Week 1 Depth Chart

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I get what you're saying because most teams use 11 personnel as their base offense these days so there's no reason to really play 3 linebackers all that much. Teams still run more than they pass in college football though. Only 40 teams threw more than they ran last year. Of those 40, only Mississippi State, Purdue, Louisiana Monroe and USC threw the ball 60% or more of their plays. So even the teams that throw it a lot still run the ball almost half their plays. If we played a majority of the game with Couch in the slot vs a striker, Alabama would just run it at him over and over.
Our base d is a nickel . A lot of the runs in cfb are zone reads , scrambles and off rpo’s. It’s a numbers game that decides it. I would say the numbers you mentioned are a little out of context versus say the nfl. I’d say half the runs at most are designed runs .
 
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I'm not saying that Carter is as good as Merriweather. I'm saying don't just call for a player to never see the field just because he got run over once.
If someone said Carter getting run over once is why he shouldn't see the field they are blind. He has done far worse more often.
 
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Carter over Frierson doesnt surprise me for this game in particular. I think he is starting due to our opponent and how the staff thinks they will attack us. Hes more physical and could help more in run support. Now if they come out in 4 wide I'd look for that to change rather quickly.
Manny favors experience against Bama first game out. Carter was always gonna get the start. Anyone that thought Hall wasnt going to start this game at S hasent been paying attention.
 
You make a few bad plays and fans right you off for life. Carter is physical as ****. He’s getting coached up now. I think it’s a great sign for the defense if he’s playing better then Gil because Gil is a solid player.
 
Nobody in Canes history ever got trucked harder than Brandon Merriweather vs West Virginia. He ended up become one of our all time big hitters and was a feared man in the NFL.
Yea I get it, I was at that game too.. Merriweather might have been a redshirt freshman getting some pt early in his career where he was like a 180 pound freshman who had a hitstick.. Carter was a senior who the guy says looks like pollard and was embarrassed.. I have never seen the unc game on tv but just the embarrassment of being there and we couldnt stop ****, maybe I am misremembering those sad tackles attempts but carter who is ejection enforcer guy getting planted into hard rock soil multiple times is something that sticks out in that game to me, he is on pope, mccloud level of guys would hope we move on from..
 
Our base d is a nickel d. A lot of the runs in cfb are zone reads , scrambles and off rpo’s. It’s a numbers game that decides it. I would say the numbers you mentioned are really out of context. It’s not like it’s designed runs half the time.
I'll agree that a lot of the calls are based off what the defense shows in regards to RPO. Teams still run it a ton because most defenses counter spread offenses by putting more DBs on the field. If you break the huddle with 3 or more corners I'm going to run the ball at you over and over. If you break the huddle with three or more Linebackers, I'm going to throw it over and over. The only real counter is hybrid, position-less players who can still play the run without being exposed vs a receiver one on one. I think the future of defensive football is going more an more that direction. I don't just mean having one multi-purpose "striker" or whatever you want to call it. I think we'll be seeing more and more of those types playing at the same time. Call them linebackers, call them safeties, strikers, rovers, whatever but that's the real answer to slowing down no huddle, spread offenses.
 
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I get what you're saying because most teams use 11 personnel as their base offense these days so there's no reason to really play 3 linebackers all that much. Teams still run more than they pass in college football though. Only 40 teams threw more than they ran last year. Of those 40, only Mississippi State, Purdue, Louisiana Monroe and USC threw the ball 60% or more of their plays. So even the teams that throw it a lot still run the ball almost half their plays. If we played a majority of the game with Couch in the slot vs a striker, Alabama would just run it at him over and over.

Fine by me. They have the most talented quarterback they've ever had, IMO. Maybe not (hopefully not) in Week 1, but if you want to take the ball out of his hands and run student body left, student body right all night and not challenge me vertically with Metchie, Jameson Williams, and JoJo, be my guest. I'll take my chances with being able to penetrate and get you in the backfield and put you behind the sticks before I will with letting your elite athletes run all through my secondary.

It's obviously pick your poison. Not saying they can't win running the majority of the time, I'm just saying that overall teams playing offense have much more of an advantage throwing the ball than they do running it. And I expect the move to more and more college teams throwing the ball a higher percentage of the time to continue. That's why I expect us to be in much more nickel and dime defenses than base.
 
Nothing unusual about this depth chart. These are the items that matter:
Nelson is actually playing. That’s the best news of all even tho we kinda of already knew.
Flagg is starting over Jennings. This is important because Flagg was about equal to Jennings last year. Hopefully this means he has taken next step.
Keontra Smith talk wasn't just Greentree All American type talk.
Harvey must have stepped up. He was seemingly behind Johnson all camp. This is a good thing.
 
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