Your winning North Carolina Eye in the Sky (part I):

Listen, when bourbonstreet “gar-ron-damn-tee”‘s a Hokie VicTory, bourbonstreet gar-ron-damn-tee’s a Hokie Victory! Lesson learnt, as my tally of 35 points was about as spot on as it could be, although missing U.n.c. by 1-and-half plays was not so shiny.

That being said, we are 4 up, 2 down and that’s not very far off the pre-season pace most of the prognosticinti set for all of us. If it is off at, as some shrewder readers surely tabbed us as a .667 team at this very moment.

Or in other words, someone still needs to beat Gah.Tech twice, and yes Virginia Tech and Frank need this OPEN weekend like a “dead man needs a coffin”. And yes, I still have no idea what my late father meant when he said that.

Though I do have sources who hint that BYE has a very tough defense. So do not expect many (if any) Hokie points to be scored this weekend.  That attempt at comedy aside, we do need some downtime as our list of walking wounded reads about as lame as it possibly could. As we are objectively down to our 4th string Tb as I type.

Although the first 30 minutes were not too shabby, even if Frank did take his foot off the O&M accelerator a coast home a bit in Division metaphorical terms.

And yet, tell me we are not guilty of: “…straining out the gnats and swallowing the camel”
-The Book of Mathew-

…read on to see what I mean.

1Q game remaining:
Wild, that with such a beat-up set of Dt’s and with message board speculation rampant on a 30 set, Bud Ultra opened up in a base 4-3, with 2 pure Dt’s, and yet with the ILb’s in stack just for a little twist. Clearly Bud Foster does not enjoy Thomas’, doubting, or otherwise. 10 men within 4 yards of the LOS (line-of-scrimmage) and Fs #8, at least 22 yards and off the TV screen in Shell-1.

You do not dictate terms to Bud, the training room does not even dictate terms to Bud. Bud dictates terms to you.

1Q 14:10 remaining:
Ouch, as U.n.c. executes the rare double-steal just like a game of gridiron Dominions on our guys. I tried, I just can not get an angle to pull the #’s off the jersey’s of our two blown up guys; though this is why you do keep your head on a swivel on the suicide squad or in any version of special-teams coverage.

1Q 4:26 remaining:
NICE little wrinkle here to throw to Newsome on a pitch-n-catch version of the end-around play or what we call a jet-sweep. That’s called  showing you and U.n.c. something new, as the trailing (shadowing) U.n.c. Lb released his responsibility on Newsome (for coverage) and simply charged up-field taking himself outta the play; when Newsome did not get the hand-off right at the snap when in motion.

1Q 3:55 remaining:
IF Bucky (or “Gods Gift” as his triceps do read) had just been out in front of the play; Mars’ Williams should have scored as we were literally one extra step of hustle or maybe even two from executing a seal-block on the edge and seeing Mars’ take this one to the house.

2Q 7:39 remaining:
Interesting, as unlike last game, Michael Brewer actually blocked and blocked pretty dang well on this reverse call to Wr Cam Phillips around the odd-side or left-End. Looks like someone had a little talk with my boy here; though I am want to ask if you should risk a smaller and already dinged up Pivot on a blocking assignment such as this?

And boy is Fb Sam Rodgers having himself a Tony Paige quality season as a blocking Fb who can actually catch the ball on top of that. Here’s hoping the Atlantic Coast all-conference selection committee has their Eye wide open as well.

p.s. just ask 3:16 left in this Q if Mister Rodgers likes pancakes? WOW!
p.s.s. #45 makes special-teams coverage tackles as well……..6!
(that’s six stops from your starting Fb on the year folks!)

2Q 6:47 remaining:
All “God’s Gift” had to do was make one single cut, win one single physical battle as a heavyweight himself vs. a Lt.Heavyweight and he’d still be running.

Not often have I EVER bailed the coaches out…….however, this time? They are perfectly correctly when they say we are leaving 4-6 chunk yardage plays out on the field/game. And just one extra block, or one extra cut, or one melee combat victory, and we house one or two outta that 4-6. As this running game may not be a dominate one, though it is not real far removed from being a more explosive or BIG-play one, either.

2Q :03 remaining: (top pic)
Was this the makings of a hook-n-lateral old-old-school Don Shula play? Or a set-up play for the same later on in the year; …I wonder? (because it does not seem like Loeffler to me, to run the exact same route with Twins, to the very same side to the exact same depth)

Longfield Management: (Lo.FM)©

Virginia Tech:
positive: ||||
Swiss: ||||
negative: |||| |||| ||||  |||| ||||  (7 VT penalties, 1 INT)

North Carolina:
positive:||||
Swiss: |||
negative: |||| |||| ||||  | (3 UNC flags)

It’s official……………..we, are…….average!
60th best in passing offense!
61st best in rushing offense!
Cheers all around!!!

Just how good is this football team? Am I crazy, or should they be 6-zip? Because on film, we are a ripe ass self-inflicted wound folks, that needs to be lanced, packed, and drained, STAT! I’ve never ever seen a VT football team -or even a Fosterized opponent- reel off not 8, not 9, TEN, that’s 10 full negative Lo.Fm© plays to begin a football game. Never! That’s news to me gents. Hell, we couldn’t get outta our own way if we tried. And YET…………we are finally average on offense. (seriously, I just looked it up)

So what are we on O, and overall as a football team, if we tourniquet these bonehead penalties and these unnecessary turnovers? We/Virginia Tech are the one leaking plays all over the field. E.c.u. (less their Ng) and Gah.Tech need not apply.

We really could be 6-o  –and we prolly R.A.T.T. should be 5-1. However, why do we hate, we? The noesis of this little diatribe? Virgina Tech will go forth for the rest of the 2014 campaign, …every bit as good as Virginia Tech allows Virginia Tech, to be. 

So let us dig a little Chapel Hill deeper:
VT TFL allowed=7
VT Qb’s sacked=3

UNC TFL allowed=7
UNC Qb’s sacked=5!

Sure looks to me like Bud Ultra did it’s part; and in point of fact, to be so physically lame, and so defensive-tackle challenged, that one might have very well been one of Bud’s best game-day mind-job’s in years; plural. And yet guess who’s 117th (outta 125 D-1 teams) in fewest penalties allowed? Or precisely 1.8 penalties removed from being the sloppiest team in America. Gulp.

***

And do notice that a full 28% of our very own Lo.Fm’s were self-indicted and through no credit of U.n.c.’s own. Gulp again. And for who knows what reason, we just had to throw the ball, 2nd-n-9 to go, from our very own three?!? Where any holding whistle is a Safety and any INT is basically a freebie 7 point giveaway. Why exactly did coach Loeffler call that one up 3 full plays, in total control of the game, with Bud Ultra playing like the proverbial most dangerous when wounded animal.

Gulp, gulp, gulp, Camels sure do taste good, all the more so down on Tobacco road.

---

This brings us today’s word:… diakrisiß

diakrisis
(adj., Greek)

1. discernment
2. or passing-judgement,
3. see what I ^mean^

The prefix “dia” meaning: through, and “krisis” meaning judgement. Or a passing-judgement, as in, at the half-way point of the 2014 regular season, why are we (still) asking my boy Michael Brewer to make sideline throws that he just does not quite have the arm for? Why are we even passing outta our very own endzone up Ace-10 or 21 points to begin with? Or did that just make too much sense? As some of these throws almost have the look and feel of leftover or refugee LT3  calls whereby Logan Thomas did indeed have the height and the howitzer alike to make these dicey looking Brewer far hashmark throws. Or even the near hashmark throw where sky-blue lightening did indeed strike as illustrated below. Try as we might, football still ain’t rocket-surgery folks, and this was an unnecessarily aggressive call up three scores in our very own endzone by great Scot at best –when we should have run away and lived to punt another day; at worst.

Why not put the baby in Bud basket, or just go ahead and delete these pages from our play-book and help my boy Michael Brewer stay outta his very own way by swallowing our very own X’s and O’s pragmatic arm-strength pride. Repeat after me, pass the Camel-sauce and: gulp, gulp, gulp, …punt.

Odds-n-ends:

• Is this an all-A.c.c. Lb? 23 solo stops, 26 assists, 8.5 TFL, 3.5 sacks, 2 passes broken up, 2 passes defended, 14 Qb hurries, 1 forced fumble. One could dare opine the “Chase” is on for all-Atlantic Coast honors by our very own #36.
• Bud Ultra has inflicted 260% more sacks than VT opponents have thus far!
• Bud Ultra has inflicted 340% more Qb hurries than VT opponents have thus far!
• Do you see the pattern here?
• FG kicking is up, 6% from last year.
• M.Leal has a 222.6 Qb rating!
• Coach Stacy has gone from a mere 2-deep off the bench to 4-deep in the last two games, with all less our starting C getting a breather.
• VT is shellacking opponents in the 2nd Q (47-14)! And yet is almost even in the closer or the 4th Q (56-52) A.B.C. VT. (always be closing)

 

Virginia Tech=21, North Carolina=3

“LETS GO!”

“Hokies!”

bourbonstreet**