My Take on Wake - Deacs Need to Make a Stand

Deacs Need to Make a Stand

Came in last night at half past 10, and that baby of mine, well, she actually did let me in. The whole family, in fact, was here when I got back from covering the Dash. We’ve got Rebecca here another week and Nate another 10 days or so before they head off for their next round of college, Rebecca to her junior year at that liberal arts university somewhere in the general vicinity of the geographical center of the state that will go unnamed and Nate to Dallas to pursue his Masters in performance at SMU. These are precious, and fleeting, days.

But in that I’ve always had trouble settling in after a night’s work, all were sacked out long before my head hit the pillow. While unwinding, my mind drifted to last season at Wake and what happened to keep Riley Skinner and the other seniors from having the kind of sendoff they wanted and, by all rights, deserved. I stumbled across a statistic that I, for one, found particularly telling. I recognized the Deacons struggled last season on defense, but Coach Brad Lambert’s troops came across as at least respectable by ranking seventh in the ACC in the most important statistic of all, scoring defense. In total defense, the Deacons ranked 10th.

Closer inspection, however, showed that what defense success the Deacons had last season came, for the most part, against non-conference opponents. The ACC doesn’t compile for public consumption statistics in conference games only, at least not in football. So I had to do the calculations myself, and found out that in the games that mattered most the Deacons gave up more points (254) than any team other than Florida State and N.C. State. And both the Seminoles (278 points) and Wolfpack (315) were real sieves on defense.

Wake ranked so low partly because it didn’t stone any ACC team all year. Virginia held UNC to 3 points and Maryland to 9. Duke beat Maryland 17-13 in an impressive performance by both defenses. But the Deacons’ best defensive showing was the 24 points they gave up to N.C. State. BC scored 27 and Miami 28, and the other five scored at least 30.

Aaron Curry, Alphonso Smith, Chip Vaughn, Stanley Arnoux, et. al, wouldn’t have been missed so badly if Kyle Wilber hadn’t been sidelined seven games with a broken leg and if Boo Robinson had enjoyed the kind of dominating senior season he and the team wanted. But as it turned out, the Deacons had a defense that didn’t force many turnovers, didn’t put great pressure on the quarterback and didn’t get off the field often enough on third down.

So for all the talk about who’s going to play quarterback this season, and how will the offensive line come together, none of it will make enough difference if the Deacons don’t tighten up on defense. Grobe has said many times that the talent is there. This would be a good season for it to show up.

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By Dan Collins on 08/03/2010 (11:54 am)

Comments

It appeared to me that we were a bit slow at the linebacker position last season, except for Ehrmann. In addition our defensive line did not create sufficient pressure, no doubt in large measure due to Wilber’s injury. Will we go to a 3/4 allignment? We certainly seem to have an abundant of talent at linebacker and hopefully with improved quickness; but, what about the defensive line—what are the prospects there?

mebanedeac on 08/05/2010 (8:09 pm)

John,
I’m inclined to chalk up last season’s performance more to personnel than coaching style. In 2008 the Deacons led the league by forcing 37 turnovers and held FSU to three points and Clemson to seven. Of course, Lambert had Aaron Curry, Alphonso Smith, Stanley Arnoux and Chip Vaughn on that team. Last year, without Curry, Smith, Arnoux and Vaughn, the Deacons forced only 15 and didn’t score a defensive touchdown until Frye returned the interception against Duke. Ask me again midway through this season and I may have a different answer.

Dan on 08/05/2010 (1:10 am)

Hi Dan,

I know how I feel about this, but I would like to hear your thoughts. Do you think Wake’s defense has changed personalities since Lambert replaced Hood? Knowing both men, it hasn’t surprised me to see the Wake defensive become less aggressive under Lambert.

John on 08/04/2010 (10:18 pm)

Hey Brian, thanks for dropping in with word on Chris, one of my all-time favorites at Wake. Great hearing from you and like you, I’m fired up about watching Chris start his long and storied NFL career.
Ken, we recorded the show in late June. Nate has been hired, so to speak, to edit the raw (in this case, very raw) tape into some semblance of a CD. He’s been busy, but when he’s done I’ll let you know.
ChrisM, the success of an offense and a defense is always interrelated. I was surprised to see that Wake actually ranked fifth in the ACC last year in third-down conversions, at 44 percent. I certainly did seem as though the Deacons had trouble sustaining drives.

Dan on 08/04/2010 (12:45 pm)

It seemed to me that last year’s offense added to the defense’s woes. The offense seemed to have a lot of 3 and outs, putting the defense back on the field with little rest. Do you agree?

ChrisM on 08/04/2010 (9:40 am)

And DC…. I hope your daughter has a scholarship to that place in Orange County because I cannot imagine having to stroke a check to them….

Lee Jackson on 08/04/2010 (9:31 am)

It was DEFENSE and Mr. Skinner that took us to the Orange Bowl.

Lee Jackson on 08/04/2010 (9:30 am)

Welcome back, DC!

I agree with everything you said. But we also need one of the QBs to be better than average.

Did you guys get the live CD done Friday night?

Ken Green on 08/03/2010 (9:30 pm)

I am really interested in hearing and seeing this Nikita Whitlock in action. I know he is small but from what I read he has a fire burning inside..sometimes those type make great leaders and that is where you need one..in the defensive line. I remember several years ago in the John Mackovic era there was a fireball noseguard of Whitlock’s stature (5’11 about 235 lbs_…his name was James “Big Play” Parker…and boy did he make many key stops and was the leader of that defense that went to the Tangerine Bowl as I recal. Maybe we will be so luck this year…with somebody of similar stature.

pensive1 on 08/03/2010 (9:04 pm)

Hey Dan, Glad to see you back at work. Best of luck to the Deacs this season. Chris is doing well in Vikings camp. There is a nice article on Chris at www.1500espn.com. I hope to make it back for a Wake game this year!

Brian on 08/03/2010 (5:09 pm)

This blog is why I go to here before I go anywhere else on Wake sports. I knew the defense last was not as strong as before but this blog articulates it best. I now know where to look for team improvement this season if Wake is to get back to a bowl.

Dick on 08/03/2010 (2:39 pm)