And that is "Cheech" Williams and "Chong" Davis are one strike away from sitting for a year.

If anything, this puts emphasis on drafting an additional tackle who can play LT and an additional receiving threat.

I would suggest moving back in the draft and maybe out of the 1st round altogether and try and address needs with 2nd and 3rd round picks.

Using the draft chart with pick values. The Skins could trade out of the #6 pick (worth 1600) and get the following: A late 1st round pick (~600), an early 2nd (~500), a late 2nd (~300) and a couple of 3rd rounders (~100 a piece).

So the 6th pick would net 5 picks in the first 3 rounds. This would allow diversification of risk on players getting injured, being stupid or turning out to be bad players.

With those 5 picks, take a WR, OT, OG, QB and a CB.

In terms of drafting QB's, you can find decent QB's in the 3rd round. Case Keenum, Dan Persa, Kirk Cousins are guys who can slip into the 2nd and 3rd round. One guy I like a lot is G.J. Kinne from Tulsa. He easily could slide to the 3rd round.

Another guy to consider with the Coby Fleener (TE from Stanford). He's an excellent and huge receiver in the mold of Rob Gronkowski.

Vlad had a great night last night.  Maybe the Yankees need another bat.   Well, since they scored a billion runs maybe not.  However, maybe some team will give a decent pitching prospect for him.

Unfortunately, Luke has little value any more.  Maybe an A level pitching process.  

Does Pie have value?  Jim Johnson might be able to garner some interest.

The team seems unwilling or unable to trade Guthrie.  I would hate to see him go because he's what the team needs the most, starting pitching.

Any thoughts?

CB:  Skins should resign Carlos Rogers now.  No one else out there.  

T:  They also should go after Jared Gaithers and Jamal Brown.  Injuries have been killing this position for years.

QB:  Go ahead and sign Grossman.

LB:  Bring back Rocky and another ILB for depth.

This appears to be a year to develop the core team and then go from there.  They aren't going to be a playoff team and need to make moves for next year or the year after when they have their QB.

STARKVILLE, Miss. — A guilty plea appears to settle a criminal case involving one man's assault on another with a cowbell after the Ole Miss-Mississippi State football game in 2009.

But a civil lawsuit involving the attack continues, and the defendants include the Southeastern Conference.

On Monday, Brent Vowell pleaded guilty to misdemeanor simple assault in the 2009 incident. He received a 45-day sentence to be served on weekends, according to The Clarion-Ledger.

Victim William Matthew Brasher says in the civil suit that he suffered a 4-inch laceration in the altercation. His suit seeks unspecified damages from the SEC and others. It claims the league knowingly refused to enforce its own rule against “artificial noisemakers,” including the cowbells long favored by Mississippi State fans.

Yes, I know Holly.  I should have put this in a Fanshot but no one looks at fan shots and you get more comments from the Fanposts.  Sorry. 

If read a few comments from people who are concerned over the quality of player the Skins will get on Day 3.  This is not what the plan is.  Shanny is attempting to lower the overall age on the roster to get to a better cap situation.  In the past, the Skins would go out and sign veteran free agents and have to pay signing bonuses that were distributed over the length of the contract.  If you got rid of them, you had to eat the remainder of the bonus.  This was the "dead cap money".  Every year, you started out in a hole.  

With the younger players who are drafted between the 4th and 7th rounds, you have a younger, healthier core of players.  But what's most important, is that they are not going to be getting $1M bonuses so they are cheap.  Yes, some of these guys are not going to make it.  However, you got an abundance of guys who you can fall back to when another guy fails.  This is the New England model:

1.  Get a lot of guys who are young and cheap.  Low risk.  Some will fail and some will succeed.  

2.  Keep your core players who you consider to be the critical guys.  These are the Mannings and Bradies of the league.  

3.  Use free agency to fill short term holes.  Make sure the contracts have affordable (lower bonsues and higher per year salaries).  You keep guys until you get a young guy who will be cheaper.

And if a rookie pay scale gets implemented, all the better.  You only have 3 first through 3rd round picks.  The 4 - 7th round guys are not going to ding you that bad and you will probably have plenty of money to keep this young batch of players.

The key is to scout the players and draft well.  Don't pick knuckleheads.  Pick guys who will work hard and want to succeed badly.  If you miss, get rid of them.  The price will be easy to swallow.

Besides having fun last names, which one would you draft?

Wisniewski has played big time football at Penn State.  He's going to be a solid starter for someone.  He's not a great athlete but he's going to be steady. 

Ijalana, athletic OT who played for Villanova (caliber of competion is less).  He's going to have a learning curve and he needs to develop a mean streak.  Good tackles have more value than guards.  Skins have a glaring hole at right tackle and lack of depth has been a problem.  Heyer is only a servicable backup. 

I would take Ijalana and try and pick up a guard later. 

What say the rest of you?

There are several ways they could go. 

I think there are three potential directions:  Offensive Line, QB and Running Back. 

There are a lot of good receivers still out there.

So if Ryan Mallett is available at #41, I think you have to go for it.  He's the one player that most of the draftniks believe has the talent to be a franchise QB.  However, there is the risk of a Jeff George type of guy.  Skins don't need another #3 car.  However, I think the Shannies would be a little more patient with their own guy.  Marty had no patience for JG but there was very little that Marty had patience for (particularly short owners).  I think Dalton will be gone.  Kaepernick could be there but he's a longer term project. 

On the offensive line, there aren't many guys who grade out in the 1st half of the 2nd round.  If Mallet is gone, could they trade the pick and pick up a 3rd rounder to move back in the 2nd.  It looks like Kaepernick may be falling in this draft.  Skins could take Kaepernick at 49 and pick an offensive linemen later in the 2nd and another one in the 3rd (if they trade down again). 

3rd option:  Running Back.  Mallet at 41 and Ryan Williams or Mikel Lashoure at 49.

Prediction:  Skins go for Mallett if he's available at 41.  If he's not, they will draft a one of the running backs at 41 and a Offensive Lineman at 49. 

So Haynesworth tells the police that he didn't do it because he doesn't even like black girls. 

I was beginning to think that Al was just a lazy, anti-social guy.  Now, he's a reverse racist. 

If Goodell doesn't toss him from the league, he's not looking at his demographics.  Not that Al is going to score very high with any color of woman but deciding to throw black women under the bus...  genius.  I think he should ask for a jury trial.  That could be a lot of fun to watch.

I think Al has now exhausted any value he might have had.  Time to go.

I jest a wee bit.  I actually am in favor of moving in that direction considering Foster's defensive scheme. 

First, there is a knee-jerk reaction to anyone mentioning the 3-4 defense in college:

1)  You have to have a jumbo defensive tackle who can eat up 3 blockers every play.  You know, like in the NFL. 

2)  Al Groh tried it at UVA and it didn't work. 

3)  I'm don't have any argument against it but your mere mention of it makes my head explode as if a bunch of pedophiles were burning the American flag at my kid's elementary school on a Sunday. 

However, Foster began this move last year when he began experimenting with the 3-0 scheme on obvious passing downs.  Part of this was out of necessity.  His Whip LB was weak in pass coverage.  He needed to get more pressure up the middle against teams on passing downs.  In reality, he was mimicking the 3-3-5 scheme that WVU has been using for the last few years.  However, it worked pretty darned well. 

Now Foster is off to Ohio State to look at their defensive scheme.  While Tressell (aka Cheaty McSweatervest) doesn't play a true 3-4, he uses something very similar.  Three linemen line up in the down position with a four lineman linedup as a hybrid DE/OLB.  This player sometimes referred to as the "Jack" linebacker is primarily is a pass rusher but will sometimes drop into coverage if a safety blitz is called.  The key though is that it allows a coordinator to mix up his coverages and packages and be unpredictable.  tOSU has been playing this scheme for years and if you haven't noticed, there are quite a few Buckeye linebackers in the NFL. 

Roughly half the NFL's teams use the 3-4 defense so players who have been in the scheme have a natural advantage over players who have not.  If you look at the recently drafted VT defensive ends, they have for the most part been converted over to OLB (Worilds, Ellis and this year Friday).  VT's linemen are generally too small to play DE in the pros.  Tapp has done well but he's had his problems with staying consistent against bigger offensive linemen. 

Last year's recruiting season showed that VT needs to change it's approach to recruiting LB's.  Losing out on guys like Grant (who never really considered VT) and Anthony says that other schools are using VT's scheme to negatively recruit.  VT needs a selling point to get some of these high profile guys.  Pitching the 3-4 can do that in a couple of ways.  First, with 4 linebacking positions, VT can offer guys more chances at playing time.  If you are looking at a team's depth chart, you see 4 linebacking positions and it increases the recruits chances of early playing time by 1/3rd.  Next, the recruit has a chance to play in a system that is used by a big chunk of the NFL and thus, makes the recruit more marketable at the next level. 

I found Chris Coleman's article over on TSL about the Spring practices to be very insightful.  I have had a feeling that VT was heading in this direction for sometime due to the Foster scheme which has always favored speed and unpredictability over size and convention.  There are some hurdles particularly on the defensive line (playing two gap versus one gap).  Those can be worked out.  However, don't be surprised if Foster tries to find a way to play his three linebackers next year (Bruce G, Chase Williams and Barquell Rivers) with Gayle lined up as the Jack backer.  With JR. Collins playing a dual role as a DE/DT, he will be essentially playing like a 3-4 DE.  A lot will depend on how quickly the players can pick up the new tactics.  Also, some of the young talent needs to step up (Acree, McCray). 

Come to the darkside Bud.  You don't have to tell anyone what your are actually doing.  Only a few of us will notice and we promise not to say anything. 

[Ed. Note: Bumped from FanPosts.]

One of the biggest gripes that I have this year (besides VT being left out) was the way the ACC got totally screwed on the number of NCAA bids provided.  The ACC is too good to be a four bid league and the performance so far in the tournament supports that.Let's look at the records so far in the tournament for the major conferences:

Big East 9-9

Big Ten 7-5

Big Twelve 4-4

SEC 4-3

Pac-10 4-2

ACC 7-1

Continue reading this post »

[Ed. Note: Bumped from FanPosts.]

I'm not going to go crazy over VT basketball this year.  After the first UVA loss (and Hudson and Raines going down for the season), I had given up.  February gave me some hope but no reality seems to have set in.  VT had a fine season considering the loss of such a significant part of the team. 

I know that VT can still make it but past experience needs to be the guide here.  The ACC being down is not going to get 6 teams in.  Just not going to happen. 

Continue reading this post »

He can still hit.  Lefty who could platoon with Luke Scott.  Plays 1B.  Probably not going to be too expensive.  Seems like a solid guy to have in the clubhouse.  His OPS was over 1.0 last year in a platoon role in Minnesota.  I've always been a big fan.  When he hits the ball, he really can crush it.  Provides the versatility of having Scott and himself in the lineup if you want to split them up in the order. 

Guerrero can still hit but he's probably not a solid option at first base.  Jorge Cantu?  I don't think so. 

What do you think?  If he's available, may be worth making a one year deal to tide the O's over until better options are available. 

It appears that the Fulmer Cup starts after the MNC game is played.  I think this is a rule that needs corrected.  Looking to the NFL's scheduling rules, shouldn't the 50+ teams who didn't make a bowl be given a jump start on the Fulmer Cup season?  I think this would give the teams with losing records something to strive for during the bowl season.  They could get out there and build a good solid lead before the big boys get in the game.  We got schools like UVA, Rutgers, Duke, Marshall, Texas, UAB, Memphis and Wake Forest who need all the head start they can get before the Alabama, Florida. LSU, Iowa, Missouri, West Virginia and Auburn get in the game. 

There needs to be rules to provide parity in the run for the Cup.  These teams need something to get their fanbases excited and drive them towards 2011.  Plus, it's the Xmas season and the winter break is always good time for an assault or DUI on most college campi.

What would happen if Auburn wins the SEC title game and the final BCS game is set with Oregon playing Auburn.  Then boom!  Overwelming and convincing evidence is discovered that Newton knew and endorsed being sold to the highest bidder.  Newton is declared ineligible.  Auburn has to forfeit all their wins. 

So what happens now?  Give TCU their shot at the BCSCG?  Have a recount on the BCS voting and computer rankings?  How does this work? 

Could make for a lot of fun in December and January.

via www.thisisthedream.com

via ts4.mm.bing.net

I immediately thought: 

via ts2.mm.bing.net

The slogan on the can said:  "Slow Your Roll"

via ts3.mm.bing.net

AT that point, I opted for the Red Bull.

The Relax Drank seemed to be grape soda with rose hips and something called valerian supplement.

I don't know about Cleveland Frowns but let me tell you he had a bad week last week.  I'm going to thrown my picks out there based on my own statistical system.  See how I do:

Games I'm wagering on:

Taking BYU (+28) over TCU.  That's a big margin for TCU.

Nebraska (-8) over Texas.  Texas has shown nothing and Nebraska offense is picking up.

Auburn (-2.5) over Arkansas.  Not a believer in Arkansas on the road.

Kentucky (+6.5) over South Carolina.  Classic let down game for the Cocks.

Tempting games but will avoid:

San Jose State (-38) over Boise.  That's just a lot of points.  Plus, Boise has to be getting bored.

Alabama (-21) over Mississippi.  I would but Houston Nutt ends up winning games he has no business winning.

Games to outright avoid:

Ohio State (-6.5) over Wisconsin.  Don't want any part of this one.  Look out for the cheesey ones.

Oklahoma (-23) over Iowa State.  Iowa State is kind of a wierd team this year.  Not sure where they are going.  Oklahoma could kill them or it could be a much closer game.  I think it will be a closer game but don't have the guts for it. 

Good luck and happy wagerin'.

Why hasn't Crowley or Showalter made any progress with the young players working the counts?  It seems like they should be able to sit these guys down and tell them to work the counts to their advantage and make the pitcher work for it. 

Here are the top 3 offenders:

1.  Bell.  By far the very worst.  He's taken 2 free passes to 50 K's.  If he wants to be an everyday player, this must be corrected.

2.  Jones.  I love Adam's work ethic but he has got to get the free swinging under control.  23/106 ratio is really bad for a guy who has been in the league for this many years.  A 4.6 is a bad ratio.

3.  Pie has done well lately and really improved over the last 10 games.  He's taken 6 walks to 11 K's which is a real improvement.  Last night he really worked some counts against Toronto.  He's currently at a 3.0 but before that he was over 4. 

I love the work Buck is doing with the team.  Pie seems to be embrassing it and he will be the starting LF opening day (sorry Nolan).  He just needs to stay healthy.  Jones is killing me though.  He's such a joy to watch play the game with all his abilities.  If he could get a little plate discipline, he would start crushing the league.  I don't know if Bell can every become a big league player unless he gets his mind in gear.  He has ability but he has to learn to work the count.

This is my first post but I will tell you I've been an O's fan since 1977.  I remember riding up to 33rd Street in the back of my dad's pickup truck with a couple of middle school buddies to watch the game.  Jim Palmer started that day.  I've been a fan ever since. 

First, let me congratulate you on your victory.  It was well deserved.  You were the better team.  I hope you go on to win the MNC. 

Now, I'm going to say some things that not everyone is going to agree with but I'm trying to give an honest opinion.  If you think I'm biased you are right, no fan can be unbiased by definition. 

First of all, I was very impressed with Bronco Nation.  You travel well and the Bronco fans I spoke to were universally nice folks.  I hope that everyone was welcomed and treated with respect.  If you were not, I'm very sorry, we have our share of jackasses.  Please don't hold it against our reputation.  I spoke to a quite a few of you and everyone was great in my eyes. 

Games are won and lost on a few key plays.  Here are the my keys of the game for Boise winning:

1.  The punt block.  I saw the guy who blocked the kick line up on the outside to block the VT's gunner and then he ran back inside on the end and was not blocked. 

2.  The 71 yard TD by Harper.  Should have been tackled, two young LB's miss their tackles and the Free safety loses containment. 

3.  The 2nd and 3rd down play on VT'sdrive with 2:00 minutes left.  Bothplays should have been right up the gut runs by a running back.  VT could have gotten 40 seconds more burned off the clock with a running play.  Plus, I thought Boise's line was tired and might have been susceptible.  This one is up for debate.  A first down would have completely iced the game so a pass might have been in order.  I would have run the ball both plays.

4.  Boise's final punt return.  I was a marginal call on the block in the back.  I watched the replay and if my team had been called for it, I would have been livid but in a close game, if it's too close to call, you don't call it.  Then the returner rips off 25 yards.  Huge play.

5.  The PF called on the sideline against Bruce Taylor, VT's middle linebacker.  Terrible call.  Pettis was still up and inbounds.  If he doesn't make the hit, there's no whistle, he may stay upright and keep going.  He had to make that tackle regardless of what was happening.  Also, it was a borderline play at the end of the game.  You simply don't make these types of calls on to close to call plays.  Same as #4 but in the opposite direction. 

Here's my quarter by quarter mood chart:

1st Q:  OMFG, we are embarrassing ourselves on national TV again.

2nd Q:  Tyrod is a god.

3rd Q:  I'm renaming my 12 year old daughter Tyrod.  I hope she doesn't mind.

4th Q:  Yes, No, Yes...  OMFG....  we are doing it again.  Total blackness, anger, murder ...  Where's the whiskey?

Observations on the Big Picture:

1)  On VT.  Heart-breaking loss again.  This is going to sting longer than the loss to U$C in 2006 (oh, according to the NCAA, we didn't lose that game but we didn't win it either.  So did it every happen?  I could have sworn I was there).

2)  Kellen Moore is a very good QB.  I got questions about his arm strength but he's savvy and smart.  Pettis is a great receiver and player.  The defensive line was awesome and manhandled VT'soffensive line.  You're defensive backfield is a little shaky though.  Against a passing team who can spread the field with 3 or 4 receivers, these guys are going to have their hands full. 

3)  Broncos now must root like hell for VT to win the rest of their games and vice versa.  The general feeling I'm getting from the media is that some people remain unconvinced and that will only grow as the year progresses especially if two teams like Texas, Ohio State, Alabama or Florida has only one loss.  Unfortunately, if Boise, Ohio State and Alabama finish undefeated, you're outside looking in.  That sucks but it's the realistic expectations.

4)  Peterson is a great coach.  Very smart and a much better game tactician than Beamer.  Beamer is going to take the conservative route most times.  VT always starts season's badly and then gets better.  Boise was ready to play. 

5)  If Boise does make it to the MNC game, Boise should be concerned about size and depth.  The DB's are small and the SEC type type receivers are big and fast.  Also, on the lines, a team like Alabama and Florida are 4 deep with huge blue chip linemen who can grind down Boises offensive anddefensive lines.  Depth would become an issue in those types of games andthe SEC has huge depth.  They are best paid players in college football ;-).

6)  VT has a lot of work to do on their offensive line, special teams and defense.  The defense is young and will get better under Bud Foster.  The didn't look great this game, too many missed assignments and tackles.  The punter is really slow and the place kicker had his issues.  Then there is the perennial problem with the offensive line. 

Good luck the rest of the way.  I'm rooting for you to win them all and create a BCS mess.  I love controversy especially were the BCS is concerned. 

I've been trying unsuccessfully to post this for a few days but I thought I would give you a run down on your game day experience.   I'm going to break this into several parts:

Danny Snyder Stadium (aka Fed Ex Field). 

Every since our young (some would say juvenile) owner of the Redskins took over the stadium, the key focus for Danny Snyder is to separate you from your money as quickly and effectively as possible.  The stadium itself is not the most attractive stadium.  In fact, it's kind of like if you were looking at catalog of stadiums and you started with the cheapest model with the least charm and amenities.  Then young Danny discovered every new and innovative way to charge people for services.  If you want to park at the stadium, it's going to cost you.  If the cash lots are full then you can park across the DC Beltway in Landover and buses will bring you to the stadium.  However, parking at Landover will cost you and so will the bus ride.  Some people found that they could park in some neighborhoods close by the stadium and they walked to the stadium.  Danny got the local authorities to outlaw walking to the stadium as a safety hazard (this was overturned in court). 

Every bit of the stadium is adorned with advertising.  Every available space including the bottoms of the urinals.  The beer's are $8.  So be prepared to pay the price to the Danny. 

Another great thing about the stadium is it's location.  It's located in Landover MD which is kind of the place that the urban sprawl forgot.  It's a very tough place to get to so if you are driving to the game, plan on waiting to get in to the stadium from the Beltway or from any other points.  Honestly, the best and cheapest way to get to the stadium is by the Metro.  However, no dillydalling after the game, you better head to the Metro station real quick because they are probably only going to stay open until 1 am. 

Good luck Broncos.  Hope everyone has a good time.

I'm withholding judgement.  I think including the Corps of Cadets is a nice touch.  Black helmets might be cool.  I didn't know I had to type 75 words. 

Did anyone see Inception?  So was it real or was it a dream.  Hard to tell.  Kind of wierd movie.  Is the top falling or just wobbling.  Kind of a Sopranos ending.  I'm OK with that but the wife... The kids are in Gatlinburg Tennessee with my in-laws being forced to watch country music shows.  They are not happy....

via www.brinkleys.org

I've gotten a few emails from Bronco fans asking for recommended places to go around DC so I wanted to give you a few ideas before you get here.

First, DC is a small city but there is a lot of stuff to do depending on your tastes.  I'm going to dispense with the official sites that everyone knows or what we locals call the dead guy monuments.  While they represent history, I prefer to look at them from a distance.

Here are some places to consider:

1)  The roof top bar at the Hotel Washington.  Best time to go is about an hour before sunset.  Grab a drink and look out at the sites of DC.  The hotel is on Pennsylvania Avenue right next to the White House (although you cannot get a good view of the White House because of the trees).  However, every other building in the Federal area is visible including monument row.  Hopefully the weather is nice and you can watch a nice sunset with a cold drink in your hand. 

2)  The roof of the Kennedy Center.  Yeah, I like roofs.  Go to the Kennedy Center and head up to the roof.  There is a restaurant on the top level that has a bar.  Sometimes they have bars set up on the balconies.  Grab a cold beverage and head out to the balcony.  The balcony runs all the way around the building so you can look into Washington and get a nice view of the monuments or you can look down the river to the Georgetown water front. 

3)  If you are young and trendy, the primary place to go is Dupont Circle area (Word of warning to the conservative:  Dupont Circle has some popular gay clubs).  A lot of cool bars to go to. 

4)  The Adams Morgan area has got a couple of good music clubs (Madam's Organ and 9:30 Club) and great ethnic restaurants. 

5)  Chinatown near the Verizon Center.  Lots of new places in that area.  Lots of bars, restaurants and dance clubs.  Area is a little seedy but there are good places there. 

6)  If you are older and want to see a historic landmark, you can't beat the Old Ebbitt Grill (classy place with great food and good drinks.  A lot of the pols hangout there). 

7)  If you want to get across the river into Virginia, Old Town Alexandria is a fun place to go.  Go to King Street and Union Street and work your way up the block.  Good restaurants and bars. 

8)  My final mention is venerable Georgetown (M Street and Wisconsin).  It's kind of stodgy now by comparison with Dupont Circle but it's got a lot of bars, restaurants and places of interest.  A cool place in G-town is the waterfront.  There are some nice restuarants, outdoor cafes, etc.  It's right on the Potomac river so people pull up in their boats and party right off the Waterfront. 

Most of those places are in DC.  In Virginia, there is the Clerendon area in Arlington (restaurants, bars and some dance clubs).  It's convenient right off the Metro.  Also in Arlington is the Ballston area (restaurants, bars and general night life).  If you have access to a vehicle and don't mind a drive, the Reston Town Center has a lot going on Saturday nights.  During the summer and fall, they have open air concerts in the middle of the Town Center near the fountain.  Could be anything from Swing Dancing to Oompa bands.  Lots of bars and restaurants to check out.

Alright.  That's the end of this post.  As Steely Dan said "Sue me if I play too long".

Next post will be on a special topic:  Fed Ex Field (also called Danny Snyder's cash register).

Hello Broncos, I'm sorry this is a long post.  Sue me or don't read it.

Just thought I would bid you welcome to my home town of Washington DC.  I really live in the suburbs in VA but it's easier just to say I'm from DC.  We look forward to great game on Monday and if anyone is interested and going to be in town on Sunday afternoon, I've having a BBQ.  If you are interested in coming out and meeting a bunch of super cool Hokies, drop me an email at pfhokie@hotmail.com.

As for the game, I approach it with concern.  VT never comes out of the box and plays very well in the first game.  That's why I wish we had kept the original schedule.  I'm not sure why this is but it's been kind of pain in the Beamer's program for a long time.  However, it is what it is and the Hokie fans will be very loud and proud at Danny Snyder stadium (also called Fed Ex Field).  The things I'm worried about are mostly on VT's defense.  Bud Foster is a great coordinator but he hasn't had a chance to see these guys playing in a real game environment.  There are 7 new starters on the D and a lot of youth plus some injuries is a problem. 

The VT D is an interesting scheme.  The defense is built around playing the short side of the field  or boundary versus the long side of the field or "field" depending on which hashmarks the ball is placed.  Usually, the best and fastest defenders because their will be fewer of them to cover the ground.  The boundary cornerback is usually in man coverage or cover 0 unless the offense lines up two ends on the short side of the field.  If that happens, they will probably go to a cover 2.  So the short side gets 4 or 5 defenders while the rest (6 or 7) are on the field side.  The defense looks on paper link a typical 4-3-4 set up but there are differences.  The strong safety is called the rover and is essence a linebacker/safety hybrid.  So it will look more like a 4-4-3 scheme when lined up.  The rover plays drops back into zone coverage on pass plays and moves up to the line on running downs.  The key is how they are reading the defense and what the free safety is doing.  The free safety is calling the plays for the defense and their job is to position the coverage.  They will either move up if they are reading a running play or stay back on passes.  VT's defense likes to blitz in two man teams.  These blitzs are usually an LB and a DB from opposite sides of the field.  They do a lot of these permutations.  However, sometimes, a lineman will drop into coverage if the Mike LB is blitzing.  Could be either a DT or a DE. 

The scheme can be burned and usually does get burned once or twice a game.  However, it makes up for it by forcing turnovers.  In someways, the defense would rather put pressure on the QB and force a bad throw than get the sack.  Sounds wierd but it works.  VT hasn't sacked the QB a lot in years but usually has a ton of hurries.

While the DT's are solid inside (John Graves and the Hopkins brothers), the DE's are first year starters although one is a 5th year senior (Stephen Friday).  The other is a converted TE who played DE last year (Chris Drager).  We lost the best DE on the team when Jason Worilds went pro a year early and is know with the Steelers.  He was an absolute beast. 

The LB's are usually solid but there have been injuries and at least one starter is out.  The Whip linebacker is new (Jeron Gouveia-Winslow, son of former NFL LB Kurt Gouveia) and we need to see how he's going to handle his first start.  The other two starters are Bruce Taylor at MLB and Lyndell Gibson at Backer.  Both the MLB and Backer are consider inside linebackers in the scheme.  The Whip LB is a linebacker who has a lot of coverage responsibilities. 

The defensive backs are usually the strength of the defense.  VT has put a ton of guys into the pros as DB's:  Brandon Flowers (KC), Deangelo Hall (Wash), Vinny Fuller (Tenn), Macho Harris (Phil), Kam Chancellor etc.  This year's leader is CB Rashad "Rock" Carmichael.  Rock had six picks last year.  He's on the Boundary.  The Field corners are Cris Hill and Jayron Hosley.  Both are fast but have never started (Hosley may have started the Bowl game last year).  Free Safety is Eddie Whitley who is a new starter as well.  He's got the most important job on the D and how he plays will go a long way to determining if VT wins or loses.  He's a former high school star who blew out his knee his senior year and had major reconstructive surgery.  He's back now and looks good.  The coaches trust him. 

Key injuries on defense:  Alonzo Tweedy (backup WHIP LB) questionable, Barquell Rivers (starting MLB) out, Jayron Hosley (starting CB) probable, John Graves (starting DT) probable

If you like this post, I can talk about the VT offense if you like.  Good luck and safe travels to the game Broncos.

pfhokie

The utterly brilliant "I don't recall". 

Mr Austin/Little/Dareus/Green/etc.  "Were you in Miami on May 15th hanging with some fly bitches and knockin' back the Mags of Christal?" 

"I'm sorry sir, I don't recall."

It's the perfect defense.  You don't lie you just choose not to remember. 

The latest is Greg Little saying he wasn't in Miami on May 15th when there is direct photo evidence that he was.  What do these guys think that cell phone cameras don't exist? 

Joe Schad tweets about recruiting scandal blowing up at Chapel Hill

1. UNC DL Marvin Austin was asked why he was seen driving the vehicle of 49er Kentwan Balmer and if he stayed at Balmer's apartment about 10 hours ago via web
2. Two sources described the amount of agent activity in Chapel Hill this offseason as "hectic." about 11 hours ago via web
3. UNC players were asked by the NCAA who was paying for their rent. about 11 hours ago via web
4. Marvin Austin was asked by the NCAA who paid for his recent trip to Miami. And players were asked about travel. about 11 hours ago via web
5. UNC football players were asked by the NCAA to provide phone records to prove which agents they had spoken with. about 11 hours ago via web
6. One person said UNC's star football players such as Marvin Austin were among those interviewed by the NCAA about 12 hours ago via web
7. One person said the questions from the NCAA to UNC players were intended to "make sure no Reggie Bush stuff is going on." about 12 hours ago via web
8. The NCAA asked UNC players this week about agents and possible gifts or extra benefits about 12 hours ago via txt

Some how, any how, the ACC has some advantages that need to be
capitalized on. First, we know Notre Dame has a very long standing
grudge against the Big Ten over alleged slights that may have been
made regarding the religious nature of the school. Plus, they may
know that the megaconference expansion is only on break before the
next round gets started.

Swofford needs to get on the airplane up to South Bend and pitch the
following:

1. The ACC will go to an 18 team format with two divisions. The ACC
North would be ND, BC, Army, Navy, Pitt, UConn, Rutgers, VT and
Maryland. ND has had long standing football series with Army, Navy,
Pitt and UConn plus there is the basketball side of things. So they
would only be adding a VT and Maryland to their schedule and they can
keep playing USC, Michigan, Purdue and Indiana if they want to.

The ACC South would be everyone else currently in the conference not
named VT, BC or Maryland.

2. Let Notre Dame start their own ND network (maybe a joint venture
with NBC) and keep the revenues minus opponent fees for games on
the new NDN. The rest of the ACC can start their own separate TV and
radio network.

3. The championship game is going to cover a heck of a lot of territory
but play the game in neutral site like Charlotte. I think it would draw
well.

4. The 9 team divisions are perfect for putting together a football
schedule (8 conference games plus 3 or 4 OOC games) but it also
allows the divisions to go back to home and home scheduling of the
basketball teams. This will make Tobacco Road happy. Also, there
could be a ACC North versus ACC South tournament (like the ACC-Big
10 challenge) every year to kickoff the regular season.

5. The addition of the service academies will be a major plus. First,
both Army and Navy may get killed in football but they have huge
national followings in the Armed Forces. My dad who was enlisted
navy, loves Navy football even though he eventually went to college at
Illinois. He never misses a game. Many, many active and retired
armed forces personnel feel the same especially in the Washington DC
Metro area. If you doubt this, go look at the merchanise sales for the
Naval Academy and USMA.

It's also a public relations coup in that I think the public will appreciate
these two traditional schools being cared for by the conference. Not to
mention that they are long time opponents of ND which would make
them attractive as well.

6. Army, Navy, ND and Rutgers have great academic reputations.
UConn and Pitt won't hurt.

Why will this work? Because the ACC is not doing well in comparison
to the other conferences in performance and TV revenue. IThe plan is
good for football and basketball. Let the SEC or Big 10 deal with WV
and maybe Syracuse. I don't have time for either.

This will give the ACC a superconference for football and basketball that
can demand top dollar from a number of networks. Notre Dame will pull
an unequal share but if that's what it takes them to get them to join
then the ACC should do it. They are the linchpin for the whole plan.

If the ACC wants to bust this thing open, get Notre Dame and go to 18
teams. Sometimes crazy does work.

Some how, any how, the ACC has some advantages that need to be
capitalized on. First, we know Notre Dame has a very long standing
grudge against the Big Ten over alleged slights that may have been
made regarding the religious nature of the school. Plus, they may
know that the megaconference expansion is only on break before the
next round gets started.

Swofford needs to get on the airplane up to South Bend and pitch the
following:

1. The ACC will go to an 18 team format with two divisions. The ACC
North would be ND, BC, Army, Navy, Pitt, UConn, Rutgers, VT and
Maryland. ND has had long standing football series with Army, Navy,
Pitt and UConn plus there is the basketball side of things. So they
would only be adding a VT and Maryland to their schedule and they can
keep playing USC, Michigan, Purdue and Indiana if they want to. I
know people are going to hate the idea of VT not being with the rest of
the old ACC but this seems like a good dividing line although some are
going to bitch and scream.

The ACC South would be everyone else currently in the conference not
named VT, BC or Maryland.

2. Let Notre Dame start their own ND network (maybe a joint venture
with NBC) and keep the revenues minus opponent fees for games on
the new NDN. The rest of the ACC can start their own separate TV and
radio network.

3. The championship game is going to cover a heck of a lot of territory
but play the game in neutral site like Charlotte. I think it would draw
well.

4. The 9 team divisions are perfect for putting together a football
schedule (8 conference games plus 3 or 4 OOC games) but it also
allows the divisions to go back to home and home scheduling of the
basketball teams. This will make Tobacco Road happy. Also, there
could be a ACC North versus ACC South tournament (like the ACC-Big
10 challenge) every year to kickoff the regular season.

5. The addition of the service academies will be a major plus. First,
both Army and Navy may get killed in football but they have huge
national followings in the Armed Forces. My dad who was enlisted
navy, loves Navy football even though he eventually went to college at
Illinois. He never misses a game. Many, many active and retired
armed forces personnel feel the same especially in the Washington DC
Metro area. If you doubt this, go look at the merchanise sales for the
Naval Academy and USMA.

It's also a public relations coup in that I think the public will appreciate
these two traditional schools being cared for by the conference. Not to
mention that they are long time opponents of ND which would make
them attractive as well.

6. Army, Navy, ND and Rutgers have great academic reputations.
UConn and Pitt won't hurt.

Why will this work? Because the ACC is not doing well in comparison
to the other conferences in performance and TV revenue. IThe plan is
good for football and basketball. Let the SEC or Big 10 deal with WV
and maybe Syracuse. I don't have time for either.

This will give the ACC a superconference for football and basketball that
can demand top dollar from a number of networks. Notre Dame will pull
an unequal share but if that's what it takes them to get them to join
then the ACC should do it. They are the linchpin for the whole plan.

If the ACC wants to bust this thing open, get Notre Dame and go to 18
teams. Sometimes crazy does work.

Some how, any how, the ACC has some advantages that need to be capitalized on.  First, we know Notre Dame has a very long standing grudge against the Big Ten over alleged slights that may have been made regarding the religious nature of school.  Plus, they may know that the megaconference expansion is only on break before the next round gets started. 

Swofford needs to get on the airplane up to South Bend and pitch the following:

1.  The ACC will go to an 18 team format with two divisions.  The ACC North would be ND, BC, Army, Navy, Pitt, UConn, Rutgers, VT and Maryland.  ND has had long standing football series with Army, Navy, Pitt and UConn plus there is the basketball side of things.  So it would only be adding a VT and Maryland to their schedule and they can keep playing USC, Michigan, Purdue and Indiana if they want to.  I know people are going to hate the idea of VT not being with the rest of the old ACC but this seems like a good dividing line although some are going to bitch and scream. 

The ACC South would be everyone else currently in the conference not named VT, BC or Maryland.

2.  Let Notre Dame start their own ND network (maybe a joint venture with NBC) and keep the revenues minus a opponent fees for games on the new NDN.  The rest of the ACC can start their own separate TV and radio network.

3.  The championship game is going to cover a heck of a lot of territory but play the game in neutral site like Charlotte.  I think it would draw well.

4.  The 9 team divisions are perfect for having putting together a football schedule (8 conference games plus 3 or 4 OOC games) but it also allows the divisions to go back to home and homescheduling of the basketball teams.  Also, there could be a ACC North versus ACC South tournament (like the ACC-Big 10 challenge) every year to kickoff the regular season. 

5.  The addition of the service academies will be a major plus.  First, both Army and Navy may get killed in football but they have huge national followings in the Armed Forces.  My dad who was enlisted navy, loves Navy football eventhough he eventually went to college at Illinois.  He never misses a game.  Many, many active and retired armed forces personnel feel the same.  It's also a public relations coup in that I think the public will appreciate these two traditional schools being cared for by the conference.  Not to mention that they are long time opponents of ND which would make them attractive as well. 

6.  Army, Navy, ND and Rutgers have great academic reputations.  UConn and Pitt won't hurt. 

Why will this work?  Because the ACC is not doing well in comparison to the other conferences.  The plan is good for football and basketball.  Let the SEC or Big 10 deal with WV and maybe Syracuse.  I don't have time for either. 

This will give the ACC a superconference for football and basketball that can demand top dollar from a number of networks.  Notre Dame will pull an unequal share but if that's what it takes them to get them to join then the ACC should do it.  They are the linchpin for the whole plan. 

If the ACC wants to bust this thing open, get Notre Dame and go to 18 teams.  Sometimes crazy does work.