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View Full Version : Duke football notes, 11-7-17



jimsumner
11-07-2017, 03:14 PM
Duke said the same thing today that all struggling teams and athletes say. "The only way out is to work through it." "We're working harder than ever."

And so forth and et cetera.

Of course, clichés become clichés because they have an element of truth.

But the proof is in the pudding.

Speaking of clichés.

Anyway.

Gabe Brandner reminded us the "bye-week" isn't the same as "off-week." Work was done.

Duke did do one thing differently. Usually position groups look at game film together. Cut had the entire offense watch the appropriate portions of the VT game. "Accountability, pure accountability. See what our issues are as a team."

Cut added that the film shows who's hustling, who's playing to win. The tape doesn't lie.

Cut, btw, sat out this film session, leaving it to his offensive coaches. But it was his idea.

The bye week?

Balancing competing imperatives. On the one hand, the bye week comes late in the season, when almost everyone has some aches and pains and benefits from taking off some time.

On the other hand, in Cut's words, "We felt like we had to challenge our team." So, Duke held out some guys--e.g. Brandner--and limited practices to 90 minutes. But the practices were intense and last Wednesday's was a physical, full-pad scrimmage, with an emphasis on matching Army's physicality.

Army?

You may recall Duke going to West Point two years ago and coming away with a 44-3 win.

Don't expect a repeat of that blow-out. A reasonable case can be made that Duke isn't as good as that 2015 team but there's no question that Army is better. They're 7-2 and on a five-game winning streak.

This should be a competitive game.

Army runs the ball on darn near every play. They beat Air Force 21-0 last week without throwing a single pass. Not one.

But Cut says they have an unusually large number of formations for an option team, so it's not easy to prepare for them.

In addition to Army, Duke plays Georgia Tech every year, so there is a lot of experience against option teams.

That said, Duke is playing some freshmen on the defensive line, which Cut says is a concern. Discipline is the key to defending triple-option teams.

Mason Williams was the show-team QB in practice this week.

No, not the "Classical Gas" Mason Williams. He's a walk-on transfer from Penn, sitting out his transfer year, a corner back by trade but a good athlete. Cut said he did a very good job. Parker Boehme also played some QB for the show team.

Cut continues to be very supportive of Daniel Jones. "During difficult times, you can get stronger or you can shut down. Daniel is nowhere near shutting down."

Alonzo Saxton is a run-stopping safety, one of the keys to stopping Army's run game.

"The coaches have a great game plan against them. We know that out game plan works, so we're going to stick with that. It's a whole different defense we play. A lot of the young guys haven't played against this, so the extra week helps. Don't go until you know. With teams like Army and Georgia Tech, you never really know what they're going to do until they do it, so you can't guess. Stay on your man and keep your eyes where they're supposed to be and you won't make a mistake."

Another noon kickoff.

Brandner says he and most of his teammates love that time slot.

"Yo wake up, you're not in the hotel all day, you wake up, go to a meeting and play ball. It's better than sitting around the hotel."

It's going to be cold at West Point.

Brandner calls that "big-boy weather. You can get warm. I'd rather be cold than wet. I think it's going to be a wonderful day. I'm looking forward to it."

Like all option teams, Army wants to put together long, time-consuming drives. Brandner says that puts extra pressure on the offense "to make each snap count. You may only get the ball eight times or so a game, so you can't waste them."

Defensive end Tre Hornbuckle discusses getting Army off the field.

"It's a mental thing. Be assignment sound and expect a physical game. Doing your assignment and winning first down, getting negative yards on first down.

Bob Green
11-07-2017, 03:36 PM
Thanks, Jim!




Cut continues to be very supportive of Daniel Jones. "During difficult times, you can get stronger or you can shut down. Daniel is nowhere near shutting down."

Like all option teams, Army wants to put together long, time-consuming drives. Brandner says that puts extra pressure on the offense "to make each snap count. You may only get the ball eight times or so a game, so you can't waste them."



It is imperative Daniel Jones leads the offense to achieve sustained, points producing drives. As Gabe Brandner states, opportunities are limited. The offense must string together positive plays to stay ahead of the chains.

uh_no
11-07-2017, 03:38 PM
The offense must string together positive plays to stay ahead of the chains.

If only we had 2 offensive players who could consistently gain 10/3 yards per play....

:(

sagegrouse
11-07-2017, 04:18 PM
Let me voice first thought when looking at this year's Duke football schedule. Cut concentrates on Georgia Tech to an extraordinary degree. Usually, we have a bye week before Tech, giving us extra days to prepare for the option. Then we added Army, another triple-option team, to the schedule. Now, this year, we have a bye week and a date with Army before facing Georgia Tech.

devildeac
11-07-2017, 04:29 PM
If only we had 2 offensive players who could consistently gain 10/3 yards per play...

:(

Oooh, oooh. I know. I know.

Player 1: 111 586 5.3 65 5 TD
Player 2: 87 496 5.7 39 3 TD

;):o

CameronBornAndBred
11-07-2017, 05:20 PM
Cut, btw, sat out this film session, leaving it to his offensive coaches. But it was his idea.


I hope that he followed that quote up with "because if I were in there I'da fired the lot of them in the first 10 minutes."

jimsumner
11-07-2017, 05:39 PM
Let me voice first thought when looking at this year's Duke football schedule. Cut concentrates on Georgia Tech to an extraordinary degree. Usually, we have a bye week before Tech, giving us extra days to prepare for the option. Then we added Army, another triple-option team, to the schedule. Now, this year, we have a bye week and a date with Army before facing Georgia Tech.

It should be noted that coaches don't pick their bye-weeks nor do they pick their conference sequence.

In fact, Cut has made it quite clear that he would prefer the bye week to be earlier in the season.

sagegrouse
11-07-2017, 05:59 PM
It should be noted that coaches don't pick their bye-weeks nor do they pick their conference sequence.

In fact, Cut has made it quite clear that he would prefer the bye week to be earlier in the season.

OK. Let's go to the videotape! In the last six years, the bye week has preceded the Georgia Tech game THREE times, and this year it is triple-option Army, which was preceded by a bye week. The only two games that were not preceded by either Army or a bye week were September games in 2015 and 2013.

Darn! What a coincidence!

Now let me tell you about the Zapruder tape.

OZ
11-07-2017, 07:57 PM
"Cut, btw, sat out this film session, leaving it to his offensive coaches. But it was his idea."


Why? Was this to simulate game day situations? I would think after these past weeks, this would have been reversed... Cut would be totally involved; the offensive coaches watching and LEARNING."

sagegrouse
11-07-2017, 08:21 PM
"Cut, btw, sat out this film session, leaving it to his offensive coaches. But it was his idea."


Why? Was this to simulate game day situations? I would think after these past weeks, this would have been reversed... Cut would be totally involved; the offensive coaches watching and LEARNING."

I took it to mean there were some half-hearted efforts on the field (substitute your own term), and he was leaving the players and the assistants to tell each other the truth.

CameronBornAndBred
11-07-2017, 08:44 PM
I took it to mean there were some half-hearted efforts on the field (substitute your own term), and he was leaving the players and the assistants to tell each other the truth.

Didn't he say after the previous loss "this team is about to see A LOT of me!"?
So since that didn't work, maybe seeing none of him will.

alteran
11-08-2017, 04:06 PM
Thanks for the notes as always, Jim.