Second viewing thoughts and grade report: NC State

After the game I called this an ugly 20-point win. Well after watching it back, I’m feeling a little different. This was one of those games that looked much better upon further review. Sure we gave up yardage and struggled in the passing game but it was a good effort and some guys are doing a good job stepping up.

Offense: B-

This was possibly Matt Ryan’s worst performance since the 2004 Syracuse game. Uncharacteristically, he was on target early and started scattering as the game progressed (it’s usually the opposite, with Ryan getting sharper as the game progresses). By my count he had eight incomplete passes that were off or forced. The protection was good enough, I think that the receivers and NC State’s good pass coverage made him hold a second too long or force into bad routes. I am not worried and actually think he’ll bounce back against Georgia Tech next week.

The running game was obviously much better. Hats off to AC. Everyone mentioned his rushing but he also added another 53.5 yards in receiving and returns for 211 total yards. He obviously did a great job reading the holes, but I was also impressed with his second efforts and runs after the first contact. This is a guy who had his own corner in the TOB doghouse, so it was nice to see him prove something to his former coach. He also put the game away with his work on our first drive of the fourth quarter. AC got the accolades, but LV looked good in his return. I worried about him in the new offense but he responded well and even showed a little burst. McLuskey was a nice surprise. He did a fantastic job on the lead blocks throughout the game. Brooks…nothing of note outside of his work in the passing game. As LV gets healthy, AJ might be back on the sidelines.

The RBs couldn’t have produced without the offensive line. The right side played really well again. Very impressed with Tennant as he is doing a great job of getting off the line. Ramsey had a mistake early but we near perfect the second half. Castonzo played well too. Poles was inconsistent but better than the man to his left. Now criticizing the Line is nitpicky (since they did play much better than NC State) but Cherilus did not have a great, all-ACC type day. Outside of the penalties, he still played inconsistently.

The Wide Receivers were awful. Nine inexcusable drops. Part of it was NC State’s coverage, but much of it was just straight up mental errors. Although he had his drops, Robinson played ok and was doing a great job on the running blocking. Challenger -- terrible. Flat out. Very unexpected from such a usually consistent performer. The young guys are getting grouped together in this report, but no one distinguished themselves. The Tight Ends were nonfactors overall (but did do a good job in a jumbo package near the goal line).

Logan called a decent game. It wasn’t the ballet of the Wake game and certainly created some frustration and uneasiness, but he’s shown he can adapt. Our long-distance passing wasn’t clicking so he kept it on the ground and added some shorter crossing routes and short passes to the flats. Despite the ascetics, the guy deserves credit – we’re scoring points.

Defense: B+

The defensive line is really confounding. They are doing a great job shutting down the run. Multiple guys are getting on the field and trying really hard. Brady Smith has done a good job replacing Raji. Albright continues to play well. Ramella might be one of the most sound, stick with his responsibility type guys we have. Brace was a beast. Giles looked good when he got on the field. Yet with all that praise, they are still having a hard time generating any pressure on the passing game. One of the reasons we’ve been picked apart the past two games is because the front four cannot do anything disruptive. But at the same time, they are doing a great job clogging lanes on the run game. I don’t know what the solution is, but we need to tweak something.

The linebackers are also part of the problem in the passing game. They all read the run very well and really react quickly (look for teams to go heavy play action in the coming weeks to take advantage). Yet like the front line, these guys all seem a step too slow when they are covering their men or zones. Dunbar deserves credit for creating points, but it wasn’t his best game. Akins looked slow. I was shocked when he didn’t run down Beck. Pruitt played well enough. Herzy had another outstanding game – probably the best of the linebackers again. Not only is he all over the field with his tackling, he’s proving to be very versatile.

The DBs were very very good. How can that be when you give up 400 passing yards? All the big plays were due to deep routes when the coverage breaks down. The picks were a product of reading Beck and just some natural athletic plays. Glad to see Morris step up. Anderson looked improved from Week 1. Tackling has been good in the secondary.

Spaziani…what can you say? This was the bend but don’t break prototype. But Spaz did mix it up. NCSU ran 78 plays and we were in a three-man front for 15% of them. We also blitzed close to 10 times. I applaud the variety and giving Beck different looks worked. My complaints come in not doing it enough. If a raw QB cannot handle the zone blitz or a true blitz or a 3-4 look, yet is settling in against a 4-3 cover two zone, then avoid the cover two and keep mixing it up. Yet Spaz would go traditional/conservative and allow some big plays. Overall, the D is keeping scoring down, so I can’t complain too much.

Special Teams: B

Due to all the fair catches on our returns this is easy: our punt coverage might be the best in the country. Our kickoffs might be the worst. I’ve been impressed with our new special teams coverage (even the busted KRs) so I am sure things will get better once a kicker actually puts some leg under it.

Overall: B

As I said, the game got better the second time around. It was nice to see how effective Spaziani’s unique packages were. I also think the offense would have appeared much better if Ryan and the receivers had connected on even a quarter of their misses. Regardless of what I think about each unit, the most important thing is the win. Outside an Xs and Os standpoint, I think Jags handled the TOB return better than expected.

Bring on Tech!