Reader input: How would you fix the Hokies?
In conjunction with the esteemed Doug Doughty, we’ll be writing a “What Went Wrong?” story about Virginia Tech and Virginia this year for Friday’s paper, with several items for each team.
We’re also asking for input from fans about what they think the best way to fix things is. I get the feeling people will have some thoughts about this. This is certainly a “release the hounds” idea, but we’re asking for it anyway. Leave your thoughts in the comments section below. We’ll pick the best ones to run in the paper.
UPDATE: OK, plenty of responses on this one. I’ll probably have to cut it off at this point, just because we’ve had so many. Thanks to everyone who wrote in. But by all means, keep the conversation going in the comments section. Very interesting thoughts out there.
November 21, 2012 - 11:32 AM
1) The multiple offense playbook needs to be junked. If Tech wants to go to a more Spread offense, hire an OC who lives, breathes, and think by it. Tony Franklin, for example. Or if they want to go back to their bread and butter by going to pro-style, someone mentioned Taggart from West Kentucky who’s from the Harbaugh coaching tree.
2) Change special team coach.
3) For the sanity of fans’ sake, quit changing all those helmets on a weekly basis. Find two uniform combinations and stick to it! Exception would be made for Military Appreciation Day. The constant change in uniform, I believe, is correlated to how sucky they have been recently.
I think that’s it.
Virginia Tech. Do something about the O line. A good O line and the offense as whole would surprise people. A lot of the stuff they run would work fine if blocked to any degree. Especially the “pistol” or whatever option football is called this week. Defense needs a small tweaking on the third and long or for that matter anytime we have forced them into a desperate situation. That used to be lights out party is over but has turned into the offense has upper hand. Translated the O knows exactly what our D is going to do and exploits it. Those two things would cure 99% of problems. O would get better field position and properly blocked would cash in on opportunities. Sounds like vintage VT football to me. As far as UVa, hoo really cares.
To fix the Hokies I would suggest 4 important steps.
I. Establish an offensive identity. Whether changing coaches on staff or not the offense needs an identity. I would not rely as heavily on the zone scheme Tech currently uses. To efficiantly run the zone you need 3 groups of lineman working together on the exact same page, and that has not been working for us. If you implement more man blocking( Iso, Power, Counter) you also set up playaction to take shots down the field and hit backs out of the backfield. You can also control the ball and keep the defense off the field. If you have fewer plays in the playbook you can execute them more efficiently. We need to be able to line up and run a play without checking to see how the defense is aligned, make them react to us instead of always reacting to them. For the pass game throw quicks and screens to keep the defense honest and make high completion type throws.
II. Put in a sheild punt team, which virtually eliminates blocked punts and spreads the punt coverage across the field and helps minimize returns. Frank has said it’s almost impossible to block a punt like this so why don’t we use it?
III. Let Bud do his thing. If it’s not broken don’t try to fix it. The defense will be just fine if they can get a break and stay off the field. He is one of the best at making halftime adjustments let him keep coaching the way he has been.
IV. Win the state in recruiting and recruit offensive lineman. Stop recruiting tight ends to turn into lineman, it’s not working. Target lineman on offense to help shore up the unit that is always the question mark each and every year.
1. Find a new OC who is also a great QB Coach (good recruiter would help even more)
2. Please hire a good O-line coach. Pay them the big bucks to get the job done.
3. Like Trevor said. Hire a Special Teams coach.
4. Get back to the uniforms from 09. Maroon/Maroon and the Pro-combat. Recruits want to wear cool uniforms, not ones with turkey tracks on it unless it is surrounded by carbon fiber and the tracts are somewhat monochrome with the helmet(insert Oregon comparison here).
5. Recruit O-line prospects and stop hoping to convert TE to OL. Double the budget if need to make it happen.
I’m sorry to say but Logan is just not a QB! If we had left him at Tight End/H back he’d be an All American.
President Steger, Alumni Assoc head Tom Tillar, and Beamer (and I) are Class of ’69 and at normal retirement age and Weaver is in his last 2 years at Tech. No change football-wise makes sense until succession (or continuation) is settled. Add in the issue of “What conference will VT be in 3 years from now?” and assistant coach shuffling/replacements seems like moving deck chairs around on the Titanic.
Tech does well recruiting and “coaching up” the skilled positions. But the future NFL OL and DL types are in shorter supply in the population and Tech doesn’t get them. Until we get Coordinators who attract those guys, we cannot ever make it to ELITE. The top Coordinators see Tech as interim at best.
I think for Tech to improve the fans need to stop calling out a bunch of kids that are just playing a game and trying to get an education. Football games and their outcomes are not the end of the world.
1. Stop playing Running Backs that are slow-footed and/or easy to tackle. You need difference makers at that position in college and you NEED to find them either through recruiting efforts or Junior Colleges. Bench the guys who aren’t at the level yet. Stop trying to play them into what they need to be.
2. Don’t make guys into something they aren’t or don’t want to be. Exum ain’t a corner and Logan didn’t want to play QB. They can both absolutely excel at other positions which is where they should be.
Hire ODU’s entire coaching staff and start Alston Smith at every position. Boom!
This season is like Apollo 13. You just have to get it back to earth and re-engineer it.
Our offensive line and offensive coaching are electrical shorts in the fuel tank.
The defensive coaching is what got us on the moon 6 out of 7 times.
Winning the national championship with the current offensive coaching staff is about as realistic as a manned Mars mission using scrap parts.
I think the uniforms are the main problem. The Hokies’ uniforms should be a maroon base with orange trim. The wheels started to fall off once the team decided it was ok to wear uniforms with an orange base, or even worse, orange helmets. Do you ever see Alabama or LSU wearing their trim color on their helmets? It’s not a coincidence.
It’s also not a coincidence that this year (the 5-6 year) is the year of the “Turkey Track” helmet, and the helmet with the dead turkey on the side (Boston College).
How do you fix it? Easy. For home games you wear two uniforms -All maroon, or maroon top/white bottom, both with maroon helmets. Away games go with, again, maroon helmet and either white top/maroon bottom, or all white.
This fix is going to require the team to come up with some maroon pants. There really is no excuse for that. If the Hokies can find someone to put a dead turkey on a white helmet, they can come up with some dadgum maroon pants.
If this doesn’t work, I guess you could fire some offensive coaches like everyone seems to suggest.
Donald M,
Some guy named Tedford just became unemployed and still knows a thing or 2 about offense. I owuld give him strong consideration.
Gotta increase the recruiting budget and base. Al is gone so VT no longer gets it pick of Virginia High school kids,
Show Newsome the door.
Agree with all that has been stated above except the comment to hire all of ODU’s coaching staff. Keep Bud and leave Dee behind. His schemes put too much pressure on offense and ODU has been fortunate enough to have an offense to answer the call. Pick a tailback and stick with him. Tailback by committee does not work. Using a tailback for certain situations kinda makes a predictable offense more predictable. I made the comment about recruiting off. linemen early in the season. They just have a different mindset. Phoebus(HS state champs from 757 area) has an article in todays Daily Press on why their ground game is so successful. It’s on their off. linemen and their mindset. The TE’s were not part of the conversation.Simplify the offense and defensive schemes to match players intellect. I’ve never seen so much confusion on both sides of the ball as I have this year. Missed blocks, wrong pass routes, missed assignments on offense and out of position and missed assignments on defense.
At VT I would love to see the AD and the HC go and bring in some big league talent but I know that ain’t going to happen. If an offensive staff can be put together that knows how to recruit players for a position, instead of playing musical chairs, that may stop the bleeding until the AD and HC do go. If positive changes aren’t made I’m afraid the program will implode and there will be no foundation for the next guy to build on (see comment on UVA).
At UVA recruiting seems to be getting better and I’m not sure London and company have had time to rebuild after Groh left the cupboard bare. Give them another year.
There’s nothing really broken outside of no. 1 below. Prior to this year VT had won 10 games in a row for ? years. Thats a pretty good record. Underachieving in bowl games, I believe this has just a little to do with play-calling, mostly a lot of untimely goof-ups (and some bizarre plays-see Sugar bowl last year). Heres whats wrong with THIS years team:
1) The O-line is a complete mess. I believe I could count on my hand the no. of plays this year when each lineman accomplished what he was supposed to. Is this coaching or talent or both? I think its both. I think some really good RBs have masked poor coaching over the past
several years. Talent-see 1st and goal vs GT.
2) The D front 7 has no “motor”. Was that the same front 7 that played FSU and BC/UNC/Pitt. Not sure what the reason is.
3) Logan Thomas is in disarray. He is talented, his talent level cant be worse than last year, can it? Is it due to poor route running or a lack of confidence in the O-line or both. I think both. At least 1 of the 2 was much better last year
1. We neeeeeeeeeed to shake up the entire offensive coaching staff. Fire them all. Bring in an offensive coordinator who has an identiy for this offense and will stick to it. The OC from ODU or La Tech are great options. People who are innovative and gutsy.
2. Bring in a new o-line coach. Newsome stinks. Our o-line is horrible. A go vetter who can coach and recruit them up.
3. Agree with the shield on punt teams and switch Shane to special teams and have him focus solely on special teams. Visit other schools and get tips. Study film. Put some pride and joy in the pride and joy unit.
4. Fix Logan’s mechanics. The Kid is capable of being a great QB. O’Cain and Stinkey have stunted his development. If that means a new QB coach then so be it.
5. Defense is fine. More experience will help out. I didn’t like the Exum move but it looks like he is getting better. Fix the secondary and figure out how to stop letting teams run all over us.
I like Trevor’s post and will go with it. I have no specifics on whom to hire but a start would be a decision to hire, i.e. an awareness that what has transpired on O for the last 11 years is just not cutting it. That means objective self evaluation. Stinespring is a very good recruiter. Make him Dir. of Recruiting and say TE coach. Hire a new OC along with offensive line coach. Agree with Trevor also on special teams.
Last but not least, keep Frank. He’s gotten this team to a very high level and certainly one bad year does not justify firing him.
None of us KNOW how to fix it, we mainly know what ain’t working.
Running Back. Needs more power. The only running power back we had this year was Scales and despite his success in limited carries we rarely used him until it became evident that Holmes was not it. T Gregory is small for a corner back and was run down by a linebacker against BC. Coleman too small. The Ray Rice, Sproles body type works but he needs about 25 more pounds. I love spreading the LOS with speed to the outside but eventually you have to make a right/left turn and penetrate. Still we’re stuck with what we got and no amount of Franks sweettalk is going to make it better.
Defense – Don’t-a touch-a nuttin’. Bud will get if figured out and as long as he is there I will be able to go the fridge for a beer when the other team has the ball.
Special Teams – New coach needed – ditto. If for no other reason than having to look at the look on Franks face 5 or 6 times a game. “Yes Frank that really just happened”. Still, I think we’ve got a good punter and FG kicker, but the kickoffs were terrible. Probably added 40-60 yards per game to every opposing team. Coverage good, distance bad.
Receivers – Pray. Pray that Assante and particularly Knowles might be as good as they seemed at times and that DJ Coles doesn’t disappear next year like poor Roberts did after 2 years of injuries.
QB – I have faith that Logan Thomas will return to form next year, but he needs serious help with his accuracy. I was shocked by how inaccurate he was, but think his lack of confidence continues to result in over/under throws until in furstration he tries to fit a square peg in a round hole with bad results. You don’t give up on two years of progress at this point, no matter how limited. Let’s face it Boykin and Coale made him look better than he probably was last year.
O line – These guys don’t grow on trees. 6’5″ 300 pounders that are 19-20 years old are hard to find. I don’t have an answer. I really don’t think they’ve been that bad. Fans want a QB to stand in the pocket for 30 seconds and they want their running backs to get 10 yards a carry. We’ll never be satisfied.
Commit to the run in short yardage and plan to go for it on 4th down every time you’re in oppossing territory. In other words grow a pair.
1. Stop with the hype
2. Start taking responsibility for whatever goes on off and on the field
3. For VT hokie/chokie fans: Stop accepting the excuses and demand for better
4. Take an honest look at the program and from the point of view of the heads of the program and ask yourself: Have I done more good than harm? As from an fans point of view: Are you willing to back a program that only makes excuses and passes the blame to someone else?
5. For all of us to save some face take a page of what happened to coaches that stayed too long at the post all of them were forced out or destroyed good programs and for those who were there their programs were bad I just wonder does Beamer and company care now that they are like it or not hokie fans are just a joke! This time around you can’t pin it on your players. Beamer and company wake up and stop ruining what was a good program because you don’t want it to come down to where you have empty seats and playing on ESPN 3.
Where to begin where to begin….
1.) I will beat the dead horse for minute, lets revamp the offense. Pick an Identity and stick with it. Newsome and OCain have to go. Stiney if he will take the demotion to OL/TE coach is fine, I have been around long enough to remember that his O-lines were pretty good. TE’s moving to OL doesn’t bother me as much as everyone else. I remember Duane Brown being a TE, I think he makes more money being a Tackle in the NFL than he ever would have being a TE. Teams all over the country do that TE to OL moves all the time.
2.) Insert another dead horse here… The coaching staff has to take the blame. Bill Snyder acted like I have been wanting Frank and Co. to act all year. We lost because I didn’t prepare them well enough, that falls on me as the head coach…. Thank you Bill, I have always thought him and Beamer were of the same cut of cloth, but this year I have been slightly disappointed in the post game analysis.
3.) If Shane’s here let him coach ST. He did fine at SC and would let Frank stick with his CEO roles a little more, we already know he lets Bud do his thing, however I think the O has been so bad he’s focused on fixing their problems and the ST has slipped.
4.) Keep Torrian Gray. Do not let this guy go.
I guess thats all even though I could go on forever. And to steal a phrase from Al Davis — “Just win Baby!!”
1) No way to prove this, but they need to work through a strategy with the young players of developing leaders. Companies and organizations do this all the time with great success and Frank is a shrewd enough guy to employ some strategies here to help develop some leaders and sometimes you will get lucky and get a Tyrod, Randall and others who are naturals. I firmly believe this year leadership is lacking and this can happen with young guys. Teams with leaders win road games on a regular basis.
2) Offensive Line – majority of programs do not recruit to offensive line success, but this position is one of the most dependent positions on development over a period of years within the program. Natural talent projects are VERY difficult here, therefore, we need to look at the coaching and the entire program that supports these kids and get some ideas from other schools that have similar offensive strategies to develop better lineman.
3) RB – I believe Coleman is going to be a very good player, but is being forced to play early and isn’t quite ready to play at the elite college level. We recruited “too good” with Wilson, Williams and Evans and technically should have Wilson and Williams this year and we have neither and missed the boat from our recruiting numbers with Harris not qualifying. If Harris qualifies, Edmonds pans out at RB (he will be a good player regardless of position and could be an incredible RB if he can take care of the ball) we still need another true RB recruit this year. Tech missed out on Gurley last year and with Green in Richmond this year and others, Tech needs to sell an immediate impact player on the opportunity to play right away. Preferrably we need a bigger back who can play with power, but this isn’t a must depending upon talent level (ex. a Ryan Williams type of player wins you 3 more games this year). We simply CANNOT be as weak at this position next year or things could get worse.
3) Offensive Scheme – everyone has alot of hatred here. I would have a couple of more simple ideas.
Do not play the yardage – Tech has a tendency to call the play/formation for the yardage needed to barely get a first down. Example – if it is 3rd and 2 we call our 2 yard play out of the same formation we always utilize. This year was a great year to take those opportunities as opportunities to WIN THE GAME in those situations. Play action out of the formation and see if you can win the game with a veteran QB – you might get an easy one at the college level. It is too simple and we do not typically run multiple plays out of the same formation in similar situations. We follow patterns and have tendencies around down and distance that people are simply too sosphisticated to not stop on a regular basis these days. This has been simply a killer for us throughout the years thinking of games like Boise State, Florida State this year and others where a first down wins the game and we cannot convert and a primary reason is our scheme is predictable.
On the flip side-know when to take chances – Michigan bowl game last year is a prime example. Logan is hot and moves us down the field and we don’t give him the ball at the end to try and win the game in regulation through the air, yet we call an “option” fake punt in a situation where we could pin the opponent or simply have lined up and gone for it with a hot QB.
We have to be a threat to WIN close games on offense as opposed to forcing the defense to stop the other team. (think about the difference in this season’s outlook if we get 1 first down against Florida State)
Do NOT hire an “Air Raid” guy (ex. Tony Franklin) – you need a strategy that can maximize Logan’s talents next year and evolve with the program and the talent there. We need to be able to recruit RB’s to the school as we do not have enough talent receivers and the team to make an air raid school of thought work. We do need innovation in terms of misdirection, more plays that create options in short yardage situations without creating the need for so many formations and personnel groupings it is too complex. There is a fine line to being a gimmick school and being a sustainable winning strategy.
The other key is our philosophy needs to again be what play will work against the defensive strategy you think the other school will employ and not what is our strategy to achieve the down and distance. Example – attack the back up corner or defensive end etc.
Defense – with offensive evolution you need more lineman and more cover guys. We appear to be headed in the right direction with our recruiting strategies here and I believe next year the defense will be improved. Bud seems to be immune to criticism, but I believe we need to look at our end of game situations in coverage as we lost 2 games this year on final drives. I think Gray and Bud have some key decisions next year regarding the secondary with young Fuller, Kyle and Exum and how to arrange those guys to be the most effective. This will be critical to the team’s success in 2013.
Special teams – I don’t have much feedback other than we need to look at how to potentially be an effective kick blocking team again as well as be more disciplined in this arena. Kendall Fuller brings alot of ability to the punt return game (Jarrett has ability as well) and Knowles has home run ability. There is a fine line to putting starting athletes on special teams and telling them to be aggressive and get blocks while not getting penalties, but in recent years we have had critical misses in the kicking game. We also need to look for a better kick off guy as this is a big weapon the college with regards to field position.
Tech may finish 5-7 or 6-6 this year, but Frank has built an engine that can easily rebound and be a conference championship contender, but there will have to be some rearranging from the offensive staff standpoint in regards to O-Line and who is calling the plays. Do you want to overall the entire system from scratch – this typically takes 2 years to catch on and are tech fans willing to wait on that investment? I do not think so and I don’t think it is needed, but if you get a better running game with an improved long-term strategy around improving that part of the team, become less predictable on offense via several different strategies and build depth around RB again, we win 10+.
#1. Do the exact opposite of what we’ve been doing on offense.
Hire a new OC, new OL coach, etc. We need a new strategy on offense. I agree with McShay that our scheme is “severely dated”. We need quick passes to our playmakers, Bigger and stronger O lineman.
#2. The uniforms don’t have anything to do with how we play, but they are ugly as hell… go back to early 2000′s unis.
#3. Find a new special teams coordinator, and get beamer a director’s chair so he can stay out of the way till he retires.
I know how to fix Mr. Potato Chip’s post…
It’s called punctuation. Google it.
Fire the entire coaching staff.
Bring in Ralph Friedgen for the OC. He’s available a friend of Frank’s and it would work. Keep O’Cain and Steinspring can return to being the OL coach and continue doing the job of recruiting he does. Let Shane Beamer be the coach for Special teams just like he was at USC and put Billy Hite back in charge of the RB. Newsome would be the odd man out…but they might be able to find something for him.
Hire Nick Saban away from Bama along with his offensive coaches. Send Spriney and Newsome to UVA to ensure we win for the next 20 years. Recruit better O-Linemen and bigger backs. Enough of the 5-4 160lb guys. Oh and have a better show then Va. Tech today. If you want to attract recruits you need to have a Show that talks about all the players not just one or two per week.
Nice to have the Hokies fussing about what’s wrong with the team! Wahoo Jack
I WANT TO BE THE FIRST TO SAY IT: 24. Fire the entire coaching staff. !!!
What mindless, often long winded, worthless dribble ! Pure nonsense ABOVE.
Until BEAMER et al are gone all this other talk is worthless !
ANDY: Did you put a million monkeys in front of typewriters to get this tripe ???
BEAMER IS THE TROUBLE ! ! ! PERIOD !! Until he is gone nothing else matters; after he is gone, all these stated problems will go away.
Happy Hokie Day tomorrow.
Marine Mike said it all.
Play more Austin Peay’s. Play just 1 outstanding OC team a year. This seems to get the 10 wins most years. The recruiting has gone down and this is evident of the games I watched and from from the coaches I know. Florida State did the same thing when they joined the weak acc. Look at how long it took them to get back were they are.
Once again peppers ferry proves any moron can access the internet.
1.A new o-line coach 2.A new Q B coach.3 This will get everyone going keep stinespring as a reruiter. 4 Train the reciever to block!.5 Play to Win and stop playing not to Lose (style Ball )6.pick a style of offence.7 If a kid is good enough to play as a freshmen(Play them).8 Walk-ons Build this team!!(more try outs in the spring).
The problems with this year’s team did not just start this year. They have been growing over the last several years. I put the blame right at the top of the totem pole: Frank Beamer. His conservative philosophy only works against the lower tier teams. The record against the higher ranked teams speaks for itself. Until FB revamps the coaching staff and allows them freedom to operate, we will continue to struggle. If he cannot do that, then Frank needs to spend 100% of his time working on his golf game and get out of football.
Somehow, VA Tech needs to start playing games to win them, and not playing them to not lose. Big difference!!!!
Replace Frank Beamer, that is it in a nutshell. The team needs new blood that knows how to coach in the 21st century.
Thanks for giving us this forum.
Here are my recommendations:
1) Get an entirely new offensive system. Scrap the whole awkwawrd, stilted thing. And Frank, stay out of the way of the new coordinator. Hands off.
2) Find a KICKER who can get the ball to the endzone. Seriously, isn’t there a soccer play or something on Tech’s campus?
3) If we aren’t going to find a kicker, then put the best athletes on the kickoff team so we can stop some of these long returns.
4) Do Logan a favor and let him go back to tight end.
5) This is a less important point, but for home games, a little bit of music over the loudspeaker–at opportune times–could go a long way in pumping up the team and the crowd.
1) Stop the false projections that Virginia Tech football is a National Championship contender, because it isn’t. Donors, program contributors and fans deserve honesty. Virginia Tech has regressed into something that reminds no fan or contributor of an elite contender with regard to top recruits( even in the state), beating top 10 and top 5 opponents or playing a strength of schedule where they prove on a national stage they are in fact elite.
2) Fire the individual that believed it was a good idea to build a place to house the crystal ball trophy before you win it.(Its a constant reminder of what you will never have under the current administration. Alabama, Florida and the elites never did this)It’s dumb!**One question for anyone… How many national championship teams look at 10 win seasons as the ultimate goal without winning the championship? How many years can Beamer brag about consecutive 10 win seasons when you lose more bowl games than you win?
3)Eliminate Thursday night games. Originally this was a ploy to gain favorability with a major network to promote the program. Now America knows that Beamerball no longer exists and is another painful reminder of what we aren’t.
4)4 and 5 star offensive and defensive linemen wins National Championships. Virginia Tech does not get these players, while they recruit tight ends and make them linemen on offense. Defensively, we’re undersized and big time teams show where the rubber meets the road, aka Alabama in the 4th quarter in 2009. Have a offensive line recruiter that refuses to lose a top recruit in the state and goes after out of state high school all americans.
5)Stop with the Beamerball addages. We have been found out a long time ago. In fact, programs destroy the hokies with blocked punts and returns for touchdowns way more than we do. Every program understood that Beamer used starters to gain the advantage blocking punts and kicks. No one fears the Hokies with regard to special teams. Frank Beamer coaches the teams, yet we still had to suck it up and keep Cody Journell on the team where most programs wouldve released his butt. The punting position ranked 114th in the nation in 2011.( sadly Danny Coale bailed out Beamer more than just punting).
6) Eliminate the multiple set offense and institute a spread option with the focus on getting the ball down the field. Eliminate any play that doesnt show a spread formation on the pre-snap. Eliminate the wide receiver flare pass. The world knows we do it and is a pick 6 nearly every play waiting to happen.
7) Enter Sandman. At one time this entrance was the best in college football. It has waned to the point where thousands of fans mail it in now and frankly their hearts arent in it. This has nothing to do with this season’s collapse. I felt it wane vs Alabama, Boise State. The last really big entrance I saw was 2004 vs Southern Cal.
8)Eliminate the Frank Beamer ‘aw shucks our guys played hard’ moral victory speech. For once I would love Beamer to actually say, WE GOT OUR REAR ENDS STOMPED. I was simply out coached. Its pathetic to hear the same excuses why we lose games and not start demanding why we should win these games.
9)The biased media. There is no such thing as an objective or critical comment about the regression of this program and its acceptance to remain at the status quo. Greg Roberts is completely impossible to listen to, as is Virginia Tech mouthpiece Bill Roth. While I can understand Roth’s bias, it still undercuts his ability to be objective when he talks about Tech bowl chances when youve been humiliated on national televison.
10) Rename the stadium. Bronze a statue of Frank Beamer outside the stadium. Thank him for his commitment for taking Virginia Tech to a place where fans would even consider demanding for an elite team( and deserves one). But this program is stagnated from a phylosophy that no longer is a sustainable option for Virginia Tech, or any football program to be considered a threat to ascend to the doorstep of college football immortality.
Frank Beamer has a system in place that guaranteed him tremendous succeess in terms of wins. Beamer himself will remind detractors of his records but wins in the ACC ring very hollow vs the elite conferences in the country. After 26 seasons at his alma mater, it is he that needs to honorably step aside, with fanfare and celebration, but post haste as well. jim Weaver has also worn out his value here too. Big time donors have an obligation to do what most can’t or wont– force Charles Steger’s hand to allow Virginia Tech football to be allowed to take that next step. The town has grown. The stadium no longer has chain link fences around it. We can no longer buy tickets on the day of the game.
But we still can’t beat a top 5 team.
This is certainly beating a dead horse…but…for the last decade, Tech’s offense has consistently under-performed…even when stocked with above-average running back talent. This blog, I believe, ran an analysis of where Tech ranked nationally in total offense..it was offensive….lol. Anecdotally, we have all known for years that Foster’s defense has really carried the team. I’m of a mind where, unfortunately, I’m thinking that its time to completely junk the offensive side of the coaching staff at Tech…top to bottom, all brand new….and not some person from a D3 school, but someone nationally known for offensive excellence. I’m also of a mind to say that if Coach Beamer is unwilling to effect this change, then he needs to go also. The condition with an anemic offense has persisted for FAR, FAR too long. I think at the end of the day,though, what the fan base and everyone else has to decide, the sine qua non question, is….does the fan base want to have consistent ten win seasons against a really weak schedule nationally, or, does the fan base want Virginia Tech to truly become a national-level championship contender, where for at least, say four of ten years, Tech is in the national championship talk? I think THIS is the cross-roads where we’re sitting currently….
Frank has been a godsend to Va. Tech. I recall my UVA friends saying that
George Welsh could not take UVA to the next level. Look where UVA is Now!!
My idea is to promote Frank to the AD job and retire Jim Weaver. Replace the entire offensive ( and I do mean offensive) coaching staff with a more up to date offensive staff.
Frank has laid the groundwork and should be promoted.
Go Hokies!!
Offense is the problem. Logan Thomas just does not have it. Get a new QB. After that, the offense line needs some new blood. They have been beaten badly this year.
On the coaching front, yeah, a new OC would be nice. But they need players with talent first and foremost.
1. O’Cain out – Get Rodgers back – Did well before leaving for the Pros – Vikings I think – Class Act – Excellent QB Coach and Recruiter in PA and NJ.
2. Newsome is a good recruiter in Tidewater – Find a place for him to recruit that area and pay the $$$ to get a new OL Coach! One of the Washington brothers is OL Coach for one of the Pro Teams – See if we could entice him with $$$.
3. Retire Stiney and get an established Offensive Coordinator.
4. Look back at most of the great backs we have had, used the option to perfection to get them outside.
Stop trying to send a 180lb back up the middle. Put in a trick play now and then.
5. For immediate help on the OL, look at Jr. College prospects – need immediate help as 2013 looks worse than 2012.
6. Stop messing with Logan’s mechanics – Did OK last year before he went West for special training – Let the Pros worry about that.
7. No comment on Sherman -
Do nothing,wait for the results of next year.Anybody can have a down year. After all one bad season out of the last 20 or so “aint” bad a lot of teams would like to have such a record.
Man I totally back Mark R. He is totally right and as for Leonard thanks for the comment. I guess even with bad grammer I still hit a nerve with sorry chokie fans! Here’s another tip get rid of chokie fans that can’t accept reality from fiction. Your precious hokies are at best average deal with it!!
Charlie, you are ignoring everything that has been said. It isn’t just one bad year. If the hokies had not had the fortune of playing in the weakest conferences in the country, there would be no such thing as a streak of 10 win seasons.
I agree with Allen. Beamer deserves a promotion to AD for getting Tech on the map. But what worked in the 90s doesn’t anymore.
Hope Hokies play in Sun Bowl different site New Years Eve afternoon would be fun
Get ready for next year
Make offence simple get bigger d- lineman
Bring on Alabama Labor Day weekend 2013
All of the above talk comes down to one thing – the philosophy of the team needs to be changed, and that is Beamer. He needs to change his outdated, boring, stagnant,unimaginative, poor excuse for an offensive philosophy.
There are lots of problems with this program and the buck stops with Beamer, and with Weaver, who needs to leave the program. If Beamer stays and this continues into another year, he needs to go also.
The Hokies are going the wrong way in the worst conference in college football. If by “fixing it” you mean winning (10) games a year, the only viable solution is for the Hokies to become an independent and cherry pick opponents.
Frank Beamer did a GREAT job but he and the Hokies hit their ceiling years ago.
mark r…couldn’t agree more. Nailed it.
First off, the uniforms have NOTHING to do with bad coaching and bad play. The coaches aren’t sitting around a runway watching Lester Karlin doing a Heidi Klum impression with various uni combinations. They don’t know or care what we wear from one week to another. On to what they are responsible for:
1 – Weekly preparation and game day prep have to be changed (much like our bowl game prep was changed for 1 year after the Orange Bowl loss to Kansas where we jetskied while they practiced). Here’s an example – For the Pitt game, we did our walkthru in Lane Stadium on the Friday before and not at the actual field in Pittsburgh where the game was played. The team didn’t fly out and arrive at their hotel until after 8pm and they didn’t eat dinner until 10pm at night (Dinner was pizza by the way – gut rock filling pizza at 10pm at night before a noon game the following game on a field no one has stepped foot on). You don’t have to look any further than our horrendous record in bowl games and vs top 10 teams to see our preparation needs to be tweeked.
2 – Newsome has to go now. Granted, Newsome did his original job which was to land Tyrod Taylor. Hiring Newsome also kept him from going to Al Groh’s staff and potentially opening up the 757 to them based on Newsome’s connections. TT has come and gone. As it stands today, I’d gladly trade Newsome to UVa for a Gatorade cooler (empty, not full – no way they’d agree to that deal). We’ve heard for 6 years “Wait til he gets his kind of line in here”. He’s had time and we’ve milked as much out of him as possible (should have let him go the minute TT graduated). Our line play has significantly and statistically dropped off from when Stiney was in charge of the OL. It’s not our kids that are at fault. We’ve had all ACC linemen and several players that he coached end up in the NFL. The problem with the line play is Newsome and his scheme. Cut him loose today.
3 – O’Cain goes too. The media might like him because he’s honest but he adds nothing of value. Granted, he has worked with NFL caliber qbs like Phillip Rivers but the guy has been shown the exit door by every school he’s been affiliated with and his only quality credential for employment at VT is “golf buddy”. My biggest problem with O’Cain is he doesn’t recruit. AT ALL. And he has a pretty fertile ground in NC where we could be getting many more athletes than we are but he doesn’t want to do it so we make Stiney, Shane and Torrian work overtime.
4 – Sorry Stiney but it’s demotion time. Stiney is in over his head. It’s not his fault, he just isn’t an offensive mind. He sees something that works somewhere else and thinks that will work at Tech too. And maybe it would if we didn’t have a hodge podge of 14 different offenses and no one who understands how to use any of them. He doesn’t have the knack for reading the defenses and adjusting and attacking. I for one though think Stiney is good for VT but just not in this current role. He needs to go back to the OL and continue recruiting because he is a passionate guy and our best recruiter. He’s just not capable of effectively running the offense.
5 – Hire a special teams coach. Frank has rested on his laurels. There isn’t a Hokie alive who doesn’t get mad and cuss at the television when an announcer talks about Frank’s great special teams history. Yes he had a good game plan 10 years ago but things evolve. Frank is under the impression that if it worked 30 years ago, it must still work today. We’ve been fortunate to win a lot of games by having better players and playing weaker competition than some other schools. Frank was lulled into a false sense of security that he had special teams mastered. Meanwhile, every other college in America was working to get better and figure out new things. Frank can’t get it done as the coach. Someone new needs to take over.
6 – Weaver needs to force change. If Beamer refuses to address the problem on the offense side of the ball, then Weaver needs to do it for him. In 1992, Dave Braine MADE Frank clean house. Frank didn’t want to, he had too. And that started a 19 year bowl streak. Frank is too loyal….loyal to a fault. College football is a business and Frank needs to treat it as such and make the moves that will positively affect this program. But if he won’t, then JW has to do it for him.
7 – Get rid of that ridiculous trophy case. If Frank admits there is a problem and makes offensive staff changes then fine, let it stay. But building that case made a statement that the staff was committed to winning a National Championship. Frank has continuously maintained that there is nothing wrong with our game plan, prep, etc. Then why is a preseason top 20 team now at 5 – 6? Why do we get embarrased in bowl games? Why is Frank 1 – 200 million in top 10 football matchups? Simple; things are wrong and need to be modified. If you can’t admit that then you aren’t really trying to win a Championship. And if that’s the case then get rid of that joke trophy case.
I have to 2nd Dr.Ken above.
marinemike- Yeah why should we care? Fans only pay out all that money for tickets, travel to and from the game, and make sacrifices in order to go to the games to NOT care. Let’s just give everyone a participation trophy like it’s little league baseball. This is sarcasm by the way.
I want coaches that are capable of disciplining their players BEFORE the need to is brought to their attention through national media. I want the best players on the field. No favoritism towards seniors or for any other reason than they’re the best player at their position. I want offensive coaches capable of doing their job and if they’re not capable, for the head coach to recognize it and do something about it BEFORE a 5-7 or 6-6 season hits. Proactive rather than reactive. If the head coach is unwilling to do what’s necessary I want that head coach replaced regardless of what they’ve done in the past. Loyalty can be a good thing but what I’ve witnessed at VT is something else.
OFFENSIVE LINE. A good O Line can make mediocre talent succeed. A bad O Line can make superstars struggle for yards. Learn to block and play to the strengths of speed and agility. Can the option read plays because the O Line can not currently support them. They take so long to develop that the entire defense is already keyed on the two players that may take the ball (QB or HB). Develop the O line and develop the running game that opens up big plays.
Fire Beamer. Seriously. He helped VT rise to the top, but his arrogance and insecurity prevent him from making changes necessary for VT to compete even for ACC crown; forget about a BCS title. Unless he surprises us all, and change his offensive staff from top to bottom, he’ll end his career with lackluster records year-in and year-out, just like Bowden and Paterno. VT alumni, fans, and student-athletes deserve someone much closer to the best to carry on the tradition Beamer began.