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.
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.