SportSaturday - Open It Up

There's no secret why North Carolina has lost three of its last four games: UNC hasn't been able to stop anybody defensively.

Those four opponents lit up the scoreboard, averaging 39.5 points, and the Tar Heels are yielding 30.2 points per game overall.

It's unlikely that the defense will experience a dramatic change and start putting the clamps on opponents.

And it's tough to win if you can't stop anybody.

Yet it can be done. It happens every Sunday. And the people of St. Louis love it.

The Rams are easily the NFL's best team, but it's not like they're shutting people out every week. The Rams' defense is downright offensive, giving up 29.0 points per game.

Just three NFL teams allow more points per game than the Rams, and the combined record of the 49ers, Falcons and Chargers is 2-17.

The only reason these teams rank worse than the Rams in terms of points allowed is because they've all faced the Ram offense.

That creative, pass-all-day-long-and-into-the-night offense makes up for the defensive deficiency by scoring a mind-blowing for 43.7 points per game.

It's time for Rams football at UNC.

Obviously, North Carolina doesn't have Kurt Warner, Issac Bruce and Marshall Faulk to bring in off the bench.

But it does have an exceptionally athletic quarterback with a strong arm in Ronald Curry and a stable of speedy wideouts.

It's time to open things up in a big way. Shotgun formation every down. Four wide. One back. Throw, throw, throw, throw. And after that, throw some more.

Curry can still take his usual scrambles, gaining about 10 yards a pop because the defense will need more defensive backs to cover all the receivers. That would also open up the middle for draw plays by Curry and the tailback, who would otherwise block and catch swing passes.

Detractors say gimmick offenses like this never work. Tell that to the guy on the other sideline today.

Tommy Bowden employed a pass-happy offense for two seasons at Tulane. The Green Wave averaged 39.7 points per game during the two seasons he coached. But the proof lies in the wins and losses. Tulane went 4-18 in the two seasons before Bowden, 18-4 in two years with him.

Bowden's done the same thing for Clemson, resurrecting a team that went 3-8, scoring 19.8 points a game in 1998, the year before he arrived.

The '99 Tigers averaged 26.8 points and improved to 6-6. This season, Bowden's offense is posting 43.9 per game and is 7-0.

Clemson QB Woodrow Dantzler and Curry are very similar players. The UNC wideouts are at least equal to the Tiger receivers.

Even if it doesn't work, at least it would be fun to watch.

But what if it worked?

North Carolina, an offensive juggernaut. It could happen. And it would be beautiful. The Tar Heels as the college version of the Rams.

UNC's already off to a good start. It has the right mascot roaming the sideline on a leash.

Will Kimmey can be reached at wk@unc.edu.