Virginia
Virginia Tech Hokies vs. Rutgers Scarlet Knights: The Good, Bad, and the Ugly
It was Miliary Appreciation Day and a White Effect Game
The best part of the start of the game? The flyover by the three Army UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters to honor their fellow service members, and the swearing in of a large number of Army ROTC cadets.
You could tell something was off though because it was a day game, and they brought out the big marshmallow roaster effects and a smoke generator. The smoke was barely a poof here and there, and one of the marshmallow roasters stopped working after the first jet of flame.
Maybe that was an omen of some kind or another, but the Hokies even lost the coin toss, again. That is one that seems to be defying any statistical odds in the Spock notice that he was beating the computer at 3D chess.
There was just something off about the whole beginning of things. Even the rain couldn’t make up its mind if it was going to douse us or keep trucking to the southeast without doing more than block out the light and mess up the camera settings.
This G, B, and U isn’t going to be a long one. It unfortunately could be a copy and paste from the last one, and the one before. That’s going to be the final note, too.
The Good That Did Happen, Anyway
Bhayshul Tuten was listed as a doubtful by the media folks in the pregame shows. There were quite a few walking wounded including backup Offensive Lineman Laythe Ghannam so the already shifted around line was shifted around again. But the good thing that happened was that Tuten, right knee all trussed up in a lineman’s knee brace, was out on the field, dressed out, and ready to go. It ended up the best thing to happen for the Hokies in the game. Tuten accounted for 18 of Tech’s points on powerful long runs. He had 122 yards for an average of over 8 yards, and most of that was pretty evenly distributed. The truth is that without Tuten the team had almost no offense.
To go with Tuten’s runs, was the banged up offensive line. Lots of folks will still gripe about it, but the O-Line actually did the blocking for Bhayshul Tuten, and gave Kyron Drones more than enough time on most pass plays (not all, but most). The oddity here is that their run blocking has improved greatly even if it has made the pass blocking look a bit less accomplished by comparison. There is still much work to be done, but the Offensive Line wasn’t the major set of woes in this game on that side of the line of scrimmage.
Okay… Found Two ‘Goods’ but the Bads Cometh
As I told someone on the sideline as I was waddling back down the field to take pictures of the Rutgers side of the field after the Hokies’ first possession. “That’s it… That’s how we lose this one…
Another Wasted Slow Start
Bowen limped in, and the Hokies went three and out on three really poor play calls that were also executed without much enthusiasm. It’s almost like the players knew that they weren’t going to move the sticks when that ‘jet sweep’ to Jaylin Lane was clobbered just behind the line of scrimmage. Then 2nd and long was a dud that made up nothing and the third down pass was a total play breakdown and a throw short of the sticks that fell incomplete. It was a really disappointing start, and even as the defense stopped Rutgers for their own three and out, it just didn’t feel like when Tech got the ball back that they were going to do much of anything with it. Well, the bad went to worse as Lane, on review, was hit with a fumble on that punt return and Rutgers drove it straight into the endzone to score the first points of the game on the first embarrassing error.
The Old Turnover Bug is One Thing, Drops and Wasted Opportunities Abounded.
Tech struggled with hanging on to the ball when it had possession. Tech gave up 2 fumbles, and a critical interception that stopped the 2-minute drive to try to win or tie. Tech’s passing game was terrible. Kyron Drones had more than enough time to hit 3-4 second routes, but there were just none to be had. He was offered either screen pass patterns short of the line of scrimmage and nowhere near the line to gain, or impossible naturally low percentage deep balls that he ended up overthrowing. Drones did not have his best day, no. But his offensive coordinator did absolutely nothing to help him for the 4th game in a row. Drones did gain yards on a few purposeful runs, and some scrambles, but by and large the Hokie offense was one dimensional (and almost won on that dimension, alone).
Can you imagine what would happen if Drones had half of Rutgers’ QB’s pass patterns to throw? Rutgers averaged 10.8 yards per passing attempt. Tech’s average was 5.1. (That included several 3, I think but I haven’t watched the replay.) ultra-low percentage deep throws that were called with no real intermediate checkdown patterns. Tech would be at 3rd and medium (4 or 5) and just need to get the patterns past the line to gain to move the sticks, and somehow chose to throw impossible bombs. The big problem, there, is that Felton is struggling to get to the ball, and when he does get there, he’s having difficulty hauling it in.
Not Much Zebra Laundry, But What Was, Really Hurt
Tech was only penalized 4 times, but it was for 34 yards total. One penalty was a totally bogus pass interference call on Mansoor Delane which on the stadium replay showed nothing more than incidental contact that always happens on pass plays. The crowd protested, and nothing could be done, the Scarlet Knights got their much needed first down after that third and long, and frankly the situation stunk because of some other sketchy flags during critical plays.
What You Don’t Play, You Don’t Practice
Tech’s secondary was having a really tough day. Rutgers, when it wanted to, could drive the ball right up the field with a mixture of intermediate passes and only occasional rushes. The truth is that Tech’s run defense was pretty good, and held Rutgers to 2.9 yards a carry. And they lost 34 yards total. The team that was expected to run all over Tech’s defense didn’t. That might have been a “Good” that could be listed, BUT! Rutgers didn’t run, it passed for significant intermediate yardage, and when it needed to move the ball, it did at will, through the air. Tech’s pass defense was just not ready for that sort of challenge and is probably a hat tip to Schiano’s OC but should also be a real warning to the Hokie defensive staff. The secondary was just not prepared for what hit them, and they had trouble adjusting.
There is Just Too Much Ugly…
You can fill in the ellipsis with some list of issues that are really ugly things that are hitting this program. Have you ever been waiting for an elevator that just never seemed to show up? Yep, everyone has. It’s common in high rise situations. What do you do? You can stand and wait for the thing, doing something else, like talking up a friend or stranger. You can take the stairs, but if it’s an express to some high floor you aren’t doing that… so you get frustrated and keep punching the call button hoping that the danged machine will finally pay attention to you and the elevator car will magically appear.
Well, I feel like “that” guy. The ugly thing about this season, last season, and the season before… and before… that several seasons. This offense does not work! How many times does somebody have to slam their head against a brick wall before they figure out that what they are doing is not doing a thing to the wall? The play calling is poor. The game planning is impossible to call anything but pedestrian, and the plays, themselves, are right out of the first few chapters of a high school “Power Spread” playbook.
The offensive assistants (The Dancing Itos – are an OJ Trial reference and I am dating myself, I suppose) grind, gesticulate, glower, and wave away for 10 or even 30 seconds only to produce a lame dive-play that gains 2 yards. Or that ridiculous slot receiver jet sweep that opened the Rutgers game. If you wanted to go wide with an opening run, why not run a toss sweep to Bhayshul Tuten on the field side? Why follow it up with another lump into the line of scrimmage to put your QB, who seems to be struggling a bit this season, into a third and long situation where the defense can pin their ears back and make him throw it away or to a dump off receiver short of the sticks?
It all makes no sense, and the occasional gap busting gash run for significant yardage on one play does not make up for the 10 plays that were tanked into the line of scrimmage for little or no significant gain.
Not only that but this team has had several opportunities to close out games with 2-minute drill plays that put the ball in position to score quickly and there is nothing in the play cupboard that even approaches an effective 2-minute offense. A huge percentage of games are played to draws until the final five minutes of the game, and for an offense to not have a 2-minute drill is a glaring deficiency. The reality is that such a drill requires an intermediate passing game that this team has only made an accidental acquaintance of.
There are already full-throated cries for changes coming from the peanut gallery. Many aren’t even willing to wait for a new season. Currently Hokie Nation is in a mood, and it’s the last ugly, here.
Yes, the last Ugly is the mood that a huge chunk of the fanbase is in right now. They were sold a Cadillac only to lift the hood and find a sewing machine running a bondo plastered hooptie. That’s when fans get disillusioned and stop showing up and caring.
We’ll leave it at that, for now.
The Pictures are up on Facebook.
Friday, which is a terribly short time to prepare to be plucked by a team with a bird mascot, too. The road trip to Miami portends to be brutal. I see little hope that the game planning and play calling will “suddenly and miraculously” get better. Let us hope that the walking wounded list coming out of Coral Gables isn’t too long to put up a good fight against Stanford.