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You’ve got to have depth to instill discipline, apparently.
Mack Brown said during the offseason that one of his biggest goals was for his next team to cut down on penalties. The Tar Heels were 110th in the nation last season, averaging just under 7 flags per game. Brown said he was going to be punitive for pre-snap and dead ball penalties.
Carolina started the new season with restraint but it has not continued. According to NCAA stats, the Heels are one of 17 teams tied for 44th in penalties after week three. During training camp in August, Brown said last year’s number is “unacceptable. . . if a player has one, we’re taking him out of the game.”
His biggest beef after UNC’s 45-10 win over North Carolina Central was the 17 penalties. Brown said “12 of those 17 were pre-snap or post whistle, and that’s what we said you can’t have.” He sent most of those to the ACC office for review, which is a formality with all teams that dispute the officials’ calls.
As for pulling those guilty players out, that’s hard to do when the offensive line is not very deep. So Brown’s summer pronouncement has not taken effect. Offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey said, “We handled it really well on the road in Minnesota and then we had a few the second game. So we just keep trying to hold ’em accountable. And it’s gotta be a constant reminder and it’s gotta be important to our guys, too . . . we just gotta keep working on that. The penalties set us back.”
Well, not on the scoreboard, as Carolina has won its first three games despite not playing particularly well, start to finish, in any of them. Now comes a team that, on paper, could be the toughest of the season so far. James Madison is 2-0, and in the one common opponent beat Charlotte by more (23 points) than UNC did (18).
The Dukes have a new coach who had a great record (113-46) at Holy Cross, but Bob Chesney inherited a roster nowhere near what JMU had going 11-2 last season. Former coach Curt Cignetti went 52-9 in five years and moved on to Indiana of the Big Ten, taking a number of his players with him to Bloomington.
Even if the Heels clean up their penalties and play better offense to match their improved defense, how ready will they be for the trip to Duke next week?
The Blue Devils are also 3-0 but escaped with two wins at Northwestern and at home against UConn. They followed the David Cutcliffe era with two bowl seasons under Mike Elko, who left for Texas A&M, and continue to upgrade their program with former Miami head coach Manny Diaz, who did not take the job without a guarantee of NIL money. Guaranteed.
Featured image via Associated Press/Abbie Parr
Art Chansky is a veteran journalist who has written ten books, including best-sellers “Game Changers,” “Blue Bloods,” and “The Dean’s List.” He has contributed to WCHL for decades, having made his first appearance as a student in 1971. His “Sports Notebook” commentary airs daily on the 97.9 The Hill WCHL and his “Art’s Angle” opinion column runs weekly on Chapelboro.Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.
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