What To Watch For: NC State Wolfpack

The Louisville staff made a concerted effort to improve the Cards' pass rush this offseason by bringing in Tyler Thompson and Jarod Smith while holding onto Clev Lubin and AJ Green. They were also able to hold onto Micah Carter, which gave them five edge players who can get after the quarterback. They only have 5 sacks so far this year off the edge, which puts them on pace for just about the same amount they finished with between the two starters at the position last season.

I questioned the reasoning behind putting the focus on a position that returned two of the national leaders in pressures last year, but it at least should have paid off if you could terrorize quarterbacks all game long. With that not happening, it has become a major issue for a defense that is playing very poorly against the pass.

The edge players haven't done their part, but they're not alone. Ben Perry is the only other player on the defense to register a sack this year, while the defensive tackle position has one solitary hit on the quarterback. Blitzes have not landed, though the linebackers have been able to force the quarterback to move their feet or throw the ball away a handful of times. But this defense needs to create negative plays, and what they have done so far has not been good enough.