DO OR DO NOT...
|
1 year 7 months
# | VT, UVa, UNC and NC State fined and reprimanded by the ACC for weekend fights 
Recent Comments
Beamer also had a legendary defensive coordinator.
Not saying it should be a full on brawl but a little pushing and shoving never hurt anyone.
Exactly, this isn't like getting a job in the real world because agents are involved. If you don't play ball with the agents, then you stop getting candidates who are worth a shit. The handful of agencies involved in the CFB world can easily poison the well against an school or AD who doesn't toe the line.
You were close to me then, because I remember that bathroom- lol.
Jake Grove has entered the chat.
We were 4 rows from the top of the dome for the Texas game, so we thought it was going to be horrible, but there was a bathroom up there and between us and the bathroom was a beer stand - so it ended up being incredible. Yes, it took us forever to get out after the game, but then it was NYE in the quarter and nary a Texas fan to be seen.
Well a couple of things... everyone from middle school to even some teams in the NFL run the RPO- there are many more skilled and trained dual threat QBs now- as in 90% of QBs. That puts more strain on a defense - you have to respect the QB run and pass- thus you can't be as aggressive. Less sacks, less pressure, less turnovers, etc. The days of a Charlie Ward being unique are long gone. The gap fit scheme can defend the RPO fine, however your chances of flipping the field, strip sacks, etc are less with a dual threat QB.
I like the military bowl but I get it. Also, football on a baseball field sucks.
But that doesn't answer the question why his scheme won't work anymore.
If you tell me that we're going to have defense that can stop anyone except NFL hall of famers, you can sign me up.
French, would they be takes for us?
"That's because a third of our teams are above the mason dixon line"... OK switch the pinstripe bowl to detroit- a dome, switch the fenway bowl to minneapolis- a dome, switch the military bowl to Indy- a dome. Done and Done.
I went to all of the Sugar Bowls. I thought the Auburn one was the best in terms of party, travel, etc. I had a massive hangover for FSU, and terrible seats for Texas.
That's because a third of our teams are above the mason dixon line (so they're fine going to cold weather games on the east coast) and another third are basketball schools. Oh, also, the ACC has been legitimately interesting only thrice in the last 20 years (2013, 2016, 2020).
Something about that first time in NO was so sweet
New Orleans is one big party every night for not that much money; it's great when you're younger. Find a hotel room on bourbon street for $50/night. Eat Street food while hopping between bars. Party til 4am. Wake up at 10am, grab some brunch, go tailgate. That part of the city is so walkable.
Now the hangovers last longer, and a $50/night room on bourbon street will be too noisy and the beds will hurt my back. So it's a few hundred a night to stay somewhere nice. And now I'm boujee and want to eat at nice restaurants by influencer chefs (in addition to the street food...).
I maintain that New Orleans is a magical place, but it will never hit the same way as it did in my early-to-mid-20s.
Foster's kryptonite (aside from Paul Johnson's cut blocks) was a good QB that could stand in the pocket and expose the single high safety look. If you couldn't throw accurately, Bud beat you- plain and simple. If you could protect the QB and read the single high safety properly, you could hit big plays against Bud- Schaub was the only UVA QB to beat the hokies for a 16 year period. Matt Ryan, Matthew Stafford, Aaron Rodgers, Rod Rutherford all played in the NFL, all had success against Bud.
Sure it can come from the portal, but they need to be ready to play- as you typically get 1-2 years eligibility remaining. I agree with Dabo and Saban... the portal for the sake of the portal never helped anyone. The players have to be GOOD and the right portal guys. Brumfield and Ali Jennings - meh at best ... for example.
What makes you think the Foster gap-fit scheme doesn't work any more?
Is it like the triple option where you can't recruit players to it? Or is there something specific that gets exposed by the RPO or something?
I'm not sure that anyone is saying, necessarily, that one unit is bad and one is good. I think it's just that by the eye test one unit is clearly more bad than the other.
If you want to win 9-10 games eventually- and there is no way around this- you have to sign better players- more 4 stars, more interior lineman
Do you think those 4-star quality players can come from the portal, or do they have to come from high school?
The reason I ask - Pry has gotten 4-star quality players from the portal (I'd call Drones, Tuten, APR, Lane '4-star quality'). Obviously he needs more than four players per year at this level, but throwing it out there for the sake of discussion.
I'm just posting the stats for everyone to see, people can take them however they like.
But the idea that we have one good unit and one bad unit is just factually incorrect.
Wife and I agreed that the '95 Sugar Bowl was fantastic, though we could scarcely afford such luxuries in those days. We talked about future bowls then and both agreed that we couldn't do that every year, but also agreed that if the Hokies were ever playing for the National Championship and it was in New Orleans, we'd go if we had to sell our house to afford it. As a consequence, we've been to one bowl game since '95, and while it was inarguably a bigger game, we agreed afterward that we both enjoyed the '95 experience much more, and not all because of the loss. Something about that first time in NO was so sweet, and the game was definitely more fun. Riding the wave of VT's surprising season after losing those first two was magical for me after years of cheering in sparse attendance and mediocrity. Luckily, today's crowd seems to travel well, and I still have friends that can be relied upon for bowling though most of us are old enough to enjoy the game from the comfort of our heated homes, endless supply of food and drink, and that big ol' HDTV.
Rich Rods zone read spread, Art Briles 1 read air raid, Saban's power running game- any of them, you get the offense behind the sticks. That is the defense you need to run. When WVU had Slaton and Pat White, the key was to not allow explosive plays on first down. Make Pat White sit back and read a defense and throw it. When you allow 8 yards on a simple side ways zone hand off, you are going to get your ass kicked no matter what the defense is. The way to stop RG 3 at Baylor was to make him read a defense on 3rd down. So get them to 3rd and 8 as opposed to 3rd and 1. You need sideline to sideline linebackers, and good DT's to plug up the QB keeper on the zone read. It also helps to have a DE that makes the "read" meaningless- meaning he can get to the QB run even if he shows crash.
If you allow 7 points in the first quarter off the opposing teams opening drive- you allowed 7 points. If you allow 7 points to Vanderbilt late in the 4th to allow overtime, you allowed a back breaking losing 7 points. You catch my drift? We are losing every close game. We are getting dusted in the 3rd quarter because Marve is being out-adjusted every week. The defense is not good- especially when you need them to be. The offense? well yeah we aren't the best in the country but at least it makes sense. Bowen takes shots down field after sudden changes, he takes shots on second a short, he runs the ball inside for big yards, etc. It makes sense. Put better OL out there, and hes a good/better than average OC, IMO.
French, if you were the one to pick a defensive scheme to counteract today's college offense, which alignment would you pick?
I was a fan of Jenkins at safety as a freshman, but he was moved to the second line in our scheme. Is our defensive issue not being able to get linebackers, or is it a scheme issue.? Our backers have issue with getting off blocks. Gap scheme is supposed to minimize being in the wrong place, but also seems to stifle guys that can make plays in space. Would love to hear anyone's thought on which scheme would help with our inability to get linebackers that can thump the run. I know backers are getting longer and leaner, but making tackles at 8 yards off the ball just opens up the play action in my opinion.
I remember the insanity of being on the field after that game.