Recent Comments
I don't want to burn redshirts, because that could bite us in the ass later (see: Tyrod Taylor)
I don't want to lose out without a guarantee that it would bring change. If, and only if, we see sweeping coaching changes afterward, then I will accept a 3-9 season in the name of future progress.
Part of me thinks it'll take a loss to UVA to make change happen, but I can't bring myself to actively hope for that outcome.
I think to compete right now, your offense needs to be able to put up 40. I would like to see us release LT and the passing attack and put points on the board. I could see:
- VT 43, Duke 31. LT accounts for 5 TDs.
- Clemson 47, VT 38. Late TD puts us away...Tajh is jus so good.
- VT 38 Miami 35. A repeat of last year.
- FSU 34, VT 28. Last play of the game heartbreak loss.
- VT 44, BC 30. They did lose to Army...
- VT 41, UVA 35. I expect their offense will improve under Sims.
Then beat FSU in the ACCCG.....beat Rutgers in the Orange Bowl....
Having insightful, flame free, and pleasant discourse is one of the main goals of the site. We also try to provide great analysis, want to remain free, and have some fun and make jokes too. I've always said the people posting here make the community, and it's true.
I appreciate Hokiestud's opinions/thoughts, and truly enjoy the back-and-forth, and I don't want to speak for myself, but whatever I say is at face value, I don't imply anything.
Renefree isn't healthy yet. May be this week, but he didn't play vs UVa
Yeah, 7-5 team in the ACCCG! Let's 2005 this thing!
...of defenses right now? We're not the only defense struggling. UNCs offense is good. Duke, Clemson, Miami, FSU....even BC. That's just our schedule, the B12, P12......jeez.
With all due respect, this board has succeeded by having a very different tone than TSL and the other Hokie boards. A lot of people come here because of that.
We have always been sub par on recruiting, Clemson and FSU typically have highly ranked recruiting classes that under perform and we tend to get the "diamonds in the rough" so we can coach them up to beat them.
Unfortunately thats not the case this year.
It was Bonner. The defensive call was an inside gap stunt, meaning each player on the line of scrimmage were assigned to dive through the inside gap from their alignment. The call tells me that they were looking for a sneak, and UNC had a perfect play called for a first down, but it should not have been a touchdown. Bonner was the end man and had to squeeze off the gap, with Taylor coming into fill, and neither did their job. RVD *almost*got back outside but didn't have an angle to beat the down block.
Based on the two fall public scrimmages, RVD is a MUCH better cover guy than Cole or Bonner. Yes, both.
And the reason he would want to stay at running back is simple. Hokie running backs get to the NFL. With the exception of two whips (Anderson and Grimm) Hokie linebackers don't get a sniff. Trey's dad was an NFL player, so he knows that Trey NFL chances would be hindered by playing in Foster's system, but I am not sure sitting out when he is clearly better than the other running back options is making him happy right now. I sure wouldn't be.
That's one of the major reasons why I wanted Tech in the SEC. It would have been a very bumpy ride to start, by like Ric Flair says, "To be the man, you gotta beat the man."
back to .500. I should have quit while I was ahead.
Miami... that just got shellacked by Notre Dame. Ugh ACC life is miserable.
They are much worse...of course that could change
And we're definitely going to beat UVA. Right?
Forget losing to Duke being the back breaker to our season, THAT would be a crushing blow. That would be the Bane to our Batman, so to speak.
Duke Opponent (% chance Duke wins)
@ Virginia Tech (60%) I think this better than a coin-flip game for Duke. Under Cut they've played us tough. They can move the ball, and they will be able to scheme a successful gameplan that attacks Tech's secondary. Only hope for us is if Foster changes the scheme and personel, and the offense moves the ball.
North Carolina (33%) UNC can run the ball well, and as time passes Renner will only get more comfortable in Fedora's system.
@ Florida State (1%)
Clemson (10%) Only because they host the Tigers and LOLCLEMSON.
@Georgia Tech (25%) The last couple of seasons Duke's been able to keep it reasonably close with the Bees.
Miami (51%) A shootout and Duke probably executes better.
At the end of the day, they have a chance to beat everyone but FSU and Clemson, but there will be a lot of close calls. I really think this will be one of those seasons where the Coastal representative has at least 2 ACC losses, more than likely 3, and it probably comes down to tiebreakers. Fortunately for us UNC isn't eligible. If we can beat Duke and Miami we are still in pretty good shape. However, to get there we're going to see a world of improvement, from both the players to the coach's gameplan.
My point was simple. Over that 3 year window, the Hokies failed to land big time defensive recruits, and so many of the 3 star talents either washed out, left the program, or didn't amount to anything but scout team material that they are now completely lacking in depth.
I have always contended that the gap defense hampers recruiting for defensive line and linebackers because the system is completely different from what is utilized in the NFL, and the numbers play it out. James Anderson is the only NFL starter from VT playing in the front seven. Darryl Tapp has been a career backup. Jason Worilds had to change positions and has never adjusted. Xavier Adibi continues to be a guy cut in training camp. Vince Hall didn't even get a look. Cody Grimm was moved to safety. Jonathan Lewis got a sniff. The fundamentals are that different, and don't think for a second that Mike London, Dabo Sweeny, and Larry Fedora are not using that information for every recruiting visit.
That being said, the Hokies always managed to land or develop quality defensive backs. I have no clue why they hit such a lull.
The next two defensive classes are absolutely critical, and getting top end talent like Fuller, Fisher, and Teller are good starts, but long term getting top end talent and getting good depth will be critical, especially handling spread attacks which require superior athleticism and one on one tackling in space.
to see if he could make the switch. they want to find out if both he and rvd can be on the field together.
Isn't another major problem the types of defensive recruits we target to play LB? It seems like almost everyone out of HS gets slated to play rover or whip, being around 6'0 and 200 lbs. We can't seem to target many guys who have the size, let alone the instincts, to play the MLB or ILB spots early.
Also add in Dominique Patterson. Switched around from LB to RB, then left team
He brought up the allegedly poor success rate of 3-star players in the context of VT needing to recruit more players rated higher than 3 stars. Since 5-star players are pretty rare, he obviously had to be talking mainly about 4-star players.
That nose and WR that went to Tennessee would have looked awful good in this lineup.
I had to go 5-1 just to get to .500