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Thursday, July 12, 2007
ACC Coastal burning questions
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Here are my five burning questions about the ACC Coastal as we get ready for the 2007 season. Your thoughts, please.
1. Georgia Tech lost Calvin Johnson, one of the best receivers you are ever going to see. But is it possible that the Yellow Jackets’ offense is actually going to be BETTER in 2007?
Call me crazy (and I’m sure some of you will call me worse) but I really think Tech is going to be more productive and much less predictable on offense.
It starts up front where eight of the Top 10 offensive linemen are back. Tashard Choice, the ACC’s leading rusher (105.2 ypg) is back and is going to have a huge year. What quarterback Taylor Bennett did in the Gator Bowl game (326 yards passing) was not a fluke. This guy can manage a game, read coverages and throw it to the right guy.
Would he be a better quarterback if No. 21 (Calvin Johnson) was still at Tech? You bet he would. But the receivers coming back, including James Johnson, are pretty good.
Georgia Tech fans are going to like John Bond, the new offensive coordinator. Here is a guy who fielded three Top 25 offenses in four years at Northern Illinois. He knows how to use good running backs (go back and check the stats of Michael Turner and Garrett Wolfe). I think it all adds up to a pretty special unit that could get Georgia Tech back to Jacksonville and the ACC championship game.
2. What will be the mental and emotional state of the Virginia Tech football program?
Coach Frank Beamer cancelled the last week of spring practice after the horrible shootings on campus back in April. I’ve spoken to him several times since then and he is convinced that his football team will serve as the rallying point for the campus as students return this summer. I think he will be right.
This is a very good Virginia Tech team. The defense is really scary. The Hokies led the nation in total defense last season (216.5 ypg) and gave up only 11 points a game. Remember the names of Vince Hall and Xavier Adibi. They may be the best pair of linebackers in the country.
The problem comes at quarterback, a job that is still open going into preseason practice. Sean Glennon really couldn’t throw the ball well enough to keep defenses honest late in the season and Georgia really exposed his weaknesses in the Chick-fil-A Bowl. Ike Whittaker is much more athletic and may find a way to get on the field.
A lot of people are going to pick Virginia Tech in this division and logically, it’s a sound choice. But the Hokies are going to have to beat Georgia Tech on a Thursday night (Nov. 1) at Bobby Dodd Stadium to go to Jacksonville.
3. Will Miami be the Miami of old under new coach Randy Shannon?
Eventually, but probably not this season. Shannon, Miami’s long time defensive coordinator, spent the spring making sure that everybody in Coral Gables understood that things were going to be done “Coach Shannon’s Way.”
I don’t see any real problems on the defense. Calais Campbell may be the best DE in the country and that group will be very stingy when it comes to giving up points. The issues are still on offense where Patrick Nix has been brought in to put some juice into this outfit. Kyle Wright, who threw eight touchdowns and seven interceptions last season, has got to grow up as a quarterback or step aside for Kirby Freeman.
There remain a bunch of question marks on the offensive line. The tight end (Greg Olsen) was the leading receiver last season and he’s gone to the NFL. Where is the next Michael Irvin? Miami needs more guys on offense who can make plays.
4. Will North Carolina significantly improve as Butch Davis takes over as head coach?
Depends on your definition of “improve.” If it means that North Carolina will win more than three games, then improvement might be tough in 2007. But there is no question that it is simply a matter of time before Davis brings enough good players to Chapel Hill to make the Tar Heels a Top 25 program once more.
In the short term, there are a couple of bright spots. The defense may actually be pretty decent. Three of four starters up front return and some talented true freshmen may find their way into the mix.
But my goodness, the problems on offense are downright scary. There is no proven quarterback, which means that true freshman Mike Paulus, one of Davis’s prized recruits, may get a shot at the job. UNC’s best returning running back, Barrington Edwards, was suspended indefinitely last March for violating team rules. And it doesn’t help North Carolina to have three of its first five games on the road.
5. Will Duke snap its 20-game losing streak? And if it doesn’t, is Ted Roof done?
There is no question that Duke is a more athletic and talented team now than when Roof first took over. But the numbers do not lie.
Duke is 5-34 overall and 3-25 in the ACC with Roof as its head coach. He knows that some wins have to come soon.
All 11 starters return on an offense that simply was not very good. The Blue Devils averaged only 14.9 points per game and had to score 44 in the final game against North Carolina to get to that number.
Roof moved several offensive players over to defense in the spring trying to get more athleticism on that unit. Only five starters return after giving up 33.8 points per game.
Duke was in position to win some big games last season, losing to Wake Forest, the ACC champ, 14-13, when the Deacons blocked a 28-yard field goal attempt on the game’s final play. The Blue Devils lost to Miami by five (20-15) and to North Carolina by one (45-44).
The non-conference schedule is Connecticut, Northwestern, Navy, and Notre Dame. All four teams are better than Duke.
Roof needs to get that 20-game losing streak off his back. He can’t let it go to 32 and hope to survive.
