Alabama Afterthoughts

That was such a great game to watch... for 3 quarters at least. If you were watching the game, you were probably thinking much like I was that one of those two offenses out on the field would be able to put together some drives in the 4th quarter. Unfortunately, it was Alabama and not Virginia Tech. And, also unfortunately, the same questions that have mired the Hokies over the past couple years are back in full force again this year. Here are some questions that I believe every Hokie fan has, and some of my own answers to those questions.

Q1) Will we ever have a good offensive line?
A1) Not so long as Curt Newsome remains as our offensive line coach, and not so long as Bryan Stinespring remains as our offensive coordinator. The O-line positions are supposed to be among the deepest on our team. Riddled with upperclassmen and experience, the offensive line should at least know their assignments, even if they are unable to execute. The problem was that the line missed assignments all night, and the Alabama defense rolled right through those porous openings. I would be less unhappy about the sacks and weak running attempts if our guys had at least shown that they new what they were doing. I wanted to credit Alabama's stout defense for the lack of effectiveness in our passing and running games, but instead I have to say that our offensive line allowed them to rack up those stats. We couldn't pick up a blitz all night, which left Tyrod Taylor out on an island.

Q2) What's up with the fumbles on special teams?
A2) The fumbles can be attributed to anxiousness, and that should go away as the season progresses. Ryan Williams was fielding his first punt in a Hokie uniform and his nerves got to him. That will happen and the defense did a great job of holding the Jammer Hammers (or whatever their lame cheer is) to only a field goal. The Davon Morgan fumble happened partly because the defender tackled Morgan by grabbing the underside of his helmet and flinging him to the ground (which is a foul in all 49 states except Georgia), but also because Morgan got himself into a bad position and tried to do too much. When it's 4 versus 1, good things will not happen by trying to force your way through non-existent holes. Frankly, I have never liked Davon Morgan as a return specialist and would rather see David Wilson or newbie Jeron Hosley in that role. Frank Beamer's bread-and-butter is special teams, so the fumbles don't look good for him, but I think they can't be attributed to anything Frank did to prepare the team.

Q3) Isn't Kam Chancellor supposed to be our senior leader on defense and a solid NFL prospect?
A3) Yeah I thought so too, but maybe not. He's really only had one good game in a Virginia Tech uniform, and that was the Orange Bowl win in January. Otherwise, he has always been a liability on passing downs. He seems to lack the agility to turn and run with receivers, which we already knew, but this past weekend we also saw an inability to turn and run with tight ends. That's pretty bad. Compound the bad coverage with some missed tackles and you start to see that maybe Chancellor, despite his NFL-caliber body, is not an NFL-caliber player.

Q4) Did I see a pass to the line of scrimmage on a third and long? How long do Hokie fans have to put up with Bryan Stinespring at the offensive controls?
A4) This will be his last season. There are no more excuses to be made. The receivers and running backs are young, but they have a bit of experience and are very talented. Tyrod is in his third year as the quarterback. The offensive line is experienced and deep. Ditto for the tight ends and fullbacks. With the talent on our offense this year, we should be prolific by the end of the season. Anything short of top 50 in the nation is unacceptable and should lead to the firing of Bryan Stinespring. BS had an awful game against the Rammer Hammers, with some head scratching play calls, and I see this continuing against quality opponents. I just hope Beamer doesn't point to offensive performances against teams like Marshall, Duke, or UVA as reasons not to fire the guy. And one final thought... if you are feeling bad about firing the guy, don't... he will be picked up immediately by a lesser program simply because of his pedigree at VT.

Q5) How good is Tyrod Taylor and Ryan Williams?
A5) Don't let BS fool you... Taylor and Williams are excellent players. Williams was starting to come on late in the game against the Yellow Rammers, but the O-line didn't do him any favors. He had to fight for every single yard he got... there was nothing given easily. The same can be said for Tyrod. He was constantly under pressure, but when given a few seconds to throw, was able to complete some nice passes. His long passes are still a work in progress though. I think he also needs to realize that he's going to have to make his mark as a running quarterback. He threw away several chances to tuck and run for 4-5 yards when all of his receivers were marked, but he chose instead to hold the ball and eventually throw out of bounds. Both players need to get a little better at their decision-making, but man the talent is definitely there.

All in all, I got over this loss more quickly than many in the past. We were not expected to beat Alabama, who was ranked 2 spots higher than Virginia Tech by the media, and especially not in Atlanta where they had at least a 2-1 advantage in fans. This loss is not the end of the season for VT. We can still win the ACC. We even have an outside chance at a national championship appearance, although that would require 11 straight wins. The loss is disappointing, but the team can regroup against a craptacular Marshall squad and build up to another big out of conference game against Nebraska (which is a home game). Don't lose hope yet, Hokie fans. There's still Dyrell Roberts, Ryan Williams, Jason Worilds, Barquell Rivers, Jake Johnson, and Danny Coale. There are plenty of other bright spots on the team. They just need more time to come together.