Alabama's won the last two national championships and are favorites to win again this year. Alabama has a Heisman candidate at quarterback, an NFL-ready running back, and a rock solid defense. Hokie fans knew that the competition on August 31st was going to be stiff, but what we didn't know was how capable our players would look on national television. Coach Frank Beamer and his staff learned a lot about what this football team is about Saturday night, and so did we.
Offensive Lessons
The offensive line is already improving on last season's debacle. As French wrote on Monday, Jeff Grimes' unit more than held their own against a front-7 that will likely be in the discussion as "best in the nation" by the end of the season. The push off the ball the o-line was able to get while run blocking exceeded my expectations. Pass protection wasn't as good, but it showed promise and is normally the part of offensive line play that needs the most work during the beginning of the season anyway. As the season progresses, expect our offensive line to continue to improve and gel together. It appears that the hire of Jeff Grimes is starting to pay dividends already. I'm excited to see what he will accomplish once the kids that he recruits are brought into the program.
Obviously, the wide receivers struggled. There's no way to sugarcoat it, they flat out "dropped the ball" (see what I did there!) on Saturday. One thing that especially worried me was the lack of separation the receivers seemed to be getting from the Alabama secondary in the short game. This is due, in part, to the talent Nick Saban has at his disposal on the defensive side of the ball. It's no easy task getting open against a bunch of 4- and 5-star athletes. However, greater effort, explosion, and consistency is needed from Moorehead's group if Tech is going to be an elite offensive program this year.
I believe that the wide receiver play will improve as the players grow. For one thing, there is no way that scholarship players of this caliber will continue to drop balls that hit them square in the hands at the rate with which it was occurring on Saturday night. It's unthinkable for it to continue.
00:03:26–00:03:32
Demitri Knowles can fly (we saw that when he ran right past his man on a double move that Logan missed for an easy touchdown) but if he can't catch the ball better than this Moorehead will someone, anyone, who can. This is a great example of how things went wrong for Loeffler at Auburn. He'd draw up a great play, find a way to get a playmaker open, and poor execution would make it all go for naught. Even though this play ends in a humiliating drop, it still gives me hope for what this offense can accomplish. Loeffler designed a great play, the offensive line dealt with a blitz well, Logan Thomas made the right read, the receiver got open... all that was missing was the final piece of the puzzle: the catch.
Let's not focus on the drop though, instead let's take a look at how the Hokies managed to get one of the fastest players on the team matched up against a linebacker in single coverage. If they can continue doing that, the offense will prosper throughout the remaining schedule.
Logan is asked to make a simple read here. Edmunds runs towards, then up, the sideline on a classic Wheel route. He is the initial receiver. If Alabama's linebacker #32 (All-American C.J. Mosely) doesn't chase Edmunds, Thomas should throw it to his running back for a large gain (similar to Ryan Williams's long reception vs Alabama in '09). Since Mosely makes the correct play and vacates his space on the field to chase Edmunds, Demitri Knowles is locked into one-on-one man coverage with linebacker Tana Patrick. The throw is slightly behind Knowles, but surely a ball he expects himself to catch 100% of the time.
Wait, Tana Patrick? Who? Exactly. Loeffler found a way to isolate one of the team's most athletic players on a backup linebacker, and the ball actually hit said player in the stomach. This is a recipe for offensive success in the passing game.
Later in the game, Loeffler was able to get Knowles open again, this time deep behind the defense.
00:39:20–00:39:34
I've been saying since Loeffler got hired that he does a great job at finding ways to get his WR's open down the field, especially off of play-action. Alabama is in a cover-3 look off of the play fake and when Stanford runs a route through the middle of the field, the deep safety jumps forward to cover him. That leaves Knowles in a matchup with a cornerback. Knowles does a great job with his double move then uses his speed to run past his defender. Knowles has tremendous speed, if Moorehead can teach him the intricacies of the WR position (subtle things like catching the ball) then he has a chance to be an important member of this offense moving forward.
Bud Foster, Best In The Business
In my opinion, Bud Foster is the best defensive coordinator in the country. His game plan against Alabama was brilliant, as usual. It's not just his "X's and O's" dominance that make him a genius though, it's his ability to make his players understand their roles and execute their jobs which make Bud Foster the best in the land. When a defensive player knows exactly what is expected of them, they don't have to second guess their reads. They can tighten up their chin straps, trust their instincts, and fly around the field making plays. Jack Tyler, an unheralded walk-on, has become a complete monster on the field by playing with reckless abandon. His intelligence and knowledge of Foster's schemes allows him to play without his mind tying up his feet. Tyler isn't the biggest or fastest player in the country at his position, but because there is no hesitation to his game he is able to arrive at the football faster than other more athletic players. Here is a great example.
00:02:56–00:03:00
Foster sends Jack Tyler on a run blitz here and Tyler is able to get a big tackle for loss on a 3rd-and-1 play. Tyler picks the perfect hole to run through and arrives with such violent intent that the fullback has no chance to get a block. Tyler blows right through the fullback's attempt and grabs a hold of Yeldon, allowing Tariq Edwards to help with the gang-tackle.
What happened though? Why was Tyler able to run untouched through Alabama's offensive line? Breaking down the play reveals how Bud Foster baited Saban's staff into running the ball directly into a run blitz.
This is how both teams aligned pre-snap. Let's focus on the play-side of the formation. Bud Foster has been slanting his front away from his Rover, Jarrett, almost all day on rushing plays. The aggressive slants have forced T.J. Yeldon to try and cutback again and again, usually right into the waiting arms of a patented Foster "free-hitter". Saban's staff tries to use this aggression against the Hokies, by having the guard block down on Hopkins and double teaming him with the center. They hope that the play side DE will do the usual slant to the outside shoulder of the tackle, creating a hole for the fullback and running back to run through.
This plan allows Alabama to create extra space, since the DE slants himself out of the play. All the tackle has to do is shield the DE from the hole and the fullback has a one on one chance against a linebacker. The fullback doesn't even need to win that matchup, if he fights the linebacker to a draw his running back should be able to fall forward for the first down.
It's a common tactic in short yardage situations. Double teaming a defensive tackle may not allow you to get the downfield blocks necessary for a huge gainer, but it greatly increases your odds of picking up a first down. Alabama's offensive coordinator knows this. Unlucky for him, Bud Foster knows it as well. So what does Foster do? He puts his defensive tackle in an alignment where he can easily get double teamed. This will create an alley for the running back to run through... and also an alley for Jack Tyler to run through.
Tyler has to be smart enough to know which hole to attack and he's got to be reckless enough to attack it before it exists. Watch how he begins to move forward and attack the line of scrimmage before the ball is snapped. Tyler doesn't know for sure that the guard is going to block down on Hopkins, he just trusts that Foster hasn't asked him to run face first into a grown man weighing almost 80 pounds more than him. If Foster is wrong and the guard attacks Tyler, Tyler is almost certainly going to be mauled. There's a reason Tech's "T-Time" drills didn't feature many offensive linemen versus linebacker matchups.
Foster, as usual, is right though. Tyler launches himself at the guard and when the guard blocks down, a huge crease opens up in the line. Tyler has so much forward momentum by the time he reaches the Fullback there is little doubt to the outcome of the play even before Tyler makes the tackle.
A New Hope
Nobody likes losing, especially not after being accustomed to winning for so long. It still hurts like hell to see Frank Beamer's Hokies lose a game, even if it's against a team as talented as Saban's Crimson Tide. Still, this loss doesn't feel as bad as the ones from last year. Those left me feeling empty and hopeless. At least after rewatching the game this time around, there were positive things to write about. Bud Foster's defense is even better than I thought it would be, especially against the run. The defensive line will be great all year long, and Jack Tyler and Tariq Edwards will be tackling machines. The secondary is very talented and will only continue to improve as Kendall, Riley, and Facyson get more experience. Loeffler's offensive group isn't quite there yet, but it's not far off either. Alabama's front-7 is better than any other on Tech's schedule this year, and the offensive line still managed to hold their own. Trey Edmunds is the real deal. He will be the next great Virginia Tech running back.
The wide receivers obviously have a long way to go. I'm not going to pile on here, because I believe this group will get better. I believe in what Moorehead is about as a position coach, and Loeffler's willingness to take blame for the WR play in his post-game interview leads me to believe that he'll be keeping a watchful eye on that unit as well. Until that group improves Loeffler will have to rely heavily on that offensive line getting a good push up front early in downs. If the passing game develops into a consistent weapon for him to wield this season, the Hokies have a great shot at an ACC Championship Game appearance.
Comments
Great write-up. The Hokies need to continue the momentum against WCU.
Great stuff.
That's Mangus, not Edmunds on the wheel route. A nice mismatch in itself, with one of the fastest players on the team vs. a linebacker.....unfortunately, the best linebacker in the country.
I saw exactly what you did there.
Sugarcoat = Sugar Bowl
#ITWASACATCH
I'm all for lining up and running the ball down people's throat. If we complete a pass, great, icing on the cake. Let's just maul the remainder of the teams on our schedule.
Empty and hopeless sums up last season perfectly. Breakdown on the Tyler blitz was so great. Looking forward to taking on good running teams like Pitt, UNC and Miami.
I'm pretty sure that Loeffler would have this in his playbook but I would imagine that a Flanker Drive out of a bunch formation would present a scenario where Demetri Knowles could make an easy catch and get his butt upfield
I like this route combination because it attacks levels of defense. I found it against Cover 3, but I imagine it would work even better against Cover 2 (because the middle of the field is open if the in route can split the safeties). I would have something like Byrn (or someone who's a vertical threat) lined up wide and then Stanford-Coles-Knowles bunched up to the right.
The primary is Knowles on the drive route. If it's man coverage, he uses his track speed to create separation, MAKE THE CATCH, and get upfield for a few yards (maybe even make some people miss). If it's zone coverage, then Logan throws a catchable ball in the soft spot in the coverage.
The next read is a deep in. I didn't know how deep to put the route, but the idea is to keep the safeties and LBs away from the drive route underneath. If the drive is covered, then the same principle above can be applied to the in route.
This is where things get fun. The wheel route first attacks the flat and then gets upfield, which allows the play to attack two levels of the defense. Now in most Cover 3 looks, the OLBs have to cover the flats and usually end up covering RBs and TEs there. This creates the potential for a mismatch with a linebacker or a strong safety. If anything, it helps isolate the drive route underneath and create a vertical threat.
Other than those three routes, there's usually some kind of alert on the outside (like a streak route in case of a busted coverage) and the back can stay in and block or can run some sort of route as a check-down.
I'm not French or Mason, but I couldn't help but think how this play might be incorporated with the talent that we have.
That play is money on NCAA 14. That and "Seattle" out of the Ace Bunch set.
Seattle wins games.
EDIT: Most effective against cover 2
PA Comebacks, make one wideout run a go, and hit the deep post over the middle. If the defense is in a zone, it's money. If not, the crossing route is usually open. I put my best WR at the #3 spot just for this purpose.
Get the read option going out of the big shotgun set. Then go play action. Slot is open for a TD almost every time
If you're in a short down and distance Shotgun Ace formation counter to.the wide side of the field with aggressive offensive line push gets 4-5 yard about 95% of the time. I use it in goal line situations all the time. Buck sweep also works well to wide side (shotgun Wing trio formation). Then run play action with your TE or slot receiver attacking the middle of the field.
(this is on Heisman mode with realistic sliders by the way)
That's another good play, though once in a while they don't fall for the play fake and my QB dies. There's also PA Y-Cross out of the Ace Twin TE set where if it works the receiver is running wide open.
My go-to play whenever I need 5 yards or less is the slant out of the spread. Against better opponents I try to score with no time left, then go for 2 for the win with a slant. It works so well I got f-bombed for it by an FSU fan.
I assume you guys are talking about the VT playbook in the game or is it another one?
Two turkey legs for use of "free hitter." That is a perfect description, and if teams run to their tight end (which they don't on the play Mason described, but on most plays teams run to their tight end), the backer (tight end side) has the responsibility to hold the gap while the mike and the OLB/safety away from the tight end (could be rover, whip, or nickel depending on personnel and strength of the passing formation) are the free hitters.
Regarding this: "If Foster is wrong and the guard attacks Tyler, Tyler is almost certainly going to be mauled. There's a reason Tech's "T-Time" drills didn't feature many offensive linemen versus linebacker matchups" Mason has nailed it. If you watch the film of Tyler against Clemson in the ACCCG in 2011, he was getting eaten up on down blocks by plodding offensive tackles. Foster was using the 4-2-5 at the time, and while he still utilized a gap fit philosophy, his linebackers were much less aggresive against Clemson. They mostly sat back and read the play, which is death against a Single Wing spread. Last season, Foster took this new approach and played very well against Clemson, then against Alabama, he incorporated the free hitter concept back into the nickel corner position (as demonstrated by Kendall's play in run support.)
Third, passing wise, I had hoped that the Hokies would have actually challenged Alabama more with a vertical route concept verus over-reliance on the stick route triangles. Far too often I saw the Hokies have 3 of four receivers in the pattern at or short of the first down marker, and Alabama zone blitz and then stacked short zones on the marker. In the rare occassion that a Hokie receiver forced the deep zone defender to turn and run, the Tide defenders look like they were caught flat footed a couple of times. Plays where the Hokies challenged them vertically with two or more receivers would have been effective (IF they were running full speed.)
Perhaps the most frustrating thing for me wasn't the drops. It was receivers running half speed. Demetri Knowles has world class speed, but he looked slow at game speed. He is too fast to look that slow (see GT.)
Agree with the lack of downfield receivers other than a couple of fly patterns. After his comments, I assumed this was intentional by Loeffler with his effort to max protect Logan in this game. He probably (correctly) assumed that there would not be enough time for LT to complete a longer developing play / route and cut them all short. Hopefully we'll see more depth in the coming weeks as the line continues to improve and the opponents are less than awesome.
Of course I was still waiting for the WR bubble screen on every first down so everything's new this year.
Of course I was still waiting for the WR bubble screen on every first down so everything's new this year
Bravo!
I feel like this after reading this and the comments: