Recent Comments
Attend one more football game in January? Why not
I wish my last name was Magnum.
Would you be a Private Investigator and have a big moustashe?
Would this 2 QB system be because both QBs are so good they deserve to play? Or be because both QBs are so terrible we keep switching? Not all QB systems are equal
The fact that we had better talent all-around (especially in the Receiving Corps) helped out a lot that year. That and Classic Beamerball was still in full force.
I agree with everything except for just a matter of degrees on 1 pt.
The defense was outsized impacted by the injuries to the best of the guys on defense.
The amazing athletes playing CB cannot match the impact of the loss of the other 2 being out because of their inexperience.
Foster may have some great players but without the experience, he can't draw up complex schemes allowing better QBs like we faced with UCLA to have an easier time reading defense intentions and smaller differences between pre-snap and post-snap reads.
edited to correct the autocorrect amazing back from amazon. Gotta laugh at autocorrect sometimes.
Well not many freshmen start for teams that contend for national championships, I'll give you that. But it's happening more and more nowadays because of the complexity of high school offenses. Look at Texas Tech. They had two freshmen start this year.
And although Ford/Durkin may not look as impressive as Manzeil, it's not like Leal has a highlight tape chock full of jaw-dropping moments. His measureables won't be much better than the other two freshmen, and he'll only have one year more of experience under Loeffler than the others. Considering that year of experience came with Loeffler designing his entire game plan around a player with a different tool set than Leal, even that year of experience will have limited advantages.
Leal could very well be the starter next year. I just wouldn't put money on it.
We'll get the minimum 6-wins required to appear in a bowl next year, of this I'm certain
He sounded like a very humble dude, every time he was on TTL. Best wishes to you in retirement, Mr. Karlin!
something in the water down there in sakerlina has gotten to you...do you really think we'll struggle to get to a bowl game?
Winnable games :
Bill and Mary
East Carolina
Western Mich
Duke
GT
Miami
UNC
Pitt
LOLUVA
BC
Wake
The only game I didn't list was OSU..obviously we would need a pretty incredible off season to have a chance in this game...but the rest of our schedule sets up REALLY nicely for a trip to a bowl game. Do I think we'll win all 11 of the games I listed? No, realistically, probably not.
Do I think we'll lose 5 of them? Definitely not. Our O-line should be much improved. Our RBs should be better. We'll have a lot more talent at WR and I think Moorhead proved himself as a good coach. We'll have Malleck and Cline back and they'll have some freshman relief (if needed). Sure we're losing some personnel on D but when has Bud Foster NOT reloaded on D? We might not be top 10 every single year, but for the last 2 decades our defense has been in the top 25 most of the time. That is a pretty damn good track record.
With an entire off season to work the coaches should make significant strides on Offense. The players should be more comfortable after a full year in the system plus more time in camp. I seriously doubt we need to worry about going bowling next year. Remember, we're in the ACC...it's not exactly a gauntlet.
This thread isn't about how "big time" a recruit is. If it was, we would be talking about Travon McMillian. He is technically our highest rated QB recruit in this class, but we aren't. We are looking at the QB's that fit Loeffler's desired system, and those guys are Durkin and Ford.
Sounds like some of the girls I know- saddle, bridle and some shoes....
Yeesh, a little early for doom and gloom, ain't it? We're a full 3 days removed from the season. Let's give the coaches a chance to coach and see what we've got at least after spring practice.
I said McMillian.
But I agree with you it is extremely rare for a reason and I fully expect Leal or Motley next year.
Yes, but those backs were outstanding and set records despite our OLine play and offensive system, not because of it.
10 wins???? I don't see us getting to a bowl next year, and people are talking about 10 wins? We will be worse on offense and defense than this year.
do you have 7 fingers on one hand!?!?!?! Are you related to the guy who killed Inigo Montoya's dad?
you said the QBs could be counted on one hand and listed 7...in case you didn't get the joke
While I generally agree with this wholeheartedly (let's take a moment and laugh at UVA.........
....
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Ok, we're good), I could definitely see us doing something with Durkin like what Duke did this year with Connette in short-yardage situations. A guy who might not be as polished a passer, but still useful as a runner and a threat to dump it off off of playactions.
1. Find someone there in some position of leadership.
2. Slap them.
One, Manziel didn't play as a true Freshman. Neither did Andrew Luck, Jameis Winston, Marcus Mariotta, and so on.
Two, it's actually not reasonable to expect one of the frosh to play any significant amount next year. Very few do -- and almost all of them end up stagnating at best or even regressing in their careers. Very, very few do it with even a modest degree of success in their first year that translates down the road. In the last 5 or 6 years, you can count them on one hand or so and they are big time names and were big time recruits coming out of High School. Teddy Bridgewater, Terrelle Pryor, Braxton Miller, RG3, Matt Barkley, Hackenberg @PSU (still an open book). Maybe a couple more. That's about it. Look it up.
Three, I don't care what the stars said, Andrew Ford is not Johnny Manzeil. Manzeil was a 3*, but IMO the recruiters really missed on him (duh). He looks just as ridiculous in his HS footage as he does now. Knowing what we know now, I suspect they missed on him because the highlight films I've seen are mostly Johnny being Johnny and he was/is kinda small -- and recruiters just didn't really know what kind of passer he could be.
Nevertheless he was the #14 rated dual threat QB by Rivals (vs Ford as #27 rated pro-style QB). Ford does nothing on film anywhere near as well as Manzeil's scrambling or passing on the run. One the few long passes I saw by Manzeil in High School, IMO he had a noticeably stronger arm than Ford.
Don't forget it's not just when they are out for the whole game, it's when they need a break.
Wonder why we fade in the 4th Q?
Depth. That's part and parcel with recruiting.
These young guys spell the seniors to keep the glucose available at the end of the game.
McMillian has a bit of johnny football to him
That's the ticket!
Tech has to MAKE their own luck. But they have REALLY got to turn this shit around and win these fucking games.
Bunk...there are over 2 dozen programs that started Freshman QB's this year and had pretty effective results, and they were not highly-rated recruits either. VT is in big, big trouble IF Leal is more effective than the two guys coming in because he is not good.
I want to see Joel Caleb get some serious playing time. Period.