I love the spring game. I hate the day after the spring game. I'm already going into football withdrawal.
Lefty promised us after the Military Bowl that this would be the most get after it spring practice we've ever seen. Did he deliver? Did you see enough to believe that the offense might be turning the corner? Do you honestly believe the offensive line won't be a monumental clusterfuck this season? Do you think Lefty has us poised to be a complete football team, where the offense carries its weight in our wins?
What about defense? Any particular points of excitement? Any areas of absolute panic? Are you impressed with the depth? Nervous about any one position or player? Does Bud have us poised to continue the tradition, and do you think maybe we can cut down on giving up the long play, really the only knock on last year's D?
What say you, fellow TKPers? Did this spring give you reason to hope, or are you expecting more of the same?
Comments
I think the offense will be not terrible this year. There are enough weapons that have developed that we should be able to score more than 21 points in most games. I think the offensive line will have its moments but I also think that if any of the starters get injured then we are in huge trouble. I think the defense will be better at defending the deep ball this year but I expect us to give up a few more long run plays just because we have new safties that may take a few games to really grasp how to play their role in run defense.
I think that's the case right now. But we still have summer and fall to develop the second string linemen. I don't think we're going to be three deep at every position or anything, but I did see promising signs from Team Pylon's spring game performance that there are maybe 3-4 possible contributors beyond the starting five. I'm admittedly a layman, though, and look forward to French's appraisal of the second string.
I don't think that is the case. The second team line is not very experienced and I don't think they would handle coming in for an injured player very well, particularly at center.
Center is NOT a position where I see a second string contributor. Pray for Gallo's continued good health.
Had to be my sophomore year, when I had a 2 o'clock chemistry lab and learned to cut through Slusher Beach going to class.
Good Lahhwwwd! That was the most 'get after it Spring.'
amen to that. I lived in Slusher Wing my freshman year. I used to walk through it when spring came around no matter where my class was.
Sounds like you needed this.
From what I can see, offensively, this is the best Spring we've had since I can remember.
We have an offense that's worth mentioning, and not in a "how in the hell are they going to win with an offense performing like THAT" kind of way... A couple years ago we had a first string offense led by a veteran Logan Thomas that got its ass handed to it throughout the spring by both the first and second string defenses.
Our offense won't be lights out amazeballs this year, but we should be able to more than hold our own in the ACC, and with this defense, we should be able to contend for a conference title. We keep improving like we have been, though, and starting in 2016, we might have a very special team.
I've thought thus far the drawback in '16 might be the new QB, but given Motley's development he might be able to move into the role with minimal growing pains.
+1 for amazeballs
Amazeballs Recipe
Ingredients
1 pkg. (8 oz.) brick cream cheese, softened
36 OREO Cookies, finely crushed
48 hazelnuts, toasted
4 pkg. (4 oz. each) white baking chocolate, melted
Instructions
MIX cream cheese and cookie crumbs until blended.
SHAPE into 48 (1-inch) balls, using hazelnuts as center. Freeze 10 min. Dip in melted chocolate; place in single layer in shallow waxed paper-lined pan.
REFRIGERATE 1 hour or until firm.
You are welcome.
my pregnant wife thanks you
Congrats on the impending addition of another Hokie.
I think I'll give these a try. If not for the name alone, then for the sugar high. Bon a petit!
And on the se-never mind.
I'm excited about how CJ Reavis performed. That kid seemed like he was flying around all afternoon. He could make a huge impact as long as he keeps progressing.
Yep, I'm pretty confident that Reavis won the starting Rover spot for his spring game performance.
I was impressed with quickly and efficiently the first team O was getting to the line and snapping the ball. With both Brewer and Motley they seemed very organized, very much on the same page. Couldn't say that last fall much less last spring.
I think the most exciting Spring was the spring before we played Bama. Ryan Williams and Tyrod, Kam anchoring a stout D. That was the most exciting for me.
For me, the depth on the D line and the new faces in the defensive backfield (I trust DBU to reload) and the loss of veteran performers back there has me at least taking a wait-and-see approach. I wouldn't describe it as nervous yet.
Oh, '09. I had to read your second sentence before I realized you weren't talking about '13.
Yeah, by '13 Saben has his machine running at top gear and I was happy to see Logan and the boys keep it relatively respectable.
In '09 I really thought we had the team to beat them, sadly Mark Ingram and company had other ideas in the 4th.
I watched that game with a Bama alum. Ingram killed us and it seemed like every one of his receptions came as we were about to sack their QB. Seriously, the pocket collapses and we completely swarm the QB and then Ingram is turning around just as the ball gets to him. Rinse and repeat. If we'd utilized Williams half as well as they utilized Ingram in that role we'd have won that game...
It didn't help that our over hyped linebacker cough jake Johnson cough was out of position all night
You know how French and Bud are always talking about "bend"?
There's a picture of Jake Johnson in the dictionary with a diagonal line through it under the word "bend".
Put nicely: Great straight-line speed and strength.
Put bluntly: Glennon could have side-stepped him with a bum knee.
You know how they say a picture is worth a thousand words?
That picture was the peak of Jake Johnson's career at VT.
I'm fully aware it was taken while he was in high school.
Damn that phantom holding call...
Loeffler has rivaled Beamer (is "Big Beams" a thing? Can we make it a thing?) in the level of "get after ya" this spring. He got after his offense early and often. The pressure on the QBs was well-documented, but so help the receiver who cut his route off at 9 yards instead of 10 or let the defender undercut him to break up a pass, or the lineman who flinched early, or the player who lined up a yard off his mark. This was as pressure-packed and fast-paced a spring as I've ever heard of. Will we be lights-out this year? Probably not. Even Loeffler mentioned that this year was seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, and next year is when he expects to be rolling. But still, as someone else on here mentioned before, it sure is nice to be making excuses for why the offense is doing so well rather than the opposite for once.
I admit I hadn't paid much attention to spring ball before these last few years.
So, for me, I'm gonna say this spring, simply because we came into it with a few holes to patch due to current injuries (Kendall, Facyson, Maddy, Ekanem) and a few holes to fill due to graduation (Bonner, Jarrett, Williams). Note that that's all defense, but that's our calling card and if Foster ain't happy, no one's happy.
I think the offense will be very good. I think the line will be fine. If Searels can coach up Gallo and Hansen to competent starters in a short period of time, I have faith that the second stringers and the incoming freshman, and early enrollees like Nijman and Clark, will show equal improvement over the summer into fall. I actually think from what I saw that the offense was even better than they played in the spring game. The playbook was very limited, they didn't run jet sweeps, maybe one wheel/swing pass out of the backfield, or 3 tight end sets with Kline, Malleck and Hodges. So I think there are still a lot of tools in the toolbox that we don't want to display until Labor Day and with all of that it was still a very good performance against what is a very good defense, even without a few pieces.
Not for the fans....too many bitched about a little drizzel (if that...I don't remember getting rained on during the entire game other than a fine mist)
QBs should have been live if we wanted to get after it especially with how thin we were at DE and that they don't blitz much during the scrimmages.
Yeah, except one good shot from Dadi or a rolled ankle or a blown out knee and we're looking at an offseason of rehab and surgeries instead of an offseason throwing and developing timing with receivers.
I thought that Carson Lydon (Spelling?) had a great spring game.
Already ready for the season to start
Is... is it time?