A Ray of Sunshine Amidst the Clouds!

Nice to have something good to talk about in Hokie sports!  It wasn't pretty, but a win over an in-state rival is always something to smile about.  As you can infer from my previous post, my expectations underwent a serious reset mid-season after the first 4 games of ACC play. 

The win in Charlottesville last night against a ranked, but short-handed, UVA team doesn't change my previous assessment of where the Hokies are this season -- but it sure was a nice "bluebird".

One of the folks I follow on Twitter predicted an over/under score of 100 for this game; the combined score for both teams was 92 points; not a bad prediction.  He should be a bookie.  But this leads us to a reality check on the game: 47 points isn't going to win you a lot of games, even if you have a good defense.  The Hokies also benefited (greatly) from the absence of 7-ft-tall UVA senior center Assane Sene.  His presence would have changed the outcome, no doubt.

But given the serious injuries for key Hokies over the last few seasons (Hudson, Chaney, Thompson, etc.), it's all part of the game.  In the recent loss to Boston College, the Hokies were missing their leading scorer, Erick Green; but any "tournament team" worth its salt beats BC no matter who is missing from the line-up.

This gets back to expectations. After starting the season 0-4 in the ACC, including losses to woeful teams like Wake Forest and Boston College, I no longer view the Hokies as a tournament team, and probably not even an NIT invitee. As a result, any success in this "rebuilding year" is a plus, and something to be enjoyed. In the losses, I am just looking for some positives.

In last night's game, a lot of folks contributed to the win, and obviously not just on offense. I thought that Zo Hudson started looking like the player we expected him to be this season, and I saw some strides by Marquis Rankin towards becoming a valuable relief valve for Erick Green, who plays an incredible amount of minutes every game -- over 33 minutes by my count.

Upcoming games: BYU and UMD (I'm going to that one, courtesy of my oldest son!)

GO HOKIES!

Frustration and Disappointment

In terms of the VT sports that I follow (i.e., football and basketball), things have gone from bad to worse since my last post. I was hoping to hold out for something positive to talk about regarding the Hokie cagers, but I don't think that I can wait that long...

Erick Green, courtesy HokieSports.com

Last night was a low point for this season's team. Sure, we were playing a wounded UNC team ranked # 8 in the nation and coming off of a bad loss to FSU; but despite Seth Greenberg's assertions to the contrary, I could not identify many positives from that game. And yes, this season's unit has a lot of freshmen in the line-up, but so do a few other teams, and those teams are still finding a way to win in the ACC.


Again, I realize that UNC has superior starters and bench talent across-the-board compared to VT's, and the Hokies just ran out of gas in the second half. However, despite being up at halftime, we were never really in control of the game.  The first-half lead was a house-of-cards with a foundation based on the limited success of some low-probability outside shooting. Since the Hokies were unable to penetrate UNC's defense and get shots in the paint, once the outside shooting dried up, the team was toast.


A couple observations regarding VT performance in ACC play so far:

• The team is young, and should get better, but a few of the freshmen have regressed, instead of progressing.
• The lack of size (weight/height) of our centers makes us a non-factor under the basket.  After what UNC and everyone else has been doing to us under the boards, the prospects for being able to correct this during the season are dim.
• All of VT's players have their "moments", but Erick Green is pretty-much the only player that can be counted on to "ball-out" for the entire game and consistently be productive.
• Senior leadership is lacking on this team, period.
• I just don’t see any of Seth Greenberg’s “attitude” and toughness in this year’s team.  It’s going to be hard to get it (back) based on where we are now in the season.

This is most disappointed that I have been in a Hokie basketball team since I’ve been following them (after Greenberg arrived). In the past, there have been glimmers of hope sprinkled through most of the games, but in last night’s game, everyone knew that the fragile lead that we had at halftime would never hold up.

We have upcoming games against UVA and UMD; they are both probably licking their chops at thought of some home-cooked fried turkey.

GO HOKIES!!

The Word That Shall Never Be Spoken Again...

"BEAMERBALL"

That word used to mean something.  Now it is an oxymoron. I cringe whenever I hear it.  Non-Hokies may associate that word with quality special teams play; but it hasn't been that for a long, long, time now. Virginia Tech special teams are, and have been, mediocre at best.  "Beamerball" should be banned from the VT football lexicon -- forever.

I won't even discuss former VT kicker, Cody Journell, and the shame and embarrassment that he recently bestowed on the VT football program. His arrest and suspension was cited multiple times by the ESPN game crew in front of a national audience in a BCS game

And in the Sugar Bowl game tonight, VT special teams play and coaching was downright awful -- as was the offensive play-calling. In fact, the offensive play-calling was downright bull-headed. I thought that new play-caller (this season) Michael O'Cain was bringing something fresh to the table. Offensive Coordinator Bryan Stinespring came up with game plan which provided O'Cain the portfolio of plays to run, so I don't know which one to blame -- probably both.

In a nutshell, in tonight's game, VT did more than enough bad things to lose, and Michigan did just enough good things to win. 

Words cannot express how disappointing, embarrassing, and devastating that this loss was.  Hokie Nation will no doubt be expressing, in vitriolic terms, its reaction to the poor coaching on offense and special teams over the next few days.  If we ever lose defensive coach Bud Foster to a head-coaching position with another team, the program will be in even deeper caca.

The Tebow Factor

As my football Hokies continue to lick their wounds from their second loss to Clemson this season, and as they prepare for an improbable BCS Sugar Bowl match-up with Michigan, I feel inexplicably compelled to take a divergent path to explore the present day phenomenom/curiosity and ex-Florida Gator, current Denver Bronco quarterback, Tim Tebow. So let's just put it out there: Tim Tebow is the best thing that has happened to professional football in a long time.

Why?  Because he is prompting a national discussion of the public profession of one's faith, God's relevance in professional (and college) sports, Christianity, belief, inspiration, and human resilience in overcoming odds and discrimination.  Of course, he is also prompting doubt (in the hearts of Denver's opponents), and he is garnering his share of hate.


Casual or misinformed observers think that Tebow believes that the Broncos' success on the field is directly attributable to God's intervention; and anyone with half a brain "knows" that God doesn't give a whit about American football; nor do they believe that God orchestrates the gridiron success of the Denver Broncos over their opponents.  And who can blame them for assuming that Tim Tebow is simply a spiritually-misguided, intellectually-challenged jock, i.e., "clinging to his guns and religion".?  Earlier this week, ABC's Nightline presented a segment on Tebow entitled "Tim Tebow: God Follows Football?" (with a subheading of "Devout Denver Broncos quarterback attributes team's wins to power of prayer.")  Herein lies some of the problem: Tebow never said that God follows football.  In fact, he is like a kid at Christmas, reveling in the fact that he is being afforded the opportunity to earn money while playing a game, a game he loves.  In fact, with this attitude toward the game, he has annoyed a number of players in the league who calculate every action they take in terms of dollars, and they most-frequently follow the paths that will prolong their longevity in the sport.


To Tebow, playing football is only a means to an end; it is "just a game". He views it purely as a vehicle that enables him to glorify God and reach people, and he acknowledges God's presence in his life and the One who has granted him the skills (and will) to play the sport at a high level.  He does this every time that he is in front of a microphone; people hear what they want to hear, but his is a message of humility and joy. Now, contrast that with the plethora of prima donnas in sports. How many of them are truly grateful for being blessed with a God-given ability to excel in the modern-day version of a gladiator arena?  Many are arrogant, and they view their skills as something that they have somehow developed, or are otherwise responsible for (via practice, dedication, etc.). As fans, we feed this ego with our adulation and our dollars.


So what is Tim Tebow doing with his money?  Buying Benzes, buying diamonds, buying bling?  Hardly.  He has been expanding on the lessons in missions and outreach that his parents ingrained in him at a young age, and he has founded the Tim Tebow Foundation.  Furthermore, he and his foundation have teamed with Cure International to provide specialty pediatric surgical care in the developing world, helping children who otherwise have no hope for the future because of a curable/correctable physical disability.  The culmination of this collaboration is the planned construction of the Tebow CURE Hospital in the Philippines.


This is all well and good and noble, blah, blah, blah; but why the heck do we care about Tim Tebow?  If we assume that God cares about people and blesses them for their mitzvahs, perhaps some of Tim Tebow's personal football success, both in Denver as well as in his college career at the University of Florida, is attributable to divine intervention or blessing.  At a purely secular (and social) level, Tebow's success at quarterback is compelling to anyone who has ever been put down, or who has been told that they can't succeed because they "don't have the right skill set" or "don't have the intangibles necessary to succeed" or "don't have the proper throwing mechanics" or [ADD EXCUSE-OF-THE-DAY HERE]...  It's the classic feel-good story about someone who overcomes the odds and naysayers, and succeeds in spite of them.  To the owner of the Broncos (John Elway) and the coach of the team (John Fox), Tebow has become a necessary evil. To Fox's credit, he has accepted Tebow's impact on the team and re-vamped his offense to take advantage of Tebow's particular skills (agility, power, ball-handling), which are not prototypical of the "ideal" NFL quarterback (pass accuracy and timing). Fans and his fellow players love him because he is a winner -- and because their previous quarterback, who possessed all of the "requisite" NFL quarterback skills, was not.


But how does the above translate to team performance, and moreover, seemingly brain-dead performances by his opponents?  Let's talk about his team first. Why are they winning?  Tim Tebow puts up relatively modest numbers in terms of stats.  He doesn't put up numbers like Peyton Manning, who is physically able to produce as many passing touchdowns as can be executed in a 60-minute football game, and based on the performance of his team without him this season, he can accomplish this regardless of the talent (or lack thereof) of his surrounding cast. And although Tebow is certainly integral to the play of the Denver offense (such as it is), he doesn't play defense.  He can't do anything to hold his opponent's scoring down.  The Denver defense must to do this; they must limit points allowed, such that Denver's offense is afforded the opportunity to score enough to win. Furthermore, Tim Tebow doesn't kick 59-yard record-setting field goals to tie and win games for Denver. No, special teams players do that.  So why couldn't they win without him?


It's all about belief.  It doesn't always happen, but every time that Tim Tebow steps on a football field, he fully expects to leave that field a winner. His confidence is unshakable, and the things that he does on the field reflect this. His teammates see this, they feed off it, and they embrace it. This is an aspect of human subconscious behavior that self-help and achievement guru's like Denis Waitley and Tony Robbins have made millions of dollars by exploring, modelling, and teaching. Belief is empowering. All great achievers have had strong belief systems, faith-based or other.


It's also about doubt and fear.  Opponents watch Denver game film.  They see the "improbable" happen over and over again, and they wonder if Denver has something that they don't.  Those with only a superficial knowledge of Christianity and faith wonder if God really is on the Bronco's side.  Defensive game plans are modified, sometimes irrationally.  Because of doubt, or fear of making a critical mistake, players hesitate to react to what they are seeing, even just for a fraction of a second -- and then it is too late. Their fears become a reality, and their ultimate fate as loser of the contest becomes a foregone conclusion.


So what will become of Tim Tebow?  No one knows (except God  ;-), but you can bet that it will be exceptional.  Tim Tebow is bigger than football.  I see him milking all that he can from it, in terms of relationships, positive influence, contacts, publicity, and yes -- money; and then I see him moving on to something greater.  This is not unlike what Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have done with their movie careers: moving from the banalities of Hollywood to creating the Jolie-Pitt Foundation and donating millions of dollars to organizations such as Doctors Without Borders.


I am enjoying this little fantasy excursion with Tim Tebow and his Denver Broncos.  Sometimes it seems like a different miracle each week: an improbable touchdown run by Tebow at the end of the game, when everyone in the stadium knew it was coming but nobody could stop it; or Denver's place-kicker pulls off a must-have 59-yard field goal in regulation to tie the score, only to win it with a second >50-yard field goal in overtime. Opponents abandon a defense that has worked for 55 out of 60 minutes, only to go into a "prevent" defense that promptly yields multiple Denver scores in a matter of minutes. Like everything down here on planet Earth, eventually it will come to an end.  Until it does, I am going to enjoy the ride.  And when this ride ends -- whether years from now, next year, or next week -- I am already expectantly excited about seeing what this unabashed follower of Christ does for an encore...


GO GAT-- I mean BRONC -- I mean, HOKIES!

Hokie Playmakers Step Up in Biggest Game of Season (so far)

Some players (and some people) wilt under the intense heat of public scrutiny and a national stage: paper tigers are shredded, charlatan leaders are exposed, and football programs are ignominiously brought to their knees. However, as the mantra of one of my favorite TV programs goes, "Clear Eyes, True Hearts, Can't Lose".


The Hokies played a statement game today to a diverse audience of people who matter: 

• High school coaches looking to see which school to point their rising graduates to;
• Pro scouts looking at talent, searching for glimpses of NFL potential;
• High school (and younger) players looking for a school and football program worthy of their skills;
• A gaggle of NCAA football pundits from the local media, and ESPN;
• Oh yes, and a bunch of fans wanting to, but unsure if they were ready to, believe.

The Boys from Blacksburg came to play today, and they helped answer many of the concerns of the various elements above -- oh, and I almost forgot -- they also blew up and laid to waste the rising ACC football juggernaut known as the Virginia Cavaliers in Scott Stadium in the process.

I am still on a post-game high, and it's getting late, so I just want to leave you with some star notes regarding some familiar and less-familiar names.

Bud Foster's Defense -- How we manage to hold onto Bud Foster ("Australian for Fear") year-after-year is beyond me.  He loses 1/3 of his starters on defense and still puts together defensive game plans that beat all comers. Jack Tyler has played lights-out since he was named starter after Bruce Taylor went down.  He has stepped up like Bruce Taylor did last season when Barquell Rivers couldn't go.  But every player on defense contributed to this win, from the secondary, to backers, to defensive line:  Exum, Hosley, Whitley, Fuller, Bonner, Edwards, Tyler, Gayle (relentless), Hopkins (active), Maddy (freshman) and JR Collins (did you see that interception?) -- they all played like warriors.

Offensive Line -- These guys don't get nearly enough press.  They are playing big and keeping LT off of the turf.  David Wilson gets a lot of yards on his own, but they were really opening holes for him in the second half against the Cavs.  They protected Thomas all day, and even gave him a few rushing lanes at opportune times: DeChristopher (aka, Grizzly Adams), Brooks, Lanier, Nosal, and Miller -- and Via, who has filled in when Miller was out.  Someone seems to miss one assignment per game that blows up one play (badly), but overall they are solid.

Logan Thomas -- Okay, this is already sounding like a broken record; but this kid is the real deal.  The game and his position as quarterback make sense to him.  Never rattled under pressure, he is a commanding leader in the huddle, in the middle of the chaos in the field, on the sideline between possessions, and off the field.  And he is making smart decisions when he is "in the moment", and he is doing all of this in his first year as a starter. (What are we becoming?  Southern Cal?) Anyway, his numbers were 13-for-21 for 187 yards including 2 TDs and no picks.  Oh yeah, and he ran for a touchdown as well.  Finally, on a play that got called back due to a block-in-the-back penalty on another Hokie, LT blew up UVA saftey Rodney McLeod.  Ouch.

David (MF) Wilson -- (I know that "MF" is/was kind of reserved for Ryan Williams, but Ryan left for the NFL, and DW is here; so I'm going with it.) This guy is so good that I am starting to worry that he might do something crazy, like leaving for the pro's after the season is over. I and every other Hokie fan have my fingers crossed that he will at least grace us with one more (Heisman) year. Anyway, today he put up 153 yards on 24 carries including 2 TDs; his longest was 38 yards.  (He always sprinkles in a few of those each game, just to make us worry more about him leaving.)

Marcus Davis -- Nice to see Marcus get a big game.  5 catches for 119 yards, including a 52-yarder and a TD.  Not too shabby.  Logan Thomas spreads the ball around and keeps everyone in the game.  Davis' number came up this evening in the offensive scheme against UVA's defense, and he answered the call.

Danny Coale -- I saved my comments on Danny for last, because he probably had the greatest influence on the outcome of the game.  Before the game, he fired the team up in the hotel.  The media was proclaiming this game as the WaHoo's coming-out party and ESPN's GameDay crew questioned VT's BCS 5th place ranking pedigree.  Coale is a senior, and he comports himself like one.  2 catches for 15 yards?  Doesn't sound like much?  Well, how does this sound: 4 punts, averaging 47.5 yards with a long of 52 yards.  Beamer has a ton of confidence in Coale in critical situations, and he certainly proved worthy of it in this game.  Punting has been a disaster for the Hokies this season.  I expect that Coale will be punting against Clemson, as well as against whomever we play in a bowl game.  It might diminish his receiving production a little, but not his contribution to the team.

GO HOKIES!!

Logan Thomas Answers

Logan Thomas made Frank Beamer and a lot of people in the Virginia Tech football brain trust look "pret-ty, pret-ty, pret-ty, pret-ty good" this past weekend (as Larry David might put it).  He had a big-game performance that most quarterbacks never achieve over the span of their entire college and pro careers.
  
You've heard the numbers, but they bear repeating: 23 for 25 for 310 yards, along with 3 passing touchdowns and 2 running touchdowns.  The last running touchdown, the one that won the game, covered 19 yards on a 4th down play with less than a minute left in the game.  He made his linemen look good, he made his receivers look good (and he spread the ball around), and he made the offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring and offensive signal-caller Michael O'Cain look like geniuses -- and of course he looked pretty darn amazing himself.  His only misses consisted of one drop by David Wilson (a little behind him, but one that Wilson makes 9 out of 10 times), and the other was a purposely-incomplete shuffle pass to avoid taking a sack.  


If my calculations are correct, his passer rating for the game was 235.8.  (The NCAA passer rating calculations are different than those for the NFL.)  For comparison, Colt Brennan holds the NCAA single-season record, a passer rating of 186.0 in 2006; and Michael Vick holds the single-season freshman record of 180.4 in 1999.  I am not trying to compare LT to those quarterbacks, I am just trying to describe how difficult that 235.8 is to attain.


Tyrod Taylor was on the sidelines during the game.  (Not his ghost -- he was there in the flesh, since his Baltimore Ravens had a bye week in the NFL.)  With less than 3 minutes left in the 4th quarter and Miami up by 4 points, Thomas discussed the situation with his coaches, who were joined by Tyrod.  Before Thomas went back on the field, Taylor told him "This is where legends are made.  This is where you start your legacy."  Taylor should know a thing or two about legends and legacies, because he epitomizes the meaning of both.


The significance of this game in terms of Logan Thomas' growth, and the capabilities of a Bryan-Stinespring-offense, remain to be determined.  It seems like the Miami secondary was over-compensating on run support to stop David Wilson from chewing them up (he still chalked up 128 yards); but still, as a first-year starter, this is something for LT to build on.  Hopefully, the offensive strategists have progressed as well; Miami dared the Hokies and Logan Thomas to pass, and the Hokies took what Miami gave them and made them pay for it.


As injuries on defense continue to pile up and deplete an already thin group (experience-wise), the offense is going to have to carry the load for the Hokies more than should be reasonably-expected.  Let's hope and pray that they are up to the task.  Miami took advantage of first-half defensive injuries (James Gayle and Jeron Gouveia-Winslow) in the second half; they closed the scoring gap and ultimately took the lead.  Upcoming VT opponents are taking notes on how to shred the Hokie defense; Miami put up 519 yards, including 337 yards in the second half; 166 yards of their total yardage was provided by their talented running back, Lamar Miller.  In the games ahead, more magic from Bud Foster will be required.


Go Hokies!!


P.S. On a side note, during my stay in Blacksburg, I had the opportunity to crash the ballroom party in which the VT Hall of Fame inductee ceremonies were being held.  In separate encounters, I met both Shayne Graham and Mike Burnop.  Both of those guys are genuinely nice and engaging folks -- just a couple more reasons why I am so obsessively-proud of my alma mater.

Tyrod's Ghost -- Did anyone else see it?

I guess that since we are already 5 games into the season, it's probably a little late to bring this up, but it's like an elephant in the room that demands to be noticed: I miss Tyrod Taylor.  I'm also sure that I am not alone in this. 

My twisted mind has struggled to find ways to deal with it, but I don't think that I am succeeding.  I say this because now the visage of his ghost has emerged as an unsettling, but satisfaction-providing, presence that I just can't get away from.  I look on the sidelines, and I see his ghost warming up, joking with his teammates, getting them ready for the game.  I see it talking with the receivers, talking about a unique formation that is loaded into the game plan for the day's opponent.  I see it talking to the defensemen.  It is their leader too; its will, commitment, and determination to win are attributes that command their respect.  I see Frank Beamer stroll over to ask it if it is "ready", and it always tells the coach that it is ready -- because it is.  Then I see Tyrod's apparition walk out for the coin toss, and I note that it respectfully acknowledges and shakes hands with the representatives from the opponent.  It does everything with class, because that's the kind of ghost it is.

During this past Saturday's game, it was literally all over the field!  I saw passes completed, interceptions and sacks avoided, plays extended, and drives concluded with touchdowns.  The defense throttled the Clemson offense, and even snagged an interception, and Taylor's ghost rewarded them for their efforts by converting their contributions into points.   Well, it least that's what my mind's eye saw.

The further that I am removed from Tyrod Taylor when he was at Virginia Tech, the more I appreciate him.  After four years, I became accustomed to seeing the consistently-high level of his play, and I almost took it for granted.  Shame on me.  This year's team is a new team.  It is not yet Logan Thomas's team, but it most certainly is no longer Tyrod's team.

Has the team's performance and offensive play-calling gotten worse, or can we dare to suggest that Tyrod Taylor's performances in previous years masked pass-protection breakdowns in the offensive line?  Did he make "capable" receivers look like future all-pro's with his well-placed and well-timed passes?  Did he make our coaches look better by turning badly-designed and inopportunely-called plays into series-extending drives leading to touchdowns?

Practically-speaking, we can never know the answers to these questions.  It is a new season, and everything has changed.  It's not fair to compare this team to last year's team.  The chemistry is not yet there between the green quarterback and his receivers; and injuries at the receiver position have no doubt added to the difficulties.  Two classy running backs have left and new guys have taken their place.

Logan Thomas may ultimately become the unquestioned leader on the team.  I hope for everyone's sake that it happens sooner versus later.  Is it fair to demand this of him?  Probably not, but few of us will ever forget Tyrod Taylor's introduction to VT fans and the rest of college football that night in Baton Rouge, against an LSU team that would ultimately win the national championship.  He came into the game as a true freshman and led the Hokies to its lone touchdown of the night.  We knew at that moment and without any doubt that we were witnessing the beginning of something, and someone, special.  In his career at Tech, he provided every member of Hokie Nation a cornucopia of indelible memories, too numerous to recount here.  Consequently, I am sure that this will not be the last post of mine that focuses on this unique individual.

This football season still hangs in the balance for the Virginia Tech Hokies, but as long as Tyrod's ghost graces me with its presence at opportune (or inopportune) moments, I am going to enjoy this season -- win, lose, or draw.

Go Hokies!