The 97 yard td run where he took a stiff arm trying to tackle the RB and got manhandled/ bulldozed was #5 play of the day....great
He has not impressed me as a corner, can't tackle , dosent have good awareness on the field. Hasnt really looked good all year.
I thinks he needs to go back to the offensive side of the ball ? Perhaps a good wide reciever?
Thoughts on this move?
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*slaps the top of 2018*
This baby can fit so many shitty things in it
He doesn't seem particularly willing or able to come up and make a tackle on a running g back.
Because we don't have enough WRs? Because we have tons of depth at CB? Farley is learning the position. There will be a lot of growing pains with his development. Normally a player in his situation would have a season or two to develop, but the lack of depth has thrust him into a starters role. IIWII. No need to single him out. A lot of player's on defense aren't exactly lighting it up out there.
Agree. The kid is playing as a freshman, coming off an injury, and learning a new position (one where we have a huge need). He's had some tough plays, but also some good ones. Recall the first quarter where he chased down 30 from behind and put him on the ground to save a touchdown.
He looked crazy fast chasing down the RB on the 97 yard run. Of all the problems on our D, not making that tackle actually seems somewhat fixable.
If we have someone else who can make the tackle right now then by all means put him out there. But I think we lost those experienced players during the off-season.
I mean what do you expect. We have a WR playing CB.
Better than a TE playing corner! /s
Not as good as a TE playing QB, though.
I set it up and you hit it out of the park!!
I was in the bathroom when this play happened. All I heard was "OH, CALEB FARLEY GETS STIFF ARMED TO THE GROUND. AND OLLISON IS GONNG TAKE IT 97 YARDS FOR THE TOUCHDOWN" or something similar to that. My roommate was laughing his ass off when I walked back into the room.
I like lamp.
With our depth in the secondary it would be absolutely ludicrous to move him back to offense. I can't believe people are still second guessing the move to be honest. He was just as raw on offense as defense. Which wide receivers is he going to start over?
I agree. But why hasn't he been at PR? He did at FSU, but not since.
This is literally the third 90+ yard touchdown run this season that has been a direct result of Farley screwing up. You can criticize him for that all you want but how the HELL is the coaching staff still putting him in a position for that to be happening when we've seen the result that many times?
Um, that's how our defense works. Free hitter has to make the play.
Like this?
Not sure if that's a peewee league Bengals or the real thing.
It was actually our defense dressed up as Bengals for the annual Halloween scrimmage.
Jokes about a bad VT defense make me sad.
Eh, the humor helps ease the pain.
Emphasis on hitter, not hittee
I don't think Farley was the free hitter on that play. I think it was Ladler. Farley had to outrun Ladler to get to Ollison. Porcher got totally pancaked on this play though I would assume that's more a matter of how good Pitt's line is than a statement about Porcher's potential. He's also not on the playside. Ollison ran into the strength of our defense and right by 4 defenders.
From a dead stop, Farley chased down a RB that had a running start in about 20-25 yards. That is impressive, if he just cuts his legs with a shoulder we would all be going nuts about his closing speed.
Missed a caption
There are actually a couple. Later on someone holds another defender while they are giving chase.
That would require the zebras to call penalties against the teams playing Tech. Something they are very resistant to do this year.
What does this comment even mean? Are you asking why he's even on the field? Because it's crazy to act like you can put a player on the field and scheme a way for that player to never have to do anything. Also we have essentially no cornerbacks remaining so there's not much of a choice to make there either.
We really don't need another WR at this point, but I would re-evaluate him come next Spring to see if he would be more valuable to the team as a DB or WR. I agree, he's only a FR, but his tackling leaves a little to be desired, like a fair number of the guys on our D. He also looks a little out of place from a technique standpoint for a DB, so I'm not sure if he was primarily a WR, and DB as a secondary position in high school, or vice versa. Either way, though, I agree with you, he really hasn't shown the ability to lay the lick on the ball carrier or make the sure tackle.
Just for the hell of it let's move him to the D-line next week. Let him see how good he has it in the secondary and then maybe he'll be a little more excited to step up and make a hit rather than taking one.
At least he's giving maximum effort. He might not always be in the right position or make the tackle, but he hasn't just packed it in. He's a freshman who has gotten noticeably better in pass coverage, and had multiple chase downs yesterday ( even if they weren't all successful).
Let's be fair to Farley... he did a pretty good job of tripping up Ladler on his second effort at the tackle from his back side.
On a more serious note, that run wasn't his fault, he started the play on the opposite side of the field and chased the dude down. It would be nice to see some sort of progression in his tackling technique and ability from game 1 to now but I'm putting that more on the coaches than on him. As a coach you have to figure out a way to teach a kid to tackle and if you find out he is unwilling you gotta move on from him. I do realize options are limited but if you are being coached well and can't tackle after a spring, a summer and most of a season you shouldn't play defense for Virginia Tech.
...and don't try to tackle his head. Just shove him out of bounds would've worked fine.
Or just slow him down until Ladler could catch up.
To be fair, not a lot of CBs are gonna be tackling Qadree Ollison with a full head of steam.
Honestly, he looks just as good, if not better, than Stroman and Bonner did in their freshman campaigns, and by their senior year, those were two of the top corners this program has seen in the last 5 years. Both were weaknesses of the defense in their respective freshman years. These things just take time. And not three quarters of a season - like 2-3 full seasons.
For what's it's worth, I remember Kam Chancellor looking as lost as Hogan's goat back when he got his first look at safety.
Ollison is BIG and strong. Farley will get there. Don't forget what Kuma did to Quinn Blanding.
Here's the comparison:
Qadree Ollison: 6-2 225 Redshirt Sr. That makes him a 5th year player.
Caleb Farley: 6-2 202 Redshirt Fr.
You can't give up 23 pounds to a running back headed at full speed and take him down from the side.
In 2017:
Eric Kumah: 6-2 220 Sophomore
Quin Blanding: 6-2 210 Senior
Yeah, Blanding pushed Kumah out of bounds but Kumah planted him in the ground like it was nothing.
I don't see that happening to Farley as a sophomore let alone a senior.
The real issue is why is one of our CBs isolated waaaay downfield with a huge man carrying the football? This is a front 7 problem, not a Caleb Farley problem.
Garbutt was held. :)
I really hate this insistence on singling out one of our more athletically gifted players. Farley has shown flashes that he could be a great corner for us. Yes, he needs to get more adjusted to the defensive side of the ball and will get better at tackling over time. Yes, he has made mistakes, but he's a r-Fr. playing a new position. Let's give the kid some time, he's one of the players that actually has elite athleticism and has a high ceiling, he's not some huge recruiting miss where we are settling for a lower caliber of player. He played QB in high school, it'll take a bit for him to show his mettle against the run, and he's shown flashes. He made a great play to get past a blocker and chop Dillon down on a 3rd down against BC. Those flashes will become more regular the more time he spends taking reps at CB.
Some calling out can be appropriate like, "Farley really needs to key a bit better, but that kids got hustle." What I don't like, as of now, is the complete crapping on he's getting.
Is he ready to start? No. He's not ready to start, but he doesn't have a choice.
Do I believe he's going to be a great CB. I do. The biggest thing I noticed with him on pass breakups is his technique. If I recall correctly, he hasn't been called for PI this season. That's HUGE for a freshman in a new position. Farley demonstrate EXCELLENT technique on his pass break ups by getting long and putting his arms through the receivers arms. That is text book coverage these days. He's doing all the while running at full speed. He'll pick up the angles in run support. For Farley to be the last resort to stop a big ass running back like Ollison suggests something else is amiss. We don't even know if that was his responsibility or if he put in the effort to fix a mess-up.
I agree, and measured criticism of individual players is totally fine. I dislike a thread devoted to calling him out for missing a tackle in this obviously non-constructive manner. I've seen it a few times. It's okay to lament playing guys who aren't ready, but this casting him aside already as some huge failure as a r-fr learning a new position is so impatient.
Totally agree.
Sorry but I feel a defensive player at this level should be able to make a basic tackle ...maybe uts just me
this being a thread just feels like we're throwing shade at one of our own.
And then they made this edit :(
https://www.instagram.com/p/BqBxwY7h_uY/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshi...
That's pretty juvenile. I'm kind of shocked.
Come on man... Kid is 6-2 200 lbs and fastest on the team. He'll improve his tackling and will be a great corner
Caleb Farley is going to be great. I hope this thread is saved and remembered so we can all point and laugh at you when the time comes.
That was the third time this game he chased down a Pitt RB from behind.
I was getting ready to point this out. This wasn't the first and probably won't be the last time that he has had to try and chase down somebody to save a TD. Sometimes he has been successful, not always. BUT HE TRIED! He didn't give up on the play.
Farley will be the subject of a Sports Center Top 10 again.
It just won't look like this.
Not quite SC, but he was recognized by the ACC after the 2INT game against FSU.
'Caleb Farley Shines in Collegiate Debut'
This team has made me look like a genus for for not renewing my season tickets this year. I haven't watched them play a single down this year and, from what I've read, I see no reason to start now
You order save those nickels and phylum away; "no more taxonomy" to pay for results like this, I say.