Zach of the Old Gold & Blog joins us this week to tackle five things FSU fans want to know about those demonic church elders descending on Doak this Saturday.
With a week off to prepare, how will Wake's offense differ from the one that beat Ole Miss?
I do think we'll see some different things from Wake's offense this week, but I don't think it will have a whole lot to do with the week off. Wake has run a very "vanilla" offense for the first two games (Baylor in particular), not running much of the end around, "misdirection," and "trick" plays people tend to think of when they think of Wake under Jim Grobe. The offense has actually been evolving away from that over the last few years and those things are no longer the core of Wake's offense (if they ever really were). Still, they are useful for adding variety and catching opponents off guard, and I think we'll see a little bit more of it against Florida State.
After two games Wake is tenth in the ACC in rushing offense. Have the Deacs worked to improve that during the off week?
The team actually took much of last week off and did not have regular practices. The players focuses on getting healthy, hitting the weight room, and studying film, while coaches took a little break, did some media-related things, and began preparing for Florida State. Although the team hasn't suffered any serious injuries to this point, there have been many players who'd gotten nicked up the first couple of weeks and needed the time off to recuperate.
As for the running game, it is definitely a concern at this point. I know the team is working hard on improving it, and some of those signs showed in the second half of the Ole Miss game. This year's offensive line is lacking in experience and is still learning what they need to do to open holes for the running backs. Similarly, I think the running backs could do a better job hitting holes quickly and getting up field. These are all things the team has definitely been working on this week.
How has a new defense coordinator helped or hurt Wake's D?
It's too early for me to fairly pass judgment one way or the other right now. We were told to expect an attacking defense that would take more risks than we've seen in the past. Although the front seven have done a pretty good job with this, I've been concerned by coverages that have sometimes appeared to be very soft. Wake's defense has a lot of talent, with Alphonso Smith at corner and Aaron Curry at linebacker leading the way, but there have been some struggles elsewhere in the secondary that concern me. At this point I'm not ready to assign blame for this to the coaching staff and would lean more towards saying that it is mostly a product of guys still learning their responsibilities, but time will tell. Florida State will provide plenty for Wake's defense to deal with, and I think we'll learn a lot about the defense from this game.
What's the most impressive thing, and the biggest disappointment, so far about the '08 Deacs?
The passing offense has been absolutely phenomenal so far. We all knew Riley Skinner was a good quarterback, but there were questions at the receiver positions going in to the season. Not only has Skinner exceeded the high expectations, completing 59 of 79 passes for 487 yards, 5 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions, but previously unknown receivers have stepped up in a big way. D.J. Boldin and Ben Wooster, guys who have never been particularly significant contributers in the past, each have over 10 catches and 100 yards receiving through two games. It's really been great to see.
Although the running game has been my single biggest concern so far, I suppose the defensive secondary has been the unit that has fallen farthest below my preseason expectations. Although they have four interceptions, they've allowed 409 passing yards and, as I talked about in the previous question, have been soft in coverage at times. It's not a huge concern yet, but I'd like to see them play to the expectations most Wake fans set for them.
Any injuries that will keep key Wake players out of the game?
I don't expect any key players to miss this one, although a couple of guys are listed as "probable" on this week's injury report, including DT Michael Carter and redshirt freshman WR Devon "Y'lou" Brown. Alphonso Smith was a bit banged up after the Ole Miss game, but the week off should have given him ample time to recover. I expect to see everyone out there on Saturday.
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