Virginia Tech's regular season is over. I hate this time of year. I'm sad there's no game to look forward to next weekend. Although, now there's a complete body of work to reflect on.
Tech's 8-4 record was a reasonable expectation at the beginning of the season. Lose to two-time defending national champion Alabama in the Dome, on the road against Georgia Tech on a short week, against a talented Miami in Sun Life Stadium for the second season in a row, and stumble against a random unexpected team. If there's a neat way to go 8-4 against this schedule, that'd be it. Instead, over the course of the season Tech edited and rewrote its narrative.
It's cliche to say, but this was a roller coaster season. It was a long uphill climb against the Tide with no end in sight, there were screams of excitement throughout HokieNation during the 6-game win streak, and beating the Canes was an unexpected thrill nestled between abrupt bumps—losses to Duke, Boston College, and Maryland. The cart didn't derail, the Hokies beat the Hoos, and earned 10-straight wins over Virginia that will be celebrated until we all die. But it's over now (at least until the bowl game).
Unlike every season since 1999, this year wasn't about returning to the national championship game, it was about returning to Virginia Tech Football. Frank Beamer made that clear when he turned over his staff and stressed words like "physical" and "tough" throughout the spring and August camp.
For most of the season the defense played splendid. However, injuries and a diminishing pass rush down the stretch keeps them from being mentioned among the all-time Hokies best, at least in my mind. But, no one was worried about the defense in August, at least I wasn't. Most of us knew they'd be good, and they were good. Bud Foster is going to Bud Foster.
Last season Frank Beamer decided to fix his broken offense. Statistically speaking, the offense is worse this season than last. According to cfbstats.com, Tech was 83rd in total offense last year (376.8 yards per game), while they rank 99th this season (359.1 yards per game). However, it is unfair to judge progress on statistics alone.
The offensive line is in good hands moving forward with Jeff Grimes. Five familiar faces returned in 2013 (Farris, Wang, Miller, Gibson, and Benedict), and Grimes had them playing visibly better than his predecessor. Jonathan McLaughlin struggled, but not nearly as much as anyone would have expected a true freshman to. With only Miller departing, a buzz around Alston Smith and Wyatt Teller, and 5 promising recruits set to sign in February, the offensive line should become a team strength. For a long time Virginia Tech football won games because they were more physical in the trenches.
I'm convinced the passing game will flourish under Scot Loeffer, but I'm not sure if that'll come at the expense of running the ball. After he was hired, Loeffler made it clear he likes to run the ball. Maybe he likes throwing it even more? Given that Loeffler's offense was built around Logan Thomas, I didn't get a sense for what a Loeffler offense would be moving forward. I resigned myself in January to knowing this offense would struggle. And that wasn't because of the specific coaches hired, but rather a lack of talent and depth. Changing an offensive identity and restocking the cupboard doesn't happen overnight. Still, I hoped to be left at ease knowing that the struggles were worthwhile. In my mind an, "OK, we were bad, but I can see us being better next year," would've sufficed. I might be the one who is blind, but I didn't see the vision for the future. It's unfair to be critical of a rebuild in year one, but it's reasonable to expect dividends in year two.
Aside from A.J. Hughes, special teams were wildly inconsistent all season. Beamer's attachment to Cody Journell was borderline embarrassing, especially given Frank's history as a no-nonsense head coach. However, he's always been loyal to a fault, which has both served him good and bad over his tenure. Journell was the best kicking option on the roster, but I'd take Walmart (Eric Kristensen) trying his best over a black eye. I defended Journell after his breaking-and-entering charge. (I believe in second chances.) With hindsight, he should have been tossed then and there. Regardless, return and coverage must improve. Given that Frank Beamer wants to play a field position brand of football, those units have to play perfect for the team to succeed.
I'm still playing the what-if game thinking about the Duke, Boston College, and Maryland losses. Tech found a way to lose three games against programs they've traditionally dominated. If the Hokies want to compete for ACC Championships again, that needs to be corrected. As we learned this season, all conference games matter. With that said, they were 3-, 7-, and 3-point losses, respectively. Tech was really "one block", interception, field goal, cut, bad play call, etc... away from starting a new 10-win streak.
The toughest thing to swallow is even though this season shouldn't have been special, it could have been special.
The bowl practices will allow the coaches a chance to work with the players expected to contribute next season. A win in the bowl game could be a springboard for an improved 2014 campaign. When I was a student the phrase, "We don't rebuild, we reload," was usually the conclusion for any given season. We are in the middle of rebuilding. However, there is quality young talent on the roster, and more signing in February. We'll know a lot more about where this program is headed at the end of next season. It just sucks that's so far away.
Comments
Looking forward to the bowl game and then #BEATBUCKEYES!
These Hokies will be missed. We made do with countless injuries, but exacted revenge on Pitt, UNC, and Miami. There were some painful and puzzling losses too (perhaps most of all Maryland), but overall more highs than lows. Going into the postseason with a record of 8-4,we've already had a better season than 2012. The defense was simply one of our best ever. The new offensive coaches give us reasons for hope in the future. Finally, Logan Thomas, even with all the adversity this year, kept tearing up the Hokie record books.
I'm damn proud of these Hokies, and they should be proud of themselves!
Magical 2016 is still coming.
All I know is if Trey Edmunds doesnt get 20-25 touches a game next season I'll be very upset. He proved time and time again to be our best offensive weapon, especially for scoring touchdowns, and I'm convinced we get one/two more wins this year if we used him like a workhorse. All in all I'm positive looking ahead to next season.
This. I'll even name the games. We would have won vs. Duke and vs. BC, had we just committed to the run game, feeding Trey the ball 20-25 times.
While 8-4 is nothing to be ashamed of, I think our coaching staff should have a few restless nights as they think about what could have been against the extremely weak schedule we faced in 2013.
10-2 or 11-1 were legitimately possible.
NCAA website stats show VT played the 10th toughest schedule based on opponents W-L record as of 11-30-2013. We were #1 last week.
That's the unexpected variable few are taking about - our schedule looked crappy on paper during the preseason but ended up being very good. Only two teams with losing records and the rest are going bowling. Problem is we aren't getting credit for it in the polls, so other 8-4 teams (like UGA for chrissakes) end up in the Top 25.
Statistics may say this was a "tough" schedule, but that particular statistic has everything to do with WHO our opponents played. I'd like to see the "quality" wins our opponents had -- I'm willing to go out on a limb and say there aren't many.
It boils down to this - I see 2 Top 25 (bcs) teams on our schedule (Bama, Duke). Yet we lost 4 games. And I still contend (because I watched every game), we were the better team in 11 of our 12 games.
Yes, we were the better team, but the other teams were good enough to beat us if we did not play well, which is exactly what happened.
Edmunds averaged 1.7 yards on his 6 carries against BC. Maybe he does a little better if given more carries, or maybe they would have just wasted downs by running the football when it wasn't working. They do win that game and the Duke game if not for turnovers, which was the bigger problem- the lack of attention to detail and general sloppiness that killed them in their ACC losses.
Ahh, but this is where I believe we have to look a little deeper. IMHO, the turnovers were due to our coaching staff asking LT to do WAY too much. Way more than he would have needed to do if we had been giving Trey 20-25 carries. We lacked balance on offense, plain and simple. I believe if we had committed to the run game, it would have done 2 things that directly increased our odds of winning -- 1) LT would have had less pressure on his shoulders and probably not pressed so much (fewer INTs), and 2) The passing game would have been less predictable (again, balance) and therefore more successful.
Logan was asked to do a lot because he's the most talented player on the offense. The turnovers happened partly due to bad luck and partly due to bad decisions. It's nice to say that the offense shouldn't ask him to do so much, but it's also evident from their play this year that the offense looked its best when the ball was in Logan's hands (1st half of GT, 2nd quarter of UNC, 1st quarter against Pitt, early against Miami before the Canes gave up).
I highly doubt Trey will get 20-25 touches per game next year, simply because we will have much more talent available at running back. Marshawn Williams will be contending for immediate playing time, and he's a talent. Also, it now looks like DJ Reid will be here next year as well. Finally, we seem to have at least a 50/50 chance of landing Shai McKenzie, although he might be well-advised to redshirt next season to put some space between him and Trey Edmonds as well as to make sure his knee is back to 100%. And then, of course, CJ Coleman will get some touches as a situational RB, which he deserves.
Does anyone else think that getting Shai is almost unnecessary at this point? Of course there's uncertainty with how players will translate to college, but Marshawn looks like a beast and we'll still have Trey and JC for two more years. We also have Caleb and Mangus who have gotten carries. Add in DJ Reid, and I just don't really see the need.
No. Shai is one of the best RB recruits in the country. I would take him in a Hokie uniform in a second.
If Shai isn't good enough to play then he will redshirt a year. If after 2-3 years it's clear he's not going to see major playing time, he can transfer. No one was saying David Wilson shouldn't come just because Ryan Williams and Darren Evans were here.
Completely agree. Heck I want a full stable of backs. I cant remember if I'm thinking about the Peach bowl my sophomore year or the ACCCG against Florida St. my junior year, but there was one big game where we had backs that kept getting injured so we just kept pumping out more. Evans, Williams, Wilson. Keep them coming! Theres nothing you can do to stop us!!
I really really like Shai's film. He's very shifty. Ideally he and MMFW would develop into a Darren Evans/RMFW duo.
You can never have too many RB's.
You can if you try to play them all.
Considering good backs only stick around for 2 years, he will be fine. I mean, look at Bama the past few years their backs don't stick around long before going to the NFL. You hear about their backs tearing shit up for one season and then they're 2nd round picks.
I don't think we can fault Scott for not running the ball more...we simply didn't have an effective running back. Scott made pretty good use of what he had to work with IMO. I have a feeling that next year will be even worse...Leal will not be as effective passing and prob. still no running back.
He may have known the line was a bit of an issue to. Definitely not as many running holes as there should be.
Next year there will be an all out battle for RB. Edmunds and Williams. I think Coleman won't be an every down back. Lacking some strength from what i see.
Leal/Ford/hodges will have a better line, RB, and WR next year. I actually think he will have a slightly easier time than Logan did this year. If Logan had another year, he would probably light it up.
Idk about the lacking strength. He pushed some 'Hoos around and ran strong yesterday.
This play starting at 16:38 stands out in my mind.
Coleman push
Although, I bet a lot of our players respond with their best when someone says, "You can't/aren't/won't ____________."
Yeah, but in previous games, he definitely would go down at first point of contact. Even if it weren't a huge point of contact.
I agree about the vision posted by the other response too. I feel like I saw a lot of guys running to where the hole should have been, but it shifted and they didn't see the new hole. Then they would just get bogged down and tackled.
Vision. That would be the key trait to look for in a RB with our scheme. Not just speed or power or strength. The ability to see/find the best holes and burst through.
This sentence has been echoing since Tyrod graduated.
And this is the first year it's been true. Long story short: Lefty >>>> O'Cain.
I think most of Logan's woes, and almost all of Trey Edmunds', can be blamed on the offensive line. If Loefler and Grimes can fix the OL, the running game will take care of itself, and the passing game will benefit immensely. If not, it really doesn't matter who's in the backfield.
BTW did anyone watch Giants-Redskins last night? I swear on one of the rushes where all four Redskins DLs hit Eli Manning at the same time, I saw four Giants OLs blocking each other. About 9:00 left in the game -- if you DVRed the game you could look it up.
I think you should probably look at and read some of French's film reviews a bit more closely if you feel the blame should fall solely on the offensive line.
He didn't say solely. If your strong suit is not reading comprehension, not sure why you're throwing stones.
A sh***y running game puts lots of pressure on the passing game. Ask opposing DCs how much time they spend game planning for VT's running game and how much they game planned against the passing game. We have a respectable running game and this season would have been awesome, perhaps with fewer injuries, a couple of breaks, maybe even magical. JMHO
I don't think StLHokie quite deserved that rant.
The first sentence would have been sufficient. The rest was a bit aggressive.
hard to edit the thing but I think I did better.... definitely was an arsehole thanks for calling me on it
it is what it is... it keeps changing... i tried to fix it....
We.... we won the game, right?
I agree.
While the line was by no means great, I feel we really suffered from our running backs being young and difficulty finding holes. I watched one play against uva where the hole was right next coleman, on the inside shoulder of the tackle and he flat missed the hole and ran into the tackle instead. I am hoping experience will greatly benefit our backs moving forward.
no faith in trey?
Disagree strongly re: "no running back". We'll have Edmonds, Marshawn Williams, DJ Reid, and JC Coleman for sure, quite possibly Shai McKenzie also.
And there are still two wildcards named Mangus and Caleb. The coaches are gonna have to figure out what to do with them, especially Mangus and his blazing speed.
I'd like to see him on punt or kick returns.
I would like to see mangus and coleman running back kicks and punts. They both have the elite speed to do so, much like roberts did.
With running backs reid, edmunds, caleb, williams and possibly mackenzie we can afford to have them running back kicks and contributing on special teams as well as inserting them for specific plays within the offense.
wildcard: Harris.
I know we had a lot of close losses that easily could've been wins, but we also EASILY could have lost to ECU and Marshall. Not being a negative nancy just putting things in perspective.
Looking back at those games, it was tight to teams in the conference championship.
Those games weren't as bad as they looked now, both those teams are legit top 40 and maybe even top 25 teams.
I'm going to miss all these seniors, especially Logan. Best of luck to them in their future, I'm sure they would love nothing but a bowl win to close out their fantastic careers.
I feel bad for DJ Coles and all the time he missed due to injury. Also to Kyle and Tone missing so much of this season. Those guys have "NFL" written all over them, and I hope they get a chance to prove it.
I think someone fat-fingered you, so here's a make-up leg.
Most of all right now, I want to win a bowl game this year. It's always been our downfall, and we need something to build on going into next season. I have a feeling we won't be playing a Rutgers-esque team this year, so we should have a chance to make a statement.
I would be excited to potentially play UCLA who has been pretty good this year.
This was a strange season. When camp opened, there was a sense of intensity that I hadn't felt in a long time. Beamer and his staff were pushing the players harder than they had in a long time. I knew opening against Alabama would be tough coming off of the 2012 season, and with 3 new coaches, but I was confident. Even though we lost, I think we made a statement that things were going to be different this season. After 6 straight wins, I was buying into the hype. I was picturing scenarios where we could get that rematch with Bama in Pasadena. Then it all came crashing down.
The losses were puzzling. The turnovers were inexcusable. And then we played Miami and all was right with the world again. Losing to Maryland was horrible, but we were able to get it together to complete the Decade of Dominance and keep the Commonwealth Cup in its rightful home in Blacksburg. Now we still have the bowl game to look forward to (and the additional practice time that goes along with it). 9 wins for this team ain't too shabby.
I still think the future is bright for the Hokies. We have some huge out of conference games coming up in the next few years. I fully believe once the new coaches are able to get their recruits in place that we can turn around the offense. Win or lose, I will never stop supporting this team.
Possibly a dumb question, but can a non-bowl team not practice until the end of the bowl season? I would think that would be a fairly "No, duh" thing for a coach to do to start improving for next year. Essentially treat it as an extra camp, y'know?
No you can't practice, and Scot said post game (replay on hokiesports.com) that he will use our extra practice time like an extra spring mini camp.
Which is why I can't be more excited that we get those extra practices to let the new coaches do their thing. Also, it further holds UVA back, which I'm very much OK with. We practice more, we win more, we practie more, we win more...
The rich get richer, the poor make excuses.
Bill Connelly hasn't updated the numbers yet, but going in to last week VT was 16th in the country with a 25.3% F+ rating.
http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/feiplus
The defense will probably slip next year. If it slips just a little this could be a top-10 team if the offense and special teams improve. Special teams will likely improve if there's a reliable kicker and more depth on the roster. I have no idea what to expect from the offense.
FWIW, Oklahoma State had the same rating in 2012. They're in line to win their conference if they win on Saturday.
The offensive line is the limiting factor, IMHO. Right now, they're just not very good. Miller will graduate and McLaughlin will improve. But Benedict, Wang, Farris and Gibson will all be back next season and at this point in their careers, it's highly unlikely that they're gonna get any better. And if they don't improve, our offense isn't gonna improve, not by much anyway.
I would like to see Jeff Grimes go with a "youth movement" along the OL. Sure, they'll make a lot of mistakes early on, but they'll also get better and their upside is, hopefully, a lot higher than with the current group. Nothing against any of them. I'm sure they're good kids who have represented the program well. But we simply need better play up front.
I agree, but I think Grimes isn't either the type of person to give snaps to a player just because he's a Senior, or some highly-touted freshman. If he works and earns the playtime, he'll play. I think that was the last guy's main problem. Gave too much credit for being a Junior or Senior instead of earning the spot.
I would imagine Grimes will have an open competition to become a starter on that O-line in the Spring and into next fall. I don't think any starter is safe. My prediction for next year's O-line:
McLaughlin-Farris-Wang-Smith/Osterloh/Benedict-Teller
Chung, Conte, and Willenbrock will all be competing hard as well. If Gibson can get it all together, he could be the best lineman on the team. Furthermore, Grimes recruited 5 O-linemen. I imagine all the new recruits will redshirt, but they'll just push the competition and make the O-line that much deeper. The future of the O-line is bright, and I think you'll see huge improvements in 2014. 2015 and beyond, VT will be back to bruising ACC D-lines.
Can't agree anymore. We have talent at rb but it's not there on the line. There is consistent lack of a push on the line for even short yardage. I don't know if we just lack size or strength.
See, I greatly disagree with the statement that I often see along the lines of "Benedict, Wang, Farris and Gibson will all be back next season and at this point in their careers, it's highly unlikely that they're gonna get any better.".
Regardless of what one thinks about their overall talent level, if you believe that Grimes is a better OL coach than Newsome was, with a better attention to fundamentals, then there is ALWAYS room for those guys to improve. Unless you just think they don't have the will/desire to improve.
Grimes looks and sounds like an o-line coach, which is always nice. The line didn't really get better as the season went along. How many sacks did UVA and MD get? I would have liked to have seen a little more improvement as the season went along from the line and the offense in general. The only unit that definitely improved throughout the year was the wide receivers. Part of that was the low bar they set against Bama but for the most part it appears as Moorehead was doing solid work.
that's a good point, hadn't thought of that...I've always been pretty high on Grimes but when you look at it, O-line's worst 2 games came at the end of the year. Any intelligent thoughts as to why? I'm hoping for an answer other than the O-line simply regressed. I know UVA has a strong D-front but UMD doesn't.
Possibly the younger guys are getting worn down because they're not used to the physicality of the college game?
Other than McLaughlin was the line all that young or inexperienced?
Yes. Every player was a new starter at his position. New scheme, new coach, new positions. Not a recipe for instant success. I can't remember if it was said here or on TSL, but it's been mentioned before that this line played very, very well when they had to simply line up and move people off the ball against read-and-react, gap-control defenses, like Alabama. They showed very good technique and for the most part did a good job. However, against aggressive, multiple-look defenses, they struggled with communication. It's not terribly surprising, but definitely should be something to watch as Grimes' tenure continues. The fact that we're already seeing noticeable improvement in technique should be cause for celebration in and of itself.
Benedict was in instead of Gibson. I really hope with Miller graduating, they slide Benedict over to RG where he belongs and hopefully Gibson takes control of the RT spot.
I think the losses stung bad and thinking back, we had a great shot at the ACCCG. However, I like to look at things from another perspective. We had a 2 win improvement from last year, and beat teams we lost to last year (unfortunate to lose to teams we shouldn't have though). But the future is bright. Trey Edmunds, Cline, Stanford, McLaughlin, Kendall Fuller, and Facyson amongst others were all freshman or R-Freshman. All these guys played a major role to this team, and it'll be exciting to see them develop their game more. There will be major question marks next year, the biggest ones being QB, the D front 7, and special teams (pretty much everywhere except for AJ Hughes). But the core is solid, and the future is bright for the Hokies
You forgot Rogers is Freshman.
Shhh whispered so he didn't hear. Don't want to piss him off. You saw what he did to the bus stop.
Haha yeah I didn't forget about him. I just thought those players played in the biggest roles on the team. We don't really use our fullback a ton. But we will appreciate him in a year or 2, when he helps to spring long runs (and the occasional pass).
I'm guessing Rogers will become the H-back, and will likely play a major role in the offense next year and beyond. He's too athletic, has great hands, and a real good blocker. Loeffler should be designing plays all off-season to get Rogers more touches.
I think that right there sums up how I feel about this season perfectly. Hanging with Bama in the opener, having a dominant defense, and sometimes having a competent offense that did just enough to win. Better than I expected? Yes. As good as we found out it could of been? Not really. But I'll take it give the preseason circumstances and go laugh at UVa because no matter how bad we do we can always look at them to see that it could be much, much worse.
"Fab 5" O Line on the horizon. The secondary is looking bright with the #FinalFuller and Facyson &co. If Kristensen can do what he did yesterday that won't be a problem. I like where we're going.
Don't forget RVD!!!
I think this season was a step in the right direction, with lots of youth on both sides of the ball stepping up.
The seniors on this team contributed less than the freshmen, for all sorts of reasons. From Coles' conditioning, to Exum's rehab, to Journell's dismissal, the seniors as a whole disappointed. The fact that we played so many freshmen shows a lack of preparation by other upperclassmen who rarely saw the field. It wasn't that long ago that we'd see a guy like Painter or Corey Fuller play only his senior year and be rock solid the whole year. This year we had the opposite.
It was a little disappointing seeing so many freshmen and walk-ons out there against Alabama; just goes to show how bare the cupboard was. The new guys on the other hand, took advantage of the playing time they got, and were all over the place. And these guys will get better with more time in the system.
Recruiting is up, the offense IS better (notice the longer drives, less costly turnovers, better game planning) and the Defense will always be good to great. I'm excited to see the Offensive line borrow from the Def Line with Alston Smith and Watt Teller switching this year. I have faith that Grimes will get the line fixed over time, and that Loeffler will get the running game working.
For the biggest positional change next year, I think whoever wins the QB job will put up numbers similar to Logan, but not necessarily have a better arm. An improvement in the running game would do a lot to help out the new QB, as would better execution of the veer option. I can see QB's sharing time next year based on their strengths, as Loeffler had some match-up successes this year.
Special teams needs to get better all the way around. This is the one thing I hope Frank passes onto Shane, the sooner the better.
One the whole, a ten-win season is achievable again next year with no FSU or Clemson on the schedule (at least until the ACCCG.) Lets hope these guys make the most of their offseason and get to work.
I just checked the roster at hokiesports, and VT had 53 freshman or r-freshmen on the roster, and 58 players from all other classes COMBINED.
There were also 13 seniors listed total, with 8 being offensive or defensive starters; there were 6 true freshman starters alone, two r-freshman starters, and several others in the two-deep.
I expect this trend to continue, considering the new offensive coaches are now recruiting to fit their system.
And UVA was a "young team"?
#BeatBrutus 2014
Better record and finish than last season for sure. Shocked that offensive output was better last year than this year. It doesn't add up. I will say this, after the 1st bye week the D seemed to have lost their edge. Gotta fix that for next season. CFB may not have a killer instinct but Foster does and that needs to last the whole season.
It shouldn't be a shock. Hokies had to throw the ball and play hurry up much more last season as they were trailing in games more often than not.
The Hokies only had to pick up the pace against Maryland, BC, and Marshall. Against Duke, the Hokies didn't really stray from the gameplan. Against everyone else, Beamer tried to shorten the game. The numbers reflect that. The offense was much more efficient (fewer three and outs) this season. Red zone has to be a critical focus area. You can't trick other teams in the red zone.
I noted this trend after 6-1. Both yards and points were "down" compared to last year at the time, but you look at the shootouts & losses we endured in the first half, and the change in philosophy this year (along with improved defensive play).
What was striking to me (after Maryland loss) was that last year we were barely 7-6, winning the last three games to get there. Now, we go 6-1 to start the season, everyone is excited, but four games later our record isn't any better than last year and could easily be 7-6 again (my apologies to the Commonwealth Cup).
They were slightly more efficient this year in the advanced metrics than they were last year. They still weren't good offensively.
I'm hoping that when Loeffler came in he saw the talent/experience on offense and decided he had to ride LT to win games. Beamer has said he wants his offense to look like the Stanford of the east and think the pressure will definitely be on to develop the run game. I'm hoping for Edmunds to come back healthy by the fall and for a great spring competition between Caleb, DJ Reid, Marshawn Williams, and JC Coleman (it looks like to me JC is at best a change of pace back).
In all I agree that 8 regular season wins meets expectations for the team but there were a lot of squandered chances. I Before the season I wouldn't think that VT would get to being ranked as high as top 15 during the year.
There's still the bowl game to hopefully get to 9 wins and I'm hoping VT plays against Louisville in the Russell Athletic Bowl. I think the bowl game will do a lot to determine feelings on the team.
Despite the tough loses, I've really enjoyed VT football this year. Maybe my enjoyment is due to the changes in the offensive staff, which had me looking forward to how the offensive improved week-to-week. Overall, I still think this team underachieved, but I do think VT made great strides in 2013.
This is what I learned:
1) Logan is an amazing athlete but only an average QB but much better than what he showed in 2012. He'll never be elite and will always struggle making the correct reads. Essentially, he's not good enough to make everyone better, but he can be really good in a great system.
2) Trey Edmunds got a lot better throughout the year. He made some really good reads and cuts against UVA. I hope he recovers quickly and gets back in the gym to get faster and stronger for 2014.
3) The O-line will no longer be the greatest weakness of team. I think the O-line with Edmunds will be great in 2014.
4) Those freshmen DBs were great this year. Hopefully, the backfield will be healthier in 2014.
5) VT will really miss the depth and experience of the front 7 in 2014. I really think VT will struggle to stop the run in 2014, especially against big RBs like Andre Williams. From current weights, VT will lose approximately 86 lbs with 5 new projected starters. And without a reliable 2-deep, I expect the front 7 to be gassed by the 4th quarter. I hope Bud and Wiles do their magic and prove me wrong, but I'm not confident in 2014's D.
I'll Leave this here
On the other hand, I think we will have a great spring. Loeffler will have a whole spring with the QB's. It looked like Loeffler has some great ideas in his playbook, he emptied it out early in the LOLUVA game and it was nice to see. One play that stood out was on a 3rd down where we ran a fake FB lead then tossed it to JC outside for a 7 yard gain. My jaw dropped and I think I watched that 4 more times and a little tear came to my eye. Those are the type of plays that I am waiting to see, I can't wait. Its going to be an awesome Spring and Summer.
#BeattheBuckeyes
I would like to think his arms are CG'd. It would make me feel more comfortable. Able to rest easy knowing that arms like that are not really out there. But then I remind myself those are Hokie arms, and Sam Rogers is their teammate. Then I smile, and laugh.....maniacally.
I have to say I am pretty excited to see what all of these freshman can do with a full year of gentrification under their belts.
I specifically remember bitching about how we were going to run up the middle with JC Coleman yet again. Then that beautiful play call happened. I was left speechless and so so happy.
It is sad that it's over now but it was an exciting season with all the close games. The Hokies this season remind me in many ways of the Dallas Cowboys where the wins and the loses are exciting and entertaining. It also gave us many reasons for hope in the future with so many young players and better coaching on offense with good players coming in as well. I'll miss watching Logan play for this team..at the end of the day he won more games then he lost and went 11-1 against are biggest rivals in GT, Miami, and LOLUVA.
You really hit the nail on the head with that quote.
To be honest, I'm happy with the progress we made this season and I'm excited for bowl game preparation and looking forward to next season.
Just wanted to say this:
When Logan Thomas plays within himself, he's an exceptional quarterback. My opinion is that his "inconsistencies" derived from not trusting the abilities of his teammates. He felt pressure to play "hero ball" and he adequately proved that style of play is a recipe for disaster. His natural physical gifts coupled with his intelligence and likeable demeanor will get him noticed by NFL scouts. IMHO, the best situation for him is Ryan Mallett: Drafted in the 3rd round by an excellent organization, playing behind an older living legend and spending the first couple of years of his career being groomed as the "QB of the future".
I'm going to be the bold one here and say I really feel like we underachieved this year.
Not a bold statement. I'd say fairly accurate. It was the mistakes that did us in, though. However, given the mistakes, it was almost an over-achievement just in the fight this team had all season. They never gave up.
The worst thing this season, in my mind, were just how many games we had one or two drives where everything clicked, but that was it. I hated seeing us drive down the field but not be able to get anything but field goals. I got to thinking how magical the team could have been when you see how WELL they played on certain drives, and then it's like they just forgot everything.
The other oddity, in my mind, is how little momentum seemed to matter with this team, either way, which can be good and bad. If the other team got momentum, they still fought. However, if we got momentum, we gave it up with stupid little mistakes that lead to big problems.
Agree, fairly accurate. The only team we played that we should have lost to this year was Alabama. We should have beat Maryland. The Duke and BC losses were against teams having great years and who may be on an upswing. Those I can accept in hindsight, even though they didn't feel like it at the time.
Had we beaten Md, plus won our bowl game (resulting in a 10-win season), I think we would have reached our potential this year.
We had the opportunity to add 30 more points this year on makeable FG.
I think that would have made a significant difference there.
Duke is a 13-10 loss on misses of 40 and 46. Their kicker makes 2 of over 50yds.
MD is a tie in regulation. VT missed FG of 34 yds.
Eric deserves incredible props for stepping in like he did.
Otherwise the score of that last game might have been 7-6, all other things being equal.
The 2013 season was a success.
For many reasons, this should be self-evident to all Hokie fans. Nonetheless, Ill explain my reasoning
To start off, we have had one of the best seasons on the defensive front in school history. Our Freshman produced right away; Kendall Fuller brought home ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year. With that said, our offense was pedestrian (at best). I believe that although there were many circumstances that could have gone our way in the Duke, BC, and Maryland games; this season exemplifies how scrappy teams such as our selves live AND die by the sword.
Throughout the season, we consistently failed to move the ball. David Wang fell victim to nearly every defensive front we faced. Look no farther than our inability to do a simple QB sneak from under center when the game was on the line and we had three inches to gain for the first down.
We could have lost to ECU, and we seemingly stole the win from Marshall (again, if Willie Byrn did not catch the dropped INT in the final moments of regulation against Marshall, imagine the discussion we would be having now)
Additionally, we did not put away Pitt, GT, Carolina, and Virginia when we should have done so.
Our full offensive body of work throughout the season shows that most of the time, we put up barely enough points to win every game (except Alabama) IF we were to play flawless/unrealistically well on defense and special teams. In the games that we won, our defense managed to do just that. But this day and age of football you simply cannot do that to your defense and expect to win consistently against any team. Contrary to those who think that we were snake-bitten this season, we actually were very fortunate to win eight games.
As far as the future goes, it is looking bright. We return most of our starters on defense. I may catch flak for saying this, but our offense will better with Mark Leal under center as opposed to Logan.
Im not saying that I dont appreciate what Logan has done for our program, the records he has broken, etc. However, he/we turned the ball over the second most of any player in CFB over the past couple years. Im sorry, but under NO circumstances can you be successful on offense when you do that. (Dont try to blame Knowles for all the interceptions he throws.)
The thing is, we dont need a good offense, we just need an average one. We dont need Logan to do it all. With our defense, an average offense would have allowed us to finish the season with one loss. Mark Leal is the ultimate game manager: his quick release, coupled with conservative decision making and catchable throws will allow us to pass without the mind-numbing worry of a pick-six every time we drop back to throw the football. As far as running backs go, we may have become spoiled with Ryan Williams, Darren Evans, David Wilson, etc. I think Edmunds progression is on par with "a smaller Cedric Humes", however, he isn't an elite runner that can carry the team. His lack of balance and ability to keep his footing sets him back. He is solid, but I think Marshawn Williams will be key contributor next year.
All in all, I think we should all be reminded of our humble roots and realize how fortunate we have been, even this past season. We have the chance to play a PAC-12 team in the Sun Bowl and finish the season with 9 wins. We should feel confident that the opener against Ohio State will be a great, close game. We'll everything to gain, because win or lose, our ACC and BCS aspirations will still be intact.
Nice first post, TylerVT. But watch out with that Leal stuff around here, some people don't like your kind...
Not me, I'm down.
Welcome!
Agree with quite a number of your points. What I disagree is with "being fortunate for 8 Ws." I know we were more than capable of 9-11. Also somewhat disagree with your comment about Edmunds. Much quicker than Humes. And I believe we need an above average offense to achieve that coveted 12th-13th W (something Beamer has never accomplished in his career as HC at Tech). I (and I'm gonna catch some shit for this) agree in part with you regarding Leal, not in comparison with LT3, but in comparison to Motley and Ford (for now). Welcome and a leg.
This year was pretty much like 2009, except Duke was this year's GT.