Glennon or Stinespring?

I am so proud of our NFL talent, specifically I'm happy about the breakout year of rookie Eddie Royal. Looking around at other Hokie WR who are new to the league you have fellow rookie Josh Morgan in San Francisco and with 1-year experience you have David Clowney on the Jets. So how the hell did that happen? I mean these wideouts were all great at Tech but why weren't they the considered "amazing-always-talked-about-threats" that most prolific receivers are? Was it Glennon's bad arm or was it that three-hundred pound gorilla in the corner, Stinespring's play calling? Was it Bryan who was unable to spot the playmakers? Or was Glennon unable to make good passing decisions in the pocket?

Looking at the numbers, Virginia Tech has a TERRIBLE pass offense ranking (data source) and has historically had a very bad ranking over Stinespring's era, beginning in 2002. No surprises there. But consider the fact that Virginia Tech has more NFL drafted Wide Receivers than almost any other school and since Stinespring took over they have had 5 WR go pro - which tops USC, Florida, FSU, Texas, Georgia, and Texas Tech. Comparing draft selections with the passing offense rankings and you can see quite a disparity between the 7 teams:

With all that receiver talent on the field how does VT end up with such a miserable passing game year after year? Is it the Quarterback position? Is it that we are a run-first offense? Is it Stinespring? Granted you can also consider the importance of TE positions in passing calculations, but oh yeah, that's right VT has one of them in the pros too.

You can't make a direct mathematical connection between NFL drafting and offensive performance but the talent produced by Virginia Tech is undeniable and there are plenty of people who spend many millions of dollars just to figure who should be offered an NFL contract so how is that the NFL can make productive professional athletes out of these players and we are unable to capitalize more while they are at VT? You can easily also point the blame toward our coaching staff, in particular wide receiver and quarterback coaches, but its Stinespring's decision on where to put the ball and it seems to me that he should have gotten some better production with what options he had.

Thoughts?

Wear your feelings on your sleeve

Well, we suppose it'd actually be your chest.

There's great ways out there to broadcast your feelings towards a certain offensive coordinator. Sky writing, crop circles, screaming very loudly in McBryde 100.

But the easiest way would probably be a t-shirt. But what company could obtain the rights to this phrase? Why, FBS Inc. That's who. We have some potential designs in stock.

So let's have our very own Beamer's Beauty show us the next items up for bid.

Love you....
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Front only (least expensive)

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So let us know what you think. Or if you have any other ideas. Or any Erin Andrews pictures.

GO HOKIES!!!

The Hokie Night Before Christmas

Twas the night before Christmas
And all through Hokie Nation
The households were filled
With a sense of elation

The children were nestled
Before the TV
Watching replays of the Hokies
Beating down on BC

And I in my PJs
And mama in her cami
Were booking our trip
To sunny Miami

When all of a sudden
I sat up quite jerky
From out on the lawn
Did I hear... a turkey?

I flew to the window
And unless my eyes were deceived
Outside was a sight
You wouldn't believe

The turkey I'd heard
Was a quite massive beast
The sort that would make you
Its thanksgiving feast

The gobbler was pulling
A big maroon sleigh
And the man at the reigns
Was coming my way

With the driver's broad smile
And aw shucks demeanor
I knew in a flash
It must be Frank Beamer

The Coach came inside
And got right to his chore
He started stuffing the stockings
As I shouted, "Score!"

There were T-shirts and hoodies
A maroon baby bonnet
Pretty much anything that could have
A VT stamped on it

Then Frank drew from him pack
The greatest present you'll find
Orange Bowl tickets
On the 50 yard line

Then Frank turned to go
Having finished his task
But I reached out and stopped him
I had something to ask

I said, "Coach, one request
"And I know it's not chintzy
"But for the love of God, please
"Will you try to beat Cincy?"

He smiled and nodded
But said not a word
Then he headed outside
And returned to his bird

But I heard him exclaim
In that droll voice of his
"Merry Christmas to all
"And it is what it is!"

Jim Weaver must like the taste of feet

Back on December 17th, ESPN’s Heather Dinich posted a blog featuring a few quotes from VT Athletic Director Jim Weaver regarding our poor success rate in bowls, and more importantly, our offensive issues, specifically in relation to Bryan Stinespring. I’ve spent the past few days processing exactly what he said, and while I knew from the start that it was all BS, I really wanted to understand how someone in a position to do something (or at least say something), could let this moron continue to damage the present and the future of our offense.

Here it is a week later, and I still don’t have a f***ing clue.

"If we win in the Orange Bowl, we will have won 70 games in the last seven years," Weaver said. "With good math that averages out to 10. Only Southern Cal and Texas would have done that. I think there are some things people don't quite understand. One of those things is this: We are not philosophically in my opinion the type of football team that Oklahoma and Texas and Texas Tech are where they're throwing the ball as much as they do. That is not philosophically how we play. That is not what Beamerball has been. Beamerball has been play great defense, have an outstanding kicking game so that you can keep the other team at the opposite end of the field, and don't put your defense in bad turnover position by your offense.

"When you play that way, you're going to have sometimes more close games than you might want to have, but that's philosophically how I see what we're doing. It might be that some of our fans want to throw the ball more or do this, that or the other more. Sometimes they see a play that looks like the play they saw before but it's blocked with a totally different blocking scheme. That certainly is different. But to the general fan's eye, and sometimes even other coaches' eyes, you don't see that until you see the film.

"Have we been as good as we would have liked to on offense? No. Did we play well at times? The answer is yes. Did we play well enough to win the ACC championship? The answer is yes. We're concerned about winning football games. I'm not concerned about the statistical area as our fans are. I understand the fans' perspective, but I also understand what our primary goals are, and how we're going about them. We're going about them a little differently than some other teams do."

First off, BeamerBall has next to nothing to do with offense, at least not in the conventional manner. Check out definitions of the word on Urban Dictionary and Beamer’s Wikipedia page, just for clarification. BeamerBall is all about special teams and defense. Weaver makes it sound as if underachieving on offense is part of the BeamerBall game plan, and that’s about the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. I can certainly understand the emphasis on having a great turnover margin, but it’s not like that can’t be achieved by a higher-scoring offense.

Also, we don’t have to throw the ball any more than we already do, we just need to choose pass plays that bolster the run game (play action, draws, screens, quick screens, TE drags, quick outs, etc.). Our issue with Stiney is that he doesn’t utilize the talent that he has. Players like Eddie Royal and Greg Boone, who consistently perform above average, don’t seem to get an appropriate allotment of touches each game. We could absolutely keep the same ratio of passes to runs that we have now and still be more successful, we just need someone who understands what works and what doesn’t. A coach that knows when to follow the gameplan, and when to stray from it. Stiney doesn’t get it.

Finally, Weaver talks about our primary goals. He says “we're going about them a little differently than some other teams do." He’s got that right - other teams make an effort to reach their goals, and don’t stick with a broken gameplan, or “game-planner”, if you will.

Stinespring's Great Adjustments

DT is here and happy to cross-post as a guest:

While Bud Foster continues to place the Hokies defense among the top in the nation, Offensive Coordinator Bryan Stinespring has allowed the Hokies offense to sputter and in the past few seasons go in to a nosedive. VT will be only the second team with a 100+ ranked offense to make it to a BCS bowl since the inception of the BCS system ten years ago. The only other team to make it? That would be last year’s VT squad.

Just look at the offense and defense rankings over the past several seasons (this graphic was posted earlier in the season here on FBS and is credited to a number of sources but seems to have originated on Tech Sideline):

With the exception of a slight improvement early on in his tenure (perhaps residual effects from a previous era), Stinespring has done nothing but stink up our offensive performance. But why is this? Here’s a thought and some data that may show that Stinespring’s worst problem is that he hasn’t tried to adapt his play calling and develop a good balance between the passing and running game based upon what talent we have on the field.

No one would argue against the premise that over the last 8 or so seasons we haven’t changed much of how we throw the ball and how we call plays despite having a variety of different talents and abilities behind center. Comparing numbers season to season, it shows we have one of the nation’s most consistent averages over the past 8 seasons of of how many times we throw the ball to the tune of 279-339 times (with the final game of this season estimated based on 1/13 of the season thus far).

The passing plays ranges of other programs who have had great offensive success in their conference over the past 7 seasons didn’t follow such consistency. For example USC’s pass attempts range 360-494 and Texas has a range of 275-436 over that same period of time

In case you were wondering about the total number of plays and how that can impact these ranges, know that most teams call roughly the same number of total plays season to season (giving or taking about 50 from the average). Drilling down the Hokies a bit more and analyzing the ratio of pass plays to the total number of plays and it shows that the Hokies put the ball in the air 30-40% of the time over Stinespring’s era. The Hokies pass attempt range and percentage of total plays gap is the narrowest of all the teams analyzed:

Now is this significant? Perhaps not - could just be a coincidental trend - but most programs vary their passing and rushing attempts based on the talent available and do not just stay the same course each year. It appears that Stinespring took a long look at tech’s last season before he took over and said “I’ll keep with that.” Granted every now and then we have a trick play (Marcus passing to Randall/Triple Reverse/The always astonishing Screen Pass) to keep people guessing but really you can expect to see one of only a handful of plays every time we throw the ball. Tracking the type of passing plays called would make this data even more juicy but the Hokies aren’t really that diverse in what they put out there — so simply knowing what ratio will come from an offense over the course of the game is a big advantage to opponents. And yes, consistency can be applauded if it works and if the talent fits, but our declining offensive ranking would show that this repetitive cycle clearly isn't. Showing our opponent's the same thing week after week and in the same dosage allows them to easily adapt and deconstruct our schemes.

Some of the reasoning behind the balance of play calling could be due to VT moving conferences, or perhaps the continuous shake up of who was to be our starting QB - not giving any particular time for one to develop, or maybe we just having a reliable running game built on a strong O-line, but I think it really shows a lack of adaption to the changes in quarterback abilities - a cornerstone of great offenses. It highlights the Hokies dependency to keep with the same (predicable) offense which is only getting worse as each year more teams understand how to stop us.

So what will our goal be next year? To not have a 100+ ranked offense? To not have the WORST offense in the nation and still make a major bowl game? I think its time to sign the petition and establish the new goal for our team.

Got Plans for Setember 5th, 2009?

Cancel them. Now.

ESPN.com is reporting that VT's opponent for the Chic-fil-A College Kickoff will be Alabama. Assuming a victory in the Orange Bowl, you can assume the Hokies will return with a top-10 ranking next season. I'm seriously worried that we could start a second straight season at 0-1, and while that gives us a ton of ammo against still-offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring, it severely hurts our recruiting stance vs SEC teams.

I think we all may need to make a pilgrimage to this game. We need as much support for these kids as possible, especially considering their ability to win at home. If we can create a home environment, I bet we can win that game on a nationally-televised stage, and secure some talent for Stiney's imminent replacement, whenever he takes over.

Reevaluating the Shredding of Tyrod's Redshirt

The IH has taken a brief respite from drowning his sorrows over the loss of Kevin Newsome to one of the two head coaches in 1A football with a tenure longer than our own. (Go eff yourself, Joe Pa.) I posit to you, my fellow FBS brethren and sistren, that the decision to shred Tyrod's redshirt this year will go down as one of the all-time blunders in Virginia Tech football lore.

My argument, to whit:

Had Tyrod remained in a redshirt for the 2008 campaign, the IH believes we would have probably finished the year 7-5 or 6-6. I doubt we would have missed out on bowl eligibility, as Glennon has consistently played better down the stretch and the receivers finally started coming along in the last third of the season. It might have come down to the wire to see if we got play in Boise or stay home, but we still would have kept the streak alive.

Tyrod would still have three years of eligibility remaining, and would inherit a group of experienced sophomore receivers and two stud freshmen in Logan Thomas and DJ Coles. He also would have three years to work with Ryan Williams in the backfield.

Most importantly, the impact of the failure to recruit Kevin Newsome would have significantly diminished. Yes, we would still face a year with the untested and unproved Ju Ju Clayton as the backup QB, but in terms of the long term success and stability of the program the critical moment for recruiting a QB would have come after the 2009 season, not now.

The reason for shredding the redshirt is obvious: Beamer is desperate for wins. They are his drug of choice. This is not a bad personality trait to have in a head coach, but it must be tempered with a sense of perspective and an ability to plan for the long term. Yes, we have accomplished a feat I would have thought impossible in winning a second straight ACC championship with essentially a high school team. However, we have now put ourselves into position to face a very difficult transition after Tyrod graduates. His backup, who will not attend a VT practice until Tyrod is a senior, will potentially be called upon to take over the offense after one redshirt season.

And if we fail to recruit a suitable QB next season, one word: DOOMSDAY.

Click here to sign the petition to fire Bryan Stinespring.

Guest Post: The Coach Who Must Not Be Named

For those not familiar (which is to say, those of you not my mom), I am the humble editor of The North End Zone. We are a Hokie blog that gives little-to-no information on the world of Hokie sports other than bad photoshops and rantings. Which is apparently some folks' cup of tea.

We'd like to thank the Hokie Guru for allowing us this time to fill his site with a little of our rantings. Our site and the Guru have been on the same wavelength about our offensive coordinator since, oh, let's say 2004.

It's gotten so bad over on our side that we no longer refer to him by name. He is usually referred to as The Coach Who Must Not Be Named, or simply Voldemort.

A lot of our points have been made already on this site. Everyone knows the facts are there. Everyone knows we'd be in our 4th consecutive National Championship Game if we had offenses anywhere near the top 20. And everyone knows exactly who is responsible.

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Without knowing too much about our current coaching staff outside of the top three, we have compiled a pretty relevant list of possible replacements for our nightmare of a coach. These people are all leaders in their own right, and we think they have what it takes to get the job done (Or at least not suck so freaking badly at it):

Bud Kilmer Obvious football experience, multiple district and state titles, has a statue.

The nerdy kid from Little Giants
The annexation of Puerto Rico would have been a nice call against Miami

Christopher Walken
Talk about recruiting power.

A monkey with darts to throw at a wall of plays

Yes, we will take it.

Baby Mangino

You just can't hate that.

ANYBODY

Seriously. Anybody else.

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We understand he works hard, and we know that he has a good relationship with his players. And if this were Division II or UVA, that kind of thing would fly. But we want to be a national power (or so we've been told). And ranking 100 out of 119 teams on offense may not be the best way to get to that promised land. We're not wishing him harm or anything. We just want him to not be involved in our offense anymore.

If someone was hired for a job in which they consistently performed at below-average levels for an extended period of time, we're pretty sure they would be let go. Or at least be pushed down the ladder to the mail room. Even if the company is turning a profit, that guy is done-zo. Apparently all you need to do is back your way into a BCS bowl by getting bailed out by the defense like you're an American car company.

We hoped you enjoyed the random ramblings of your humble guest blogger. We will leave you with one final thought as posted on our site by a commenter:

However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results. - Winston Churchill

GO HOKIES!!!

Why no HCIW deal for Foster?

In a recent reply to a post by DollarDave regarding the absence of a Head-Coach-in-waiting deal with Bud Foster, I suggested some reasons why VT administration would choose to hold off offering him such a deal. DD's response convinced me that this point of view is not entirely evident to most Hokie fans, and so I decided I should share those same reasons here on the FBS main stage:

1) A HCIW deal does put Frank Beamer in an "awkward situation", and in more ways than one. If Foster is given an HCIW deal while Beamer still has years left on his contract, a power struggle could easily manifest itself. Currently, Beamer is the say all, end all decision maker for VT. Whether that pertains to who is offered scholarships, how often Dustin Pickle gets the ball on 3rd and ever or who gets canned following yet another craptastic offensive season, it all has to cross Frank's desk. As soon as you declare a HCIW, every move will be scrutinized (and possibly questioned) by him. While this may not seem like a big problem in and of itself, it can create a rift in loyalty. Though the HCIW may graciously back down from an argument, there is no guarantee that his supporters will follow suit. It would only be a matter of time before a disagreement between the HC and HCIW would make it's way into some newspaper, and fans would start taking sides. This destroys the loyalty that Beamer has worked for decades to build - loyalty that has allowed us to enjoy the presence of Bud Foster ever since he accompanied Beamer to VT in 1987.

2) A HCIW deal creates a deadpool in other coaching positions, specifically the OC position currently occupied by Stiney. There are a handful of schools in the nation that seem to be breeding grounds for head coaches, and while VT has the potential to do so, Beamer's loyalty to his staff has allowed us to retain more talent over the years than some schools would ever hope to see. A lot of coaches stick around Blacksburg with the intent of moving up in the system, not just jumping from team to team as the money increases or as the title becomes more prestigious. As soon as you give away the biggest prize in the barrel, the desire to stick around shrinks.

In turn, we would be stuck with a series of either journeymen coordinators, upwards-failing morons or talentless hacks who hide their 5-19 record under a 100-page resume. I would rather have a home-grown mediocre coach than a revolving door of excellent ones who waste every odd-numbered year rebuilding and re-tooling our team to fit their flavor of the week scheme.

Too bad Stiney isn't even mediocre.

Sigh... no coaching changes from Beamer...

Check the Richmond Times article out here: Stiney's not going anywhere!!

More to come when my stomach stops turning...

What the BCO Knows

I am not going to give a column based on stats, who needs numbers to know the offense looks inefficeint and inept? I know the apologists point to the record the last few years and those with sense point right back to Bud Foster. It's not just me, ACCCG and Orange Bowl ticket sales show a very real apathy in the Hokie fan base. A big part of that is the offensive woes, unless every Hokie fan I speak with is the "out of whack" bunch. This is what I see, past, present and future concerning the Offensive, right or wrong.

The O

Execution Sucks more times than not for the past 3 years. Missed blocks, poor reads, mis-recognition of coverages, whatever the case may be, seems to happen on 50% of the offensive plays. No wonder the offense needs a mobile qb back there, he has to do his job and the rest of the offense's as well. The annual excuses are tiresome and vary from new OL, new RB, new QB, new WR or a combo of each.

Playcalling Sucks 4 outta 5 games. For every "Stiney called a great game" we see on TSL there are 4 games in between where he didn't. The told you so crowd forgets this it would seem. A certain feeling or rhythm the best have at calling a game does not reside in the VT coach's box. My personal favorite awful call of the year: 4th and goal from the 1 and let's do the Wild Turkey formation and hike it to the qb (who doesn't pass) at the 5 yard line. Brilliant. The BCO got up and went to head when he saw Tyrod coming out and Boone going in. Watched the play at the ramp, then was the first disgusted fan to use the trough.

As a friend told me a few weeks back, when you watch a Bud Foster coached D, you get the feeling that the sum is greater than the parts. When watching a Stiney coached O, the feeling is the opposite, sum is much, much less than the parts. Notice how Josh Morgan, Eddie Royal and Duane Brown are all performing very, very well for rookies in the NFL. Now let's look at the Hokie D which sent far more players to the NFL, seems Xavier Adibi and Brandon Flowers are playing well, the rest are buried. The kicker will be if Sean Glennon makes an NFL roster or practice squad. If he does, someone needs to be fired that day.

So how is 1 unit dominant on the field last year and the other flat out terrible? Easy, one coach puts players in position to do the well, the other ... not so much. Apologists, don't give me the Offensive Line crap either, that's not the sole reason the O sucks. I agree it helps and matters, but if you think most of the MAC, Mountain West, Sun Belt, etc have better Offensive Line (and offenses) talent than the Hokies then something is wrong with you.


Changes

Beamer will not fire anyone, this year. It will not happen. Hite is staying and has said as much. Don't expect any other coaches to leave either and if they do, they will not be fired. O'Cain is the only possible one and I do not think he is going.

Frank has said that keeping the staff together is key to recruiting. He is loyal, to a fault, but it is more than just that. The style of offense employed by Tech is what Beamer wants, low risk, grind it out, play action passing, that is what he knows and believes. The high risk spread O's are not his style and he is too old a dog to be taught a new trick. Damning Stiney is Damning Beamer, he takes it personally. Even if Beamer is one day forced to let Stiney go, his replacement won't run a kick ass O, but very similar to what the Hokies run now.


The Future

Get ready for more of the same:

• Rare dominant performances
• Spotty QB and OL play
• Failure to dominate sketchy opponents
• Getting worked against quality opponents who can match the Hokie D with their own D
• Excuses, wideouts still young, 2 new interior linemen, young backup QB for the oft injured Taylor
• 1 player breakdown in execution damned the whole play
• Very few misdirection plays or passes to the running backs in the flat
• When said plays are run, lots of gloating post game, only to not be in the game plan the following week
• Predicting 80% of the plays
• Will win 9+ games again, so things must be going right!

The last one is the that gets me. Everyone agrees winning the ACC is great, and 10 wins is top notch but by saying that and failing to look at the team as whole Beamer and his apologists fail to recognize the ceiling is higher than that and in the last 3 years the VT team would have 5 more wins or more if the O had shown up. '06 Georgia, '07 BC, Kansas and '08 ECU and Miami. Could have been worse in '08 as UNC and GT could have easily been losses.

Long story short, get use to more of the same. I hate to be the bearer of bad news but things are not going to change on the Offensive side. I have a free place to stay in Hotlanta for the Chick-Fil-A Classic in August against Bamer but likely will not go because I do not want to get beat down and have to walk out disgusted.

Look, I certainlly hope Stinespring turns it around (since he isn't going anywhere) and all of a sudden becomes Bobby Petrino, but 8 years of crap says that is unlikely. All this hand wringing and drum banging will go for naught, the status quo for the Virginia Tech Hokie football team goes for at least one more season.

Hokie Guru Note: Please read EBJ's blog, the Beer Control Offense. It's in the links to the right.

College Football Playoffs soon? Maybe ?

I was watching ESPN2 today, and one of the topics was College Football Playoffs. Apparently a bunch of senators are going to/already did enter a piece of legislation that will force college football to develop a playoff system. The guy is from Texas, no wonder ...
That can be good thing , if say we can fairly consistently emerge as ACC champs, and get our A$$es handed to us on a reg basis by the big power houses, maybe then Beamer will wake up and oust the Stiney.

Tough Questions for Hokie Hotline

Half of a successful interview is asking the right questions. The other half is asking them the right way. Here are a few tough questions that any/all of us should pose to Frank Beamer & Co on the next couple of Hokie Hotline shows:

1) Do you think this team can win a National Championship with the offensive output we have seen over the last few seasons?

2) What components are we missing in the offense?

3) Where do you see this team one year from now?

4) Did Eddie Royal improve that much in one season, or were we not using him as effectively as we could have?

5) Do you think we deserve a spot in the BCS more than Boise State?

6) (for Foster) Would you hire Stinespring to run your offense?

Aaron McFarling Switches to "Prevent"

"In defense of the offense..." is the latest article from former Stiney critic Aaron McFarling. Normally, I would laud his point of view, as he points out the obvious deficiencies in the VT offense, and more importantly, the one to blame.

What a difference and ACC Championship makes.

McFarling is now saying VT should not and will not fire Bryan Stinespring. While the latter may unfortunately be true, I have to take issue with the idea that the Hokies should hang on to Stiney. McFarling quotes running backs coach Billy Hite:

"People have the wrong impression. They really do. It's unfair to him. It isn't right. We lost 13 seniors to the NFL last year, and then we lose Kenny Lewis, we get rid of an all-ACC running back, we have our best wide receiver who tears his Achilles tendon, we have another wide receiver that had played that we suspended ... You think about all that and see what we've done."

I have thought about all that, Billy, and it doesn't help the arguement to keep Stiney. You say we sent 13 seniors to the NFL last year. We sent 12, Billy. Brandon Flowers was a Junior. Of those 12, only 5 were on the offense. Bud Foster sent the lions' share (again) to the big league, not Stiney. Of those 5 players, only 3 were starters. That means we sent 2 non-starters to the NFL.

Who else does that in college football? Teams like USC, Florida and Texas come to mind. Those are programs that regularly produce top 20 offenses. I would venture to guess that lack of talent is not to blame for our low output.

And yet VT regularly ranks in the bottom 20. We squander our top talent on an idiot with a playbook.

Frank Might Not Read FBS.......

.....but maybe, just maybe, he reads CNNSI? I mean that's a major news/sports website, where he'd be free and clear of any VT-grad-fan hatred of BStines, right?

In a recent article, CNNSI put together an Ultimate Playoff. A 12-team playoff system for this year's national title. #1-#4 (OU, UF, UT, UA) get byes, and #5 - #12 play in round 1. Winners play the top four seeds, and so-on, a la any other sport's playoff system. [get a hint NCAA]

Anyways, being the lowest BCS seed of the top 12 teams in, "sneaking in as ACC champion", VT drew the #12 seed in this Ultimate Playoff scenario (entire article can be found here). With the #12 seed, we would draw #5 USC in the first round. You can read the article, Ultimate Playoff set-up for yourself on the link, but I wanted to post for you all the write-up that is associated with the game that would be #5 USC vs. #12 VT in the first round of the national tournament.

"""No. 5 USC vs. No. 12 Virginia Tech: True to form, this 5-12 game features the biggest mismatch of Round 1: USC's defense vs. Virginia Tech's offense. The Trojans' D, which boasts five first-team All-Pac-10 players, is widely considered as one of the most dominant units in recent history. In 12 regular-season games, the Trojans yielded just 11 touchdowns, holding eight opponents to seven points or less. On the flip side, Virginia Tech's offense was one of the worst in the country, gaining just 296.15 total yards per game (107th nationally). Hokies QB Tyrod Taylor is dangerous with his feet, but the sophomore still has a ways to go in the passing game (as evidenced by his two TD passes and six interceptions in nine starts).

The strength of this Virginia Tech team is Bud Foster's defense. Although Foster had to replace seven starters from last year's squad, the Hokies finished the regular season with the nation's No. 7 defense. The unit lacks the star power of the USC unit, but this Macho Harris-led group should challenge the Trojans' horribly inconsistent offense.

At the end of the day though, the Trojans enter this matchup as a huge favorite. With the underwhelming nature of Virginia Tech's offense, USC really doesn't need to score many points to take this game."""

The emphasis and colored text is my work just to highlight for you all some fun reading - or at least how we're viewed THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE F%CKING NATION.

Frank, get a clue. Yes, congrats on winning the ACC in a "down" year for the Hokies. Congrats on winning with such a young and inexperienced team. But, those congratulatory cards should not be addressed to you this year Frank, pass them directly on to Bud.

Imagine this young team, more experienced in 2 years with this defense full of seniors, and a [gasp] top 50 offense.

I'd like to echo Hokie Guru's holiday wishes for everyone! Have a great one!
HokieJayBee

As always, don't forget to sign the FBS petition.

Are Virginia Tech Sports Cursed?

A buddy and i were talking on our way back to our hotels in the blithe Jacksonville sun. He asked me, " Do you ever wonder if we are cursed?"

"It sure seems so", I said.

That was JAN 1, 02 after yet another FSU loss. Now im not saying FSU is a part of our curse, they are just our football nemesis.

Im talking about certain occurrences, happenings etc that surround our sports program then and since then. Every program has had their fare share of tragedies over the years..ie marshall, tex AM fire. This post isnt intended to address anything on that level- Im talking more about boneheaded things our players, ex players, coaches, and AD's do to shoot themseves and vt in the foot. Let me reveal part of the Laundry list of blunders, mishaps, mistakes, and misfortunes mostly outside the lines of Virginia Tech football and basketball.

1) hiring of brian stinespring and his perrennial 100th rated O. With a 50th rated O, we would have a natty right now.
2) Marcus Vick Stomp/drugs/guns at mcdonalds/drunk driving/etc- with him at the helm, we may have gone to the natty title game.
3) not offering Stephon Curry a scholarship- we need him, we need his character, we need his game, we need a boost in the arm. he wouldve done so right by us. !someones head should be chopped off for not offering the curry brothers a scholarship!
4) Michael Vick/dogs-no explanation needed
5) countless last minute comebacks, close losses and the wrong side of buzzer beaters in bball- really how much more can we take? coach- fire them up somehow?
6) TV commentators- negative bias against VT in every sporting contest
7) deron kicking melchionni in the F"N face
8) stupid NFL d**kheads..Deangleo/Jimmy Williams
9) branden ore- crackerhead
10) bowl games
11) druckenmiller sexual assault in downtown bburg
12) football players beating up track players.
13) macho getting shot at

Is there a native american burial ground underneath cassel colliseum? is there a nuclear waste facility underneath the atheltic dept offices? Why else is there a rain cloud around vt sports? Is there a shaman sticking a Frank Beamer voodoo doll with a pin in a circular fashion ala the maharaja in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom? Is bstines eating chilled monkey brains?

as for keeping bstines on the coaching staff- weaver, beamer, "dont drink the juice"

where are our proverbial shankara stones that will save our civilinca from Kalee?

The Marcus Vick Effect

The IH flirted with this topic in his e-mail to Tom Dienhart, but now I'd like to open it up to public discussion because it's been on my mind for, oh, about three years now. Take a look at this:

Season	Rushing offense		Passing offense		Total offense		‡ Scoring offense
	Actual	†Ranking (Conf)	Actual	†Ranking (Conf)	Actual	†Ranking (Conf)	Actual	†Ranking (Conf)
2002[3]	212.43	#19 (#2 BE)	159.21	#99 (#7 BE)	371.64	#64 (#5 BE)	30.64	#30 (#2 BE)
2003[4]	209.31	#17 (#2 BE)	192.46	#82 (#6 BE)	401.77	#38 (#3 BE)	35.38	#12 (#1 BE)
2004[5]	178.23	#32 (#3 ACC)	187.31	#80 (#6 ACC)	365.54	#65 (#4 ACC)	30.77	#25 (#2 ACC)
2005[6]	190.69	#29 (#2 ACC)	190.23	#91 (#9 ACC)	380.92	#57 (#4 ACC)	33.85	#17 (#1 ACC)
2006[7]	113.38	#90 (#7 ACC)	181.77	#82 (#8 ACC)	295.15	#99 (#9 ACC)	25.85	#49 (#4 ACC)
2007[8]	133.64	#82 (#7 ACC)	196.86	#85 (#9 ACC)	330.50	#100 (#8 ACC)	28.71	#53 (#2 ACC)
*2008[9]	169.42	#40 (#3 ACC)	131.92	#110 (#11 ACC)	301.33	#103 (#10 ACC)	21.58	#92 (#8 ACC)
*2008 statistics as of November 30, 2008. All statistics from the NCAA. † National rankings are among the teams in the football bowl subdivision (formerly called Division I-A), which currently consists of 119 teams. The Big East Conference has 8 teams. The ACC had 11 teams in 2004 and has had 12 teams in all subsequent years. ‡ Scoring offense also includes points scored by the defense.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bryan_Stinespring

Two things jump out at you while perusing these stats:

1.) Bryan Stinespring is not a very good offensive coordinator

2.) The offense tanked after 2005.

Something else happened in 2005, of course. Marcus Vick self-destructed for the last time and was abruptly shown the door, leading to no small amount of embarrassment and humiliation for Frank Beamer and the entire program and leaving us without a quarterback. And then, as some of you probably well know, that next season, 2006, was the first season for Mike O'Cain and Curt Newsome.

Now, here's the IH's question: what's the reason for the downturn in an already mediocre offense? Was it the departure of Kevin Rogers to the Vikings? Did Rogers have more of a hand in the playcalling than anyone let on? Was it an inability on the part of Stiney and new QB coach Mike O'Cain to recover from the unexpected shock of having to find a starting QB immediately? Was it Sean Glennon, who just never quite clicked? Was it a downturn in the offensive line, saying in other words that the fault lies with Curt Newsome?

The IH has his theory, but would very much like to hear the opinions of others. Also, the IH would posit what he considers a very interesting question: if Stinespring somehow manages to return the offense to its level of production prior to 2006, would this be enough to save his job? Are we satisfied with a median total offense and top 30 scoring offense? If not, what will it take for us to finally say that our offense is pulling its weight?

Click here to sign the petition to fire Bryan Stinespring.

Monday Morning Catch-Up

Morning Fellow Hokies!!! Sorry I haven't posted yet on this glorious weekend, as we celebrate our 3rd ACC title in 5 years. That's 3 titles in 5 years since joining the league people, a mere mortal 60% clip. I won't mention that UVA has none since the ACC's inception in 1953, where it joined late that inaugural year. [[don't post comments on me here, I'm not allowing UVA to count the 1989 and 1995 "split" titles]]. They have none.

First, let me say sorry to all of you, and my fellow posters for not getting something on here sooner since the ACCCG. I had a little real life, some [*gasp*] work get in the way, and of course hanging up lights and decorating trees for HokieJayBee-Jr's 2nd Christmas.

Second, I hate the fact that I even have to do this, but in reading reader comments to some of my fellow poster's posts, I feel I must. DUCK! Incoming caveat: NO ONE HERE AT FBS.COM, OR ASSOCIATED WITH THIS BLOG, DOESN'T LOVE THE HOKIES, OR IS ACTUALLY ROOTING FOR THEM TO FAIL SIMPLY FOR THE SAKE OF THIS BLOG. Of course we're ecstatic with the ACCCG win! Of course we're stoked to be back in a BCS bowl supplying the conference with the most shared bowl money, yet again. Of course we're happy with a 30-12 win that wasn't even as close as the scoreboard said. BUT.......we just want more. We want more for us, for you, for our Hokies. With a perennial top 10 defense, we just want more consistency, and some occasional lightning from the offense. This blog is titled, Fire Bryan Stinespring, not, "We're Hokie Grads and Fans who hate the Hokies and root against them".

Sooooooo, as per Illinois Hokie before me, I must give credit where it is due. BStines did not cost us the game Saturday. He again gets a "passing" grade. Keep in mind that a 61% is passing in school now, "no kid left behind". In truth, he called one of his best games of the year this week, with a couple foul ups or runs/trends of predictability. [[I still stand by his best called game this year was when the leg injury bug cripled us against FSU losing Tyrod and Sean, and Cory Holt was the QB. He called his best game in years with Holt in, because he had to react and call a game for an uprepared offense. But I digress.]] I must also echo Frank "not a glass jaw" Beamer himself in giving credit to the entire staff for this season. A true rebuilding year for the Hokies, so young, so inexperienced, to pull an ACCC out of our Turkey Butts - kudos. Fact stated on the telecast that I didn't even know it was as bad as it was ---- we have 37 new players this year. Due to the NFL, graduation, and other reasons (Branden Ore anyone???), we have 37 new players on the roster this year. 37!!! To win a conference with that many new players, and that many new starters, is amazing. Kudos x 2.

But.....that doesn't mean we should be content as Hokie fans. We have a very young, very talented team that could make a phenomenal 2-3 year run here. And, we don't want to be held back by mediocre offensive play calling. Caveat #2: notice I am not saying for the total removal of BStines from VT football. Again, he is apparently an amazing recruiter, a true player's coach, and is fairly vital to Beamdog's staff and locker room. Fine, keep him on board. Just don't let him call plays anymore!!!! And at all costs keep Bud Foster.

Ok, I've filled your blog reading with enough macro level stuff. Some quick game notes before I get back to [*gasp*] work again.

I would like to show you an interpretation of how I look after EVERY SINGLE F%CKING 1st DOWN CALL WHEN WE GET THE BALL.

Stop calling the same off-tackle run out of the same formation, including the same man in motion, on every 1st down play!!!!!! I was watching the game this Saturday with my wife and brother. And I looked at them and said that we should sign some sort of agreement/contract with all of our opponents. In order to remove the risk of any turnovers or loss of yardage due to penalty, we should just get our opponents to agree that when we get the ball, it's 2nd down and 10. That way, we don't run the risk of that fumble or penalty on the 1st down play call that everyone in the building knows is coming. It never gains a yard. Never. So we're not losing anything just making it 2nd and 10. If our opponents refuse to sign this agreement, we should just have Tyrod do the clock-stopping downing of the ball incompletion on every first down, so it will safely be 2nd and 10 already, which is where we are on every series already, although not on purpose.

In my compliments to BStines' play calling and "passing" grade this week, I of course have some criticisms as well. He did turn past page 2 of the play book this week. But you have to pick your spots and situations correctly. And.....and.......AND......these better play calls that I am complimenting: the reverse to Coale out of shotgun, the option run out of shotgun, the WR and RB screens and flares -- they're all designed to get our speedy players out in space AWAY from the big bad guys in the middle, right? STOP CALLING THEM TO SHORT SIDE OF THE FIELD. You're losing 13~ish yards between the hash marks of running space for your play to develop. The design of the horizontal starting plays (reverses, options, screens, flares) is to get the ball in a play maker's hands in space and let him beat people to the edge. Call these plays to the wide side of the field and let the players make plays, let them beat the bigger LB's and DT's to the edge. I was very happy to see some new wrinkles from BStines in the game this week, and even the quantity of times these were called, but he puts us at an immediate disadvantage every time by calling the play to the short side of the field. There's a huge 12th defender there everytime, Mr. Out of Bounds.

And finally, did anyone else get the sense that the Refs or replay officials aren't actually reviewing the play in question when they go to the replay booth? I know we Hokies are biased, but Jesus, those replay NON-reversals were horrible. I have two theories. [1] Dr. Pepper, the ACC, and ABC needed a closer game for viewers. So, the Refs and replay officials were directed NOT to overturn the fumble-that-wasn't by Darren Evans and to NOT overturn the interception-that-was by Dorian Porch. Dr. Pepper called and said, keep BC in it. or [2] they actually are just watching Spongebob Squarepants when they go to the replay. Absorbent and yellow and porous is he!!!

Speaking with much heart here, God I hope we lack a smack down on Cinci. I hope the O and D contribute equally and we put up big points on them. Take this young young young team to next season with an ACC championship and a BCS bowl game win. Give us our 5th straight season with 10 or more wins.

As always, please sign the petition here.
GO HOKIES!

Tom Dienhart can suck my left nut.

Tom Dienhart wrote an article about the ACC championship and the conference in general.

And the IH wrote Tom Dienhart and e-mail:

SEC teams beat up on each other, resulting in several 7 and 8 win teams. The conference winds up sending ten of its twelve teams to bowls. The SEC is the best college football conference.

ACC teams beat up on each other, resulting in several 7 and 8 win teams. The conference winds up sending ten of its twelve teams to bowls. The ACC is mediocre and boring.

Look, dude, spin whatever narrative you want. The truth is that by the numbers...by the facts...(y'know, those things that always get in the way of people who talk football but don't really know the game...y'know, people like you) the ACC is a hell of a football conference. You dismiss Sagarin out of hand because those numbers just don't mesh with your story. Truth is, Jeff Sagarin forgot more about college football today than you'll know by the time you're 90.

The ACC hasn't produced that team yet, the team with a top notch, Sunday-caliber offense that's coached by an asshole like Bob Stoops who'll run the score up on inferior competition to get media attention. VT got close...damn close...with Marcus Vick, but he turned out to be a douchebag and VT's offense is still recovering from the younger Vick's abrupt departure. But there's good coaching and good talent in the conference now, not just in one or two programs. So that team is coming. And when it gets here, guys like you will be calling the ACC the class of college football.

But guys like me will have quit listening to you a long time ago.

Click here to sign the petition to fire Bryan Stinespring.

Kings of the ACC

"From here on out, next season and every season, my pick in the ACC will be Virginia Tech." -- Mark May, ESPN college football analyst

The IH is now sober enough to blog. First, a few random thoughts:

1.) Could we please get this championship game to Charlotte already, or at least get some resurgence out of our conference teams in Florida, so the ACCC has a higher attendance than Virginia's high school football state championship?

2.) Could the two-faced college football analysts and commentators on ESPN and, by extension, ABC, please not spend all season tearing down the ACC only to try to lift it up during the broadcast of its championship? Or if you're going to do it, could you please be a little more subtle about it?

3.) Can you imagine what life must be like for Jag-off right about now? You make it to the conference championship game each of your first two years, each time playing a team that you've already beaten, only to be owned in back to back years. Well, for that matter, can you imagine what life must be like for Tom O'Brien right about now?

4.) What was up with Darren Evans' butterfingers late in the game?

5.) What the hell is taking Campus Emporium so long to get the ACC Champions gear up on their website?

6.) NO freaking comments from anyone except the HG about the Wild Turkey picture? Seriously?

And now some analysis and critiquing by the IH...

What can I say? For the third week in a row Stiney has earned a pass. Not a top notch grade, not a rave review, but a pass. Today Stinespring performed at a level at which, if he turned in this type of performance every week, he would probably not be in the public crosshairs. The IH still wants BS out the door, don't get me wrong, but the IH also believes in credit where credit is due. And to be honest, the offense contributed today. It was, in general, a decently called offensive effort. There were very few forehead-slappers. The biggest gripe is that we went way to hardcore for the run way too early in the fourth quarter, when a few well timed play action passes would have sealed the deal much earlier.

The most glowing praise I can give Bryan Stinespring today is that for once this season he seemed to be able to put together a passing game that by design opened up the possibility for a QB keeper on every pass play. Oh, and that Danny Coale end around is getting <--this--> close to working.

The knock, of course, is 222 total yards of offense. But then, if you saw this game you understand that's not really a knock. This is the reason why the IH is more concerned with scoring offense than total offense, especially with the way our team is put together and the kind of football we play. Even with only 222 yards to show for itself, the offense contributed today, and really that's all the IH cares about seeing.

If Bryan Stinespring had coached for the last three years the way he's coached for the last three games, the conversation regarding him would probably be a lot more, "Y'know, if we had a really top notch offensive coordinator we'd probably have a national championship by now," and a lot less, "Oh my GOD we have got to get rid of this f*cktard."

The problem, of course, is that he hasn't coached like this the last three years, but once again he's probably brought it together at the end just enough to slide into the next season.

Three conference championships in five years. The IH thinks it's safe to say the ACC got a whole lot more than they bargained for when they got us.

Click here to sign the petition to fire Bryan Stinespring.

Who wants an orange?

Was that a smash or what?
Stinespring actually read the blogs, and called a good game.
The O finally gave the production it was supposed to and the D add the finishing touches, as well ass made sure we never lost the momentum.
I noticed however, we still strayed from the game plan at times, trying to run too much when the pass was working better. Oh and the O-line this time did a pretty good job.
Have an Orange please.
GO HOKIES

Have a Shot.

Dont abandon the.....Pass!

Ill Hokie brings up a great point about the passing game. He intricately describes the nuances of our receivers and the routes that they should run. I'm a simpler man, and i think the game comes down to offensive game planning. You know, the type that attacks a defense's weakness? You know, like any half decent o coordinator would do?

I condone copying from the Patriots, since they copy from others! Lets take a page from the NE vs. Minnesota game. Minny had the best interior DT tandem in the leage and was first in stopping the run. sound familiar? what was the Pat's game plan? Why throw it for 50+ times en route to ripping their secondary to shreds.

I think we should use Boone to the fullest. I think we should use our TE's to the fullest by getting them the ball through the air. Im not sure if BC will fall against the wild turkey formation. Like BTony had said earlier, expolit their weakness, their secondary and run screens and run at their DE's.

Go hokies tomorrow. Notching another Acc title never hurts the program. The catch is winning may mean that Stine will be around as O-coord for another 5 years!

I say we win tomorrow and we win in the Orange bowl..

The Tale of the Tape

By the numbers:

By the numbers
A quick look at some key stats for Boston College and Virginia Tech:
	Boston College	Virginia Tech
RECORD:	9-3	8-4
TOTAL OFFENSE:	319.3 ypg	301.3 ypg
RUSH OFFENSE:	151.2 ypg	169.4 ypg
PASS OFFENSE:	168.2 ypg	131.9 ypg
SCORING OFFENSE:	26.7 ppg	21.6 ppg
TOTAL DEFENSE:	276.7 ypg	274.5 ypg
RUSH DEFENSE:	87.3 ypg	112.2 ypg
PASS DEFENSE:	189.3 ypg	162.3 ypg
SCORING DEFENSE:	17.6 ppg	17.9 ppg
TURNOVER MARGIN:	Plus-7	Plus-10

Long story short, expect a low scoring defensive battle. Yeah, BC's banged up but depending on what kind of nonsense Bryan Stinespring calls there are days we couldn't score on a high school team.

So, fellow FBSers, what does Stiney need to do to not cost us this game? The answer lies in BC's three losses this season (Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Clemson). Of the three, only the Yellow Jackets were able to beat them through a ground assault...and then only by a field goal after a fourth quarter comeback.

Simply put, we must take to the air tomorrow if the offense is to do its part. Not that I expect the offense to do its part. Why start now? The last time we played BC Tyrod managed only 90 passing yards in an absolute debacle of offensive ineptitude. That was essentially half a season ago, though. The IH thinks as far as our offense is concerned, tomorrow is going to come down to whether or not Danny Coale, Jarret Boykin, and Dyrell Roberts have finally matured as receivers and are ready to catch balls rather than bounce them off their hands, chests, facemasks...you get the idea. For what it's worth, the IH thinks they're ready. The IH also wishes we could find some obscure NCAA loophole that would let us get Logan Thomas an DJ Coles onto the field for this game, just in case.

Now that's not saying the IH wants to see a one-dimensional passing attack tomorrow. I'd love to see some play action, some draws, maybe a little option if we must. Of course the IH wants his weekly shot of Wild Turkey. But perhaps this would be an ideal opportunity to get Boone his first pass completion. And for chrissake, make it a 10 yard hitch route, not a 30 yard wounded duck.

Despite offensive playcalling ineptitude of the highest calliber, tomorrow we've got a chance to win our third ACC title in five years. Simply freaking amazing.

GO HOKIES!!!

Click here to sign the petition to fire Bryan Stinespring.

I Can Tell You 2 Teams We DON'T Look Like...

Lately, I've noticed an increase in mentions of Stiney's visits with other college teams (WVU) and Pro Teams (Colts), and the lack of development following those visits. While I'm not an expert on either team's offensive scheme, I do see a major disparity between their styles. How can Stiney expect to bridge the gap between the NFL's premier passing offense and one of college football's most successful run offenses?

The short answer: he can't.

To be fair, no one can, at least not yet. There just aren't any players out there who pose as equal of a passing threat as they do a running threat. There are plenty who can do both, but they only excel at one or the other. Stiney seems to think that either Tyrod Taylor or Sean Glennon could run WVU plays out of a Colts formation. While this is a great idea in theory, it lacks the time, the manpower and (surprise!) play-calling ability to really be viable in college football.

Case in point, Peyton Manning has been at the helm of the Colts for 10 years. Since 2001, he has called the plays via the now-famous no-huddle offensive scheme. In 2001, the Colts went 6-10. In 2002, they rebounded with a 10-6 record which enabled an appearance in the playoffs.

For those of you doing the math, that's 4 seasons in which the Colts installed a quarterback and the no-huddle scheme. It wasn't until the fifth season that they really saw the fruits of their labor. Was it worth it for Peyton and Co? Yup. He has become one of the biggest passing threats in the NFL which is evident in the fact that the Colts have had a record above .500 for the past 6 seasons.

The difference is that VT doesn't have 5 seasons to spend on making an offense successful. We're in the midst of our last season with Glennon, and our second with Taylor, so neither has the necessary time to develop into a no-huddle-caliber passer.

Looking at West Virginia, we don't have the necessary components in our offense to block the way the WVU line does. Check out this clip of WVU running the option. Granted it is on the legs of Pat White that this play winds up working (sound familiar?), but watch their offensive line not only block along the line of scrimmage, but also GAIN 3 yards against the defense:



We don't have that mobile of a front 5. Similar play from VT. Watch our line LOSE 3 yards:



We just don't have the talent to seal off the corner like they do. We can't expect to run their offense with our front.

Finally, there's Stiney, who throughout this season has made MANY bonehead calls, and has missed nearly as many. Many remember his 3rd and Pickle call, but of greater concern to me is that we had no apparent play call set for 4th down. Seriously! It's as if Stiney was so confident in Pickle that he expected to have time while they moved the chains to call in the next play. Call both plays. Hell, call a series on the sideline before they go in, and throw the no-huddle at them for a series. He doesn;t have the talent to make this scheme work, nor does he have the people or the time.

And neither do we.

The Tajh Boyd Rollercoaster Ride Continues

Rivals.com is reporting that Phoebus dual threat QB Tajh Boyd has decommitted to Tennessee. Funny that the IH has already exhausted the deja vu topic for a blog title, because it certainly fits here. This makes the second time that Boyd had decommitted from a school this season, having snubbed WVU earlier this year. With WVU and Tennessee crossed off the list, that leaves him reportedly considering VT, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, BC, FSU, and UVA. Rivals is reporting he has an offer from all of those schools except Ohio State and Florida State.

Now that the #3 dual threat quarterback in the nation is back on the market, the question must be raised, do we even want this guy?

Obviously Tajh is a little commitment phobic. I sort of get the Tennessee decommitment. Whole new coaching staff coming in means any promises you were made by your recruiter are now out the window. I might be able to look past that if it weren't for the fact that he pulled the same stunt with West Virginia just a few weeks ago.

"But IH," you might say, "Kevin Newsome pulled the same thing with Michigan." And indeed he did. We now face the fact that our top two targets at QB have committed and then decommitted at another school at least once. However, Newsome very publicly stated his reason for the change of heart with the Wolverines was because Rich Rodriguez continued recruiting high profile QBs after telling Newsome he'd be their QB if he committed to Michigan. K-New is looking for a program that's willing to shoot straight and give him playing time, two things we can offer.

So the IH is conflicted where Tajh Boyd is concerned. The kid has promise, no doubt, but do we really want a QB who might just say to hell with it as soon as things aren't perfect? We had that out of a running back the past two seasons, and the result was nothing but frustration.

12/4/2008 Hokie Guru Update - Here is the take from Dave Johnson of the Newport News Daily Press. Tim Boyd, Tajh's father, stated that his son will not make a commitment until signing day in February. Tim stated that Ohio State and Oregon have already contacted him. If you recall, Chip Kelly, the Offensive Coordinator (and Bellotti successor) at the University of Oregon, runs a spread offense. Tajh might be a good fit there. The Hokie Guru does not think that Ohio State is in the mix (Tajh would be waiting behind Terrelle Pryor for a few years). Plus, the Buckeyes run a pro-style offense. Anyway, Rivals is reporting that Tajh has seven offers now, including Oregon, Penn State, Boston College (this is where EBJ from the BCO thinks that Tajh will attend), Virginia, Virginia Tech, Louisville, and South Florida.

Click here to sign the petition to fire Bryan Stinespring.

Will Stiney be stubborn on Sat and stick with a familiar gameplan or will he make the necessary adjustments to help ensure VT wins the ACCCG??

After our win against UVA, and watching BC hang on to defeat Maryland this past Sat, my mind shifted to VT's most recent game against Boston College. As I am sure many of you remember, VT's defense almost single handedly won us that game up in Chestnut Hill by creating turnover after turnover and taking to the house 2 (should have been 3) pick 6s. However, our offense could literally do nothing right that game. Tyrod had one long scramble, wrs dropped passes, OL missed blocks or fell down, and the well coached and very talented front 7 of the BC defense completely shut down our offense.
Our offensive coaches tried to blame most of the offense's problems that night on execution, but I am one of those intellectual football fans that believes that a team can win a game long before the game is even played. Yes, I am talking about gameplanning and scheming through film study to come up with a way to surprise the other team and put yourself in a position to take advantage of opportunities throughout the course of a given game. Unfortunately, Bryan Stinespring's gameplan for the BC game earlier in the season was not designed to take advantage of BC's weaknesses (BC's weakness on defense is its secondary) and our offenses' strengths. Going into the game, it was obvious from watching BC play many times before on tv that BC has 2 of the best defensive tackles in the country in BJ Rajii and Ron Brace. They are definitely the best defensive tackle combo in the ACC, perhaps the best pair of defensive tackles in all of college football, and the college football equivalent of the once dynamic duo of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Marcus Stroud and John Henderson, or the Vikings current pairing of Pat and Kevin Williams. Both of their defensive tackles will be playing on Sundays next season. It is literally almost impossible to run right at them up the middle. Many have tried and have failed. Even our beloved Bud Foster called Brace and Rajii a pair of "war daddys" in an interview prior to the game and said how they were going to be a nightmare for us to try and block. Yet, what did our inept OC, Bryan Stinespring, try to do most of the night? How about run right at them??!@##! Oh, he tried a few option plays, some token passes and a handful of runs outside the tackles, but the majority of plays we ran were runs between the tackles right into the strength of the BC defense right up the middle! And, guess what happened? How about the offense (predictably) got dominated by a highly ranked BC defense! I remember watching most of the game as our 3 starting interior OL, Nick Marshman, Ryan Shuman and Sergio Render struggled all night to block the 2 BC monsters in the middle on any play. And that is 3 OL trying to block 2DL.
But, fear not fellow Hokies for Bryan Stinespring has a chance to redeem himself (you know I am exaggerating right?) thanks to Bud Foster's defense getting us back to the ACCCG. Bryan Stinespring will need to come up with a much better gameplan for the VT offense to have a chance to be successful moving the ball and putting points on the board against a very good BC defense. But, one of the major keys to the game in my humble opinion is going to be Bryan Stinespring's ability to come up with a better gameplan! Our offense's success will be contingent on a better game plan compared to the previous one Bryan Stinespring used against BC. I am tired of Stiney using lack of execution by his players as an excuse! That is not really our offense's major problem, at least not the last time we played BC. It is time for him to step up and design a creative and attacking gameplan that will take advantage of BC's weaknesses on defense! And, because I want Bryan Stinespring to have some success on Saturday, I will help him out with a few suggestions on offense and hope he reads this or one of friends in Blacksburg is kind enough to pass the advice along to him. So without further delay, here are my suggestions for what type of gameplan VT's offense should implement on Sat in the ACCCG:

1) Run more option plays- Let's get Tyrod and Darren "Diesel" Evans out on the edge of the defense! No defensive tackles there!
2)Run Darren Evans outside the tackles- Our WRs have improved greatly as blockers since the season has gone along and we should be trying to run sweeps and tosses outside. BC has very good LBs, but I would rather make their 2 DTs run a lot all night laterally along the line of scrimmage in order to make plays. I think we can wear them down and tire them out by making them run excessively.
3) If we are going to run between the tackles, only run off tackle and pull a guard or center and let's run at their DEs instead because their d ends are nothing special (thanks for the suggestion JG)!
3) Lots of Wild Turkey with Greg Boone, but let's make most of the runs outside the tackles instead! Stiney, you can try a run or two right up the middle and see if Boone has any luck getting through the wall, but i would not count on that happening... Oh, and btw I loved Boone trying that pass out of the Wild Turkey, but let's call a shorter pass for Boone to complete this game before we try a bomb...
4) Rolling Tyrod Taylor out a LOT more on passing plays. Moving the pocket will give our OL an advantage and buy some time for Tyrod. It will also create more throwing lanes for him since he is not too tall and the BC defensive tackles are also both good pass rushers and we don't want them just pinning their ears back and rushing straight ahead on passing plays. Trust me, that did not work earlier in the season when we played them!
5) Getting Darren Evans and our TEs, Greg Boone and Andre' Smith, a lot more involved in the passing game! Let's get Evans out in the flats and throw him the ball. Get him the ball in space and let him make plays. The kid is fantastic with the ball in his hands. Why not throw it to him 4-5 times a game?? Can I beg you, Stiney, for 1-2 RB screens or even a TE screen with Boone?? Seriously though, we need to throw more to our TE.