Nice view of the game from the front of the upper deck last night:
Sometimes you will see plays where a back seems to miss a hole or a cutback lane. Not the case last night. There were few holes and cutback lanes, if any. Run blocking was not only poor by the OL, but the FB and receivers did the backs no favors either.
Ruble was replaced at the half, presumably because of poor play. But it appeared that every member of the OL was struggling. Kelly did not make much of a difference at RT in the second half.
Golson started the game confident and sharp. And he made some decent passes even later in the game. But he was clearly rattled by the intense pass rush, and his confidence visibly waned as the game progressed. Even when he had a couple extra seconds to throw in the second half, he was hesitant.
On the other hand, we saw footwork and escapability that we had hoped for from Golson. His elusiveness prevented a couple of disasters, including a safety.
Pass protection was an oxymoron last night. At times, even with play fakes, BC D linemen were on top of Golson, even when he was just pulling out of the fake handoff. This young OL needs a lot of work.
The receivers had difficulty getting separation from a pedestrian BC secondary. Even when Golson had time, he was throwing into tight windows.
BC's front seven on D were as good as advertised. They really get after it. And after BC adjusted to our speed following the opening series, they got bodies out on the edge and limited gains on the outside.
Wasn't consistently happy with Jimbo's play calling, but tough to get anything to work when the OL was being overwhelmed most of the night.
Sensational defensive effort. Obviously, BC is not a good offensive team, and they too have a re-tooled OL. But except for a couple of misdirection and traps, we really played well all night. Biggest gainers for the Eagles were on broken plays when contain was lost.
Never thought I would say it, but give a game ball to Cason Beatty. His punting repeatedly kept BC from flipping field position, especially in the second half. Though the Eagles strung together a few first downs a couple of times, there was never a sense they could drive 70-80 yards the way the defense was playing. Beatty never game them a short field.
Finally, all of us need to keep realistic expectations.
Last season I expected that team to be hitting on all cylinders from the opening snap. Not so with the 2015 Noles. There are a lot of young guys playing for the first time or still gaining needed experience, especially on the OL. There will be struggles and inconsistencies and, yes, probably a loss or two.
Let's be patient and enjoy the ride, fellow Noles.
Sometimes you will see plays where a back seems to miss a hole or a cutback lane. Not the case last night. There were few holes and cutback lanes, if any. Run blocking was not only poor by the OL, but the FB and receivers did the backs no favors either.
Ruble was replaced at the half, presumably because of poor play. But it appeared that every member of the OL was struggling. Kelly did not make much of a difference at RT in the second half.
Golson started the game confident and sharp. And he made some decent passes even later in the game. But he was clearly rattled by the intense pass rush, and his confidence visibly waned as the game progressed. Even when he had a couple extra seconds to throw in the second half, he was hesitant.
On the other hand, we saw footwork and escapability that we had hoped for from Golson. His elusiveness prevented a couple of disasters, including a safety.
Pass protection was an oxymoron last night. At times, even with play fakes, BC D linemen were on top of Golson, even when he was just pulling out of the fake handoff. This young OL needs a lot of work.
The receivers had difficulty getting separation from a pedestrian BC secondary. Even when Golson had time, he was throwing into tight windows.
BC's front seven on D were as good as advertised. They really get after it. And after BC adjusted to our speed following the opening series, they got bodies out on the edge and limited gains on the outside.
Wasn't consistently happy with Jimbo's play calling, but tough to get anything to work when the OL was being overwhelmed most of the night.
Sensational defensive effort. Obviously, BC is not a good offensive team, and they too have a re-tooled OL. But except for a couple of misdirection and traps, we really played well all night. Biggest gainers for the Eagles were on broken plays when contain was lost.
Never thought I would say it, but give a game ball to Cason Beatty. His punting repeatedly kept BC from flipping field position, especially in the second half. Though the Eagles strung together a few first downs a couple of times, there was never a sense they could drive 70-80 yards the way the defense was playing. Beatty never game them a short field.
Finally, all of us need to keep realistic expectations.
Last season I expected that team to be hitting on all cylinders from the opening snap. Not so with the 2015 Noles. There are a lot of young guys playing for the first time or still gaining needed experience, especially on the OL. There will be struggles and inconsistencies and, yes, probably a loss or two.
Let's be patient and enjoy the ride, fellow Noles.
