Photo credit: Charlotte Athletics
After game one for both UNC Chapel-Hill and Charlotte, its safe to say both fanbases walked away feeling a bit discouraged, and likely would have accepted WIll Smith wiping out their short-term memory.
On the bright side of things for Charlotte, the Niners had extra time to prep for Saturday's contest at Jerry Richardson Stadium, while UNC-CH had a short week after they were blown out Monday night on national TV by TCU. This will mark the second meeting all-time, with Charlotte falling last year in Chapel Hill to a Connor Harrell led UNC-CH squad, 38-20.
What I'm looking for from CLT
Charlotte, in theory, will be out-talented come Saturday, but that's why the games are played on the field. I want to see Charlotte continue to execute well on Special Teams, and to minimize the self-inflicted penalties on offense. A hold here and there will happen, but repeatedly committing false starts will kill drives (we say this far too often at Bank of America stadium in the opener).
Beyond that, I'd love to see the defense be able to counter where UNC-CH strikes us. App State seemed to find a soft spot on the boundaries, anywhere from 8-15 yards down field, and AJ Swann carved the defense there all night long. It's inevitable that an opponent will find a spot to attack, but how do you adapt and counter that in-game? Thats an area where I'd love to see Charlotte grow from game one to game two.
I picked the image for this post with good reason, Sean Brown is one of the most proven skill players on offense, but he only had 4 snaps in pass sets (10 in total), and 1 target. I would love to see #8 get more involved, he just finds a way to make things happen.
I mentioned this in the post game article from game one, if Conner Harrell is going to be the guy, he has to use his legs. I'm not smart enough to know if his running was limited due to App State's scheme, or we just didn't provide enough opportunities via playcalling. Whatever the cause, they must find a way to maximize his abilities.
Lastly, I want to see better play out of our linebacker group. Coming into the season, I think most would have pointed to this group as the strength of Nate Faanes defense. I felt they struggled, especially in coverage, in game 1, while we also allowed almost 200 yards on the ground.
Friendly Reminders
The First 49 is working with the UNC Charlotte Alumni Association and will be collecting school supplies at the Normbulance’s tailgate this Saturday. Due to expansion efforts, the tailgate location has changed. We will be anchored beside the PORTAL building, in a lot opposite of Grigg Hall.
