After taking Miami loss hard, Hokies QB Logan Thomas focusing on turning page, facing Florida State
Logan Thomas took the Miami loss hard. Harder than usual.
The quarterback was dejected, coaches said, his head down in a towel following a 30-12 loss to Miami on Thursday, a game in which he ran for a career-high 124 yards and threw for 199 but also had three crucial turnovers and several off-target passes in big spots.
“It hurt him deeply,” quarterbacks coach Mike O’Cain said. “Logan is a tremendous competitor. You guys don’t see that side of him. Takes tremendous pride in how he plays. Wants to be good very, very badly. … I think he might have felt like he was the reason we didn’t win that ballgame.”
It’s the reason the normally media-friendly quarterback chose not to attend post-game interviews, despite being requested, a first for the junior. Honestly, he didn’t know what he would have said.
“I didn’t really have anything to say to you guys,” Thomas said. “You all were going to ask the same questions y’all ask every single game after a loss. It was going to be the same answers. I think you could have just said, ‘Logan Thomas said …’ and it would have been the same as every other game.”
“I guess I just took this game a little harder than the rest.”
Perhaps because it was such a significant game. Miami became the clear frontrunner for the ACC’s Coastal Division title with the win, moving to the front of a crowded field in the Coastal Division, a game and a half ahead of Virginia Tech in the standings (although whether the ‘Canes self-impose a bowl ban and take themselves out of the running for the division title remains to be seen).
Thomas knows he didn’t play his best. A few plays proved critical. He threw a pick on the opening drive at the Miami 11 on a pass intended for fullback Joey Phillips up the sideline.
“I didn’t even see the guy,” Thomas said. “He was stacked behind another one and he popped up when I moved to throw.”
A fumble proved costly on a third-and-goal from the Miami 1-yard line when Tech trailed 20-12 in the third quarter. Instead of getting some kind of points, the Hokies gave the ball away.
“There was a little bit of flinch by the center [Caleb Farris], and it’s one of those areas of the game that we all take for granted,” offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring said. “Logan felt the flinch and started to back up a little bit to get the play started. It’s a fine line.”
With it still an eight-point game in the fourth quarter and Tech facing a fourth-and-one from the Miami 39. The Hokies had a solid play-call, play-action faking it to the running back and having Phillips wide open coming out of the backfield. Thomas overshot him by several feet, a crushing incompletion that took the wind out of the Hokies’ sails. They were never close after that.
“Sometimes when you get a guy so wide open, you have a tendency to kind of, I use the term, ‘feather’ it out there,” O’Cain said. “You just want to touch it. The one thing you don’t want to do is miss him. And then you do. I’ve seen it over and over and over. … You don’t throw it naturally. You don’t just throw it as the same motion.”
“I let some guys on the team down,” Thomas said. “I want to play great every time I go out. It just happened that — I wouldn’t say I played poorly — but I didn’t play to the best of my abilities.”
Thomas normally lets plays or losses roll off his shoulders. Coaches have noted that he’s been good about not dwelling on mistakes throughout his career. But this game was different, probably because of what was at stake.
“I went up to him after the ballgame and I always, win, lose or draw, go see him and pat him on the back, hug him around the neck, whatever you do,” O’Cain said. “And he wasn’t in a mood to be talked to. Not that I talked to him, that’s not the right word. But I just let him go.”
“We expected to win,” Stinespring said. “We didn’t. It crushed us all.”
Now the challenge is bouncing back against a Florida State team that’s ranked No. 1 in the ACC in every major statistical category on defense.
Thomas has still done plenty of good this year. He’s thrown for 2,109 yards and 13 touchdowns, adding 422 yards and six touchdowns on the ground. Nobody on offense has made as big of an impact as him. But he hasn’t quite been as sharp as last year, completing 53.3 percent of his passes, down from 59.8 last year. His 12 interceptions were tied for the third-most nationally entering Saturday.
O’Cain is mildly concerned about the interceptions, but not as much as he thinks he could be.
“The thing that worries me more was if he was forcing the ball,” he said. “If that was the reason he was throwing interceptions, I would be overly-concerned. … But I don’t think he’s had an interception this year where he’s forced the ball. It’s been a high ball, it’s been a low ball or whatever it may be. … So I’m concerned, but not overly-concerned.
“It’s just a matter of going out there and playing and just throwing the ball like it’s practice. I know it’s more pressure on you, more heat on you and all that, but try to throw it like it’s practice.”
Thomas is simply trying to move forward. Teammates have told him they have his back, even in tough times. That’s what he considers important.
“You can’t do anything about the past,” Thomas said. “You can only focus on the future. People can say what they want, but they’re not inside the program. That’s OK with us. Coach O’Cain and coach Stiney, they always say we’re the three most talked about people around town. That’s fine. It’s cool with me. People can say what they want. But I’m not going to listen to it. [O’Cain and Stinespring] aren’t going to listen to it. Everything is within this program.”
Teammates think he’ll bounce back.
“I think if you look at, for instance, Michael Jordan’s career, and everybody talks about the big plays he made, but they never bring up the ones he didn’t make,” said tight end Zack McCray, who is Thomas’ cousin. “Sometimes you don’t make that big play or sometimes it just doesn’t work out the way you want it to. But I just feel when you fall down, it just makes for a better comeback. I just think it’s a lesson to learn at the end of the day.”
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Here are a few more notes and quotes from Saturday night’s offensive interviews …
- That last quote is correct. McCray is a tight end now. The redshirt sophomore from Brookville, the same high school as Thomas, made the switch today. The move has been discussed before. McCray, who has been buried on the depth chart at defensive line — a little too small to be a true tackle, a little too slow to be a true end — initiated it. “I think this move is going to be great,” he said. “It has me motivated to go out there and be better at something. I’m really, really passionate about this to go out here and just work and make the team better in some way.”
- Stinespring noted that Tech is losing three senior tight ends after this year — Eric Martin, Randall Dunn and George George. The move gives the Hokies some depth at the position, with Ryan Malleck, Darius Redman, Dakota Jackson and Duan Perez-Means, another converted defensive lineman, playing there. “We like being able to play two [tight ends] if we can, and with us losing three, again, knowing Zack in high school and recruiting Zack, I think he brings something to the table for us,” Stinespring said. “We felt like in the spring we would do it. So right now, why not get a jump start on it?”
- McCray said he’s actually played tight end longer than he has defensive line, going back to his middle school days. In fact, he was recruited as both by most schools. Tech was actually one of the only ones who recruited him on defense only. A large reason McCray chose that route was because Thomas, who was a year ahead of McCray in school, was also recruited as a tight end coming out of high school. After Thomas graduated, McCray, who was the No. 5 recruit in the state in 2010, continued to excel on defense, but also did more on offense as a senior, playing tight end, receiver and even some H-back. He caught 44 passes and had two touchdowns as a senior but was used mostly as a blocker. He described himself as a balanced tight end in that sense.
- The biggest challenge McCray thinks he’ll have is learning the playbook. He’s realistic about not being able to digest it in the final three weeks of the season. “If the next three weeks works out, it’s good,” he said. “And if it doesn’t, my feelings aren’t going to be hurt by it.” Physically, he thinks the transition should be no problem. At 6-foot-5, 256 pounds, he was always on the lighter side for a defensive lineman, continually trying to keep on weight. On offense, he’s about the same size as Martin, one of Tech’s bulkier tight ends. “I think defensive end, I think that’s going to help the physicality of stuff,” McCray said.
- Thomas had a career-high 22 carries against Miami, one more than he had against Clemson. He also took some shots, getting up slowly after one run near the goal line. “That’s why we lift,” he said. “That’s why we condition as much as we do. So I feel fine physically. Obviously, you have your bumps and bruises that you need to heal up, but I feel good.”
- Coaches have mentioned failed execution as being the biggest reason for the offense’s — and really the team’s — struggles this season. But they’re having a tough time putting their finger on why that’s the case. “You can’t,” O’Cain said. “If you did, you’d get it corrected right now and it’d be over. Sometimes the ball bounces right and sometimes it doesn’t. And if you start saying, well it’s this or this or this or this, then it sounds like you’re making excuses.”
- Stinespring pointed out some possible reasons, though. “There’s time when you’ve had to revamp your line a little bit,” he said. “We haven’t communicated some things as well as we did earlier in the year. Some of it has to do with perhaps a little bit of youth at times. … There’s a lot of little things that add up that have prevented us from having consistency and the success that we believe we should be having. We’ve been productive. It just hasn’t been consistent.”
- That’s not the best thing to have happening with Florida State coming to town Thursday. As mentioned before, the Seminoles lead the ACC in every major statistical category on defense — rushing (72.9 ypg, 3rd nationally), passing (154.2 ypg, 6th nationally), total (227.1 ypg, 2nd nationally) and scoring (12.0 ppg, 3rd nationally). “[They have] very few weaknesses,” Stinespring said. “I haven’t found any.”
- How do the Hokies go about attacking the kind of defense that’s solid across the board? “You really have to focus yourself on what you’re doing and how well you’re doing it,” Stinespring said. “If we have a lack of execution and you’re having those problems, then you’re really putting yourself behind the 8 ball. We’ve just got to really make sure, whatever is in the game plan, we’re going to be as precise in what we’re doing and as coordinated in our attack as we can possibly be. You need to play as close to perfect as you can possibly play to give yourself a chance for success.”
November 3, 2012 - 9:50 PM
Revamp your line a little bit? A little bit? Stinespring is brilliant.
Since this team has no identity how about taking their names off of the back of the jerseys? Has proved motivational before.
face it ….these Hokies are as average or below average as they come after UVA’s loss today ….these Hokies may finish 4-8 ….. a bitter pill to swallow….perhaps…but its about time these athletes and more importantly their coaches understand they are not 2 or 3 plays away this season….. accept your losses and move on. Beamer needs to make changes in his offensive coaches…… but with his loyalty on the line nothing will change…… and what do they get as a reward Alabama to open 2013 ! remember LSU a few years ago……. may be a repeat 50-7 …. oh well. Recruiting needs to be better … the UNC, Miami, FSU Clemson and some others are out recruiting Virginia Tech…. there needs to be changes …… a long hard look in the mirro
Unfortunately, I don’t think they have a clue.
So, Stinespring is already pointing to ‘lack of execution’ as the primary reason for losing to F$U, in a game that’s not even been played yet? Sounds like Frank Beamer has really gotten Stinespring drilled in on the excuse mantra.
It’s just always the same old stuff from Stinespring. He’s been doing this a decade and he still doesn’t understand his job. Good thing he’s only paid $300K-plus annually to underperform so badly.
As for Thomas’ excuse for not facing the media like a team leader SHOULD do, I’ve got to say – very weak. You want to be the QB for a BCS team? You take the leadership role. Part of that role is dealing with the media in good times and in bad. Thomas didn’t seem to mind answering the ‘same questions y’all ask…’ during the preseason and after victories. He needs to man up and take a little vinegar, instead of just waiting for more sugar.
Please spare me the – ‘He’s only a kid, we were all young once’ blather. He’s the uniformed face of a BCS football program. The QB, the leader of the team, supposedly. With all those benefits he receives, sometimes in life, little kiddies, you have to do some things that aren’t always fun. Sometimes you have to eat your vegetables before you get dessert. I thought it said quite a bit about Thomas that he couldn’t accept the less fun responsibilities of being a team leader, after having enjoyed the positives up to now without complaint.
Come on, Logan. You’re better than that, at least I thought so. Don’t be like Frank & Stinespring. Own a bad game. You guys come out & beat F$U, are you going to avoid the press conference? I didn’t think so. It’s time to man up, Logan. Don’t fail in doing that a second time.
Thank goodness no team in the acc has to play teams like the teams last night!! Bama-LSU It would be murder!!
Ummm, isn’t execution (consistency of it) the responsibility of coaches? Sure, the players make plays, but its the coaches’ jobs to put them in a position to succeed and provide training and reps to make the execution sharp.
Logan is a very fine young man. This game really hurt, and it’s understandable how he felt. He wants to win, is competitive, and will give his all. The entire team is struggling, and who knows how the remainder of the season will go. Logan will continue to work at problems at QB, and I wish him well. GO HOKIES!!
I don’t know what else can be said that hasn’t already. Tech sucks from players to what they term are coaches. If UVA plays them like they played NC State that will be another loss. Excuses are the topic of there losses. No acceptance by coaches or players on how bad they are.
“O’Cain is mildly concerned about the interceptions, but not as much as he thinks he could be.” As he “could be?” Maybe the right word is “should be”. Accuracy has been the number one problem with LT this year. And it reared its head again. Not just pics, but countless missed opportunities. Can they fix the accuracy problem? If not, the offense is going nowhere, and next year will repeat itself.
I am glad the players “try” and play hard and the coaches are right to compliment them where they can. But the coaching staff also needs to frankly state the problem and what needs to be fixed. And they can do that without hurting the players motivation if they do it correctly.
Right now the coaching staff, at least publicly, continues to put up this wall of denial. Not a good approach in my book. Face it you guys. There is an accuracy problem that must be fixed. There is no problem is stating this publicly.
Logan is a young inexperienced QB. He will figure it out.I believe in him.
We have better players than Coaches. Wouldn’t it be a wake-up message if the players were allowed to make excuses for the incompetency of the coaching in the media?
At a minimum Weaver, Beamer and Stinespring have to go. We need coaches who can develop talent and have a mustard seed worth of ingenuity.
???? Scratching my head AGAIN. What are these references to youth they keep talking about as an excuse for the poor offensive play? Other than the RB’s which are young, the O line is mostly seniors with a couple exceptions. The most productive WR’s are seniors and except for Malleck the TE’s are seniors. Thomas is obviously experienced. What the hell is Stiney talking about?
As I have said before, the scary thing is they will be worse next year. If I was Logan I would bail after this year before his stock drops further with a TRULY inexperienced line and WR corp next year. Either way, don’t see them winning another game until the first of their multiple 1AA teams arrive in Lane next year.
If no significant changes aremade to the staff, and I don’t believe there will be, can you imagine what a joke it will be giving Saban all off season to “prepare” for Techs O??
Andy,
Can you find about more of the younger player and let us know.It,s time to think about next year. We have some good running backs coming And how about our o-lineman ?
I’d love to see you and Logan Thomas get together in the same room so YOU could “man up” and tell him this crap to his face.
You’re a big man when you can hide behind a fake name on a website where no one can see you.
My bet is that you’d cry like a baby when you got your butt kicked
Crooked Road – It must be nice to be such a perfect individual!
Any comments out of Blacksburg from coaches or players are a total waste of time at this point. The wagons are circled and everyone has been warned. Everyone is going to tow the company line. Talk to the seniors after the season then maybe we’ll hear something meaningful.
Either you support the Hokies or you don’t. If you don’t fine, quit complaining and pull for WVa or UVa.
I, too, am proud to be a Hokie. Win or lose.
Proud2bahokie
There you go resorting to the thug mentality that is so much a part of the Hokies. LOL Get in a room with Thomas , you are such joke. The way he’s passing if he took a swing he’d probably miss as he has no accuracy. Oh and not every Hokie hater is a UVA or WVU fan. Excuse makers are Hokie fans. On to the Motor City Bowl in beautiful Detroit. LMAO
I have a question for all of the complainers. You say changes need to be made in the coaching staff and then you say you know they won’t happen because Beamer and Weaver are old and too loyal. Okay, why keep talking about it? Bring up something new. Believe me, no one in leadership in Blacksburg is reading this blog. You’re saying the same thing over and over to the same people. It’s a broken record. CR, you used the phrase, “Please spare me”. Hey, PLEASE SPARE US!!! We know how you all feel. Come up with something new.
I don’t understand everyone getting upset about the “coachspeak” coming out of Blacksburg. Coaches all over the country say pretty much the same thing they just use different words and cliches. Another mountain out of a mole hill. CR is upset with Logan Thomas for not standing in the press conference and saying he stunk. So what. I wouldn’t have wanted to talk to anyone either after that game. He doesn’t owe you anything. He is a leader for his teammates and can talk to them.
If you don’t want to support the Hokies, fine, don’t. Quit going to games and sending dues to the Hokie Club. That’s it, that’s all you have to do. Quit boring people with these diatribes about what this person or that person MUST do. It’s getting so old I often wonder why Aaron and Andy even bother with these blogs.
Well let’s see, youth, inexperience, time to learn the system. Oregon has 200 plays, runs 1 play every 12-15 seconds and it has a freshman QB who played one year of high school football. I think that kind of kills the youth and inexperience mantra of Tech’s coaches. After 9 games I don’t think inexperience is an excuse that can be used anymore.
Mike, How about telling us who you do support? Why aren’t you on there blog instead of one involving losers like the Hokies? No life, huh?
I’m with 540Hokie and Proud2BeAHokie the Aristohokiebrats and Aristohokiegeezeers are tiresome. Coachspeak is coachspeak. I believe Kevin Costner gave the final word on sports cliche’s about 20 years ago in Bull Durham.
What remains of this season is about next season. Even the much abused Stinespring sees that. Why can’t YOU?
Now if guys think you can get Cowher or Gruden to replace Frank I might say “why not?”. Since that isn’t goign to happen I say stay with the one who brung ya.
Check the comments by Mike Gundy of OK St. after the loss yesterday. How refreshing as a fan to have coaches who accept responsibility and not say were 3 to 6 plays away from winning http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=323082306
Does anyone think we (Hokies)deserve to go to a bowl game with this record? What a joke! Does anyone think we could beat a top 25 team? I’m not sure the Hoo’s won’t beat us in a couple of weeks. I would love to see some coaching changes in the off season. I have lived on the West Coast for a decade now, and the Hokies couldn’t beat the majority of the PAC-12 teams,not to mention the SEC. Did anyone see the Oregon-USC game last night. Over a hundred points scored and close to 1,500 combined yards. Does anyone think we could play teams like that? I can only dream that VA Tech will hire some coaches in the future that have just “half” the talents of some of the PAC-12 coaches.
540Hokie, Proud2BeAHokie, you are a breath of fresh air from the Aristohokiebrats and Aristohokiegeezers. I found my sense of humor again about the whole situation.
540Hokie,
I live in South Carolina, in Clemson country. Dabo Swinney is the coach. They have had their problems the last few years. This year they have it together. The Clemson coaching staff has been open and humble about their problems and have publicly vowed to fix them. And fix them they have.
There is no powder puff aw shucks guys your tried hard and keep up the good job. They admit they have an issue and vow to fix it. And they do it without derision of their players. It is doable. The powder puff approach by the VT coaching staff and blame shifting is not good for the fans nor the players and sends the wrong message. The message they send is that mediocrity is fine as long as you try hard. Wrong message, plain and simple.
540 you seem to make the most sense on here and understand that this team is not the caliber of teams we’re used to seeing in Blacksburg. It’s not gonna stop me supporting the coaches, players, and the program. The peanut gallery on here seems to have all the answers. Fire, fire, fire is all I hear, yet they have no texplanation of who they would hire to replace the coaches who have built this program. Kinda reminds me of those guys who sat the bench when I played, but it was never their fault. They were not very athletic, couldnt catch, run well, or throw but somehow it was the coaches who were to blame.
Excellent perspective HokieinSC. Being from the 757, I can totally understand the no excuses, no tolerance for losing mentality of the Clemson coaching staff. In the 757, losing is simply not gonna cut it. I don’t understand how Beamer can even bring himself down here to sit in a kids face and recruit him with product that he fields. The truth of the matter is that the 2009 team for Virginia Tech was plenty good enough on offense alone to win a national title. It was that good! Think about what Tyrod Taylor had all around him. The Hokies even had David Wilson and a 6 foot 6 athletic specimen in Logan Thomas as freshman. That team had a ridiculous amount of offensive firepower and no one up in Blacksburg could turn it into the unstoppable machine that it had all the pieces for. People keep talking about what Beamer has done to uplift the program, they need to look past him and see clearly that it is the kids from this great state of ours, specifically the ones from the Tidewater, that made this program what it is. The STATE, not Beamer put Tech on the map.
People need to be upset. No one should be getting excited about winning against Duke. No one should be in awe of Alabama, or think that loosing to Georgia, Michigan, Boise St., Kansas for crying out loud is okay. This is VIRGINIA people. A power state like Ohio, Florida, Texas, Cali, Georgia and Alabama. We are not Maryland or Vermont or Wisconsin. This is Virginia!
Comment to Come on Man….If VA Tech were to replace Frank Beamer(and I’m not saying Frank should be replaced yet, however I do think some of his staff should be fired at the end of the season) or any of his staff, that is something that would be done by conducting a national search. It is not up to the fans who place comments here to decide who should be the coach(s) You probably wouldn’t be able to get a Chip Kelly, but you might be able to get his assistant to leave and become a head coach. You would only truly know who would be interested until you put the word out that you were looking for a change.
This is the mentality that Tech needs to have. We have it in the 757. Coach Wilder at ODU has it. Mike Smith at Hamton High is a legend. He has it. Bill Dee and Stan Sexton have it! Newport News and Hampton have it. No way are guys from the Peninsula gonna loose to a team from Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth and certainly not Va Beach. And no team from NoVA, Richmond, Roanoke the entire state can see us on a football field. That’s the mentality in the 757. That’s why Nick Saban, Urban Meyer, Dabo Swinney, Jimbo Fisher and whoever else that wants to win are really starting to splinter Beamers base in the 757 because it seems as if Beamers desire to win, even when they had 10 wins or more in a season, is just not there.
Some may laugh at this, but the coach for Byrnes High School in South Carolina was excellent. They went no huddle the entire game when I saw them play a team from Chesapeake this year. I was thoroughly impressed with him.
Also, when Logan Thomas was a freshman, he was the number one tight end and the number one athlete in the country. A guy with that much talent cannot stand on the sideline next to Beamer and not be used. Logan Thomas played safety in high school. Tech could have schemed him into the offense in some capacity as a freshman, and good Lord the havoc he could have caused as a reserve defensive end with that height and that speed if only someone at Tech had the brains.
CROOKED TOAD: PLEASE
crooked road – PLEASE provide film of how you performed as a leader at that age under those circumstances. Are you suggesting Logan should return his pay check ? OH ! That’s right, he is putting his life on the line for nothing while the real cowards are drawing a fat check each season. Logan has shown his courage, now let’s see yours !!
Come on man – Well for starters we wouldn’t want you. We don’t want another coach blaming everything on the players and execution. “We’re crushed, we’re 4-5 plays away, execution, execution, execution, etc” Stinespring and O’Cain seem to be campaigning for their jobs with the way they’re appealing to Beamers kind nature and his apparent lack of knowledge about the offensive side of the game. Also I bet Newsome is in Beamers ear all the time about the injuries on the O-line as if that’s the reason they suck
I WILL SAY IT IN BIG LARGE TYPE RIGHT NOW ! ! VA TECH WILL NEVER PLAY ‘BAMA NEXT FALL. NOT FIRST GAME, NOT ANY. ABC/E$PN IS NOT GOING TO LAY A ROTTEN EGG LIKE THAT. THEY WON’T PAY VT MILLION$ FOR SHOWING UP WITH NOTHING. Tech will be lucky to be on ESPN for ANY game next year. Mark it ! ! !
It will be Clemson, Fl St, or a Big East team. Unlike our coaches, the E$PN bosses are no FOOL$. Tech’s big pay days are over with, gone, NO MA$.
Come-On-Man: You must have played one too many, or got hit in the head too many time. You seem to have learned as much as the Tech coaches: NADA !! Time has passed you by.
Peppers Ferry- What are you talking about….the Bama game is already scheduled! Are you saying they can change the teams?
It better had hit him hard – he lost the game. Please. This isn’t sandlot and everyone is not a winner.
‘Putting his life on the line’? Seriously? What, if he answers a VT reporter’s question wrong, Andy or David Teel or Norm Wood is going to shoot him? Hee hee, you are something else, that’s for sure. Thomas says the questions will be the same as always, then why not sit there like always and give the same cliched answers like always? That’s what he’s done for two years anyway, and nobody complained. His QB coach & his Offensive Coordinator & his Head Coach always manage to do so, why can’t he do it now? It’s not a big deal at all, except when he runs from it. He can sit there and cliche his heart out, and nobody cares. It’s only when he hides in the showers that his coaches have to make excuses for the captain of the team not being man enough to discuss the performance of the team. Not like being captain has anything to do with setting good examples or anything.
What’s going to happen if he gets drafted by the Eagles, and goes in to replace Michael Vick? Yeah, the Philly press will understand that he’s a delicate flower, susceptible to dropping a petal at the slightest whiff of adversity. Sure, that will work.
I’ll give you this much – that one made me laugh out loud. I hope you’re not planning on driving anywhere this evening because you might get a Marcus Vick. Just sayin’…
Joker Phillips is available as of today? Any die hard Hokie fans want him?
540 Hokie I have a life unlike you and your band of loosers. The reason I comment on here is because of Ll
all the preseason BS tht you get from tech supporters and Andy about how well they look and expectations. You would think there the only team for miles. The year after year Beamer BS is unreal. Schedule decent teams and quit talking national championship.
The more the VT coaches talk the more and more clueless and completely out-of-touch they sound. The best thing that could happen is for them to get destroyed by FSU (very likely) and then lose to BC and UVA (possible) to finish the year 4-8. Of course at 4-8 they were only a few plays away from being 10-2 right?
Analyze the problem properly… Youngest and Most Inexperienced VT FTBL Team in years.
Face it, teams do have rebuilding years and this is a rebuilding year for VT FTBL.
Superficial Fans will come and go so those who need to, move on, move on.
All the people defending this staff are as blind and dumb as beamer and co….. They have to go start over as a program bring in new coaches and fix this crap!
Lots of comments one here today about coaching, who would you pick, who could we get etc. etc. Since WE ARE ALL ARMCHAIR QUARTERBACKS here I go…. Bruce Arians is looking pretty good TODAY, however my opinions change daily. What I would like to see is a coach with some fire in his eyes. Certanily I beleive age is a factor. I would fight anybody in my 20′s but as I hit 40 I have to rethink simply because I dont have the energy to give it my all anymore. The older you get the more you have to pick your spots. It would be hard for me to do anything to jeopradize my 2 million annual contract. I really think Beamer has just become complacent. Heck when I’m his age I wanna be living by the ocean with my biggest concern being getting a tee time before it gets too hot. Is he just holding on so he can pass the legacy on to his son? Who in there right mind would want a Beamer as coach for 40 yrs. I loved Bill Cowher but was glad when he left because I like a little change and he had gotten somewhat stale. Teams knew how to game plan against his teams. Tell me Tomlin hasn’t put some new blood into that franchise. Has Saban,Meyer,or Miles settled down since winning a national championship? Heck no they still want more! Beamer has settled for ACC championships and 10 win seasons as of late. Just give me a coach with heart, someone willing to give an effort every week, a coach who understands the game is constantly evolving and can compete in that enviroment!!! BTW I think Bud Foster can fit that bill !!!!
When you take a serious look at VT’s wins last year you can see that Logan Thomas was very fortunate to win 5 of those games and of course he did not perform very well in the two games against Clemson where Tech was massacred. Players like Boykin, Coale and Wilson made him look very good in games that VT won but take away those 3 players (which happened this year) and you have a very mediocre QB. He should feel bad about his performance against Miami the other night, there is no other way to put it. Problem with the FSU game is Logan will come out and try to do it all again, much like Mike Vick tries to do every game, and will most likely do worse against FSU than he did against Miami.
This blog is awash in maroon Kool-Aid! As usual, the apologists don’t get it — that those who are complaining and have an expectation of something positive from the VT football program aren’t anti-VT, they just want that expectation met. The “this is a young team” whine is getting old, other schools do quite well with true freshmen at key positions (Pitt hammered us with a freshman running back). If we had a competent OC, then perhaps the offensive scheme would have been tailored to the talent on hand instead of adding more (non-working) wrinkles.
The team is not young at all except at RB. Unless redshirt JRs are young? I don’t know where people are getting that
Have any of you in peanut gallery actually been around a football field before or were you tooting a horn in the band? To think that the coaches and players in this program aren’t giving their all is ridiculous and only further shows you know nothing about the workings of what a TEAM is all about. It’s like you want players and coaches to throw each other under the bus and point fingers and pin blame. I’m glad those in the football program (coaches and players) are sticking together and not folding to the most trying season in the Beamer-era. It would be easy for a team that has faced so much adversity to fold in front of a camera but they haven’t. That’s what you do for your family of teammates and coaches.
See Jerry, there it is again, football knowledge or the lack thereof. Just because they are juniors and seniors doesn’t mean they have years of game experience. Some are starting for the first time. Just like doing your homework, you can fake your knowledge until test day. Well on test day Jerry, either you know your stuff or you don’t.
So all the years of practices and scrimmages are worthless? The offensive coaches are worse than I thought then. The offense hasn’t improved and if anything has gone backwards so game experience must not be helping either. At least Fosters D is showing signs of getting it together
C.O.M., It’s obvious Jerry never played before. He thinks that a practice is anything close to playing a game infront of 66,000 people. That’s hilarious.
They’ve played 9 games this year. 3 years in the program and 9 games is plenty to drop the “this team is young and inexperienced” line