FB: Duke 26, UConn 21

peloton said:
I definitely agree with this, Bob. Maalik is a pretty big, solid guy. I would hope that he could occasionally get us a 1st down in very short yard situations via the ol' sneakaroonie at least. However, maybe he's been prone to fumbling practicing this, and he and the staff don't have much confidence in the play, who knows? But whatever the case, I would love to see what he can do in such scenarios.
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I remain steadfast that a top D1 QB athlete should be able to run the ball when needed. No excuses. Does he fumble? Correct it. Does he lack confidence? Get our sports psychologist in to help. Does he need skills training?? Maybe he needs to have his QB1 status challenged. Maalik needs to run outside his comfort zone. Really, this is frustrating and even embarrassing.

Also, as CB&B noted, there are times when Maalik throws to wide open, Wyoming-like open spaces. What's with that? I haven't seen a QB for a while whose delta between laser like dimes and moonshots [I know, I'm changing metaphors here] is so great.
 
hustleplays said:
I remain steadfast that a top D1 QB athlete should be able to run the ball when needed. No excuses. Does he fumble? Correct it. Does he lack confidence? Get our sports psychologist in to help. Does he need skills training?? Maybe he needs to have his QB1 status challenged. Maalik needs to run outside his comfort zone. Really, this is frustrating and even embarrassing.

Also, as CB&B noted, there are times when Maalik throws to wide open, Wyoming-like open spaces. What's with that? I haven't seen a QB for a while whose delta between laser like dimes and moonshots [I know, I'm changing metaphors here] is so great.
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What we don’t know is whether a receiver ran the wrong route or if Murphy screwed up. Could be either
 
AGDukesky said:
Is Anyone else’s favorite number 26?
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DukeDevil said:
I hear what you’re saying but, when a single play can knock out a star defender etc, why even let all those extra plays happen.
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I believe way upstream I told y’all that 26 was our “magic number “! Maybe this week we can win by 26?

On the two throws to wide open spaces, I think the QB and intended receiver “weren’t on the same”.

At 6’5” and 230 lbs. Maalik should be able to run the tush push for more than 1 yard when needed. And I mentioned the Connette package during the game to my seat mates. Belin looked good running when he got his 3 plays against Elon. Did he hurt his shoulder during that series? We haven’t seen him since.

I think Star Thomas sliding down at the three was a brilliant play on his part. Was it coached? Discussed in practice or on the sideline before he went in? Or was it just “grad student game awareness” on his part? Why? Running three victory formation plays no one is going to get hurt. Scoring and having to defend a kick off and then some desperation passes could lead to serious injuries to our players that was totally unnecessary. I explained this to several walking out and back at the tailgate before departing.
 
Wow, a lot of complaining on here. When was the last time we were up 6, got the ball with about 4 minutes left in the game, marched down the field and ran out the clock? While I was having ptsd in the third quarter due to over 50 years of watching Duke football WE WON! I believe the announcers mentioned our win in overtime the week before was the first since 2015. As far as Murphy running, after the fumble play over turned on replay against Northwestern maybe better to leave running to the experts. And yes, I saw the mistakes during the game but 3-0 is the best we can be right now. Interesting during the game interview with Manny in late 3rd or early 4th he was calm and totally confident. At that point I was neither. Finally for whoever commented about the SEC not offering Murphy huge money, bet you FSU would trade.
 
I didn't have access to ESPN extra so I wanted to watch some of the game before I could comment. Following the game on DBR and TDD can sometimes be misleading how the team performed.
The biggest "what if" scenario is if Murphy's pass isn't batted in the air and then ran back for a pick 6, how the rest of the game goes. Duke was on the UConn side of the 50 and moving the ball pretty well. Given how well Pelino was kicking, we're looking at a 20-0 lead into halftime if not 24-0. I don't think it had a negative effect on Duke necessarily but it was definitely a boost for Uconn to be down 2 scores, and not 3.
Duke had a horrible 3rd quarter. I think the first UConn scoring drive is on the defense, but the second IMO was because the defense was getting tired because the offense could not stay on the field. They shut UConn out the 3 other quarters. The defense seems to be the most consistent unit but its going to wear out if the offense can't stay on the field.
Duke ran the ball better with Thomas and Jones getting some solid carries. Thomas seems to be finally getting in sync. They still cannot run through the line with any effectiveness. That has to improve.
Murphy seems to be feast or famine. When he's on, its a nice mixed bag of short medium and long passes. I read some criticisms that he makes bad reads. I don't know if thats the case, but I do think he believes he can throw guys open so he's not bashful about trying to thread that needle and throwing into coverage. I don't think its because he can't read the defense, I think he's just confident he can make a throw. That said, I'm just not in love with the play calling. Murphy not having any mobility in his arsenal means the defense doesn't have to guess. This is more of a pro style offense, and honestly I don't think Duke has the skill level to make that work. I'm not sure making Murphy run fixes it either, it could be another Chase Brice situation where its a square peg, round hole.
I'm also noticing that a lot of the younger offensive players seem to be afraid of contact or getting hit, and its leading to some negative plays. Can't remember which RB it was but Murphy threw him a swing pass and the WR made a great block on the DB. The RB ran to the outside of the block, allowing the linebacker to catch up and it was only a 3 yard gain. Had he run inside the block, he would have picked up 5 or 6 pretty easily. They've done this in all 3 games.
I'm just going to be honest, I don't see this team as it is making a bowl. They should beat Middle Tn, but I don't think Duke is better than any of their ACC competition. 5-7 seems optimistic. The more film other teams accrue on this offense, the easier it will be for them to defend. Every week I've been hoping they'd answer questions from the previous game, and we're just ending up with more questions.
 
TheDevilMadeMeDoIt said:
Wow, a lot of complaining on here. When was the last time we were up 6, got the ball with about 4 minutes left in the game, marched down the field and ran out the clock? While I was having ptsd in the third quarter due to over 50 years of watching Duke football WE WON! I believe the announcers mentioned our win in overtime the week before was the first since 2015. As far as Murphy running, after the fumble play over turned on replay against Northwestern maybe better to leave running to the experts. And yes, I saw the mistakes during the game but 3-0 is the best we can be right now. Interesting during the game interview with Manny in late 3rd or early 4th he was calm and totally confident. At that point I was neither. Finally for whoever commented about the SEC not offering Murphy huge money, bet you FSU would trade.
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Yeah I’m finding the expectations here far too high for this team. Diaz is doing a good job and the team is finding ways to win. This team will struggle to get six wins but I see it as more likely than not right now.
 
I'm hopeful that Maalik is still learning since he is so inexperienced and the coaching staff sees things in him that they don't see in the other QBs. Same with the offensive line, hopefully as they play together they will be more effective. I'm still hoping for significant improvement and 7 wins.
 
budwom said:
What we don’t know is whether a receiver ran the wrong route or if Murphy screwed up. Could be either
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It doesn't matter. A ball takes less than half a second to hit it's target, at most.* If a receiver is nowhere in the vicinity (or at least a half second away), you don't throw it.

*These weren't long bombs I'm talking about.
 
CameronBornAndBred said:
It doesn't matter. A ball takes less than half a second to hit it's target, at most.* If a receiver is nowhere in the vicinity (or at least a half second away), you don't throw it.

*These weren't long bombs I'm talking about.
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Not true at all. There are timing routes where the ball is thrown before the receiver cuts. If he cuts the wrong way it can look like it did Saturday
 
budwom said:
Not true at all. There are timing routes where the ball is thrown before the receiver cuts. If he cuts the wrong way it can look like it did Saturday
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The plays that were misses were always going to be misses, that's how bad they were. Nobody within 10 yards. All I'm saying is that if Maalik looks and reads the field before he makes that throw, he makes a better decision instead of risking an awful INT.
 
CameronBornAndBred said:
The plays that were misses were always going to be misses, that's how bad they were. Nobody within 10 yards. All I'm saying is that if Maalik looks and reads the field before he makes that throw, he makes a better decision instead of risking an awful INT.
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But as Budwom pointed out, if the receiver runs the wrong route, he often won't be within 10 yards of the pass. If you notice something in the defensive alignment and audible to a different set of routes to take advantage of it, success depends upon both the QB and receiver(s) knowing exactly what you're switching to. So, for example, If the QB thinks the receiver will be switching to a post or a slant but the receiver runs a dig or a curl or an out, then the ball will look like it's sailing into the wheat fields way over the receiver's head. If you watch NFL QBs who are really good passers, they're usually making the throw before the receiver cuts in anticipation of where the receiver is going. If they wait to make sure the receiver makes the correct cut [runs the correct route], it's already too late. QBs who do that end up throwing behind their receivers because the ball gets there too late.
 
camion said:
Or... the receivers were covered and Murphy just threw it away.

It could happen.
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That is true, but in the instances we are discussing, Murphy did not throw the ball out of bounds. They were catchable passes. Unfortunately, UConn had a better shot of catching them than any Duke player.
 
Somewhat off topic here (maybe I should post it in the Duke football thread) but, so far, I like what I see of Manny Diaz as the coach. I can't speak to his abilities with X's and O's but from what I have seen in the first three games, he seems to have a likeable enthusiasm for the game and the players. Maybe this will change once Duke begins to lose more games but so far he seems to have a very positive and caring relationship with his players and to be happy to be the Duke coach. I know we can't criticize Midnight Mike for his above-average record in his three years here (he definitely overachieved), but I always though he looked to be extremely unhappy on the sidelines, like he was severely constipated. Plus, he was always dressed so badly with not exactly a svelte body.
 
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