lindetrain
Pretty much a regular
27 views and no replies on the UNC thread as of right now, which is not good. Please help make these worthwhile...
Overview:
After a 7-win season in 2005, NC State stumbled to 3-9 in 2006, and lost their final 7 games. Chuck Amato is now gone, and former Boston College coach Tom O'Brien takes over after leaving BC last December. He inherits a team which returns 14 starters, including every key weapon on offense.
Daniel Evans took over at QB in 2006, and went on to throw for 1843 yards, 6 TDs and 11 INTs in 9 starts. He will be battling with reshirt freshman Justin Burke and Nebraska transfer Harrison Beck for the starting job, which was still wide open at the end of the spring. The RB duo of Andre Brown and Toney Baker returns, a year after combining for over 1300 yards; Baker had 688 yards and 6 TDs, and Brown had 658 yards and 4 TDs. The top WRs are back in Darrell Blackman and John Dunlap, along with TE Anthony Hill, who led the team with 478 yards receiving. Only 2 starters are back on the OL, but there is some starting experience amongst the new guys.
3 starters return on the DL, led by DE Martrel Brown, who had 49 tackles and 7 sacks; DT DeMario Pressley had 46 tackles and 2 sacks, and DE Willie Young had 60 tackles. 1 starter returns at LB in LeRue Rumph, who had 69 tackles and 2 sacks; Ernest Jones is also back after recording 68 tackles and 2 sacks. 2 starters are back in the secondary; CB Jimmie Sutton had 49 tackles and 1 INT, and FS Miguel Scott had 63 tackles and 1 INT. The team's leading returning tackler, SS DeJuan Morgan, is also back after recording 82 tackles and 2 INTs.
My Take:
The last 3 years under Amato, the Wolfpack were mediocre at best, with 20 combined losses and 2 losing seasons. Things could really change under O'Brien, who has proven himself to be a great coach and has already coached in the ACC. If this team can put more points on the board and successfully replace their top 3 tacklers on defense, they may be a pleasant surprise this season and could become a solid bet.
On offense, they really struggled last year, and should certainly improve with everyone returning and under a new staff. The QB play will probably not be a strength, but the RBs are excellent and should form a solid running game. The WRs will more than likely improve if the QB play improves, and the OL won't be a weakness under O'Brien, who had great OL's at BC. They were fairly balanced last year but were bad in both departments, failing to rank in the top 75 nationally in either pass or run offense. I think this group is more than capable of being effective, but they really need to get solid QB play. If the QB is able to lead the offense, something that didn't happen last year, they should be much tougher to stop.
On defense, I see them being the strength of this team once again. They don't return a lot of starters, but there is some experience from guys who were backups last year, such as Jones and Morgan. The DL won't be an easy one to slow down, and Brown and Pressley should really cause some problems for opponents. They have 3 senior starters at LB, so youth is not a concern there, and the secondary should be tough as everyone saw some extensive playing time last year. This group was weak against the run last year ranking 85th nationally, and I can't help but think that's the way to beat them until they prove otherwise. They do take a major hit as Mike Archer comes in at DC, who was horrible at Kentucky and consistently fielded one of the conference's worst defenses.
Overall, I'm actually pretty impressed with this team. With the addition of O'Brien, they should be much better off, and it seems like they have all the tools in place to make it back to the postseason. Their first 3 games will determine their fate, as they must get off to a good start to maintain confidence after ending last year so poorly. Their division is wide open, and I really think they could be the team who ends up being a solid bet ATS. I'll more than likely be looking to play them as the season progresses; they probably won't get much respect coming off such a horrible season.
Overview:
After a 7-win season in 2005, NC State stumbled to 3-9 in 2006, and lost their final 7 games. Chuck Amato is now gone, and former Boston College coach Tom O'Brien takes over after leaving BC last December. He inherits a team which returns 14 starters, including every key weapon on offense.
Daniel Evans took over at QB in 2006, and went on to throw for 1843 yards, 6 TDs and 11 INTs in 9 starts. He will be battling with reshirt freshman Justin Burke and Nebraska transfer Harrison Beck for the starting job, which was still wide open at the end of the spring. The RB duo of Andre Brown and Toney Baker returns, a year after combining for over 1300 yards; Baker had 688 yards and 6 TDs, and Brown had 658 yards and 4 TDs. The top WRs are back in Darrell Blackman and John Dunlap, along with TE Anthony Hill, who led the team with 478 yards receiving. Only 2 starters are back on the OL, but there is some starting experience amongst the new guys.
3 starters return on the DL, led by DE Martrel Brown, who had 49 tackles and 7 sacks; DT DeMario Pressley had 46 tackles and 2 sacks, and DE Willie Young had 60 tackles. 1 starter returns at LB in LeRue Rumph, who had 69 tackles and 2 sacks; Ernest Jones is also back after recording 68 tackles and 2 sacks. 2 starters are back in the secondary; CB Jimmie Sutton had 49 tackles and 1 INT, and FS Miguel Scott had 63 tackles and 1 INT. The team's leading returning tackler, SS DeJuan Morgan, is also back after recording 82 tackles and 2 INTs.
My Take:
The last 3 years under Amato, the Wolfpack were mediocre at best, with 20 combined losses and 2 losing seasons. Things could really change under O'Brien, who has proven himself to be a great coach and has already coached in the ACC. If this team can put more points on the board and successfully replace their top 3 tacklers on defense, they may be a pleasant surprise this season and could become a solid bet.
On offense, they really struggled last year, and should certainly improve with everyone returning and under a new staff. The QB play will probably not be a strength, but the RBs are excellent and should form a solid running game. The WRs will more than likely improve if the QB play improves, and the OL won't be a weakness under O'Brien, who had great OL's at BC. They were fairly balanced last year but were bad in both departments, failing to rank in the top 75 nationally in either pass or run offense. I think this group is more than capable of being effective, but they really need to get solid QB play. If the QB is able to lead the offense, something that didn't happen last year, they should be much tougher to stop.
On defense, I see them being the strength of this team once again. They don't return a lot of starters, but there is some experience from guys who were backups last year, such as Jones and Morgan. The DL won't be an easy one to slow down, and Brown and Pressley should really cause some problems for opponents. They have 3 senior starters at LB, so youth is not a concern there, and the secondary should be tough as everyone saw some extensive playing time last year. This group was weak against the run last year ranking 85th nationally, and I can't help but think that's the way to beat them until they prove otherwise. They do take a major hit as Mike Archer comes in at DC, who was horrible at Kentucky and consistently fielded one of the conference's worst defenses.
Overall, I'm actually pretty impressed with this team. With the addition of O'Brien, they should be much better off, and it seems like they have all the tools in place to make it back to the postseason. Their first 3 games will determine their fate, as they must get off to a good start to maintain confidence after ending last year so poorly. Their division is wide open, and I really think they could be the team who ends up being a solid bet ATS. I'll more than likely be looking to play them as the season progresses; they probably won't get much respect coming off such a horrible season.
