FanPost

Look-fors BC vs. Duke (defense)

We have football. I'm excited. You're excited. (The folks who run this website are not excited.)

1. Can the D-Line get a pass rush going?

Obviously, the line was the real weakness of the unit last year, and there wasn't a next-man up after the graduations of Landry and Allen (who got his first NFL sack last week). The secondary clearly wasn't good, but when QBs can sit back and survey, and check-down, and not get breathed on, any secondary is going to look bad. The transfers from Buffalo and Cal are going to play on the interior, so it seems up to Valdez and, according to the 2-Deep, Shillah to provide pressure on the edge. Shillah is an interesting player, super athletic, and supposedly has put on some real muscle in the off-season. If those guys can make a leap and get some pressure with a 4-man rush, the positive effects will be felt throughout the defense.

2. Can the linebackers stay healthy and dominate?

BC has obviously had some special linebackers, and this groups of Richardson-Lamont-McDuffie could be special if they can stay on the field together. I thought Lamont put on too much weight last season and it showed in his closing speed. Hopefully, the new strength and conditioning coaches have rectified that. McDuffie when healthy showed great instincts and had real quickness and speed. Like the O-line, this is a unit that could be more than good, and being more than good is probably necessary for the team to progress beyond a .500 record.

3. The secondary is Sebastian plus ----?

Who steps up? Jones, coming in from Maryland, hopefully secures himself in the secondary and provides much needed stability and athleticism and an ability to go up against wide receivers. The team still needs a corner to provide consistent play across from Sebastian. Maitre showed flashes but that was it. Haynes looked slow and lost often. No one demonstrated an ability to tackle. This play of this unit is a real metric of how much value-add effective coaching and scheme can bring in, with largely the same group of players needed to demonstrate significantly improved play.

4. Can we, for the love of Mike, get off the field on third down?

Cuz we haven't. Not for a long time.

If you're in the BC goes 7-4 crowd, tomorrow is a must-win. D will need to show up and not get killed on the read-option.