Roof

[Lavoisier]

I mean compared to the guys listed above them by Rivals. You've gotta start 11 guys.

 

[RonJohn]

I mean compared to the guys listed above them by Rivals. You've gotta start 11 guys.

Maybe the analysis by Rivals is what is off.

 

[Lavoisier]

It definitely could be, but then someone being a good recruiter is largely irrelevant. We shouldn't care that a guy like Roof brings in 4star or top ranked kids if the services we are judging them by are incorrect.

 

[Whiskey_Clear]

Yomanser, I for one appreciate your insights on this board. The *one* thing that Roof upsets me with is his two minute situational "prevent" defense. I agree that the defense improved this year. The one area that was glaring to me was the soft 2 minute defense. (T o be fair, he tries to be aggressive once people reach the 30 yard line, but that is so predictable even *I* know the blitz is coming then.)

I understand the frustration and share it. I also think it's easy for us to see a failure to stop a drive as a weakness in the scheme.

One example from COFH. I think it was the drive b4 the half. Mutts had the ball near midfield and we needed a stop bad. Might have been 3rd and fairly long. But we got agressive and blitzed and I think we sent 6 (not positive I haven't watched the replay yet)...that play the mutts ran the ball for a long gain and first down. One guy near me yelled in disgust "damn bend and break Roof" while another fan complained about blitzing on 3rd on obvious passing down and getting beat by a called run play.

I think the 2nd criticism had far more merit than the first. But both were made in hindsight. And I'm pretty sure the run play worked because we once again failed to set the edge properly. But if the edge had been set...and the blitz had picked up the run..it would have been a "genius" play call. And Roof would have been praised for finally, finally, embracing an agressive scheme. (Or would he have? Favorite scapegoats rarely earn praise even when deserved)

 

[Technut1990]

Opponents points in each game = 42, 10, 17, 7, 25, 24, 24, 40, 22, 43, 38,
Us each game = 41, 37, 35, 33, 24, 38, 10, 36, 28, 20, 7
,
By any standard these numbers represent 4 losses for any team giving them up.
In this case it was us giving them up. and this is without playing UCF !
Regardless of the offense that we run it's a safe bet that we lose those 4 games. (42, 40, 43, 38) and we did.
In the 7 games in which our offense scored what should have been winning numbers (41, 37, 35, 33, 38, 36, 28) we won 5 of them.
let that sink in folks ----- we lost 2 games despite scoring 41 and 36 points

This represents a 7-4 record at worse even if our defense gives up 35 ! 8-3 if we hold DUKE under 20 pts, which Fla St, Army, Va Tech and Pitt did.

Sooo, my point is that there is no way to argue the problem was the offense. Although not as effective as normal, it did more than enough if we don't give up 43 to Duke, and 40 to Virginia we are 7-4 and in a bowl game with a new QB !

I know some of you will say that the offense contributed to the Miami and Duke losses and simply failed to appear against Clemson and Georgia, my response ? which is more reasonable that Miami, Georgia and Clemson would slow our offense or that Duke, Virginia and Tennessee would score 40 on our defense ?

I propose that the plain numbers tell us where the change is needed

 

[Animal02]

Opponents points in each game = 42, 10, 17, 7, 25, 24, 24, 40, 22, 43, 38,
Us each game = 41, 37, 35, 33, 24, 38, 10, 36, 28, 20, 7
,
By any standard these numbers represent 4 losses for any team giving them up.
In this case it was us giving them up. and this is without playing UCF !
Regardless of the offense that we run it's a safe bet that we lose those 4 games. (42, 40, 43, 38) and we did.
In the 7 games in which our offense scored what should have been winning numbers (41, 37, 35, 33, 38, 36, 28) we won 5 of them.
let that sink in folks ----- we lost 2 games despite scoring 41 and 36 points

This represents a 7-4 record at worse even if our defense gives up 35 ! 8-3 if we hold DUKE under 20 pts, which Fla St, Army, Va Tech and Pitt did.

Sooo, my point is that there is no way to argue the problem was the offense. Although not as effective as normal, it did more than enough if we don't give up 43 to Duke, and 40 to Virginia we are 7-4 and in a bowl game with a new QB !

I know some of you will say that the offense contributed to the Miami and Duke losses and simply failed to appear against Clemson and Georgia, my response ? which is more reasonable that Miami, Georgia and Clemson would slow our offense or that Duke, Virginia and Tennessee would score 40 on our defense ?

I propose that the plain numbers tell us where the change is needed

It is not that cut and dry, since a failure of the O can result in many more opportunities for the opponent to score.
My take on this season is Miami and Clemp were O losses, Tenn and UVA were D losses and Duke and UGAG were Team losses.

 

[gtpi]

when you are as shallow as we are at some positions... large fluctuations performance wise are going to happen with even one injured player not playing.

 

[Augusta_Jacket]

Opponents points in each game = 42, 10, 17, 7, 25, 24, 24, 40, 22, 43, 38,
Us each game = 41, 37, 35, 33, 24, 38, 10, 36, 28, 20, 7
,
By any standard these numbers represent 4 losses for any team giving them up.
In this case it was us giving them up. and this is without playing UCF !
Regardless of the offense that we run it's a safe bet that we lose those 4 games. (42, 40, 43, 38) and we did.
In the 7 games in which our offense scored what should have been winning numbers (41, 37, 35, 33, 38, 36, 28) we won 5 of them.
let that sink in folks ----- we lost 2 games despite scoring 41 and 36 points

This represents a 7-4 record at worse even if our defense gives up 35 ! 8-3 if we hold DUKE under 20 pts, which Fla St, Army, Va Tech and Pitt did.

Sooo, my point is that there is no way to argue the problem was the offense. Although not as effective as normal, it did more than enough if we don't give up 43 to Duke, and 40 to Virginia we are 7-4 and in a bowl game with a new QB !

I know some of you will say that the offense contributed to the Miami and Duke losses and simply failed to appear against Clemson and Georgia, my response ? which is more reasonable that Miami, Georgia and Clemson would slow our offense or that Duke, Virginia and Tennessee would score 40 on our defense ?

I propose that the plain numbers tell us where the change is needed

The flaw in your logic is a reliance on a single stat. For instance, in the UVA game, the Defense only gave up 31 points. ST gave up a KO return, and the offense surrendered a safety. Also, the offense continuously put the defense on short fields. Up until the Duke game, GT surrendered very few scoring drives over 40 yards. Think about that. Again, the D was adequate, but not great. Our O was adequate, but not great. Our ST was a dumpster fire.

 

[Augusta_Jacket]

It is not that cut and dry, since a failure of the O can result in many more opportunities for the opponent to score.
My take on this season is Miami and Clemp were O losses, Tenn and UVA were D losses and Duke and UGAG were Team losses.

UVA was an O/ST loss. Only surrendered one long drive to UVA. 9 points came via KO return and Safety.

 

[Jmonty71]

Roof took over a D recruited and staffed to run a 3-4, and began recruiting and staffing it to run a 4-3/4-2-5 hybrid. This was his first senior class, and they showed vast improvement. As he continues to build quality depth, I imagine we'll see better results.

Or, we could just keep firing people and starting over every couple of years...

Its a matter of finding someone that can do the job. Find a DC that can scheme up a more imaginative defense. Roof runs such a vanilla system, its crazy. Part of defense is smoke and mirrors. Roof completely fails at disguising defenses. Let him recruit. Just find a DC that can get the job done. Again...how many sub par years do you put up with? 10 years? 4 years? 20 years? I see a predictable DC, that doesn't have a scheme that can shut down any modern offense.

 

[gtg936g]

Let me clarify my earlier post. We like to play a traditional nickel defense which is what a lot of folks play. It matches up better against no huddle spread teams because it is harder for them to get you in a personel mismatch.

Below is a package I would like to see us implement. Foster uses his same 4-2-5 personnel, and can drop back to a nickel base without subbing.

http://www.thekeyplay.com/virginia-tech-football/2015/09/10081/depth-analysis-hokies-bear-defense

 

[Animal02]

UVA was an O/ST loss. Only surrendered one long drive to UVA. 9 points came via KO return and Safety.

I will agree partly that it was special teams, I look at it from the O scoring 28 and the D holding to 24 as my baseline.

 

[slugboy]

Opponents points in each game = 42, 10, 17, 7, 25, 24, 24, 40, 22, 43, 38,
Us each game = 41, 37, 35, 33, 24, 38, 10, 36, 28, 20, 7
,
By any standard these numbers represent 4 losses for any team giving them up.
In this case it was us giving them up. and this is without playing UCF !
Regardless of the offense that we run it's a safe bet that we lose those 4 games. (42, 40, 43, 38) and we did.
In the 7 games in which our offense scored what should have been winning numbers (41, 37, 35, 33, 38, 36, 28) we won 5 of them.
let that sink in folks ----- we lost 2 games despite scoring 41 and 36 points

This represents a 7-4 record at worse even if our defense gives up 35 ! 8-3 if we hold DUKE under 20 pts, which Fla St, Army, Va Tech and Pitt did.

Sooo, my point is that there is no way to argue the problem was the offense. Although not as effective as normal, it did more than enough if we don't give up 43 to Duke, and 40 to Virginia we are 7-4 and in a bowl game with a new QB !

I know some of you will say that the offense contributed to the Miami and Duke losses and simply failed to appear against Clemson and Georgia, my response ? which is more reasonable that Miami, Georgia and Clemson would slow our offense or that Duke, Virginia and Tennessee would score 40 on our defense ?

I propose that the plain numbers tell us where the change is needed

Tennessee was held to 28 points in regulation. That score was for a 2 OT game. If we fumbled one less time, or hit one field goal, that's a dramatically different outcome. And it's not like we scored 41 in regulation, either.

Game #2 (Jax St) had 2 interceptions and 1 fumble recovery by our defense, who held them to 10. We should probably ignore that game on offense and defense.

Game #3 was Pitt. We lost 4 fumbles and the defense recovered 1 from them. The defense held them to 11 first downs and 1-13 on 3rd down conversions. It's arguable that the offense performed as well as they did with 4 fumbles because the defense kept shutting down Pitt. If you lose the turnover battle by 3, how many of those games should you win?

Game #4 was UNC. We tied the turnover battle by picking them off twice. Yes, we scored 33, but a lot of that was because the defense won that game--11 UNC first downs, 2 of 12 on third down, etc.

Game #5 was Miami. Offense put up 17 points, and only 3 in the second half. Simmons scored on a failed UM onside kick. First half offense was solid. Second half offense was AWOL, and the defense was left to fend for themselves. The Miami loss is mainly on the Offense's shoulders.

Game #6 was Wake (who is decent this year). Defense was OK but not great. Fair to say the Offense won that game.

Game #7 was Clemson. 24-10 loss. The defense did well to hold Clemson to 24. Offense got 230 total yards. Most of that loss is on the offense.

Game #8 was UVA. 40-36 loss. Offense had two ugly interceptions. The defense intercepted UVA for a touchdown (7 points scored by the D), and recovered a fumble at the UVA 20 (which led to a 4 play scoring drive). Kickoff return by UVA and a Safety. All around failure there.

Game #9 was VT. We won 28-22. Defense gave up 16 points. VT returned an INT for a touchdown for 6 points. Defense played great that game.

Game #10 was Duke. We lost 43-20. Threw a pick. Defense was awful. Offense wasn't good.

Game #11 was UGA. No one showed up. We scored 7. Got 226 total yards.

There is one game that I would blame mainly on the defense--Duke.

I'd put the Clemson and Miami losses mainly on the offense.

I'd put the UVA, UT, and UGA losses on both.

On the wins, I'd say Jacksonville State is an overall win, but wouldn't put too much emphasis on it.
I'd say Defense mainly won the UNC, Pitt, and VT games. Maybe one of these goes to a split.
I'd say the Wake game was a split between Offense and Defense.
I can't think of a game this year where the offense carried the defense to a win.

 

[Augusta_Jacket]

Its a matter of finding someone that can do the job. Find a DC that can scheme up a more imaginative defense. Roof runs such a vanilla system, its crazy. Part of defense is smoke and mirrors. Roof completely fails at disguising defenses. Let him recruit. Just find a DC that can get the job done. Again...how many sub par years do you put up with? 10 years? 4 years? 20 years? I see a predictable DC, that doesn't have a scheme that can shut down any modern offense.

 

[Augusta_Jacket]

I will agree partly that it was special teams, I look at it from the O scoring 28 and the D holding to 24 as my baseline.

There are two games that I would blame mainly on the defense--UVA and Duke.

Game #8 was UVA. 40-36 loss. Mostly a defensive failure. Offense had two ugly interceptions. The defense intercepted UVA for a touchdown (7 points scored by the D), and recovered a fumble at the UVA 20 (which led to a 4 play scoring drive). All around failure there.

Here are somes stats to chew on from the UVA game.

Defense
We held UVA to 4-17 on third down.
Defense scored an INT TD.
Held UVA to 97 yards rushing.
Kept the UVA QB under 50% passing with 6 YPA.
Only allowed 2 of 18 UVA possessions to gain more than 40 yards. (not including UVA final possession of 2 yards)
11 of 18 UVA possessions were less than 5 downs and resulted in punt or TO.

Offense
Surrendered 5 sacks and 8 TFL
2 INTs thrown
Surrendered a Safety
13 of GTs 17 possessions resulted in a punt or TO.

ST
Allowed 41.0 Yd AVERAGE on KO returns and surrendered a TD

Now, explain to me how the D lost this game?

 

[bke1984]

Here are somes stats to chew on from the UVA game.

Defense
We held UVA to 4-17 on third down.
Defense scored an INT TD.
Held UVA to 97 yards rushing.
Kept the UVA QB under 50% passing with 6 YPA.
Only allowed 2 of 18 UVA possessions to gain more than 40 yards. (not including UVA final possession of 2 yards)
11 of 18 UVA possessions were less than 5 downs and resulted in punt or TO.

Offense
Surrendered 5 sacks and 8 TFL
2 INTs thrown
Surrendered a Safety
13 of GTs 17 possessions resulted in a punt or TO.

ST
Allowed 41.0 Yd AVERAGE on KO returns and surrendered a TD

Now, explain to me how the D lost this game?

They let Virginia score with less than 2 minutes to play as if they werent even on the damn field.

Happened against Tennessee, Duke, Miami, Georgia too at the end of half or the game...am I missing any?

Stats don’t always tell the whole story. Those half and game ending drives were just pathetic.

 

[bke1984]

Offense sucked this year at times too, but you need to win games when you’re leading with 2-3 minutes remaining.

 

[TechPhi97]

We need a passing game to reliably have a QB who can pass when he has to. Timing, chemistry, and experience don't just magically appear and they don't just appear because of practice work. That's not to mention the consistent problems we've had with pass blocking year in and year out.

The best passing game we’ve had was when a guy quit baseball and decided to play WR. Thomas used to throw timed back shoulder throws. I don’t know if Marshall can do that.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Jmonty71]

They let Virginia score with less than 2 minutes to play as if they werent even on the damn field.

Happened against Tennessee, Duke, Miami, Georgia too at the end of half or the game...am I missing any?

Stats don’t always tell the whole story. Those half and game ending drives were just pathetic.

Our scoring defense wasn't the best. This is a prime reason that led to that.

 

[bke1984]

Our scoring defense wasn't the best. This is a prime reason that led to that.

Pretty much the only defensive stat that matters at the end of the day.