W
Wes Mitchell
Guest
After watching the game twice, here are my observations... [Click here to see the review of the Gamecocks' offense]
Defense
-- In its first game under new co-defensive coordinator Jon Hoke, South Carolina's defense wasn't perfect, but it was able to stand up in the red zone and particularly when it mattered most. There were still busts at times and missed tackles too, but when you consider the struggles this unit had last year, there were marked improvements across the board.
Not only were the Gamecocks able to force three turnovers and collect sacks, but they also held the Tar Heels to no points in the second half. I've asked around, and it wasn't necessarily that there were a ton of adjustments at the half from Hoke and Co., the defense just simply hung in there and executed better as their collective comfort levels rose.
-- I've seen a sentiment on the internet that North Carolina quarterback Marquise Williams "gave" South Carolina the game, but you also have to give the Carolina defense the credit for getting off the field when it had the opportunity to do so, as that's something they struggled with last year, and for making the plays when they were available.
Just like South Carolina executed nearly perfectly on Shon Carson's game-winning touchdown run, in the case of Skai Moore's game-sealing interception, the defense was in perfect position. Hoke has talked all offseason about putting a defense on the field that due to its simplicity allows his players to play fast and smart with an attention to details. There may not be a better example of the Gamecocks following Hoke's mantra of "assignment, alignment, technique and key" than on that play when the attention to detail was perfect on the biggest play of the game.
Any successful defensive play has to be executed from the rush and the cover standpoint and this one certainly was. If you look pre-snap, South Carolina is showing a blitz look from its linebackers, but drops into a cover 2 zone at the snap. Down and distance is incredibly important and is something that we heard Hoke preach all spring and in this case, you can watch as South Carolina's cornerbacks, who typically in cover 2 would be worried about the flats, drop all the way to the goal line and then a couple of yards into the end zone. Any zone defense requires there to be pressure on the quarterback and as Williams starts to look for his receivers, South Carolina's front four has forced him to roll out.
Watch as the Carolina pass defenders, all in zone with their eyes on the QB, begin to slide in that direction as well. Facing fourth down, Williams has no choice but to try to force a pass and he thinks he can fit it behind Moore who is fading to his left. But Moore knows exactly where the receiver is behind him and slams on the brakes, almost as if he baited Williams, and makes the easy interception. If you look at the replay in the video below, you can pause it when Williams stars to roll and see that all five eligible UNC receivers are covered. When the Gamecocks absolutely needed a play, the execution and the attention to detail was perfect.
-- Moore may not have gotten the preseason praise he probably deserved, but there's no question in my mind that he's an All-SEC level player. His body of work throughout his career has been incredible and he's building a resume that if he continues, he's got a chance to be one of South Carolina's all-time greats if you consider the fact that he's already been the leading tackler on the team his first two seasons and will have the opportunity to do it again this year.
-- South Carolina's defensive line wasn't perfect either, but they seemed to take their game to a different level when they needed it most, such as on the fourth down above, on the third down on the play prior (a Dante Sawyer sack) and on a third down sack from Kelsey Griffin in the first half that forced a field goal.
Speaking of Griffin, he's a guy that will have to play more going forward. That three-technique defensive tackle spot needs a player that can beat his man in one-on-one situations more often than not and on Griffin's first sack, he absolutely whipped North Carolina's left guard. Sawyer also appeared to be the relentless pass-rusher from that spot that he was billed to be. Some guys just have a motor that's on a different level and Sawyer is one of those guys.
At the one-technique position, those guys will need to command a double team moving forward more often than they were able to on Thursday. In theory, that position should have a guy that is so big and strong that teams have to double him just to keep him from disrupting everything. I didn't watch the one-tech specifically on every play, but I didn't see many double teams when I did. In fact, I noticed a double team on the three-tech at times.
-- Junior college transfer Qua Lewis may not have recorded his first career sack Thursday, but he had a direct effect in helping his teammates get sacks. Lewis appears to be what he was billed to be and he was instrumental in the fourth and short stop as well. Cedrick Cooper had what might have been his best game as a Gamecock. Against a spread team like UNC Cooper's athleticism stands out and he was able to make plays.
-- With Isaiah Johnson and Jordan Diggs at safety, South Carolina's has two physical guys that can hit and they'll only get better as they get more experience playing alongside each other. Johnson had to get settled in at first, but after he did, he showed why he was such an important addition to the Carolina defense this offseason. Spurrier has talked about how Hoke's defense doesn't have many coverages that don't feature at least one safety deep and more often than not its Johnson who is that centerfielder who has to come over and make big hits (as he did below) and who also has to be the last line of defense when a long run is broken off as he did a couple of times Thursday. Diggs is active, a playmaker, a sure-tackler and a big hitter, so he's perfect for that.
Diggs looked right at home in his new boundary safety spot and his interception -- when he basically baited Williams into thinking he was in man coverage while he was actually playing the flat in a cover 3 zone -- was a thing of beauty.
-- Kudos to South Carolina's strength and conditioning and nutrition staff for their work this offseason as the South Carolina defense appeared to be in excellent shape on a hot and humid night in Charlotte against North Carolina's up-tempo offense. South Carolina substituted liberally on the defensive line, but there was very little subbing at the linebacker and secondary levels, yet those guys held up all game.
-- There's still plenty of room for this defense to grow, and you'd have to imagine that they'll only get better as they get more and more comfortable with each other and in Hoke's defensive scheme. Keep in mind that the Gamecocks don't do much tackling in the offseason, so while there were tackling improvements, there were also more missed tackles than you'd probably like to see.
As the season progresses, you'll likely see the tackling get better and the players take better angles. Now that there's tape of what the Gamecocks are going to do defensively, opposing offenses will also know what to expect, so it will be interesting to see what wrinkles Hoke adds to the mix. I'm anxious to see how good this defense can be as Hoke and Co. clean up the mistakes and this group gels together. It's clear that they're going to play hard and fast.
ALSO SEE:
-- Wes Mitchell's Game Review: UNC - Offnese
-- Josh Low's Instant Analysis
-- Chris Clark's UNC-USC Game Insights
Defense
-- In its first game under new co-defensive coordinator Jon Hoke, South Carolina's defense wasn't perfect, but it was able to stand up in the red zone and particularly when it mattered most. There were still busts at times and missed tackles too, but when you consider the struggles this unit had last year, there were marked improvements across the board.
Not only were the Gamecocks able to force three turnovers and collect sacks, but they also held the Tar Heels to no points in the second half. I've asked around, and it wasn't necessarily that there were a ton of adjustments at the half from Hoke and Co., the defense just simply hung in there and executed better as their collective comfort levels rose.
-- I've seen a sentiment on the internet that North Carolina quarterback Marquise Williams "gave" South Carolina the game, but you also have to give the Carolina defense the credit for getting off the field when it had the opportunity to do so, as that's something they struggled with last year, and for making the plays when they were available.
Just like South Carolina executed nearly perfectly on Shon Carson's game-winning touchdown run, in the case of Skai Moore's game-sealing interception, the defense was in perfect position. Hoke has talked all offseason about putting a defense on the field that due to its simplicity allows his players to play fast and smart with an attention to details. There may not be a better example of the Gamecocks following Hoke's mantra of "assignment, alignment, technique and key" than on that play when the attention to detail was perfect on the biggest play of the game.
Any successful defensive play has to be executed from the rush and the cover standpoint and this one certainly was. If you look pre-snap, South Carolina is showing a blitz look from its linebackers, but drops into a cover 2 zone at the snap. Down and distance is incredibly important and is something that we heard Hoke preach all spring and in this case, you can watch as South Carolina's cornerbacks, who typically in cover 2 would be worried about the flats, drop all the way to the goal line and then a couple of yards into the end zone. Any zone defense requires there to be pressure on the quarterback and as Williams starts to look for his receivers, South Carolina's front four has forced him to roll out.
Watch as the Carolina pass defenders, all in zone with their eyes on the QB, begin to slide in that direction as well. Facing fourth down, Williams has no choice but to try to force a pass and he thinks he can fit it behind Moore who is fading to his left. But Moore knows exactly where the receiver is behind him and slams on the brakes, almost as if he baited Williams, and makes the easy interception. If you look at the replay in the video below, you can pause it when Williams stars to roll and see that all five eligible UNC receivers are covered. When the Gamecocks absolutely needed a play, the execution and the attention to detail was perfect.
-- Moore may not have gotten the preseason praise he probably deserved, but there's no question in my mind that he's an All-SEC level player. His body of work throughout his career has been incredible and he's building a resume that if he continues, he's got a chance to be one of South Carolina's all-time greats if you consider the fact that he's already been the leading tackler on the team his first two seasons and will have the opportunity to do it again this year.
-- South Carolina's defensive line wasn't perfect either, but they seemed to take their game to a different level when they needed it most, such as on the fourth down above, on the third down on the play prior (a Dante Sawyer sack) and on a third down sack from Kelsey Griffin in the first half that forced a field goal.
Speaking of Griffin, he's a guy that will have to play more going forward. That three-technique defensive tackle spot needs a player that can beat his man in one-on-one situations more often than not and on Griffin's first sack, he absolutely whipped North Carolina's left guard. Sawyer also appeared to be the relentless pass-rusher from that spot that he was billed to be. Some guys just have a motor that's on a different level and Sawyer is one of those guys.
At the one-technique position, those guys will need to command a double team moving forward more often than they were able to on Thursday. In theory, that position should have a guy that is so big and strong that teams have to double him just to keep him from disrupting everything. I didn't watch the one-tech specifically on every play, but I didn't see many double teams when I did. In fact, I noticed a double team on the three-tech at times.
-- Junior college transfer Qua Lewis may not have recorded his first career sack Thursday, but he had a direct effect in helping his teammates get sacks. Lewis appears to be what he was billed to be and he was instrumental in the fourth and short stop as well. Cedrick Cooper had what might have been his best game as a Gamecock. Against a spread team like UNC Cooper's athleticism stands out and he was able to make plays.
-- With Isaiah Johnson and Jordan Diggs at safety, South Carolina's has two physical guys that can hit and they'll only get better as they get more experience playing alongside each other. Johnson had to get settled in at first, but after he did, he showed why he was such an important addition to the Carolina defense this offseason. Spurrier has talked about how Hoke's defense doesn't have many coverages that don't feature at least one safety deep and more often than not its Johnson who is that centerfielder who has to come over and make big hits (as he did below) and who also has to be the last line of defense when a long run is broken off as he did a couple of times Thursday. Diggs is active, a playmaker, a sure-tackler and a big hitter, so he's perfect for that.
Diggs looked right at home in his new boundary safety spot and his interception -- when he basically baited Williams into thinking he was in man coverage while he was actually playing the flat in a cover 3 zone -- was a thing of beauty.
-- Kudos to South Carolina's strength and conditioning and nutrition staff for their work this offseason as the South Carolina defense appeared to be in excellent shape on a hot and humid night in Charlotte against North Carolina's up-tempo offense. South Carolina substituted liberally on the defensive line, but there was very little subbing at the linebacker and secondary levels, yet those guys held up all game.
-- There's still plenty of room for this defense to grow, and you'd have to imagine that they'll only get better as they get more and more comfortable with each other and in Hoke's defensive scheme. Keep in mind that the Gamecocks don't do much tackling in the offseason, so while there were tackling improvements, there were also more missed tackles than you'd probably like to see.
As the season progresses, you'll likely see the tackling get better and the players take better angles. Now that there's tape of what the Gamecocks are going to do defensively, opposing offenses will also know what to expect, so it will be interesting to see what wrinkles Hoke adds to the mix. I'm anxious to see how good this defense can be as Hoke and Co. clean up the mistakes and this group gels together. It's clear that they're going to play hard and fast.
ALSO SEE:
-- Wes Mitchell's Game Review: UNC - Offnese
-- Josh Low's Instant Analysis
-- Chris Clark's UNC-USC Game Insights
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