THE BIG PICTURE
If you believe that six games is enough to judge a team by (and I personally do) then it's safe to say that when it comes to the Hokies this year, the defense is a little down and the offense is way, way up. Presented for your consideration:
I'll actually start with the defense here, and start by saying I'm not particularly panicked. The 2009 Lunch Pail Crew is giving up about 30 more yards per game than the 2008 model. Yes, those numbers are a little rough to look at, but they're also improving. And the primary reason I'm not losing sleep over the defensive numbers is... well, actually the primary reason is because we have Bud Foster as our defensive coordinator. But another big reason I'm not fretting is because despite those extra thirty yards a game, the defense is giving up 0.96 more points per game this year than last. If the Hokies manage to hold Georgia Tech to under 11 points on Saturday - and I'm not saying that is going to happen - then our points allowed per game will be better for '09 than it was in '08. So, again, not so much losing sleep.
Moving on, when I say the offense is way up we're talking about more than 84 yards and 12 points per game up. These are big, big numbers we're talking about here, the kind of turnaround that yours truly would have said before the season started were impossible with Stiney still in place. What's more, the offense has been truly fun to watch in four of VT's six games this season, and I'm talking USC-Florida-Oklahoma-esque fun to watch.
So what the hell is different? Well, for starters theres...
JESUS IN CLEATS
It's a little early to be making longterm predictions about Ryan Williams, since he's only played six games as a Hokie. That being said, I will say that thus far he has lived up to his nickname of Little Sweetness. There is indeed a Walter Payton-like quality to the young man. So far Williams has rolled up 877 total yards (rushing plus receiving) and 10 touchdowns. Put into perspective, Williams has accounted for 38% of Virginia Tech's yardage gained and 45% of their touchdowns. He is on pace to destroy Darren Evans' freshman rushing record and with a strong second half could potentially challenge Kevin Jones' all-time rushing record. He's on pace to find the endzone 18 times on the ground, which I'm pretty sure would also be a freshman record.
But the thing I like perhaps the most about Williams is his attitude. I don't think we've ever had a player on offense with such an infectious desire to do something amazing. It's not just that he wants to be spectacular; Williams wants everyone around him to be spectacular as well. He wants the whole offense to fire on all cylinders, all the time. He reminds me of a Corey Moore of the offense, so to speak, a player that makes everyone around him want to do better, play harder, and accomplish more. There's a cockiness to the young man, no doubt (this is, after all, the player who talked about a national championship his redshirt year and has already said this season that he intends to let the Heisman chase him instead of the other way around) but that cockiness does not translate whatsoever into arrogance. After a huge play, when other players might draw attention to themselves, Williams simply bounces up off the ground, looks either to his teammates or the stands, and claps. After scoring the touchdown against BC that officially signaled the rout was on, Williams looked to the Corps of Cadets sitting in the south endzone and saluted.
At this point I almost wrote that this sort of performance at tailback has not been seen in Blacksburg for a long time, but to be honest it might have never happened before. Again, the man has only played in six games as a Hokie, but if these numbers aren't a fluke and Williams continues to perform at this level, it is possible that Williams will be to the Virginia Tech tailback position what Michael Vick was to quarterback. And that sort of performance has opened the door for...
MR. TYROD'S WILD RIDE
Tyrod Taylor has thrown more touchdown passes this season (8) than he managed the past two seasons combined (7). His QB rating of 159.6 is good for 10th nationally. He has an 8:1 TD to pick ratio, which is mind-boggling. His yards per attempt has almost doubled from last season, and he has completed at least one pass of 40+ yards in each game thus far. He has completed passes to ten difference receivers and touchdown passes to four, all of them wide receivers. Perhaps most importantly, he has yet to suffer an injury of any significance in 2009.
In other words, Tyrod Taylor has apparently made the transition from athlete pretending to be a quarterback to true quarterback.
There's no doubt about exactly when that transition happened. Tyrod put the entire offense on his back in the final two minutes against a pretty damn good Nebraska team and carried them to one of the most improbable victories in Virginia Tech history. It would be asinine of me to claim he did it with his arm instead of his feet, especially considering that on the go-ahead touchdown pass to Dyrell Roberts, Tyrod managed to scramble for nine seconds before delivering the ball. Granted, that was only possible because the Husker line was playing contain rather than blitz. But the whole reason they were playing contain is because there was no way Tyrod would burn them with his arm twice. The first big pass to Danny Coale was a fluke. Except...it wasn't.
Since the Comeback (notice the proper noun), Taylor has picked apart secondaries, found the mismatch in coverage, and delivered the ball in stride more often than not. He's throwing the ball to spots where either his man will come down with it or no-one will. He's using his feet just like he always has, but now he's using them to buy time rather than bust off a run. This means, of course, that he's taking less punishment than he has the past two years (though with the offensive line tied for 104th in sacks allowed, he certainly is still taking a significant amount of punishment). The fewer hits Tyrod absorbs, the less likely he'll suffer a season-ending injury. And despite JuJu Clayton's first career completion being an 80 yard touchdown to Marcus Davis, an injury-free Tyrod is a very, very good thing.
THE BIG PICTURE, REDUX
The goal of the Virginia Tech football team, so far as I am concerned, is a national championship. Not 10+ win seasons, not ACC championships, and not Orange Bowl victories. Frank Beamer has established VT as a national college football powerhouse and a team that is expected to perform at the highest level year-in and year-out. To set the bar anywhere below the top of the heap is settling for less than that of which the program is capable. The only accomplishment that VT has yet to add to its resume is lofting the crystal football.
Before the season started, I pontificated that a 7-0 start to the season would mathematically guarantee the Hokies to be in fourth place when the initial BCS rankings debut after week eight. If Virginia Tech can handle what is certain to be a feisty Yellow Jackets squad playing a night game at home (for homecoming, no less), then it appears that Frank Beamer might actually navigate a 6-1 record to a higher ranking.
There is a lot of talk, both here and elsewhere about the potential for this Hokies team to go all the way. I personally am as excited about that prospect as anyone else not suiting up for the Hokies on Saturdays. I also caution, be careful. The college football hype machine has a way of blowing adequate smoke up one's ass to take the edge off and remove the chip from one's shoulder that is necessary, at the highest level of college football, to string together a full 60 minutes' worth of quality play.
It has been said that the most difficult part of Virginia Tech's schedule is now behind them, and from the standpoint of opponents' depth of roster that might be true. If it is, the Hokies are now entering the most potentially hazardous straight of their 2009 voyage, the opponents the Hokies are “supposed to beat.” There's a lot of talent on the teams left to be played, and it would be the height of folly to forget that the worst performances so far this year by both the offense and the defense both came away from Lane Stadium. A homecoming game at night at Bobby Dodd Stadium against the 24th ranked offense in the nation potentially makes for a hell of a trap to be walking into. Thankfully it appears that the Hokie coaching staff realizes this.
Not to end on a downer here. I have complete and total faith that Virginia Tech can beat anybody in the country. Anybody. From any conference. If – and here's the catch - each of the Hokies' squads are completely focused on the game. It is entirely possible that we've reached the point in the season where the Hokies' biggest remaining opponent is themselves and their biggest game will always be the next one.
Let's take care of business and fill the case.
| 2008 rank | 2009 rank | |
|---|---|---|
| Total Offense | 103rd | 54th |
| Scoring Offense | 90th | 20th |
| Total Defense | 7th | 35th |
| Scoring Defense | 9th | 26th |
2008 rank is for the entire 2008 season. 2009 rank is (obviously) through the first six games.
I'll actually start with the defense here, and start by saying I'm not particularly panicked. The 2009 Lunch Pail Crew is giving up about 30 more yards per game than the 2008 model. Yes, those numbers are a little rough to look at, but they're also improving. And the primary reason I'm not losing sleep over the defensive numbers is... well, actually the primary reason is because we have Bud Foster as our defensive coordinator. But another big reason I'm not fretting is because despite those extra thirty yards a game, the defense is giving up 0.96 more points per game this year than last. If the Hokies manage to hold Georgia Tech to under 11 points on Saturday - and I'm not saying that is going to happen - then our points allowed per game will be better for '09 than it was in '08. So, again, not so much losing sleep.
Moving on, when I say the offense is way up we're talking about more than 84 yards and 12 points per game up. These are big, big numbers we're talking about here, the kind of turnaround that yours truly would have said before the season started were impossible with Stiney still in place. What's more, the offense has been truly fun to watch in four of VT's six games this season, and I'm talking USC-Florida-Oklahoma-esque fun to watch.
So what the hell is different? Well, for starters theres...
JESUS IN CLEATS
It's a little early to be making longterm predictions about Ryan Williams, since he's only played six games as a Hokie. That being said, I will say that thus far he has lived up to his nickname of Little Sweetness. There is indeed a Walter Payton-like quality to the young man. So far Williams has rolled up 877 total yards (rushing plus receiving) and 10 touchdowns. Put into perspective, Williams has accounted for 38% of Virginia Tech's yardage gained and 45% of their touchdowns. He is on pace to destroy Darren Evans' freshman rushing record and with a strong second half could potentially challenge Kevin Jones' all-time rushing record. He's on pace to find the endzone 18 times on the ground, which I'm pretty sure would also be a freshman record.
But the thing I like perhaps the most about Williams is his attitude. I don't think we've ever had a player on offense with such an infectious desire to do something amazing. It's not just that he wants to be spectacular; Williams wants everyone around him to be spectacular as well. He wants the whole offense to fire on all cylinders, all the time. He reminds me of a Corey Moore of the offense, so to speak, a player that makes everyone around him want to do better, play harder, and accomplish more. There's a cockiness to the young man, no doubt (this is, after all, the player who talked about a national championship his redshirt year and has already said this season that he intends to let the Heisman chase him instead of the other way around) but that cockiness does not translate whatsoever into arrogance. After a huge play, when other players might draw attention to themselves, Williams simply bounces up off the ground, looks either to his teammates or the stands, and claps. After scoring the touchdown against BC that officially signaled the rout was on, Williams looked to the Corps of Cadets sitting in the south endzone and saluted.
At this point I almost wrote that this sort of performance at tailback has not been seen in Blacksburg for a long time, but to be honest it might have never happened before. Again, the man has only played in six games as a Hokie, but if these numbers aren't a fluke and Williams continues to perform at this level, it is possible that Williams will be to the Virginia Tech tailback position what Michael Vick was to quarterback. And that sort of performance has opened the door for...
MR. TYROD'S WILD RIDE
Tyrod Taylor has thrown more touchdown passes this season (8) than he managed the past two seasons combined (7). His QB rating of 159.6 is good for 10th nationally. He has an 8:1 TD to pick ratio, which is mind-boggling. His yards per attempt has almost doubled from last season, and he has completed at least one pass of 40+ yards in each game thus far. He has completed passes to ten difference receivers and touchdown passes to four, all of them wide receivers. Perhaps most importantly, he has yet to suffer an injury of any significance in 2009.
In other words, Tyrod Taylor has apparently made the transition from athlete pretending to be a quarterback to true quarterback.
There's no doubt about exactly when that transition happened. Tyrod put the entire offense on his back in the final two minutes against a pretty damn good Nebraska team and carried them to one of the most improbable victories in Virginia Tech history. It would be asinine of me to claim he did it with his arm instead of his feet, especially considering that on the go-ahead touchdown pass to Dyrell Roberts, Tyrod managed to scramble for nine seconds before delivering the ball. Granted, that was only possible because the Husker line was playing contain rather than blitz. But the whole reason they were playing contain is because there was no way Tyrod would burn them with his arm twice. The first big pass to Danny Coale was a fluke. Except...it wasn't.
Since the Comeback (notice the proper noun), Taylor has picked apart secondaries, found the mismatch in coverage, and delivered the ball in stride more often than not. He's throwing the ball to spots where either his man will come down with it or no-one will. He's using his feet just like he always has, but now he's using them to buy time rather than bust off a run. This means, of course, that he's taking less punishment than he has the past two years (though with the offensive line tied for 104th in sacks allowed, he certainly is still taking a significant amount of punishment). The fewer hits Tyrod absorbs, the less likely he'll suffer a season-ending injury. And despite JuJu Clayton's first career completion being an 80 yard touchdown to Marcus Davis, an injury-free Tyrod is a very, very good thing.
THE BIG PICTURE, REDUX
The goal of the Virginia Tech football team, so far as I am concerned, is a national championship. Not 10+ win seasons, not ACC championships, and not Orange Bowl victories. Frank Beamer has established VT as a national college football powerhouse and a team that is expected to perform at the highest level year-in and year-out. To set the bar anywhere below the top of the heap is settling for less than that of which the program is capable. The only accomplishment that VT has yet to add to its resume is lofting the crystal football.
Before the season started, I pontificated that a 7-0 start to the season would mathematically guarantee the Hokies to be in fourth place when the initial BCS rankings debut after week eight. If Virginia Tech can handle what is certain to be a feisty Yellow Jackets squad playing a night game at home (for homecoming, no less), then it appears that Frank Beamer might actually navigate a 6-1 record to a higher ranking.
There is a lot of talk, both here and elsewhere about the potential for this Hokies team to go all the way. I personally am as excited about that prospect as anyone else not suiting up for the Hokies on Saturdays. I also caution, be careful. The college football hype machine has a way of blowing adequate smoke up one's ass to take the edge off and remove the chip from one's shoulder that is necessary, at the highest level of college football, to string together a full 60 minutes' worth of quality play.
It has been said that the most difficult part of Virginia Tech's schedule is now behind them, and from the standpoint of opponents' depth of roster that might be true. If it is, the Hokies are now entering the most potentially hazardous straight of their 2009 voyage, the opponents the Hokies are “supposed to beat.” There's a lot of talent on the teams left to be played, and it would be the height of folly to forget that the worst performances so far this year by both the offense and the defense both came away from Lane Stadium. A homecoming game at night at Bobby Dodd Stadium against the 24th ranked offense in the nation potentially makes for a hell of a trap to be walking into. Thankfully it appears that the Hokie coaching staff realizes this.
Not to end on a downer here. I have complete and total faith that Virginia Tech can beat anybody in the country. Anybody. From any conference. If – and here's the catch - each of the Hokies' squads are completely focused on the game. It is entirely possible that we've reached the point in the season where the Hokies' biggest remaining opponent is themselves and their biggest game will always be the next one.
Let's take care of business and fill the case.
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2 comments:
I wonder if your stats from last year reflect the entire year or the first six games?
I think from here out we are running downhill with the exception of this weekend and possibly NC State(maybe).
In the first six games in 08, we didn't face Alabama and a very improved Nebraska team, although they put up last year too. I think it's safe to say the teams we faced in the first six games of 08' provided us with less offensive competition than the offenses faced in 09' and I am pretty sure that it helps your stats to include games against Maryland, Furman, W Kentucky, UVa and should have been ECU.
Anyhow, our defense had it's hands full in these first six games(except Marshall although they did have one guy who'll play Sundays) and I think to be standing that high in stats is really an accomplishment when considering some of the teams ahead of us had cupcake schedules like Florida, Texas etc etc. I think after this weekend we will slowly see VT's defense rise in stat rankings because of the teams we will face and because teams like Florida and Texas will not be playing Charleston Southern and Utep but conference foes.
As for our other side of the ball, I am very impressed that we are 54th in total offense after we have faced four teams who stand in the top 40 in total defense! RW might be St. Hokie and it appears TT really did improve his passing game.
I really hope Bryan will continue with his new and improved self this weekend and the D will play lights out again. I really can't stand Paul Johnson. I really hate watching that offense. We keep hearing about RW's shoes and I wonder if he has a pair of Chuck Taylor's...that's how I see PJ's scheme, Chuck Taylor's are good and you can get them in all kinds of colors because they've been around forever but in the end there are so many more great shoes made since why would you want Chucks? They really hurt if you run in them and they aren't great to look either but they are durable and no one would hold you up for them. Then again, I am not a very nostalgic person and well, I really despise Atlanta and it's corporate mess. I am watching this on TV.
Go Hokies!!!
The 2008 column is for the entire 2008 season. Sorry for the confusion.
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