Playing a football game on four days rest is absurd. The players are not rested, and there's not an adequate amount of time to install a game plan. It's absolutely asinine how the ACC handles the Labor Day games. The schedule comes out some time in January or February, and ... surprise, you're kicking off the season on Monday night! I'm sure the athletic directors know in advance, but how far? This last go around, I think the Techmo Bowl matchup leaked a month or two before the schedule was announced. So around then maybe? I don't know. However, I do know that it's silly that these games aren't scheduled two or three years down the road. Everyone knows the conference schedule for an entire cycle, nothing is a surprise there, so why do the Monday night game have to be? The conference needs to do its commissioners a favor and give them more time, on the order of years, to work around the inconvenience. I realize that the ACC is about as progressive as North Korea, so none of that will actually happen, and maybe there's a good reason that I'm unaware of for why it doesn't. The blame doesn't lye completely with the ACC, ultimately Tech is in charge of its non-conference schedule and it should have been on a bye today. Austin Peay is as favorable a I-AA matchup as there is out there, and it took more than a half for Tech to put them away. Given a full week to rest and prepare, and that's not the case. /end rant
I was able to watch a little more than half of the game today, like a lot of you my power went out, so the following thoughts should be considered nothing more than a gut reaction. When French and I get our hands on the film, we'll have a more thorough analysis.
The Coleman fumble was an early momentum killer. It looked like Jet Sweep coming off the counter action, which is a nifty play call and something I'd like to see more of. I'm not sure if Coleman's broken hand had something to do with the botched carry.
Logan looked indecisive running the ball. There was a play early in the game where he stepped up in the pocket, had a lane, and it looked like he was going to take off and run, but he backed off. Perhaps the coaches got into his ear before the game and told him not to needlessly carry the ball. The ball he threw to Fuller was a thing of beauty. It was a nice tight spiral, accurately dropped between two defenders down the middle of the field. He missed some throws high again this week, but overall he seemed much more settled in the pocket.
For the second consecutive game the Hokies couldn't push the pile. In overtime against Georgia Tech they couldn't stick it in. Today they couldn't convert a 4th down, and Austin Peay doesn't have a 6-7, 330 behemoth at nose.
The Hokies execute the two-minute drill very well. In both games Logan and the offense looked much sharper in hurry-up situations. It's something I wish they'd run more often.
Corey Fuller is the best receiver on the field. #ALLOFTHEFULLERS. Dyrell used to be such a nice vertical threat, now to me it seems like he's being used more underneath the coverage, and he's not catching balls that are hitting his hands. Marcus Davis made a nice catch-and-run on the play that setup a Hokies touchdown, and he looked good carrying the ball. He got downfield to block on the long Holmes run, but held.
Exum whiffed a few times in coverage. As French noted, he's still not turning and running with his man once his cushion is threatened. I'm interested to see how far up Foster had him playing in run support. It wasn't all bad though, there were a couple of times where he blanketed the receiver and he almost forced a turnover.
Matt Arkema was in on the first series for Lil' Wang at left guard, Caleb Ferris replaced Andrew Miller at center while the rest of the ones were in. Ferris had a few high snaps. I'm not sure if the starters were injured, they got benched, or there was a rotation. Painter's started his senior year out right, he's the most stable lineman among the five.
Kyshoen Jarrett should be the starting punt returner for the rest of the season. Unlike Dyrell, who's a long strider, he has a burst and is shifty.
What did everyone else think?
Comments
Hoping lack of rest is a legit excuse
Especially for the o-line. They looked horrific-no push as you said. We also seem to be missing assignments on almost half the running plays--AP had guys in our backfield all day on run plays.
I think the D can be given more of a pass given what it went through Monday, so don't want to judge it but I continue to think Exum is a MAJOR coverage liability, and could single handedly cause us to lose games, not only to teams like Clemson but also semi-decent passing teams like Duke.
After re-watching the game, I could almost smell the inconsistency in Lane. Stretches of inept play calling and poor execution were masked by a handful of beautiful passes and sweep plays.
I am beginning to believe that this is simply VT football. We work through non-conference games showing flashes of potential and everyone stays positive until we fall an eye-opening defeat (or two).
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Examples:
GT & BC 2006 - Hokies come in 4-0 against weak opponents and get exposed. They then close out the regular season with 6 straight wins to notch another 10 win season.
LSU 2007 - We all know how this one went down. Afterwards? We were 1 onside kick away from going to the national title game.
GT & UNC 2009 - Leading the eventual national champs in the 4th quarter and beating Nebraska and Miami. We actually looked like a legit top 5 team. Nope, chick-fil-a bowl and 10 wins.
JMU 2010 - Yeah.
Clemson 2011 - EASY schedule. I let myself believe we wouldn't slip up and we would iron out any issues against weaker foes. LT looks awful against the tigers and the hype-o-meter plummets. Next week? 23/25 with 3 TDs in the air, 2 on the ground. Damn!
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When things finally turn and we play like the team we SHOULD be...THAT is the powder in my koolaid that gets me through the summer. THAT is what fills the hype videos I make. THAT is what I want all year and punctuated with a crystal ball.
We have 3 more games before we head to Chapel Hill and then begin our long conference stretch. I love that GT is already out of the way so as always I will let myself believe. Will 2012 be just another 10 win season or the one we look back on and say things finally turned around.
I actually never thought the play calling felt inept in this one I thought it was as well called as any game could be when we were purposefully limiting the times LT carried the ball.
Since O'Cain took over the calls I have very few complaints about the play calling. The calls I have then issue with, my composing had been of such a technical nature that it's more like the exception that proves the rule that play calling has improved dramatically under MOC.
The problem is we had to endure such horrible in game strategy for so many years, seeing our offense struggle brings that angst raging to the forefront, even when the struggles are actually based on personnel chemistry and execution issues.
I'm a little worried we've become a jaded fan base, conditioned by the dark ages of 2006-2008 to believe that our offense will always look like a pack of dogs trying to hump a watermelon, that the problem is fundamental, and that our issues on offense cannot be fixed. Any time a drive stalls our reflex is to throw our hands up in disgust and write off the offense and the staff as incompetent. Not because we're assholes, but because we've been programmed to believe it. Frank let it happen for too long before he addressed it, and the offensive overhaul is still in progress.
But if we need reminding that this offense is indeed in a fundamentally better place than it used to be, dig up film of our 2008 game against Furman for comparison.
The Dark Days
I think this video pretty much sums the dark days:
I'm not panicking about the lack of pop along the O line. Our five starters had played every snap against GT earlier that same week (a decision a questioned at the time) and there was heavy rotation of the 2s against Austin Peay. Tired starters plus backups seeing their first snaps of the season makes for less than optimal explosion off the ball.
I also got a general sense of "take it easy" from the offense. I think you are dead on that the coaches limited LT's carries and I sort the decision. I remember all too well the shoulder stinger he got against Marshall last year, and how it affected his game against Clemson the next week. You have to protect your assets. And I said going into this game, LT's skill set as a runner is a known commodity. We needed multiple looks at all four tailbacks and we got them.
I noticed Stinespring tinkered with the formations this game. Still mostly shotgun, pistol, and I form, but I noticed some offset I, some two RB shotgun, just little tweaks after seeing all three formations remain in their base set against GT. Either way, I'm still digging this three formation offense a lot more than the Frank 'n Stine offense of not too long ago. Just seems a little more streamlined. And I'm really liking the misdirection and counters we're seeing out of all three formations.
Just for some perspective, though, GT pantsed Presbyterian 59-3 on short rest, and they were the team that had to travel.
I feel that the Fuller parents should have a special mention in Techs hall of fame!!!!
my take...
Agree w dozer on the whole 'is this it' thing. We as a fan base hold our program to a pedestal that it hasn't quite earned yet. Don't get me wrong, we have the potential to get there and I think we should already be there, but big time losses tend to show up as demerits for football programs. I'm proud of everything we've done but recent years prove to be a lot of fluff wins against the acc and terrible losses (and blowouts) in the big, program defining games. I hope LT3, this defense, and our much improved recruiting efforts turn that around and we at least win a bcs game not against cincy, but against a legitimate, top 10 team. The crystal ball is ideal, but at this point in time I'm just wishing for a win in Charlotte and a win in a bcs bowl that can do justice to this '13 class and help improve our program's national image (and Beamer's top 10 record for that matter). I felt this way coming into the season, this isn't anything new. I'm high on constructive criticism when it comes to my Hokies.
Disagree with Joe on the bye thing. It sucks to have two games in five days but I if that's our fate, then I think we did it right this time with AP - peay basically IS a bye. If our bye is week 2, then we have no bye mid season, when it's probably needed more. We just didn't blow them out of the water like we should have because the running game is suspect and LT3 continues to overthrow receivers, and maybe we were a little tired. I'd rather be tired against peay, than jmu.
"even when the struggles are actually based on personnel chemistry and execution issues." - I think that is a testament to bad coaching. Am I wrong? Attention to detail is a big part of successful coaching. It seems that we've lacked that for a while and that needs to improve in order for our offense to improve, regardless of the different formations we try. However, I did like what I saw in the second half as far as play calling goes. We stretched the field with our speed by utilizing misdirection and reverse plays. I'd like to think we ran so many of those plays in bunches like that because we were using austin peay as guinea pigs before we really incorporate them into our offense. If we effectively incorporate those types of plays, they can be very useful in stretching the field and keeping defenses honest. We have speed, use it!
But to sum it all up. I think it's just austin peay and we shouldn't start to panic or have bad memories because we didn't put up 60 on them. We did blow em out 42-7 at the end of the day and there were good things. This is a preseason game pretty much and we played that way. Not happy about the inconsistency and poor play, but all of our problems are fixable. Let's just hope we fix them by Oct 20 and lets leave austin peay to worry about the ohio valley conference.