Perry vs. The Pressure
It’s about that time ladies and gentleman. As much as CMR wants to string out the QB decision as long as humanly possible, I believe 5 trots out onto the field to lead the Miami offense tonight. Perry stepped in early against FIU and played without a care in the world. He seized the moment. UNC is no juggernaut, but this is the conference opener at night in The Rock in a Thursday night primetime special with the whole nation watching. Perry will all of the sudden feel the weight on his shoulders increase exponentially. Pressure busts pipes. But it makes diamonds too. How will Perry respond? Let’s check out the conference opener’s Matchup of the Week: N’Kosi Perry vs. The Pressure.
UNC’s defense comes in at 105th in the nation allowing over 200 yards per game on the ground. Their best effort stopping the run was a 160 yard performance against California in the season opener. Let’s just say the UNC defense is porous. They’re closer to an FIU than a LSU defensively. Going against a two headed monster in Deejay Dallas and Travis Homer, their only hope to contain the run this week is with numbers. Even though the Miami offensive line has been less than stellar up to this point, UNC simply doesn’t have the dudes to match up with us man on man and overpower the line of scrimmage. Larry Fedora and the Tar Heel defense will have no choice but to bring extra bodies into the box to stop the run. Knowing that Perry is inexperienced, I’d be willing to bet that Fedora will accept Perry as the lesser of two evils. From their perspective, UNC’s best option is to put all the pressure on Perry and make him win the game.
Let’s talk about the actual pressure on the field from the UNC pass rush. Through 3 games, UNC is top 25 in the country in sacks with 3 per game. I wouldn’t say their pass rush has CMR losing any sleep at night, but they are certainly going to do whatever they can to make Perry feel the heat. I expect multiple different looks and blitzes from all spots on the field, so that Perry is unable to get comfortable. Perry must be able to recognize the pressure and get the ball out of his hands quickly, so that his explosive playmakers can get in space. N’Kosi’s legs will be another way he can alleviate some of that pressure. Perry is an upper echelon athlete at the QB position, and often times, for a young QB, a couple big runs early on will allow him to ease into the game. Look for a QB draw or something of that nature early on to get Perry’s confidence going. Whether it’s a designed QB run or an improvisation from Perry, I think his athletic ability will do wonders for slowing down this UNC pass rush.
Will Perry make mistakes tonight? Certainly. I wouldn’t be surprised to see some errant throws or ill-advised decisions, especially in the early parts of the ball game. But you’d be hard pressed to find me a freshman QB in his first start that isn’t going to do that. I think N’Kosi is the kind of guy that will make mistakes not because he doesn’t know what he’s doing, but more so because he was just trying to do too much (i.e the INT against FIU.) Those are things a coach can live with because the guy was trying to make a play. While the decision making will be far from impeccable, he is going to give our playmakers a chance to do their thing. He’s not afraid to cut it loose. With UNC’s defense focused on stopping the run, he is going to give him the opportunity to do just that. Let’s see if CMR takes the training wheels off N’Kosi. There will be situations where Perry and guys like Jeff Thomas will have a chance to take the top of the UNC defense. If it hits, the rest offense will open up and Perry will soon forget about the pressure.
Everyone around the Miami program is rooting for Perry to succeed. All eyes are on Hard Rock tonight at 8 pm. This will be the nations first good look at what this man can do. N’Kosi Perry knows what’s at stake, and he will certainly feel the pressure. Pressure is a privilege. There is no pressure standing on the sideline. This is what Perry wanted when he committed to UM, and the time is now. The pressure will not bust Perry’s pipes, and I believe tonight, in primetime, the nation will see a diamond created at Hard Rock Stadium.
Miami 34 UNC 10
It’s about that time ladies and gentleman. As much as CMR wants to string out the QB decision as long as humanly possible, I believe 5 trots out onto the field to lead the Miami offense tonight. Perry stepped in early against FIU and played without a care in the world. He seized the moment. UNC is no juggernaut, but this is the conference opener at night in The Rock in a Thursday night primetime special with the whole nation watching. Perry will all of the sudden feel the weight on his shoulders increase exponentially. Pressure busts pipes. But it makes diamonds too. How will Perry respond? Let’s check out the conference opener’s Matchup of the Week: N’Kosi Perry vs. The Pressure.
UNC’s defense comes in at 105th in the nation allowing over 200 yards per game on the ground. Their best effort stopping the run was a 160 yard performance against California in the season opener. Let’s just say the UNC defense is porous. They’re closer to an FIU than a LSU defensively. Going against a two headed monster in Deejay Dallas and Travis Homer, their only hope to contain the run this week is with numbers. Even though the Miami offensive line has been less than stellar up to this point, UNC simply doesn’t have the dudes to match up with us man on man and overpower the line of scrimmage. Larry Fedora and the Tar Heel defense will have no choice but to bring extra bodies into the box to stop the run. Knowing that Perry is inexperienced, I’d be willing to bet that Fedora will accept Perry as the lesser of two evils. From their perspective, UNC’s best option is to put all the pressure on Perry and make him win the game.
Let’s talk about the actual pressure on the field from the UNC pass rush. Through 3 games, UNC is top 25 in the country in sacks with 3 per game. I wouldn’t say their pass rush has CMR losing any sleep at night, but they are certainly going to do whatever they can to make Perry feel the heat. I expect multiple different looks and blitzes from all spots on the field, so that Perry is unable to get comfortable. Perry must be able to recognize the pressure and get the ball out of his hands quickly, so that his explosive playmakers can get in space. N’Kosi’s legs will be another way he can alleviate some of that pressure. Perry is an upper echelon athlete at the QB position, and often times, for a young QB, a couple big runs early on will allow him to ease into the game. Look for a QB draw or something of that nature early on to get Perry’s confidence going. Whether it’s a designed QB run or an improvisation from Perry, I think his athletic ability will do wonders for slowing down this UNC pass rush.
Will Perry make mistakes tonight? Certainly. I wouldn’t be surprised to see some errant throws or ill-advised decisions, especially in the early parts of the ball game. But you’d be hard pressed to find me a freshman QB in his first start that isn’t going to do that. I think N’Kosi is the kind of guy that will make mistakes not because he doesn’t know what he’s doing, but more so because he was just trying to do too much (i.e the INT against FIU.) Those are things a coach can live with because the guy was trying to make a play. While the decision making will be far from impeccable, he is going to give our playmakers a chance to do their thing. He’s not afraid to cut it loose. With UNC’s defense focused on stopping the run, he is going to give him the opportunity to do just that. Let’s see if CMR takes the training wheels off N’Kosi. There will be situations where Perry and guys like Jeff Thomas will have a chance to take the top of the UNC defense. If it hits, the rest offense will open up and Perry will soon forget about the pressure.
Everyone around the Miami program is rooting for Perry to succeed. All eyes are on Hard Rock tonight at 8 pm. This will be the nations first good look at what this man can do. N’Kosi Perry knows what’s at stake, and he will certainly feel the pressure. Pressure is a privilege. There is no pressure standing on the sideline. This is what Perry wanted when he committed to UM, and the time is now. The pressure will not bust Perry’s pipes, and I believe tonight, in primetime, the nation will see a diamond created at Hard Rock Stadium.
Miami 34 UNC 10
