Recent Comments

Actually I think Patterson is announcing on Aug 1. Think we get him though.
Kearns and Beckett today - maybe more....

Agreed. He said on Wednesday he would be on air a few more days, maybe more, depending on how the end of contract negotiations went.

beat me to it.

If Cowherd hadn't already been making his move to Fox, there is zero and I repeat zero chance ESPN is getting rid of him over this.

But he is leaving, and ESPN saw this chance to cut ties and make it look like they weren't the ones spurned.

His comments were not that bad.

Agreed. Our defense will have to account for his presence on the field. I take nothing away from the fact that he is an exceptional athlete. If he can get the ball in space, he is a tremendous threat. It will be interesting to see how he develops into a new role as camp begins, as well as how his shoulder progresses. I don't doubt his role as a decoy can be very effective, especially if he shows that he can catch a pass here and there. I personally think his role will be somewhat limited in our game, though. Being a huge first game on the road with limited time to develop into the role, Urban may not want to risk over utilizing him. Our defense feeds off of forcing mistakes and turnovers, and one INT or fumble could end up swaying the game. Nonetheless, I expect him to be out there in some capacity. I would completely expect him to have an increased role as the season wears on and he can knock the rust off and get reps under his belt.

This game is going to be an absolute chess match. Bud is going to have an excellent gameplan, and OSU will have plenty of tricks up their sleeve as well I'm sure. I'm also really intrigued to see our offense vs. the OSU defense. We have a lot of versatility at TE and an improved O-line. I want to see how we can use our personnel in different formations to create some mismatches. Going to be an excellent atmosphere, it can't come soon enough.

Damn, I wish I had never signed up for tkp. I can get all of the information without signing up and knowing how to internet. /s

I don't think we differ too much. I don't think this is a gimmick. Braxton is one of the best athletes I have ever seen, and he is particularly gifted running with the ball in his hands in the open field. An absolute freak and a threat to score any time that happens. The H-back runs the ball on jet sweeps, catches the ball (especially screens and short routes), and will occasionally throw a pass (I think this is where people are bringing the trick play concept to this). But they will be able to hand the ball to him - that will be the easiest way to get the ball in his hands. I don't know if he will ever be healthy enough to throw the ball, so I don't think we will see that (especially early). How significant his role is will be determined by whether he can catch the ball consistently, in traffic, and when the footsteps are being heard. If he can catch the ball, he will be a major weapon. If he can't, he will be limited to hand offs.

But I think the greater way he helps the offense (especially if he can catch) is that every time he lines up, the defense will have to account for where he is and give him due attention. Urban's offense tries to make a defense make choices about which threats they are going to orient towards and which threats they are going to live with. Urban wants the defense to feel the stress of multiple run/air threats on the field at the same time, and then exploit what the defense is not oriented to. Defensive coaches (BF among the best) counter this by trying to disguise what they are orienting to and away from, and try to bait you into going with the ball where they want you to. That's the big reason I am looking forward to this Sept 7 game - the cat and mouse between the OSU offense and the VT defense. It's going to be great stuff.

I think Bud is going to watch the film on Braxton from 2011 and 12, and he is going to conclude that they have to account for him at all times. But if you asked him whether he would prefer that threat to be on the field or off of it, I think he will say, "OFF!" because he would prefer to be able to focus mainly on Ezekiel Elliot and the QB - and that is why Braxton will be a tremendous asset to that offense. The more productive he is, the more of an asset he will be. I'm really interested to see how that plays out.

I'm confused. I thought Ford was trying to reduce weight.

I can just see the bad sportscasting. "Well, Tom, you know you can't make a complete Bud Foster defensive sandwich without a good helping of Mayo"

God help us if he's ever involved in a Dadi/Ken style tackle a la LOLUVa 2014.

It is overblown but education does not equal intelligence.

They were already working out the details of when to cut the cord anyway. This probably just made it easier. I like Colin. He just messed up in this case by correlating intelligence or the ability to play a thinking man's game with education. Unless public schools are teaching baseball strategy, his argument doesn't hold water. Not the first time he's been wrong, and also not a huge deal. And I agree with him that baseball isn't really a thinking man's game, he just needed a better supporting argument.

How did you get the video off of snapchat?