Final Thoughts On A Sloppy UNC Game

Well, we're 10-1 (exhale) and through the meat of our schedule. But there are a couple of things that concern me with the UNC game I have to get off my chest. While a win is still a win we toed a fine line Thursday. Come digest the things I saw that made us play the sloppy game that we did.

• The demeanor and attitude of the sideline sucked early. We didn't look into it for about the first hour of the game. That can't happen against any of our remaining opponents.
• The David Wilson stretch play at the 1 was an awful idea. We have a 6'6" QB that is about 90% in those situations this year and we go wide? Go straight ahead. Even if it wasn't with Thomas. I know we're trying to fuel his Heisman candidacy and his lack of touchdowns, and trust me, I want to see the kid score more than anybody, but not at the expense of the team. If it's not right, don't force feed it. That was a dumb play call that cost us points.
• Eddie Whitley and Jayron Hosley played the worst games I've ever seen them play. I'm convinced Jayron has packed it in at this point. I've never seen a player who is so ready to be in the NFL that he's just going to go through the motions the rest of his college career. Granted the guy had a leg injury, but that was ages ago. If he's still carrying an injury/not 100% I'll understand. But that doesn't seem to be the case. He's just not working hard based on what I see, and seeing him give guys 15 yard cushions shocks and befuddles me. He also whiffed on at least eight tackles by my count.
• Part of the reason Gio Bernard was able to get big chunks of yards was because we were giving huge cushions to UNC's receivers.
• Whitley letting that guy behind him late in the fourth on the wheel or streak route (again, only saw it live, so didn't see how he left the line of scrimmage. If anyone wants to offer any help on that one be my guest) is unconscionable! He got burned against Miami too, but at least on that one he was caught being overly-aggressive and trying to make a play on the ball. This time he just either flat out forgot his coverage responsibilities or forgot where the guy was. Either way it could have been costly and he has to shape up mentally.
• Beamer admitted some of the big plays we gave up defensively at the end were the result of inexperienced personnel being on the field. I know that we have a kind of bare bones crew out there as it is, so if he's talking about that then I'm off-base here, but I think he's talking about the second team guys as it stands today. My retort is: don't have those guys out there until you're sure you have the W. I'm all for guys getting invaluable experience, but we more than anyone have been burned by doing that late in games...BC '07...we HAVE to learn our lesson there.
• Frank admitted it may not have been smart to go for the 4th and 4 early, but after hearing his reasoning I've changed my mind a little. At first I thought it was boneheaded. Get points on the board when you can. But he said Journell is still not 100% with the wind being a factor, he just thought it was important to answer with 7. He expressed regret with that right there, but I can at least understand it now.
• It's obvious to see for this Tech team shows up for the big ones (with the exception being the Clemson game) and plays down to their competition in other games. So count me in the group of people who want to see UVA upset FSU. It could hurt our recruiting, but we may need to have it be all on the line so that our team plays like they have in that situation.