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jimsumner
10-03-2017, 02:21 PM
Cut said Duke did a good job of putting Miami behind them and moving towards next week.

Describes Virginia as "solid," "systematic," and "consistent." Says they make you earn everything. Duke needs to combine long drives and quick strikes. Quick strikes not doing well this season. "You need big plays [against Virginia]. Great consistency is required on our part."

Cut wants more competition in the wide-receiver corps. Duke needs to do a better job of winning individual battles, especially to score in the redzone. "You need to think players, not schemes." Says it's an "on-going evaluation."

Cut not happy with special teams. Working hard on getting better returns. Cut says Duke almost broke two long kickoff returns. He alluded to Duke "being a little different" on returns this week. "We're trying to practice at a high level. We're working very hard on special teams. We have no choice."

Safety Alonzon Saxton says it's frustrating but says Duke is way overdue for some long returns.

Look for Rahming to be the fulltime punt returner.

The UVa game is the first real road trip for a lot of the team. Cutcliffe says process plays a big role in this. "The way we do things stays the same. The routine stays the same. We have enough veterans to convey this."

Saxton is one of those veterans. "Don't gets too overwhelmed," he tells the youngsters. "As long as we're with each other, just treat it like it's the backyard. Stay cool."

Cutcliffe said the final score was not reflective of the Miami game, although he did say that it took him several viewings before he accepted that. Says that Duke was the more physical team but just didn't make enough big plays.

Mike Ramsay said that he dreaded watching the game film but came out encouraged, noting that Duke competed on even terms with Miami for most of the game, while lamenting the slow start.

Cut said that the OL did not get beat on run blocking but that pass blocking wasn't what it needs to be.

Saxton says Virginia runs lots of shifts and motions. "They like to play with teams a lot with that. We're simplifying our defense so that we don't get confused and make it easier for us to stay focused."

Saxton on coming out flat. "The beginning of the game could have gone better. It took us time to get adjusted. That starts with pregame, making sure everyone is locked in and focused."

Julian Santos on the offensive line getting "whipped" against Miami. "We talked about it as an offensive line and agreed that there are things we have to improve on and definitely need to do that in the future." When asked if he meant technique, scheme, effort, he answered "all of them,"

Bob Green
10-03-2017, 04:16 PM
Thanks, Jim!


Cut wants more competition in the wide-receiver corps. Duke needs to do a better job of winning individual battles, especially to score in the redzone. "You need to think players, not schemes." Says it's an "on-going evaluation."

This makes me wonder if we will see Coach Cutcliffe mix up the wide receiver rotation to send a message to players. Something needs to happen as the status quo isn't cutting it. Virginia doesn't have the same level of size and speed as Miami but they still have talented defensive backs who will be looking to win those individual battles.


Look for Rahming to be the fulltime punt returner.

This makes sense to me. I'm the biggest Shaun Wilson fan around, but he does not look comfortable fielding punts. There was an opportunity for him against Miami but he called a fair catch when he had a lot of room to operate. As long as Rahming is healthy, he appears to be the better option. As a team, Duke has 26 punt return yards in five games. That's really low. As in 14 of 14 in the ACC low.


Cut said that the OL did not get beat on run blocking but that pass blocking wasn't what it needs to be.

The offensive line needs to have a breakout performance to show folks they mean business. Personally, I hope we run the ball a lot more but that doesn't change the fact that pass blocking needs to improve.

OZZIE4DUKE
10-03-2017, 05:04 PM
Watch Steve Logan’s analysis on WRALsports ap. It’s in the our take section, Caulton Tudor’s “A lot of F’s for this week’s coaches” article. Good chalkboard analysis of blocking problems and discusses our wide receivers problems with catching the 50/50 balls. We’ve got to do better! LGD GTHc!

Bob Green
10-03-2017, 05:32 PM
Watch Steve Logan’s analysis on WRALsports ap. It’s in the our take section, Caulton Tudor’s “A lot of F’s for this week’s coaches” article. Good chalkboard analysis of blocking problems and discusses our wide receivers problems with catching the 50/50 balls. We’ve got to do better! LGD GTHc!

Linky. (http://www.wralsportsfan.com/coaches-ring-up-a-weekend-full-of-of-fs/16989165/)

EDIT: Logan says Daniel Jones threw 10 50/50 balls with NFL accuracy against Miami and Duke receivers won the battle zero times. Pretty damning testimony against our receiving corps and in line with Coach Cutcliffe's comments above.

chrishoke
10-03-2017, 06:02 PM
Linky. (http://www.wralsportsfan.com/coaches-ring-up-a-weekend-full-of-of-fs/16989165/)

EDIT: Logan says Daniel Jones threw 10 50/50 balls with NFL accuracy against Miami and Duke receivers won the battle zero times. Pretty damning testimony against our receiving corps and in line with Coach Cutcliffe's comments above.

Wow. On the positive side, great opportunity for someone, maybe a bench warmer like Lee or Bracy to step up. We sure need it.