Duke postgame

takethepoints

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6,146
The son and I went to the game. Where he informed me that we would need 5 tickets next year because the daughter-in-law and the two sisters all wanted to geo to the games and felt left out. Well, it's only money. My impressions:

• Tech got its mojo back. I don't think there was any doubt who had the most talent on the field, but talent isn't much use if you can't use it. The key here was to have both Jamal and Alexander returned to health. Turns out from post-game interviews that fonts here who thought Haynes was hurt appear to have been right; he was himself late night and it made all the difference. And when he needed a breather Alexander came is and, as usual, moved the pile. (How he does that at 185 is a mystery, but some backs just have the knack.) That's what won the game; we Ran The Ball and had more plays and almost twice their TOP. Against a team with limited offensive power that did it.

• Well, that and a good D performance against the run; we had 5 TFLs and held them to 3.7 YPC. That'll do against a team with an inexperienced QB. And, yes, the second PI call was a complete travesty; there was no way either player could get to the ball. But I digress; the D performance was about as good as you could hope for. I was particular pleased by Lockett's performance. That young man gets push.

• I thought King looked like he might be hurt as well. His runs were more tentative then usual. Still, it's hard to complain about 197 yards of total offense and a 74% completion rate on his throws. The usual competent game, though I thought a couple of his throws were e bit risky.

• Why, merciful God, are we still running WR screens when every DC in the country knows they are coming and coaches for it? Ok, sometimes they work for big plays and we can get at least some yards from them. Maybe that's all Buster/Weike are expecting. But I'd like the O more if we were ruining some double options to the edge to get Jamal or King into the open. Maybe we can't make that work and there was nothing to complain about in the run game last night. But then I watch an Army game and get unsatisfied. Maybe it's just mw.

• Last word = our next opponent is a dangerous one. The Holes have the best RB in the conference and know how to use him. They are scoring almost at will and then can't stop anybody. (Why am I not surprised?) A performance like we had last night will do the job, but we'll have to get more out of the O to win. We'll see. If we can get to 5 -2 the ND game will be big.
 

g0lftime

Helluva Engineer
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6,047
Are Upper East Tickets way overpriced? The sightlines are really good for those seats and it's strange to see them so empty
They were senior and grad student seats when I was there. Great seats. Back then the students would start stomping and create a stadium rumble during important downs. They are very steep and no hand rails for older fans though.
 

billga99

Ramblin' Wreck
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852
This is easy to say after a win but I thought the officiating mostly balanced out. I didn’t think they were a good crew but I thought their mistakes didn’t cost either team the game. Though the timeliness of the roughing call was devastating for Duke as they never recovered from that.
I agree that there appeared to be some makeup calls. The PI before the half against us was very questionable but so was the offensive PI against Duke in Q3. Also they called delay of games on both defenses. So I think the calls did even out overall. My big concern on penalties remains how many holding calls we get on offense. Seems to be a problem each week. But at the end, we played a very good Q4 and got the win.
 

forensicbuzz

21st Century Throwback Dad
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North Shore, Chicago
This is easy to say after a win but I thought the officiating mostly balanced out. I didn’t think they were a good crew but I thought their mistakes didn’t cost either team the game. Though the timeliness of the roughing call was devastating for Duke as they never recovered from that.
That was the right call. The defender headbutted King. It wasn’t hard, but it was intentional contact. Definition of RTP.
 

bke1984

Helluva Engineer
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3,607
I love Haynes King, but he does have a problem going through his progressions and finding the open guy. And he throws into coverage at times. I think that's why Buster's play calling has predetermined passing targets, uses wide screens, no passes over the middle, etc. Just my opinion. Again, I love this young man, and he has been great for our program. Duke took away his runs up the middle on the option, but he / the team, found a way to win. 2 more wins please. Just want a bowl game and a good recruiting class. DL please (NIL Here)
The few times we’ve had to turn King loose this year he has looked very good throwing down field. It’s almost like we are treating it a last resort to avoid turnovers. I feel like once we get up a couple scores sometimes it’s worth taking a shot to put a team away.
 

RonJohn

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I rewatched the game this morning. The first PI against us on the first drive was weak. Both players had their hands on each other. Our defender was trying to turn towards the ball but the receiver was holding him and preventing him from turning. If there was interference, it was offensive. It should have been a no call.

If the first one was weak, the second was criminal. They called it on Harvey who was on the other side of the field, so that call was clearly wrong. There was no contact when the ball was in the air that was close to OPI. Just a completely bogus call and gift to Duke.
The officiating wasn't very good last night. There was also an obvious PI against Brooks earlier in the 2nd quarter that wasn't called. He ran through the TE and the ball hit him in the back. Overall, they missed calls and called phantom penalties.
 

yeti92

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I agree that there appeared to be some makeup calls. The PI before the half against us was very questionable but so was the offensive PI against Duke in Q3. Also they called delay of games on both defenses. So I think the calls did even out overall. My big concern on penalties remains how many holding calls we get on offense. Seems to be a problem each week. But at the end, we played a very good Q4 and got the win.
Interesting that you mention holding since we weren't called for that once yesterday.
 

RonJohn

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Can anyone explain the situation with the defensive delay of game at the end of the half? We hurt ourselves in the last game with 12 men on the field at a bad moment. I don't know if this was lack of communication or what but those are the kind of small errors that come at a high price.
If you watch it on TV, one of the guys on the line made a jerking motion like he was starting to rush. The OL guy reacted to is. They changed (or emphasized) the rule a couple of years ago that sudden movements that simulate a snap and cause the OL to move is included in the defensive delay of game.
 

RonJohn

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Was it just me from my vantage point last night, or did King have issues holding the ball firmly four or five plays last night. On at least three plays, I remember thinking it looked like he was about to drop the ball.
 

yeti92

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3,183
A couple other things I noticed -
1. Audio problems in the stadium. Music too loud out times, and the ref had some issues with his mic that were pretty painful.

2. Special teams needs a lot of work. KO coverage on the one non-TB was horrendous, and I don't understand why we keep faircatching the ball inside our own 10. It's a disaster waiting to happen, get out of there and hope it takes a bounce into the endzone.
 

yeti92

Helluva Engineer
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Was it just me from my vantage point last night, or did King have issues holding the ball firmly four or five plays last night. On at least three plays, I remember thinking it looked like he was about to drop the ball.
I didn't notice that specifically, but he threw several balls 10-15 ft over open WR's heads, clearly unintentionally, which would track if he was having difficulty holding onto the ball for some reason.
 

4shotB

Helluva Engineer
Retired Staff
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5,135
I do have a question concerning special teams. IIRC, the old maxim about fielding or catching a punt was that the returner stood at the 10 yard line and if he had to back up to catch the ball he was instructed to just let the ball bounce, taking the chance for a touchback. Our returner(s) has appeared to have fielded several punts this year well inside the 10 yard line. Has the thinking on this changed? Also, imo, any KO that travels into the end zone should just be downed unless the KO is an absolute line drive. Starting a drive at the 15 is not smart FB in a game that was as close as last night's.

Also, @kg01 my comment about Zeke was not a semi-slander imo. DT's can do their job by occupying gaps and blockers. I agree. However I have seen enough flashes of him (however rare) to think that he could be that rare big man who could be both - a space eater as well who could just collapse the pocket and be disruptive in the passing game. You know, just another ordinary Vince Wifork or Ndamakung Suh or Aaaron Donald type of guy. ;)
 

Spalding Jacket

Jolly Good Fellow
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458
Yes game has changed, teams have optimized (like most other aspects) downing punts inside the 5. Punter boots it high around midfield to allow wings to get to the endzone then they spot the ball and catch/deflect from going into the endzone.
 

Northeast Stinger

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11,168
I’ve seen a lot of complaints about the screens, and while I’d like to see some winkles off them or even some more rocket toss style plays, I’m just glad we got the ball moving wide of the tackle box. It opens everything up.
Do you think getting things opened up “wide of the tackle box” eventually opens up the middle ?
 

Sheboygan

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Oostburg Wis. ( It's DUTCH !)
Did he replace Biggers on the DL a lot in this game? Biggers had no stats during the game……?
 
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