Written by C Gally | 26 September 2007

This will be a combo post. I don't have much insight into last week's beatdown against W&M, mostly because I was home in PA for the weekend. Some of the few notes that I can talk about come from the statistics.

First thought is Branden Ore. Now, I'm not saying the plays he's been forced to run under Stinkspring have been great, but 2.9 ypc? Factor out the 1 run for 20 yards, and thats 9 rushes for 5 yards. Thoughts? Maybe he's still hesitating when running due to the injury late last season.. Humes had that happen to him for a couple weeks (although a much more serious injury. Thankfully KLj is developing nicely and will help shoulder some of the burden that was put almost entirely on Ore last year.

Second thought is the stats were decent, but it's still only W&M. The offensive stats didn't really pile up (287 total yards), and I suspect that is due to our defense/ST's giving great field position. I do like seeing our defense clamp down on the run, allowing a grand 5 total net yards. And for Bbull, I never said Flowers was mediocre. I said he was playing mediocre (a slight difference). Making penalties and blowing coverages to me is mediocre. But Flowers' talent is undeniable and some team will more than likely draft him in the first round in April 2008. So I'm hoping he's back to his top form now, ready to help lead the defense.

Now for my weekend predictions. KLj didn't quite reach the 100 mark yet, but it is bound to happen soon. The turnover margin was won by the Hokies 3 to 0. We need to continue that ball security to get our next 2 wins. UNC always plays VT hard and there is no reason to not expect them to try and step up this time. Butch also knows VT from the Big East days, so he may have a trick or two stashed away.


1. Tyrod needs to see a full game. I know he had to be protected from cheap shots, but with Clemson in 1.5 weeks, he needs to get another full game under his belt. Maybe that means we should play rope-a-dope and try to keep UNC in the game until half time. I would also like to see Tyrod in the realm of 25 passes with at least 52%, 175 yards. That way his production is at least respectable through the air. Otherwise, we'll be facing 8 man fronts against CU.


2. More than 1 reception combined from our SENIOR WR corps... When you only have 1 reception for 8 yards coming from your four experienced wide receivers, something is wrong. Maybe it's play-calling. Or maybe Stinkey isn't the only problem, and this group needs to step it up a notch. Randall was a senior with a group of t-Fr WR's, and he stepped up. Time for them to return the favor as seniors to the t-Fr QB.


3. Keep kicking those FG's. This might seem like a stupid hope, but in the near future, we may need to call on Dunlevy for a clutch FG. So I really don't have a problem if a few offensive drives stall this Saturday (intentionally or unintentionally) to give him as much experience and confidence as possible.


Well, see everyone in Blacksburg!

< Prev		Next >