Think this game was after our 03 season. Brings back a lot of memories and watching I realize some things were a little different than I recall and others were way different than I have chosen to remember
Let's start with the positive:
1.) Kevin Jones was an absolute beast. I didn't recall him being THAT good but he was. We haven't had a back close to that good since he left. Ryan Williams when healthy which wasn't that often could maybe join the convo but that's it.
2.) It wasn't hard to spot the talent of MV5. Randall was our starting QB in this game (and looked great himself) but it was unbelievable to see how much talent MV5 wasted.
3.) Ernest Wilford isn't given the credit he deserves for being a really good WR for us.
4.) The defense was loaded with big names and talent. D Hall, Jimmy Williams, the oldest Fuller, Darryl Tapp and a bunch of others that are remembered as great players
Now for the negative:
1.) The defense absolutely sucked. Watching this game brought back memories of there being a couple years (I think maybe the 02 and 03 season) in particular that we were terrible. Not basing this observation on this game alone as I know we were playing Arod. But our tackling, positioning, and coverage techniques looked laughable. You could also tell this D had no interest in playing together. You could sense several players were all about themselves only out there for themselves. This looked absolutely nothing like a VT defense.
2.) Our kicking efforts were atrocious.
I remember us having a good defense in 04. So my main question is...what changed from that 03 to 04 season.??? I realize we haven't been great every year from 04 on but at worst we have been light years better than this D was. Did we change schematically or have some changes with position coaches or what was the deal here? Thanks for yor feedback.
Comments
VT games that ESPN Classic likes to remind us of:
- '99 FSU
- '03 Cal
- '01 Miami
What else?
EDITED TO ADD - Foster retooled the pass D after the '03 season, changing the role of the whip position. Also, the '04-05 defense was novel in that the front four were so good at rushing the passer, we were able to blitz less, drop back seven into coverage and play more zone.
I've seen the Syracuse McNabb era game on there multiple times. And was dumb enough to re-watch it...
I see this front four scenario being repeated for this coming 2015 season. I predict more pics!
Cliff Notes version, from '03 to '04 we went from a 4-4 base to a 4-3 base. Rover went from being an ILB position to a safety position.
EDIT: And now that I say that, I'm pretty sure rover was actually an OLB position. I think rover and whip kind of mirrored each other.
yep, Rover (boundary side) and Whip (field side) were the flex LB/DB positions. The general design the Rover was put into man coverage more often and was more on the DB end of the spectrum, while the Whip was more on the LB side of things and did more zone coverage and blitzing.
They were revamped to where the Rover became more of a SS type player and the Whip more of an OLB/S hybrid, although the past few years the Whip has regularly been replaced with the Nickel against passing formations.
Which raises the question, why doesn't Bud just redefine the whip role to be more of a traditional DB rather than trying to keep the whip position but only use it about 30% of the time? It's kind of a dead end position in terms of recruiting because it sees the field so little. Against the run, bud could just shade the safety up toward the line in a whip role. I think Chuck Clark could do well in that capacity given his combo of size and speed.
He essentially has, at least to some degree. Chuck Clark played that role several times against spread teams this past year and Kyle and Kendall Fuller before him. It was an adjustment made in 2010 when JG-W was struggling so much.
However, you still need the whip position against teams that frequently run two tight end sets. It gives you flexibility regardless of whether they run or pass.
I think you've kind of hit on something. Outside the corner spots, there really is no such thing as a static position in our backfield anymore. Torian has said Clark will always be on the field on D by moving around from safety to nickel as the situation warrants. So basically our backfield is becoming all hybrid positions.
I think we see the differentiation between whip and nickel erode to the point where the only difference is the specific assignment on a given down. The question then, is, what exactly will Cornell Brown's job description be?
Couldn't have said it better myself. +1.
EDIT: Kept reading your name as "asshokie"; had to do a double-look
Your Positives:
1) KJ's second-half of the 2003 season was the best half-season stretch I have seen a VT back have.
2) Amazing how good Marcus looked at receiver in this game.
3) Wilford was a pretty good receiver for a guy who was recruited as a defensive end.
Your Negatives:
1) The defense collapsed down the stretch that season. Sadly, we had true freshmen redshirting that were better than much of the middle of our defense. This is the season that got Frank talking about 5 years of eligibility for players because, by this bowl game, he had guys like Hall, Adibi, Powell, Ellis and Booker who could have played.
That addresses your question about what changed from 2003 to 2004. Great playters began taking the field, especially Adibi and Hall. Adibi's pre-injury performance against USC in 2004 was amazing.
Great comments. Thanks for the info and perspective.
That game literally sent me to the hospital in A-Fib. Had to get cardioverted a few weeks later.
Coumadin's a b!+(#, and I bet that stung!
I think what we saw was a future All-Pro QB, with the benefit of good coaching, scouting, and game prep. He shredded our D in much the same way he would today. That was Aaron Rodgers coming of age at our expense.
I am only just now getting over the hate and being objective about it. Mostly because I like his commercials.
I would bet my mortgage payment that that Call team would not shred our current defense like that. They'd get points, sure, but we are completely better suited today to face that offense, especially with our new emphasis on the nickel package.
Three things stick out in my mind about that game:
Marcus catching a TD.
Aaron Rodgers laughing at our D.
That little 5'7" receiver they had talking shit and backing it up to DLo.
Forget who it was, but i always remember that fake pump that got our DB to bite, and their WR just pivoted up-field and caught the ball. Ugh.
Was that also the last time we put up 40+ and lost?
I think so. Better than losing 6-3 I guess *ducks*, but a loss is a loss.
I love shootouts, but damn, 52-49 sucks. Plus, it was my birthday.
That defense turned very selfish at the end of the year. After whipping #2 Miami in one of my favorite all time games (I got on ESPN near the end of the game with my sign), we only only won 1 game, by one point, over Temple... We lost the 3 others before the bowl game. The defense got a "me first" attitude and I think DLo leaving had a LOT to do with the change going into the next year.