I recorded a segment with Kevin Weiss on 94.1 FM ESPN Radio Blacksburg that aired at 5:00 PM today. I discussed my three keys for success for the Hokies this season, my thoughts on Michael Brewer, and my picks for players to have monster seasons.
Forums:
DISCLAIMER: Forum topics may not have been written or edited by The Key Play staff.
Comments
French on the Bench on the Radio
I apparently messed up embedding this gif. It doesn't appear to be auto playing, but I'm sure everyone gets the general idea.
It's working for me
hmm, not playing on my phone or computer. oh well
will there be a podcast? I am not in the Burg and I will most likely be stuck in traffic somewhere on 395 at 5 without internet access so I'd like to listen to this a bit later if possible.
thanks :D
Yes, I'll post a podcast tonight. It may also be uploaded to TKP website as well.
https://www.spreaker.com/user/8253849/episodes/feed
Cheers to you, Sir!
Please have French on often. Great perspective, knowledge, and well articulated.
We plan to make it a regular thing. He was fantastic and will be a lot of fun to have him on more often.
I'm calling in with questions about pie. Book it.
That's so Leonard.
The segment is pre-recorded. However, I would be happy to join Kevin for a discussion about pie in the future.
Excellent analysis and break-down as usual, French! In the immortal words of Howie Long's character in the movie "Broken Arrow"... "Deak" (I mean, French!)...you da man!"
French - I won't be able to listen, but interested in thoughts on these questions:
1) Who will be dipped in dork magic? Will they be fully dipped?
2) Who will (or will not) deny my pussy touchdowns?
I can't wait. It's also been far too long since "French on the Bench" has been a regular thing on TKP.
I believe it was replaced by "French on the Pier"
If I could make rent by fishing off the pier and writing French on the Bench columns, I'd be a rich man.
Hmm, how about I give you a turkey leg. Maybe you can get a landlord to accept them in lieu of cash?
I like French on the Pier. Has less of a "riding the pine" connotation, though decidedly less alliterative.
French on the pier sounds like the name of a beer to me for some reason
Hot damn, that's a good idea.
Like a Flanders Red or something.
Ah, inspiration comes from the strangest places.
I need to talk to Andy about a beer too. I have an idea there.
That was a lot of talking...
Good 'cause talking works on radio.
Yeah, I dont think sign language would have been as effective
Good stuff, french. I appreciate it.
Just listened to it. You are correct. Your jaw must be tired.
I think they both went to dinner, let you do the last hour of the show.
We thought about it haha
I am icing my jaw today.
Sorry French I'm currently drunk at a happy hour right now. I will listen to your podcast after the bourban wears off.
I think we'll all be happier once bours are allowed again.
Thanks for taking up the cause. I'll make up some signs and bumper stickers.
Here's a link to the interview: https://www.spreaker.com/user/8253849/the-key-plays-jonathan-french-inte...
feed:https://www.spreaker.com/user/8253849/episodes/feed
Thanks!
...and change that shirt, hippie!
I've got to represent my alma mater (USF) someway so I chose the green shirt lol
I've never had the chance to talk to a USF alum. I've always wondered why the U of South Florida is in Tampa. Tampa is not South Florida, to me anyway.
Good question....when it became a state university in the 50s, it was the southern-most university in Florida at the time.
http://www.usf.edu/about-usf/history.aspx
Interesting. I have been a Rutgers fan all of my life and I never knew why you guys were called USF.
Might I suggest a UNSSF? University of Not So South Florida?
Or University of West-Central Florida
While we're on the topic of asking a USF alum questions, how often do you think back about the 2007 season and what could have been?
That was actually before my time of paying attention to the program(born and raised near Louisville)....but I know a lot of fans that still wish Jim Leavitt was the head coach. It's certainly a program that has tons of potential, just needs the right guy.
Kevin,
Are there any plans to make replays of the show available daily as a podcast?...either on the ESPN site or another
Yep. Let me know if these work for your computer, phone, etc. Thanks!
feed://www.spreaker.com/show/1470906/episodes/feed
http://www.spreaker.com/show/kevin-weisss-tracks_1
Great interview, would love to see French on more podcasts.
I'm worried about Pitt too but at least it's at home. Not a fan of Pitt having a bye before they come to Blacksburg.
Think with Dwayne Lawson being 20 years old right now don't know if a redshirt is in his future if he shows the ability of being in a couple packaged plays.
Really good French. Well done.
One question: Is Stroman that good now? Or will he be a good DB? Freak athlete we know - but can he cover and/or tackle. Gray said he would play on Sundays but is that realistic? I know he played a bit in the bowl game but how was his Spring?
thanks
Stroman is an interesting case. I thought he had a terrific game in coverage against Cincinnati. However, in the spring, Stroman was victimized deep numerous times while Bud featured his as the top field corner. Isaiah Ford in particular beat Stroman badly on several double moves, including two in the spring game. One went for a touchdown from Michael Brewer. The other was a bad overthrow by Brendan Motley.
The reason that I didn't mention him was because of the void created with Clark moving to safety. Bud needs a nickel corner who can play the full whip responsibility. Alexander was a former safety and played around the line of scrimmage as a high school player. Reynolds was even more dynamic around the line of scrimmage, where he was one of the leading tacklers on his team and showed a knack for avoiding blockers and putting runners on the ground in traffic. Stroman wasn't asked to do much in run support in that Military Bowl matchup, and while he conceivably could rotate in if the nickel was struggling in coverage, I would imagine his future is outside.
hold up... who the PHUCK is Jonathan?
French is a Superhero, it's his secret identity.
That was a very entertaining podcast! Your take on the OSU OL was very interesting to me especially. You gave big Lu his due. I listened twice!
Great job JF! Respect not only your knowledge but your conviction to convey it.
Can I has season start now?
I had my first meeting for high school football officials yesterday. The itch is getting unbearable.
I have a confession to make....this past weekend, I was jonesing for football so bad, I ended up watching at least a quarter of the Penn St./Indiana football game on BTN. My self-worth went down a few notches because of that.
A while back I emailed Kyle Bailey and suggested having a segment with French on some x's and o's. I figured it would be just as interesting if not more interesting than Keith Welton's financial droning. Kyle replied, kindly I might add, that he didn't think that sort of thing would make for good radio. Needless to say, I'm glad someone else thought it would be a good idea. Excited about checking it out!
Wow...just...wow. The fast forward button on the podcasts is a godsend for his show...
I never understood why on Tuesday's I had to listen to Keith Welton on my drive home. Do it at 400 because at 500 I could not give a shit less about Accounting and how it pertains to sports after a day at work.
I am glad that I have a second good show that I can choose from now.
I will defend Kyle here. I think he is an excellent broadcaster. I have enjoyed his shows via stream and when I go through the Valley. He did a segment with me once and has given me several lengthy phone calls with him. He has been very supportive of the work we do here and has paid our team high compliments each time he has mentioned the site. He also had Joe on last week and I really enjoyed their discussion. I greatly appreciate everything he and Kevin have done to support TKP and I am sure Joe, Kevin, and I (if asked) would be happy to appear on both shows and any other radio that covers the Hokies to share our love of VT football and the excellence of this community.
I really appreciated the freedom Kevin gave me to go in depth. I would expect that any future appearances would be more concise on my end. For those of you who met me at a happy hour, you know once I get going it is hard to shut me up.
For those of you that have met me at Happy Hour, you know I'm the same way about beer.
French says this like its a bad thing...
No need to defend Kyle, I wasn't trying to take a shot. I think he's great. I listen to his show daily. I think he's a real talent and we're lucky to have him in the NRV.
But... to me personally, x's and o's over sports accounting any day.
Couldn't agree more about the RBs. Redshirt Marshawn and Shai.
If Shai tears his knee again, he could be done for his career. Get both of them to 100%.
I appreciate the kind words everyone. If you have topics you would like me to discuss in future appearances, please let me know.
One thing I've wondered about is how the alley player makes his decision on the force/spill calls. Is it sometimes scripted into the defense, dependent on the offense's formation and the alley players coverage responsibilities, or is it just the player's preference for that particular play/random?
Not sure if you'd be able to answer without being in the meeting room with the defense, but it is something that I've wondered about whenever the concept comes up.
I am not sure if that is something that is communicated from the sidelines. A bunch probably depends on the coverage. A spill call would make much more sense if the rover is playing inverted cover 2 and is already flying up to cover the short flat (as an example.) Part could be pre-determined based on the personnel and blocking scheme of the offense. If you have a big back who isn't as nimble or athletic when forced to move laterally, you would call more spill calls and get him moving to the sideline. With a quicker back, perhaps having a shorter distance to cover by containing the edge forces him to cut back inside with the big trees. I don't have the statistical information to back this up, but I would bet that the Hokies spill plays much more often when the safeties align deep, and when they play up near the line like Jarrett did, they would force more.
Years ago (back when Torrian Gray was an All-Big East rover, the rover lined up like Deon Clarke did in the Bear front, and the backer stayed in a normal linebacker alignment. That was some interesting football.
In fact, going back and watching the Hokies in the 1995 Sugar Bowl, so many things were different. Torrian Gray was the rover, but mostly aligned to the wide side of the field like the whip does now. The whip linebacker (Brandon Semones) aligned to the boundary. William Yarbourough and the two corners played some three deep stuff. Even the defensive ends flipped. Cornell Brown aligned to the wide side. Hank Coleman aligned to the boundary.
and those 1995 helmets will always, ALWAYS be my favorite design.
Joe,
Just curious, has the recent uptick in radio exposure resulted in more traffic for the website? Is there any correlation suggesting that or is it too tough to tell? I'm just wondering how the exposure is translating to the health of the community on-line.
Thanks!
I think it's too early to tell, but as of right now there hasn't been a major spike in traffic that could be attributed to radio. However, if we can gain just one regular reader from the exposure, it's a huge win for TKP.
It's another reason why word of mouth is so important for TKP. Because we're independent, we don't have a network like 247Sports or SB Nation regularly promoting our work. We expand our readership organically and every time you tell a friend, or we tell a stranger about TKP, it helps grow our audience.
Thanks for the insight. I heard of TKP by word-of-mouth originally and I've shared this wonderful knowledge with many friends of mine. I've always thought that if you run a tight ship and do things the right way word-of-mouth is all you need to grow and be successful. Watching TKP grow over the last couple of years (since I've been frequenting the site) has been awesome and it really shows what a great thing you have going here. I love this place and I really appreciate all of the hard work that you and the rest of the staff put into it. I have donated to the site before and I plan on doing it again. I also try to purchase merchandise to keep your lights on. Many thanks to you, Joe, for all that you have done to build such an awesome place on the interwebs. It's a true gem!!
Loved French on the Bench!! My only complaint is that ESPN Blacksburg
doesn't come through very well in the NRV like it should. I travel I-81 from
Pulaski Co to C-Burg daily and it is very spotty. Guess I really shouldn't be
complaining here but it's a damn shame. In fact that's the very reason I
started listening to Supersports with Kyle Bailey. But anyways looking forward
to more!! Awesome job French!
Have you tried the AM version? I found it comes in a little better for me. 1430
I have but it never seems to be the same thing that's on 94.1. It's very odd but
I will try it again this evening to see what happens.
The AM signal is definitely larger. I think there's another local station that has 94.1 which is why it might sound different and break in and out.
Kevin, speaking of radio signals, you should listen to some! Who hasn't heard those Weezer and Smashing Pumpkins songs? C'MON MAN!! :)
Ha! When it comes to music, I've been pretty myopic...I certainly need to branch out a little.
Funny you mention Weezer...on my way home around 4:45 I tuned into
the 1430AM station to see what I could pick up. They were talking about
music and the band Weezer and how they got their name.
Pretty sure you heard Kevin and Joe talking about it during their segment about 90's music.