thinking tackle, I was thinking ‘get it out of there.’ Luckily, my teammates just held him up until I could get it out of there.”

OldPhiKap
09-27-2016, 03:57 PM
DeVon Edwards update.

He has to rehab his MCL before he can have ACL surgery.

Cut said Duke has timed Edwards at 21.2 miles per hour in kickoff returns, getting to the 20.

He also praised Joe Ajeigbe’s lead blocking on kick returns. Says his assignment is to find and block the MDM, e.g. Most Dangerous Man.

Ben Humphries on Edwards. “DeVon’s presence made you want to be better. He made you better just by being out there. I’m sad that I didn’t get to finish out his last year. Just playing with him was one of the highlights of my career. That’s a big puzzle piece and it’s going to take a lot of smaller puzzle pieces to replace him.”

Edwards and Sirk are both co-captains and are out for the season. They are still co-captains but Duke might add an additional co-captain down the road. Still under consideration.

Shaun Wilson will be the special-teams captain against Virginia.

Duke is “working different combinations” at the safety spot. The current depth chart lists DeAndre Singleton, Corbin McCarthy and Alonzo Saxton II as the starters. But look for Jordan Hayes to get a long look.

Key to beating Virginia? Limit explosives and pressure the quarterback [Kurt Benkert].

Cutcliffe concerned about special teams. Says Duke almost gave up two long kick-off returns for scores against Notre Dame.

Asked when he thought Duke could beat Notre Dame, Cutcliffe responded “when we got on the bus.”

Duke has 17 sacks this season, equaling last season’s 13-game total. Cutcliffe says Duke has prioritized improving pass-rushing techniques and varying defensive schemes.

Improved running game? Duke “narrowed the plan to focus on execution against Notre Dame.” Duke moved Zach Harmon from backup center to starting left guard after determining he was one of Duke’s five best offensive linemen. Cut would like enough depth to substitute an entire second-team offensive line as a unit. Not there yet.

You probably saw most of the team pumping up A.J. Reed before his game-winning kick. Cut says you can’t fool football players and they all recognize that Reed is smart, focused and working hard on overcoming his early difficulties.

Daniel Jones’ improvement? “He played better before the ball was snapped.” He has a good plan before the ball is snapped and is seeing the ball better.

Quay Chambers earned his playing time with great practices, “working hard, playing at a much higher level.”

Humphries says Duke found its identity at Notre Dame. “As a team, you feel comfortable in your toughness and your ability to go into other places and play at your best. Our identity is as a touch, gritty football team. We’re going to hit you in the mouth. Our confidence level is high.”

Austin Davis on Duke’s final drive. “Our mindset is just finish them. We had been moving the ball all night. It’s the final drive. Let’s give it all you have. We know our defense is going to get a stop, so we need to get some points and finish it off, just seal this win. We put in the work all day. Just finish it. With five or so minutes left, might as well run it and run down the clock. It just worked out that drive and it was great."

Bryon Fields on Edwards’ absence. “The veterans have to really step it up and continue to be veterans and the younger guys are going to have to step it up, not only on the field on Saturday but also in the film room, understanding what other teams are going to do.”

Fields on forcing a fumble. “I felt like I had pretty good coverage on the ball. Once he caught it, I wasn’t really thinking tackle, I was thinking ‘get it out of there.’ Luckily, my teammates just held him up until I could get it out of there.”

As always, a highlight of the week for me Jim. Thanks.

Bob Green
09-27-2016, 04:09 PM
Thanks once again, Jim. Lots to comment on:


Key to beating Virginia? Limit explosives and pressure the quarterback [Kurt Benkert].

I watched a lot of Virginia's game against Central Michigan and Kurt Benkert has a rocket launcher for an arm. A consistent pass rush will be a necessity Saturday afternoon to keep Benkert out of a comfort zone.


Duke has 17 sacks this season, equaling last season’s 13-game total. Cutcliffe says Duke has prioritized improving pass-rushing techniques and varying defensive schemes.

It still seems like pressure only comes with the blitz so I expect we will keep blitzing because it is working.


Improved running game? Duke “narrowed the plan to focus on execution against Notre Dame.” Duke moved Zach Harmon from backup center to starting left guard after determining he was one of Duke’s five best offensive linemen. Cut would like enough depth to substitute an entire second-team offensive line as a unit. Not there yet.

Balance is the key - 208 rushing and 290 passing - to effectiveness. The running game opens up the passing game and vice versa. Duncan carried the ball 21 times and Wilson 13 times. Both those guys need double digit carries every game. Improved offensive line facilitates achieving balance.


Daniel Jones’ improvement? “He played better before the ball was snapped.” He has a good plan before the ball is snapped and is seeing the ball better.

To my uneducated eye, Jones looked very poised on Saturday. I'm assuming his confidence level is high right now, which should fuel hard prep work in practice and especially in the film room. Perhaps the Wake Forest and Northwestern games represent the learning curve with the Notre Dame game showing everyone Jones' ceiling is very high. I'm optimistic.


Quay Chambers earned his playing time with great practices, “working hard, playing at a much higher level.”

Chambers has great size at 6'3" 220 so his emergence last Saturday is potentially great news. Big receivers create match-up nightmares for the defense. Moreover, I remember Coach Cutcliffe commenting on Chambers' explosiveness when he was a freshman quarterback. If Chambers becomes a consistent contributor, it could be huge for the receiving corps.


Humphries says Duke found its identity at Notre Dame. “As a team, you feel comfortable in your toughness and your ability to go into other places and play at your best. Our identity is as a touch, gritty football team. We’re going to hit you in the mouth. Our confidence level is high.”

We are going to need to be a tough, gritty football team against the schedule in front of us so it is exciting to read confidence is high.


Fields on forcing a fumble. “I felt like I had pretty good coverage on the ball. Once he caught it, I wasn’t really thinking tackle, I was thinking ‘get it out of there.’ Luckily, my teammates just held him up until I could get it out of there.”

That was gang tackling at its finest.

Virginia is going to be another tough game so Duke must go out on the field focused for 60 minutes. If the offense clicks the way it did on Saturday, we will win.

OldPhiKap
09-27-2016, 05:14 PM
We are going to need to be a tough, gritty football team against the schedule in front of us so it is exciting to read confidence is high.



Brian Kelly used the word gritty to describe Duke in his post-game PC -- that we were the grittier team that found a way to win.

Of course, then he lambasted his team for the next ten minutes.

Good times.