An agitated Bud Foster backs his defense, says execution of a few plays to blame in loss
As reporters asked questions to cornerback Antone Exum after Monday’s practice, an agitated defensive coordinator Bud Foster sat a few feet away, simmering with an anger after openly scoffing at a few of the queries.
Once it was his turn, he didn’t hold back.
“I thought the kid right you’re talking to right there played his n— off,” Foster said of Exum. “You can quote me on that s— too. Played his a– off. Fought his a– off.”
It was the most-animated the admittedly fiery Foster has been this season, an intensity clearly drawn from the frustrations of a 27-24 loss to Cincinnati in which a handful of plays decided the game.
“I thought with the exception of about five plays, we played a hell of a football game,” he said, in one of the more newspaper-friendly quotes of the night. “That’s going to get you beat at this level.”
For the most part, Foster thought his group played well Saturday. The ones they failed on execution were noticeable, however.
Donaldven Manning, in for a cramping Kyle Fuller, got beat on consecutive plays, the second going for a 29-yard touchdown by Kenbrell Thompkins in the third quarter.
“I mean, he’s been practicing all week,” Foster said. “He’s been practicing No. 2. You’re a play away from being the guy. It’s unfortunate on his part. He’s got to take another step. We’re just kind of in a bind right there from a depth standpoint.”
Safety Michael Cole had a bust on the 76-yard touchdown pass out of the backfield to running back Ralph David Abernathy IV in the fourth quarter.
On the last play of the game, one that saw Fuller let his receiver get behind him for the game-winning score, Foster called for a deep half coverage.
“We couldn’t be in a better coverage,” he said. “That guy should have been fair catching the ball.”
Foster bristled when asked if he was surprised that the team didn’t execute in that situation.
“Is that … a loaded question?” he said. “I mean, what the [expletive]? You don’t think we’re going to plan on executing right there. We’ve been doing it all day.”
Exum was the target of many fans’ scorn afterward — in part because of four penalties that resulted in 47 yards and three first downs — but Foster backed his safety-turned-corner 100 percent.
“That’s the short side of the field,” Foster said. “I don’t care. You could have put DeAngelo Hall over there, they’d have done the same thing.”
Asked if he thought the defense has underperformed this year, Foster shot back.
“I wouldn’t say it. You guys were the ones who said we were going to be a great defense,” Foster said. “I said we had a chance to be a good defense. That’s what I said at the beginning of the year. We had a chance.”
Foster thinks the problems can be corrected.
“It’s a lack of execution from our standpoint,” he said. “And you can ask every one of those kids, and they’ll tell you the truth.”
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OK, that’s the main course. Here are a few after-dinner mints …
- Secondary coach Torrian Gray didn’t think Foster’s demeanor was any different than it normally is. “Bud’s Bud,” he said. “Bud’s not any different. We lost a game. That’s on us there at the end. He’s p—– off. We’re all not happy right now. We’re all a little grouchy and what-not. But we’ve got to get it right. We’ll get it right.”
- Foster thought linebackers Jack Tyler and Bruce Taylor had “monster games,” adding, “They’re both playing at a high level, playing extremely well. We need everybody doing that right now on both sides of the ball. We need everybody playing that way.”
- The two played so well that Foster said it was going to be hard for Tariq Edwards to fit in right now if he’s not 100 percent. “I think the other guys are playing at such a high level, if you can’t be at full speed, especially with who we’re getting ready to play and how we’re going to have to play, I don’t think we’re helping ourselves,” Foster said of Edwards.
- North Carolina’s tempo is going to be something difficult to handle. The Tar Heels push the pace offensively more than anyone the Hokies have faced, hoping to catch defenses between substitutions or not ready for the next play. “The film doesn’t do it justice,” Foster said. “The first time we played East Carolina a couple years ago when they came from the Texas Tech stuff, video doesn’t do it justice, how quickly [it goes]. Because it cuts it off and it starts it over again. It’s not going continuous.”
- How will Tech handle it? “Sometimes you don’t have time to substitute,” Gray said. “You’ve just got to be able to play with the people that are on the field, whether it’s nickel, whether it’s base defense. You see on film and the other team is still running guys off the field, so it’s something where they’re obviously fast or they can speed it up to a tempo and you’ve got to be able to keep up.”
- Back to the pass defense: Gray thought Exum did “a great job.” “We did it by game plan and put him on an island to stop the run. And they didn’t complete any of the deep balls on him,” he said. “The problem was when we missed tackles, and then they got the big plays off a 10-yard pass or something like that, that’s something we’ve got to be better at.”
- Gray’s problem continues to be that the backups aren’t ready. He called having to put one of those freshmen in at a crucial moment, like he had to with Manning in the third quarter, a “nightmare scenario. … I’ve said, our freshman are not ready just yet. Hopefully down the road, but right now, we’re just not ready. And that was a scenario. Unfortunately it flipped the momentum right there.” What did Torrian say to Manning afterward? “This is why you have to do all the little things I’m talking about in practice,” he said. “This is why you don’t work head up. This is why all the things that I’m talking about. This is why.”
- Virginia Tech will probably continue to use quite a bit of nickel over the next few weeks, with North Carolina, Duke, Clemson and Miami on the schedule. All of them use spread formations to a degree. Right now, Michael Cole has been working at nickelback, simply because of the lack of corners. Detrick Bonner has worked some at corner too, just in case something happens to Fuller or Exum. “We’ve got to be able to cover our bases, and maybe Desmond Frye, if one of the corners goes down, you move Bonner and see if Desmond can play,” Gray said. “It’s a freshman you’re going to regardless, so you might as well at least solidify yourself the best you can.”
- There seems like an unusual gulf between the first- and second-team defensive backs, but Gray said it was the same situation at safety last year behind Exum and Eddie Whitley. “We’ve just been fortunate not to get injured,” he said.
- It doesn’t sound like Tech will change too much about leaving corners on an island. That’s how it plays defense. “If those guys can handle it, we’ll keep them on the island,” Gray said. “If they can’t, we’ve got to help them out. We’ve got to roll coverage and do certain things. But that’s part of being that boundary corner. That’s part of playing defensive back here. That’s what we do at times.”
- Getting back to Exum, he too thought he played OK, except for the penalties. He’s not backing away from being put on an island, though, and figured that’d be the case this year with his offseason switch. “I like that challenge, that they felt like they could [come at me],” he said. “I felt like they couldn’t but on some of those plays, they got the best of me. But I’m a fighter, so I’m going to come back the next play and line up and play again.”
- Exum whiffed on a tackle when Abernathy caught his long touchdown pass in the fourth quarter. It was Cole’s busted coverage, but Exum had a chance at the 50 to take him down. His problem? He broke down. “We’re taught in our open field tackles not to really break down and kind of run through it,” he said. “Because if you break down you give them a chance to dictate to you and he’s definitely a good player that can make you miss, like he proved. But what I should have done there is use the sideline as an extra defender. Put him in a corner, so to speak, and then took away some of the space he had to work with. But I didn’t, kind of took a wrong angle and he got inside of me and hit the house.”
- Exum, despite the criticism he’s taken after the game, remains confident in his progression at cornerback. “I feel very comfortable out there,” he said. “I wasn’t discouraged or anything from the performance. I know the receiver had [7 catches for 134 yards]. I know he had three catches on me and then I had some of the penalties. I felt like I fought and they, I don’t know, they just got the best of us that day.”
October 1, 2012 - 8:50 PM
All I’m going to say is…I really like Bud…I think he will make the adjustments necessary for the remainder of the season. Even if he’s not able to, he gets a mulligan from me, due to outstanding prior years coaching!!! If the offense were even 3/4 as good as the defense has been over the years….one can only speculate.
I love Foster, much better interview than Weaver and Beamer on Tech Talk Live.
It’s not Bud’s defense! It’s the d_a_m_n offense like it is every year! I love Coach Beamer but if he can’t get an offensive guy in there and run the show and quit hanging on to our current dead weight then maybe it’s time to retire and turn the job over to someone who can do the job. It’s seems to be working at FSU. I for one have made my last trip to an NFL stadium to see the Hokies play until changes are made.
To be fair, and correct me if I’m wrong on this, at the beginning of the year Bud himself went a little farther than that. Talked of how great they could be – aiming to give up 13 TD’s like the great Alabama defense had done last year. So he can’t put this all on the media – I recall him publicly voicing opinion about how great they could be.
What Foster is really wanting to say is “this %@#%^$*@#^Y offense here sucks nuts! If we had a offense that could put @#!$@$@ points on the board and we werent on the field the whole game we would be setting pretty good!” You know Bud is simmering having never had a offense since probably Ricky Bustle days that could take pressure off his Defense! Hokies every where should thank their lucky stars he is still around, because if I was him I would go somewhere that had a offense that could at least score 3 tds without the defenses help!!!!
Bud is right. They are smothering, then get burned on a play. Rinse and Repeat. One player goofs. I can deal with this. It takes both sides of the ball. The offense has to help. The defense can not play the entire game. This defense is not as good right now as it has been. It is plenty good if we have a halfway decent offense. That, we don’t have. What ever it is…lack of talent, lack of execution, lack of coaching…whatever….it is mostly consistent. Last year, it took a short break in some regards. Still seemed we could not score consistently in the red zone. Whatever it is, the consumers of the product that is VT Football would like to see it fixed. I didn’t have to know rocket science to know that there was something wrong when the Challenger blew up. I don’t need to be a coach in order to see issues with this team and how these same issues have been there in varying degrees on Stiney’s watch. I have been a VT fan for near 20 years. They are the only college team I have ever backed. We all have opinions like we all have rears. What I am saying is that I love ya Frank!! You ARE the head coach. Fix it, please. We all want you to succeed. By golly, I want you to bring home the NC the next twenty years in a row. You have built this. You taught us to expect great things from you and your teams. You have delivered often. I guess maybe we expect too much of you and your teams. Still, can every other person I have talked to in the last decade be wrong. People who don’t follow us ask me about the poor play calling on offense when they happen to see a game. These are people with no stake and who do not care. So don’t tell everyone that there is nothing wrong and point to your record. There IS something wrong year in and out on offense. If it isn’t Stiney, what is it? Stiney or not, it needs to be addressed.
The holding call on Scales TD was a perfectly executed block. Offense can’t control that.
I love Bud’s intensity and his passion. That’s one reason why I was drawn to root for Virginia Tech. Sure, he looks like a maniac on the sideline, a second from tossing his headset into the stand, but he loves his job. If he didn’t he wouldn’t have given a toss about what the media said, what the fan said, and so forth. It burns his ass that his defense didn’t prevent the outcome, but he is right about one thing – they need both sides of the ball to play at a high level. That meant the offense, that was the most underhanded comment he has made about the offense, and that is the kind of thing that makes a fan wonder if there’s some debate going on behind closed door.
I absolutely agree that Tyler and Taylor are performing at a high level. Tyler is bringing the same skill that Grimm once brought. I really think that Tweedy is needed more than ever with his experience and speed.
Well, Bud calls it like he sees it. I absolutely agree though that Exum played his “coconuts” off. He’s totally at a new position, learning on the fly, and he struggles at times which is to be expected. I have no desire to place a load of blame on him for a less than spectacular performance. This “D” would be a lot better if they weren’t on the field again 45 seconds after they just got off the field. For 25 minutes of football they watched the “O” go three and out over and over. Then basically scored the TD so we could be up at halftime. Then additionally had to wait another 20 minutes of football before our “O” started clicking. If not physically you would think that mentally they would be exhausted at that point. After re-watching the game, and seeing offensive lineman run into each other, tackling Logan on some of his running plays, receivers being picked by their own players, and passes going in and out of breadbaskets like a bakers dozen, it is absolutely no surprise that the “D” has folded late. The “O” looks like a Cluster … um bomb a “Clusterbomb” yeah that is the word…showed up and had babies. I was actually laughing despite knowing the outcome. I love our team, I love those young men out there fighting and giving great effort. I truly appreciate the sacrifices they make for us as alumni and fans to try and make us proud. I am proud of them, but its hard to put the math together, horrendous offense for basically a decade,(Andy I know we had a “record breaking offense last year” but we had a team with 4 nfl wide receivers–2007 or 2008 I think and were in the bottom 15% in passing offense– Eddie Royal, Josh Morgan, David Clowney and Justin Harper–ok so Harper was a practice squad mainstay for the Ravens for 4 yrs but close enough.) and we still get fed the same story. Last year was an example of the talent winning in spite of the coaching, Logan does great this year in late game situations because he can just play, the coaching is out the window, it took Tyrod 2 years to learn to just take it on himself and make plays. I truly don’t mind losing the games we should lose, to teams we should lose to, the USC’s, the BAMA’s, even the Florida State’s when we should, its the plethora of other losses that eat at me. I hear Bud and his boys taking the blame, but Frank and Stiney don’t dump the bedpan on my head and tell me its raining.
God has spoken!! Let it be said, let it be written.
“You know Bud is simmering having never had a offense since probably Ricky Bustle days that could take pressure off his Defense!”
That’s pretty funny. During the Ricky Bustle days just as many people complained about his offense as complain about Stinespring these days. I think both are good coaches.
It is not the talent level. It is not the O Line. It is the offensive scheme…we don’t have one. Recruiting will be harder and keeping Bud Foster will be harder if we don’t get it fixed. I graduated in the same class as Frank and hoped to see that space in the trophy case filled one day. It is broke Frank….it is broke. Why won’t you fix it. There are a lot of smooth offenses out there so we all know it can be done. How can any parent send their HS offensive star to VT especially if he is a lineman that year after year unjustifiably takes all of the heat. You and I are running out of time Frank. Why can’t you get it done?
Bud will get the defense fixed period. But the offense will never change until the coaching problem is changed. I remember it took Bobby Bowden loosing his job because he would not fire his son as offensieve cordinator. I think Beamer is a good head coach he just will not do what I am sure he knows needs to be done, he is too nice of a guy to fire someone. Tell me an assistant coach he has fired? as long as he has been at Tech, NONE. This is big time college football and you have to make hard decisions. My son is a Sgt. Major in the Marine Corps and if he sent men out to fight without knowing that every leader was the best that could be put on the field of battle he could not live with himself. I know football is not as important as combat battle but if you are going to do it then put the best coaches you can get to train and come up with the best battle plan. Tech’s offense has been terrible for years, we have in the past just had better talent than others in the Big East, and ACC.
Tired or not, what defensive back does not know that in that situation the RULE is, “don’t get beat deep” ! ! If necessary Fuller should have got an endzone cheap seat ticket from where he could have played center fielder. Where was the prevent defense everyone criticized in Boston a few years ago.
“Stinesprung” will never be replaced. Hokie fans must learn to live with it. Deal with it ! ! !
The talk show on Monday night was more of the same stuff that has been said for years, and it is getting really old. Excuses after excuses of ” just missed it by a little bit ” or ” a little more on this play and it would have been different “.
Beamer and his talk are both really boring with the same excuses.
At this point in time Virginia Tech football is nothing to get excited about. Virginia Tech football now is stale, boring, without imagination, and losing ground fast from where it has been. This will continue and get worse.
Let’s go Hokies !!!
Obviously, Tech would have won without the defense giving up the late TD, but without the defense’s superb effort in the first 25 minutes of the game Tech could have been blown off the field. Cinci led every stat at half time and could only manage 6 points against Foster’s guys. All those three and outs by the offense in the first half had to have gassed the defense for the second half, and with the lack of depth Tech has in the secondary it showed up late in the game. No matter how well conditioned and athletic a defense is, the offense has got to give them a break by sustaining a drive or two and that didn’t happen.
Time for Foster to go bye bye. At least the media is finally trying to stick it to him.
I definitely believe the problems start and end with FB and the offense, however I am worried about Foster in one respect. He’s starting to sound like FB. “We played great except for four or five plays”. That saying is tattooed on Beamer’s forehead.
Love me some Bud Foster. How refreshing to hear this instead of Beamer coach speak.
This ones on Logan. To many high throws, and missing open receivers, or not seeing Davis running wide open for an easy td. Shake it up, let Logan go out for a pass frome leal, and let some db tackle him with a head of steam. This would also be a great fake, by passing to the opposite side. Go Hokies! The short coach.
If by “sticking it to him” you mean “quoting him accurately,” then yes.
Amen Bud. It is the Offense not the Defense. Someone make a Facebook page named lets get rid of Spiney! Great job as usual Andy. Hey Andy I bet you never had this much passion about getting rid of an OC in Auburn.
I wouldn’t say that.
http://blog.al.com/tigerscorner/2008/10/tony_franklin_fired_the_full_r.html
You know what, I think it is going to be the worst year that VT football has had in a decade. If it forces real change on offense, then maybe this season will be a blessing in disguise. Frank’s loyalty is so commendable in a way. I think the AD is going to have to force a change.
One of you talked about how the fans wanted Bustle gone. I was of them. I never dreamed that Frank would have someone worse waiting in line. Surprise!!!! The AD needs to force Stiney out as OC. Then he needs to mandate that the OC be recruited from outside. I do not see ANYONE inside capable of anything more than what Stiney has done.
I think Pat Hill would be a phenomenal match in intensity for Bud Foster. I watched a few Fresno state games, and I was impressed. He is the OL coach for the Atlanta Falcons right now. If it were me in control, THAT is the type of coach I would go after for OC.
Ralph Friedgen is another possibility, but he and Frank are such good buddies that he would be stuck in even worse than Stiney if he did not work out.
How I wish for Pat Hill at OC. Something tells me with him on the offense and Foster on defense, that this team would be white hot.
TWO top 10 teams defenses had miserable performances Saturday- Georgia (51-44 over Tennessee) and WVU (70-63 over Baylor) but both teams WON and nobody is talking about their defenses today.
The difference? The OFFENSES put up 70 and 51 points, respectively.
And do not forget, that it was Foster’s DEFENSE that virtually gave VT its first TD by intercepting at the Cinncy 12 and gave VT a halftime lead they never deserved.
My only qualms on the VT defense is tackling and players not turning around to see the ball in coverage.
i love it when bud goes off. i’m sure he had more than just a few choice words during monday’s staff meeting. can you picture beamer, stiney and the rest of them with their arms folded, heads bowed, and all slack jawed. bud is the face of vt football. so, bite em bulldog!
OK I was wrong. But Franklin had to go as well. Hey look how much better Auburn got once he was replaced. Now I wish I hadn’t read that article. It makes me realize how many years we have wasted with Spiney. Lets face it we are not in the SEC. We are in the ACC and the ACC is about the 5th best conference in football in my opinion. Yea we won 3 titles but we couldn’t win one in the SEC. I hope Florida State runs the table and plays Bama in the National Championship. Bama wins that game by 24 points. We should have went after Hugh Freeze 2 years ago. He is going to be a great coach. We need a Hugh Freeze running our offense. Wow Bud on D and a Hugh like coach on offense. It gives me chills just thinking about how great we could be.
Bob H, that is a point I just made in a discussion. All around the country, defenses allowed 30+ points. If we had any real offense, then the defense could grow without so much of a load on them. It is a team and takes both units. The fact is that these 10 win seasons have all been ACC seasons. The fact is that the ACC struggle very often when out of conference. Had VT remained in the Big East, we would not have as many 10 win seasons, nor as many conference championships. We all like to joke about the Big Least, but those are some scrappy programs.
Well, Auburn got better after making a head coaching job at the end of that year, in part because the offense, with no coordinator on the staff, was a total train wreck.
And yes, the Tigers won a national championship, but now they’re bad again and people are already starting to call out Chizik. It’s an endless cycle. And just because you hire somebody new doesn’t mean it’s going to be a success.
Tony Franklin was fired my third week on the job down there, by the way.
http://firebryanstinespring.blogspot.com/ Has been going on for a while, Andy so since everyone asks to compare, is it SEC worthy?
j/k Anyway one last note on the D, I can at least point to the past decade and find multiple #1 in the country rankings…. and even more top 10′s/12′s. So if my appetite to hang Bud is non existent, past performance is the reason. Also Kyle Fuller took the blame for making a huge mistake late game, he admitted it and let’s be honest if you have watched Kyle Fuller over the past couple of years and do not know he’s a great heady player, then you aren’t watching any of the games I have. He blew it, he owned it. I can deal with that.
Andy, it is true that a hire doesn’t mean success. However, the Hokies are stagnant or in reverse. You have covered them only a short time. Whether you can say it or not, I know you have already seen exactly why many of the fans are howling for Stiney’s removal or reassignment. Yes, I said it about Bustle, but how much worse could we really get on offense?? Stiney is the worst coach out there by far, but he isn’t up to par with the top OCs on the nation. If VT wants to be a top tier program, it needs a top tier Offense to go along with the top tier defense. We don’t win most of our bowl games because top tier offenses can score against top tier defenses. So the defense cannot carry the team in those games. What gets me is that when we played USC, Bama, Boise – Defense nearly did carry the team. If we had had a little bit more offense to go with it, every single one of those games are wins for us.
OK Tech fans, everyone needs to calm down. I’ve been a Hokie fan for over 40 years. Coach Beamer has brought great success to the program since he’s been here. Problem is, we’ve gotten our expectations so high that we act like Alabama or LSU fans, expecting a national championship. I don’t think that’s realistic. I don’t think its realistic for ANY ACC team (with the slim possibility of Florida State who would not beat the likes of Alabama) to expect to win a National title. All the “experts” rate at least four conferences ahead of the ACC and this year five, with the Big East teams handing the ACC several loses (SEC,PAC10,BIG 12, BIG 10, BIG EAST). Remember, high school recruits hear and read these comments on public sites where all the fans do is gripe and complain about the coaches, players, etc. Many think, why would I want to go there? If you have legitimate complaints, write directly to the coaches and the school athletic directors, I guarantee it will do more good than griping and whining in public.
If you don’t like Coach Beamer’s coach speak on the weekly radio show, DON’T LISTEN!! If you know what he’s going to say then why waste the time? I haven’t listened to it in years and feel no less informed. Some coaches are good communicators on the radio and some aren’t. That’s not the coaches primary function. Most of the coaches who are good on the air are now analyst on TV and Radio. That means the majority got fired somewhere for losing football games.
I’m excited about this team. Win or lose they play with class. Many positives here:
- Growth of young secondary players; players learn from mistakes!
- Us against the world mentality builds a strong TEAM.
- We Hokies have been riding a success wave near the crest for years building good teams with fewer 5 star players. Darn good coaching!
- Now we have to play as underdogs. This should force our offensive staff to turn players loose to have fun. Get unpredictable! Give defensive coordinators headaches!
- Let Logan play tight end the first (or second) half of games to dissipate his anger on defensive secondaries. We need “mean” receivers who know the routes and will go get the ball. (Leal is good and Logan was recruited as #2 TE in the country). You won’t hurt his NFL chances considering his performance to date.
- Fans, value the Class that Beamer, his staff and his teams show the world. Hang in there. There are some top notch players on this team who are ready to get “turned loose”. Lets enjoy the process.
- You have world class performance from 2 linebackers (Jack & Bruce). Appreciate it! Upcoming QBs are not looking forward to them.
GO HOKIES!
SeniorHokieJock 10/2/12 10 am
EXCUSES EXCUSES!!!! It never ends when Tech looses. You can’t blame the offense when other teams score. There not on the field the “offensive” defense is. Tech is a mediocre team who will be lucky not to loose 4-5 games this year. Beamer is going to run out of lines to use in interviews. Mike Burnop needs to ask pressing questions instead of trying to console Frankie on another loss.
Fosters a good defensive coach, and that’s about it. Says “you know” more times in an nterview than Mike Vick….and that’s saying something. He’s not head coach material. He would be a disaster with any colleges alumnae and admnistration. If he’s irritable now wait till his defense gets scorched two or three more times this year. Exum sucked Saturday; played his ass off? Looks like he had it handed to him to me. And he should have gotten another face mask/pass interference penalty on the sideline play that even the TV announcers said he lucked out on. One of the worst games I’ve ever seen a college player have. And a boring lethargic performance by what has become a complacent program. Oregon would beat them by 75.
Bob N,
So you want and accept mediocrity? You are content to be big fish in little pond? You think that wanting a NC is unrealistic? What the hell do you follow games for? You obviously are not a passionate football fan. With your attitude, America would be a bunch of colonies of the British empire. After all, Britain, France, and Spain were way ahead of us in world power at that time. If there are recruits that are intimidated by a bunch of fans wanting the best, then they are wimps and are welcome to go elsewhere. We want players that read this desire and passion by fans and go…”Yeah, I can do that!!…I am up to that….I TAKE that challenge.” What drivel!
@Bob N –
“…Problem is, we’ve gotten our expectations so high that we act like Alabama or LSU fans, expecting a national championship…”
Absolutely wrong. Absolutely not. You are the only one on this blog page that mentioned a national championship for VT. Read the other posts before you make assumptions. Nobody else here is saying anything about VT winning, or even having a chance at, a national title.
Everyone else here just wants VT to have a respectable offense. VT’s offense is headed backwards. The players on VT’s offense deserve better.
John @ 7:34am. Beamer HAS fired assistant coaches before. Friends of his, even. But, it wasn’t really his choice. The AD at that time was Dave Braine, and he pressured Beamer to make changes.
http://www.mytimesdispatch.com/index.php/sports/comments/reflecting_on_frank_beamers_staff_changes_in_1992_–_and_how_his_progr/14764/
Something needs to be done about the run blocking scheme. The pass protection isn’t so bad, but the O-line seems to block defenders into our runners.
Limited expectations yield only limited results. Plain and simple.
What bothers me the most is, except for Foster, the complete absence of emotion on the sidelines and in the huddles by players and all other coaches. All you had to do was look at the Cincy coach and there was no doubt on his face as to his expectations for Sat. Beamer on the other hand continues with that wtf look of puzzlement.
Do you think Mike Burnop is going to ask any pressing questions to Bud Foster? Not if he wants to keep his head connected to his shoulders. Foster is a maniac and need to go back to school and learn how to communicate in the 21st century.
The defense gave up 495 yards to Cincy and 537 yards to Pitt.
What’s the Ds excuse for taking such a dip in productivity from 2011, especially with so many returning starters? The O at least has a bunch of reasonable excuses (new O-line, new RBs, new WRs).
“What’s the Ds excuse for taking such a dip in productivity from 2011, especially with so many returning starters?”
The D is underperforming, that’s true.
But it’s also not helping that the VT offense can’t keep the ball and stay on the field, which is killing VT’s time of possession.
Hokiechick— Time of Possesion. When the offense doesn’t produce first downs, you defense spends the majority of the time on the field. Which leads to fatigue (mentally and physically)and if the offense is not producing first downs its also probably not producing points. So now the opposing offense has the ability to run their whole playbook, with no fear of failure because its not like the other team is going to score. Now the defense is put in the position to play run, pass, or even trick plays. When your offense actually is productive you can be much more aggressive on defense etc etc etc. Don’t misunderstand we just got manhandled at Pitt on both sides of the ball, but realistically our D is going to underperform as long as they do not get any help.
Barry,
Foster communicates just fine. He is a football coach. Football is a game of aggression. You want aggressive men coaching it.
Hokiehick,
Pay attention to Hokie24.
Seems to me the defensive players need to be put on offense too since they are the only ones that can do anything with the ball. The offensive coordinator should have been gone years ago as should Jim Weaver. I like Beamer but he really needs to make some changes to the offense. The defense is the only thing holding the Hokies in the games.
Oline is not blocking into runners.The runners are not reading the blocks and hitting the seams. As for defense being on the field, the time of possesion was about a minute difference in the bearcat game.
David in Salem and Hokei24-
TOP in the Cincy game was:
Tech 29:50
Cincy: 30:10
Seems pretty even to me.
Tech also put up 400+ yrds of offense.
So, to repost: The defense gave up 495 yards to Cincy.
What’s the Ds excuse for taking such a dip in productivity from 2011, especially with so many returning starters? The O at least has a bunch of reasonable excuses (new O-line, new RBs, new WRs).
David—you are correct, you do want aggressive men coaching football but Dud Bud can do a better job of communicating. Too crass and too many “you know, you know, you know, you know…”
If VT plays a top notch game against UNC on Saturday it will greatly diffuse the mess that is going on now but if they are back to the same old bad offense and mistake prone defense, something will come to a head with this team. The Hokie Nation is just too restless, we are in a microwave world. The fans want it all now.
John,
The defense was on the field most of the 1st half. By virtue of the defense the score at halftime was 7 – 6. Defense set up the lone VT score. Defense held Cinci to two field goals on the half. Munchie was munched all half. In the 2nd half, their offense adjusted some. Our defense was already tired. Conditioning goes only so far. We had already greatly discharged the defensive ‘battery’ if you will. Finally offense started to do some work in the 2nd half. So we were evenly matched with a 70% effort from our team to a 100% effort for ours.
Now if our offense picks up where it left of in Cinci, we may be able to win games. With defense being fresh, with the offense being able to sustain drives, we ought to stay sharp on defense through the entire game. If it is another slow start offensively, we will have another defensive fade later in the game.
Hokiehick, see my reply to John. You just proved my point. Most of that offensive production on VT’s part came in the 2nd half. What was the Cinci defense’s excuse since they did not play much in the 1st half? Think of the defense as a battery. We pulled a heavy load off it in the 1st half. We left it almost depleted. The recharge time was not there for the VT defense. As I said, with defense contributing 45%, offense contributing 25%. Offense left 25% and defense left 5% out on that field. Note too that Exum is very new at position and he was hit for some very costly penalties which Cinci exploited to great effect.
There is no excuse for only two first downs in the first half. The first, 1st down didn’t come until close to 25 minutes into the first half. Also, the one and only score VT got in the first half was a gift given to them by the defense. Great field position in the red zone which the offense had not seen thus far. The secondary on the defense is a concern. Remember, the defense also had to replace Jayron Hosely who left early for the NFL. Depth in that position is a problem this year as well. The point is, the offense needs to be more productive earlier in the games. This would help the defense which happened to play very well most of the game. Unfortunately, defenses can typically make mistakes later in the game because of fatigue. Especially if the defense is expected to carry the team as is the case at Virginia Tech.
hokiehick… VT’s time of possession in the Cincy game was about 5 minutes less than their average time of possession last season. VT led the ACC last season in TOP at over 34 minutes a game. 5 minutes more TOP this past weekend for VT would have meant 5 minutes less for Cincy, which is a 10 minute shift in TOP difference. That’s a big deal.
So, to repost: The offense isn’t keeping the ball and moving the chains enough to give VT’s defense a rest off of the field.
We are 105th in TOP, in the Country out of 124. Plus if you actually watched or paid any attention to the Cincy game you would understand that 7 straight 3 and outs is not benificial for the Defense in anyway. I doubt the TOP in that game was very good in the first half, ok forget it I will just look it up… nope 17:22 to 12:38…. not even close (unless of course it was 7 straight touchdowns… insert dream here). None of these stats even factor in what happens for a defense when you actually have a lead, they then get to face an offense thats starts to become one dimensional. Again we got manhandled at Pitt no excuses there but don’t let the one really sustained drive agianst Cincy in the third that led to a FG skew what happened for the first 40 minutes of that football game. Yes our offense showed some life, finally, but you aren’t a good football team if it takes your offense 3 quarters to warm up.
hey, I don’t see how anybody who has watched the Hokies this year can think poorly of the defence. VT’s BIG problem is their puny offense. Period.
Where did Stiney come from? From nowhere. He might be a great guy, a loyal supporter of FB over the years, but for goodness’ sake, he can’t game-plan worth a darn. Period. And, don’t get me started on the O line….and I don’t mean the effort and heart displayed by the players. Nope, I’m back to the coaching, again. The line rarely appears to be in an effective blocking scheme. Period. ….which takes us right back to the O coordinator. Period.
The secondary may be a concern, but out of passing offense, rushing offense, passing defense, and rush defense… passing defense in the one that VT ranks the highest in (29th.) In the other three categories, VT is in the 75-ish range.
I know two things for sure. #1 this season fans are ready for blood or I should say coaching changes. #2 down here in Charlotte people are happy my Hokies are losing. Maybe I shouldn’t have moved down here.
Hopefully, the things pointed out here explain Bud Foster’s irritability when grilled about poor defense. He is irritable because he wants to and can’t say a thing about the offense.
Sorry, just too many armchair coaches, who have been utterly spoiled by the last decade of winning seasons. I’m tired of hearing our players run down by a bunch of “fans” who wouldn’t know a jockstrap from a thong. Yeah I know that CFB may be behind the curve, and some coaches may have stayed to long, but try to enjoy college football … where every Saturday, HALF the teams lose. Even the “name teams” have down seasons.
JB, You are full of it. Spoiled? So when the Alabama fans complain in a down year, they are spoiled. When USC has a down year they are spoiled. This issue being discussed is NOT a down year thing. There are consistent issues involving our offensive line not getting any push. That has been a consistent nagging issue for years. Yes we get push occasionally, but when is the last time we have faced a good team and simply dominated? Let me think when the last really scrappy mean offensive line was playing for VT…. Was it 1999? Could it be that the offensive coordinator was….Not Stiney??? Seriously, I thought Bustle was bad. He wasn’t very innovative. Still, it seems he had a different type of OL. Like I stated earlier, we would not have done as well in the Big East as we have in the ACC. West Virginia, Pitt, BC before they joined us, Louisville, Cinci, even Rut(s)gers have been very very tough in the past few years. I wanted to deny this very thing myself. I have to be honest. I don’t see it. I can assure you, I can tell a jockstrap from a thong. I played the game. I have cheered and created noise for my team until I was hoarse many times. As I said, these players are adults, they are physically imposing. I sincerely doubt any of them will look at my posts and quit or give up. If they do, they are soft minded fools, and will find themselves replaced on the field. If I were a player and saw what has been posted here, I would take it on. I would prove to the idiot posters that they were wrong. If I were coach Stinespring, I would look at myself to see if the criticism is justified. If so, I would be forced to fix the issue. If not, I would meet the criticism head on. If I am Frank Beamer, at the end of the Cinci game, I don’t give my boilerplate loss speech. I say, we are getting off to slow starts on offense, we have to get that fixed. Regardless of what anyone things, College Football is a business. The fans are the customers. For the school to rake in the money with the football program, that program has to be successful. This one has been…..to a point. The fans want us to take the next step where we can consistently hang with the Alabamas, the LSUs, the USCs. I don’t mean to say we are going to beat these teams every time. I mean to say we play them and play them hard. If we lose, it is by less than 10 points and not a score so lopsided that it is obvious we do not belong on the field with them. Great teams do not lose to Pittsburgh in the manner in which we did. Great teams do not lose to Boise St and JMU like we did. If this were simply an off year, then fine. However it is not. The issues are consistent year to year. My love for this program is why I fuss and moan so. If I did not care, I wouldn’t fuss. If I were a fair weather fan, I would be cheering Alabama right now. I cheer VT. I cheered for them against Pitt, against Cinci. I will cheer for them every game. It really ticks me off, JB, for you to stick your head in here and accuse me of being spoiled, of running down the players, of knowing nothing. If you had a Porsche 911 and a stock Ford Pinto outran it, would you assert that there was an issue? Or maybe you don’t know a screwdriver from a torque wrench. I don’t have to be a football coach to see issues – especially issues that have been right there in front of my eyes for years. When we consistently have our line pushed into the QB’s face, when we consistently have problems gaining a yard in two downs, when we consistently have issues in the red zone and have to settle for field goals, there is an issue. When it takes us until the 2nd quarter to do anything against Austin Peay, there is an issue.
Bud Foster’s defense is having some issue, but he is working on it with all his might. I SEE progress week to week. I have seen fits and starts and no consistency on offense at all this year. We HAVE won a lot over the last decade – IN SPITE OF THE OFFENSIVE ISSUES. If we had an OC as good at his job as Bud Foster is at his, we would BE at the level where whe could hang out with the Alabamas, USCs, and LSUs without being embarassed on the field. We would win some, they would win some. The goal of playing this game is winning it all. Only when that has been blown out of the water to you set your sights lower. Our goal now has to be an ACC championship. To that end, our play has to improve.
So, JB, get off your high horse!
The fans aren’t running down the players. You need to go back and read the posts. Not the players…….
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We get it, dude. I’ve requested they change it. It’s on their schedule. Give it a rest.
Andy, i think you already made the mistake of telling us that such modifications would be shelved until the ‘reboot in January.
If I could offer a suggestion, it would be nice to have an edit function on our posts.
Andy, will you be doing chat tomorrow on the UNC game?
Andy, do you think the biggest reason for the deflated performance of Bud’s defensive unit is due to injuries, or to overhyped expectations?
I’ve not taken the time to research yet, but it certainly seems to me that sometime in August, Bud was the one who made the pronouncement about this defense being one of his best ever. Now he’s talking about it ‘only’ having a chance to be good? As everyone knows, I don’t drink the koolaid, but I could swear that he said the other, and you noted it on your blog…
Did the Hokie offense struggle much of the game – yes
Was Thomas inaccurate with many passes – yes
Was the offensive scheme too predictable -yes
However, the bottom line is that the offense produced 400 yards of offense, 24 points, and time of possession for the game was equal.
That should be more than enough for the Hokie defense – who were given two 4th quarter four point leads and immediately gave up subsequent touchdown drives of 75 yards and 85 yards (not short fields).
Defense gave up 495 yards – including 392 passing yards to Legaux who almost certainly will not have more passing yards in a game the entire season (and that includes FCS defenses Cincinnati will face).
Anyone, not a Hokie fan, who looked at the stats of the game and play-by-play with a totally unbiased point of view could only come to one conclusion: the offense was average at best, but came through in the 4th quarter when needed — the defense stunk (led by Exum) and now has given up three long 4th quarter drives to essentially blow a game (one against Georgia Tech and two against Cincinnati – even though the offense actually bailed them out with the first two and couldn’t on the third because only 10 seconds were left).
I completely agree with Homer. Well said.
#$@%&*&%#$$#@ and @#%$&%%$##!!!
GO HOKIES!!
Very classy Blue John.
so many plays ran on offense that have no chance of going anywhere.. we throw more 1 yard outs to a fullbacks where if we execute we get 2 yards at the most, but its very risky.. the constant toss sweeps to the short side of the field that are hopeless. it seems our schemes are from days of tape decks.
regarding Bud. Our defense seems to play well on first and second down.. but we fall apart on 3rd and longs and key plays,, which points more to Bud constantly getting out schemed as opposed to our kids not executing. cinci lit us up on every 3rd and 14-19. today we get burnt on 4th in inches for a 62 yarder. The cincy kid set his career high against us, Pitt looked like green bay against us.. this against a team returning 10 starters on defense.