Rest In Peace Frank Loria, Rick Tolley and the other 73 souls who perished on Flight 932.
#10 Virginia Tech=30 Marshall=7
1st quarter, 14:04 remaining:
Note that DeChris gets driven backwards into L.T. who instinctively hop-steps backwards and to his right on a scripted half-roll to the wide-side of the field. As a result –“three” short arms an otherwise routine throw and dang near got this one jacked by #2 of Marshall who read L.T.’s primary read like a ¢10 book. Or in other words, it all begins downstairs with the footwork people. As even a thoroughbred Triple Crown stud like L.T. can not overcome a fundamental off balance error in his base such as this one.
Game duration:
Don’t wanna hit this one too hard; as this was an rotund looking 361 lb. mini-me powerhouse of a Mt.Cody who single handily short circuited our Inside Zone work for most of the day; as #93 was nothing short of a beast as he simply abused Brooks, Miller and Nosal in that order before #93 finally and mercifully wore down a bit late in the game. (big PIC link)
1st quarter, 9:52 remaining:
“You can only believe half of what you see and none of which you hear.” Yah; pretty much, as this Color Commentator has no idea what he is talking about on this one; as this is nobodies all-out blitz from Cover none. Exum simply jumps the Split-End who is running a down-and-in pattern; whereas the Slot-Wr would still be running if he had caught this one all the Go route. Or in other words, Exum was (still) playing Rover as opposed to playing Free-Safety where he technically belongs. Don’t forget the number one rule of Free Safety: which says to always be deeper than the deepest offensive man.
1st quarter, 7:00 remaining:
Here is the play where L.T. and his non-throwing left-shoulder came up lame thanks to a pretty fair to middling hit from #26 of Marshall who came up and hit L.T. for all that he was worth. Do I expect this injury to keep #3 from playing vs. Clemson? No Sir, he will “get some help” if need be. Do I expect this injury to be 100% healed up for Clemson? No Sir again, not really. Do I expect Clemson to test L.T.’s left-shoulder good and hard early-on next Saturday? Wouldn’t you?
1st quarter, 6:49 remaining:
Boy is this a phobic kinda play as J.R. Collins gets helplessly rolled up from behind and his upper-body doubles over backwards over top of the pile. Recall that last week someone’s 20-20 Eye(s) found #42’s heretofore unpublished left-ankle injury in film-study. That said, there is no hiding this injury as “forty-two” could not even make it off the field under his own power at the end of this play.
1st quarter, 4:44 remaining:
Check out this finger-tip catch by D.J. Coles out in front of his body on the politically incorrect so-called Slant Route. You just do not get this from rest or hard-work as this has all the hallmarks of a natural Wide Receiver and quite possibly the one with the highest Coach God given ceiling on the entire VT football team. Note at the end of this reception how D.J. narrows his upper body to simultaneously avoid as much contact as possible and in an attempt to slide by for extra yardage after the catch (Y.A.C.).
1st quarter, 2:22 remaining:
Observe my home-boy David Wilson at the end of this slashing TD carry for six (points) as he comes up holding his left wrist after an awkward impact with the endzone itself on this outside-zone iso or wham play with a pretty decent kick-out block from #25 Fb Martin Scales plowing the road out in front.
1st quarter, 2:21 remaining:
Watch the right side of the VT P.A.T. team basically collapse like the American debt ceiling eventually will as the outside three O&M guys from left-to-right get mugged on this play like a guy wondering through Central Park with a sign on his back that reads: “I’m rich” after dark. That said, the early front runner for the Hustle Award of the Season is none other than forth string back-up Qb and P.A.T. and F.G.A. holder Mr. Trey Gresh who hustles his hump in order to run #36 down from behind. “That’s what it’s all about.” And thank God that #36 and his left-knee enjoy enough flexibility to survive this oddball knee inflection on this P.A.T. return as #36 is tripped up from behind by the trailing Gresh as #36’s upper body suddenly and nearly grotesquely shifts backwards in a manner that would have blown out most mere mortal patella’s in some way or another.
1st quarter, 1:37 remaining:
Take a look at the replay Qb cam angle on this one and ask yourself how in the world did Whitley miss deflecting this Cato throw? How? Via jumping about a split second too soon or he might have waltzed in for six had he waited just a split-second longer.
1st quarter, season duration:
Yes, Winslow has improved virtually 200% from this time last year. To be fair, how many guys can ever say that at any stage of their career from season-to-season? That’s what happens when you go from being an F- to a virtual flat-C as letter grades go. However, there is a reason that Winslow is only averaging 1.4 stops per contest. Cato demonstrates this point rather pointedly as he jukes Winslow outta his jock not once, twice on this scripted left-side 1-hole Qb Draw when Winslow easily had him dead to rights in the Marshall backfield. If Bud Lite is ranked fourth best in all of D-1 right now, ask yourself where Bud Lite would be ranked with even a moderate play-maker patrolling the wide or field side of the play at Whip?
2nd quarter, 12:24 remaining:
Why did VT have difficulty move the ball on our signature inside-zone calls you ask? Because the Thundering Herd defense guessed right on nearly every single run-blitz into our A or B-gap on the day. This has left me wondering out loud if the Herd saw something on film that our opponents could pick-up and use against us from here on out? If I am the Clemson Linebacker coach I am on the bat-phone and I am speed-dialing Marshall A.S.A.P.
2nd quarter, 11:00 remaining:
All kinda O&M shoulder injures on the day folks, as this time it is #85 Eric Martin’s turn to come up holding his left arm immobilized against his left side and after the spot-on hit from #46 of Marshall, who busts Martin on his previously weakened left-shoulder good and hard and then has something to say about it afterward for good measure.
2nd quarter, 8:19 remaining:
Really nice looking sneaky good steal by #8 Derrick Bonner at the end of the partially blocked Hosely punt-return on #33 of Marshall. See #33 of Marshall fall down go “boom”, he-he.
2nd quarter, 6:54 remaining:
Either #92 Luther Maddy got away with one, or he is one “baaaaaaaaad, SHUT YOUR MOUF!”. Watch Luther hustle left to right down the line-of-scrimmage and basically drop an atomic elbow on the Hampton Roads area Tb (Vans) from Marshall. This is one of those awesome hits that will never get any run in the general media as one guy (Vans) was stationary and that lacks SportsCenter sensationalism. Maddy absolutely crushed Van’s head/helmet and could have been called for a fringe level Late Hit on this one if the Linesman had been feeling strict. Goodness Maddy hit #7, right in the lower back of the head, right where the Military teaches you to scramble eggs with you knife in hand-to-hand terms –that said, I am liking this ‘tude from Maddy.
WOW! This is just an epic play; if you only go back to watch one; go back and watch Maddy on this one; I know I have a good 15 times already.
2nd quarter, 6:10 remaining:
I’ll tell you another youngling that I am starting to take a liking to. Wilson. No, not my boy Wilson, the other Wilson who happens to go by #66, back-up Stud-De Tyrell Wilson who surely has a nose for the ball. Love to see someone run the data on his play-making vs. raw number of aggregate plays. This kid is already something of a supped up and undersized Orin Martin redux. And I’ll tell you one more thing, to be the little guy Ty.Wilson sure ain’t shy about mixing it up with the big-boys upfront. Pretty decent KO coverage guy as well folks. “He’s got guts, and guts is enough.” -Full Metal Jacket, Gunny Sergent Hartman-
2nd quarter, 5:28 remaining:
Watch the Hosely punt-return along the Marshall sideline, watch #8 C.Hill release his guy right into the heat-seeking missile otherwise known as: little Tony Gregory as Tee.Gee simply unloaded on poor #48 of Marshall. This was a clean hit as Tony’s helmet and nearside ear-hole were out in front. This was also a pretty dang mean looking hit and if you know me you know that I like a little mean when it comes to contact sport participation.
2nd quarter, 4:52 remaining:
Just give a listen to the snap-count voice inflection by L.T. on this one folks. See what I mean? That’s a senior savvy play right there to hard-count Marshall into jumping off-sides which gave us a very user friendly 2nd and short whereby you can indeed risk digging deep into your bag of tricks if you please.
2nd quarter, 3:19 remaining:
Man-o-man! Watch the core strength of my boy David Wilson as he got the last four yards on this left-side A-gap inside-zone call all from about 12 inches off the ground! This is insane folks! Never seen anyone go that far that close to being down in my life.
2nd quarter, 2:32 remaining:
Always see what you hit. Teach your children this if you are a football father who is graciously reading my work this week. Watch poor #18 D.J. Coles duck his head, and a pretty decent downfield block and take a knee right to the crown of the helmet and suffer a scary looking left-side shoulder stinger. Always see what you hit –to do anything else is inviting cervical trauma.
2nd quarter, 0:16 remaining:
What put a burr in Lanier’s shoe, or dare I say glove on this one? Lanier got after the entire Marshall dLine all by his ownself. Now, what I’m really trying to tell you is that the 2011 VT oLine has taken heed indeed of Frank’s “get tougher” mantra and it shows. There’s no two ways about it, as this is one rougher looking VT oLine right now.
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Long-field Management (Lo.FM):©
Virginia Tech:
positive= |||| |||| (1 TD, 2 Marshall penalties)
negative= |||| | (1 VT penalty)
neutral=||||
Marshall:
positive= |||
negative= |||| |||| |||| |||| (1 VT INT, 1 Marshall penalty)
neutral= |||
What an efficient fist-half this was from L.T. and company; even if it was about a notch below explosive or epic as sex-appeal goes. As I do not recall any opening 30 minutes of scrimmaging that enjoyed a 4:2:1 ratio as positive to negative to neutral plays go in the history of the Lo.FM itself. That said, I am noticing two trends here, the first trend is modestly to moderately encouraging –a trend that could be said to be partially matriculated in fact. The second trend however is indeed the signature of a r-sophomore rookie year Qb.
First up, L.T. is slowly starting to hit some positive big-plays when he is chasing the chain-gang on long down-and-distance scenarios. Last year T-mobile was good for 3-5 of these per game all by his ownself. L.T. is not quite so precocious as that; however, he has nailed 1-3 favorable big plays each and every game. This is up from zero positive big-plays when playing from behind the yardage makers which is where he began the year vs. a rather porous D-1aa defense otherwise known as Appalachian State. Some pessimists may wanna water that down and call that incremental improvement. Maybe; however the emphasis is on the word improvement itself, as I just saw L.T.’s overall play improve for the eighth consecutive quarter of scrimmaging when viewed on the whole.
“Tech is avoiding long yardage situations, which helps them keep the chains moving.”
-Chris Coleman-
Dang.
Did my boy C2 just hack this file?
Is there a Agent Smith in the house?
Or in other words, yah think?
VT experienced 20 Lo.FM’s (or an average number) on the day. However, VT only wet the Lo.FM bed a fairly mature 25% of the time. The longitudinal number for going “negative” as I grade the Lo.FM is typically 2 outta 3 or just under 67% all-time. 25% may not be in league with a senior season Tyrod Taylor, at least not yet. However, 25% is damn close, and that is one smooth operator that #3; all expect for a third quarter disconnect that is on the verge of being labeled as an outright pattern.
Second thing I am seeing is something that concerns the third stanza of play specifically. I have noticed that VT is just not as sharp, much less as serrated to begin the first couple of offensive drives after halftime to start the third quarter. The third quarter was effectively a draw up in Huntington with the score knotted at zero-zero for the third stanza of play. The week before VT won the third quarter 3-zip vs. AR.State, and the week before that VT won the third quarter 7-3 vs. E.C.U. That’s what we like to call a baseball score folks; and that is also the signature of a team that has taken its foot off the accelerator when it should have put its foot into the throat of the previous three overmatched opponents and put them away. Often this too is a function of maturity or lack thereof. However, the unintended byproduct is the Hokie starters playing longer than they should with the back-ups getting little or no on-field love which leaves you with a beat-up O&M first-string football team which is precisely what Virginia Tech is.
The Thundering Herd was like the old cruise ship joke for bad weather on an altogether pleasant late September 3o4 day. “The bad news is we’re lost. The good news is that we are making great time.” As VT dominated the hidden Beamerball tenant of Time of Possession by a backbreaking and nearly insurmountable 10 minute margin less 2 whole blundering Herd seconds. This leaves the Hokies a full one second behind Army in the race for T.O.P. first-place overall at 36:03 to the good for all of D-1 football folks! I call that lopsided and than some, and you should to.
Even though this 2011’s VT football squads Q-score may be left wanting; make no mistake here folks; Frank Beamer is in his element like a clam in mud. This is precisely his utopian version of ball-control based football whereby you win the proverbial blinking contest by forcing the other guy to bat an eye and therefore into the first mistake, by slowly grinding the opposition up and then wearing them down on the gourd. The only prerequisite missing Beamerball element is the kicking game itself; as poor Demler got benched in favor of our 3-step and likely to get killed thanks to such a slow release star Flanker (D.Coale), who is double-dipping from a Wide Receiving corps that now has 4 of its Top-5 out for the year or hurting heading into Clemson as I type. Stay tuned on that one folks; however, if the 60% F.G.A. kicking game that has had one P.A.T. snuffed out manages to settle down and improve, and if the 110th ranked punt game ever gets its act together, it will take a one helluva a football team to beat Frank and his 30th ranked rushing offense at their own game. Why? Check it out…
- 2nd in rushing defense
- 6th in pass efficiency defense
- 10th in sacks
- 13th in Tackles for a Loss (T.F.L)
- and 4ourth in Total Defense!
Just one more week of that and I will gloss’ (short for glossary), Bud Lite with a brand new and improved nickname. Bud Lite is this close –index mashed to thumb- from being upgraded to: Bud Ice.
“LET’S GO!”
“HOKIES!”
b’street