Comments

Dan,

thank you.  I am shocked that Booi isn’t the clear favorite given his size. 

Wake is going to be really small in the front-7.  I have no idea how they will consistently stop the run.  Will be interesting to watch.

TomahawkNation.com on 08/25/2010 (8:03 pm)

Tomahawk Nation,
Nikita was running first team yesterday, but that’s always subject to change. It looks like Souza, barring injury, is going to be a fixture apt to see more playing time than anybody else inside. Booi hasn’t had the best August, and, in fact, has been third team much of the time. But that too is always subject to change.

Dan on 08/25/2010 (2:25 pm)

Is Whitlock looking at serious playing time?  Will he get equal PT to Booi or Souza?

TomahawkNation.com on 08/25/2010 (10:36 am)

Thanks Dan! I hope the number of big plays that the defense is giving up starts to dwindle, and soon. I get the felling we’ll score some points but I sure hope we don’t have to outscore ‘em to win. That won’t be good!

Ken Green on 08/24/2010 (9:00 pm)

Dan,

Thanks again for the insight.  This builds on one of your posts a few days ago about Wake’s lack of interior size on defense.  Clearly Souza and Booi need to step up this year in order to keep opposing offensive lineman off of our linebackers and secondary.  Hopefully they are coming along. 

I think that the other key to the defense’s success will be the extent to which the offense can control the ball.  Turnovers and three-and-outs will absolutely wear down an undersized defense.  But if we can control the clock and win the field position battle (how’s the punting situation looking?!), perhaps we can let these smaller and faster defensive players attack and wreak a little havoc on opposing offenses.

DC on 08/24/2010 (4:31 pm)

Matt, the defense has given up some big plays in both scrimmages, but it has also made some big plays—a lot more than last season. The talent is obvious, but a lot of the more exciting players (Kevin Smith, Justin Jackson, Daniel Mack, Duran Lowe, Whitlock, Frank Souza, Kris Redding, A.J. Marshall, Merrill Noel, Kevin Johnson, to name more than a few) are still pups who getting a serious dose of on-the-job training. Consistency is probably too much to ask right now, but the key is how fast the younger defense players grow up and into their roles. One of the biggest differences from last season has been the return of Kyle Wilber from a broken leg.

Dan on 08/24/2010 (3:37 pm)

Hey Dan,

How do you feel that the defensive line has played in the two scrimages this summer?  I know you said they were small but fast, so I’m curious how they’ve done against Wake’s offense.  What is your take on the defense as a whole?  It has sounded to me like they have given up a lot of big plays.  Thanks for your thoughts and all the great insider information!

Matt on 08/24/2010 (3:01 pm)