Recent Comments
Yes. Wasn't making excuses, simply lamenting the fact that a first year HC hired two first year coordinators and the AD let him do it. Poor judgement all around. We're lucky that Bowen has turned out OK. Miraculous that he's been able to scheme up nearly 30 PPG with OL play that wretched. Although, I'm worried we may learn next year that we owe most of that success to Tuten.
Marve was green when we brought him in. Fast forward 3 years, and it's clear he's not learning on the job. Time to move on.
Join The Key Player's Club to read comments posted in exclusive content and its members only forum.
Join The Key Player's Club to read comments posted in exclusive content and its members only forum.
Join The Key Player's Club to read comments posted in exclusive content and its members only forum.
"explosive plays"- like Duke with no hokies defenders in the zip code in the first quarter- yes agreed. Watch the games. the SP "predicts our defense is decent, until kickoff that is. Or the 3rd quarter of cuse. Or Aaron Judge being babe ruth- until it matters of course.
SP+ isn't bullshit - it's a predictive ranking that focuses on the things that statistically lead to wins (efficiently moving the ball, explosive plays, turnovers, field position, and finishing drives). It's very similar to what Vegas uses to set lines pre-market.
But anyways - when you see that a team's results are underachieving vs their SP+ rankings, it doesn't mean "SP+ is fucking bullshit" - it means some combination of (a) your coaches are holding your players back, (b) you're getting unlucky, or (c) your schedule is harder than you think.
Bowen and Marve aren't first year coordinators anymore. They are 3rd year P4 coordinators, so that excuse is over now. They are not first time coordinators- fact. So put up or shut up. Its like someone on TSL years ago called Stiney "not a P5 coordinator"- he had in fact been a P5 coordinator for 10 years at that point. lol.
Join The Key Player's Club to read comments posted in exclusive content and its members only forum.
As a die-hard I'm always hoping for the best and want to believe that some tinkering with the coaching staff makeup can right the ship. I've also been a big Pry apologist. But I keep coming back to the fact that a first time HC had the hubris to hire TWO inexperienced coordinators with no head whistle experience and Whit LET HIM DO IT! And now we've wasted 3 absolutely critical years for our football program in a rapidly evolving CFB landscape that will permanently relegate losers to the dustbin of history PAC12-style. That's a huge black mark on not only Pry but on Whit as well.
LB play has been stagnant for all 3 years (and bad, to boot)
This is another stunning indictment. Pry is a defense/LB guy. And Marve is his protege. Played LB under him at Vandy. If we can't get LB play right in Year 3, what the hell are we even doing here?
Charlie Wiles is a better coach and recruiter than Price, but Justin Fuente didn't think so. Too bad. Reason 122333333 why Fuente is not a head coach in the P4 now.
meh. I really like Price but I think you gotta bring in a completely new staff on that side of the ball. I don't think you can go hire a new DC (who would likely have a different philosophy than Bud/Pry) who is worth his salt and then immediately handicap him by saying he has to work with Price. Maybe the new guy will want to keep Price. That'd be great. But I don't think you mandate that. Fire everyone, hire a new guy and have him build out his staff as he sees fit. You gotta break some eggs to make an omelet. Sometimes good folks in bad programs lose out. It sucks, but I think it is necessary.
Soft, uninterested, non-competitive HS football players don't earn college scholarships. Of course these guys play hard and want to win. They are rare talented athletes at the second highest level outside of the NFL. Of course they compete. That's the rub "well we are playing hard"- yep. That's what elite athletes do. Its like the old refrain "VT works hard in the weight room" yep every fucking team does- hate to break it to you.
I think the players have showed a lot of fight, especially early in the season. But at some point, you are going to start losing respect for your head whistle when he is straight up squandering your hard work and throwing away games with bad in-game decision making. And as many have pointed out, pretty much any kid who has played EA NCAA could do better (including many of the players on the team). It is not rocket science.
If I needed money and I couldn't consistently hit a multiple route slant pass, I might finish my degree and find an honest job.
HOKIE HOOPS WIZ
|
1 year 8 months
# | We need good news and unfortunately, this is not it. - injury report If I recall correctly Evans needed money for a family issue. He hoped that would come from jumping but we all got to see the results.
I guess others on here and I just wanted to #believe. In 2023, after 3 straight bad losses (Purdue, Rutgers, Marshall) things seemingly started to click. We started to blow out the beatable teams on our schedule once we got into conference play. Maybe the canary in the coal mine was the fact that we couldn't hang with any team with a pulse last year (FSU, Louisville, NC State).
Even then, we returned every key player except for Wright and added pieces via the portal, seemingly shoring up positions of need: LB, DL, even an OL. Side note, I can't believe Cunningham has ridden pine all year with the way our line has performed. I still think it was reasonable to expect the team to take a step forward this year. As much as he would probably like to retract the statement, Pry even set the bar at making the ACCCG.
Leave Price alone, the rest can hit the recycle bin
This. Hokies went 0-5 in ONE score games. That's not a talent issue. I already detailed the final two minutes issues but it's equally as frustrating when we watch coaches call plays that aren't in sync with our players on the field. If it's clear as day to us football novices it damn sure should jump off the page at these very highly compensated football professionals.
This season wasn't a talent issue..it was a coaching issue.
2 or three years ago i was in 1st place going into the last week and only needed 2 wins to clinch - of course i got only 1 right and wound up as part of a 3 or 4 way tie.
in a dream world: VT blasts UVA 38-0, bro and then on Dec 1st announce the firing of Marve, the entire defensive staff, and at least Crook. Announce a well regarded DC who has the latitude to bring in whoever he sees fit. Bowen goes out and gets a proper OL coach and a QB guru. Pry hires a new assistant who won't make him look absolutely foolish any time the clock has 2 minutes or less.
Join The Key Player's Club to read comments posted in exclusive content and its members only forum.
Regardless the UVA result, let's see what Whit does. If it's nothing of note, then this is insanity- doing the same thing and expecting different results. If Whit forces Pry to fire Marve, Crook, Holt, Cheetah- well at least we are trying. I think Bowen deserves another year, he has not been terrible and has at least "tried" to adjust- and his QB and RB 1 have missed time with injuries. But other than he and Mines- who can recruit- everyone else can go. If they all come back- mark it down- more dogshit losses, lose to Vandy again, nailbiter against fucking ODU, lose on national TV to sugar shane with thick irony etc. Brace yourself.
I don't think Pry has what it takes to get VT back in the mix in the lowly ACC. It's sad, really. He could change my mind but it'll take making some significant, impactful coaching changes and showing a substantial amount of progress in 2025. My expectations for this are very, very low. I think 2025 is going to be a painful year. I don't think we'll have the same level of talent on campus (which, in and of itself is kind of laughable since we're not very talented right now to begin with) and with these coaches I haven't seen any development at any position, really. Everyone is either where they were when they came in or regressed. Maybe DL is the one exception. Otherwise, the OL is somehow worse than last year. Drones took a massive step backwards at the QB spot. The WRs aren't any better than they were. Tuten is Tuten but nothing else about the RB room excites me. LB play has been stagnant for all 3 years (and bad, to boot) and the DBs just look totally lost out there.
If Pry doesn't want to go the way of Fuente, he needs to surround himself with coaches who know what they are doing and can develop players. Right now, he just doesn't have that. And it shows. The only thing we do consistently is get outcoached. Its embarrassing.
Join The Key Player's Club to read comments posted in exclusive content and its members only forum.