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I never really get this argument other than on a rare situational basis. Screen passes when the D is loading the box to stop the run will typically be far less successful than a quick slant or a post to an A-back right after he gets past LB depth.
We have better “options” than a screen pass. I think many desire screens as that is a big answer other offenses have for us when we blitz or start crashing down hard. Those Os don’t have our better “options”.
I don't know how tough it is to read the backside linebacker blitz. Hopefully, one of the linemen pick up the linebacker and you can run the play pretty much as normal. In the plays that they ran that against Army, the LB rushed through and the A back was deep and in a bad position to pitch to. Since Army didn't manage to pick up the blitzer, most of their counters looked really bad.
If we can't match Duke's football physicality, our program is in far greater trouble than even the most anti-CPJ fans think.
Hoops, I understand. But there's no excuse not to be on equal footing with Duke in football.
Duke isn't a doormat any more. Should Duke be better than FSU? (They are). Should they be better than UNC? (They are). They had a bad game against VT, but they might be a better team than VT. They're much better than Pitt, who held us to 19 points, some of it last minute. Duke hits hard, they're a physical team, and their defense is installed and their players know it.
We can control our team and how good we are. The fact that Duke has improved doesn't have anything to do with our program, or our program being "in trouble".