Know Your Opponent: Virginia Tech

[Ggee87]

Nice write up. VT usually reloads on D pretty well. The only saving grace is that Logan Thomas aka The Jacket Killer has moved on. I just hope that were back to GT football and play our opponents tough. Last year was basically an embarassment . Neither team did anything spectacular on offense. They just happened to make a few more plays on D that ended up being the diff. in a win and a loss. I have a feeling that having either JT or Byerly at QB will make all the difference in us being able to execute on offense. Did we even have a 1st down against VT last year? If so I surely dont remember seeing it.

 

[SidewalkJacket]

Unless we have a new game plan I don't see us winning this game in Blacksburg
Bud Foster pretty much owns CPJ right now & offensively they just gonna smash us in the mouth until we wear down.
This is a game in which well have to pass to set up the run, and they have 2 stout corners going against a lackluster passing game at best.
They have a new quarterback so I don't expect much from their passing game either and I think we can stay in the game by stacking the box and daring them to throw. Our Achilles will be with their TE.
I see us in a 4-3 with Marcordes guarding the TE. We just have to hold against what I expect to be a smash mouth running attack for 4 quarters.

I agree with your concerns on DEF, but I actually think we adjusted well to what they were doing to us last year. Problem was, we couldn't execute the adjusted strategy due to poor blocking, false starts, and timid running from QB at times. I feel like our execution is going to be so much better this year, in no sma part due to an overall trust in the system on the part of key players

 

[Whiskey_Clear]

Hopkins was the biggest loss for their D IMO. Kid that played whip did make the game breaking play stripping VAD. But Hopkins was a beast.

 

[Treb1982]

VT has a creampuff (William and Mary) to open with but then has to go to Ohio St and then come home for ECU(who has always given VT fits) before Tech comes to town. Losing Gayle and Fuller plus 4 other starters on D doesn't give Foster the kind of flexibility he has had in past years. It won't be a cakewalk for Tech but I feel better about facing VT this year compared with the last few years. By the time Tech comes into Blacksburg they should be in sync and I look to Tech to come home with a win.

Flip side is they could get embarrassed at Ohio State and turn around and lose the next week to ECU at home. Fire Beamer talk starts, they have no confidence, and therefore they lack of focus trying to get ready for our offense. This might bet he perfect time to play them.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

VT has a creampuff (William and Mary) to open with but then has to go to Ohio St and then come home for ECU(who has always given VT fits) before Tech comes to town. Losing Gayle and Fuller plus 4 other starters on D doesn't give Foster the kind of flexibility he has had in past years. It won't be a cakewalk for Tech but I feel better about facing VT this year compared with the last few years. By the time Tech comes into Blacksburg they should be in sync and I look to Tech to come home with a win.

Best thing that could happen for us prior to this game would be for VPI to beat Ohio State. That would get our players extra psyched, it would give more media attention to the game and it might make VPI over confident and wondering what happened when JT rattles off a 60 yard touchdown run.

 

[AE 87]

Best thing that could happen for us prior to this game would be for VPI to beat Ohio State. That would get our players extra psyched, it would give more media attention to the game and it might make VPI over confident and wondering what happened when JT rattles off a 60 yard touchdown run.

This makes some sense to me. We came home from away losses to dOh u and byu ready to play v Syr.

 

[IEEEWreck]

Unless we have a new game plan I don't see us winning this game in Blacksburg
Bud Foster pretty much owns CPJ right now & offensively they just gonna smash us in the mouth until we wear down.
This is a game in which well have to pass to set up the run, and they have 2 stout corners going against a lackluster passing game at best.
They have a new quarterback so I don't expect much from their passing game either and I think we can stay in the game by stacking the box and daring them to throw. Our Achilles will be with their TE.
I see us in a 4-3 with Marcordes guarding the TE. We just have to hold against what I expect to be a smash mouth running attack for 4 quarters.

I wish you'd elaborate on Bud Foster having our number. That's an opinion I hear a lot. While you and I often draw wildly different conclusions from the same tape, so to speak, I can recognize that you're not just pulling that out of ignorance based on "we lost, so".

I saw a lot of really poor execution vs VPISU last year. Granted, the Swarm seats are not the best for getting a view of the plays, but the game on O for us looked hard fought, certainly, with a lot of critical errors on our part, but I didn't see anything that would make me think VPISU has us figured out any more or less than, say, Pitt. The difference seemed to be in our play and their caliber of athletes.

 

[wingsrlevel]

This is the game where we find out if the QB and BB can control the tempo of the game. If we can convert and stay in short yardage situations this game won't even be close. I like our "O" over their "D" much more than I like theirs over ours. Prediction 31-10...GT

 

[Jean-Baptiste Rochambeau]

VT has a creampuff (William and Mary) to open with but then has to go to Ohio St and then come home for ECU(who has always given VT fits) before Tech comes to town. Losing Gayle and Fuller plus 4 other starters on D doesn't give Foster the kind of flexibility he has had in past years. It won't be a cakewalk for Tech but I feel better about facing VT this year compared with the last few years. By the time Tech comes into Blacksburg they should be in sync and I look to Tech to come home with a win.

We have an advantage of being able to game plan for them, but they have no extra time to plan for us. But we do need to come in with some kind of new wrinkle for Foster to digest. We have unfortunately proven that we are not able to line up and slug it out with them. Our offense on their defense has not been successful. In the one and only win in the past six, we still had to have a couple of big offensive plays and in the end it was a one score differential, with the game on the line until the final series. I don't know what the "secret weapon" needs to be, but it has to be different than our base scheme. Virginia Tech has proven that no matter how well we execute it, they can stop it. The brighter news is that this year we might have a defense that can make the needed stops against what promises to be another anemic offense. Take the "under"?

 

[WreckinGT]

This game has been extremely close the entire time CPJ has been here. We just haven't gotten the job done in recent years. I'm not sure why some people talk about it like we are getting blown out every year because they are so good and talented. There is nothing really to fear about VT. Cut out the false starts, and handle the A-gap blitz better and we will likely win. We are due for this series to go our way a bit.

 

[dressedcheeseside]

Best thing that could happen for us prior to this game would be for VPI to beat Ohio State.

Disagree, that would mean they're pretty damn good. We won't need any extra motivation for this one anyway.

 

[Augusta_Jacket]

I wish you'd elaborate on Bud Foster having our number. That's an opinion I hear a lot. While you and I often draw wildly different conclusions from the same tape, so to speak, I can recognize that you're not just pulling that out of ignorance based on "we lost, so".

I saw a lot of really poor execution vs VPISU last year. Granted, the Swarm seats are not the best for getting a view of the plays, but the game on O for us looked hard fought, certainly, with a lot of critical errors on our part, but I didn't see anything that would make me think VPISU has us figured out any more or less than, say, Pitt. The difference seemed to be in our play and their caliber of athletes.

Last year was interesting. Fuller, the VT safety, seemed to have the snap count down cold. They were playing him in the whip spot and he was across the line almost at the snap. When GT changed up the snap count the OL started false starting (6 False start penalties) all over the place which caused our O to produce some very short possessions. Add to this excellent physical CB play by Exum, now in the NFL, and Facyson and it turned into a long night. Their corner play really affected the game. There were two big completions. A 41 yd pass to Smelter and a short completion with a big YAC of 40 yards to Godhigh. Other than that, 15 yds was the big gainer. With the corners holding their own, that left Fuller to wreak havoc on the line. It really comes down to the WR/AB/OL and the snap counts. The false starts killed a couple of promising drives. You can't win games like that. Not against quality opponents.

So, to sum up, I wouldn't say that Foster specifically has our number. Like any offense, the TO can be stopped if the D plays their assignments. Last year VT was really good at playing their assignments.

 

[Josh H]

If there are 8 in the box where are you passing to if you are looking short? Isn't that when we go long to burn them for stuffing the box?

VT stuffed 9 in the box last year at times and played the CBs 7-10 yards off. A simple Slant/Flat or Curl/Flat with the A-back running a flat route and the WR running a Slant or Curl would have been nice, *especially* to the side where the OLB (Fuller I think) was blitzing. One guy can't cover two, and the safety was in the box and out of position. And Slant/Flat is a 3 step drop, we should be able to get that off even vs. a blitz.

Essentially, VT played the run tough *and* defended against the deep pass. Or at the very least, they had enough pressure that we could not set and throw, and held our running game in check so that play action wasn't a deterrent.

 

[IronJacket7]

Flip side is they could get embarrassed at Ohio State and turn around and lose the next week to ECU at home. Fire Beamer talk starts, they have no confidence, and therefore they lack of focus trying to get ready for our offense. This might bet he perfect time to play them.

I agree with your thinking Treb. But please correct me if I am wrong... Didn't the scenario come about similarly last season right before we played them?

 

[Sarrick]

I agree with your thinking Treb. But please correct me if I am wrong... Didn't the scenario come about similarly last season right before we played them?

Almost but not quite, VT was 3-1 when they faced us coming off of a 3OT game against Marshall. Granted they should have handled them easily but because they did pull out the W they had a bit of momentum.

 

[dressedcheeseside]

I have a feeling CPJ has this game circled, highlighted, checked, underlined and in bold face print. We've already seen specific work in both spring and fall camp aimed at countering VT's "blue print." It really comes down to execution and that is contingent on repetition. We're definitely getting the reps.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

VT stuffed 9 in the box last year at times and played the CBs 7-10 yards off. A simple Slant/Flat or Curl/Flat with the A-back running a flat route and the WR running a Slant or Curl would have been nice, *especially* to the side where the OLB (Fuller I think) was blitzing. One guy can't cover two, and the safety was in the box and out of position. And Slant/Flat is a 3 step drop, we should be able to get that off even vs. a blitz.

Essentially, VT played the run tough *and* defended against the deep pass. Or at the very least, they had enough pressure that we could not set and throw, and held our running game in check so that play action wasn't a deterrent.

I have been hearing that Tech should be making more short passes and slants for years now. Yet CPJ never really increases those kind of passes. Hence my questioning of the armchair QBing going on here and on Tech sites perennially that clamor for an increased short passing game. The intimation is that it is the "answer" or a kind of panacea for handling 8-9 guys stuffed in the box. Clearly something is not adding up between claims of how easy it would have been to beat VT by a-backs used in short routes and WRs in slant and curls given what CPJ has been doing with his offense. He insists on deep passing and various end around runs/tosses to handle the defense that stuffs the box. So why is that?

Maybe Stylee or someone who understands this offense can explain why CPJ and the armchair QBs who love the short passing game are not on the same page? I am more curious about what CPJ does and why then what anyone else wishes he would do, especially as it always comes down to lack of a short passing game as the key missing ingredient.

A thought I have is that with so many people crashing the box there are a lot more arms to get deflections or bodies to cut off angles in the short passing game. Possibly it is much higher risk and less reward to try and dink/dunk against that many defenders in close proximity.

 

[Jean-Baptiste Rochambeau]

I have a feeling CPJ has this game circled, highlighted, checked, underlined and in bold face print. We've already seen specific work in both spring and fall camp aimed at countering VT's "blue print." It really comes down to execution and that is contingent on repetition. We're definitely getting the reps.

I feel it is naive to think that Va. Tech does not also have us circled as a must win. The Coastal crown has usually gone to the winner of the Miami, Va Tech, Georgia Tech round robin, unless hell freezes over and Duke wins it. Not likely to happen again in our lifetime. Beamer and Foster know it's important and they will have their team ready.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

I have been hearing that Tech should be making more short passes and slants for years now. Yet CPJ never really increases those kind of passes. Hence my questioning of the armchair QBing going on here and on Tech sites perennially that clamor for an increased short passing game. The intimation is that it is the "answer" or a kind of panacea for handling 8-9 guys stuffed in the box. Clearly something is not adding up between claims of how easy it would have been to beat VT by a-backs used in short routes and WRs in slant and curls given what CPJ has been doing with his offense. He insists on deep passing and various end around runs/tosses to handle the defense that stuffs the box. So why is that?

Maybe Stylee or someone who understands this offense can explain why CPJ and the armchair QBs who love the short passing game are not on the same page? I am more curious about what CPJ does and why then what anyone else wishes he would do, especially as it always comes down to lack of a short passing game as the key missing ingredient.

A thought I have is that with so many people crashing the box there are a lot more arms to get deflections or bodies to cut off angles in the short passing game. Possibly it is much higher risk and less reward to try and dink/dunk against that many defenders in close proximity.

I think I have heard CPJ suggest that if the slant is there then the pitch or the toss sweep should be there also.

 

[Ash]

I have been hearing that Tech should be making more short passes and slants for years now. Yet CPJ never really increases those kind of passes.

I really wish we would throw more slants. Not a whole lot, but in the spirit of keeping teams honest. My only conclusion as to why we don't is because the other D does not line up in a way where we feel like we can, or we pitch to the outside (and of course to the short side of the field). When we do pass we live and die by the chuck and pray deep ball.

We get carved up by slant routes by teams like UGA all the time. Most defenses have trouble with them. It would be nice to see us throw one here and here.