Friday Football Bytes: Riley Skinner > Russell Wilson?

'09 Football17

Just a ton of football this week as practice hit high gear. As opposed to taking the time linking to all of the different items out there I am going to just turn your attention to Yet Another… as well as Backing the Pack. Both of these blogs have done a good job of maintaining ‘link flow’ this week for your surfing pleasure. There is no reason for us to spend time duplicating their efforts.

 

Now for some commentary on what we are seeing out there:

===== Riley Skinner > Russell Wilson? =====
Today ‘ESPN.com’ released their preseason All-ACC Team and they have chosen Wake Forest’s Riley Skinner over NC State’s Russell Wilson as All-ACC quarterback. Wilson, of course, was first team All-ACC in 2008 and was the media’s selection to repeat this season. (By the way ESPN’s article was written I don’t know if I am to blame just Heather Dinich or all of ESPN.com?

There is one big reason why Riley Skinner won’t have a better season than Russell Wilson – Wake Forest’s defense.

Wake’s under-appreciated defense of the last few years has benefited Riley Skinner more than publicly noted and the loss of seven starters from the unit is too big to ignore. Their disciplined approach to the game and ability to keep scores close have resulted in situations where the Demon Deacons haven’t had to diverge too far from their controlled offensive gameplans. The defense has allowed the offense to generally dictate what they want to do and keep opponents defenses on the field longer than their own.

The reliance of Wake Forest’s offense on its defense will be knocked a little askew by the exodus of NFL talent from last year’s defense; meaning more will be asked of Riley Skinner and Wake’s Kenny-Moore-less offense. Can Skinner truly deliver when more is needed of him than managing games and surgically picking and choosing optimal times to strike? It certainly didn’t appear so in Carter-Finley last year.

Photo courtesy of News & Observer/Ethan Hyman

Photo courtesy of News & Observer/Ethan Hyman

 

===== N&O Photo Gallery =====
The N&O had a real nice set of pictures from the Wolfpack’s Media Day this week. You can view the gallery by clicking here.

 

===== Numbers Notes =====
* NC State opens a 3.5 point favorite in our season opener against South Carolina. That hook is a touch one to swallow. I would need it to be no more than -3 and preferably -2.5 to jump on that with some value.

* 620TheBuzz linked to Vegas Insider’s O/U wins total for the ACC. The numbers paint the same picture that the conference experienced last year – a lot of parity. BC wasn’t on the list and I would have loved to have seen them. You may be able to make a case that some value exists in both FSU and NC State’s number. Georgia Tech’s number might be high in light of their tough schedule.

Duke – 3.5
Virginia – 5
Maryland – 6
NC State – 7
Wake Forest – 7
Florida State – 7.5
Miami – 7.5
North Carolina – 8
Clemson – 8
Georgia Tech – 8.5
Virginia Tech – 9

* NC State’s September 26th game against Pitt has been scheduled for a 3:30 kick-off on ESPNU. I am FIRED UP about this game; This is a big one! The Big East media chose Pitt to win the conference championship this season. A quick view of most preseason prognostications indicates the Pitt and NC State are chosen very close to each other across the board. I believe that it was the Sporting News that listed NC State #27 and Pitt #26.

* More vegas odds can be seen here.
South Carolina @ N.C. State (-3.5)
Baylor @ Wake Forest (-1)
Alabama (-4.5) vs. Virginia Tech
Maryland @ Cal (-21)
Middle Tennessee @ Clemson (-20)
Miami @ FSU (-5)

 

===== Injuries =====
For your both your Nate Irving discussion and the overall injury landscape then you can click here for a deeper dive. It is with crossed fingers that I hold my breath and observe that it appears the Wolfpack has avoided too many unexpected losses to this point of practice.

 

===== TheACC.com =====
TheACC.com has launched a feature this season where a blogger will be committed exclusively to following each member institution – they call it “The Road to Tampa Bay”. They are launching the feature with their 12 Days of Football. The NC State page can be seen by clicking here and it includes a nice preview video. NC State’s blogger will be a guy named Jonathan Rand and this link will take you to the actual NC State blog.

 

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'09 Football

17 Responses to Friday Football Bytes: Riley Skinner > Russell Wilson?

  1. choppack1 08/14/2009 at 12:34 PM #

    That’s interesting. I guess one theory is that Wake will be behind so much that Skinner will put up great passing #s.

    However, if you look at his career #s, he’s pretty much 2 TD to 1 INT guy – and that’s very respectable. However, it’s not an elite, or even necessarily an all-conference #.

    What could be the difference maker is a better run game for Wake Forest. If Wake can establish the run – Skinner becomes a much better QB. I don’t think that he can win games w/ Riley Skinner as the main threat. Rather, when he’s a complimentary player – he puts up solid #s. OTOH, as we saw w/ Russell last year – he can carry a team. Big difference.

  2. GAWolf 08/14/2009 at 1:34 PM #

    As far as the USC game goes… the Garnet and Black Attack, an independent blog on USC-East or the Other Carolina, is a pretty good read. GABA reports that one of their keys to success this year will be their secondary play. The secondary is led by Chris Culliver, “one of the better safeties in the (SEC)”. Many of you will remember the name as there was once a lot of hope that he would wind up in Raleigh.

    http://www.garnetandblackattack.com/2009/8/11/984403/keys-to-success-in-2009-number-one

  3. Pack Leader 08/14/2009 at 2:03 PM #

    Give a shout out to the hardworking reporting website WOLPACKPIGSKIN.com/ WOLFPACKHOOPS.com who took their time to create,record,compile these video interviews and make them public on youtube FREE of charge….

    Isn’t that respect to fellow journalists???

    Site your works…..

    SFN:
    (1) YouTube is open community. Any moron can doubleclick on the embedded video to see who posted it to YouTube. To be honest, I don’t pay attention to who posts videos. I just watch them when they are referred to me on my landing page.
    (2) It is customary for bloggers to cite any text/source but not necessarily videos. If someone does not want their videos embedded/shared then they can turn off that option on their YouTube Channel and negatively impact the number of views their videos receive. We have some videos on the internet and nobody has ever bothered giving us ‘credit’. Its not a big deal to most people.
    (3) Nobody here is a ‘journalist’
    (4) ‘Site’ is spelled ‘cite’
    (5) The folks at these websites you mention have cut and pasted information from other websites in the past and not attributed the work – such as a bio/entry on DeShawn Painter that clearly came from another source. They also have been caught multiple times falsely posting time&date stamps to make it appear that they had posted/broke ‘news’ earlier than they actually did. Perhaps you should focus on these more serious ethical breeches ‘journalistic’ integrity and then come back.

  4. Zen Wolf 08/14/2009 at 2:19 PM #

    How big of a loss is Desmon Roberts? Was he on two deep? Did he transfer because of grades? Will he try to come back? He was pretty highly recruited so I am just wondering what gives on him.

    I guess they will see what Lemon can do in practice but I am wondering if he could start for us this year. Our front seven if we can find a good replacement for Irving could be very very good.

    SFN: Roberts did not leave because of grades.

  5. bradleyb123 08/14/2009 at 4:02 PM #

    Getting back on topic, I think Skinner is probably a close second to RW. Skinner is a pretty solid QB. I’m not sure how his arm compares to Russell’s, but if someone said Skinner’s was better, I could accept that. But Russell’s legs, combined with his arm, make him the bigger threat. And like someone said, better able to CARRY his team.

    I don’t see how Skinner could be tabbed as the better overall QB.

  6. GAWolf 08/14/2009 at 4:15 PM #

    I thought they shut wolfpackpigskin.com down. Is that not true?

  7. bradleyb123 08/14/2009 at 4:40 PM #

    ^^^ “I thought they shut wolfpackpigskin.com down. Is that not true?”

    It’s still there. For a long time, I think they were on a hiatus. But they’re back now, posting blogs.

  8. bradleyb123 08/14/2009 at 4:41 PM #

    ^^^ “SFN: Roberts did not leave because of grades.”

    SFN, do you have any more info on this? I haven’t seen any info as to why he’s out.

  9. Wufpacker 08/14/2009 at 7:20 PM #

    I don’t care what ESPN.com, Heather Dinich or anyone else has to say. If you were picking a QB to lead your team and could pick either Skinner or Wilson, most folks would pick Wilson. Perhaps Skinner is their “sentimental” pick (its his senior season, he’s been a big contributor to their success of late, etc. etc., and because Wilson is only a sophomore) but I would bet that most of the folks that were in on picking this All-ACC team, if they were truly being honest, would agree that between the two they’d pick Wilson.

    And, Statefans, regarding this from the post…
    “It is with crossed fingers that I hold my breath and observe that it appears the Wolfpack has avoided too many unexpected losses to this point of practice. ”

    Besides crossed fingers and held breath, I hope you did some serious “wood-knocking” after typing that statement.

  10. Rufftown Wolf 08/14/2009 at 7:56 PM #

    I think Skinner is the most experienced QB in the league, but not the best. Wilson has the best talent and smarts on the field.

  11. Wufpacker 08/14/2009 at 10:34 PM #

    Apologies for changing the subject and posting off-topic but not sure where this would fit better, and don’t remember seeing this mentioned anywhere previously.

    According to Stewart Mandel on SI.com, negotiations are in progress between the Big 10 and the Gator Bowl to replace the Big 12/Big East with a team from the Big 10. Apparently there are a few things that have to happen for this to occur, including Konica remaining the sponsor for the game, as well as reaching a new TV agreement between the Gator and ESPN, replacing CBS (neither of which has been finalized yet). And since most bowls are now in the final year of their bowl tie-in agreements with various conferences it is expected that many of those conference tie-ins will change.

    http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/stewart_mandel/08/13/bowl.arrangements/index.html

    Personally, I hope this deal goes thru. I would love for the ACC to face a Big 10 team in the Gator. If that fails I’d love to see an SEC tie-in. I’ve always liked the Peach because of that. Even if we weren’t playing in it it was always enjoyable to see an ACC/SEC matchup. For some reason I never got terribly excited about the ACC facing a Big 12/Big East team in the Gator. Not sure why.

    SFN: Good find. We were already working on an entry related to this and other bowl issues for next week.

  12. LRM 08/14/2009 at 10:42 PM #

    I honestly think Wilson just needs to start the season strong to convince a lot of folks that last year wasn’t a fluke. I don’t necessarily hold it against them, because State didn’t get a lot of national attention last season, so he’s still a relative unknown.

    If we’re winning and he continues to play well, the attention will come. No one remembers the preseason picks, anyway.

  13. aPACKadeez 08/15/2009 at 12:32 AM #

    On another note, did anyone see on WRAL.com? Andre Brown tore his Achilles tendon today in that left ankle, the same one he hurt before. That’s a bummer for AB, he was looking real good and I had heard some good things about him from my cousins up in NY. Tough break AB…work hard…I was going to draft him as a sleeper in the later rounds of my fantasy league this year…good luck AB, get better!

  14. Noah 08/15/2009 at 8:10 AM #

    Desmond Roberts had been suspended for a time last year. I wouldn’t say he was highly recruited coming out of HS, but he had some potential. In spite of all that…he could never crack the depth chart.

    I’m perfectly fine with him leaving.

  15. Dr. BadgerPack 08/15/2009 at 8:49 AM #

    If you need a QB to start your team in the ACC, you won’t go wrong with Skinner or Wilson- based strictly on past performance. Both have done quite well. The all-ACC prediction may simply be a projection of who stays on the field longer; and again based on past performance I’m fine with that. I’m comforted by the notion that our QB, if he plays a full season, should be the better of the two.

    Can’t wait for FB to start. (A) I get to see state in action and (B) since I live in Gainesville, there will be plenty of parties to drop in on. (Hey, Florida signs my paycheck so I can root for them after State and Wisconsin.) 🙂

  16. 1.21 Jigawatts 08/15/2009 at 7:20 PM #

    Found this comment from Stewart Mandel’s Mailbag: (2nd question down)

    http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/stewart_mandel/08/12/notre-dame/index.html

    I believe an experienced offensive line is an important factor in a successful season. Are there any Top 25 teams with lots of talent at the skill positions, but playing with an inexperienced or suspect offensive line? Do you think these teams will not live up to their preseason rankings because of this potential weakness?
    — John, Chicago

    I couldn’t agree more. Besides quarterback, there is not a more important position on a football team than offensive line, and too often voters get so seduced by a team’s glamour players that they overlook serious questions on the line. Having a pair of stud receivers won’t do you much good if the quarterback doesn’t have time to throw the ball. Ask Clemson last year. And losing an elite left tackle can be downright crippling. Ask Alabama.

    …

    One should also look at O-lines when identifying potential surprise teams flying under the radar. Even without longtime starting quarterback Mike Teel, Rutgers is my pick to win the watered-down Big East due in large part to its five returning starters on the line. While Northwestern lacks veteran tailbacks and receivers, it’s in fine shape to duplicate last year’s nine-win season due to the quality of its offensive and defensive lines (and secondary, another overlooked position). And while star sophomore quarterback Russell Wilson gets the pub for N.C. State, the four seniors blocking for him make the Wolfpack an ACC contender.

  17. tjfoose1 08/18/2009 at 5:56 PM #

    Regarding who’s better, Skinner or Wilson: I posted the below over on Heather’s article. Anyone disagree? I think it’s clear cut, Wilson is better.

    ———————————–
    My point was, whenever it was crunch time and WF was struggling, Skinner rarely, if ever, came through. I am not saying he played poorly, just that he did not deliver by playing great. Dont’ believe me? That’s ok, the stats* back me up.

    Skinner has never been the type of player who can carry a team. He is a good player, a great competitor, an accurate passer, and from all appearances, a great teammate. But he is simply not a GREAT player. I submit it will take a great player to be All ACC QB in 2009.

    * In Wake’s 5 loses, Skinner completed 56% of his passes for an average of 151 yards per game. He also threw 7 ints against only 3 TD’s. – Far from All ACC numbers. As I said before, Skinner is a good player, a key cog in an offense when surrounded by supporting talent. But has not proven he can carry his team when needed; when the offense struggled, Skinner did not come through. He is not a GREAT player, he is not All ACC.

    btw, Skinner was 3-8 for 57 yds in the Miami loss. Looks like even Skinner’s own coaches agree with me, ie, that they knew Skinner could not deliver if they leaned on him.

    Now compare what I have written about Skinner to the performance of Russell Wilson last year. Not saying Wilson will win All ACC, just providing an example of an All ACC player who has turned in a GREAT performance and carried a team.

    Switch Skinner and Wilson last year and NC State wins one game while Wake Forest wins the ACC.

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