WRAL Sports Fan

WRALSportsFan

NCSU Defense Looking For Redemption

By Langdon Morris, WRAL

Sep 4, 2007

Raleigh, N.C. — After allowing 206 rushing yards, including an 80-yard touchdown from scrimmage, the N.C. State defense realizes if it doesn’t improve, they will get run over game in and game out.

Senior linebacker Earnest Jones admitted the Pack’s first-half defense made it seem as though the team hadn’t been practicing in the pre-season.

“Personally, it was kind of embarrassing,” Jones said. “Especially the first play of the game, for them to get an 80-yard run on us, especially with how we had been practicing the whole scheme in two-a-days.”

Senior defensive tackle DeMario Pressley agreed with coach Tom O’Brien’s assessment that the Pack had an “over-inflated image” of itself going into last Saturday’s contest.

“In the first half we were overconfident and maybe we felt as if we didn’t have to work that hard,” Pressley said. “Then at halftime we had to really open up our eyes and we came together.”

Jones, who collected 12 total tackles and an interception in the game, said the second-half success and the first-half embarrassment have the Pack motivated to turn things around in Chestnut Hill.

“The coaches got pretty fired up about what happened to us last week,” Jones said. “And they gave us encouragement comparing the second half to the first half. Just watching the second half, and how good we were then, that’s how good we should be week in and week out.”

Heading into this week’s match up, Jones said he and his teammates feel they owe their coach a favor after their performance in his NCSU coaching debut.

“As far as coach O’Brien, we kind of feel bad for letting him down,” Jones said. “It will be a great opportunity for us to get a win as far as the ACC is concerned. I don’t know if they [Boston College] really have a bad vibe about him, because he left them a pretty good ballclub, so we’re going to go up there and give it our best.”

Though O’Brien may be familiar with the personnel at Boston College, the offensive system and play calls will change greatly. Where the Pack struggled to stop the run last week, they will now face a quarterback who completed 32-52 of his passes a week ago.

Pressley, the most experienced Pack defender, said despite the poor defense against the run, the team has been preparing for a strong passing game from BC.

“One thing I remember from last year is that they’re big and strong,” Pressley said.

“One thing about this year though is that they have a new [offensive coordinator] and last week they passed the ball 52 times. So [unlike] in the past, weight and size doesn’t really matter, it’s your feet that matter. So this week against the O-Line we’ve been working on our technique.”

One thing is for sure, according to Pressley: The Pack will not come out as flat and cocky as it did a week ago.

“We’re not coming out the same way,” Pressley said. “From here on out we’re going to come out on fire.”