Wow. If that doesn't get you pumped as hell, nothing will.

Sounds like we are going to be loaded on offense for the next few years. Particularly like reading about the oline (Mattes, Wallace, Allen) getting nasty with it. Also, it sounds like Mario Carter is going to be a stud and that Legget kid, a wrecking ball.

1/27/2009 9:55:14 AM

I'm a little dissapointed that we're playing two FCS school because:
1) weaker competition leads to a lower strength of schedule
2) playing another team that has everything to gain and nothing to lose
3) we have to go 7-5 to be bowl eligible (which hopefully won't be an issue with the positive momentum rolling over from last season)

Does anyone know the name of flare or visual effect (I don't know photoshop terminology) that they put on those pictures? Just curious.

1/27/2009 1:51:30 PM

for some reason there are sites still linking to the old one.. but it is now updated.

1/27/2009 1:53:29 PM

Can you switch the logos around? It might just be me, but I generally associate the team on the right as the home team. Either way, your countdown was great last year.

1/27/2009 2:27:09 PM

did you refresh the cached countdown? I have NC State on the right on my screen..

1/27/2009 2:28:41 PM

well, we can't really do shit about playing 2 FCS teams. I'm sure noone in the football program is happy about that. Too bad ECU is a bunch of pussy faggots.

1/27/2009 2:29:06 PM

i'll make a smaller lite version of the countdown in the next couple weeks. this is just to get things goin.

1/27/2009 2:29:53 PM

Quote :

"did you refresh the cached countdown? I have NC State on the right on my screen.."

that did it, gracias.

1/27/2009 2:39:18 PM

thanks for the link at the bottom of p. 2. that makes me want to induce a coma for 6 months so i can get right to football season.

mattes played hs ball right down the street from me in concord, and i have a couple buddies on the coaching staff there so i checked out a few of their games. he is monstrous.

1/27/2009 2:52:56 PM

220 days sounds really long when your bball team sucks ass

1/27/2009 2:56:27 PM

how do you link the countdown to your desktop again?

1/27/2009 4:05:30 PM

If you have vista, I don't think it's possible anymore unless you write your own widget to go on the desktop sidebar, which is why the link was gone from the bottom of last year's and this year's countdown. Kinda pissed me off.

If you have 2000/XP then you can create an Active Desktop (i think is what's called) and put a browser box on your desktop. Go to Control Panel > Display > Desktop Tab and from there I can only guess.. Look around (probably under another box that you will have to click) for Active Desktop or Web or something like that. The address you want to add to the desktop is http://www.ncsu1.info/ncsucount.htm Once the box is on the desktop you can resize it to the size of the countdown.

1/27/2009 4:14:07 PM

so when will we know who the 2 I-AA teams are? when they release the schedule?

what week in February do they usually release it anyway?

1/28/2009 2:12:11 PM

one is Gardner-webb, and I think I remember someone posting what the other would be

could just be my imagination, though.

1/28/2009 2:25:57 PM

haha...one of my good friends played tight end at Gardner-Webb. forgot they were playing us this year. may just have to go to that game.

1/28/2009 2:46:07 PM

NC State will play Pittsburgh at C-F this year

[Edited on January 28, 2009 at 11:13 PM. Reason : not sure if that was known]

1/28/2009 11:12:43 PM

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/ncfnation/0-5-391/NC-State-heading-in-right-direction-for-O-Brien.html

NC State heading in right direction for O'Brien

At one point last season, around the start of October, NC State was down to 43 scholarship players as a result of 13 injured starters and other players who redshirted.

Coach Tom O'Brien will never use that as an excuse, but it would be hard to blame him if he did.

The football gods couldn't have thrown more obstacles in O'Brien's way the past two seasons, but there were plenty of things for the Wolfpack to build on in the second half of the season and the first half of the Papajohns.com Bowl that point to signs of positive change for the program. Don't be surprised if this team wins eight games next season. Florida State isn't the only team with a shot of winning the Atlantic Division.

As NC State heads into 2009, it does so with arguably the league's best quarterback and is the closest the program has been to the 85 scholarship limit since O'Brien took over. The Wolfpack has also recruited a solid class that will help add some depth the roster has been sorely missing. To put it into perspective, this staff has done in three years at NC State what it took a decade to accomplish on the recruiting trail at Boston College.

"The building process continues, everything is headed in the right direction, and hopefully we can make all these young players better," O'Brien said. "That was the one good thing of the bowl practices, certainly we used our bowl practices to become a better football team. There were some things we did in the bowl game that was a great step forward."

Like hitting Rutgers' quarterback Mike Teel 18 times. With linebacker Nate Irving, defensive tackle Alan-Michael Cash and safety Clem Johnson healthy, NC State's defense had an entirely different look. When they were hurt, the Pack's depth issues were exposed, and it took until November for some of the younger backups to truly learn the defense.

As for the plethora of injuries, O'Brien said the strength and conditioning program is not at the root of the problem, rather it's the solution to it.

"What we're concerned with is what we inherited," O'Brien said. "The strength and conditioning program is turning it around."

The biggest difference in 2009 might be the addition of redshirt freshman quarterback Mike Glennon into the competition -- a pleasant predicament for O'Brien. Russell Wilson is the starter, and Glennon will be the backup, but both will compete for the job this spring and summer, and O'Brien isn't the type to hesitate if a change needs to be made.

"There's no hatred there or anything like that," Wilson said with a laugh. "We're Virginia boys. He's a good guy and he works hard. During the season we watched film together, and I would talk to him about what I see out there on the field. We would room together, so ... I'd try to help him understand what was going on, and if he'd see something he'd talk to me and try to help me."

One thing is for sure -- if Wilson, who has already been injured three times -- is injured again, there shouldn't be as much drop-off behind him.

"That's definitely important," Wilson said. "As a quarterback you want to win, so you've got to have guys behind you who want to play well as well."

The next step for Wilson to improve as a player this spring will be making the throws he needs to make on time -- a natural progression for a first-year quarterback.

"That's the thing we really have to work on at spring practice," O'Brien said. "He now has game film and game tape to look at, to learn from. What we have to do is be able to make those throws so he doesn't have to run around as much and open himself up to some of those hits he's been taking. That's where he has to get better to protect his body and protect himself."

Wilson said he is still rehabbing his knee, and the standout second baseman is getting ready for baseball practice on Feb. 1. He said he isn't sure yet how he'll work out the details of splitting time between baseball and spring football.

"I'm doing well, and I'm working hard," he said. "I think I came a long way. I think I learned a lot about understanding the game as a quarterback, and perspective and mindset of a quarterback, and understanding what I had to do to help our team win, and help our team be smart and successful and salvage plays when they weren't there, and take advantage of plays when they were there, and understanding what defenses were trying to bring at me and understanding why. I learned from week to week. I understand what we're trying to get out of each play."

1/30/2009 10:30:42 PM

211 Days...

http://cfn.scout.com/2/834781.html

LO fucking L! #9!?
" Of the five losses last year, there was a sloppy 41-10 blasting from NC State" says it all

2/4/2009 12:50:57 PM

where are we in that?

2/4/2009 1:03:32 PM

-2

2/4/2009 1:19:16 PM

last year West Virginia was pre season number 9....

doesn't UNC play ECU this year

2/4/2009 1:34:59 PM

And Wisconsin was 7.

UNC being #9 is absurd. Maybe top 25. But top 10?

2/4/2009 1:38:27 PM

Lol #9. Sure, they only lost 5 games playing one of the easiest non conference schedules last year. Who did UNC really beat?

And they lose their top two offensive playmakers and you think they jump up to #9 in the nation?!

2/4/2009 1:40:36 PM

them being ranked above alabama is pretty funny

2/4/2009 1:41:24 PM

Quote :

"42. NC State 2008 Record: 6-7 2008 Final CFN Season Rank: 54 Can the Wolfpack get off to a decent start so it doesn’t have to scramble at the end just to get bowl eligible? Russell Wilson is one of the ACC’s stars to get excited about, but RB Andre Brown won’t be around to help carry the offense. The lines will be a major plus, while the defense that was so great at ball-hawking over the final few games of last year gets many of the top playmakers back. "

2/4/2009 1:44:11 PM

http://blogs.newsobserver.com/accnow/packs-bowens-has-knee-surgery

and it begins.

2/4/2009 5:38:49 PM

he'll be okay. dude's a fucking warrior.

2/4/2009 5:54:01 PM

from above article

Quote :

"Wide receiver Geron James no longer is with the team and intends to transfer, O’Brien said. And reserve quarterback Harrison Beck and defensive end Jamaine Clemmons will graduate and won’t return to the team, according to O’Brien."

2/5/2009 11:26:26 AM

Quote :

"And reserve quarterback Harrison Beck and defensive end Jamaine Clemmons will graduate and won’t return to the team"

greatest words ever. It's something you already know, but its 10x better to just read it alot

2/5/2009 12:04:58 PM

here's hoping our top two qbs stay healthy

2/5/2009 12:57:35 PM

Quote :

" Pack's Bowens has knee surgery Wide receiver Donald Bowens, N.C. State’s receptions leader in 2007, was having knee surgery Wednesday, coach Tom O’Brien said. O’Brien said he is uncertain if Bowens, who missed last season with a spinal injury, will be ready for the start of the 2009 season. “I won’t know until after the surgery,” O’Brien said during his signing day news conference. Bowens made 41 catches for 598 yards in 2007 as a sophomore. Another wide receiver, Darrell Davis, has had arthroscopic shoulder surgery but is expected back for spring practice, O’Brien said. The coach also remains hopeful that quarterback Russell Wilson will recover from his knee injury in time for spring practice. Wilson is limited to upper body work in the weight room after a knee injury that didn’t require surgery kept him out of the second half of the Papajohns.com Bowl in Birmingham, Ala. O’Brien said he would like to work with Wilson on making quicker reads and delivering passes more quickly so that he doesn’t have to scramble as much. Although Wilson’s speed makes him an effective runner, O’Brien said he is vulnerable to injury when he runs. “Sometimes your strength is your weakness,” O’Brien said. Wide receiver Geron James no longer is with the team and intends to transfer, O’Brien said. And reserve quarterback Harrison Beck and defensive end Jamaine Clemmons will graduate and won’t return to the team, according to O’Brien. - Ken Tysiac"

since some might not click the link ...

2/5/2009 1:00:22 PM

weird. wonder what was wrong with his knee.

hope is was just arthroscopic and not serious.

2/5/2009 1:10:16 PM

i heard he was playing pick up basketball
and injured a knee ... could be ligament damage; hopefully non acl and more like a mcl

2/5/2009 1:26:29 PM

Yeah if it was damage to a ligament, then hopefully it was a collateral ligament and not a cruciate ligament.

2/5/2009 1:42:15 PM

Quote :

"here's hoping our top two qbs everyone stays healthy"

fixed

2/6/2009 8:26:19 AM

^ maybe if we go ahead and start talking about it it wont happen?

2/6/2009 11:05:30 AM

Quote :

"hope is was just arthroscopic and not serious."

:carlface:

arthroscopic IS surgery. He didn't have surgery so it sounds pretty precautionary to me.

2/6/2009 3:59:40 PM

he did have surgery...

we're talking about bowens here, not wilson.



[Edited on February 6, 2009 at 4:02 PM. Reason : as]

2/6/2009 4:00:47 PM

he said he hoped that is was arthroscopic surgery and not something serious [like reconstructing an acl]

turns out it most likely is [reconstructing an acl]



[Edited on February 6, 2009 at 4:02 PM. Reason : .]

2/6/2009 4:02:11 PM

Holy shit that's huge about Beck leaving, I didn't even notice yesterday. I wonder why they didn't mention Toney Baker. What the hell is going on with him?

2/6/2009 4:48:53 PM

toney should be ready for the season.

2/6/2009 4:52:33 PM

I just saw on the news that Bowens had a major knee reconstruction.

[Edited on February 6, 2009 at 8:24 PM. Reason : r]

2/6/2009 8:24:16 PM

damnit.....of course with NC State. Kid with all the potential in the world has some weird back injury one year, then blows his knee out playing pick up basketball the next.

ATTN NC STATE: STAY AWAY FROM THE BASKETBALL COURT(ALL SPORTS)

2/6/2009 9:00:35 PM

good thing geron james left, we don't need WR depth..

wait, whyd he leave again?

2/6/2009 9:05:30 PM

Quote :

"I just saw on the news that Bowens had a major knee reconstruction."

Wtf? Was he playing the pick-up basketball game on trampolenes or something. FUCK!!

2/6/2009 9:51:05 PM

yeah

bowens is a gym rat when it comes to basketball so it doesnt really surprise me that much

2/6/2009 10:24:27 PM

We don't have to worry about Davis and Bowens anymore. Michael C. Fajgenbaum is on the case.



http://www.raleighboneandjoint.net/Michael_Fajgenbaum.html

2/7/2009 4:38:50 PM

^ for some reason he reminds me of:



i wonder why that is?

Quote :

"He ... has been the team Orthopaedic Surgeon for North Carolina State University Football for 17 years"

oh, now i know why!

2/7/2009 5:15:54 PM

^^ Both he and his brother are in practice together and are from Trindad.

They are both large gentlemen.

Both have worked on my father's knee and my shoulder.


A++ doctors. Would use again.

2/7/2009 6:34:39 PM

Warning: Do not watch if you don't want to get too pumped up for the 2009 football season. Otherwise you will be jonesing for some football and have to watch every Wolfpack YouTube video out there.

NC State 09 Football Highlight
http://www.gopack.com/newMediaPlayer/console.htm?type=vod&oemid=9200&id=373758

2/9/2009 10:59:17 PM