Rants and Raves- Week 4

[VT_Football_Fan]

Alright knuckleheads you know what it is. Time for your weekly dose of bitch and moan, praise and congrats. As always agree, disagree, contribute what you want, or use this time to call me out. IDGAFF.

Rants
1)Logan Thomas Decision Making- Again. I know this is getting repetitive. That INT he threw was in double coverage. Marshall did a great job staying with the WRs but jeez Logan. Plays like those will cost us a game. Could be the difference next week.
2) Special Teams- Oh where to start... punting, field goal kicking, or the fact we never kicked a kick off in the endzone?
3) UVA- LOL!!!!!!!!
4) O-Line play-Looked very weak on run plays. DW was getting blown up.
5) Bonner- Towards the end Marshall was throwing to the WR he was covering every play, and mostly successful. Hes a freshman but it was Marshall...
6) David Wilson- I know Marshall was obviously targeting DW, but he didn't seem to have that burst or umph like he usually does. Hope he's 100% for Clemson.
7) Play-calling- Did anyone else notice that when we needed to open it up we would throw a dump pass or dive and when we needed to play conservative and just get the 3 yards we would go for the bomb? Doesn't seem logical to me.

Raves
1) Danny Coale- As much as Special Teams shows up in Rants, DC shows up in raves. He runs, catches, and now PUNTS?! for us?! What cant the kid do.
2) Josh Oglesby- Oglesby gets alot of shit (and sometimes deservedly so) but today he was a huge part of the O. Scoring 2 TDs and running by and over tacklers, he played a HUGE part of the running game, especially with DW being shut down.
3) JR Collins- 3 sacks? Yea need I say more. Well done JR! Lunch pail goes to him for sure.
4) The rest of the D- They will and have kept us in these games. They can only carry us for so long though. You could see them getting tired from being out on the field so much and especially when Marshall went to the hurry up.
5) Clemson- Yikes did they look good. Next weekend will be the biggest game of our regular season IMO. Will determine alot!


Overall I give the team a B- for this game. Had multiple opportunities to put it away but never did. Defense deserves an A but O and ST are C average students. Thats all for now Hokies.

 

[HokieGhost]

Rant or rave....you pick'em...

ATLANTIC CONF OVERALL
------------------------------
Clemson 1-0 4-0 Let's see how well they do against a REAL defense.
Wake Forest 1-0 2-1
Maryland 1-0 1-2
Florida State 0-1 2-2 Ouch. NC hopes and possibly ACC hopes dashed today.
North Carolina State 0-1 2-2
Boston College 0-1 1-3

COASTAL CONF OVERALL
-------------------------------
Georgia Tech 1-0 4-0 Wouldn't have guessed they would be 4-0 at this point.
Duke 1-0 2-2
North Carolina 1-1 3-1
Virginia Tech 0-0 4-0 Pop quizzes are over. The real tests start next week.
Virginia 0-1 2-2
Miami (FL) 0-1 1-2 They're back, but where might that be?

 

[hokiecheme11]

ATLANTIC CONF OVERALL
------------------------------
Clemson 1-0 4-0 Let's see how well they do against a REAL defense.
Wake Forest 1-0 2-1
Maryland 1-0 1-2
Florida State 0-1 2-2 Ouch. NC hopes and possibly ACC hopes dashed today.
North Carolina State 0-1 2-2
Boston College 0-1 1-3

COASTAL CONF OVERALL
-------------------------------
Georgia Tech 1-0 4-0 Wouldn't have guessed they would be 4-0 at this point.
Duke 1-0 2-2
North Carolina 1-1 3-1
Virginia Tech 0-0 4-0 Pop quizzes are over. The real tests start next week.
Virginia 0-1 2-2
Miami (FL) 0-1 1-2 They're back, but where might that be?

We are the only team not to have played a conference game. Didn't realize that till now

 

[VT_Football_Fan]

One more Rave- Trey Gresh! Probably will never be in a Rants or Rave again, but atleast he gets 100% Raves for his career. Great hustle to save 2 points even by a backup. Loved the effort!!

 

[wildturkey]

Clemson has faced a real defense in FSU and they picked them apart. Poser defenses don't slow down Oklahoma as much as FSU's did. I expect Boyd to pick us apart just as he did FSU, especially if Foster is as aggressive as he has been all year.

What I'm banking on most now is the crowd will jack up the players and get them to play their best. It's a 6pm game so you know everyone will be "lubed up" as Tom Brady likes to say.

 

[Chrish1023]

One more Rave- Trey Gresh! Probably will never be in a Rants or Rave again, but atleast he gets 100% Raves for his career. Great hustle to save 2 points even by a backup. Loved the effort!!

He mowed our lawn over the summer when our house was empty. If it weren't our lawn being so long/thick, he might have never built up the leg strength that enabled him to chase that guy down.

It's a 6pm game so you know everyone will be "lubed up" as Tom Brady likes to say.

First funny thing Brady has ever said. And you can bet your ass that I'll be lubed.

...I swear that I'm straight...

 

[HokieGhost]

Clemson has faced a real defense in FSU and they picked them apart. Poser defenses don't slow down Oklahoma as much as FSU's did. I expect Boyd to pick us apart just as he did FSU, especially if Foster is as aggressive as he has been all year.

Sorry, but I'm just not buying the early season media hype on the defenses of Clemson or FSU:

- Clemson (4-0) has given up 19 points to Troy, 27 to Wofford, 24 to Auburn, and 30 today to FSU. Yes, Clemson has a good offense, but I seriously don't believe they've played a defense as good as Tech's. We'll find out soon under the lights at Lane.

- FSU (2-2) has given up 0 to La-Monroe, 10 to Charleston-Southern, 23 to Oklahoma, and 35 today to Clemson. I will admit that injuries have played a big part in how FSU played against Clemson, but 35 points? Really??

 

[HokieGhost]

Clemson has faced a real defense in FSU and they picked them apart. Poser defenses don't slow down Oklahoma as much as FSU's did. I expect Boyd to pick us apart just as he did FSU, especially if Foster is as aggressive as he has been all year.

Sorry, but I'm just not buying the early season media hype on the defenses of Clemson or FSU:

- Clemson (4-0) has given up 19 points to Troy, 27 to Wofford, 24 to Auburn, and 30 today to FSU. Yes, Clemson has a good offense, but I seriously don't believe they've played a defense as good as Tech's. We'll find out soon under the lights at Lane.

- FSU (2-2) has given up 0 to La-Monroe, 10 to Charleston-Southern, 23 to Oklahoma, and 35 today to Clemson. I will admit that injuries played a big part in how FSU played against Clemson, but 35 points? Really??

 

[VT_Football_Fan]

I predict a close, well fought game.
I also predict a *gulp* 17-6 loss.

 

[NickVT10]

We struggled at times but we are getting better. LT has been playing well. Last week he made 2 big mistakes and threw interceptions. This week he made 1 big one and threw an interception but it was mainly an underthrown ball. If he gets it a little further down or to the outside of the WR it could be a big play. He should have ran that one though. DW is being impatient but that is something he can be shown in the film room and work on. I think LT needs to run the ball more on pass plays. He was waiting back there for 4-5 seconds and then would roll out and look more which I like but he is not accurate on the run. Tuck it and get 3-4 yards and set yourself up for a manageable down. Marcus Davis needs to step up and get separation in his match-ups.

 

[hunzworth]

We struggled at times but we are getting better. LT has been playing well. Last week he made 2 big mistakes and threw interceptions. This week he made 1 big one and threw an interception but it was mainly an underthrown ball. If he gets it a little further down or to the outside of the WR it could be a big play. He should have ran that one though. DW is being impatient but that is something he can be shown in the film room and work on. I think LT needs to run the ball more on pass plays. He was waiting back there for 4-5 seconds and then would roll out and look more which I like but he is not accurate on the run. Tuck it and get 3-4 yards and set yourself up for a manageable down. Marcus Davis needs to step up and get separation in his match-ups.

On the interception, i think he was just throwing it up and hoping that Coale (<-i think?) would make a play on the ball. Hopefully as we enter ACC play he will learn to value the ball a little more. I also agree that LT needs to make his feet a bigger part of the offense (<-- the sore shoulder may have prevented that today). Another thing is that sometimes LT rolls out for absolutely no reason, @ 6'6" he should be able to stand in there and make a throw with his feet set.

IMO JO needs to be more involved as a traditional RB and we need to try to get DW in space more often. Wilson is no doubt the better athlete but i think josh has better vision, hopefully we start to see some calls that play to both of their strengths.

 

[NickVT10]

After 3-4 seconds I have no problem with him rolling out because the clock is ticking at that point and that is what he seemed to do most of the time.

 

[HokieStone]

On the LT interception he clearly threw the ball off his back foot. He is isn't stepping into his throws at all. DW hit a hole but try to bounce it way to much when clearly should just got north and south. Offensive line seemed soft to me. Marshall kept stacking the box and playing our wr 5 to 10 yards off the ball. The quick throws were money....should have gone with that more. DL was good but not great!!! Our depth is young and you can tell. DB's need some work...cris hill and bonner were exposed! LB seem solid but I didn't watch them all that much....thank god they can cover the flat. Just didn't seem like our team were into it. Stadium crowd sucked and it definitely wasn't like lane! Seemed like a high school game!

 

[HokieGhost]

Offensive line seemed soft to me. Marshall kept stacking the box and playing our wr 5 to 10 yards off the ball. The quick throws were money....should have gone with that more. DL was good but not great!!! Our depth is young and you can tell. DB's need some work...cris hill and bonner were exposed! LB seem solid but I didn't watch them all that much....thank god they can cover the flat.

Offensive line:
----------------
- Helped Tech runners generate 215 rushing yards
- Kept LT upright long enough to generate 229 passing yards
- No sacks by Marshall

Defensive line:
-----------------
- Held Marshall to a total of 6 yards rushing
- The DEs sacked the QB 4 times (LB Bruce Taylor also got a sack)
- The Marshall QB was hit on just about every pass play

DBs:
-----
- Some coverage problems early in the first quarter
- Hosley had to leave the game - Bonner was the replacement
- Marshall's only TD came through the air - victimized Bonner
- Exum INT for a 36 yard return

LBs:
-----
Taylor - 8 tackles (1 unassisted / 7 assisted) + one sack
Edwards - 7 tackles (3 unassisted / 3 assisted)
Gouveia-Wilson - 4 tackles (2 unassisted / 2 assisted)

 

[Forty_Sixand2]

I did not see a play of this game. I am hoping that I can find it on ESPN3 or VTPhreak's feed. I am happy for the win and looking forward to Clemson.

 

[Hokie Swagger]

it was on cbssports so i doubt you will find it on espn3. hopefully you can find it somewhere though

 

[ckhokie]

While the O-line didn't give up any sacks, I still think they looked suspect at best and I am very worried about the Clemson D line. Many times, Marshall was able to get pressure and force Logan to roll out and make throws on the run, which he has struggled at. There were many incompletions bc LT was on the run

 

[Chrish1023]

While the O-line didn't give up any sacks, I still think they looked suspect at best and I am very worried about the Clemson D line. Many times, Marshall was able to get pressure and force Logan to roll out and make throws on the run, which he has struggled at. There were many incompletions bc LT was on the run

Logan is on the run because he freaks out after ~4 seconds. This is where I get frustrated because there is no doubt that he can see down field with his size, yet he always rolls out (to his left no less) and throws a terrible ball across his body. If he were to actually stay in there, and maybe even glance at the middle of the field (am I the only one who has noticed that he NEVER throws over the middle?) then he wouldn't be forced to throw those bad balls on the run.

 

[ckhokie]

Logan is on the run because he freaks out after ~4 seconds. This is where I get frustrated because there is no doubt that he can see down field with his size, yet he always rolls out (to his left no less) and throws a terrible ball across his body. If he were to actually stay in there, and maybe even glance at the middle of the field (am I the only one who has noticed that he NEVER throws over the middle?) then he wouldn't be forced to throw those bad balls on the run.

I agree. I would really like to see him stand in and make a throw. I couldn't think of any big completions yesterday where he stood in under pressure and made a decent pass down the field.

Hopefully this just comes with experience. It was a big problem with Tyrod in his early years too.

 

[NickVT10]

But after around 4 seconds he needs to get out of the pocket. If no one is open after 4 seconds the D line will eventually get free. I would rather see him roll out after 4 seconds and have a run/pass option than sit in the pocket and have guys rolling around his legs and knees on the ground. He needs to run for 3 yards or so some of those roll outs instead of throwing a tough throw into traffic.