Virginia Tech=41, Marshall=20

Virginia Tech football was NOT voted off the Duck Pond bowl streak, or off the Commonwealth Cup streak island. Per a downright gutty, guttiest, gut-check, with not less than two life-n-death post-season lifeline wins in just over 8 fightful frenetic frightful days down in the now snowy New River Valley. This Hokie heart-attack issued courtesy of a wicked 4-6 start to shock paddle close the regularly scheduled part of your near colde-blue 2018 A.D. O&M football programming. SHEW!

The Hokies held on in extra innings vs. uva (barely); hung in there while outgaining (now) 9-win and Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl champion Marshall by a whopping 6′. Yes, that’s by six feet folks… as upon breaking tape and grading this last minute year-end 12th game… it may not have felt like it in the Stadium or on your TeeVee. Although -and to borrow on Coach Robert Frost- VeeTee “has promises to keep and many miles to go before they (Military Bowl) sleep”. As here is where real men congregate and speak truth to the power… so here is your brutally honest look at what time it is… and just how much time this above .5oo quarter century winning-streak has… left.

1Q quickie:
Nice to see Fox get the P.T. love, harsh to see Fox get hounded on the screen play. Hewitt’s left-knee does not look alright to me. Farley looks like he’s running on fumes. Even I’ve L ding/dent count here (4 or 4+, give/take). And the Hazelton steal -or block in the back- at the 1Q 3:33 marker was fun to see. As he and the Grim’-reaper and even Kumah will plum get after you— at least here-n-there.

2Q 5:52 remaining:
If there is a play that truly, madly, deeply… epitomizes this initial 4-6 season opener that somehow shook the rally tree just barely enough for two St.Lazarus wins to fall out late this autumn? This is surely it…

As just watch as we score the worst (run) blocking grade of the whole, entire season; and yet (somehow) still managed to scrape out the first down.

As first our right-Ot (Dzansi) completely missed the left-De of Marshall who promptly penetrates a good 4 yards into our backfield and then (somehow) borrows a page from the Hokiebird and lays a total egg on an easy TFL (tackle for a loss). Then the typically pretty reliable blocker otherwise known as Dalton Keene ankle dives the little guy at boundary-Cb and eats dirt for it. And then off-side-Ot Darrisaw finally just “ole’s” the Safety for Marshall like an open-field bull who merely fell down before he could do any damage in the proverbial china shop.

Now consider our play-side mathematics… we had three that’s (3) play-side “mighty” Casey swing-n-a-miss totally whiff blocks and still (somehow=Turner the burner’s emergence) gained the first down when a staggering 75% of our play-side blockers blocked precisely as many people as you and I did combined. Amazing… as some days you get the bull and somedays you get the herd.

2Q 4:10 remaining:
Am Eye the only one noticing this very disturbing and even more colorful trend this year? As some defenders just can not help themselves when jocking our Qb2 now gone our Qb1. As Ry’ Willis and his pasty game sure draw a lotta mayo’ on Ry’ hold the… wheat! Colorblind >>> colorful. Tisk-tisk, I ain’t a Truman democrat for you Mister -green with envy- Marshall.

2Q 2:09 remaining:
Q has some shortcomings in this/that, so-so run-support, lacks pass coverage timing and tends to be late or behind the coverage itself. And yes he gets stolen; a, lot; however, he also steals peeps. And there’s just something you gotta like about a kid who gives as good as he gets. That’s the kinda kid who grows on you and eventually grows into being a real live gridiron, man.

4Q 14:45 remaining:
Ugly play as Marshall (sorta) goes illegal blocking on our blindside-Ot (#77) in reverse with an accidental and fugly looking hi-lo on poor Darrisaw’s completely defenseless left-knee. The oLine immediately waves frantically for Dr. Goforth and you can just see it… they all knew. The footballers’ mind is the ultimate M.R.I. machine. May St.Nikhon bless!!!

4Q ~2 mins. remaining:
Nice to see former starting ‘backer1, Rivers back into the swing of things. Harsh to see Rivers getting all damned up on the steal right over the top of the Marshall keeper TD plunge-play right at the very end. As this was a very dangerous looking leg/knee flexion for a guy just getting the air back into his bad wheel.

4Q 0:00 remaining:
Really neat to see my (almost) backup boy and VeeTee lifer Austin “thor” Cannon get one “going live” of a play in on the OLine at the end of the fourth quarter of scrumming.

Even nicer to see them award him “the fool’s hammer” to parade around the field to close his football career. A 27 credit hours per semester move from coach Vice who has only had a C+++ year himself.

i.e. all, class.

Time To Throw (TTT)©:

Virginia Tech:
Qb pressured=8
Qb hurried=2 (1 completion, very hard to do)
Qb hits=8
Sacked=3

Marshall:
Qb pressured=13 (mostly on blitzing)
Qb hurried=1
Qb hits=9
Sacked=1

From: Chris’s run-fit write-up… Eye don’t know about that…

Though hear my Eye in the Sky out…

Best since 2011?
Raise your hand if it: “felt like that“?

Yah; #me3 on me neither.

As individually (read: where Eye peg them singularly on Talent); it did not even remotely look like it on film. We had what?

Our best-blocking Talent (Nijman), had a never quite the same again trick-knee season and had to switch sides just to finish his disabled career (and then he sprained the other knee to boot). Our 6th and 5th year senior G’s did what? Improve? Not since 2016. Very very flat, linear, level guys. C was an adventure in snapping. And Hoyt is willing –so he may Kurt “crash” Rambis will himself all the way there, eventually. And our rookie Ot’s that Eye ghosted in August were what? So-so overall; or maybe they were even a year premature playing time wise?

Now mix in a got dinged up and nearly stayed dinged up McClease. Peoples grinding what he could bull-elephant style and surely trying to please coach Hannible as best he could. With not a lotta speed or game-breaking north-south threat power from our traditional handoff based run-fits.

Then mix in a Qb2 who everyone said was the worst rushing Qb on the team. All less the peep who told you he had gone “Baywatch” and went for RPO speed-max this summer. (though still nobodies dual-threat Qb via any known definition or trade)

And did rushing mathematically; improve? Individually? Yes, it did. As alpha or team leading-rushing metrics went, Chris is correct, it did improve; although did it seem like it improved to you?

Eye know what my Eye heard in film-study, although I wanna hear from you…

…so where is this Fu’true O&M run-fit, going?

• Its leading rusher is leaving.
• Its best oLineman (with 2 bad knees) is leaving.
• Its 2 pretty well flat G’s with a krazy 1.1 decades experience between ’em are, leaving.

On the flip-side…

• It returns a hirsute “hike” game from a now more experienced C.
• It returns 2-3 edge guys who my Eye saw cut their Ot teeth— although all need mo’ time/mo’ work/mo’ coaching.
• It has the dinged and tends to stay dinged McClease back at Rb.
• And two other serviceable Rb’s with a hopeful sleeper run:pass Florida Rb (King) that may just crown a few recruiting service peeps.

And despite the total longhorn emphasis on: “breaking tackles” and “finishing plays” it just finished 100th in rushing explosiveness. With a ~17% stuff rate which is really not very yummy. Think about that sports-fans… they very thing they emphasized? Got s-i-x, that’s (6) whole entire spots better. i.e. not, much.

This all the while TFL Allowed (tackles for loss allowed) worsened; that’s played on skates disimproved by a whopping 36 spots! All the while sacks allowed was in reverse by a mere 37 spots! And yet…

The run-game not only improved it put up it’s best per-average rush since D.Wilson?

Huh?
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot is dat?!?

You armchair Qb’s… see that blank space down below… please, do explain?

Oh wait, that too is coaching, the… verb.

And here 68 of you wanted to clean offensive staffing house?

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As finishing 63rd in rushing O nationally with a Qb2 and what amounts to prolly no better than 75th to 80th run-game talent(s)?

Sign me and that 48 total offensive records-setting O’cord back up! STAT’!!!

As snapping, missing and dropping were all pretty close to being “clean” in a Herding sporting word; and that’s not just coaching the verb, that’s coming a long long way.

Did like the Hewitt at End-De or right-De or whatever their contemporary lexicon, pleases. He’s a real overload there strength wise. Walker at left-De or stud-De was just downright wild to see (per Vinny spelling him at Ng in the even thirty-three set). As Bud Foster is a lotta things… and a dullard just ain’t among ’em.

Though edge tackling is near, abysmal. I mean even Gen. George Smith Patton Jr. was never quite this… army. And ankle diving army to compound fracture the old brain-box all the more on top all of that. Tiz’ is right here… as it is hard to explain playing this shallow, or forfeiting this much leverage upfield or too far to the inside. Or simply not seeing what you hit and then seeing what you… missed. Opposing Y.A.C. (yards after contact) does live here, and if Tb3 of Marshall gashed us for a bicentennial day with four yards to spare (204 rushing)… what will the legit Qb1 and Rb1 double-headed monsta rushing attack of Cincy eviscerate us for?

Well not named Ashley and to a slightly lesser extent, not named DAX. As Ashley is a freakin’ tackling machine. Somebody schooled that homeboy up A+++ good on 1960’s slide-down tackling technique Jack Ham style. Beautiful to see in the open-field as ‘shard might just have a post-football career in the rodeo. Because -same as 50 shades of hey- when this cowboy lassoes you? You stay, roped. That and he’s (now) showing signs of being a play-maker… 1 fumble forced, 2 TFL, 2 Qb pressures, 1 Qb hurry as nearly 33% of his plays were burst or twitch type plays and that’s hard to do when you really are Vince Hall lyte (as Ash’ is a pretty small Mike-Lb by-the-bye).

Tackling itself, however -as you will see below- was actually, even for a change. Though virtually 75% of our misses were of a secondary nature and this lack of tackling acumen is a primary off-season concern. I mean we had three plays with humbling multiple hind-4 tackling whiffs. That’s not what time it is coach Nix and coach Mitch’.

Finally, as halt-unit work went… was anyone else X’s and O’s aghast at what the Marshall secondary did? Or should I say failed to do in the finest Pitt coach ‘Duz terms? As they nearly refused to shut off the internal politically incorrect so-called: “slant” game of the Fu’fense pitch-n-catch battery. Eye can only presume they are still waiting for Ry’ Willis sudden cold-snap type of spraying issues— which never came. And even more dumbfounding was the lack of Dick Butkus type of zone-roam(ing) MLb support to at least limit yards after catch by making midfield fills vs. all these slants. Now, that ain’t Fu’s fault, granted; although is anybody else writing about all this Dec. 1st gifting with Christmas (then) 24 days away?

Blocking however is another matter entirely if you have been following the only place that actually and factually grades blocking week-in and week-out… what do you see?

As Eye see quite a drop-off of late. In point of fact, Eye also sees the three lowest consecutive blocking grades amassed since I got here (read: 20o1). That’s record-setting and in the used to be faster though still semi-quick-hitting “one-Mississippi” Fu’fense that still has a good 25% of its plays where the ball absolutely must go single or zero-read: *there*, immediately? That’s sayin’ sompthin’. As these rookie guys, every single other publication hyped up? Well, they fall down or flat-out miss when blocking in space. They are not so bad when they get actually engaged and lean on you inside the Ot-box successfully enough. Nonetheless, assignments were being blown like the oldest profession left-n-right and our two (remaining) upperclassman have been as flat as a carpenters dream {sic: all year}. They peaked last year or maybe even to end 2016, so they are at the limits of their blocking Abilities’ per Coach God. The Vice Squad commandant cannot fix that although he’s got a lot of footwork, agility drilling, and film-study to do with this returning allotment of ballers. There is blocking Talent here— tho’ they need to live in the tire-drill chute as blocking our won’t/can’t tackle Cb’s in practice has really October 31st masked their lack of targeting software in space.

"Coach Fu' is best taken by force."

Those of you who ball for Coach God recognize who I am paraphrasing here (i.e. St.Matthew); and you already know that the Game of Life is… shorter every play.

Nevertheless, getting coach-Fu’  to warm up to you -including defrosting your unrequited teammates- basically works the very same way. You won’t convince them with your social media skills, it’s all good, or spacebook.com weak-sauce words. You must go get that damn work, see?

Ry’ Willis went and got that damn work…

As yah; eye admit it, this is not a good play… although this play does showcase a great heart. Or “hair on fire” raw live “want too” as Foster tagged it long ago.

And guess what else sports-fans?

You do need not to be a granola-hugging left of left Environmental Scientist to detect the O&M global sideline warming…

As things have substantially unthawed here.
This is what we call: gaining “trust”… or Uncle Fu’s pet word.

Now maybe Fu’ does not trust my boy Ry’ the way he trusts’ (still, present tense) *his* boy Joshua Jackson… granted. Although did any of you pick up on the offensive playbook expansion for Marshall? Where did those at least a handful of new plays come from? Countering/crossbuck looks, less R.P.O., a little more Wr jetting, with some middle of the field throws, and the whole shebang. As the Fu’fense and the recently entirely maligned coach-Corny; punched Doc Holiday right in the mouf with numerous “new things” that heretofore were unseen on Tech tape. And you only do that in the month of December per one fu’ndamental word… trust.

Yes, that Qb job enrichment is indeed called coaching -the verb- although it’s also called trusting -the adjective- and all it took was one INT, one Referee (knocked on his wallet), and one cardiac Commonwealth VicTory saving tackle. And suddenly after a cathartic trifecta single play worth of events, a formerly less than well received (now) Qb1 Ryan Willis regained confidence, trusted himself and forced, their hand(s).

Longfield Management (Lo.FM)©:

Virginia Tech:
positive: |||| |||| (2 TD’s, 3 MU penalties)
Swiss (neutral): |||| (1 MU penalty)
negative: |||| |||| (1 VT flag)

Marshall:
positive: |||| || (1 MU fumble, 1 VT flag)
Swiss (neutral): |||
negative: |||| |||| ||| (1 INT, 2 MU penalties)

As the Lo.FM and TTT metrics alike go… this one was vastly closer on tape than it was everywhere sans the scoreboard itself. As the Herd really wet the Huntington, Wva., bed in this one. Yet Ry’ Willis did a nearly masterful job of playing like the alpha Qb1 in this game with close two 30 games or three years worth of starting experience vis-à-vis the Marshall kid who is still bloody young, raw and throw-game cognitively undercooked. And his big play hits for scores; twice; when chasing the chain-gang is top-shelf, 5-star hotel stuff. As nearly only pure winners or final year senior Qb’s mind the Lo.FM good play store there.

As Ry’ herded and ƒu’nctionally beat Marshall his ownself ¦ plain and simple here folks.
Our #5 finished first-place no.1 here.

So for this part of today’s lifetime-hyphen-four overall predictive record Longfield Mangement programing… why don’t Eye turn this part of this article over to the 68 closet downvoters who sliced their takes’ way way out of bounds and let you guys owe me… one?

Accordingly, let us pop-quiz see if these message board savants can actually I.D. which sets of Fu’fensive stats belong to which; year?

Now, before any girlfriends get their salivating thongs in, twist… let’s recount these years…

Year No.1:

• A pure highland water mossican of a thug-runnin’ dual-threat Qb, throwing to truly epic next-level refugee Frank-n-Stiney’s 3 stud Wr’s, with an inherited 1,042-yard rusher who is only now in his prime (albeit not, here), with a less than average oLine and yet not one, *two* once a decade type of actually credible alpha-male leaders in the very same offensive-huddle.

Year No.2:

• A r-Fr., low-voltage, never played a sec’ of college ball Qb1 takes over, he plays about 80% of the first game, he gets hurt, he stays hurt, and then he gets double truly injured all while taking more than a few for dear ole V.P.I. One legitimate Wr remains, our now dog-housed Rb1 leads us in rushing by a just north of 500 season-high yards, we deploy an oLine with nearly invisible depth that actually reaches its post-Brooks, Nosal, Miller, DeChris and C.News apogee; courtesy of one awesome powerhouse Sr left-G, and a Sr. K that only missed one FGA after September.

Year No.3:

• The most popular baller (and incumbent virtual 3,000 yard, 20 TD, 60% passing) Qb1 starts out 4% improved in throwing, with a phenomenal 5:1 or 500% passing ratio, and adds over ½ a yard to his if truth be told, can run decently enough rushing average when healthy. Then he promptly snaps his twig after 9 quarters of play (may St.Nikhon bless).  In the meantime, the catch-crops is either rookies, second-year ballers, or transfers, with the leading (returning) Wr retiring from football (may St.Servatius bless). The oLine returns entirely 20% of their previous starters in their previous starting spots— and then sees its best oLineman ball out-of-place, and then tear up his one remaining good knee. With basically rookie bookends on edge and a rookie C who is weightroom years away, plural. It then has to deploy the most disliked guy on the team in many years; plural; as the new takeover R.P.O. dual-threat Qb1. Except he’s a pocket Qb by trade… see? The whispers from everywhere sans here… tell you he cannot run and he is INT wild out to his Wideouts @practice. Although we do have a likable final year downhill Fb playing Tb who does about all he can do with the rest of the traditional Rb run-fits doing not much at all. Nevertheless, there are at least two possibly three very intriguing grab-game guys starting to emerge; even if two former offensive-starters Q-word this year in-season.

  

So match the year to the statistical box above… in particular, all of you +68 voters who said this offensive coordinator sucks, and that he and his collective and shared 48 offensive records, and former record-setting Qb1 his ownself,  who was on the very same roster as current Tech big whistle Coach-Fu’ in the 1995 Oil Bowl …he is the one who should be usurped or outright dismissed by his head, coach.

Yah; me neither on that… as there is just no way in hell that such a banjaxed and flummoxed offensive set could actually improve by 9 spots of Total O, with only a 9′ (that’s a mere nine foot) drop in rushing O, and then (somehow) manufacture a stunning 18 spot… hike (pardon the sporting pun), in passing O per its Qb2. w0w!

That happens very often: NOT; or pretty close to half past never. As an offensive coordinator who can somehow manufacture that; sucks. Fire him now, go play cornhole somewhere else, yah bum! Or “insanely stupid negativity” as potentially prodigy looking R.A.T.T. in training Andrew Allegretta put it on-air.

Brad Cornelson… welcome to renascent, population… you!

Your annual statistical Answer Key:

Year No.2.
Year No.1.
And year No.3!

“and now you know the rest of the story…. good day!“

the takeaway...

…the takeaway is that Frank’s 39-year hegemony was just about undone.

It was really close folks. Very. Extremely. Quantum close.

And Eye am well south of clinically sure that Fu’ could have resurrected this culture next year.

Seriously… what did you see @Pitt during this cultural nadir that told you otherwise?
Or how about during the 7-5-7 genesis of this fall @.OverDoseU?

Did our homecourt showings vs. Miami, Georgia Tech and Boston College make you feel any better hygiene wise?

Or did this seemingly nonpareil attention to detail(s) —you must dot all I’s and cross all T’s message —or is it a sometimes top-down cachét smothering micromanaged message?

Did this message not seem fu’ngal to you? Or at the very least… applied sports psych… stale?

Because no matter the message, the methodology or the delivery… the message has to win. It must! Or the message regurgitates and forfeits its very own credibility. Be that Lombardi’s screaming, Landry’s statute ‘esque stoicism or Noll’s/P.Brown’s analytics. Be that from the instilled Family/Therapy-first, second …and last message, or be that per the inflicted #HardSmartTough message… either way, the message ultimately has to win to reinforce and therefore validate itself at some point, or the narrative has to change.

Well, that is, unless of course, you change the narrator itself…

Cue: the ultimate eraser polisher and apple-clapper Sam Rodgers… and enter the previous culture’s initial hardcore lead-pipe baller that was not from Fu’s era… one #58 Cornell Brown.

Both of whom reiterated Fu’s “trust me“, #HardSmartTough narrative. All the while leaving the (growing) cultural mouthpiece fatigue that was Coach-Fu’ himself, out.

Simply, genius!!!

And here is what we all clinically learnt…

1. Fu’s mega-Spartan mentality (accidentally) admitted its very own Trojan Horse —with Fu’ having to textbook reinforce his very own message and fill an intra-team leadership vacuum his own self. No matter the (seeming) piety of the message itself, this creates reinforcement fatigue. As 2016’s tried and true became 2018’s tired and through. Fu’ MUST, he simply HAS to have an on-team cultural underboss to be his very own pocket “nicest dictator ever” per Salazar’s secret Portuguese-police. 2019’s DAX… I’ma looking at you.
2. Rookie year Tom Cruise and Timothy Hutton’s shiny Bunker Hill Military Academy takeover caporegime gone mid-year bunkering or turtling mentality may have been a bad or disaffected cinematic big whistle sideline look; admittedly. However, Fu’ was smart enough to know that he needed to de-fu’migate -his mid-season self- if he wanted to bomb-squad defu’se things; successfully in the 2018 end. As too much Fu’ filling too many late October through late November leadership voids on a lowercase talent squad, with uppercase dings and dents would have been “boom goes the uva dynamite” for sure.
3. Where however do you find the prerequisite #HardSmartTough kids in 2019 terms? Well, you really need to be recruiting the hell outta the Military Prep’ schools or high discipline and high attention span high school fundamental stressing offensive sets. Or for that matter… can Service Acadamey kids (grad’) transfer over to the V.T.C.C.? You Kansas City NC2A H.Q. rulebook James Joyce gurus do the maths.

   

4. And although I am not want to hit this one too hard— I know you come here to read a fresh take(s); n’est-ce pas? I saw one single solitary poster on all of TSL.com -both free and pay side- pick up on this… what did both the O & the D do in the last few weeks? Go Frank-n-Stiney and “simplify things’? As quite frankly, this is not a super high set of on-field gridiron I’s and Q’s. With a need for football fundamentals and entry-level drilling refresher courses to boot. Ergo, to wit, therefore, the Fu’fense went green and pared Ry’s passing/decision-R.P.O-tree down a bit in November, and Eye heard from insiders that Foster regeared or downshifted his Bud Lyte halt-unit transmission to try to just take one opposing thing away. For uva, it was rushing. As we tried to take away rushing not named the Qb (their Rb’s had a mere 52 on the ground) and then hit/punish the Qb and make him pay when he did gain yards and dare him to ultimately beat us through the air. This created 48% rivalry passing. Against Marshall Eye heard they decided to defend the pass first, and make a non-rushing Qb run, and see if Marshall could thunder us on the ground. The pocket Herd Qb offered up 53% passing on a meager 1:1 ratio with only one throw north of 27 yards completed. That too is coaching (v) the verb folks! And that was not coaching up highly experienced or very large or the brightest bulbs I’ve ever seen. And all this from a too sick to actually be on the sidelines coach? That’s as good a 59-year-old November as you will ever see from limited Jimmy’s and Joe’s who at times were illiterate on their X’s and O’s. Or the total worker-bee kid in your classroom who makes you shine with pride because he surprised you, as he came in early, he stayed late and he (somehow) willed himself into a seemingly fabricated lowest possible B– in the end.

Because one thing that finally occurred to me when I had to go Coach Robert Lazar and reverse engineer what really happened this season —and just in case you did NOT connect the dots yet… Fu’ had the leadership in 2016 (Evans and Sam) to successfully reinforce/police his line-toeing message in the lockeroom for him. Allowing him to be more 2016 låissez faire or hands off.

Last year (2017) he had to begin to assert himself as the alpha team leader sans Sam and Evans; and yet he had the raw N.f.l. defensive talent’s, -quite plural- to successfully alibi the overbearing nature of his message with… 9 wins.

In 2018? He had, neither. Not the in situ leadership, nor the masking agents or the metrics/talent(s).

Then he misses his culture best friend (Coach Scott) all the more, plus he had to kick off what precious few voices and what real live upperclassman talent(s) he did have returning and suddenly things were already starting to snowball downhill in a pleasantly warm enough September over in Norfolk, Va.

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So Fu’ (and Hilgirth) must step into the player-leadership recess and reinforce their very own message. This redundancy creates fatigue, further non-winning top-down reinforcement begets resentment, and fatigue and resentment conspire to nearly stillbirth failure.

This racketeers the previously energetic spritely Fu’father or Corelonè cultural diorama via an oppressive and not scoreboard reinforced top-down malaise. Like part III’s Andy Garcia inertially fooling around with his kissing-cousin. Fu’s (still) partly cloudy pigskin playwright needs a Sonny Corelonè.

***

Or in other words… Fu’ and his dream austere obedience culture lived to fight another day. Just, barely. I repeat, “just barely”, still yet, barely and horseshoe leaners do count or so last time I checked…

Now; and in closing, do not die of shock gentlemen if next years’ win total forces Fu’ to have to cultural bomb-squad a lack of contact-detonators (i.e. raw talent) and a lack of leaders (with only eight seniors in 2019), all over again.

Nevertheless, just like anything else in the game of life, this should only prove to be easier the second time around.

#wimps!

Virginia Tech=41, Marshall=20

“Mer-ry!”

“Christ-mas!”

bourbonstreet**