{"id":685,"date":"2011-08-11T17:36:29","date_gmt":"2011-08-11T21:36:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/allsportsdiscussion.com\/?p=685"},"modified":"2011-08-13T16:45:06","modified_gmt":"2011-08-13T20:45:06","slug":"acc-atlantic-division-pre-season-football-roundtable-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/allsportsdiscussion.com\/2011\/08\/11\/acc-atlantic-division-pre-season-football-roundtable-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"ACC Atlantic Division Pre-Season Football RoundTable Part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

Author: Contributing Writer @HokieGuru<\/a><\/p>\n

ACC Pre-season RoundTable Series<\/strong><\/p>\n

Coastal RoundTable Pt 1<\/a> | Coastal RoundTable Pt 2<\/a> | Atlantic RoundTable Pt 1<\/a> | Overall ACC RoundTable<\/a><\/p>\n

Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Atlantic Roundtable Panel #2<\/strong><\/p>\n

We\u2019re happy to have @NCStateFootball<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0\u00a0 @TerrapinNation<\/a><\/strong>, and @MartinRickman<\/a><\/strong> give their thoughts on the upcoming 2011 ACC football season. @HokieGuru\u00a0<\/a>is the moderator here today at @TalkinACCSports<\/a> this\u00a0wonderful panel.<\/p>\n

First up is @NCStat<\/a>\"\"<\/a>eFootball<\/a>.\u00a0 <\/strong>Here\u2019s the dude\u2019s bio verbatim:\u00a0 \u201cAnyone who can pull for NC State over the last 20 years of disappointments and let downs is mentally tough (or disturbed, your call) and that describes @NCStateFootball<\/a><\/strong>.\u00a0 As a State fan your glass is always half full and half empty at the same time and that is him to a \u201cT\u201d.\u00a0 A long time fan, alumni, booster who was born into this life of constant heartache when he\u2019s not tweeting about NC State football he\u2019s busy working on his projects and applications in attempt to change the world! His current time-consuming beta project is WhatsUpRaleigh.com<\/a> that is part of RaleighDigital.com<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Next is @TerrapinNation<\/a>.\u00a0 <\/strong>He is the publisher and author of TerpsInsider.com<\/a>; aka Hero in a half shell.<\/p>\n

Last, but not least, we have@MartinRickman<\/a>.\u00a0 <\/strong>Here\u2019s his bio: \u00a0\u201cI like sports teams. Unfortunately, the sports teams I like are located in Winston-Salem and Cleveland. Oh, and I write about them sometimes.\u201d He also manages the Wake Forest Blog BloggersSoDear.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Which team will win the ACC Atlantic Division? <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

@NCStateFootball<\/a>:<\/strong> <\/strong>How about I tell you who won\u2019t win it, Wake Forest, Maryland, & Clemson.\u00a0 While as much as I\u2019d love to put NC State in there as a contender it won\u2019t happen. I\u2019ve been a State fan far too long to get my expectations up only to see them come crashing down (usually vs Maryland, see 2010) so I expect a good season that falls slightly short of a divison crown.\u00a0 That leaves us with BC and Florida State. I don\u2019t trust Boston College.\u00a0 They are going to need Montel Harris to rush for 2,500 yards and Luke Kuechly to have 20 tackles a game to be competitive.\u00a0 While both may happen I just don\u2019t have faith that BC is the same team they were with TOB as the coach.\u00a0 So by default Florida State wins the Atlantic Div. but with EJ Manual under center anything can happen.\u00a0<\/p>\n

@TerrapinNation<\/a>:\u00a0 <\/strong>While I\u2019d like to pick my beloved Terps, the Noles just return too much talent under 2nd year head man Jimbo Fisher not to pick them. EJ Manuel and Chris Thompson will lead the offense while Brandon Jenkins will anchor the D.<\/strong><\/p>\n

@MartinRickman<\/a>:\u00a0 <\/strong>Florida State. They\u2019ve got all kinds of speed and talent all over the field. Plus, that Jimbo Shrimp Fischer is a pretty decent coach, it looks like.<\/p>\n

Who is the best player in the ACC Atlantic Division?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

@NCStateFootball<\/a>:<\/strong> <\/strong>No brainer, Montel Harris.\u00a0 Not only is the guy on pace to break every Ted Brown ACC record, which for the record I am not happy about, he\u2019s a black belt and would ninja me for not picking him here.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll give you a few underrated players as well (mostly State guys who don\u2019t get enough press); Audi Cole (LB, NC State), Earl Wolff (S, NC State), Danny O\u2019brien (QB, Maryland).<\/p>\n

@TerrapinNation<\/a>:\u00a0 <\/strong>Danny O\u2019Brien. I know Montel Harris is the sexy pick, but O\u2019Brien returns some solid weapons in Boykins, Dorsey and Tyler despite the loss of Torrey Smith who is now with the Baltimore Ravens.\u00a0 New Offensive Coordinator Gary Crowton\u2019s teams have put up xbox-like numbers in year one at his last two stops. Here\u2019s guessing that trend will continue in College Park.<\/p>\n

@MartinRickman<\/a>:\u00a0 <\/strong>Montel Harris. He\u2019s gonna rush for a whole bunch of yards.<\/p>\n

Who is a dark horse team that could win the ACC Atlantic Division?\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

@NCStateFootball<\/a>:<\/strong> <\/strong>To be honest, I\u2019m not high on many teams in the Atlantic Division, there are just too many question marks.\u00a0 While FSU is loaded at talent, I\u2019m not sold on EJ Manuel or their #5 in the Nation ranking.\u00a0 We\u2019ll find out real quick when they line up vs Oklahoma how much they miss Christian Ponder. Clemson has talent but is too young on offense and as long as Dabo Swinney is their head coach I don\u2019t seem them surprising anyone. Wake Forest has 7 QBs on their roster, any team with 7 QBs on their roster is not going to be good.\u00a0 They are still mourning the graduation of Riley Skinner. Maryland is a huge question mark with a first year coach, albeit a good one. Sure Danny O\u2019Brien is good but how much will he miss Torrey Smith? What other weapons will they have? State has a chance to be good and I honestly think they are flying under the radar right now.\u00a0 The Pack returns experienced depth at almost all positions but 2, QB and WR.\u00a0 The defense will be solid, if not real good, so if the guys stepping in on Offense live up to their talent levels and we avoid an injury-plagued season like \u201809 the Wolfpack will be tough.<\/p>\n

@TerrapinNation<\/a>:\u00a0 <\/strong>Terps. See above.<\/strong><\/p>\n

@MartinRickman<\/a>:\u00a0 <\/strong>Clemson? Can you call them a dark horse? They always have talent, but dark horses don\u2019t choke all the time, do they?<\/p>\n

Final thoughts on the ACC Atlantic Division?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

@NCStateFootball<\/a>:<\/strong> <\/strong>It is wide open. \u00a0Will EJ Manuel put FSU over the top? Will Mike Glennon live up to all the TOB hype? Does Dabo Swinney keep his job through the year? Can Montel Harris carry BC on his back?\u00a0 We\u2019ll see in 30 days!<\/p>\n

@TerrapinNation<\/a>:\u00a0 <\/strong>After FSU, the Atlantic division has more question marks than Matthew Lesko\u2019s suits. The Terps are breaking in a whole new staff while Clemson has a new offensive coordinator. NC State\u2019s hopes are riding on a QB who\u2019s never started a game in his career while BC\u2019s hopes are riding on a QB who probably shouldn\u2019t <\/em>have started a game at this point in his career. And Wake Forest? Well…<\/strong><\/p>\n

@MartinRickman<\/a>:\u00a0 <\/strong>Wake will finish last. They\u2019re not good.<\/p>\n

Which team will win the ACC?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

@NCStateFootball<\/a>:<\/strong> <\/strong>The safe pick is Virginia Tech but they have their own questions too, I have a feeling it\u2019s going to be someone we don\u2019t expect. I\u2019m going with Duke! \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

@TerrapinNation<\/a>:\u00a0 <\/strong>Noles end the Coastal division\u2019s four year strangle hold on the conference championship.<\/p>\n

@MartinRickman<\/a>:\u00a0 <\/strong>Virginia Tech will beat FSU by seven points. I saw it in my Fruit Loops a couple weeks ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s a wrap, folks!!!\u00a0 Thanks to the panelists for providing their insight on the ACC\u2019s Atlantic Division!!<\/p>\n

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