Hokies defense concerned about what it can control, not offense’s scoring woes
Quick programming note: The live chat this week has been moved to Wednesday to be closer to the game. It will still start at 12:30 p.m.
Virginia Tech’s offense hasn’t given the Hokies much of a chance of winning the last two games, scoring 17 points at Clemson and 12 at Miami.
But defensive coordinator Bud Foster said Tech’s offensive struggles don’t change his crew’s approach, even when points figure to be at a premium this Thursday against a Florida State defense that ranks among the nation’s best.
“We don’t even talk about that,” Foster said. “To be honest with you, we need to go out and do our job and that should be enough. We’ve won a lot of football games here playing great defense. And that’s all we’re focusing on. All we can do is control what we can do.”
Tech’s offensive struggles have been well-chronicled the last two weeks. Last week, the Hokies had 421 yards but scored only one touchdown against a Miami defense that ranks last in the ACC.
“They’re going to be fine,” Foster said. “We moved the ball up and down the field on those guys the other night and kind of shot ourselves in the foot. And that’s where we’ve got to be better. But we can’t worry about that. We need to keep them out of the end zone.”
Tech’s defense had its moments against Miami. The ‘Canes finished with only 347 yards and were only 1-for-12 on third downs. The Hokies forced five straight punts to start the second half.
But there were still areas for improvement. Tech didn’t have any sacks, despite applying some pressure. The Hokies had a number of busted assignments, aggravating mistakes that Foster called “Day 1 stuff.”
Foster also referenced Tech’s inability to prevent touchdowns in “sudden change” situations like the blocked punt and long kick return that gave the ‘Canes the ball inside the Hokies’ 20 twice in the first quarter. It took Miami only two plays to get in the end zone on each occasion, building an early 14-3 lead.
“We’ve got to step up to the plate, in my opinion,” Foster said. “If we hold them to three points, that’s great defense. That’s not good defense, that’s great defense. And that’s what we need to do a better job of.”
Clemson had similar success, scoring all four of its touchdowns after taking over near midfield or better. In the last two games, opponents are 10-for-10 on red zone opportunities, with six touchdowns.
Forcing turnovers would help. The Hokies had none last week and have only 14 this year, ranking 10th in the ACC.
Scoring points on defense used to be a hallmark of Virginia Tech football but the Hokies haven’t had a defensive touchdown since the last time they played the Seminoles in the 2010 ACC title game. Linebacker Jeron Gouveia-Winslow picked off EJ Manuel in the first quarter and took it back 24 yards for a score.
In the 24 games since, Tech hasn’t had any defensive scores, the longest drought in Frank Beamer‘s 26 years as coach.
The Hokies don’t feel extra pressure to put points on the board. Simply put, they think they just need to get off the field.
“Our goal every time we step on the field is get a three-and-out, get a turnover, get off the field, let our offense drive, let them have the ball longer,” linebacker Jack Tyler said. “And they’ll be fine. We just have to worry about what we can do and what we can do better. And that’s get off the field more often.”
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Here are more notes and quotes from Sunday night interviews …
- Like offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring with FSU’s defense, Foster didn’t find any weaknesses in the Seminoles’ offense, which is No. 1 in the ACC in total yards and scoring, second in rushing and third in passing. “These guys have it all,” he said. “I think their offensive line is as good as we’ve seen in a long time. Big, athletic, can run, strong. Talented corps of receivers. Some long kids, tall kids, fast kids. Some dynamic backs. It’s just a complete football team right now.”
- Cornerback Antone Exum called the Seminoles “probably bigger, maybe a little more physical” than Clemson. “Clemson probably had maybe a tad more speed,” he said. “But both teams have really good speed.”
- Foster said even in the loss to N.C. State, the ‘Noles “did whatever they wanted to do” in the first half, when they built what looked like a commanding 16-0 lead. Foster said he thought FSU got away from what it was doing in the second half, noting that in his conversations with the N.C. State defensive staff, “they felt like they couldn’t stop them.”
- Manuel was a sophomore filling in for an injured Christian Ponder the last time the Hokies saw him in the 2010 title game. He threw for 288 yards and a touchdown but also was intercepted twice in a 44-33 Tech victory. Now? “You just see a more polished guy,” Foster said. “A guy with more poise. More comfortable in the offense. Just you see a more complete quarterback than when we played them.”
- A.J. Hughes said the punt he had blocked at Miami was pretty straightforward. He didn’t catch it cleanly and was slow to get it off. “There’s no excuse for it,” he said. “It was a bad play. Short-term memory. I already forgot about it. I’m worried about Florida State.”
- FSU has some pretty dynamic punt returners. Rashad Greene handled that duty early in the season, taking two back for touchdowns. But some catching issues led to the ‘Noles replacing him with Tyler Hunter. Hunter promptly took one back 75 yards for a touchdown against Duke last week. Hughes’ goal? “I’m just going to put it high and far,” he said.
- Hughes said if he gets three seconds of hang time, that should be enough for Alonzo Tweedy to make a play. Tweedy had a team-best seven tackles on punt coverage this year. “He’s the best gunner I’ve ever seen,” Hughes said. “I mean, I put it right, it’s getting stopped, there’s no question in my mind. … He’s a freak. He’s insane. I couldn’t ask for a better punt unit than I have.”
- Tech’s Coastal Division chances are pretty much shot. Beamer has said the Hokies are, above all else, playing for pride right now, something linebacker Bruce Taylor echoed to the team as well. “It’s something I told the guys today is one thing that never changes, the one thing you can always play for is your respect,” he said. “No matter what the situation is, it’s always an opportunity to go out there and get better, especially with the game being nationally televised, with a bunch of people watching, you definitely want to go out there with your best foot forward and have a hell of a game, no matter what the score is or the situation we’re in right now. None of that should even matter.”
- Exum has tried to stay off Twitter during the season but said he still sees messages fans will send him. “The brave fans will @ you and tell you what needs to be done,” he said. “So I see that. I know a lot of other guys get tweets that the fans are disappointed with what we’re doing and things like that. Those fans that are that angry and are not really going to ride with you when you’re not doing as well, they’re kind of outsiders, so we don’t really pay too much attention to it.”
- Exum called some of the messages, especially ones that get personal or have foul language, ignorant. “If they saw me walking down the street, they wouldn’t approach me and say it to my face, so I can’t really respect it,” he said. Others, though, hit on things that are really problems. “They’re just upset with things that are really going wrong,” Exum said. “So you do understand that. If we’re giving up something and they just make a comment on it, that’s the truth. You can’t tell them they can’t speak their mind on that. So you can’t really be mad on that. It’s more motivation.”
- Defensive end James Gayle got into it on Twitter with some Florida State fans in the preseason, a back-and-forth Exum got in on that he said “was all in a fun nature.” In hindsight, it probably wasn’t such a great idea. “That’s probably up on their bulletin board now,” Exum said with a laugh. “Exum and Gayle. … I guess we’re kind of the laughingstock of it right now. We’ll try to change that Thursday.”
- Betting line update: the Hokies opened as 12-point underdogs, the first time they’ve been a double-digit underdog at Lane Stadium since No. 1 Miami was a 14-point favorite heading into the 2001 game. Tech lost that one 26-24, a contest most known for Ernest Wilford‘s dropped two-point conversion that could have tied it with six minutes left.
November 4, 2012 - 9:48 PM
It appears Bud needs to go back to the drawing board; his defense has given up 30 at Miami and 38 at Clemson the week before. That doesn’t sound like the defense is very focused. You are probably looking at 40 points being posted by FSU. A lot of smoke-blowing going on by these VT coaches, they must think the fans are on another planet.
Virginia Tech is a football program that has serious problems, and those problems are in the philosophy of the entire program.
Good morning Andy, well here we go with another big week @ tech football. I may be missing something , but the way I see it, if we win out and Miami looses there last two acc games, we would be a game ahead , right? Give us the what ifs please.
I am also interested in miami’s fate. We beat fla. state in the 2010 acc championship, in the best played game I have ever seen. We need to get behind our team. They have the talent to give fla. state a battle. Get er done! The short coach.
The Hokie defense is weakest in the secondary. The D-Line is fine, but the injury situation has created shuffling that seems to have diminished the effectiveness of the defense overall.
If the Hokie offense doesn’t help the defense by producing sustained drives that result in TDs & not just occasional FGs, then it will be a long evening & high scoring by F$U. Bud Foster has always been masterful about keeping his irritation with the VT offense under wraps. This is just the example. He must be a patient man.
Hope this team can keep it respectable on Thursday night.
I believe in Bud, but don’t see this porous secondary having any success unless we can put significant pressure on EJ Manuel.
My guess is Frank Beamer is going to want to “see if we can get Holmes going”. So that will mean a first quarter of 3-and-outs until he has to face reality.
I think it’s time to start thinking about next year Andy. Hopefully nobody (Kyle Fuller) declares early, but is there any possibility we could look forward to next year. (Yeah I know it sounded silly coming out of my mouth).
Looks like on defense our biggest losses are at Linebacker with Taylor, Tweedy and GW graduating, but the secondary should all be back such as it is. On offense the most significant losses are at receiver follwed by O-line.
Andy can you give us a feel good story about how much better things are likely to get? (Lie if you have to)
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. I copied and pasted this from my post in last night’s rants…mainly because if you’re looking for a reason why Foster doesn’t just come out and play blame game.
Here is a good lie: Virginia Tech is on track to win the national championship.
Let’s hope that our guys can dig down and keep it respectful this Thursday. Beating FSU would be a major upset, but it could happen. Realistically, I’m just hoping we don’t get blown out of the stadium. Go Hokies!!
The defense is what it is. Thin and inexpierenced in the backfield. I beleive they would be so much better if they didn’t spend so much time on the field. In two years the secondary will probably be the strength of the defense. My concern of the day is at running back! If it’s a crowded backfield this year what about next year? We lose Scales (who should have got to play more imo) but dont we have two more highly touted recruits coming? One may redshirt but the other cant if I am correct. Splitting carries will probably lead to one or two of them transferring. I would love to be wrong about this but the way it’s been mismanaged this year I am somewhat skeptical. Andy do you have any idea on what the plan is for Motley going forward? Will he be a qb ?
who wants to waste their time to watch them play BORING…It is as if they are constipated ….nothing happens..DO THE COACHES watch other games and play calling????? Lot of exciting games but Va Tech 91st in ranking…Start Leal and put Logan to TE LOGAN is afraid to play QB…afraid to be responsible and afraid of mistakes so he keeps making them
I think the Hokies will enter next year around number 11 in the pre-season poll with an outside shot at a national title run. You heard it here first! I feel better already! lol
I think FSU comes out firing immediately to set the tone against the Hokies They will want to suck the crowd energy right out of Lane as quick as they can, and they have the ability to do it. I expect FSU to have at least a 1-score lead by the end of the first quarter, and double-digits by the half. I think they get held a little below their typical scoring average, but I don’t see the Hokie offense producing a whole lot of points this week. FSU will win, 41-17, though…I’d love to be wrong.
Tech has 4 tailbacks now, several redshirted and a boatload committed the next 2 years. The way we’ve managed it this year, I can’t imagine how the next 2-3 years will look. I envision a 6-8 tailback rotation. I watched Oregon again last Sat. and they ran their running back the whole game, 326 yds. rushing and I think 91 receiving. You didn’t see them bring in a specific running back for certain game situations. It appears when their TB gets all lathered up, he fits all situations. Andy, if you dare, how about asking Bud why his pass rush is so ineffective this year. The rush linemen(especially the DE’s) can’t seem to shed their blockers and the blitz appears to be non-existent. Maddy appears to be the most effective but preseason the DE’s were getting all the press.
Come on man – It’s that family buddy buddy atmosphere that has kept some coaches around who haven’t been doing their jobs
Anyone who thinks a 3-4 man running back rotation is a good thing doesn’t know football. I’ve never seen that work. So if we’ve got a running back coach who believes that we’re in trouble.
Bighouse Gains used to tell a story about how the members of two of his many teams just “didn’t like each other” and nothing he did, or tried to do, could overcome this simple fact. The chemistry just wasn’t right and just never got right.
I am beginning to think that this is our problem right now. We saw it in 2004 and this is looking similar.
Yell about schemes and coaching all you want. You aren’t at the practices, in the locker room or around the team enough to know what they work on or how the players get along. Since we are reduced only to coach cliche’s these days I have to wonder if we have personality issues between the players.
I can’t imagine any of the coaches calling out their peers. You can’t imagine it either.
Va tech will turn it around when frank beamer lets go of his 1954 football mentality ….that wont happen so tech is what is it is…..run up the middle and try not to hurt anyones feelings
I watched the Oregon/USC game and saw what a real hurry up offense looked like. Sometimes the play came from the sideline, but sometimes it didn’t. QB made the call right at the line. Lots of other schools do the same thing we do which is to quickly come to the line, stand up, get the play, call the play, and then run the play with less than 5 seconds on the play-clock. I suppose it keeps the defense from substituting, but I conclude that is of marginal value to Tech since we obviously are not doing well on offense. I’m sure I will hear a bunch of negatives, but why not hurry to the line, and I realize it’s a wacky concept, have Thomas call and run the play right then and there. That obvious football genious Drunkenmiller did it. Could it be any worse rhan it is now?
I think the Bud Foster’s defense is caught in a dilemma. In the past he could blitz which added pressure to the pass-rush. But, in order to do that, the DBs had to shut down for 2-3 seconds receivers, that would force the QB to hold the ball one second longer than planned. Short term jamming led to QB pressure that got the QB moving and not throwing. Foster just doesn’t have those shut-down corners and safeties this year. He knows he will get burned by a blitz. One man’s view from a galloping horse.
We are not running a “hurry up” offense, just a “no huddle” offense. We’re eating the entire clock standing at the line. I suspect we would be better served to go back to the huddle. Ain’t no hurry in this.
Not ready to completely write this team off. I’ll continue to watch (can’t help myself if I wanted to) and of course if we can just beat Virginia it’ll help cleanse my palette a little.
I think fans are completely fair to come down hard on the coaches. Particularly since the comments are the same ones that were voiced during our 10-win wonder seasons where we lost to every team that any modicum of talent plus the occassional one who didn’t. The team should stick together and despite the comments the fans are still behind them we just see no end in site to the problems that have plagued the offense and special teams for what seems like a decade.
One last comment. Have you noticed that the annual din of how bad the ACC is has disappated now that FSU is in it’s rightful place at the top of the league (for one year)? Perhaps it’s so obvious that the sportscasters are avoiding the obvious or perhaps it’s the fact that I can’t bare to watch any sports commentary for fear of hearing how bad VT is playing.
No pass rush, no qb pressure when blitzing. That is the most troubling part of this disappointing defense. It is technique? scheme? or just poor individual performance? Until it is resolved, the secondary is gonna get torched, especially when a safety is playing corner.
The lack of offensive output may contribute to part of the denfensive struggles, as the defense plays the majority of the game.
Maybe instead of recuiting running backs, they should concentrate on quality offensive linemen.
Jerry, I’ve made the same comment about the use of 3 or 4 running backs before, and that was my main area of criticism for the coaching staff this year. I stated that giving one or two guys the majority of the carries until one of the two gets the hot hand, then ride that one to the finish line. I believe this can help the offensive continuity but it will in no way, shape, or form cause the offensive explosion we’ve been waiting for with the anemic offense. I’ve said it once, I’ll say it as many times as it takes to proove what I feel is the most valid point this season. Tech is a running team, always has been, always will be during Beamer’s watch. You can agree to disagree but without a solid running game at Virginia Tech, you’re going to see an offensive crisis because it’s what we do. This team is not loaded with big time offensive talent at any position other than at QB. Logan needs a supporting cast for his game to take flight because, 1. He can’t throw and catch his own passes, 2. He doesn’t have break away speed to leave defenders in the dust, and 3. Although at 6-6 260 pounds he still can’t handle the load of running the ball and taking hits so often during the game without it affecting his ability to pass. We need at least one if not two of our quad package of running backs to step up and take the lead. In my opinion Coleman has shown the most promise, along with Gregory. Scales has been inconsistent. Holmes looks a step slow, especially after he receives the hand off. He looks like a deer in head lights at times. I remember watching him in high school and thinking he was a pretty decent player and would pan out somewhere. However, I did not think for one minute that I would see him starting at Virginia Tech this early in his career. Here it is, not one of these tailbacks currently at Tech has shown the multiple dynamics that the running backs in the Beamer era previously. They are not from the same mold of running backs that we’re used to seeing at VT. I hope they find their way sooner than later.