Sept. 4, 2006
by Lee Pace, Extra Points
CHAPEL HILL -- It was a mature and confident band of Tar Heels who populated the defensive field this August as the Tar Heels prepared for Saturday's season opener against Rutgers. From No. 109 nationally in total defense in 2004 to No. 42 in 2005, the unit's goal entering 2006 was to make another quantum step forward.
"We're old," senior tackle Shelton Bynum said after one practice session. "We've been in tough games, easy games, close games, blowouts. We know the scheme, we know each other. I know what Larry [Edwards] is going to do. I know where Melik [Brown] is going to be. They know what I'm going to do.
"We've bonded, we've meshed, we're old now," he continued. "We're going to shock a lot of people."
Bynum was correct about the shock. He acknowledged as much in the aftermath of Saturday's 21-16 loss to the Scarlet Knights, a game that left the shock on wrong side of the field as fleet tailback Ray Rice slipped and slithered for 201 yards and three touchdowns.
"I'm shocked, in a state of disbelief," Bynum said. "I felt like I let myself down, let my teammates down. I hadn't expected that. I thought we were going to go out and bond and keep them off the field with three-and-outs. We'll have to have a talk with each other, find out what the problem is.
"But we have to be able to stop the run better than we did today. Everything begins with stopping the run."
The preseason template on the Tar Heels as articulated in this space just one week ago read as follows: Ride a solid defense and kicking game to early season stability while the offense finds its sea legs.
In truth the defense was disappointing, the offense encouraging and the kicking game exactly as expected.
"They ran the ball right down our throats," Bunting said. "That's right where we ended the season last year against Virginia Tech, and it disgusts me. I told the defense, I told the team, I told our defensive captain Larry Edwards just that. It will be a long, long season if we don't play better run defense that that."
"I hope there's a dramatic improvement. There has to be. You can't play defense like that and win."
Rutgers thoroughly dominated the first half, controlling the ball for 20 minutes and scoring touchdown on two of its four possessions. Carolina made some adjustments at halftime but still allowed the Scarlet Knights the one score that proved the difference in the outcome. That third-quarter drive included one third-and-10 conversion when a cornerback was too soft on a receiver and a third-and-two conversion when the Tar Heel linebackers were non-existent in plugging the gaps.
"I am really disappointed in the way our defensive front played," Bunting said. "I am extremely disappointed we couldn't make a couple of third downs. We still could have turned this game around with a couple of third-down plays."
After studying game tape Sunday, Bunting said he was particularly disappointed with the Tar Heels' linebacker play and the fact that the secondary made no big plays despite having a couple of good opportunities. The Tar Heels were "gashed in the middle of our defense," Bunting said, particularly between the middle and weakside linebacker slots manned by sophomore Mark Paschal and red-shirt freshman Chase Rice. Junior end Hilee Taylor was one of the bright spots on defense, and Bunting said senior linebacker Victor Worsley could have more of a role this week and that he hopes junior linebacker Durell Mapp will be closer to being 100 percent healthy after a fall camp blemished by an assortment of injuries.
"It was not an issue of being out-played physically," Bunting said. "Ninety-five percent of our problems were missed assignments, not turning the ball carrier where you want him to go, not making the proper fits in the run. We were seldom overcome by what I thought was an excellent offensive line. It was not physical, it was execution."
The offense was exactly as coordinator Frank Cignetti and quarterbacks Joe Dailey and Cam Sexton advertised during the lead-up to the season: ground-oriented, conservative, low-risk, building the pass off the run. The attack Saturday was a fraction of Cignetti's playbook. With two new quarterbacks, three new receivers and three new starters on the line, the object is to build gradually around the evolving experience and abilities of the players.
A healthy Ronnie McGill and a more mature and seasoned Barrington Edwards provide Carolina an impressive duo at tailback. Dailey was confident, fleet afoot and made some good throws. He also made two crucial mistakes, tossing interceptions in the second quarter and the most painful one with just under four minutes left in the game. First-year line coach Mark Weber stuck with a five-man line that gave Dailey good protection and opened enough holes for the Tar Heels to average 5.3 yards a clip on the ground. Hakeem Nicks is as good as advertised at wideout, and Brooks Foster made a credible debut at receiver as well.
"Joe managed the offense well," Bunting said. "He threw the ball effectively most of the time. He was able to make plays with his legs most of the time. He had a couple of bad throws. One might have been a bad decision, one might have been a bad throw. He played pretty doggone good for a guy who hadn't played in two years."
Special teams coordinator Andre Powell has much to be encouraged about in the play of these crucial units. Powell talked last week about the responsibility of the special teams being not necessarily to win games, but in no circumstances contribute to Carolina losing a game.
"Last year the punt team had 10 penalties called against it," Powell says. "If we eliminate most of those penalties and turn one lost turnover into one gained, that's a major difference."
Getting proper hang time on kick-offs and punts has been a major emphasis, with punter David Wooldridge shooting for one second of hang time for every 10 yards of a kick. A 50-yard punt with four seconds of hang time is no good; the return man gets too much space around him to start his return; a 40-yard kick with four seconds of air time is much better. If Connor Barth can loft a kick-off to the goal-line with four seconds of hang time, a Tar Heel cover unit with players running 4.6 times in the 40-yard-dash should consistently be able to pin the opposition inside the 20 yard-line.
Saturday against Rutgers, the kick-off cover team nailed Rutgers inside the 20 on two of three kicks. Barth made his one field goal attempt, that from 47 yards at the end of the first half. Kareen Taylor and Brooks Foster did a good job as gunners on the punt team, replacing an outstanding two-year starting tandem of Mike Mason and Wallace Wright. Sophomore Brandon Tate made one bad decision to return a kick from seven yards deep in the end zone, but nonetheless used his speed and slipperiness for a return to the 34 yard-line; he averaged 34 yards on three returns. Wooldridge punted only twice for a 31-yard average; one was a placement kick inside the 10 and the other not well struck for only 34 yards. The units included the insertion of three true freshmen: Nicks to receive kick-offs along with Tate, and Ryan Taylor and Wesley Flagg in various kick-off and punt responsibilities.
"I thought our special teams for the most part were very good," Bunting says. "I was particularly pleased with the kick-off cover unit. We've got fast, tough kids in those positions."
The punch-list is substantial this week as Bunting and the Tar Heels build on the positives and remedy the negatives. One issue looms high above any others. As his defenders came off the field after allowing one second-half Rutgers score, Bunting looked at every player with one admonition:
Make a decision.
As in, what kind of defense do you want to be, how many games do you want to win, how much pride and guts do you really have? More on that next Saturday at Noon.
Send your questions about Tar Heel football to Lee Pace at leepace@nc.rr.com. Please include your first and last names and hometown. Individual replies are not possible because of volume of mail received, and names of recruiting prospects and commitments cannot be published on a school-sponsored site until the national signing day in February . The Q&A column will appear each Friday during the season.
