… Pro Football Focus takes a look at what he’ll be facing in North Carolina’s secondary.
North Carolina played press-man regularly last season. The Tar Heels often combined the aggressive approach on the perimeter with a single high safety, piling pressure on the corners to hold up on an island. Defensive coordinator Gene Chizik could only free up safeties to play in the box because of the quality he had at his disposal in the secondary.
That is not the kind of scheme that Lambert excelled against last season. Or the offensive line, for that matter.
Get The Picture 
We have to go deep and make them pay for loading the box.
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Once again it becomes more about the WR’s getting quick separation and getting open. Too many times last year the WR’s weren’t open. The opposing defenses were not just not impressed by Lambert’s arm, they could cover our guys.
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It’s also about the QB making precise on-time throws where only the WR can catch the ball. I honestly don’t believe Lambert possesses this ability.
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You need to watch some film of his throws and make up your own mind instead of trying to match his putdowns.
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Lack of size at WR really hurt there (and in run blocking) last year. Hope some of the bigger guys learn the new system well, because press man against Godwin/McKinzie could be pretty effective.
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Watched 2nd half replay of last year’s Pitt vs. Iowa game yesterday. I liked a lot of what I saw about Chaney’s play calling at Pitt. It did seem to me Chaney prefers to throw a bit further down field (than CMR/schotty). And I think we saw that at G-Day too. Didn’t see much ‘dinking’ it to WRs for short gains. Use of the TE’s was similar to G-Day too. Won’t surprise me if arm strength and accuracy with intermediate/long throws turns out to be the top issue when we pick our starting QB.
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You need Eason to get the ball down field. On the job training is a must in this case.
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It’s a good thing they only have 1-2 top notch players in their front seven, because we’ll need to lean on the run game. Of course, this does not bode well if we get behind by 2 scores.
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Bah! If Chubb is his old self, the run defense will have to be playing run-first…and that may not be enough for them. If they close up too tight, play fakes are in order..and a play fake doesn’t have to be “sold” to be effective. If they know it’s in the playbook and used a bit, it will force the defensive backs to hesitate on stopping the run..giving Chubb the extra moment he needs to catch his balance and direction after clearing the los. That will get old in a hurry for a safety. That’s what a stud running back gives you. Also he has good hands catching the ball out of the backfield. For every strength you gain with a scheme, there is a downside. Playing it straight up and balanced requires very good skill and discipline at every position in the defensive backfield and the ends.
Pound them with big backs, controlling the los and have a blast against their worn out defense in the fourth.
Everything will be predicated on a strong running game…If it’s better than last years was (after the injury), defenses are going to get tired. Tired of tackling Chubb and Sony, tired of running them down in space, and tired of getting burned for having to sell out to the run. If the opposing defense is good enough to play the run honestly, it will take good “game coaching” to find weaknesses to exploit. But the running game wears down a defense and preserves your own defense.
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Just hand the ball off to a back, believe that’s what Baylor did for about 600 yards.
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Woerner and Nauta are going to abuse some LBs and CBs.
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