Illinois Hokie's Recent Comments
Who is giving up?
You need stated objectives, and as far as the QB objectives go, I think the number one objective is to groom Lawson into a starter this year. That doesn't mean you don't play to win, it means that when Scot Loeffler is being a QB coach, he needs to craft everything around developing Lawson. Motley has been in this system four years. He's as developed as he's gonna get. So use Motley as his strengths allow, but put Lawson in learning situations. If Lawson costs a couple games from mistakes, that experience will pay dividends in the future. That's better than dropping a completely green Lawson into a starting role in 2016.
Based on everything I've heard about Searels, I don't necessarily think having a player who shrugs off one of his tirades is the worst character trait to have. I'd rather have a QB who will look into the face of a frothing-at-the-mouth OL coach and shrug than one who shrinks like a wilting violet.
Scot REALLY thought he had something. Makes me wonder what he saw, but he was crushed that he didn't get to tinker in the second half.
Then the end goal for this season is to have Lawson ready to start by the end of the season. Give him a healthy share of first team reps, and series in every game. Build him up, bring him along in live situations, and get him ready to be the man against the Vols in Bristol.
A lot of what Lefty was saying sounded to me like he was trying to talk himself into believing it. This obviously crushed Lefty, and understandably so. He had a returning QB for the first time in his career as an OC, and by all appearances, Brewer had made mad strides. Lefty thought he was going to get to run his offense with a QB who knew it and could make the throws. To have that taken away with the career Lefty's had, that's gotta be a punch to the stones.
Today's a new day. Sober reality has replaced the shock of last night. Lefty's got another season ahead of him of trying to bring along a QB on the fly. My guess is he will look at all his options, pick the one he feels gives him the best chance to field a competitive offense, and roll with it.
That is both sad and awesome.
I just remember the cheers of "Ty-Rod Tay-Lor" from the stands when we struggled in the opener against ECU and knowing there was no chance in hell of TT geting a redshirt that year. I also thought it was cute they tried to say they'd redshirt him the next year.
Never skip leg day.
And on the drums tonight, young Severus Snape.
It says to me as soon as Brewer went down, they stopped giving a shit about the results of a non-conference game and tried to get out of it without anyone else taking so much as a papercut. I think the QB conversation started in earnest today.
If only I could give this 42 legs...
Worst the dude did was defend his starting QB. Rubbed me the wrong way at first, but honestly, if we had a players as good as Cardale, I'd probably defend some of his behavior, too. Cosmo is one of the good ones. I hope he sticks around.
Urban has never exhibited anything short of complete respect for Beamer. Back when we were going against OSU for Joel Caleb, the story goes that when Caleb called Urban to tell him he was coming to VT, Urban's reaction was only to say, "You're going to play for a great man in Frank Beamer." In this era of cutthroat recruiting, it doesn't get much more on the level than that.
The problem is, if there's any chance that Lawson's the guy, you don't get a better break-in period than Furman and Purdue. I'm sure the coaching staff is waiting to hear how Brewer came through surgery, but if there's any chance that he doesn't come back (or is gone the full 8 weeks), what's the rationale for not going with Lawson? Do we think Motley will lead us to the ACCCG? Are we worried starting Lawson might jeopardize the bowl streak?
The way I see it, everything changed when Brewer's collarbone snapped. The future is now. Everything I've heard about Lawson, it seems like he's level-headed and mature. I don't think he expects to come into this level and set the world on fire. If he takes some knocks as a true frosh, I don't think it will discourage him. And if we have a chance to get him eleven games of experience, it makes the transition to next season that much easier.
Motley seems like the reactive choice to me, Lawson the proactive one. I think you take your lumps with your QB of the future.
I'm with you on everything except JCC. I thought he ran with some authority and frequently churned out extra yards. I've rewatched the fumble a dozen times, and it still looks like a fluke. Good ball control, covers with the second hand going into the tackle, it just gets stripped before he can get down because he lands on a defender. I'm not ready to pull him for that. I saw the JCC from the last four games of last year out there against OSU. I think he's turned the corner.
The back who did nothing to impress me last night was Trey Edmunds. Tripped in the backfield and wasn't seeing his cutbacks all night. Between the two, I feel more comfortable with JCC carrying the ball right now.
I think Loeffler's postgame comments confirm this. Whoever the QB is going forward, we can't handcuff him for fear of another injury.
I agree with everything except your take on Trey. He didn't show me much last night. On the second and goal, he had a walk in touchdown if be had cut it left off his block. With the way JCC ran and McMillian's flashes, I think Trey might wind up odd man out once Shai returns.
The best way to describe my feelings this morning is probably, "This is why we can't have nice things!"
LOL you didn't realize I'm the FBS guy? I kind of thought that was common knowledge here.
It's really important to give the impression that we are aware Frank's career is coming to an end and are prepared for the transition. I'm sure Whit's fingerprints are all over this.
Speaking of, I really liked our tempo last night. For the first time in forever, we could play offense at the pace the game warranted with no appreciable dropoff in execution whether we huddled or played hurry-up.
Actually, it does. Momentum shift. Motley did nothing, and a defense called on to go back out after rapid-fire 3 and outs not only get tired, they get demoralized. When playing OSU, pitching a shutout is not an issue. All sides have to contribute. You notice in the first half, the defense locked down as our offense picked up. That's not just coincidence. The units were feeding off each others' energy.
The defense gave up a long scoring drive out of the half, unable to immediately account for OSU's adjustments, but the defense then forced punts the next couple of possessions after Brewer went out. The offense just did nothing. Play that game against OSU and eventually the floodgates will open, which is exactly what happened.
We don't surrender 42 points if Brewer was in the game until the end. I'm not saying we would have won (though I'll go to my grave believing it; just a hunch I have) but the offense was moving the ball. Brewer was zoned in and playing by far the game of his career, 68% completion rate, almost 10 yards per attempt, no turnovers, on pace to flirt with 300 yards. He would have kept the offense moving, kept their offense off the field, and put points on the board.
Yeah, when I said that, I was certain Brewer had taken a medical hardship waiver for his back injury at TT. Turns out I was wrong.
Trayvon showed me something, but Trey's game was very disappointing. I thought he had poor vision all game. I think Shai supplants Trey quickly, and McMillian might do the same.
Devil's advocate, even by NFL "down by contact" rules, you aren't down on top of another player. Are you sure you aren't meaning ruled down by loss of forward momentum?
Also Devil's advocate, we've had several touchdowns that would be taken off the board by your recommendation, including Shai's TD vs OSU last year.