Recent Comments
There were plenty of plays left in the game. No doubt a clever O coordinator can devise a play that maybe isolates a linebacker in space for a crackback (above the knees of course) or some such thing.
Ghandi doesn't play O-line for the Hokies. And if he takes out my quaterback, Mahatma's getting crushed.
CBS was brought kicking and screaming into the modern sports age by the other networks. We're lucky to get HD and score boxes.
They did take a break from Mangum once to call him Magnus
If it had happened in the backfield/in the pocket, I bet we would have seen that. LT had rolled far to the sideline, so the OL were a bit farther away from him than they otherwise might have been. For one of our OL to truck Zumwalt in that situation would have been risking starting a fight and getting himself ejected (and Zumwalt would have been a "victim" in that scenario). As much as the OL will protect their QB, I think the momentary pause present in that situation prevented retaliation, probably for the better.
Based on the television broadcast and announcers, LT got blown up because he trucked over the LBs and such on that one play where he just wouldn't go down. VT was already "the bad guy" because the QB shouldn't ever do that...make a fool of the LBs? Whether he launched or not, he did duck and pull up to connect with Logan's chin/helmet.
I'm actually surprised nobody from our OL, especially Miller, didn't knock him immediately after his hit on Logan. Just as a catcher protects his pitcher in Baseball, the OL often will get the last word on a player who hits their QB.
I've been meaning to look up the stats and post about this, but haven't had time. My theory is that because Kyle Fuller is such an asset in run support, Bud can blitz and play aggressively with significantly less risk of a giving up big rushing yards. By limiting the run, we force the team to pass. If our opponent must pass, They must deal with Kendall/Facyson. It's a lose/lose for the other team.
Each player on our defense is important, but Kyle Fuller is the most irreplaceable. Without Kyle Fuller, our defense is good. With Kyle Fuller, we have a top 3 defense in the nation and a 2 loss team.
That's pretty bold and could work, but unless the new LB's are really struggling AND Marshawn Williams lights it up the second he steps on campus I just don't see it happening
Also, I think you are underestimating the difficulty in finding a "national championship quality" coach. Do you have anyone in mind who would be able to take Tech to the promised land AND Tech could convince to coach here?
A list of the "national championship quality" coaches in the past 15 years:
- Phillip Fulmer
- Bobby Bowden
- Bob Stoops
- Larry Coker
- Jim Tressel
- Pete Carroll
- Nick Saban
- Mack Brown
- Urban Meyer
- Les Miles
- Gene Chizik (And by Gene Chizik, I mean Gus Malzahn)
Without doing research, I can tell you that about a third of these coaches have had some sort of NCAA controversy, a third got fired/retired for having multiple subpar years after their National Championship, and a third are currently coaching at a team where they had not yet won a national championship.
I really don't see any way he transfers from PSU.....like any
I know of no high performing sports teams that didn't demand respect and a level playing field.
I know of plenty of "best teams", "most skilled" teams that got pushed around and never stood up for themselves enough to allow their skill levels to dominate.
Football, basketball, baseball, soccer, women's lax, women's field hockey. Maybe baseball is the one where it doesn't matter so much. You have to demand a level playing field. If the referees aren't going to do it for you, you have to do it yourself.
The $EC network doing a game that doesn't have any $EC teams...its to be expected. When the schedule came out and we were one of the few games NOT on ESPN, I knew it was going to be a disaster. That, and the west coast ties that were mentioned every 37 seconds. The game on the field was secondary for their $EC love fest/NYE pre-party. By the end of the game, even my wife was yelling at me to mute it because they were so bad.
They won't both bust but that doesn't mean that one of them will be better as a true freshmen than Leal as a senior or any of the other guys
In chronological order:
1. Kyle vs. AJ McCarron - Kyle won, a couple of times over
2. Safety clinches ECU game, since no ending is more fitting
3. Blocked kicks vs. Marshall (bonus for the almost fat-guy TD)
4. Kyle forcing the fumble against GT and also the ref high-five
5. Pass out of the end zone to Willie Byrn for 83 yards against UNC
6. Dadi and the D-line vs. Pitt - Dadi's home
7. The entire Miami game
8. Sam Rogers to LT for the almost TD - great play call
There is no way a single true freshman qb is going to stay healthy all season. We will be playing at least 2 qb next year. Remember Tyrod was a 5 star but couldn't take the pounding every game all game long.
Not doubting you, but it seems kinda ironic.
Leave NRV to go to.....University Park?
Why not go Miami, or LA, or someplace dramatically off-the-chart different?
Logan's Run was an all-timer.
Kyle's high five will always entertain me.
Hopkins nearly getting a fat guy TD in OT.
Decade of Dominance.
Kyle's swat of AJ McCarron's pass.
Antone Exum giving away his bowl stipend (2012 but eat me if you don't like it).
EDIT: Shoot I forgot about punterswag. Hughes hitting Miami is in there too
I've noticed in most games that one team usually starts out hotter than the other. My rule of thumb at this point is that both teams need to have two drives on offense and two drives on defense before they really get comfortable. Sometimes, by that point, it's 14-0 or so (see: Duke vs. A&M), but it evens out sooner than later. I give it one drive on both sides of the ball in the second half,
I agree with your take on Logan.
I gotta disagree about the 'clean hit' bit though.
As a parent of kids playing football-if this type of play is allowed, (and celebrated-WTF CBS?)-then my kids don't play. It was a bullshit cheap shot and was exactly the kind of hit that the rules were put in place to penalize.
"Well there a lot of walk ons on Virginia Tech and, .... um.... there is a guy who used to play here named Jarrett Boykin who has large hands. Let's go to the videotape to see what size gloves he used to wear"
If I remember correctly, Andy Bitter did a great piece on this very subject with numbers and research and stuff, and it was actually not bad at all, (feels like it though.)
"An eye for an eye and the world would be blind" ~Gandhi
I didn't like the way that hit was delivered and I didn't like the way it was handled by the refs or the announcers. But you better believe if anyone from the Hokies made a hit like that on any of the UCLA players they would be immediately ejected and it would be embarrassing to Frank Beamer and the Hokies. I'm glad we didn't retaliate because we would have been made out to be the villain. I think it's good we took the high road. Besides, making a big hit on that kid or anybody else on that team wasn't going to bring back LT3. That game wouldn't have ended any differently.
I mentioned this before, but I did like the fact that there was nothing else on the screen but the game & the score. Felt like I was watching raw feed at the beginning; and we weren't hearing about the next game every two minutes (granted CBS didn't have any other bowl games).
It's like FOX, I guess. They could do it well if they did it more often, they do cover other leagues/sports.
Oh, and while there's a break... "Let's see that Zumwalt hit one more time..."
Leal looked flustered and like he was trying to be Logan and do it all himself. I was pretty unimpressed. It was interesting that Lefty went to everything under center with Leal in though.
If that's what he is (inconsistent) then I'd rather see a true freshman get the reins and learn on the job. No disrespect to Leal but at least if a Fr is inconsistent he can learn from it and help us down the line. If a RS-Sr is inconsistent its a waste.