Looking at the standings going into today (3/7) the Noles are in line for either the 3 seed or the 5 seed. If Clemson wins today we are the 5 and if they lose we are the 3. Most people say that it is important to have the day off and only have to play 3 games to win the tournament. While I agree with that logic, I am arguing that this year it may be better for us to get that fifth seed.

If Clemson wins we will be on the Duke side of the bracket and we will have to play Thursday, but we will probably open with Miami or NC State. I know we just played UM down to the wire without their best player and lost to NC State but I think both of these are very favorable matchups. Should we win that game we would then play VT, a team that we have already beat and while it will be tough to beat them again our defense is good enough to shut down their scorers. From there it would most likely be Duke then the winner of the other side of the bracket should we make it that far.

If Clemson loses and we grab the 3rd seed, which is a tremendous feat for the young Seminoles, but we will most likely open on Friday with Clemson or Wake (not sure how their standings shake out). Clemson has beaten us twice already and Wake is a tough match up. If we win that game we would most like play Maryland (who has beaten us twice) and then more than likely Duke.

5th seed: NC State/UM, VT, DUKE, Winner of other side (my bet Maryland)

3rd seed: CLEMSON/WAKE, Maryland, DUKE (my bet to get out of that side of the bracket).

There are a lot of ifs and things that would need to happen right for it to shake out this way, but I believe the 5th seed (as of now) may present an easier road to advance to at least the semis without a day off. From there it would be a crap shoot because it would be tough against either UM or DUKE.

This was just a thought I had and something I found interesting. What are your thoughts? However this plays out and we will know today, Go NOLES.

So I have been watching some of the film on him and trying to figure out some of the hype on him from a lot of people. Before I pretend to give a great analysis I want to say I dont think I am a coach and dont pretend to be one, so if you can give me more input that would be great....

   Pros:

      Great Visibility: He follow his blockers extremely well and seems to know when and where to cut back. The piece posted on here previously about zone blocking seems to help his abilities in our offense.

      Some Moves (Shiftiness): seemed to be able to get himself out of trouble and move upfield to gain positive yards when they didnt appear to be there.

    Cons:

        Elite Speed: He seems to lack the speed to get away/around the corner in high school which bothers me. he does possess some strength which allows him to break tackles outside...but if he cant break away from high schoolers consistently how will he fare in a D-1 program. Is his blocking that much better than the competition? Is that why he has huge lanes to run through?

Overall: While this is not detailed and I would appreciate some input it is what I observed from a few minutes of tape. Can someone tell me what his competition is like? While his visibility seems to counteract his speed for me I think there are better backs on our board. If he signs with FSU I hope he has a great career, but my observations lead me to believe there may be better prospects. I may be wrong in my analysis but I think he is a product of superior talent and coaching rather than pure talent. Any info is appreciated.

Thanks,

PJV

With all of the recent talk about some of our interior defensive lineman, such as: Mincey, McCray, McDaniel, and Dawkins, is Thacker going to see as much time this year? It seems as though many of the other linemen have added weight and taken big strides. We have heard nothing so far on Thacker. I am indifferent on him, because I think so far his bark has been a bit louder than his bite, so I was wondering what you all thought.