FBS Mission Statement:
We at FBS believe that offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring bears the largest share of the blame for years of sub-par output from some of the most talented players ever to set foot on Worsham Field. We believe the main objective of the VT football program - a national championship - will escape us as long as Stinespring is making the calls. We therefore advocate the improvement of our football program through the replacement of our offensive coordinator.
There is a large amount of uncertainty looming over this team. That #5 ranking is looming more than it is bolstering us. Looking down the top 25, only Miami and GT are still with us in the picture for the ACC, and GT's hanging on by a thread (one that could very easily snap when they head into Doak Campbell this weekend to take on a VERY pissed off FSU). We aren't getting a whole lot of support from our conference, and it's beginning to feel more like we're the ones supporting them. Inconsistency seems the norm in the ACC. UNC and FSU - initially considered challengers in the ACC this season - have both slumped to last place in their respective divisions, while not one ACC team has made it through 5 games without at least 1 loss. The fewest being VT, GT, BC and Miami, each dragging along a very heavy '1' in the loss column.
We have grown to expect some parity in the ACC in basketball, but that's a sport where a certain number of losses are expected each season, even for the most elite teams. In football, though, a season can be all but lost in a single game. This season, it's getting ridiculous.
Narrowing our focus, it's unfortunate to see that VT has had at least one poor outing this season with each of it's 3 units. I can't remember the last game we won where Beamerball was such a non-factor as we saw in the Duke game. While I have little doubt that Special Teams and the Defense will rebound and truck a few more teams this season, it's unnerving that we here at FBS are actually feeling a nearly equal level of uneasiness about each of our 3 units, and not just Stiney's.
If we were a stool, we'd be a wobbly one that's weighed down by a dead weighted conference. We could shim the short leg, but it's getting tougher to figure out just which leg that is...
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Actually, the unnerving thing on my end is that I'm just about more concerned about this year's defense than I am about the offense.
The Nebraska game showed that the offense has enough talent to win even with bad playcalling (which won't happen often, but can happen), and the Marshall, Miami, and Duke games showed that Stinespring's playcalling is showing considerable improvement this year.
The only game that has made me feel confident about the offense is Miami.
As far as special teams are concerned, it's a double-edged sword. Our return game is great this year and the Miami game showed we can still go after punts (though with Jayron Hosley returning, you have to be judicious about when it's actually smarter to set up the return).
But our special teams coverage is like our defense: way too many big plays.
i've written and re-written a post for this week. but i keep deleting it, in part or in whole. and it seems you guys have all covered my points - so i'll avoid posting to avoid any repition.
there's just one over-arching theme that i can't get out of my head this season. and i guess the best definition of that feeling is "identity".
i can't pin us down. the inconsistency theme of this post sums it up well too.
alabama - we showed we belong in the conversation, but didn't have "it".
marshall - no comment, bigger/better/faster as it should have been.
nebraska - "scare" game for the year that every team has on a season long run. tough out of conference ranked team, so no respect lost to the nation, but internally embarrassed for the offense.
miami - near game of the decade. all facets.
duke - we already spent our "scare" game, so this was our "trap" game? bigger/better/faster should have won out here. they f$cking lost to richmond.
i just get the feeling, that despite the national respect we've garnered for our alabama game and miami win, we're still considered as "in the conversation", but not "it". it's a shame, but we need to finish like this:
VT 34 BC 10
VT 47 GT 17
VT 40 UNC 20
VT 40 ECU 3
VT 56 UMary 0
VT 34 NCST 16
VT 6,512 UVA -4
obviously that got funny at the end, but the others are serious. we need to have identity. that identity needs to be the-big-boy-on-the-block. like OSU's traditional image in the Big10+1. the ACC as a whole isn't helping us out. and we need to stomp them, not skate by - to stay above BoiseST and stay above UF/LSU/UAla after a close loss head-to-head.
and we need help. technically speaking, we're torn on the GT game this weekend. unlike normal, where we're rooting for GT/UNC/UMiami to lose in conference so that we can win the coastal and get to the ACCCG - we're rooting for them to win now when they're not playing us.
that's the culture change we need to go through too, not just Frank and company, to be a national contender team and not just happy winning the ACC.
side note: word verification is bartime.
yes please.
i'll also promise to spell repetition correctly from now on.
I meant to say the only game that's made me feel confident about our defense is Miami.
I've actually felt quite good about our offense for three out of the five games we've played.
And that's a very bizarre feeling.
I feel confident Foster can refocus our defense.
The Miami game represented what they are capable of, and I don't doubt Foster's ability to get the best out of his players.
I think Duke was a combination of players that didn't take their opposition quite seriously enough, and a hot QB.
This weekend will let us know I imagine. BC is a team solid in the fundamentals that will test our O, and riding another hot QB that will test our D.
Could we actually be getting the message across to Stiney???? While I don't advocate that there is any hint of offensive genius going on here, this is what the Roanoke Times quoted from the Duke game:"Taylor also delivered on third-and-11 in the fourth quarter, thanks to a play that offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring drew up at halftime. Coale beat a cornerback and hauled in a 37-yard pass that got Tech to the Duke 27. It set up a TD."
O.K.....while I'm not taking any pressure off Stiney, I have to admit that I like what I've seen recently. Can we be consistent down the stretch??? We'll see. I'm not going to focus on special teams, or defense, because this site (FBS) has a purpose...a mission. Should we loose our focus, than maybe we should re-evaluate the purpose of this site.
I say we keep the pressure on Stiney, based on the fact that we have proven special teams and defensive unit coaches. Why settle for good, when we need to be great??? If you want to send a message to special teams, or defense, be my guest....but either re-name this site "FireVaTechFootballCoaches.com", or be happy we are ranked #5 (a good omen???) Maybe a little Mojo from the players will help also.
Tony The Tiger,
I am glad that put the effort to write in a post that had no proof to back up all of your bull shit. You want to tarnish 10 years of Bud Foster excellence by renaming this website. Really bro?
As for making a different name for this site personally i think you are as ass clown. Stines offense has not finished any of the past couple of seasons any better than 100th. His wife was franks secretary first and he had NO COLLEGE football experience of any kind before VT. Why should we take a multi million dollar offense and put it into his hands?
Please give me one freakin reason why. Plus, tell me why Bud Foster has had to carry Stines for so long? Now we are "our offense is good" lets fuss about the defense.
F$%k you idiot. My VT defense has defined dominance for over a decade and you want to give Stines credit for 2 games?
Joke...grow up
Dollar Dave
P.S. I still think Stines should be fired unless he can give us a FULL YEAR of good offense.
Hello Jackass! Please know your subject before your shoot off at the mouth.
You are writing like a fat kid who just tasted ice cream for the first time. Really are you a fan or something else?
Humm... it is funny that when the game is on the line that it is our athletes that make the play calls and the plays that win us games.
Personally, I feel like that there has been only one single reason that has kept our offense alive for years....good recruits. Not Stines learn on the job crap.
We have had as offensive receivers (recently), Morgan, King, Clowny, Wilford, Royal,
it should be noted that dollar dave's angst and wording towards readers and commenters is not that of the website, it's administrator's, or the hokie guru.
we thank you for your continued support and welcome any discussion and friendly banter. as we're all hokies here, let's work on toning down any hokie-on-hokie crimes.
I'm with Dollar Dave.
If Stinespring gives us a full good season next year, then I will start believing in him little bit more.
Even then I'd still think that a full fluke season has a more chance of happening then Stinespring finally getting "it" and becoming a new man.
haha dollar dave needs to get his ass whooped.
Looks like somebody forgot to take their happy pills...
Just to give a little administrative clarification, the focus and purpose of this site will remain, for as long as it exists, to put pressure on offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring. As our mission statement pretty clearly states, we believe B. Stines is the primary reason for VT not having won a national championship (or several).
It is undeniable that Stinespring has shown improvement in his playcalling this season, especially post-Alabama. I also give Stinespring mad props for owning up to some of his bad calls. One of the biggest criticisms we have about Stinespring here is that he tended to always blame poor offensive performance on missed assignments, bad reads, etc. For the first time I can recall, Stinespring finally displayed an inkling of the "buck stops here" mentality that Bud Foster has displayed in spades throughout his tenure. I can't speak for anyone else, but that carries a lot of weight for me.
Does that mean we think Stiney should keep his job? That would be a big negatory, Pigpen. Stinespring's offenses have sucked eggs for the past three years, getting perpetually worse. It takes more than three well-called games out of five for us to forgive and forget.
We are always open to the posibility that we are wrong here, and that Stinespring might prove himself a competent offensive coordinator. If that happens, we'll gladly wipe the egg of our face, politely admit our mistake, and turn off the lights on our way out the door. The overall goal of this website is to shut it down once a competent OC is in place at VT. If that OC happens to be Stiney, more the better. But we'll believe it when we see it.
As for the notion of changing our name to firevtcoaches, dude, get yourself to a hospital because you must have done the brown acid. First of all, Beamer gets a perpetual pass from us. He's one of the gods of college football and we're lucky as hell to have him. VT is the House That Frank Built, and he's earned our undying devotion.
And really, the same thing goes for Bud. The defense might be a cause for concern this year, but that's on the players, not the coach. That's justified because of Foster's track record and the fact that his scheme and coaching style haven't changed except for the introduction of a new nickel package this season. As Kyle Tucker does an excellent job of pointing out, the Achilles' heel of this particular Lunch Pail Crew has been the big play. Period. This is not a bend-but-don't-break defense as some have suggested, this is a break-about-five-plays-a-game defense.
Consider that Miami gained 57% of its offensive yards on 5 plays. On its other 54 plays, Miami gained an average of 1.7 yards per.
This particular Fosterfense plays lights out 90% of the time. The other 10%, it plays like a jayvee squad. That's not scheme, it's personnel and coaching. And anyone who doesn't have faith in Bud Foster to coach that out of his players, please raise your hand...and smack yourself with it.
Finally, the comments section on any give post on this blog is an open forum for frank, honest discussion of ideas and opinions. We will not let it degenerate into a hotbed of flaming and personal attacks. Anybody who shows a sustained trend of such behavior will be banned.
Peace, love, football.
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