Bowling Green

While watching the film, the first thing that jumped out at me was the play of the Hokie front four. Rather than slanting and stunting heavily, as discussed in the French on the Bench Defense 101 series, the d-line played a more traditional style of getting upfield and attempting to make plays. Perhaps it was a function of the Bowling Green scheme, or Bud Foster realized that teams were using his slant tendencies against the defense (as discussed last week in my Pitt film review). I thought James Gayle and Tyrel Wilson played magnificent games, but both Luther Maddy and Derrick Hopkins didn't create much disruption in the middle, and J.R. Collins sometimes became over aggressive and lost contain on cut back runs.

A great example comes on the second Bowling Green offensive play.

1:06–1:13

That sound you heard coming from Blacksburg Saturday was a collective sigh of relief as the Hokies notched a 37-0 shutout and finally exhibited some explosiveness in the running game. There were many positives to point out, including dynamic rushing by the much-maligned running back corps and a bounce-back performance by the secondary, especially veteran Antone Exum. At the same time, my film review will raise many of the concerns we have seen throughout this young season, which leaves doubt in my mind about how the Hokies address these problems when they reach the meat of the ACC schedule.

I will start with the offensive identity and Logan Thomas, and I won't sugar coat it. The entire week, we heard the offense was focused on getting the running game on track. The easiest way to get it going would be to turn the dogs loose on the offensive line by playing up to their size, strength and athleticism. Instead, we saw more of the same early in the game, slow developing runs focused on counter action and trickery rather than physical dominance.

Here are my gut reactions (expect French's detailed film review on Tuesday), please leave your thoughts below.

After a slow starting first quarter the offense, especially the running game, kicked it into gear and looked focused and crisp. The coaches reevaluating the running back rotation resulted in Tony Gregory getting the ball more, and he didn't disappoint. The speedster led all tailbacks in carries and averaged 6.2 a rush. He looked great getting outside, hitting the funnel, and turning it up field. Coleman, Holmes and Scales all looked much more decisive carrying the ball. They hit the hole quickly and it resulted in big gains. Great blocking by the offensive line and fullbacks helped their cause. Logan Thomas complimented the tailbacks, made much better decisions on the zone read, and was able to expose the heart of the defense.

THE ICEBOX

Logan was a conservative 11 of 26, for 144 yards, 2 TDs and a pick. However, there were a bunch of drops, and he only had one bad decision, a forced throw to Davis that resulted in an interception. He looked extremely sharp in the second quarter, but lost part of his fingernail on a QB-sneak-and-score, which might have affected him the rest of the way.

On a few plays Logan dropped back, stood comfortably in the pocket, but rolled out after he was unable find a target. The receivers need to be more consistent separating.

Like many of you, last weekend I traveled through the heart of Nowhere, Maryland to watch Tech play a left for dead Pitt. After two less than dominate wins to start the season I thought the Hokies were poised to have their best game of the season, and I wanted to be there firsthand to see it. Instead, it was a beat down. Pitt was up to the challenge while Tech rolled over back into bed. All I want and expect out of the team this week is for them to bounce back, and show they are getting better.

But, if things get worse, George is to blame.

Spoke to Logan this week about some footwork specifics that we covered this offseason. He's all set. #vatech ow.ly/i/X5J4— George Whitfield Jr. (@georgewhitfield) September 20, 2012

No, not really, but will Logan Thomas look sharp from the start? He was a difference maker from the Miami game on last season, but in the three games to start 2012 he's played progressively worse.

Well...someone had to talk about last week.

Brian and guest co-host Joe welcome French on to the podcast as they discuss the debacle that was Pittsburgh, what could be wrong with Logan Thomas and how awesome Ronny Vandyke can be. They also look ahead to Bowling Green, talk about what they are watching from the Hokies and discuss whether or not another ten win season is possible.

All of that, and more (including a Carter Warley joke) on episode four.

Leave us questions and comments below, because we will read them on the pod in the coming weeks!

MP3 Download link: http://thekeyplay.podomatic.com/enclosure/2012-09-21T07_30_04-07_00.mp3

This week I did a Q&A with BJ of FalconBlog. My answers are on his blog. Thanks to BJ for his time, enjoy

TKP: Okay, the Falcon's scoring offense is one of the worst in the country (16.7 ppg). What were the offensive expectations going into the season? Is there any particular reason for these struggles?

O&B: Well, one thing is that when you watch the game on Saturday, you won't be seeing the 116th best offense in the country. You might see the 70th but you aren't going to see the 116th. The team has struggled for a few reasons: pre-snap penalties, dropped passes and missed FGs. You can at least do better on the first two. Anyway, our offensive expectations were to be better than this, and while the running game has been pretty satisfying, we're disappointed with the passing game, especially the conservative playcalling.

TKP: MACtion is it's own little cult fan favorite. Do the Falcons run a spread attack? If so, what kind? If not, what offense do they run?