Premature assessments

Gobbler Country links to an interesting article today on Rivals.com breaking down the Hokies chances for a BCS title game this year.  I found this part to be particularly amusing:

When Virginia Tech tried to redshirt sophomore hot shot Tyrod Taylor in favor of senior paperweight Sean Glennon last August, the collective choking sound — much of it from Glennon himself — was so deafening that coaches were convinced to end the experiment after one game.

Otherwise, the assessment makes some good points, and I don’t disagree with most of them.  I don’t quite get the feeling yet that VT is going to come out against Bama the same way we came out against LSU in 2007.  I knew going into that game that we were walking into the proverbial hornets nest, and were going to pay for it.

Tyrod’s durability?

Heather answers some reader questions today and it seems that everyone is concerned with whether Tyrod is going to be able to escape the season without injury. 

My apologies to Ju-Ju Clayton, whom I yesterday I referenced without the hyphen. 

And now, I answer question three of the round-table discussion, in case anyone is interested.

. What position do you think is most important to the Hokies on the defensive side of the ball this spring? Are there any young players who will step up during spring on that side of the ball?

From BCO Pix2

Well, I’m interested to see how John Graves works out at end,  and if that’s going to be a permanent move.  I also want to see how Barquell Rivers does with some actual playing time.  I hope his Orange Bowl experience will benefit him.  And, I’m always interested if Bud Foster can continue to produce excellent cornerbacks.  I’m not terribly concerned with Stephan Virgil’s move to boundary corner, but I like to watch the newer guys like Eddie Whitley, who is listed in the two deep at FC get comfortable at the position. 

And, this isn’t defensive related, but it makes me slightly uncomfortable to have untested punters and kickers yet again.  Hokies have gotten used to just plugging in good kicker after good kicker, and I hope this trend will continue.  Imagine going through this year with Clemson’s FG kicker of last year, Mark Buchholz, who by my calculations was a 66.25% kicker.  (In comparison, Dustin Keys was 79.3% last year.)

Well, since you asked.

I noticed that several VT blogs are participating in a round table discussion, and I thought you’d be interested to hear my thoughts.  Wait, I wasn’t asked?  Oh well.  You’re here, you might as well read.

From reader Riggs: “Are we really going to be that good next year? I just don’t see us being a top 10 team given last season’s offensive output. Tell me that we’re overhauling the offense, or we’re adding new packages. Give me some hope.”

Well reader Riggs, (and while I am answering your question, I am imagining that you are Tim Riggins from Friday Night Lights) I admit that it is difficult for me to think of us as a top team, given that our offensive output has been, well, horrible for the last several seasons.  And, as much as I do like Tyrod Taylor, and think him to be capable of great things, we must remember that he had only 2 offensive touchdowns last year, and had an unfortunate tendency to get hurt.  It is, to me, a bit scary to pin your hopes and dreams on him.  The good news is this, though:  as bad as last year’s offensive production was, it can only get better this year with a more experienced offensive line.  I agree with BCO in that it is going to be difficult to make it all the way through the ACC schedule with no slipups AND be competitive against Alabama and Nebraska.  I do think it may be possible to be a borderline top 10 team, but I am finding it difficult to see a national championship type run.  Thanks for asking.

 From Beer Control Offense: “Are you concerned about the lack of depth of quarterback? How many significant snaps do you think VT’s back up quarterback will get?”

From BCO Pix2

Yes, frankly, I am.  As I mentioned in the above post, Taylor has seemed almost fragile at times back there, and that does cause some concern.  I don’t know enough about JuJu Clayton to comment on his abilities, other than to state the obvious, he’s never played a down of college football.  I don’t think Greg Boone, while I adore him and think the Wild Turkey to be kinda catchy, is the answer either.  Mostly because the Wild Turkey doesn’t usually work as desired.  I think a gimpy Tyrod Taylor could very quickly derail our hopes for a championship run type season.  Thanks for asking.

Well, I’ll return to answer the other questions in a bit.  Stay tuned.

6 days and counting

6 days until spring football!

It’s finally upon us, and I for one am interested to see how it all plays out.  Who is going to emerge as the next star?  Who is going to disappoint?  Is Bud Foster going to be able to put together yet another top 10 defense?  Are we finally going to have an offense to complement it?  I’ve been reading the spring previews over at Tech Sideline and have to admit there are some unfamiliar names that may be playing some big positions.  Love, love, love seeing how it all comes together. 

A few other things:

Well, I read the speech by Tim Tebow, and darned if I didn’t get a little teary.  (Okay, I didn’t really.  In fact, I find it kind of creepy, in a retiring Chris Long’s jersey before his playing career was over kind of way.)  Just me?

Lots of people are wondering whether Seth Curry is going to end up playing for the Hokies.  I’m sure a lot of people would like to see this happen, but I’m just not sure how likely it is.  It will be interesting to watch though.

And finally, my idea to see how far the ACC teams would get in the tourney got me nowhere.  Thanks a lot Wake, BC, Florida State, and Clemson.  I’m now in a three way tie for 6th place.  Never again.

So guess what? I’m better than Barack Obama.

At least in my NCAA bracket picks, I am.  While he correctly predicted 11 of 16 games, I correctly predicted 13.  Go me.  But, I’m still in third place in my office pool, behind my secretary who thought that Syracuse/WVU game was really “neato”, and another girl.  Meaning that the top three places are taken by girls!  And who says we don’t know sports? 

DeAngelo Hall did something good for a change.  He is part of a group of athletes lobbying to promote physical education for kids.  Good for him.  My kids also watch entirely too much tv, eat too much fast food and play too many video games.

I’m glad it’s over.

Well, my mini obsession with basketball is over.  And for the last couple years, it has ended badly.  But, we are NIT bound, and I’m just gonna roll with that.  I do have one final thing to say, and it is this.  I. Do. Not. Like. You. Tyler Hansbrough.  I would use stronger words, but I have committed to giving up criticizing for Lent.  Consider yourself lucky for that.   If you were a cartoon character, you would be him:

Now, I can get back to reality.  Spring football, the NFL draft, and the long hot summer before the season starts again.  And I won’t think about basketball again until next March, I promise.

Finally, a win. Go Hokies.

Final
	Miami (FL)	47
	Virginia Tech	65

Whooee!  A game we won.  It is possible after all.  Bring on UNC, once again.

Missed it by THAAAAAAAAT much.

Well, we didn’t do it.  We didn’t win a single one of our must win games, and because of this, we will in all likelihood, not be heading to the tourney.  I liked this post, it seemed to put it pretty clearly and plainly.  When we needed to step up, as a team, we didn’t.  I love A.D. Vassallo, and for the most part I think he plays with heart, but I don’t think he can carry an entire team with that heart. 

Maybe next year.  Maybe not.  Sigh.

In more cheerful news, Frank Beamer made some progress toward Bobby Bowden’s career win total this week, and he didn’t even have to play a game.  I like the part about the athletes not even bothering not to cheat in online classes like “Music Cultures of the World” or “Sports Psychology”.  Seriously though, I feel for Bowden, although I wonder how much he may or may not have condoned.  But, I was interested in how this race was going to play out, and now I feel cheated (pardon the bad pun) that we won’t get to find out.

Now THAT would be entertaining.

I agree with this guy about the release of T.O. from the Cowboys.  You can argue all day long about whether the man has talent or not, but in the end, he is just far too obnoxious for me to ever care about watching him play.  Here’s hoping no one picks him up. 

Um, yeah?

And, Heather is reporting that Kyle Long, younger brother of (dramatic music here) Chris  Long may or may not be heading to UVA.  Wonder if it would sweeten the deal if the Hoos agreed to go ahead and retire his jersey ahead of time?

On the bubble? Really?

Well, at least this article mentions that the Hokies may possibly be a bubble team, but I’m really having a hard time buying it.  Even a good ACC tourney showing couldn’t get us there last year, and I’m just not feeling it this time either.  Next year, perhaps?

Wondering how Macho Harris and Orion Martin did at the combine?  Not a lot of press on them so far, but I’ll keep looking.  VT’s pro day is scheduled for March 19th. 

And, in completely unrelated Hokie news, I’m feeling quite saddened by the story of the NFL’ers  lost at sea.  At this point, one guy has been rescued, but the others are still at large.  And wow, can you imagine hanging clinging to an upside down boat since Saturday evening?  Talk about harrowing.  Say a prayer for these guys if you get a chance.