I wrote about this before camp started and hit on it in last night's podcast with Bruce, so I thought I'd note it again here.
Fed was being honest when he surprised most reporters by saying he felt the offense was "average" a year ago in part (mostly) because of its inconsistency. So lets gloss back over that. In nine of 13 games last season, the Tar Heels went through a significant period where the offense produced little to nothing. Here were those stretches:
Liberty - 7 of 8 possessions without a TD
San Diego State - 6 of 7 possessions without a TD
Clemson - The first 5 possessions without a TD
Virginia Tech - A single field goal over the first 12 possessions
Miami - Nothing over the first 7 possessions
Pitt - 4 of 5 possessions without anything
Duke - 6 of the last 8 possessions without no TD
N.C. State - First 9 possessions with nothing
Rutgers - First 7 possessions with nothing and overall 10 of first 11 possessions
Note: The offense was on fire at Duke, but it did struggle in the second half, but had a comfortable lead to work with.
Now, on Thursday, the offense failed to produce any points on all 6 of its second-half possessions. We've hit on some of the reasons here a lot, but it's worth noting that a point of emphasis was to eliminate the inconsistency, and after one game it appears that hasn't happened, yet.
QUESTION: Is Thursday's performance connected to last season's inconsistency or is it more isolated? And why?
Fed was being honest when he surprised most reporters by saying he felt the offense was "average" a year ago in part (mostly) because of its inconsistency. So lets gloss back over that. In nine of 13 games last season, the Tar Heels went through a significant period where the offense produced little to nothing. Here were those stretches:
Liberty - 7 of 8 possessions without a TD
San Diego State - 6 of 7 possessions without a TD
Clemson - The first 5 possessions without a TD
Virginia Tech - A single field goal over the first 12 possessions
Miami - Nothing over the first 7 possessions
Pitt - 4 of 5 possessions without anything
Duke - 6 of the last 8 possessions without no TD
N.C. State - First 9 possessions with nothing
Rutgers - First 7 possessions with nothing and overall 10 of first 11 possessions
Note: The offense was on fire at Duke, but it did struggle in the second half, but had a comfortable lead to work with.
Now, on Thursday, the offense failed to produce any points on all 6 of its second-half possessions. We've hit on some of the reasons here a lot, but it's worth noting that a point of emphasis was to eliminate the inconsistency, and after one game it appears that hasn't happened, yet.
QUESTION: Is Thursday's performance connected to last season's inconsistency or is it more isolated? And why?
