Nice write up, still not sold on our LB corps but hopefully they will be a pleasant surprise. Regardless we are probably a top 5 D, if only because we play in a defensive conference and will only be facing two high powered O's in UNC and GiT (maybe three with *, and 4 with Clemson in Charlotte?)
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we play in a defensive conference and will only be facing two high powered O's in UNC and GiT
not sure if you're just referring to conference foes but our defense will be evaluated by everyone we play including non-conference match-ups, not just ACC teams and so therefore I think you could argue that we'll be playing against another high-powered offense in OSU. In fact, I would say that OSU's offense is more potent than GiT for sure and pretty close to the same as UNC
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Sorry, ACCylum reference, yes * is a buckeye so OSU. And they lost a lot of talent on O, have not decided on a QB yet and have even more starters suspended for our game which is why I am not sure they will be superstars on that side of the ball for the first game of the season.
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The only other ACC team on that list was Louisville...how is our conference defensive??
I would say we play in a low scoring conference or maybe that's just any opponent Bud faces.
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Like most conferences, some teams are defensive minded like Bama and LSU and some are offensive like Auburn and A&M. But it still wager the SEC has the best collection of defenses of any conference
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I just flipped thru about 6 of them, you are right, he's sharp. Case in point, in his top 100 players, he has Dukes Jeremy Cash #36. That's astute, not many national writers would appreciate a hybrid safety for Duke like that, but we know how great of a player Cash is.
He mentions Teller as a Breakout Player and Ekanem as an Overrated Player.
I will read more of his stuff this year.
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ekanem as overrated is interesting. I hope he can have a season as productive as last year, but wondering if the off-season shoulder surgery will limit his growth this season. I think the sack totals we have on the DL are somewhat inflated by our blitzing nature, but 9.5 sacks as a first year starter is impressive nonetheless.
I looked up the article and he has ekanem on the underrated list, which makes more sense.
Interesting he stays ekanem is overrated. I understand why you would think so. With Dadi on the other side, and a great interior, the recipe is there to make any just capable end look really good.
That said, i think he is poised to have the kind of year to make the doubters sit up and take notice.
ETA: It's early to drink, but those are the rules.
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They return like 3 starters on D but their backups got decent rotation time last year. Mackensie might be the second best ACC corner by the end of the year
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I've said it before and I will say it again, this is the best team on paper we have had since 2011, of course the last time we won 10+ games. If this team is still healthy, there is really no reason they can't win 9 or 10 games but as we have seen a lot in the past few years, they can't afford to beat themselves.
Hopefully the Military Bowl whipping of Cincinnati is a sign of things to come.
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I actually get a kick out of Alabama's ranking. "Yeah, they got smoked their last 2 games, but here are some good-to-mediocre stats, and I'm not sure if their defensive line or secondary are any good, but they've got some great linebackers."
.... Yeah, that's a dominant defensive unit for sure.
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I'll be honest with you, my answer was drenched in VT kool aid and bama/sec hate. So yes, I took an article with rankings that mean absolutely nothing while being bored at work and called out SEC bias where VT wasnt ranked 1st because Go Hokies.
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Pass rushers. They've got tree trucks in the middle that are decent against the run (so long as they only play LSU every game - Elliott dropped something like 250 yards and 3 TDs on them), but they're not outstanding in any facet of pass defense, front to back. Additionally, Saban and Smart have zero answers for spread looks, seeing as they've been ripped to shreds the past couple years just about every time they've faced one.
And of course this is mostly splitting hairs - they're obviously going to be a very good defense. I just don't buy the #1 ranking on D-line run stopping talent and name recognition alone.
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to be fair when they are playing them they are playing what are statistically some of the top offenses in the country. not like they are just playing unc.
what do you think other schools think about VT being #2? We return a good portion of studs, but also have plenty of question marks ourselves and are counting on two former studs to be back to form after missing a year with injury. we were only 21st last year in total defense and 14th in scoring defense.
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I think our case of having 8 returning starters on a defense that finished 11th in defensive S&P+ says quite a bit, especially when you consider key pieces (Ekanem, Fuller, Maddy, Marhsall, Williams) either played hurt or missed considerable time due to injury. It doesn't hurt that our last appearance was us shutting down a pretty good (top 25 S&P+) Cincinnati team. Point is, I don't see many glaring weaknesses in our team - possibly at MLB, but I see at least one in Bama's - the secondary.
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you know cinci had 489 yards and 345 yards passing despite having their #1 qb knocked out of the game. We did a good job of keeping them out of the end zone, but saying we shut them down is a stretch.
Every team has injuries during the year. Maddy and faycson are the only two i'd even bother bringing up. MLB is definitely a concern for us, whip will be an unproven player despite all the hype built up around RVD the last 3 years and who knows how much we even use the position and both safety spots are going to have new starters at that position.
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Well they were tied for 30th with 5 other teams in 2011. Since their 2009 championship team they've had 31, 22, 35, 30, 27 and 31 sacks. So 2013 was a down year but otherwise pretty consistent as a non elite pass rushing defense
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The strength vs. strength aspect is one that intrigues me about our Labor Day game. It's the classic immovable object vs. the irresistible force thing. Ohio State's offense got it all clicking at the end of the last year. Unfortunately, this isn't the end of last year, but it's reasonable to expect them to be even more potent this year with some returning and added weapons. That said, offenses do not usually come out of the gate hitting on all cylinders. Plus, our OC will be calling his first game. Defenses, on the other hand, are usually way ahead of the offenses early in the year, so I think VT should feel good about this side of the match up. What Buckeye fans are hoping for is a fast start on offense, lots of points, and beating Tech at their strength. What Tech fans are hoping for is that the Buckeyes have a hard time running the ball and completing passes for first downs. Can't wait to see who gets what they want. It might take a qtr or so for those units to feel each other out, but I think the longer the game stays low scoring, advantage Hokies.
But the game could be decided on the sides with question marks: OSU defense and VT offense. Many expect the Ohio State defense to be lights out, but they didn't look good vs. Indiana and scUM at the end of last year, then they blank Wisky, give up 35 to Bama, but hold Oregon to 20. I'm not convinced that they have shown the consistency of a great defense. What they were very good at in the post-season was winning 3rd down. On paper they should be incredible, but another thing they have working against them is having an offense that scores or punts quickly. Tired defenses tend to be leaky. Regardless, Ohio State has plenty to prove on that side of the ball. If Brewer and VT can replicate the performance they had in Ohio Stadium last year, they will be fine. They were able to run the ball well enough, and Brewer made some very timely and crucial throws. But whichever of these two units gets the upper hand could determine the game.
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I agree with all of that, and I think besides what you stated above, it's the O-lines for both teams control this game. If anyone can establish a running game, I think that decides the victor.
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Running game = imposing your will. That's the way it always has been in football and always will be. That gets lost in all this spread, throw the ball every down offensive era, but you have to run the ball to win consistently.
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Nice write up, still not sold on our LB corps but hopefully they will be a pleasant surprise. Regardless we are probably a top 5 D, if only because we play in a defensive conference and will only be facing two high powered O's in UNC and GiT (maybe three with *, and 4 with Clemson in Charlotte?)
not sure if you're just referring to conference foes but our defense will be evaluated by everyone we play including non-conference match-ups, not just ACC teams and so therefore I think you could argue that we'll be playing against another high-powered offense in OSU. In fact, I would say that OSU's offense is more potent than GiT for sure and pretty close to the same as UNC
I think he replaces "OSU" with a "*". Took me a few times to figure it out.
Sorry, ACCylum reference, yes * is a buckeye so OSU. And they lost a lot of talent on O, have not decided on a QB yet and have even more starters suspended for our game which is why I am not sure they will be superstars on that side of the ball for the first game of the season.
The only other ACC team on that list was Louisville...how is our conference defensive??
I would say we play in a low scoring conference or maybe that's just any opponent Bud faces.
You know the SEC likes to say they have a defensive conference too. That SEC defense man only giving up 30+ points a game phew.
ROFL
Well considering two of our better defenses gave up 37 and 45 to UGA...
UGA also gave up 30 to GT, 32 to Tennessee & Arkansas.. I think the whole SEC defense thing is over rated... just like SEC speed
Like most conferences, some teams are defensive minded like Bama and LSU and some are offensive like Auburn and A&M. But it still wager the SEC has the best collection of defenses of any conference
He doesn't have Clemson on the list which IMO will have at least a top 25 defense this year.
This guy (Matt Brown) is a good college football writer. He usually has couple articles every week.
I just flipped thru about 6 of them, you are right, he's sharp. Case in point, in his top 100 players, he has Dukes Jeremy Cash #36. That's astute, not many national writers would appreciate a hybrid safety for Duke like that, but we know how great of a player Cash is.
He mentions Teller as a Breakout Player and Ekanem as an Overrated Player.
I will read more of his stuff this year.
ekanem as overrated is interesting. I hope he can have a season as productive as last year, but wondering if the off-season shoulder surgery will limit his growth this season. I think the sack totals we have on the DL are somewhat inflated by our blitzing nature, but 9.5 sacks as a first year starter is impressive nonetheless.
I looked up the article and he has ekanem on the underrated list, which makes more sense.
http://www.sportsonearth.com/article/141115692/college-football-most-und...
Interesting he stays ekanem is overrated. I understand why you would think so. With Dadi on the other side, and a great interior, the recipe is there to make any just capable end look really good.
That said, i think he is poised to have the kind of year to make the doubters sit up and take notice.
ETA: It's early to drink, but those are the rules.
He's on his underrated list not overrated.
That makes a lot more sense. I was wondering how he could be overrated when no one is talking about him.
I'd also put Deon Clarke on the underrated/overlooked list
Don't look now, but #4 is Ohio State.
Can't wait to see Coach celebrate when the clock runs out and the score is 0-0.
If Tech holds anOSU to zero points that would be one of the best defensive performances EVER. I'd celebrate that.
I don't see it happening, but if we shut out OSU the college football world would implode.
and I'd be all like
That would mean transitive wins over the whole 2014 college football playoff, right?
No. Transitive wins expire at the beginning of fall camp.
Not if you're submitting your preseason rankings. /s
2014 Red Zone Defense:
VT 6
OSU 79
(cfbstats.com)
I was surprised to only see 1 other ACC school in the top 25 defenses. And that was Louisville.
No FSU, Clemson or Miami.
Maybe our offense takes the needed step forward this year.
Did Clemson lose a ton on D? They had a top defense last year.
They return like 3 starters on D but their backups got decent rotation time last year. Mackensie might be the second best ACC corner by the end of the year
FIFY
lost their two biggest stars in Beasley and Anthony.
Grady Jarrett was a manimal. Reminded me a lot of Luther Maddy.
fighting irish too which are all but in our conference...
More love for Kendell Fuller...
http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/13274693/cfbrank-11-20-co...
I've said it before and I will say it again, this is the best team on paper we have had since 2011, of course the last time we won 10+ games. If this team is still healthy, there is really no reason they can't win 9 or 10 games but as we have seen a lot in the past few years, they can't afford to beat themselves.
Hopefully the Military Bowl whipping of Cincinnati is a sign of things to come.
#Underrated.
I actually get a kick out of Alabama's ranking. "Yeah, they got smoked their last 2 games, but here are some good-to-mediocre stats, and I'm not sure if their defensive line or secondary are any good, but they've got some great linebackers."
.... Yeah, that's a dominant defensive unit for sure.
"the SEC bias is strong with this one."
They've had the best defense in college football over the last 4 years. You're calling sec bias?
I'll be honest with you, my answer was drenched in VT kool aid and bama/sec hate. So yes, I took an article with rankings that mean absolutely nothing while being bored at work and called out SEC bias where VT wasnt ranked 1st because Go Hokies.
Where does he say the defensive line might not be good? That's easily their best unit and possibly the best in the country
he questions their pass rush, but agree with you he never insinuated they were not going to be good.
Pass rushers. They've got tree trucks in the middle that are decent against the run (so long as they only play LSU every game - Elliott dropped something like 250 yards and 3 TDs on them), but they're not outstanding in any facet of pass defense, front to back. Additionally, Saban and Smart have zero answers for spread looks, seeing as they've been ripped to shreds the past couple years just about every time they've faced one.
And of course this is mostly splitting hairs - they're obviously going to be a very good defense. I just don't buy the #1 ranking on D-line run stopping talent and name recognition alone.
to be fair when they are playing them they are playing what are statistically some of the top offenses in the country. not like they are just playing unc.
what do you think other schools think about VT being #2? We return a good portion of studs, but also have plenty of question marks ourselves and are counting on two former studs to be back to form after missing a year with injury. we were only 21st last year in total defense and 14th in scoring defense.
I think our case of having 8 returning starters on a defense that finished 11th in defensive S&P+ says quite a bit, especially when you consider key pieces (Ekanem, Fuller, Maddy, Marhsall, Williams) either played hurt or missed considerable time due to injury. It doesn't hurt that our last appearance was us shutting down a pretty good (top 25 S&P+) Cincinnati team. Point is, I don't see many glaring weaknesses in our team - possibly at MLB, but I see at least one in Bama's - the secondary.
you know cinci had 489 yards and 345 yards passing despite having their #1 qb knocked out of the game. We did a good job of keeping them out of the end zone, but saying we shut them down is a stretch.
Every team has injuries during the year. Maddy and faycson are the only two i'd even bother bringing up. MLB is definitely a concern for us, whip will be an unproven player despite all the hype built up around RVD the last 3 years and who knows how much we even use the position and both safety spots are going to have new starters at that position.
Their defense isn't designed to have great pass rushers. Every defense has their weakness. We get beat up by the power run constantly.
That's not entirely true. They were top 30 in sacks per game in 2011 and 2012; they've just been exceptionally poor the past two years.
Well they were tied for 30th with 5 other teams in 2011. Since their 2009 championship team they've had 31, 22, 35, 30, 27 and 31 sacks. So 2013 was a down year but otherwise pretty consistent as a non elite pass rushing defense
different coordinator and philosophy on defense. they are closer to Alabama now then they were back in those years.
The strength vs. strength aspect is one that intrigues me about our Labor Day game. It's the classic immovable object vs. the irresistible force thing. Ohio State's offense got it all clicking at the end of the last year. Unfortunately, this isn't the end of last year, but it's reasonable to expect them to be even more potent this year with some returning and added weapons. That said, offenses do not usually come out of the gate hitting on all cylinders. Plus, our OC will be calling his first game. Defenses, on the other hand, are usually way ahead of the offenses early in the year, so I think VT should feel good about this side of the match up. What Buckeye fans are hoping for is a fast start on offense, lots of points, and beating Tech at their strength. What Tech fans are hoping for is that the Buckeyes have a hard time running the ball and completing passes for first downs. Can't wait to see who gets what they want. It might take a qtr or so for those units to feel each other out, but I think the longer the game stays low scoring, advantage Hokies.
But the game could be decided on the sides with question marks: OSU defense and VT offense. Many expect the Ohio State defense to be lights out, but they didn't look good vs. Indiana and scUM at the end of last year, then they blank Wisky, give up 35 to Bama, but hold Oregon to 20. I'm not convinced that they have shown the consistency of a great defense. What they were very good at in the post-season was winning 3rd down. On paper they should be incredible, but another thing they have working against them is having an offense that scores or punts quickly. Tired defenses tend to be leaky. Regardless, Ohio State has plenty to prove on that side of the ball. If Brewer and VT can replicate the performance they had in Ohio Stadium last year, they will be fine. They were able to run the ball well enough, and Brewer made some very timely and crucial throws. But whichever of these two units gets the upper hand could determine the game.
Labor day in a nutshell. Leg for you!
I see it the same way, and therefore you are correct.
A leg for you.
I agree with all of that, and I think besides what you stated above, it's the O-lines for both teams control this game. If anyone can establish a running game, I think that decides the victor.
Running game = imposing your will. That's the way it always has been in football and always will be. That gets lost in all this spread, throw the ball every down offensive era, but you have to run the ball to win consistently.