We sent over some questions about the upcoming Wake Forest football game to SBNation Wake Forest rep, Blogger So Dear. Martin of BSD responded with the excitement and vigor of a man who's a fan of a team that gives up 49 points/game on defense. Here are his responses...
FTRS: Wake hoops held 13 teams to 67 or fewer points last season. If you put Dino's 2009-2010 squad out there in pads, could they have slowed down the Cardinal? Is Stanford as legit as they looked on TV?
BSD: I think I'd take Aminu at the Safety position and Woods and Weaver down in the trenches. Ish could keep up with any receiver and LD would be a bruising LB. But in all honesty, Stanford made us look like fools. The defense is a mess. They played better last week in stretches, but overall, there are just too many problems to address right now. And as to Stanford in general, yes they're legit. Luck could be the first pick in the draft next year, they have a beast FB/LB dual-player and an NFL-caliber WR. Not to mention, their defense does enough to keep them in games if somehow Luck is off. If Gerhart was still there, they'd probably win it all this year.
FTRS: Who is starting at QB for the Deacs on Saturday, Tanner Price or Ted Stachitas? What do the different Wake QB's bring to the table?
BSD: Ted Stachitas. Price has a concussion and is listed as "doubtful" right now. Unless something changes, Teddy Stacks will be starting. Price has a bigger arm and is mobile, but Stachitas is a better runner in general and has more strength. He can take a real beating. Unfortunately, he hasn't shown much in the passing game. I wouldn't be surprised to see more option out of Wake this week, more creative playcalling, and even some wildcat.
FTRS: Georgia Tech, under Paul Johnson, follows a very rigid pattern in its first three ACC games of the season: Close Win, Blowout Loss, Blowout Win. Will Wake break down defensively against Georgia Tech or should we expect another hard fought struggle like we saw in Atlanta last year? Who are the defensive bright spots for Wake this season?
BSD: Who knows? The way Wake has played the option in the past, I don't see good things in my gold and black crystal ball. The bright spots are few and far between, but I've been very impressed (and let me stress VERY impressed) with Kyle Wilber. My numbers might be wrong, but I have him at 31 tackles, 5 sacks and 11 TFL on the season so far. I also like the heart that Tristan Dorty and Joey Ehrmann have shown. AJ Marshall should come along, and Alex Frye has played well in the secondary. But as a unit, the defense is a mess.
FTRS: What's up with the Deacons offensively? Why are they struggling so much to find an offensive identity? Lack of seniors? Lack of talent? Poor coaching?
BSD: All three? The line is bad, there is a lot of youth out there, they aren't executing. But a lot of it falls on the coaching staff. As has been seen in years past, there is no continuity. Playcalls are not right for situations. They go from taking a big shot downfield or a trick play at an inopportune time to running plays on third down and long that have little to no chance at picking up the first down. I'm very disappointed in the coaching offensively. I know you need players to execute, but coaching can mask problems, and we are not seeing that at all right now.
FTRS: Excitement gauge. What percentage of Wake fans are gearing up for Hoops already? What percentage of Wake fans are giving up on the 2010 football season? How many of the tie-dye faithful are hanging strong?
BSD: Well, a lot of fans are excited about basketball, but a lot are also apprehensive because of the new head coach and a bunch of young players. With youth you get the unknown factor, but most of us have little to no expectations. But given the circumstances, and knowing in the back of our minds that even 5 wins is a stretch this year in football, I would say a good amount are just waiting around till November. You have your Sunshiners and your Gloom and Dooms. Unfortunately a lot of the sunny day fans are simply making excuses at this point. We all want the team to win, but if you looked at this thing realistically way back in August, five to six wins was the ceiling all along. We just hoped that the team wouldn't look this bad.
FTRS: Jim Grobe has seen some version of Paul Johnson's offense at least 6 times. How are the Deacs prepping for the 2010 version of the Ramblin' Wreckbone? Would you have preferred playing Navy before or after GT?
BSD: Probably the same way they always do. Look at the film, look at past games, run it in practice with our scout QB (Skylar Jones). We still have nightmares of the Navy game a couple years back, and we always have trouble against the option. With our lack of size on the line this year, I'm very worried that you guys are going to rush for like 400 yards and control the ball for three quarters of the game. I would have liked to play Navy before, but in all honesty, playing GT first prepares us FOR Navy, and Navy is the winnable game. GT may be sliding, but I still think they're the better team.
FTRS: Who wins this game and why?
BSD: Georgia Tech because they're a better team. Wake has no defense, no offense and the coaches don't seem to know how to use the personnel. Wake looks overmatched out there right now, and I'm worried we whiffed on some of our recruits and inaccurately scouted them. I just don't know. Do I want improvement? Of course. I hope the team can build on something the rest of the season or it could get ugly fast. I'm taking GT, 35-10.
Thanks goes out to Martin and Blogger So Dear. Hopefully, their hoops coach with not-enough-vowels-in-his-last-name struggles against CPH like Dino did. Go Jackets!
FTRS: Wake hoops held 13 teams to 67 or fewer points last season. If you put Dino's 2009-2010 squad out there in pads, could they have slowed down the Cardinal? Is Stanford as legit as they looked on TV?
BSD: I think I'd take Aminu at the Safety position and Woods and Weaver down in the trenches. Ish could keep up with any receiver and LD would be a bruising LB. But in all honesty, Stanford made us look like fools. The defense is a mess. They played better last week in stretches, but overall, there are just too many problems to address right now. And as to Stanford in general, yes they're legit. Luck could be the first pick in the draft next year, they have a beast FB/LB dual-player and an NFL-caliber WR. Not to mention, their defense does enough to keep them in games if somehow Luck is off. If Gerhart was still there, they'd probably win it all this year.
FTRS: Who is starting at QB for the Deacs on Saturday, Tanner Price or Ted Stachitas? What do the different Wake QB's bring to the table?
BSD: Ted Stachitas. Price has a concussion and is listed as "doubtful" right now. Unless something changes, Teddy Stacks will be starting. Price has a bigger arm and is mobile, but Stachitas is a better runner in general and has more strength. He can take a real beating. Unfortunately, he hasn't shown much in the passing game. I wouldn't be surprised to see more option out of Wake this week, more creative playcalling, and even some wildcat.
FTRS: Georgia Tech, under Paul Johnson, follows a very rigid pattern in its first three ACC games of the season: Close Win, Blowout Loss, Blowout Win. Will Wake break down defensively against Georgia Tech or should we expect another hard fought struggle like we saw in Atlanta last year? Who are the defensive bright spots for Wake this season?
BSD: Who knows? The way Wake has played the option in the past, I don't see good things in my gold and black crystal ball. The bright spots are few and far between, but I've been very impressed (and let me stress VERY impressed) with Kyle Wilber. My numbers might be wrong, but I have him at 31 tackles, 5 sacks and 11 TFL on the season so far. I also like the heart that Tristan Dorty and Joey Ehrmann have shown. AJ Marshall should come along, and Alex Frye has played well in the secondary. But as a unit, the defense is a mess.
FTRS: What's up with the Deacons offensively? Why are they struggling so much to find an offensive identity? Lack of seniors? Lack of talent? Poor coaching?
BSD: All three? The line is bad, there is a lot of youth out there, they aren't executing. But a lot of it falls on the coaching staff. As has been seen in years past, there is no continuity. Playcalls are not right for situations. They go from taking a big shot downfield or a trick play at an inopportune time to running plays on third down and long that have little to no chance at picking up the first down. I'm very disappointed in the coaching offensively. I know you need players to execute, but coaching can mask problems, and we are not seeing that at all right now.
FTRS: Excitement gauge. What percentage of Wake fans are gearing up for Hoops already? What percentage of Wake fans are giving up on the 2010 football season? How many of the tie-dye faithful are hanging strong?
BSD: Well, a lot of fans are excited about basketball, but a lot are also apprehensive because of the new head coach and a bunch of young players. With youth you get the unknown factor, but most of us have little to no expectations. But given the circumstances, and knowing in the back of our minds that even 5 wins is a stretch this year in football, I would say a good amount are just waiting around till November. You have your Sunshiners and your Gloom and Dooms. Unfortunately a lot of the sunny day fans are simply making excuses at this point. We all want the team to win, but if you looked at this thing realistically way back in August, five to six wins was the ceiling all along. We just hoped that the team wouldn't look this bad.
FTRS: Jim Grobe has seen some version of Paul Johnson's offense at least 6 times. How are the Deacs prepping for the 2010 version of the Ramblin' Wreckbone? Would you have preferred playing Navy before or after GT?
BSD: Probably the same way they always do. Look at the film, look at past games, run it in practice with our scout QB (Skylar Jones). We still have nightmares of the Navy game a couple years back, and we always have trouble against the option. With our lack of size on the line this year, I'm very worried that you guys are going to rush for like 400 yards and control the ball for three quarters of the game. I would have liked to play Navy before, but in all honesty, playing GT first prepares us FOR Navy, and Navy is the winnable game. GT may be sliding, but I still think they're the better team.
FTRS: Who wins this game and why?
BSD: Georgia Tech because they're a better team. Wake has no defense, no offense and the coaches don't seem to know how to use the personnel. Wake looks overmatched out there right now, and I'm worried we whiffed on some of our recruits and inaccurately scouted them. I just don't know. Do I want improvement? Of course. I hope the team can build on something the rest of the season or it could get ugly fast. I'm taking GT, 35-10.
Thanks goes out to Martin and Blogger So Dear. Hopefully, their hoops coach with not-enough-vowels-in-his-last-name struggles against CPH like Dino did. Go Jackets!