someone mentioned 3 FR starters in OL... it's actually two RS FR (LG and RT). but the point remains that it's a young line. and Jon Cooper (LG) was often the lead blocker for Gio, so we miss that combo tremendously.
i wouldn't say Renner is an avg QB. but it is clear to all UNC fans that he has regressed somewhat from last year with some inaccurate throws early this season (he was 24th in the nation in passing efficiency last year). Renner got rave reviews at Manning Camp over the summer, and was widely touted as the best QB prospect there. A former UNC QB noted this week that Renner seems to be taking longer strides in the pocket and has been surprisingly fundamentally unsound.
UNC did do a good job of negating the socar pass rush but almost to a fault by overdoing the screen passes. We have four legit big time receivers in Quinshad Davis, Eric Ebron, Bug Howard and Ryan Switzer who could cause a lot of trouble. Ebron is 6-4, 245, so he won't have the usual physical advantage he has when matched up against Watts (6-2, 235 according to official roster) but i'll take it.
speaking of the socar game, we lost 10-27. but it was really two big plays that put the game out of reach in the first quarter... 65 and 29 yard passing plays. then a big 75 yard run in the 3rd quarter to seal it. so, after giving up 17 in the first, we settled down and played to a 10-10 score the rest of the game. we're prone to giving up big plays, which works to GT's advantage but i can see signs of improvement for the most part (e.g., DBs looking completely lost only half the time).
we had a bye week last year, which didn't help us. the coaches have said that they spent the week off last year (late in the year) to rehab and rest players, and we had lots of true and RS FRs playing due to injuries. they said that they dedicated some time in the preseason solely on GT, and did more this bye week with practices than they did last year. so, we'll see if there are any improvements. the diamond formation shown at the dook game has caused some headaches since they have to spend more time on the new wrinkle. however, UNC has shown the diamond as well, so it's not a new concept to the coaching staff.
the one time we beat a PJ-coached GT team was in PJ's first year. last year was Fedora's first, so I'm hoping to see significant improvement in both our O and D this year in his second shot against GT.
