54. 54 points given up. Not to Alabama (although I fear what that massacre will be). Not to Georgia Tech. Not to Miami but to Wake Forest. I don't mean to sell the Deacs short but this was a team that had lost several starters on the offensive line and the best quarterback in school history yet Duke's secondary made the Wake Forest offense look like a blend of the Nebraska triple option from the mid 90s and June Jones' pass happy Hawaii teams. Whatever the Deacons wanted to do, they did.
Many Duke fans, including myself, have griped over the last few years about the strides, rather the lack there of, of the defense. In fact, the Duke defense has gotten worse since Cutcliffe and staff arrived two years ago. In 2008, Marion Hobby's defense returned 10 starters and gave up only 23.4 points per game and 357 yards per game. In 2009, Duke lost Mike Tauiliili yet returned most of the stars of the defense like Vinney Rey and Vince Oghobaase. However, the defense gave up 28.3 points per game and 369 yards per game. So far in 2010, Duke is giving up 40.5 points per game and 453 yards per game. Astounding numbers considering the two opponents so far this season.
The optimist in me would love to chalk this up to inexperience but that would be assuming that the veterans are without fault.
On the very first drive, third year starting safety Matt Daniels found himself caught. Cover the pitch man or stay with the ball? He chose poorly. Daniels stepped towards the pitch man and Wake quarterback Ted Stachitas took off for the endzone. Daniels wasn't the only Duke defensive back to have a flub in the game, nor would it be Daniels last flub.
(I honestly paused here to decide whether to touch on Ross Cockrell's ineptitude in the first half or stay with Daniels...decisions, decisions)
Let's stay chronological.
Cockrell, I feel for. Poor guy got picked on like he was a short, geeky kid that stumbled into a pick up basketball game at Rucker Park. Wake, when they decided to stretch their passing legs, routinely threw at Cockrell where he twice came up short. In the first quarter, Cockrell was beaten deep but instead of turning around and playing the lofted ball, he played his man.
There are benefits to this type of defense. The defensive back reads the receiver and makes a judgment on his actions. It ensures the defensive back of staying with his man, however, turning blind to the ball takes him out of the play. In this instance, the receiver went up for the ball early and Cockrell reacted. He hit the receiver before the ball arrived, earning himself a pass interference call.
Later on, he was simply beaten on an inside slant and was left in the dust.
But I don't blame Cockrell or Daniels. I blame defensive backs coach Derek Jones. Each year, his pass defense has gotten worse and worse, without so much as a sign of improvement. Everyone in the secondary continues to make the same mistake Cockrell did by not playing the ball, a mistake that has routinely haunted Duke the last three years. How has this not been corrected? Surely they see it in game film? I, and every other Duke fan I know, have been complaining about this since Russell Wilson abused our secondary in 2008.
Daniels, as much as he can lay the lumber on fools, seems to be tactically deficient. Aside from the misplayed pitch, Daniels was later victim to a Tanner Price pump fake that left Marshall Williams all by himself, where if he wanted to, he could have walked on his hands into the endzone.
The secondary simply seems to be untaught and shows no signs of getting better. Yeah, yeah, they're young. Well there comes a time when coaches should be held responsible for their players play and it's that time.
Heck, the offense is clearly getting it done.
Desmond Scott looks like the best running back at Duke since Chris Douglas was dashing between the tackles. Sean Renfree looks like a future pro as he shows off remarkable accuracy and awareness. If not for a couple of dropped passes, Renfree would have finished the first half without an incompletion and probably a two score lead. But he had nothing to work with.
In tennis, the only way to win a set is to break your opponents serve. The same principle falls in football in the sense that you must force a turnover on defense and capitalize. The first break in the first half was a forced three and out. Duke wasted it. The next one came in the form of a Chris Rwabukamba interception. Again Duke wasted it.
The afternoon was one of failed opportunities, porous defense, and most importantly, lessons not learned. It's said that what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger. After a game that drove a dagger into Duke's post season hopes, the Blue Devils have two options. Suck it up, pull the knife out and correct their vulnerabilities that led to the loss, or rollover and die.
Based on the small amount of fight I saw in the blue and white this afternoon, I'm going to expect the latter.
