Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Q&A with Gobbler Country

Not all Hokies live in a van down by the river. Some of them have computers which they use to write excellent blogs, and I was fortunate to exchange Q's & A's with furrer4heisman, the owner and proprietor of Gobbler Country. Here are the questions I asked and he answered; my answers to his questions will be found there at some point in the near future.

1. I'm ripping you off here, out of curiosity. Who really is the worse OC, Stinespring or Groh?

The numbers say Stiney. Groh hasn't been ranked in the 100s for three consecutive years. (Editor's note: Barring an offensive explosion on Saturday, this will sadly cease to be true very shortly.) Stiney would have been fired anywhere else. Beamer is just very loyal to his assistants. And it's not just the numbers. It's our inability to have a comprehensive gameplan for the opponent or to make adjustments during the game. Stiney is the worst at making adjustments I've ever seen.

2. And who do VT fans prefer at quarterback? Glennon or Taylor? (My suspicion is Taylor.)

[Ed McMahon] You are correct, sir.[/Ed McMahon] In a perfect world, Tyrod would at least be a competent passer and we wouldn't have a quarterback controversy. Plus, since the O-line can't pass protect, we need Tyrod back there so he can run for his life. Glennon, meanwhile, prefers to hold on to the ball too long and take sacks. Glennon's a good kid and was one of the primary reasons we won the ACC last year. However, circumstances beyond his control have made Tyrod the guy we need at quarterback.

3. How does Beamer keep Bud Foster in town? Seems like he's always coming up in coaching searches. Think he stays this year, or is Beamer potentially looking to replace both coordinators? (Assuming Stinespring is also done.)

Foster is very loyal to Blacksburg and Virginia Tech. He likes it here and is paid well for an assistant. Unless he gets a Muschamp-type deal, I think he'll be gone at the end of the year. Before, he always said he wouldn't go anywhere unless it was a decent BCS conference job. I think he'll realize he has to change his requirements in order to get his chance. As for Stiney, I hope he's gone at the end of the year. If Bud leaves and Stiney stays it'll be like the Zombie Apocalypse only worse. I'm sure all the UVa fans will enjoy lurking on TSL if that happens.

4. What's to stop this game from ending up 3-0? What has to go right for VT's offense and/or wrong for VT's defense to make sure that this isn't a complete punt-fest?

For Tech, it's the same thing that has to go right every game on offense. We need to establish the run and keep running until you prove you can stop it. Defensively, if someone like Ogletree is allowed to roam open down the middle of the field, we're in trouble. We have a tendency to give up one or two big plays a game. I think we'll be able to have success against the run on Saturday. The trick will be controlling the playmakers from breaking the big one.

5. Without a doubt, if I could remove one Hokie from the roster for Saturday's game, it'd be Macho Harris. Who from the UVA roster would you keep off the field if you could?

I'd get rid of Peerman. Without Simpson available, you guys wouldn't be able to move the ball. As Peerman goes, so goes your offense.

6. I've always wondered. Do Hokies feel dirty eating the Thanksgiving turkey?

Well, we sell smoked turkey legs in the Lane Stadium, so no, we are perfectly comfortable eating turkey on Thanksgiving. I plan on eating a lot of it along with candied yams and pe-can pie. This is by far my favorite holiday and a lot of it has to do with the fact the rivalry is played two days later.

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I couldn't agree more with the last sentence. It's not actually that long ago that the game wasn't regularly played Thanksgiving weekend - as recently as 1999 it was played in October(!), but now that Tech is in the ACC, the game seems to have found a more or less permanent home, right where it belongs.

1 comment:

Winfield Featherston said...

There is something perfect about Thanksgiving Weekend and in-state rivalry football. TO HELL WITH GEORGIA!