jimsumner
09-12-2017, 02:43 PM
Be honest. When it was announced five or so years ago that Duke would be hosting Baylor in the 2017 season, how many of you imagined Duke would be a two-touchdown favorite?
I didn't raise my hand.
And it's not because Duke is reminding anyone of the '72 Dolphins. A host of off-field issues have Baylor in a downward spiral right now.
Of course, none of the Duke players has noticed any of this and hopefully there's an element of truth in all this, football being football and 20-year-olds being 20-year olds. Don't look past anyone.
Cut deftly side-swiped an attempt to get him to address any of Baylor's ethical issues and concentrated on the football team coming to Wade this Saturday. He says they are playing lots of young players but have lots of talent and are getting better. He says they're the fastest team Duke has faced so far.
Cut concentrated on the speed of the wide-outs, who he said had track speed. Baylor started grad-transfer Anu Solomon at QB its first two games but is switching to sophomore Zach Smith this week. Cut describes Smith as an accurate, strong-armed pro-style QB.
New Baylor coach Matt Ruhle was at Temple last year so Cut spent all summer looking at 2016 Temple game film and he and his staff have been looking at 2016 Zach Smith game film. So, an interesting combination of approaches.
Cut says Duke will mix coverages and try to give Baylor different looks. He says Duke's DBs will have to "be smart, be technique-conscious," and the defensive line has to pressure Smith. Smith is not known for his mobility.
Duke spent a lot of time Sunday and today working on special teams. Duke not pleased with Parker's punting last week, especially the touch back on the pooch punt and a number of youngsters missed assignments. "We have some young people who need to play better." He says that Austin Parker has field-goal range to over 50 yards but he (Cut, not Parker) is not a fan of long field goals.
Shaun Wilson continues to be "banged up" with "nagging injuries." Did not practice Sunday but did have a good practice today. A delicate balancing act.
Scott Bracey had the best practice today he has had in some time.
Brittain Brown had several runs today that caught Cut's attention. In a good way.
Cut really pleased with backup QB Quentin Harris and wants to find ways to get him on the field more often. Said that Harris is competing harder for PT than any backup QB he's had at Duke and that Harris has improved more from spring to now than anyone else on the team.
After the NW game, Cut said that Duke had made a commitment to being more physical, on both sides of the ball. I talked to several players about that and the feeling was that it started in practice. Alonzo Saxton said the coaches told the team not to regard to scout team as their teammates but to go after them hard.
DE Tre Hornbuckle says Duke is trying to be more aggressive, more proactive. "I try to attack the line of scrimmage every play, doing my assignment one hundred miles an hour, running to the ball on every play. Good things happen when the defensive line makes plays on the opposite line, when we make plays in the backfield."
Speaking of defensive ends, neither Terrell Lucas nor Chidi Okonya is listed on the injury reports. But both were banged up during the fall pre-season and are working their way back.
I didn't raise my hand.
And it's not because Duke is reminding anyone of the '72 Dolphins. A host of off-field issues have Baylor in a downward spiral right now.
Of course, none of the Duke players has noticed any of this and hopefully there's an element of truth in all this, football being football and 20-year-olds being 20-year olds. Don't look past anyone.
Cut deftly side-swiped an attempt to get him to address any of Baylor's ethical issues and concentrated on the football team coming to Wade this Saturday. He says they are playing lots of young players but have lots of talent and are getting better. He says they're the fastest team Duke has faced so far.
Cut concentrated on the speed of the wide-outs, who he said had track speed. Baylor started grad-transfer Anu Solomon at QB its first two games but is switching to sophomore Zach Smith this week. Cut describes Smith as an accurate, strong-armed pro-style QB.
New Baylor coach Matt Ruhle was at Temple last year so Cut spent all summer looking at 2016 Temple game film and he and his staff have been looking at 2016 Zach Smith game film. So, an interesting combination of approaches.
Cut says Duke will mix coverages and try to give Baylor different looks. He says Duke's DBs will have to "be smart, be technique-conscious," and the defensive line has to pressure Smith. Smith is not known for his mobility.
Duke spent a lot of time Sunday and today working on special teams. Duke not pleased with Parker's punting last week, especially the touch back on the pooch punt and a number of youngsters missed assignments. "We have some young people who need to play better." He says that Austin Parker has field-goal range to over 50 yards but he (Cut, not Parker) is not a fan of long field goals.
Shaun Wilson continues to be "banged up" with "nagging injuries." Did not practice Sunday but did have a good practice today. A delicate balancing act.
Scott Bracey had the best practice today he has had in some time.
Brittain Brown had several runs today that caught Cut's attention. In a good way.
Cut really pleased with backup QB Quentin Harris and wants to find ways to get him on the field more often. Said that Harris is competing harder for PT than any backup QB he's had at Duke and that Harris has improved more from spring to now than anyone else on the team.
After the NW game, Cut said that Duke had made a commitment to being more physical, on both sides of the ball. I talked to several players about that and the feeling was that it started in practice. Alonzo Saxton said the coaches told the team not to regard to scout team as their teammates but to go after them hard.
DE Tre Hornbuckle says Duke is trying to be more aggressive, more proactive. "I try to attack the line of scrimmage every play, doing my assignment one hundred miles an hour, running to the ball on every play. Good things happen when the defensive line makes plays on the opposite line, when we make plays in the backfield."
Speaking of defensive ends, neither Terrell Lucas nor Chidi Okonya is listed on the injury reports. But both were banged up during the fall pre-season and are working their way back.