Despite losing a close home game to ECU, Coach Frank Beamer claims that he is more convinced than ever that the Hokies have the potential to be a really good football team. After watching all three games, there are many things to like about the team. There is also plenty of room for improvement. I agree with the coaching staff that the Hokies have plenty of talented young players to turn things around if they can limit and learn from the mistakes.
What do you like and dont like about the current football team?
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I love the freshman receivers. Phillips and Ford (on the second TD) absolutely killed the defenders on the routes. I haven't seen a Tech receiver do that in forever.
I don't like how young they are and that I will have to wait for them to all become full grown monsters. I want it NOW!
I'd say Ford is there.
I see no reason why they can't be those monsters this year. I think that by the end of the year, those two are the best receivers we have. Byrn is still the best right now.
I like that they are very young and have a lot of good football ahead of them
I hate that they are very young and are prone to a bunch of mistakes and growing pains
I like the new QB & the new RBs.
I dont like the O-line protection they are getting leading to bad throws and red-line deficiencies.
Like: Freshman playmakers, these guys are going to be real nice
Don't like: the current state of the running game, looking pretty rugged the last 2 weeks
Like: the heart this team showed in coming from 3 TDs down to tie it
Don't like: the inability to push in a TD from inside the 5
Like: Brewer as a leader and a gamer, lots of heart in that guy
Don't like: Brewers footwork, not a NFL scout or anything close, but sometimes it looks like it is costing him velocity
Like: The fact that we play GT as our first ACC game
Don't like: The way UVA's defense is starting to look
I agree with all of your points, but want to point out that "the current state of the running game" directly contributes to "inability to push in a TD from inside the 5" in my opinion. The freshman WRs have been nothing short of fantastic and injected life into the passing game, but the running game has struggled for years now and still can't consistently move the ball. If we can establish a running game, the team will become far more consistent as they can stop playing behind the sticks and depending on 3rd and long conversions to sustain drives.
Those Jet sweeps last week really stretched the defense out a bit. This week, they were jamming those up. I still like Williams and SHai, but they were looking more like Ryan Williams against Boise State (running into a brick wall). Hopefully we can get some things going next week, we aren't going to be in very many games if our QB has to sling it 50 times per.
Is it just me, or did it look like Marshawn was getting something going in the second half, but we had to abandon due to being down by 2 TDs?
How much of him getting it going was caused by:
A) Williams the DT was getting tired of beating around our O line all game?
B) Down 14 points, they didn't care about our eating time of the clock with 5 yard rushes.
C) Searels instructing the O line that if they didn't open holes he was going to enforce windsprints every morning.
D) Marshawn saying I am going to break one one of these days, might as well be today?
E) All of the above?
I'm hoping for answer choice D.
There were at least three runs he had where if he doesn't trip over an ankle grab tackle, there was nothing but green grass in front of him. It was gut wrenching to see that on the replays but it must have been 10000x worse for him.
Like?
The energy we are seeing from the coaches.
Don't Like?
The insistence we were going to run right at their strength.
Like?
Freshmen Receivers playing great.
Don't like?
Vet receivers having an off day. But I'm confident this was an anomaly, and won't happen again.
Like?
Brewer's first 2 games.
Don't like?
Some pretty iffy looking throws his third game. But I'm chalking that up to a fuzzy head from the big hit he took in the first or second series (I forget exactly). And to a growing distrust of his O-line.
Like?
Searels coaching up the O-line into a better performance in the 2nd half.
Don't like?
That the O-line was so inexplicably bad the first half.
Like?
Lamp.
Don't like?
Pussy Touchdowns Denied.
All-in-all, you really can't like denying my pussy touchdowns. It's just not a good look.
I still don't know how good we are tbh
Don't like:
Video replay denial of a Sam Rogers fully-dipped dork magical screen pass TD.
Like:
Incredible Isaiah Ford TD in the 1st half (so glad it wasn't overturned)
THe announcers even said Ford TDs hit the ground. Even they were shocked, along with the 66K fans who said "ooooohhh" when it was upheld
I understand that one of the ESPN commentators said it looks like it hit, but there isn't enough to overturn.
I was listening to Burnop and Roth's radio call. Even they were shocked.
Like:
The direction Hokies are going as a team overall in coaching, philosophy, style of play and recruiting.
Don't Like:
Fair weather fans that lose their shit after one loss
Losing your shit after one loss doesn't make one a fair weather fan, it usually means you care too much - which is literally the exact opposite of being a fair weather fan.
To me: A "fair weather fan" is someone who only supports the team when it's doing well.
fans calling for coaches heads after 1 loss and claiming the end is neigh because we loss to a non-power 5 team fall under this to me. You can define it differently but to me this is exactly what it means.
If you were on here on Saturday, Sunday, or even today, complaining or not, you're not a fairweather fan.
If you were posting on here last week and are AWOL until we win another big game, you're a fairweather fan.
Haven't read a lot of that here. But I'm sure it exists.
People who call for coaches heads after one loss are idiots, but they're not "fair weather fans."
"Supporting Your Team" doesn't mean the same thing to all people. I would have sworn we have learned this lesson by now. Unquestioning loyalty to all coaches and their decisions at all times is not everyone's definition of "support." I would have *really* thought we would have learned that lesson by now after the last 5 years or so.
A fair weather fan is someone who is really into the Nationals right now, and might check back in on the Hokies if we win the Coastal. Someone who is crushed, freaking out, venting, and coming up with absurd "solutions" to something that aren't really a problem are die-hard fans, they just support their team differently than you do.
agree with what you say, except for the definitions. I define fair weather and die-hard differently than you. I think fans that are die-hards are the ones that even when the team has not gone bowling for 20 years is still 100% Hokie fans. That to me is a a "die-hard" fan. Conversely fans that immediately see the sky is falling and lose their shit are fair weather because when the team plays well they profess their love of coaches, players, etc and when the team lose they immediately switch course to calling for the heads of those they had just professed to love. To you it's a time thing, to me it's how you show your "support".
But no matter, if you want to read it without that term the point still stands.
The opposite of love isn't hate, it's apathy.
actually it's hate, from google:
I simply don't agree with fans that "support" their team in this manner. You can agree with those fans if you like. more power to you. If it's simply a term thing for you and how you define it, then call it whatever you like. My point is still valid.
I have never had unquestioned loyalty for coaches and never said that's what was required to support the team. What I did say was the type of "support" whereby you are professing to love coaches other weeks and then calling for their heads (especially after they just won one of the biggest games in Hokie history) after 1 loss this season is pointless and what I define as a "fair weather fan". If the Hokies go on to keep losing and we see no growth in performance to feel confident that the program has righted itself then by all means call for the heads of coaches. Before that happens then why call for heads at all?
You can keep being stuck on the term, which was not the point of my comment, but you defining the term differently than I do is meaningless because it's simply a difference in opinion.
Your original point was "some of our fans are idiots." Of course they are, some portion of all fans are idiots, some portion of humans are idiots. It wasn't an interesting point of discussion for me, so I chose to discuss the part of your post (what it means to be a "fair weather fan") that was interesting to me.
I think your definition of what it means to be a fair weather fan is not in line of the common definition of the term. A fair weather fan is not someone who is happy when the team is winning and upset when the team is losing. A fair weather fan is a fan who cares about a team when it is successful and doesn't care about the team when it is unsuccessful.
Here is a link to a wikipedia article on fan psychology that supports my definition of the term. I feel this is the generally accepted definition, and I acknowledge that you disagree.
My original point was that I dislike fans that make hyperbolic statements and ridiculous "threats" after a single loss. Not that they are idiots.
I'll concede the fair weather fan terminology to you, though I did not say it was someone that was simply happy vs upset rather fans that hypocritically change their 'support" after a single loss, but again it's not the point I am making.
Redacted
I know you are taking issue to this because of the game thread but actually my comments are not directed towards you. They are general comments.
However, the comment I "blasted" you about was not about Frank Beamer never winning a national title. In fact, you mentioned nothing about national title at all.
here is what you wrote:
here is what I wrote:
I have NEVER wrote anything on TKP about being a "true Hokie", and will never do that. I really have no idea why you are bringing this up. In fact, I believe in the face of your hyperbole I kept my difference of opinion quite civil.
I don't think I am asking for anyone (other than hokieknight) to be silenced on TKP. Rather I think we can create criticism with respect and not as I termed "lose our shit" after 1 loss. Yes, I too believe we should have won the game. I too think the team was unprepared, despite media coverage to the contrary. I believe it was not just the coaches though, but yes the coaches do deserve blame and criticism. But posting comments like the one above is hyperbolic and unnecessary in my opinion. I realize you may have been venting at the time and you seem to have calmed down since then, but Frank and Bud deserve more respect than this in my book.
In the end it's all my opinion, which you are free to have a different one.
Fair enough, in that case, I retract what I said.
I am just very sensitive to the whole concept of the True Hokie, having come from TSL. The whole notion that someone is a self proclaimed better fan than anyone else is an extremely slippery slope that will lead to the culture of this place eroding very fast. I won't apologize for going after anyone who starts to insinuate that, but I do apologize for incorrectly accusing you of it.
No worries. Usually I find we agree on most things, and this is the same for the True Hokie crap. I would call it out as well. leg for that.
I'm definitely not saying I am a better fan than others. Hell, I live on the other side of the world and almost never make a game.
Agreed. While I agreed with the initial sentiment that "fire the coaches" was a stupid response to the almost predictable loss on Saturday, the notion of "fair weather fans" got my dander up.
I'm so tired of that nonsense, and truthfully think that attitude contributed to at least half a decade of a real missed opportunity for this program. So, I'm going to call it out every time.
Honestly, that is being overly assumptive of my comment.
I said nothing of coaches being infallible, having unquestioned loyalty to coaches or anything of the like that you are tired of and call nonsense. In fact, I have posted MANY times about my dislike of the O'Cainspring era and loathing for Newsome. And in the last year I was one of the first to say Coach Sherman needed to go. During those years I was also in the camp that was criticizing them and calling for their replacement. So you are not "calling me out" on anything other than what you are reading into what I said. I support your opinion in fact, but you should wait until someone actually makes these comments before "calling them out" for them.
Eh, I don't completely agree. Losing your shit might also mean you have no idea what the hell you are talking about and are making assumptions that are just plain wrong. I saw some people losing their shit and calling for Beamer's job after this loss, to a good ECU team. Also when people act like ECU is an FCS team like JMU.
Likes:
Freshman receivers and RBs (RBs get no help from the line)
The defense (as usual)
Energetic coaches
Dislikes:
The offensive line performance (Idk if its the blocking scheme, lineman's size or skill but they get no push)
I didn't like the playcalling vs ECU at all
Paper ailplane throwing (if that's still a thing)
Paper airplane throwing is definitely still a thing, and is now punishable by DEATH!
Oh man, someone in our section got one to land on the sidelines. I'm always afraid one is going to stick me in the eye though. Speaking of sticking, we got a pretty nice "Stick it in" chant going. It was great.
*incarceration by the Montgomery County Police Department
Like:
Bucky Hodges (can't say this enough, he's a game changer)
Don't Like:
The east-west offensive style we play
I like that we beat Ohio State. I dislike that we lost to East Carolina.
I like a lot of things about this team.
I like that we are young, but show a lot of potential. We have a lot of fun guys to watch and this season could be a lot of fun.
I don't like how college football has lost the "in the moment" feeling. No one can enjoy one game without looking on the next one, two, three, or four games. "how does this loss affect us, how does them winning help us?" I hear about people saying the OSU win means nothing now. That will forever be one of the best moments of my life and losing to ECU does nothing to change that. Sometimes having playoffs and championships can really skew people's priorities when it comes to just enjoying the game at hand.
Like: I. Ford, Bucky, and Cam Phillips being used, and succeeding, as weapons offensively.
Dislike: DL depth. Or lack there of.
Like: Wide receivers that actually block.
Dislike: Searels going over footwork with a RSSR.
Like: Offensive potential
Dislike: Inconsistency in the kicking game.
Like: I Ford, Bucky, Cam, Malleck as weapons in the passing game
Like: Marshawn and Shai potential and willingness to run hard and fight for yards
Like: Brewer's mettle and toughness both mentally and physically. Almost lead the biggest comeback ever under Beamer.
Like: Defensive adjustments
Like: Kendall Fuller, who at this point has to have close to 10 passes defended
Dislike: slow starts, which defined 2012 and 2013 seasons and lead to MANY avoidable losses
Dislike: Offensive line run blocking, and sometimes pass blocking, ECU should never get pressure with 3-4 guys.
Dislike: Laurence Gibson struggling to block quick pass rushers, makes Eli Harold very menacing in the future.
I like that they play football on Saturdays.
I dislike that they don't play football on Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, most Thursdays, and Fridays.
I just want all Hokie football, all the time.
Like - Putting corners on island against Ohio State
Dislike - Putting corners on island against ECU
If even I can tell that our young WRs are running crisp routes then you know they're good. Oh and they actually block!!
Like - The potential of this team. Dislike - The continual sub- par performance of the O line (especially run blocking.)
I love our young talent! Very excited but with talent comes the growing pains. Our offensive lines has some issues but hopefully they come around. We need understand how much youth we have and once it all clicks we will be hard to stop. Give it time Hokie Nation. Future looks bright!!!
Like: The youth movement to go alongside the veteran guidance
Dislike: The injuries to the veteran guidance, causing us to rely on the youth movement a bit more than we want to
Like: The fact that our offensive gameplan isn't nearly as predictable as it used to be
Dislike: Y WE NO RUN MORE I-FORM AND SINGLEBACK