http://www.espn.com/blog/acc/post/_/id/95265/hokies-defensive-holdovers-...
This particular paragraph really stuck out to me just with the intriguing stat nuggets it contained:
Through four games, Virginia Tech ranks sixth nationally in points allowed on drives that don't start with a turnover (a crucial caveat given the Hokies' early fumbling problems on offense). Big plays are way down, too. Over the previous two seasons, the Hokies allowed 150 plays of 20 yards or more, the eighth most in FBS. This season, they've given up just 14, tied for the 11th fewest.
Forums:
DISCLAIMER: Forum topics may not have been written or edited by The Key Play staff.
Comments
Through four games, Virginia Tech ranks sixth nationally in points allowed on drives that don't start with a turnover
Too bad it has to have this caveat.
Need to compensate with no turnovers for the rest of the year.
And no scoring by the opposing team at all for the remainder of the year.
I really think the fact he trusts the offense to cover for him if he messes up has him calling a much looser game this year than the past, and its allowing him to get more creative and test various looks that he wouldn't have done in year's past. We just aren't playing as tight as we were and its paying off in spades. Having a good offense is making our defense raise its game to another level, which I actually didn't expect to see, but its such a nice surprise.
That explains it well. Back in the ECU game, it seemed he threw everything
they had for the safety, i.e., taking risks.
TOP has to factor in too. Just having an offense that can stay on the field is keeping the defense from getting gassed.
I will not value time of possession.
I will not value time of possession.
I will not value time of possession.
It certainly gets overused, but having an offense that is consistently going 3 and out doesn't help the defense rest and/or make in-game adjustments
"Time of possession" isn't the stat you're looking for, instead it's the ability of the offense to extend drives and score. See: "3rd down conversion percentage", "yards per play", "points per drive".
just once I want to see us have a stat line "3rd down conversions: 0/0"
That right there would be a fun game to watch. "Well John, after that stop on first down, Coach Fu's boys are lined up for pass play across the board. They have to get ten right here to protect that stat line..."
unfortunately that stat line would get ended by the victory formation...
Not if they're really smart with the clock at the end and perfectly willing to gain another 1st down when they could just take a knee on second. I'd like to think that the accomplishment would be so monumental that the other team would be on board.
VT having an effective/explosive offense has to be like Christmas coming early for Foster.
Or, like Christmas coming late...very very late.
better late than never, right?
Absolutely.
It's a whole lot easier to play defense when you are not responsible for scoring all the points also.
Along those lines, on drives of 60 yards or more our defense has only given up 3 TD's (1 against Tenn, 2 against ECU) and 1 FG. That's 4 scores out of 48 drives. Field position is huge...driving the field on Bud's defense is not an easy task.
Considering that both ECU scores were kinda unusual defensive busts on plays of over 70 yd each, that makes it even more encouraging.
oh, Walter.....when will you learn
Hey Walter:
via GIPHY
Someone slip this under Bud's office door.... please
Fans like this are why I hope we absolutely destroy UNCheat. Last time I checked, defense is a monumental part of football and not having one is a huge problem.
Seriously. The O feels much better when you you have the D to help it.
Yeah... unlike UNC, we've been scoring a lot of points this year because we want to, not because we have to. There's a big difference
I know she keeps saying that, but that might just be to protect your ego.
lol nope, have to reply again, because I just read this quote again....
NCAA.org: Statistical Rankings in Total Defense
1 - Boston College
7 - Miami (FL)
9 - Virginia Tech
12 - Clemson
21 - North Carolina State
via GIPHY
Yup - you read that right.... we hung 49 on the nation's top defense, statistically, and even then we had our 2nd and 3rd string in the entire second half
This is the top total defense, not FPI or Sagarin's rankings.
GTBC has played GT, UMass, VT, Wagner and Buffalo. VT is the best offense they have played thus far (48th in total offense). The second best total offense is GT which is tied for 113th. SOURCEBC defense is decent, maybe even good, but let's not (yet) tout our offensive performance against them as a major accomplishment.
Edit: typos
Don't tell LOLUVA that Spring Festivals count towards statistics.
Yeah. I'm still not sure on how good that defense is. Technically, they are the #1 rated defense in the nation. But they have played no one. And we destroyed them. Georgia Tech struggled against their D but Georgia Tech is struggling against everyone. This weekend will be telling not only for us, but also for how good our win against them will look since they play Clemson Friday night.
BC's next 5 games:
Clemson
Syracuse
NCSU
Louisville
Florida State
Good luck staying in 1st place BC.
I actually agree with Walter on this one. BC is shit-tier on offense. Tenn still scored a lot of points. I know we fumbled a lot, but that doesn't all of a sudden mean that game was a net positive for the defense, it just means that they weren't as bad as it seemed. ECU scored some big plays and also is just a bad team in general.
If we shutdown UNC I'll see us as a top tier defense, but until then we are a good defense that has to prove itself.
The counter is UNC scored 24 in a loss to UGA, and had to pull 37 out of their butts to beat FSU and Pitt. None of those schools are even Top 50 on defense.
However, that is some pretty decent competition. Georgia and FSU are both not great, but not bad either. Still not sure what is going on with Pitt. Either way, I do believe our defense is better than each of those teams. This weekend is going to be exciting.
Agree with you both, we need to wait and see.
The reality for Mr. Walter is he should have said "offense" instead of defense; just about every team ahead of them is top 25 on D.
FSU is 94th in total D, Pitt is 72, and UGA is 56th. That means UGA is barely above the median while the other two are well below median FBS. I would qualify at least 2 of those as "bad". To be fair to UGA, they've played UNC, Tenn and Ol Miss, in their 5 games, so having elevated stats is not surprising. Even then, they aren't close to top 25 D.
I believe we are essentially in agreement, as it's hard to give the defense an overall positive grade against UT since turnovers started so many of their possessions, but I think it's misguided to categorize the defense's performance as a negative at all. UT needed 13 yards to score 17 of their points. Three more TD drives were 43, 53, and 58 yards. Out of 8 drives that started behind their own 40, UT scored a total of 7 points.
It wasn't simply the number of turnovers that contributed to the final score but I would argue that special teams was the next most important factor due to poor punting and field position after receiving kickoffs. The defense could have defended the run more effectively but ultimately I believe UT scored 45 points largely because of the other two phases of the game
Eh, I don't blame the defense, but I'm not going to try to other people that our defense is great because look at the Bristol game! Basically I'm not insulting them, I'm not complimenting them, I'm just skipping over that performance. They made some good llays, they made some bad plays, but we're not helped out by the offense at all.
Well that's just like, your opinion man
Eat a dick Walter!
Emma will get after ya.
Clemson's defense is overrated, Venables coverages are totally lackluster, or at least, poorly taught. His defense lives and dies on having a bigger (much bigger) and faster d line than your line can hope to handle. His defense puts up gaudy numbers against lesser competition, gets torched by offenses with any nuance or can manage a little pass protection. He is also not great at in game adjustments. If I had a football blog with a decent readership, I would post a long form breakdown of why Venables is the most overrated defensive coordinator in college football. Not because he isn't good, he is, but because he isn't great.
C.....Can you do it anyway?
Yes, with some help. It would be an expansive time undertaking and I would need some resources for game film and a crash course in embedding small sections of larger videos. It would be worth it if I could get all the Clemson fans I'm surrounded by to actually read it.
Granted, the entire undertaking would be layered in built in bitterness and frustration towards Clemson fans and their lack of respect for anyone not tied to their program. I don't dislike Venables, as I said, I think he is a good coordinator but I think he has made a living feasting on lesser programs and his enormous faux pas (breakdowns against a terrible SCar team, Syracuse with a 5th string walk on QB, and NC State, who was held under 20 by VT, Louisville, and FSU last year) were covered up by a great offense and that is just from the 2015 season. Overall, my gripe is that the actual issues with his defense are often covered by the unreal defensive lines Clemson has put out the last three years, but are often exposed by better teams. Lane Kiffin straight up whipped Venables ass last year.
You'll have plenty of film to carve up after VT hangs a 50 spot on Clemson in Orlando.
You, I like you.
This is a football blog with decent readership... just start a post here. It'll show up in the tracker and on the sidebar and you'll get a lot of feedback.
Hey now. Mr. Venables was a runner up for the Broyles Award in 2006. He is a great coach. /s
We all know to whom he was a runner up...
Me and another Tech buddy are watching the Clemson game with 8 Clemson fans tonight. Quote to start the night:
Ok, Henry.
Praise the lord, it's not.
I enjoy having a strong D.
edit: removed, too wordy.
FTFY
Faycson being back to his old self or close to it has helped tremendously. Increased experience from last year for most of the back 7 has been a big plus too. I remember somebody saying something about Mihota? I love it when a plan comes together!
i got a feeling...just got a feeling