SB Nation - Kam Chancellor

Get to Know Your Soon to be Vanquished Foe: Tennessee

furrer4heisman — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 19:30:13 -0000

Regular Season: Tennessee went 7-5 and 4-4 in the SEC this year. However, the Vols are one of the hotter teams in college football right now having won four of their last five regular season games. Tennessee didn't have much success away from Neyland Stadium in 2009. The Vols played well in road losses to Florida and Alabama, but were crushed in Oxford by a mediocre Ole Miss team, 42-17. The Vols got their lone road win in their last game, a 30-24 overtime win over Kentucky. Tennessee was a very inconsistent team this year, but Lane Kiffin appears to have it ahead of schedule on its way back to competing for the SEC title.

Head Coach: Kiffin has been a polarizing figure in his first 12 months on the job at Tennessee. The youngest head coach in FBS did two things when he arrived in Knoxville, both aimed at winning the recruiting war. He assembled a top-notch staff around him and starting poking the bear. Kiffin's verbal jabs at nearly everyone in the SEC may be seen as petulance from the junior member of the SEC coaching fraternity. But to me, Kiffin is just hustling. He knows winning in college football has a little to do with how well he coaches and a lot to do with getting the best football players in the country to come to Knoxville. Hockey has a term for guys like Kiffin. He's a shit disturber. Of the highest order. Talking shit to the coaching royalty of the SEC gets him and his team noticed. I have no problem with that. After all, if Kiffin's good enough for my boy Weezy, he's good enough for me.

Player to Watch on Offense: This has to be Jonathan Crompton. Look, Montario Hardesty's a great player. But that's the reason he's not the player to watch on offense for the Vols. He's going to get his yards and he's going to get into the end zone. But Crompton is the guy who's going to determine if the Vols win this game. If the Crompton we saw against Georgia shows up to the Peach Bowl, we're screwed. But if the catfish with a helmet shows up, we should win this game. Maybe even win it easily.

Player to Watch on Defense: It couldn't be anyone other than Eric Berry. The kid is a game-changer on defense and special teams and he's going to be making a lot of money next year. He needs 15 interception return yards to break the NCAA record and I'm sure he'll be doing everything he can to get it. Berry is a force to be reckoned with, but isn't putting up the same numbers he did when he first arrived in Knoxville. The reason is the same reason Kam Chancellor has struggled his last two years in Blacksburg. Chancellor was moved from rover (which for Tennessee fans reading this site is our strong safety, a hybrid DB/LB) to free safety where he has been forced to drop back more into pass coverage. When Chancellor played rover, his job was to cause havoc and destroy everything in his path, which he was pretty good at. Berry as been moved from free to strong safety, which has him more in a havoc-causing role (which he's still pretty damn good at) instead of roaming around the defensive backfield making interceptions. While Berry may or may not get his interception record against Tech, he will be a key factor in trying to stop Ryan Williams.

Tennessee in the Blogosphere: Considering SB Nation's Tennessee blog is run by one of my bosses at the mother ship, please visit Rocky Top Talk now. And then visit there again every day between now and the bowl game. It's far and away the best destination for Vol news and opinion. However, if you're feeling so inclined you can also check out these fine blogs: Gate 21, 3rd Saturday in Blogtober, Losers with Socks, Fulmer's Belly.

Virginia Tech 42, UVa 13: What They're Saying

furrer4heisman — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 18:00:20 -0000

by Don Petersen - AP

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What the mainstream media and blogosphere is saying after a very satisfying win over our rivals in Charlottesville.

National Media and Bloggers

Virginia Tech controls rivalry (Annette)
"The game went according to script, with Virginia hanging around early on Senior Day in Scott Stadium before the disparity between the two programs showed up in the second half. Virginia's defense couldn't stop Ryan Williams, who has played an outstanding rookie season and scored four rushing touchdowns for the second straight game. He should be a 2010 Heisman contender."

Hokie and Hoo Beat Writers

Tech takes UVa's best shot, then crushes rivals (Aaron McFarling)
"Every year, it seems, Tech-UVa week plays out the same. The days leading up to the game, the Cavaliers dominate the storylines. They're the ones with something to prove. Can they keep it close? Can they put it together for one day? Can they perhaps pull the upset? Then they play the game, and the answers spill forth in capital letters: NO. NO. NO."

Hokies sprint to finish against UVa (Randy King)
"Tech, which knocked itself out of the national picture with back-to-back losses to Georgia Tech and North Carolina in October, finished 4-0 in November with an average scoring differential of 24.25 points per game. Continuing to get better offensively, the Hokies rolled up 482 total yards against a fired-up UVa squad that was hoping to hand Al Groh a victory in what was likely his final game as Cavaliers' coach."

In perhaps Groh's final game, Va. Tech wins (Mark Viera)
"With losses by Clemson and North Carolina on Saturday, Virginia Tech is aligned for a trip to the Chick-fil-A Bowl in Atlanta on Dec. 31. An at-large Bowl Championship Series invitation seems unlikely."

U.Va.'s Dowling burned by Taylor-Coale connection (Kyle Tucker)
"But rival Virginia Tech picked on Dowling early and often Saturday. Quarterback Tyrod Taylor's first pass of the game went deep down the right sideline to Danny Coale, who had blown by Dowling. Even when the pass was short, Coale came back to it for a 41-yard, shoe-top catch. Taylor's next pass also went deep to Coale, who out-jumped Dowling for a 36-yard grab to set up the Hokies' first touchdown. By halftime, Dowling had been beaten on four passes that covered 131 yards. That wasn't necessarily an accident on Tech's part."

Six it is: Tech trounces rival Virginia (Gordon Block)
"For the second week in a row, Williams reached the end zone four times and became the second Tech player to score four touchdowns in back-to-back games. Lee Suggs accomplished the same feat by scoring five times against the University of Central Florida and then four times against UVa in 2000."

Ryan Williams...what more can you say? (Norm Wood)
"Though Williams won’t catch former Oklahoma running back Adrian Peterson for the Football Bowl Subdivision single-season rushing record by a freshman, there’s a chance Williams could at least finish within shouting distance. Oh, by the way...just noticed this note in U.Va.'s postgame package. His four rushing touchdowns were the most by an opposing player against U.Va. since 1982, when Georgia Tech's Robert Lavette also scored four."

Coverage of Virginia Tech 42, Virginia 13 (Darryl Slater)
"And the Hokies’ defense was stingy again. Tech, which led 14-13 at halftime, held Virginia to 96 yards in the second half. The Hokies did it by shutting down Sewell, who ran 10 times for 99 yards in the first half, including seven for 91 in the first quarter, then seven times for 24 yards in the second half, not counting sacks. Tech allowed two offensive touchdowns in the regular season’s final four games, all wins."

Groh's final words with player comment (Michael Phillips)
"Make what you will of that, but it seems like Al Groh’s final words as U.Va. head coach. The poem refers to you being the only person who can effectively judge yourself at the end of the day, a message Groh sends out, I’m sure, to his many critics. At the end, he listed some of the attributes he wanted to be remembered by."

Cavaliers stung by boyhood UVa fan (Doug Doughy)
"Coale, whose older brother played lacrosse for the Cavaliers, continued to show UVa the error of its ways Saturday in a 42-13 Virginia Tech victory at Scott Stadium. Coale, who had a season-high five receptions in a 2008 meeting with the Cavaliers, finished with six catches for 135 yards Saturday."

There's only one word to describe Williams - great (Bill Roth)
"With no offense to the ageless Tony the Tiger, who’s been pitching the quality of Frosted Flakes for a half century ("They’re Grrrrreat," as you know), true greatness, in reality, should be hard to find. It should be uncommon and rare. So when you read that Virginia Tech’s Ryan Williams is having the greatest freshman season in the history of Virginia Tech football and the greatest freshman year in the history of the ACC, understand that in this instance, the word is used in its intended form."

Hokies control second half in pulling away from Virginia (Jimmy Robertson)
"The momentum totally went the Hokies’ way following a UVa turnover. Sewell tried to pitch the ball to tailback Mikell Simpson on the option, but the pitch hit Simpson in the facemask and fell to the ground at the UVa 25, where Tech safety Kam Chancellor picked it up and ran to the UVa 10."

Hokie and Hoo Bloggers

The Guy in the Glass and the Best of #BeatUVa (College Game Balls)
"And now for something more fun, the best of #BeatUVa (in no particular order)."

Hokies Whip UVA, Await Bowl Fate (Tech Sideline)
"Virginia got off to a hot start offensively, running the read option with quarterback Jameel Sewell. Sewell finished with 104 yards and a touchdown on the ground, but Hokie defensive coordinator Bud Foster made adjustments at halftime and the Hokies shutout the Hoos in the second half. UVA finished with 295 yards of total offense."

CHECKMATE (Beer Control Offense)
"Sometimes, you just gotta stick your face in the fan."

I Smell Pretention: Hokies WIN 42-13 (Fight for Old DC)
"As for the game, there's not a ton to say. It was an awesome second half effort by both lines, and you have to give credit to Bryan Stinespring. He called a VERY good game. Tyrod wasn't super accurate, but his receivers came up with some amazing catches and made him look great at points."

Requiem for an era: Let It Go In Peace (From Old Virginia)
"Yes, it's still happening, the criticism and the name-calling and the good-riddance-ing, and yes, it's pissing the rest of us off and that's all it's accomplishing. So help me, if I see another good-riddance style post on any UVA message board the rest of the year, I'm gonna go off on someone. You got what you wanted - Groh is fired. You also got a 3-9 season to go with it, which has been just all sorts of fun, but hey, you got what you wanted."

Virginia Tech 42, UVa 13: Hokies Three Stars

furrer4heisman — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 15:00:36 -0000

by Steve Helber - AP

Danny Coale only gets the second star, but this photo is too awesome not to add.

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After struggling against UVa's offense in the second half, the Hokies dominated both sides of the ball in the second en route to a sixth consecutive win over their rivals from Charlottesville. The three stars were pretty easy this week, especially the first one.

First Star: RB Ryan Williams

It wasn't the yeoman-like performance he turned in against NC State. No, this was much more electrifying. He had 183 rushing yards, averaged 7.6 yards per carry and had a second consecutive game with four touchdowns. Williams is not just the team's rookie of the year, but its offensive player of the year. While Tyrod Taylor may be the most valuable, irreplaceable offensive player, Williams is by far the best as far as production.

If he has another big game in the bowl, Williams will break the Hokies' single-season rushing record held by Kevin Jones. He's a freak and has been a joy to watch.

Second Star: WR Danny Coale

Early in the game, when Ryan Williams was still struggling to find running room, Danny Coale was coming up with big catch to continue drives for the Hokies against the team he grew up rooting for. Coale may have grown up a Wahoo, but he's all Hokie now. He had six of Tech's eight receptions and 135 of its 185 receiving yards.

His catches were either vital to his team at the time, like his 36 yard grab on 3rd and 17 on Tech's first drive or spectacular, like his fully-extended, toe-dragging catch late in the game. Coale had the best game of his career when the Hokies needed it most. While the Wahoos focused on Jarrett Boykin, Coale was busy making them pay.

Third Star: ROV Davon Morgan

It's about time to start giving Morgan some pub. The guy was all over the field Saturday, led the team in tackles and was in on Tech's lone sack of Jameel Sewell. He almost shares the third star with Kam Chancellor, who was as equally ubiquitous as Morgan, but Morgan gets the nod of how much he's come along this past month.

Morgan came in for the struggling Dorian Porch in the middle of the ECU game and has earned more playing time as the month went on. Porch is a senior, meaning the rover job will be all Morgan's in 2010. I think if Eddie Whitley is as good a free safety as the coaches are saying, the two could be a very formidable pair in the middle of the field next season.

Poll

Who was Tech's top performer against the Wahoos?

Ryan Williams

72 votes

Danny Coale

36 votes

Davon Morgan

1 votes

Other

0 votes

109 votes | Poll has closed

Virginia Tech 42, UVa 13: Postgame Stream of Consciousness

furrer4heisman — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 00:03:38 -0000

More photos » by Don Petersen - AP

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10 out of 11.

The Hokies have now won six consecutive battles for the Commonwealth Cup.
Offense first.
Tyrod took advantage of man coverage early in the game with long passes to Danny Coale and Dyrell Roberts. Coale was playing in Charlottesville against his childhood team and pwned them.
Tyrod threw a bad pass in the 3rd quarter that was intercepted. Fortunately, the defense came through to make it a moot point.
Ryan Williams had 60 rushing yards in the first half, but Bryan Stinespring went away from him in the third quarter. It seemed like Stiney was saving him to try and wear down the UVa defense in the fourth quarter. That worked out nicely.
I was actually very pleased with how the offense attacked UVa. In the first half, I thought the mix between runs with Williams and passes against man coverage were perfect. In the second half, Stiney got away with going away with RW to save him. The 4th quarter was all VT.
The offensive line was incredible in this game. It gave Tyrod time to pass and opened up huge holes for RW and company.
The defense.
It got owned in the first half by Jameel Sewell but came up with some great answers in the second half.
Bud Foster did a great job of disguising his blitzes and coverages and matching them to the down and distance. Tech blitzed up the middle on short yardage when UVa typically ran with Sewell and stopped him. Then, the coverage/blitzes were perfect on passing downs to minimize Sewell's effectiveness.
It became clear early on that UVa's only chance was to run the ball out of zone-read option and the wildcat. The pass game was clearly not a factor. Tech took advantage of this after halftime.
Great efforts by Cody Grimm, Kam Chancellor, Stephan Virgil, Ryan Williams and Danny Coale. After a tough first half with penalties, the offensive line brought the pain in the second half.
Another huge big time win over the Wahoos to be proud of. Go celebrate, Hokie fans. Don't worry about the bowl. It'll be either the Peach or Gator depending on the ACCCG. Now is the time to be merry.

2009 Virginia Tech Football: What to Watch vs. UVa

furrer4heisman — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 12:00:14 -0000

More photos » by Don Petersen - AP

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The Team

UVa has nothing to lose and it's the last game in Hooville for its seniors and its coach. I expect a motivated Wahoo team playing at its highest level.
If the Hokies can't match that intensity level, it's very possible for them to lose. UVa is better than its record indicates and has a defense that will keep it hanging around. That's a dangerous proposition for the Hokies.

Virginia Tech Offense vs. Virginia Defense

The Wahoos have a surprisingly good defense this season, especially against the pass.
It will be up to Ryan Williams to lead the charge against UVa in this game. If he goes off, Tech will win easily. If he is stymied by the Wahoo defense, this game will be a dogfight.
The Hokies have had success against teams that run a 3-4 defense (at least ones that aren't Alabama). Last year Tech ran for 216 yards against UVa, including 137 yards from Tyrod Taylor.
Hopefully Taylor can again have success breaking containment and getting yards with his feet against the Hoos. While he didn't run for many yards against UVa the last time the teams met in Charlottesville, he did have two rushing touchdowns.
The Hoos last out-rushed the Hokies in 2004, when Andrew Pearman ran for 147 yards in a 24-10 VT win. If the Hokies can continue their success on the ground against UVa, it should be a sixth consecutive Commonwealth Cup win.
If the Hokies have success through the air, I think it will be on shorter routes to the tight ends or flankers like Danny Coale. Coale grew up a UVa fan and this will be his first chance to play in Charlottes while wearing orange and maroon. I think he'll have a big day getting the ball in the middle of the field.

Virginia Tech Defense vs. Virginia Offense

Last year it seemed like every one in the Commonwealth knew Vic Hall was going start at quarterback for Virginia except the Hokies and their coaching staff. Hall came out and ran the single wing offense to perfection and led the Hoos to a 14-7 halftime lead.
The Hoos introduced another single wing wrinkle last week with running back Mikell Simpson taking direct snaps. However, Simpson's status for Saturday is up in the air. If he plays, I think you'll see him under center at times. Hopefully the coaching staff has been dissecting film to come up with a way to defend what the Hoos have done out of the single wing this year.
Two guys that will have a lot of say in stopping the single wing attack are Barquell Rivers and Kam Chancellor. If those two guys can take care of the inside run game, guys like Cody Grimm and Jason Worilds can focus on stringing plays to the outside where the Hokies' cornerbacks can make tackles.
Tech's cornerbacks have been solid against the run this year and if Tech is going to stop Virginia's single wing plays, they'll need to be on their game.
The Wahoo passing attack has been pretty bad this year, whether it's Jameel Sewell, Marc Verica or whoever at quarterback. If the Hokies are going to give up points to the Wahoos, it's going to be on the ground, just like last year.

Outcome

Someone is going to make a play on defense or special team that completely changes to momentum and possibly outcome of this game. Hopefully it's one of the good guys.

Watch the Box Score for:

Turnovers
Ryan Williams rushing yards
UVa third down conversions
Non-offensive points

Virginia Tech Players to Watch:

34 - Ryan Williams, Fr., RB
19 - Danny Coale, So., WR
52 - Barquell Rivers, So., LB
17 - Kam Chancellor, Sr., FS

Virginia Players to Watch:

4 - Vic Hall, Sr., QB/DB/KR
31 - Rashawn Jackson, Sr., RB
98 - Nate Collins, Sr., DE
19 - Ras-I Dowling, Jr., CB

Final Score

Virginia Tech 24, Virginia 19

Maryland-Virginia Tech Gameday Guide

Ben Broman — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 11:45:12 -0000

by Gerry Broome - AP

about 1 month ago: Virginia Tech's Ryan Williams (34) gets a a block from Ed Wang (77) as East Carolina's Nick Johnson, left, looks for the tackle during the second half of an NCAA college football game in Greenville, N.C., Thursday, Nov. 5, 2009. Virginia Tech won 16-3. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

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What: Maryland takes on Virginia Tech in Jamarr Robinson's starting debut

When: 1 pm.

Where: Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium, College Park, Maryland

In a Nutshell:

Maryland Offense vs. Virginia Tech Defense: Tech's passing defense is notoriously solid - 8th in the country, as a matter of fact. It's a good thing that Jamarr Robinson, who's never had more than a half of real PT (and that half came last week), is making his debut as a starting QB against them, right? Yeah, the passing game will be tough to watch. Thus, it makes sense that Maryland would run the ball, especially because VT's running defense is good but not great (69th). In fact, that's how teams have stayed close to the Hokies in the past few games - stuffing the ball in the middle of the line. The problem there is that the defense probably won't be able to slow Tech's offense, so they'll be in a hole all game. It's both common sense and a notrious reputation of Maryland's coaches to abandon the run quickly, so we'll have to see how committed Ralph Friedgen and James Franklin are to keeping the ball on the ground.
Virginia Tech Defense vs. Maryland Offense: Ryan Williams has led the Hokies to the 21st ranked rushing attack in the country, and I was surprised to see it that low. Every time I see VT, it seems that they really do well on the ground. Alex Wujciak, the best run defender on the team, will have his hands full with Williams, but it's games like these that make you really appreciate Wujciak. Tech doesn't turn away from the run very often (they're 103rd, but not for lack of execution - it's for lack of passing the ball a lot), but if they're forced to, they can do some damage. Tyrod Taylor is 32nd in the nation in passing efficiency, and he can make plays with his feet if Maryland's able to collapse the pocket. The problem here is that the only way to effectively stop Williams is loading up the box, and then Taylor can make the easy throw. Don Brown has to cook up something special for this one.

Keys:

Pound the Rock: Give the ball to Davin Meggett, Gary Douglas, and Caleb Porzel. All. Game. Long. The offensive line will have to show up for this one, but if Maryland can make a dent in the middle of the Tech DL, they'll have a shot.
Prevent Williams, Contain Taylor: I'm not a DC, but if the way I look at stopping Tech's offense is to keep Ryan Williams in check as much as possible while giving Tyrod Taylor some open receivers, but preventing the big play. Taylor's not perfect, and if he has to throw too much, he's liable to make a mistake.
Special Teams and Defense: Maryland's offense isn't good enough to straight up stand up to VT. We'll need at least 14 points from the defense or special teams to stay close in this one.

Players to Watch:

Caleb Porzel, RB, Maryland - Ok, so I call it every single game, but I'm seeing a big run for Porzel today. Gotta happen eventually.
Whoever Lines Up at Guard - Does this make sense? Maryland needs to attack the middle of the line like the last few teams did. They don't have the pedigree to do it, but you never know who might have a good day.
Jason Worilds, DE, Virginia Tech - Worilds' stats have been lackluster compared to what most expected out of him, but he's still really talented. It's another marquee matchup for Bruce Campbell.
Kam Chancellor, S, Virginia Tech - He's a risk-taker - he might come up with a big play, or he might take a chance and give up a big play.
Ryan Williams, RB, Virginia Tech - It's definitely obvious, but it's also right: if Williams is contained, Maryland has a chance.
Dyrell Roberts, WR, Virginia Tech - Tech's version of Torrey Smith, Roberts is a playmaker both at WR and on the kickoff return team.
Alex Wujciak, LB, Maryland - The team's (ACC's?) premier run defender, Wujciak is due for a 15 tackle day. He'll have to have a solid one to keep Maryland in it.
Kenny Tate, S, Maryland - Maryland's version of Chancellor, we'll need another big play from Tate today, and not a poor angle on Williams.

Behind Enemy Lines: A Q+A With a Virginia Tech Blogger

Ben Broman — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 03:14:02 -0000

We invaded the territory of furrer4heisman, from the excellent Virginia Tech blog Gobbler Country. After capturing us and holding us hostage for 37 hours, he agreed to let us ask him some questions about the upcoming Maryland-Virginia Tech matchup on Saturday.

Ok, so we just emailed him. It was still really difficult.

Let's cut to the chase: Virginia Tech has lost 2 of their last three, with one of those wins over ECU. Because the only of those games that I watched in full was against ECU and I'm not going to try to find (or watch) the others, what weakness of the Hokies has been exposed the past few weeks?

A lot of people knew coming in that this team had a very thin margin for error. In order for them to be a true BCSCG contender they were not only going to have to stay healthy, but also see young players flourish in key roles, primarily linebacker. Well, neither of those have happened.

The two places the Hokies couldn't afford to have injuries, defensive tackle and the offensive line, have seen injuries. John Graves got hurt and defensive tackle and that was coupled with two young linebackers, Jake Johnson and Barquell Rivers, who haven't been playing as well we thought they could. That led to the defense being weak down the middle, it's weak period. So our defense was exploited by two offenses who had run games that could take advantage of it.

Coupled with that was poor offensive line play. There has been some questionable play calling, but when your offensive line doesn't play well it doesn't matter what plays are called. I thought the offense played well against Georgia Tech, but the defense just couldn't make a key stop. The same thing happened against North Carolina, but in that game we left a lot of points on the field with poor play on the Tar Heels' side of the field. It was a perfect storm of ineptitude from the offense, defense and coaching.

The road has not been kind to Virginia Tech in ACC games, with the Hokies dropping 4 of their last 5, with the only win coming at Duke by 8. Is there an underlying reason for this trend - Tyrod Taylor gets rattled, good teams? - or has it just been a strange coincidence?

It's been a strange reversal of fortune for the Hokies. Before the last five road games, the Hokies had won 16 of their first 17 ACC road games. I actually think Tyrod has played well in the road games. He had to run for his life, but was able to do so effectively against BC last year. Then he was injured on the first play at FSU and even though he was back for the Miami game, I still don't think he was the same player. Then he had a pretty good passing game this year against GT.

Really, it's been that our offense puckered in those road games as a whole. It's weird because we went on the road and had a big game against Nebraska last year and that's the toughest crowd we've faced any of the last two years. It's just been lack of execution and taking ourselves out of our game and what we usually try to do on offense.

Tyrod Taylor has been pretty up and down since entering Virginia Tech, but he seems to have finally put it together this year. What makes this Tyrod different from previous Tyrods?

He has a lot more confidence in his receivers this year. Remember, he wasn't a bad quarterback at all in 2006, so when people saw his 2007 numbers they thought he regressed. But we had a horrible offensive line and one returning catch going into last season. He had no faith in his receivers to even run the right route. But the receivers and Tyrod's rapport with them has grown by leaps and bounds this year. It seems like every game someone else steps up and has a good game from the receiving corps.

It seemed like a light turned on for Tyrod in the fourth quarter against Nebraska. Ever since then he's been a more confident quarterback and more confident in his own abilities.

There are plenty of players to talk about on Virginia Tech, from the aforementioned Taylor to Cody Grimm to Jason Worilds to Kam Chancellor. Who's a Hokie that most Terps might not know about that could have an impact Saturday?

Well you don't mention Ryan Williams and I hope he has a big impact this week after having a season-high in rushing yards against East Carolina. But as far as guys that fly under the radar, look at cornerback Stephan Virgil. He's been quiet of late and should be due for a big game.

Beamer and Friedgen agree to swap players. If you got your choice of any Terp starter to suit up for VT, who would pick? Likewise, if you had to give up one starter to Maryland, who would be your first choice to boot off the team?

I'll take left tackle Bruce Campbell (assuming he's healthy) to start in place of Ed Wang. You can take free safety Kam Chancellor. I'm had enough of the missed tackles and blown coverages from a guy who should be playing rover instead of FS.

Moment of truth: which looks better - Maryland's army jerseys or VT's combat jerseys?

Maryland's. Any uniforms that honor a great organization like Wounded Warriors is beautiful in my book.

2009 Virginia Tech Football: Hokies at the Quarter Pole

furrer4heisman — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 23:42:11 -0000

More photos » by Gerry Broome - AP

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The Hokies have three games to go in the 2009 regular season and even though they come against arguable the three worst teams in the ACC (Maryland, NC State and Virginia), two of those three are on the road and one is a rivalry game.

While Tech is likely to win out and finish the regular season at 9-3, it's entirely possible the Hokies could drop another game and end any possibility of continuing their streak of 10-win seasons.

The Offense

There are plenty of critics of Bryan Stinespring out there and his playcalling is still suspect at times. But you can't overlook the fact that this offense is much improved over last year. Tyrod Taylor is quarterback now, instead of just a playmaker under center. The wide receivers have progressed more than I thought they would, especially Danny Coale and Ryan Williams is a certified star.

Despite the last three games, the Hokies are still miles better in the red zone than they have been in recent years. They've scored touchdowns on 53 percent of their red zone possessions (nearly 59 percent in conference games). Last year, Tech got in the end zone on 46 percent of their trips inside the opponent's 20-yard line.

The concern for me is the recent injuries on the offensive line that could completely submarine this progress. Center Beau Warren has an MCL strain that forced Michael Via into action Thursday. We also saw Greg Nosal in at guard. In addition to these injuries, Ed Wang has been pretty bad at tackle in recent weeks. If the offensive line doesn't get itself in gear, it's not going to matter what plays Stinespring calls or what Taylor and Williams do with them.

Barring an epic fail from the O-line, Tech should be able to put up plenty of points against Maryland and NC State. But don't sleep on Virginia's defense. It's been solid in stretches this season.

The Defense

It would be an understatement to say this year's defense has been a disappointment. Guys we hoped would step up haven't, young talent hasn't developed as quickly as we'd like and we haven't gotten the key stops we've needed.

Kam Chancellor still isn't a free safety, the linebackers are still young and Jason Worilds is still one of the best if not the best defensive end in the ACC. No one's been a big surprise yet this season, but Antoine Hopkins and Demetrius Taylor look like they're improving by the drive.

The way they stepped up and shut down ECU gives us hope that they can do the same over the next three games. They should be able to stop Maryland (which didn't do a whole lot on offense after Chris Turner went down) and Virginia. However, NC State could be a problem. The Wolfpack may not be able to stop anybody, but they can definitely light up a scoreboard.

Overall

Virginia Tech hasn't been able to have a year where it has a good defense and good offense in the same year since 1999. Imagine if Tech had a stingy defense in this season or in 2003. Or, imagine if it had this year's offense in either of the last two seasons.

The only one of Tech's goals left in reach is keeping the 10-win streak alive. The Hokies should have a chance to reach that goal in the bowl game. However, with the inconsistency we've seen out of both the offense and defense, I think we should be worried about one of the units laying an egg in any of the next three games and Tech ending the regular season at 8-4.

Random Questions for Debate

How angry would Iowa fans be with its OC if it was 7-3? How happy would we be with ours if we were 8-1. The point is, Iowa and Tech have similar teams. But Iowa isn't hanging Ken O'Keefe in effigy (yet) because of a few breaks. Stinespring is a few breaks away from this team still controlling its own destiny in the ACC.
Is it just me, or do this year's Maroon and Orange Effect shirts smell bad? It's like they used a different substance for the press-ons.
Which of the next three are we most in danger of losing and why?

Virginia Tech 16, East Carolina 3: Postgame Stream of Consciousness

furrer4heisman — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:30:33 -0000

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It was a rough night/morning. Let's get to it, in no particular order.

Final - 11.5.2009	1	2	3	4	Total
Virginia Tech Hokies	6	7	0	3	16
East Carolina Pirates	0	3	0	0	3

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The offense did its job in the fourth quarter and kept ECU's offense off the field for two thirds of it.
We muff a lot of kicks and got lucky it didn't cost us big time in this game.
The defensive line finally decided to wear its man pants to a game. All four played well, especially defensive tackle Demetrius Taylor, who was in for an injured John Graves.
One of my players to watch for this game was rover Dorian Porch. We got to watch him a lot because he played poorly, missing tackles and giving up yards through the air. He was eventually replaced by Davon Morgan, who played a decent game.
Speaking of missed tackles, holy hell there were a lot of them, especially in the secondary and especially from free safety Kam Chancellor.
Cody Grimm is the DEATHBACKER.
YPP: VT 5.1, ECU 4.2

On offense, there were yards to be had outside the tackles and Tyrod Taylor and Ryan Williams found them. Williams slashed the ECU D all night and had a particularly impressive run where he looked like he was going to be brought down in the backfield but escaped for a long game.
The Hokies eventually wore down the ECU D and controlled the clock in the fourth quarter.
There were some bad play calls last night. I don't remember specifics of a lot of them because of the state I was in, but I do remember a fake hand-off to the outside followed by a hand off up the middle some time in the first half.
This was particularly bad because we had two back up linemen in the game (Via and Nosal) going against a pretty good defensive front. That kind of stuff won't work. Faking inside and then going outside might have, but we couldn't really rely on Via and Nosal.
I'm concerned about the injuries on the offensive line. We have a center and guard out, Render's probably still feeling the effects of his strained pec and Ed Wang has stopped blocking anything with a pulse. It will be very difficult to get yards the rest of the way, so it's going to be up to Stinespring to find ways to do it. However, the interior blocking is going to be suspect and Tyrod isn't going to have any time to throw. Good luck, Stiney.
Brent Bowden put three more punts inside the 20 last night. He's the best punter in the country. So we have that going for us. Which is nice.
First Star: Ryan Williams
Second Star: Demetrius Taylor
Third Star: Matt Waldron

ACC Roundtable: Week 10, We're hosting!

Winfield Featherston — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:30:28 -0000

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Because CPJ is so awesome.

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Oh boy. It's our turn to host the ACC Roundtable. While we are busy compiling answers and suffering through insults from the other bloggers, FTRS reader ChrisinIndy took a shot at our questions. Look for a Roundtable Roundup Thursday morning. As more responses come in we will blatantly copy Block-C and update the list from around the ACC.

1. Alright fellas, this is your turn to apologize to the Boston College Eagles who went to Hell and back and have now arrived as the 3rd team for the ACC (and only team in the Atlantic) to be bowl eligible. You know you were snickering in the preseason. Also, give a high five to Mark Herzlich for finishing his last treatment of chemo.

Apologize? Apologize to a team that beat Northeastern, Kent State, and Central Michigan on their way to a 6-3 record? C'mon, man. It's really hard for me to apologize to anybody that lost to VPI by 34 and the Domers at all, but I guess I'd buy them a beer and a pat on the back for beating FSU. The fact that they're leading the Atlantic is kinda like Crash Davis hitting the most homers in the minors. Cool stat, but in the long run...it doesn't mean a whole lot. Seriously, Herzlich is a great story and we wish him well in his return. It's hard to not pull for a guy like that.

2. An Orange Bowl victory over a Boise/ TCU or an Orange Bowl victory over a Penn State/ Cincy team - which means more for the conference? Is there even a difference?

Wow...that's a great question. Look, like most Tech people, I'm a numbers guy. The average Strength of Schedule of TCU, Blue Turf U, and Cincy is 56th (GT is 30th). Let's face it, three of the four are overrated (clap clap clap clap...clap clap) teams that are successful due to quirky offenses and weaker than average schedules. A huge part of me wants to beat all three so that we can prove how easy they had it all year....but a bigger part of me wants to beat PSU so that we can all laugh when we beat JoPa with the offense that he thought up in 1946.

Verdict: Penn State. The big 10 sucks and it needs to be exposed to the world.

3. Enough with the CJ Spillers, the Christian Ponders, and the Jacory Harrises. We wanna talk defense. Who is the defensive POTY thus far in the ACC?

Kam Chancellor, hands down. Psyche! He only wins Crybaby of the Year for bitching about non-existent chop blocks while leading his team to consecutive losses and one of the worst conference meltdowns in recent memory.

The easy choice here is to pick Luke Kuechl from BC for leading the conference with 94 total tackles as a freshman. However, I like guys that lead multiple categories. One guy leads the conference in sacks, tackles for loss, and being on the wrong end of double teams--our own Derrick Morgan. Don't look at me like that. I'm not being a GT homer--the numbers don't lie. We all know that the guy gets double teamed on almost every pass play and he is still leading the conference by a sack and a half. On top of that, he has 12.5 tackles for loss this year, 11 of which were solo, and won the Lott Trophy player of the week after the Clemson game.

4. Recently, Bird compared the Atlantic to the Big 12 North.Is this a fair comparison? The Coastal is currently 8-2 against the Atlantic. There are still 8 interdivision games left. Can the Atlantic redeem itself this season?

Jesus, this is like going to UGA and being forced to kiss either your sister or your mom. Both are equally as harrowing (and arousing for UGAy readers). Let's face it, they're both really bad. If you examine both sub-conferences in depth, you find:

ACC Atlantic: Losses to Notre Dame, Baylor (Big 12 South), Middle Tennessee, Rutgers, Navy, and close calls to Jax State and James Madison

Big XII North: Losses to Toledo, Louisiana-Lafayette, UCLA, West Virginia, Houston, and Arkansas.

Looking at the losses, it would seem that the Big XII North is better. However, when I saw the below quote on the Big XII website, I changed my mind.

The following should NOT be used in text when referencing the Big 12:
Big XII
Big Twelve

Anyone who is that self-important is worse than anyone in the ACC, including Miami.

5. Tailgating is essential to all things football. In Atlanta, the tailgating game of choice is cornhole. What is your game of choice to pass the time?

Not gonna lie, Cornhole is some fun stuff. The only way I can improve on that is to throw in the 'Loser Must' bet. In this variation, the losing team must imbibe a shot of the worst liquor that happens to be at hand, i.e. MD 20/20, Canadian Club, or Lord Calvert. It's amazing how drinking a really bad whisky makes you throw better. Or puke, whichever comes first.

6. Let's cut to the chase. There are two kinds of people: sheep and sharks. Sharks are winners and they don't look back 'cause they don't have necks. Necks are for sheep. Is your team full of sharks or is your team full of sheep?

When you run the Wreckbone, you can't look anywhere but straight ahead. Otherwise, you miss your read and pitch it to some free safety who thinks he knew the play before the snap because he saw the B-back's eye twitch. Sheep look behind them all the time because they're worried that something might be sneaking up on 'em. That's not happening in Atlanta. Look, we may run the option, but this ain't your daddy's GT anymore. We don't look back and we don't get sheared.

7. Create a cocktail in the spirit of your school and explain it to us. Non-edible ingredients are allowed and encouraged.

GT has directions for making whisky in our fight song, so we will start with a *generous* portion of Maker's Mark. Freeze a little of this inside some ice cubes so that the flavor soaks in slowly, add in about four shots of this, and a squeeze of this. Just to make it better, use this as a coaster.