SB Nation came out with their definitive list of top defenses from 2004-2015, and the '06 VT squad made the list. This was the D that featured Xavier Adibi, Vince Hall, Brandon Flowers, Aaron Rouse, the Martin brothers, Cody Grimm, Macho Harris, Jason Worilds and Chris Ellis.
It was also fun to notice that Virginia Tech fared well against two of the other defenses on the list: the 2009 Nebraska defense (we all know what happened there) and the 2009 Alabama defense (forget what happened there). Good to see the prime of our defensive years getting some respect.
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2006 could have been very special if someone hadn't gotten stompy in the Gator Bowl.
That's been my contention for years. 06 would have been our year if Marcus hadn't been such a shitheel.
Marcus Dick: worst ever waste of talent in the history of Hokiedom. Ever.
I don't know if I can say that. It has always been fun to wonder what if we had Marcus in 06, but if we couldn't win it all in 05 (arguably the best all-around team we've had) I just don't think it was going to happen in the Beamer era. We had all the tools in 05, but we (and mostly Marcus) crumbled on the big stage against Miami at home, and then again against a very beatable 7-5 FSU squad in the ACCCG (yes, he lead a spirited comeback at the end, but we should have beaten them soundly). As talented as Marcus was, I just don't think he was ever going to win it all for us.
I mean it's all what-ifs, really it's impossible to know.
What if we hadn't lost to BC in 2007? Maybe we beat Ohio State in the NC.
What if we hadn't had to play Bama to start 09 and didn't lay eggs against GT and UNC?
What if we had Tyrod in 2011? Do we go undefeated? (yes, because f Clemson)
What if Michael Vick had been healthy against Miami in 2000?
What if we beat Boise in 2010? Do we run the table?
What if Marcus Vick didn't play the worst game of his life against Miami in 2005? (This was my first VT game I went to)
It's just fun to imagine what if but at the end of the day it's just conjecture.
Until we invent time machines.
Invent the future, or would it be re-invent the past?
Very true. But I just look at Marcus' behavior and can't come away thinking he would have somehow grown up and lead us to the promised land in 06. He was just too much of a loose cannon. For someone who was lucky to have been given a second chance, then to piss it all away like that, it doesn't really exemplify the character and mental toughness needed to lead a team all the way. Maybe he could have, but I think things turned out the way they were meant to with him. GT with Megatron and Reggie Ball were still going to be a handful in 06, anyhow.
-If we hadn't lost to BC in 2007, we still don't go to the title game after getting trounced 48-7 by LSU. SEC bias was starting to run rampant by then anyway, so I think a 2-loss LSU that beat us soundly gets in over us still.
-If Vick had been healthy against Miami in 2000, we still lose IMO. We could not stop that offense early (Santana Moss and Shockey were just on fire). I just don't think we had the horses on defense that year, but Vick would have made this one much, much more interesting. What could have been.
It's important to remember that while SEC bias was a thing in '07, so were the computers (many of which had us at #2 WITH the loss to BC).
Yeah. LSU jumping 5 spots after beating a decent Tennessee team was bs.
We had two losses, #2 LSU and #2 BC. LSU had two losses, one of which was to an unranked team. I remember initially being pissed that they got in ahead of us, then I realized that we would have been embarrassed in the NC game. I'm glad we didn't make it.
I disagree that we would have been embarrassed in the NC, those Ohio State teams were very overrated and benefitted from a very weak B1G (see back to back blowout losses in NC games). I also disagree about being upset about them getting in ahead of us. I knew when they beat Tennessee they would jump us, and rightfully so, they beat our ass worse than any team has during the time I've been a fan.
Point to note: feels like there's been a lot of WHAT IFS threads lately. Just sayin...
Yeah, but what if there weren't?
dahhhhhhh...okay now...
Oh look! It's happy hour
That 2005 Miami game was a cold and ominous one. "Sigh"
Did somebody say Marcus?
I'd say VT did ok against the 2009 Bama defense.
I'd love to say that, but we had 155 total yards in that game. Beamerball kept that game close. But, RMFW did show up in a big way.
If only he had about 5 more carries and didn't fumble the punt, the game would have been very interesting in the 4th qtr. Our D just was very tired in the last 7-8 minutes.
lol
Mind meet gutter- She's the realdiehl!
Lol
Somebody tell me if this was a classic Beamer trait, "he seemed slow to give people his trust." What could have been had we run 34 from the get go in that game? Evans (after going down in Fall camp) was only missed the first three quarters of that game. Maybe Bama's D would have been tuckered out too. If only...if only I knew the lotto numbers.
I would have loved to have seen Evans plow Hightower a couple of times then feed RW.
2009 Nebraska game was awful. Yes, the ending was amazing, but the first 58 minutes, outside of our first possession, was painful.
Oh gosh I know. Whenever people brag about that game I always say it was the worst 58 minutes of football I ever saw.
I invented new curse words that day.
... only because that WF game went over 60 minutes, of course.
Listen, that game never happened.
58 and a half minutes of complete tortuous boredom and miserable attempts followed by a quick 90 seconds of pure bliss.
So much phrasing in this entire thread
It is worth re-living though. I had fun watching this in the living room of a bunch of Nebraska fans:
I slapped up a couple of old clips including this one on the Chromecast this past Saturday morning with my wife in the room. I didn't even realize until she said something that I had the commentary memorized for all of them and evidently I was unconsciously reciting each of them.
Bet them braska fans had a maj case o the panda sads.
Uh I'm pretty sure we invented a new definition of awful more recently.
These are the type of posts that you want to leg because you agree, but at the same time it just feels kind of dirty to upvote that picture.
Is RichRod in the goose eggs image somewhere? I've never noticed if he is.
They tried to Suh us those first 58. Luckily we had stronger council to get the verdict.
That defense was sick. It was the best Hokie defense I can remember watching.
EDIT: I made a comment about the defense giving up 28 points in the 2nd half of the Peach Bowl...But I think that was more about the VT offense turning it over 4 times.
Uhhh
Yeah, I was a bit young for that game so my memory was off. I remember thinking, "I can't believe this collapse is happening, I can't believe this collapse is happening, I can't believe this collapse is happening." But it wasn't a defensive collapse....I couldn't believe the Hokies were giving up all those points because the Hokies offense (Sean Glennon) never should have put UGA in those positions to score all those points.
True story... I found this meme through a Google search... I did not create it
First off, I don't get the connections and second, what % have you created (curiosity)?
I don't create too many memes, and if I do, I usually do the words in O&M
as for the connection, it was a statement based on the game in that image.
To be fair, I think the VT offense ran 3 plays in the 3rd quarter.
I see your edit and you are correct. The turnovers+UGA's onside kick made for an exhausted defense.
On the Marcus Vick note, nothing is more fun than asking him on Twitter what his opinion is for events in the news. My favorite that I got a response for was his opinion on Ferguson. But I have also inquired about refugees and the election.
His Twitter is gold.
After the Trayvon Martin trial I think I spent an hour just reading his tweets.