We gotta have some balance for the Vent thread so here we go.
1. Young WR's looked good. Tavyion and Kaleb Smith made some great catches. Hope to see other freshman get some action with Hazelton out and Turner needing to rest his hammy.
2. James Mitchell showed promise. Still needs to improve run blocking but is an instant mismatch against secondary.
3. King showed the flash as the only RB we have that can make guys miss. Glad he will get some critical experience this year even though he needs another year in the weight room before he becomes a major factor.
4. Ashby was all over the field. Made some great plays and stuck AJ good a few times.
5. Some decent DT play from Kendricks and Pollard. Not great pass rushing but held their own in run game. Could also use another year to improve but don't have the DL depth.
6. Deablo was a bright spot in the secondary. Need him to stay healthy because he is our best bet in run alley support.
I'm angry and pissed as well but think like Mason said, if we can figure out how to utilize our offensive talent, we can get to that 7-9 win mark we hope to improve to. Oh, and turning the ball over less than 5 times will help us out as well.
Comments
All of these are positives. I don't want to take away from your happy thoughts but the negatives are significant more impactful right now
They were more impactful in that one game by about 7 points.
I don't know how you get that the negatives are more impactful. Still a young team.
You are aware that this won't fly as a legitimate excuse/reason for the fanbase en mass, right? Fanbase only cares about the bottom line #WINNING
Sure.
But this is the "look for positives" thread. Lots of talent stocked for future years is a positive.
We'll all see if that translates into the results that truly matter.
Yes, we'll see.
We're clearly not there yet, but the season is also young.
You're right that fans won't put up with youth as an excuse forever.
But whether it's seen as legitimate or not, it is a FACT.
I think the majoritah has dismissed that sentiment (factual or not). Have fun trying to convince & change people's perspectives with that.
Well, except for the fact that we only have like what 6 seniors on the team, with only a couple actually contributing?
Some point out that Dax didn't play as well as he should have, guess he really should have a ton of experience for being a sophomore right? Oh, and our star WR, Tre, is still also a sophomore.
The OP mentioned two freshmen WR and a freshman running back as positives, like true freshmen.
Some of the transfers that played, though they may be a junior, haven't really played in a big game like this.
So I'm not sure what roster you are looking at, but there are still plenty of young kids on this team. Still a lot to learn and experience to be had.
Maybe the fanbase needs to get a dose or reality. I saw one guy say we were a Blue Blood and we should be doing much better than this. Some nutty expectations out there.
Results (Ws/Ls) carry more weight to Hokie Nation than "youth & inexperience". This is Division 5. Big time. Doubt & jitters isn't a luxury these "kids" can afford.
Of course people care more about the results than the underlying factors behind them. However, I do think an unbiased diagnosis of where are are now says that we are young and so is the head coach. That comes with easily predicted challenges.
While some folks may concede that there's obvious youth on the team, the jury is out for the HC. 4th Season & a steady decline since his 1st. Youth & inexperience will not get a pass from the fans. Grow up or shut up.
I don't think anyone was looking for a "pass".
And the "youth and inexperience" is an explanation, not an excuse.
#GetBetter
If the "youth & inexperience" mantra continues to be brought up, it becomes a hollow, dim & empty echo that excusists try to fall back upon. Hopefully these "young kids" will show some instantaneous growth come next weekend.
I saw a lot of development of a lot of players.
Unfortunately, Willis didn't seem to be one of them at times. But without a running game, he had a lot on his back, and time will tell.
Willis, and the whole team can bounce back from this, and be better for it. There is lots to fix.
Unfortunately one reason we don't have a run game is because he can't run the read option.
I's perfectly reasonable to recognize that there will be growing pains due to youth, but also be frustrated that (1) a rSR QB is making freshman mistakes, (2) there isn't a 'more predictable' QB to take his spot should he be unable to correct these freshman mistakes, and (3) Fuente is unable to recruit the type of running back his system needs.
Winning doesn't happen unless you have a positive foundation to build on.
I am so bummed.
Edit: Yes, I know this is the positive thread, but this was as positive as I could be at the time. Still feel that way.
Well, yeah, it do, but I've seen a lot of Hokie losses over the many years and I usually can shake it off and see the silver linings. It was the way we lost, when we lost, who helped us lose and how it unfolded that seems to be affecting me more than usual. I just don't trust "things" right now and my usual optimism about the season is completely gone. Yeah, I'll still be watching every game, pulling for the good guys, ringing the touchdown ship's bell and giving the dogs touchdown treats, wearing the right things, turning on the gameday lights...but right now, some of the joy is just dissipating in the wind like a fart in a hurricane.
I sense this is where a majoritah of Hokie Nation is at right now (& since last season). While I wouldn't say my optimism is replaced with pessimism, it has been replaced with apathy & whatever. I think it's good (therapeutic) and helps to process things when talking about it. Question: what are the go-to TD treats for the furballs?
Well, you hit the nail on the head. I'm not pessimistic either, and maybe I just love them too much to actually be apathetic, but whether or not it's therapeutic, I guess I can only hope so.
As for the babies, they're both small, the puppy is only 10 lbs, the elder 15lbs or so, which means treats must be small. We feed them nothing but dog food, so usually a treat will be a Starz liver treat for the elder and a bit of "big girl" kibble for the pup. They don't care what it is, really, and don't take long to get the Pavlovian ring of the bell. It only took the puppy two times hearing it to get excited, and the elder gets fired up when we high five and yell "Touchdown Tech!!" before we even get up to ring the bell.
Pawww. Now yer making me hope you post up some pics of the little suckers during the game & post threads. Yah no what? That's actually not a bad idear! Yeah. In postgame threads (vent or FAM), folks should post up pics or their Hokie companions. I think it would go a long way in helping the community feel better. Damn I'm good!
You wanna be really good? Come over and show me, step by freakin' step, inch by freakin' inch how to use my computer so I can post photos. The guys in the fishing thread have given up on me. Cut and paste? Whaaa? My tech ignorance is epic and ongoing.
The old dog is sweeter than cute, but the puppy is seriously cute as hell. She's a Jug dog, pug/jack russell mix (best of both, bad bred out) and the first we've chosen as opposed to rescued in decades. Six months old, just got spayed and not likely to be a ton bigger, she's smart as a whip, fast as lightning, quick as a cat and mean as a snake when she's fired up, but I'd forgotten how much fun (and work) a puppy can be.
Would you, perchance, happen to have any tasty concoctions of the refreshments variety, along with some vittles you'd be willing to share??
You show up, I'll show you. Where you at? For a visit from HMG, I'll spare no expense (sorta), but I think your job would end up being a bigger chore than mine. Mathews is an appendix, so to speak, and to come here, you gotta want to be here as it's on the road to nowhere, but sure, I'd be willing to put on the dog for a 15 minute tutorial. I'll even take notes!
Oh. I was gonna take care of that for you.
Well, c'mon up, down, or over and I'll vacuum the rug, buy the bourbon (no Pappy's, sorry) and rustle up some seafood.
Taking into account how we played in the first game last year and fan's reactions to it, I'd say let's wait and see before we brand this team as anything other than a one loss team.
I'm sure French will show us the good, bad, and ugly.
I was as frustrated as all of you watching this game, but I think we can definitely take away some positives, despite the loss. I do think when it's all said and done, BC looks like a team that will give many defenses headaches, and they're always pretty solid defensively, so I do think they'll be a pretty strong team this year. On top of that, we've always had a hard time with them, especially on the road, even when we had some of our more promising teams.
That said, I saw some glimmers of hope on offense, as long as Willis can learn to play within himself and take care of the ball. Our young receivers looked outstanding, and the o-line looked relatively solid. Bud was quoted as saying the D we saw in the 1st half wasn't what he was seeing from the guys leading up to the game, so maybe that poor 1st half D was just getting our feet wet, and we'll put it together starting next week. I'm optimistic we'll be able to turn this around.
Almost forgot to point out, but IMHO Ashby and Floyd were out there "playing their nuts off". If we can keep those two guys doing what they're doing, and get some of the other guys on that D to step up and emulate Ashby and Floyd, we should be fine on defense.
I'd like to point out the OLINE play on our last touchdown. It was impressive to see the pocket hold up that long.
I thought the young receivers played really well. A QB with some better decision making and I think that unit can be a real bright spot.
King flashed enough for me to know the kid can be real good, just needs the time to develop.
Ashby is a beast, but did any other linebacker really stand out? The run D was pretty decent all game with the exception of the one TD drive and the backbreaking 3rd Down
Dax had 4 tackles (to Ashby's 13). Not good. T-9th on team. 7 of the top 9 were DB/Safeties.
D-linemen and LBs need to be further up this list.
I'm done with Willis. Dudes 0-10 at @ Kansas and not much better @VT. Yesterday was squarely on his shoulders. 2 picks in the endzone???? That alone was enough to win the game and that was less than half the bone headed mistakes he made. Dudes got heart but not much else.
He certainly doesn't know much about throwing it where only the receiver can make a play on it
Defense showed drastic improvement in tenacity, strength, and run fits. The one huge bust I can remember was the zone read that Brown scored on. Last year we had many of those per game. I like Kendricks a lot. He didn't seem overpowered at the LOS against the run which is pretty impressive against the BC OL.
However, we still are going to have to get creative with blitzes to get pressure on opposing QB's.
Agreed, pash rush is non-existent. Crawford got some penetration but overall D-line is too small. Floyd especially was out of position and fooled on some zone reads, particularly Brown's TD run. E peat better from a senior captain
yeah I'm finding it difficult to find positives with a team coached by a 4th year head coach with what we have been told is his team still making the little things mistakes.
When does this shit end? This team needs to be better than this by now but... Nope, still a mess.
Hey now Alum, not trying to give anyone a pass but just think if we can make 1,500 plus comments about the game and vent thread, we can also point out the bright spots. We have alot of improvement needed to get back to the VT of 1995-2011, but there were some bright spots among the many head scratching calls and execution errors.
Yes there were some bright spots
And then I realized that this is Bud Fosters last year and the issues we had today we're largely on offense
So yeah... Not good
Giving you a leg to offset the downvote that I can't understand.
At this point, does anyone realistically feel good about Fuente making the DC hire after this season?
I know I don't.
The defense still allowed 35 points.
So I'm not getting the "it's all the offense's fault" narratives.
I thought there was a lot of improvement on the defense, and the offense certainly put them in bad positions, but to claim that the defense didn't make any mistakes is also wrong. The defense gave up some big plays.
The reality is that there is plenty to improve on both the offense and defense.
But I think the purpose of this one thread is to point out the bright spots, and I saw some of those on both the offense and defense. Mostly, nobody gave up in that game, and there is talent all over the field.
To be fair 21 of those points were set up by the offense (fumble, muffed punt, INT on screen).
A "muffed punt" is special teams, not offense.
My point was it wasn't the defense's fault BC got set for short fields three times.
Yeah, that's what the other threads are for.
to point #4 about Ashby...
He went on an out route with a big TE at one point and broke up a pretty good pass. Great play by him!
I feel like Ashby was all over the field and really was impressed with him. I also saw Kendricks in the backfield more than I expected.
Ashby was everywhere. Kendrick's is a stud and Becton is a player.
Tayvion Robinson
Looks so damn natural. Like not overly fast or quick or anything. Just a natural
AKA the Isaiah Ford method of wide receiving
I saw a lot of positives and improvements from last year. D gave up a few more big plays than I wanted but fundamentally, they were significantly better. I'd like to see an occasional play with straight ahead power run blocking just to keep the DL honest but beyond the QB play, I wasn't disappointed with the O.
However, I could not be more disappointed with Willis....zero improvement...zero. His ceiling is readily apparent. I'd use the next few games to see if someone else can step up. If not, put him back in for the conference schedule, but let's find out.
All true, there were some positives and improvements, but Willis again proved to me that we have a quarterback problem that isn't getting better. Agree with you that it is time to see what else we have in the cupboard. I don't do the vent threads, and I'm sure they melted down, but 5 turnovers make it tough to be too positive.
I appreciate you posting this. I am an eternal pessimist, but even I saw a lot of positives tonight. I think that most of this shit is fixable over the next few games. I feel like we just so happened to have the awesome (mis)fortune this year of playing game #1 against a team in BC that — since all the way back to the big east days — we almost always play close year-in and year-out. Not only that, we gave back 2 easy TDs (end zone picks) while handing them 2 more (strip sack and muffed punt in our own end). We played a tough game against a decent team in sleepy as fuck chestnut hill, turned the ball over 100 times and still only lost by a TD somehow. What I am getting at is this team last year loses by 40 and this team tonight was in it until the last minute.
Maybe I've just been beaten so badly by last season that any improvement seems massive by comparison, but I truly think we will grow a lot over the next few games and end up looking a lot more polished by the time we play another ACC team.
This comment pretty much sums up my thoughts. I hope the team can keep up the tenacity cause it's going to be a long season but very unlikely to be turning it over 5 times. I am cautiously hopeful that the bowl streak will continue which feels like a great success at this point.
This is the best comment on any of the boards right now. If we switch the Furman and BC games on the schedule I feel confident in saying we beat BC, but the schedule is the schedule and I am pissed we were so woefully unprepared. I am disappointed in Willis and his apparent lack of improvement, but I am also willing to give him another chance to light ODU on fire next week, which he is certainly capable of doing.
Take care of business the next few weeks, tighten up the turnovers and be ready to roll Duke at home at the end of the month. This team still has the potential to win 8-10.
I agree. For every vent thread thread there should be a measured take thread. It gets toxic over there when the measured people try to reason with the vent people.
I never felt like our team stopped competing. Willis had a terrible game with turnovers in key moments (red zone and short field), but it showed me a lot when he went full dive and full stretch to get that first down.
DC United won tonight
Who? Do they play for VT?
One more positive thing, I am now questioning my sanity due to this little tidbit on ESPN:
Did Zion Debose (13), a defensive end, actually get two carries, or was Jalen Holston (RB 13) misidentified? I don't remember this.
They were mixing offense/defense numbers all night in the booth. Either their notes/reading were bad or the stat recording was bad. Based on this I lean to the latter.
Was it me, or was Herzlich calling Willis "Ryan Wilson" all night long? I couldn't decide if I was just mishearing him or if he really was saying Wilson.
Having a BC legend in the booth to call the game last night was so neat. Herzlich was entirely impartial and his even-handed take on the game did absolutely nothing to stoke my internal rage fires. I truly haven't been that pleased with a great game called by top-notch broadcasters since last year when Carter Blackburn and Aaron Taylor called us the "hoagies" throughout the ODU game. That particular game was also v neat! If you didn't watch it, I highly recommend!
PS: ALL OF THIS IS /s
When a BC alum is in the booth, we always seem to lose.
The whole crew was calling him Brian Willis at one point. And the decision to have Herzlich color comment that game was cruel and unusual. BC could give up a touchdown and he could spin it to talk positively about BC with nothing for the good guys.
I think at one point Herzlich had said when we were down by 14 in the 4th and driving for that TD with less than 5 minutes to go that he thought we should gain a few more yards and kick the field goal. I almost through my TV out of the window. Like, DUDE! do you even realize what is going on right now?!?
My CBS Sports app has Debose taking those carries, too.
It also says Emmanuel Belmar caught 2 passes for 19 yards (instead of Phil Patterson).
Not to make excuses and hate to be old school (actually not true), but this never happened when each player on the roster had a discrete jersey number. One #8, one #13, yada, yada, yada. If we didn't have D-lineman with jersey numbers like 5 and 36, this identity problem probably doesn't happen. But this jersey trend has been going on for a while, and these are some of the more mindless mistakes I've seen in a stat line, so this is just the case of a piss poor statistician.
Hendon Hooker is undefeated as a starter on this team.
Mark Leal but faster
I really hate that, as a community, we have allowed this loss to distract from the NCAA boning the Hoffman family. Come on people, if we let something as silly as a football game distract from all the outrage from five days ago, the NCAA has already won.
I especially felt that outrage about the NCAA when Hoyt went down.
I felt it when about rolled the ball back to Willis instead of snapping it.
How's this for positive thinking?
We didn't lose like this wearing orange.
Becton ran Dillon down from behind to save a touchdown. That was pretty sweet.
As others have mentioned, I was happy with the receiver play.
King ran well. I actually thought MCClease ran with more determination than I'd seen previously.
I saw some good initial pressure on passing plays out of our D-line. Once the pocket shifted, we didn't have anyone breaking through to that next level. A less mobile quarterback probably would have been sacked more. Not that he demonstrated that he was a terribly mobile quarterback... we didn't see many qb runs.
Definitely some positives. There are a lot of bright spots to be happy about. Unfortunately, the overall product on the field is not of a winning caliber. Still seeing the same problems as last year manifest themselves over and over.
We knew the defense was going to have some weaknesses, and although they have tightened up a bit, we just don't have the horses on the line or in the secondary as of right now. But the most damning thing is this offense. It's a huge disappointment considering what we all thought Fuente could do on that side of the ball. Willis is a 5th year senior and has been in the system 3 years now. If that's the best product they can put on the field, then I have serious doubts about their ability to field a functional offense. You can't throw 4 picks a game and expect to win football games. And although Vice has recruited some talent on the line, they are a non-factor. There is no push on the line, we can't open holes for our RBs, and I fear our very passive blocking techniques are just not working. I can already see the spin coming that Hoffman was the missing cog to the line. He may make this line marginally better, but one guy is not going to drastically improve the overall quality of play from where it is now.
I really can't fault Bud for retiring at this point. A man knows a sinking ship when he sees one. I have serious doubts if we are going to get to a level where we can compete for the division, much less the ACC title or anything nationally.
I'm just as disappointed with the overall quality (not effort) of play as you are. We have some issues to be worked out on both sides of the ball. But the point of this thread is to point out the bright spots so that moving forward we can see how to maximize our strengths and figure out how to minimize our weaknesses. Now I know that's the coaches jobs not mine, but it seems a little bit more enjoyable than rehashing the flaws over 1,000 comments.
Agreed, understand the intent of this thread. In my opinion, in order to maximize what we have on offense, it all starts at QB. I hate to say it after game one, but Willis doesn't look like he's going to be the guy. Too much of a liability. We need a consistent run threat at QB to make this offense work (he still missed a few crucial reads yesterday and the tailback ran right into defenders). There's too much reliance on the passing game for lack of a run game, and that's probably leading to Willis taking more risks and exacerbating the turnover problem. We don't have the horses up front on D but I think they played somewhat more sound overall, so we're going to have to ride with them for better or worse. But the offense needs to be fixed pronto or I don't see how we are going to win more than 6 games. We have talent but we need to utilize it better.
I'm with you on it all starting with the QB. I have been a vocal advocate on here for Hooker getting some actually run because of his running ability but in the end we just don't have the dawgs on defense yet to overcome turnovers like last night.
The next 3 games will hopefully be crucial in fixing mistakes and hopefully getting Hooker and Patterson some playing time where they can actually throw the ball.
There isn't much from how Fuente has handled backups in the past to lead me to believe either of those two will be allowed to throw much during their appearances
I actually thought the three-man rush during obvious passing situations wasn't all that bad. It wasn't necessarily good either. Brown was run out of his pocket on more than one occasion. It's kind of a chicken or egg first situation to me. Do you keep more guys back or rush more guys to get more pressure to help the defensive backfield? Whatever, we need better DB play.
Positive: there's still plenty more football to be played.
Not sure that's actually a positive?
Yup, I like watching football and I'll always be a Hokie.
Yesterday morning I thought we were a 10-2 or 9-3 team. Judging from yesterday's performance, unless there are drastic improvements, I'm saying 6-6 or 7-5.
I was thinking the same thing. Ten wins with this schedule seemed doable. Now nine wins seems like a stretch. I'm holding out hope for 8-4. I'm thinking 7-5 is more realistic.
I'm still holding to the five year evaluation period for Fuente, though year four should be a decent barometer for what to expect in the future. If we are sitting at six wins at the end of the season, my expectations for season five are not good and my hopes for Fuente being the guy in the long term are under serious re-evaluation.
After sleeping on it it's just extremely disheartening that we saw basically zero improvement in any of the areas we were counting on. We looked at DB, DL, OL, RB, and to some extent QB play last year and told ourselves all offseason that the game experience and work in the offseason would pay dividends in 2019. Every single one of those positions showed zero-to-negative improvement against BC and that instills zero confidence that this year is going to go any better. A week 1 loss to BC wouldn't have been the end of the world if they showed some improvement and we didn't come out of the game only looking at WR's and LB's as the positives again but that's exactly what happened and now it's very easy and justified to take a sky is falling mentality.
I think there has been some obvious improvement on the d line, I dont think you could watch that game and honestly say there has been zero improvement. The QB play is the clear issue, and it is extremely disappointing that we somehow have two highly touted QBs behind Willis that the staff have been unable to groom to be better than the disaster we witnessed last night. My excitement for Fuente is waning if this is the best QB he can produce in year 4.
I thought our safety play was vastly improved and was a big reason we held them in check running the ball with the exception of that one grinding drive
Keeping with the positive theme, our offense can move the football! Take away those turnovers and I think we win this game.
We also wouldn't give BC a short field twice.
Clean up the turnovers and we win the game...absolutely.
We win the game by multiple TDs actually. I'm holding off another week before I start to shit online. I want 100 points on ODU.
I'll settle for 60... Bud's age.
I'll settle for a Win. That goes for every game left.
While I don't disagree in principle, you know you'd be upset if we squeezed out a 1-point victory against ODU in our own house...
I live in Chesapeake and I can't get this ODU monkey off my back soon enough. I want it to be so bad they never want to play football again.
ODU nearly lost against FCS Norfolk State in their home opener in their new stadium. Fans were shitting themselves. Lost the lead with about 5 minutes left. They scored to regain lead with about 3:45 left. Former Hokie Kumah made a big play in the drive. Took an NSU INT on a bad throw/route until it was over. Wasn't a great pick as it was thrown right at the defender. Receiver wasn't even looking for the ball.
Wish the Spartans would've pulled it off.
1) we have more playmakers this year!
2) we have far better depth in the 2 deep
3) Bud is "back"! He was on the sideline (spewing profanity at times!). He had energy at the presser! Sure have missed him!
4) Pass protection (Willis threw 45+ times with just 1 sack?)
5) DL held up on running game pretty well
6) D made adjustments and improved a great deal in second half.
7) Smith can make plays!
8) Mitchell made some nice catches!
9) we were able to rotate 4 linebackers!
10) We had 5 turnovers and a -4 and still was in the game at the end.
#6 is the best thing to see. They did a lot better in the 3rd which is not what happened last year.
Floyd, Deablo, and Farley looked solid, there is improvement to be made but they were in on a lot of pass breakups and tackles. Ashby looked like the best Mike we've had in a while. The run D looked good. The entire D was flying to the football, lots if gang tackles. Lots of guys around the ball.
The one & only positive thing I derived from yesterday (& I think it's already been touched on) is that the team appeared not to give up when closing it to within one score (TD). That's about it. Still lost. I pretty much believe "moral victories" are myths. I would say the last time what could be classified as a moral victory was the '16 ACCCG.
I feel the same way about this game as I did leaving Bristol. Turnovers killed us but overall I'm happy with the effort, flashes, and promise this team shows. Should be a good season ahead.
I was thinking the same thing. That year ended up being pretty good, and I didn't leave that game feeling too worried despite the loss, either. However, I do think there are some HUGE communication issues on the o-line that better get sorted out in order for this ship to right itself.
My only worry is that fumbling is different than throwing the ball to the wrong team. Hopefully better judgement will be used.
People need to calm down. This was always going to be a transition year while the defense gets older and Ryan Willis is a stop gap until QP/Hooker start next year. Willis is basically a more talented Michael Brewer. He will win us some games with the risks he take and he will throw his share on ints.
Right now, we are at BCs level in football. We will win some games against equal competition and lose some.
The "transition year" excuse is so freaking lame. Next year will now be a "transition year" when we have a new QB. Then the year after that will be another one because most of the defense we've been grooming will be gone. It's a never ending cycle. There will always be a dumb excuse to call any given year a "transition year" when you don't feel like holding anybody accountable.
Last year was the transition year because of a very abnormal combination of NFL departures, attrition, and poor recruiting to replace it all. That's it. That's all they get. Now it's about results.
Positives:
Robinson, Mitchell and Smith look like studs. Smith earned the hell out of that scholarship.
Safetys in run support were much better than last year.
Freshman DTs held their own. Even if our 2 deep at DT is mediocre, there didn't look to be that huge off a dropoff, so we can at least rotate and keep them fresh.
Negatives:
OL still getting confused and letting free hitters to the QB.
Corners getting beat on an island, although the BC QB did drop a couple dimes when our corners had good coverage.
DL can't get off their blocks and create pressure. Wouldn't be surprised if our DEs are last in the ACC in sacks this year
I didn't want to even look at the other threads because I know they are gonna be totally reactionary and full of negativity. I've had enough of that on this site from the offseason, so thanks for the thread!
My Pro's (with a dose of realism instead of negativity):
1. We lost by 1 touchdown to the best BC team I've seen in a while, and we turned the ball over 5 times.
Realism - We turned the ball over 5 times.
2. We're still young and have a lot of promising talent that has yet to reach it's full potential.
Realism - A full offseason of drawing up plays and it still doesn't seem like we're calling plays to take full advantage of our offense talent. Also, this is a "I want it now!" society and I'm not sure people will be patient enough to have nice things.
3. Ashby looked great, and seemed to have improved speed to go with added strength!
Realism - Ashby looked great.
4. We have a really good schedule to allow us to be able to improve and get our new guys some experience before the bulk of the ACC schedule.
Realism - A lot of other teams looked to be improved as well and it'll be a fight to the end to make people happy with the overall result of the season. I also think it was absolute stupidity to allow Tre Turner to go back in the game, and things like that could totally derail this season down the road.
5. The defense as a whole looked much more disciplined and vastly improved.
Realism - We still need a 2nd corner and our DE's are basically space eaters (still holding out hope on Becton).
6. We have a lot of depth on our o-line.
Realism - We need depth because our communication up front was terrible and our o-line might be hot garbage without someone like Brock setting protections. Although, I think Harris looked good while he was in there. This is very much a wait and see.
7. The team as a whole is better than last year and the most improvement usually comes between weeks one and two, so I'm ready to crush ODU!
Realism - I'm ready to crush ODU!
This is the best post-BC take on TKP I've seen so far.
Numbers 1 (turnovers were the whole story in the BC game), 2 (youth, it's real whether we like it or not) and 4 (our schedule is set up for player growth) perfectly put the rest of the season in perspective.
This team could get a lot better in the next 3 games, but also don't be shocked if we're 2-2 at that point. Right now, limiting turnovers and generating some sort of pass rush are the absolute top priorities.
Mitchell, Tre, Robinson, Dax, DTs, King, Farley ... Who doesn't like our youth?
I think it is also worth noting, as facts and not excuses, we played the game without:
1. Our most consistent pass rusher Garbutt after the first series.
2. One of our starting RB's Holston after Q1.
3. Our leading returning WR in Hazelton.
4. An explosive Tre Turner, who was hobbled all game by a hammy tweak.
5. Our "starting" center got hurt in 3Q and we already our other starting center to #FtheNCAA.
6. Our co-starting CB2 Quillen goes out in Q1.
Now every foot all team has to deal with injuries (ask Bama's LB's) but that's alot of talent missing for us when trying to dig out of a -4 turnover hole.
I was a bit distracted during the earlier parts of the game. How did we lose all those guys? (I saw Turner on the sideline, but the others I missed)
Deablo and Ladler also hurt for some time during the game.
I'm just glad Deablo came back...defense seems to play differently when he's in..
Positive:
Tre Turner came back into the game after leaving clutching his hamstring. I guess it was a cramp?
He left twice and came back twice.
His four turnovers were the difference between an easy win and a loss but...
on third or fourth down when we really needed a first down and Willis tucked the ball away and decided to run. He was going to find a way to GET THAT FIRST DOWN. I think he ran for five crucial first downs.
So since I've had 24 hours to digest:
1) It's really hard to win games with a -4 turnover margin
2) Willis had some nice moments along with the turnovers. Showed great toughness on a few QB runs. Had a couple of really impressive throws. Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. It was a bad game but I'm not ready to just give Hooker the reigns.
3) I was impressed with the defense in the second half outside of the 3th & 9 run. Ashby was a monster.
4) We really could have used Hoffman and Tavien pls. Maybe if Willis had more trust in the run game he woudn't feel the need to take unnecessary risks.
5) Loved what I saw out of Smith and Robinson. We have seven pass catchers (Keene, Mitchell, Turner, Haz, Smith, Heze & Robinson) that I really like. Ellis and Kumah leaving makes more sense.
6) Really unimpressed by the secondary play in the first half. I get Brown is a veteran QB but our corners still aren't DBU quality. They got saved by really great redzone play and BC not having a legit FG kicker.
Moving forward, I hope having two manageable games will give Willis some confidence coming into the Duke game. There's a lot of positives to build on from this game.
I get why people are upset but moving forward: 1) It's just one game 2) We control our destiny in the coastal 3) We have a very manageable schedule the rest of this month.
Tavien pls is having way too much fun down in Columbia
My fundamental problem: Willis is a senior. He should not be this bad. Sorry, but if he is doing this as a senior, it's genetic. I'm sorry but at this stage he is not going to learn, improve, and change.
1. Receivers are good
2. K king has burst
3. Linebackers played hard
4. We had a good energy all around.
It's never as good or bad as it seems. - big thing Coach Beamer always preached.
Both ends of the spectrum were evident in the last 2 openers.
The Defense gave up some long passes and runs but overall I saw improvement and overall I thought fought to the end. Needed to make that last 3rd down stop but tackling seemed better and coverage never seemed completely out of place. Got beat a couple times in first half but Brown looks improved and threw a few nice balls. If they can consistently get more pressure on the QB, I could see a significant improvement on D this year.
Willis made 2 terrible mistakes throwing picks in the end zone but I tend to think that will be more of an outlier. The one pick was a good play by the defense and the fumble was a tough spot for him. Don't think it was a hero ball play like the one against ND last year. I thought he made som great throws as well, especially the TD to Kaleb Smith where he went from one side all the way to back side. One of a few great catches by Smith. The ball to Grimsley was very nice as well.
He takes big hits and pops up, like his fire. He's a gunslinger and maybe gets a little too hype sometimes. I'd like to see Hooker and Patterson run out for the occasional series to get experience and to settle Willis down a little. Give him a chance to talk with a coach about what the defense is showing and take a breath to center himself a bit.
Overall I think there are enough positives to build on and improve. Saw a tweet from Tre Turner and other Hokies Saturday night, "I love my team." If they can keep playing hard for each other, keep improving, and continue to represent Virginia Tech well I'll be happy and the wins will follow. The sky's not fallin, enjoy the ride, beat ODU, and Go Hokies!
After a couple of days of beer and reflection:
I know that many on TKP do not want to hear this, but what I'm about to type isn't a "take" or an opinion. It's just pure numbers - as of the kick-off to the BC game:
50% of the 2-deep roster spots are filled with people who have 3 years or more of eligibility remaining!
That's 3-4 years of nutrition, weight room, spring practices, fall camps, film study, situational work, position group meetings, and 15 - 20 enter sandman entrances!
75% of the entire roster has 3+ years left! That's Hendon, Quincy, Tre, Mitchell, most of the O and D line, Dax, Devon and most of the secondary!
There's lots of talk about $15 (going to $12m) million buyouts.... now we know why!
Now my "take":
By ANY MEASURE, this cake is half-baked! I love my team! Currently, it's really hard to watch! I see the talent and the potential, but It kills me to watch them not realizing it!!!!
I'm a single dad with a 14 year old daughter. Some days she's mature, elegant and seems ready to be a fully developed person in this world! Other days, she's such a little shit I want to ship her back to her mother!
My point: I know that right now: the only thing about her (at this age) is that she will consistently be inconsistent! I never f-ing know what I'm gonna get! I love her (most days), but I'm crazy to expect anything else right now!
Like it or not, That's STILL our Hokies! If we love um we gotta hang with them a while longer till they grow up! (Just hope they don't get tattoos, nose rings and marry a UVA guy!)
I agree with everything you said.
The question is, is Fuente a good enough cook to finish baking the cake?
Bar1990,
It's a fair question. To me it comes down to Leadership. I believe that true leaders inspire AUTHENTIC hope! People can see their future and will follow that kind of leader!
To use my kids analogy a bit more. Young children need rules and boundaries! As they get older, parents have to adjust to teach leadership and independence as well - we raise them for the world! Not just for us..
Will be interesting as this team matures, will Fuente value that kind of leadership and direction.
I think another way to ask this question is: Was it unavoidable that we would be at a point 4 years into Fuente's tenure where 3/4 of the roster is underclassmen? Because that's certainly not ideal.
It's undeniable that we have an incredibly young team, which means we will struggle in the short term, but should have hope in the long-term. And if we're being brutally honest, it can't be argued the program and roster have been well managed the past couple of years. The current state of affairs is proof of that.
I'm not anti-Fuente at all, and what I hope (and think) will happen is that we will win enough this year (7-8 games) to give the players and fans confidence that the corner will be turned. I'm rooting for that, but it still remains to be seen.
[shudders] But yeah, I know I'm weird.
😂😂😂. Nah, I'm just an old guy!
Keep your positivity man. It's nice to see on here.
Your facts are spot on.
I am admittedly inclined to be overly optimistic and I was having a tough time being charitable to my Hokie family that seemed to be ready to give up on everything associated with the team. Your illustration of your view of your daughter was insightful.
Note: I went through years as a step-dad to 2 daughters. Their teenage years were really tough. (For revenge, I remember hoping that they would each have 12 daughters each and that each of them would have PMS cycles that followed one after the other) They are both married now and have 2 daughters each, but they have become so much nicer so I no longer wish for that them to be "cursed".
Basically despite the fact no one wants to admit it we are what we are and that is in a rebuilding process. There really is not whole lot of difference between what's going on with basketball which for me means just enjoy the year and see the players develop and get ready to be really good next year. That's the only way to look at it for me to stay positive amidst what on the surface looks like a continuation of last years train wreck.
Agreed, but ...
Year 4 shouldn't be rebuilding. Year four should be a full adoption of the post-Beamer staff's recruits and philosophy, and should begin to set the precedent for what can be expected in the future.
At this point, I would have thought that we would be trending upward but I'm not seeing it yet.
Most times it is, it's just lately coaches don't get that far. Year 4 means that fr, so, and jr have been fully recruited by the new staff. Seniors are the transistion year, and RS Sr were all the old staff. With the transfer portal if you don't like the new staff, or dont fit the scheme then RS Sr could easily graduate and SRs could have done that too. So potentially you take a two class hit. We saw this at ND, at Michigan, twice, at UF. But those coaches got fired. We saw it at Clemson too.
Replacing a legend is hard. It's only be done a handful of times that I can think of.
To be fair, we've only seen legend-replacement at FSU and PSU. Nobody wants to replicate either.
Maybe - just maybe - the ease of the initial transition is being paid now. I've argued on a few other posts about the difference between trying to maintain the last regime (Hoke) vs wiping the slate clean and rebuilding (Taggart). We might be in the midst of the (Hoke) while trying to be the (Fuente).
Patience, I know. But at year four I'm looking at the trajectory. This year, next, and year six are so, so critical.
Um? Tom Osbourne isnt a legend? Steve Spurrier isn't a legend? Urban Meyer has more championships than either Bowden or Paterno. An arguement could be made for Stoops, though so far everyone wants to replicate that.
Tom Osbourne is a legend. And he moved on before the current arms race in CFB. Also, Nebraska isn't quite the same as they used to be, no?
Spurrier will always have a piece of my heart because he continues to troll Tennessee, which I love. But Meyer didn't show up until Zook and Strong left, four years later. (Note: Fuente is in year four and we have had no head coaching turnover).
Stoops is tight too, no doubt. That's a good comparison, but they've won for a long time with a few different coaches.
Tom Osbourne (whose tenure lasted 16 years at Nebraska, as opposed to ~ 30 for CFB and even longer for Bowden and even much, much longer for Paterno), the second guy has appeared at FSU, maybe PSU, definitely Florida, also Alabama, and a few other places. We aren't that program.
Yet.
And I'm not sure Fuente is that guy.
Um Strong wasn't really the coach at UF. He had one game (Bowl Game) because they fired Zook after 3 seasons. And obviously Urban is a better coach than Zook but he had a bad 3rd year but was recruiting like crazy. Those recruits got Urban his first championship. I dont know if Zook would have won a championship but he took Illinois to a rose bowl some how. So it's not like Zook was worthless.
Man I really hope that "enough legondary coaches haven't been replaced to understand whether or not we made the right hire" has us nearing the bottom of the excuse barrel.
Coaching transitions happen. A lot better coaches than Beamer have been replaced. We need to stop acting like VT is the most unique situation in CFB.
Considering Peterman has an NFL career, I think Willis is making the right moves /s sorta...
Peterman is a master at improving draft positioning. Could be a GM one day.
Can we talk for a minute about the super cool mouthguard that one of the BC players had? It was black and had a mini metal fan in the middle and any time he breathed through it, it would spin. Easily the coolest piece of sporting equipment I've ever seen and something I enjoyed from the game
Woulda been cooler if he matched it with some Sprewell spinner cleats
Until it breaks and he swallows a fan.