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Taylor is a phenomenal recruiter and has coached a number of successful WRs on the college level, but I'm not sure I would be comfortable having a guy with his reputation on our staff. Yes he gets recruits, but it sounds like he goes about it a bit differently...Doesn't seem like a CFB kind of guy if you ask me.
Very well said.
I wanted to do almost this exact thing but didn't know if I had the time, and then I open this up and here it is. This just confirms for me my feelings about the hire...I'm glad we're moving on and trying someone new with experience on a big stage, but his past doesn't make me overly excited. He hasn't had great performances, but he didn't appear abysmal either. Pretty much I think you're kidding yourself if you think we're suddenly going to be a top 25 offense, but if you don't think we're taking some step forward from the current situation you're kidding yourself too.
Someone tweeted that Morehead was in Blacksburg last night. Was that ever confirmed?(Receivers)
Someone tweeted that Morehead was in Blacksburg last night. Was that ever confirmed?
2007 - 51 total (3.64/game) - 116th nationally -- Glennon
2008 - 38 total (2.71/game) - 114th nationally -- Taylor/Glennon
2009 - 31 total (2.39/game) - 91st nationally -- Taylor
2010 - 34 total (2.43/game) - 99th nationally -- Taylor
2011 - 17 total (1.21/game) - 24th nationally -- Thomas
Taylor had this infuriating ability to scramble around and step out of bounds for a 4 yard loss instead of throwing it into the stands. Glennon didn't see many rushes coming, and the ones he did see coming just made him cower.
LT, in 2011, didn't take sacks.
Trooper Taylor is mentioned.
The worst for me would have to be the Wilford game Miami 01. A friend of the family had some extra tickets and offered them to my dad and me. I was 10 years old at the time, sitting about halfway up the east stands and I remember just being absolutely out of my mind with happiness after that blocked punt. It was so loud in Lane...I'm not sure I've ever heard it that loud again which is surprising cause that was before the south and west sides got expanded. Wilford dropping the ball...I had a good angle and I thought he caught it for about 5 seconds after the play. Then I had the realization: "he dropped it? he DROPPED it?" Horrible introduction to football heartbreak right there.
Add 2005 vs Miami. I hated Marcus Vick, but they were a legit national title contender. Miami couldn't do anything but pound the ball and then hit Olsen on 3rd and 4 for 5 yards. On offense, that game along with the Orange Bowl vs Kansas were the two games where I knew our receivers would have to be sharper route runners for the Hokies to be elite. Nobody could get open, and Vick's complete lack of effort to improve on his mechanics showed that day. Putrid.
I threw a chair into a hotel room wall when Lindros scored the empty netter in 97. Worst sports moment I can remember. Last spring versus the Devils was close (becuase it was the Devils), but I didn't have as high expectactions because I knew Gaborik was hurt and they were getting nothing from some of the other guys.
Several prominent members of the national media (see Mandel, Stewart) are bagging on the Loeffler hire due to his production at Auburn.
But, being the stat nerd that I am, I decided to take a deeper look at Auburn's offense over the past few years. Yes, they were terrible last year, but were there underlying issues that went beyond Loeffler's abilities (besides Gene Chizik being a terrible coach)? The numbers seem to indicate so.
Auburn Total Offense
2007 - 335.2 YPG (97)
2008 - 302.3 YPG (104)
2009 - 431.8 YPG (16)
2010 - 499.2 YPG (7)
2011 - 337.8 (100)
2012 - 305.0 (118)
Auburn Scoring Offense
2007 - 24.2 PPG (84)
2008 - 17.3 PPG (111)
2009 - 33.3 PPG (17)
2010 - 41.0 PPG (7)
2011 - 25.7 PPG (70)
2012 - 18.7 PPG (114)
As you can see, with the exception of a two year span in 09-10, one of which it had future No. 1 overall pick Cam Newton under center, Auburn's offense has been pretty terrible over the past six seasons. Remember this includes 2008, which for at least part of that season was coordinated by Tony Franklin, who orchestrated the nation's top offense this past season.
These numbers lend itself to a couple theories. First, Auburn is a dumpster fire and has been for some time. Keep in mind they're on the third coach in six years. Auburn's overall record 07-12? 47-30. Yes, they have a National Title during that span, but if not for the $ervice$ of Cam Newton in 2010 how would those numbers look?
Moreover, everyone still praises Malzahn as a fantastic OC, but how do those 2011 stats look on his resume? Are we just going to choose to ignore them?
Second, there's an old saying - sometimes it's Xs and Os, sometimes it's Jimmys and Joes. Maybe, just maybe, Auburn didn't have very good players, especially on offense, the past few years.
But wait, SEC TALENT, SEC SPEED!
This one may sound absurd on the surface, especially when you take a look at Auburn's recruiting rankings according to Rivals since 05:
2005 - 13
2006 - 10
2007 - 7
2008 - 20
2009 - 19
2010 - 4
2011 - 7
2012 - 10
Not a single class outside the top 20. (Conversely, Virginia Tech has only had two recruiting classes ranked in the top 20 by Rivals during that span).
But we all know recruiting rankings are subjective and can be way off. Let's take a look at the number of offensive players drafted since the 2008 NFL Draft (which would be all the players that contributed to the above total and scoring offensive numbers):
Auburn
2008 - 1 (OT King Dunlap, 5 total players drafted)
2009 - 1 (OG Tyronne Green, 3 total players drafted)
2010 - 1 (RB Ben Tate, 2 total players drafted)
2011 - 2 (QB Cam Newton, OT Lee Ziemba, 4 total players drafted)
2012 - 1 (OT Brandon Mosley)
The Tigers have only had six offensive players drafted in the past five NFL Drafts - and only two of them have been skill position players. Auburn has put 15 players total in the NFL since 2008.
Now let's take a look at Virginia Tech's offensive draftees during that same span:
2008 - 4 (Duane Brown, Eddie Royal, Josh Morgan, Justin Harper, 8 total players drafted)
2009 - 0 on offense (1 total player drafted)
2010 - 1 (Ed Wang, 5 total players drafted)
2011 - 2 (Tyrod Taylor, Ryan Williams, 3 total players drafted)
2012 - 2 (Danny Coale, David Wilson, 3 total players drafted)
The Hokies have put eight offensive players in the NFL during the same span. Even if you just look at the past two drafts, Virginia Tech has put more skill position players in the NFL than Auburn has in the last six drafts. The Hokies (16) and Tigers (15) have almost the exact same number of NFL draftees over the same span. VT's record from 2007-2012: 60-22. Again, Auburn was 47-30. The only difference is Auburn had one magical year in that stretch where they had a transcendent talent at QB and won a MNC.
(Side note, I really hope the VT staff uses numbers like this when recruiting players.)
What do these numbers mean? Well, nothing for sure for Virginia Tech. Hokie fans won't know exactly what kind of OC Loeffler is and what he can do with the talent on Virginia Tech's roster until #AUG31 (#BEATALABAMA). But what these numbers could indicate is that Loeffler was in a no win situation down on The Plains last season.
All that gif is missing is a treadmill...
For those of you who are interested there is a full game video of the Auburn opening game versus Clemson from last year.
Disclaimer: I am no French, but just some things I saw from the game.
1) Running- Watching how Auburn ran against an ACC opponent in Clemson, gives me hope for what the VT offense can become. They dominated the line of scrimmage, with the two running backs combining for 188 yards on the ground. Another telling statistic is that Mason averaged 7.7yds/rush and McCallebb 6.8yds/rush. Keep in mind all the while Clemson knew that Auburn had a Sophomore QB starting his first game, and they were anticipating the run a majority of the time.
2) Passing- Kiehl Frazier forced the ball to his WR's quite a bit. A lot of the time it appeared that he would lock onto a route and throw the ball there even if it was adequately covered, one time resulting in an INT. However, his receivers didn't help him out on two occasions in the redzone. On a drive in the second quarter up 7-6 the Wide Reciever was wide open in the back of the endzone, but lost focus of where he was on the field and stepped out of bounds when he easily could of gotten both feet down. The second occasion later in the game the WR dropped an easy fade that the Clemson CB was completely out of position to defend.
3) Turnovers and Penalties- This portion had a large impact on the game. Every time Auburn was in critical situations their line would false start which ended up stalling the drive when they were on Clemson's side of the field (of note they were starting two freshman tackles). The turnovers while costly, only resulted in three Clemson points.
I understand that this is a very isolated incident; however I think it does have some credibility based on the fact that they were playing an ACC opponent who won a BCS bowl this year. If Auburn would have capitalized on missed opportunities (two td passes and untimely penalties) they would have won this game. I definitely recommend you checking out the video when you get some time, it has gotten me very excited for what Virginia Tech’s offense could look like next season.
Thanks! Spring Game? Haha. I was pretty bummed it got stormed out.
Nice avatar!
If you're referring to Andrew Luck, but it helps anyways!
Is coaching required to catch perfectly thrown balls?
This one was mine as well. It was my freshman year, so it was my first time I was totally blown after the game. The losses still hurt, but I guess my first is just the most memorable.
HOWDOITURNTHISON
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13 years 6 months
# | Damn!! Pep would have been a great addition to the VT Family!! Check this out! the funny thing is that Henson's shot only counted for 2 since there was no 3 point line yet. if any shot ever deserved 3 points, it was that one!
But I feel for the guy, I do... Especially after reading Collin's tweet. I am so glad he was "relieved" of his duties but I do hope he stays around. He's gotta be useful for something? ;) Just not play-calling or offense. I won't bash anymore, I got what I wanted. I heard the poor guy can't even go to the grocery store without being hassled.
I've only heard of us trying to get Stanford's WR coach, I'm guessing we were going after him while talking to Pep too. I think the OP is trying to speculate who would be brought on to complete the offensive staff, and Trooper Taylor is just the last guy to fit in there.
Talked to some Auburn fans down here in Hville, Alabama. Said the Auburn Offense was too predictable under Loeffler. Knew what was coming as soon as they lined up at the line of scrimmage. And so did the opposing defense. However, another fan did admit that the players that were at Auburn at the time that he was there did not fit into the scheme he was trying to run (pro style). Bright side is that the worse case is not any worse than it has been already.
Glennon sure did suck.
Tyrod sure was great.
I take all responsibility for this loss.
Halftime: my 12 year old self becomes interested in my dad's new reading glasses (who knows, no one in my family had glasses and i wanted to try them on). i ask to try them on, but i was wearing a hat, so i put the glasses in my lap and take off my hat.
little do i know, for some reason the glasses fall out of my lap and into the aisle. and i turn to see a guy walking down the stairs to find his seat, and **CRUNCH** his next step obliterates the glasses, my dad yells at me, and Glennon throws the game.
I'm sorry for ruining that game. never shouldve asked to try on glasses.
Fun Fact about Aaron Moorehead: He went to South Park Elementary (Yes, that South Park).
That could make things fun around here during his tenure