From Old Virginia: say goodbye to 2012

Saturday, October 6, 2012

say goodbye to 2012

5 comments:

Anonymous said...: I'm quite peeved that Rocco wasn't given an earlier, more meaningful look yesterday. With the ineptitude of Sims and the running game going strong, that was the time to give Rocco a look. What Rocco needs is a strong run game to let him operate the intermediate passing game - a more traditional WCO, which is the tree Lazor loosely came from.

I was okay with starting Sims. I recognize that he has much higher potential, and Rocco didn't do himself any favors in the Louisiana Tech game. That said, couple comments.

a) While London gave Rocco the job to the start the year, he sure didn't act like he believed in Rocco, pulling him in the late 3rd in the Penn State game, in a crucial situation. It's been frustrating to see London handle Qb's the last two years, particularly when the speculation/talk has been that Lazor hasn't always supported some of the moves.

b) For everyone talking about the future ... winning now is as critical to the future as is developing Sims. We needed, more than anything, to show that last year wasn't an aberration and to show that we were on the right track. We needed to prove that we can continue the high level of play to continue getting AND keeping (there should certainly not be any significant confidence that Mizzell will definitely stick ... ) solid recruits.

With the way Sims was struggling, we should've gone to Rocco to give him a chance to breathe some life into the offense. Admittedly, not all of it is on the QB's fault, but Sims just simply wasn't ready. Now, I'd be wary about Mizzell, and wary about our chances of landing a top recruiting class next year when we have key positions that we need to add to for the 2014 class.; October 8, 2012 at 8:19 AM
Anonymous said...: Oh, one other thing - I'm completely bothered by some of the burned redshirts over the last two years. The one on my mind right now is Canaan Severin getting a brief snippet in the Tech game and yesterday, and to the best of my knowledge, didn't get any other time.

Perhaps one could argue that this keeps in tradition with London's playing the best man possible, but this does little to develop a program, particularly not when there is no guarantee our recruiting successes can continue.

Furthermore, one could perhaps justify this the last year and change as an effort to get London's guys in there and improve the raw talent ... but some of the burned redshirts this year make little sense. For example, I can somewhat understand wanting a big WR in there, but was there a need to burn Gamble and Severin, particularly when there was a clear top 4 on the depth chart at WR and you knew Jake McGee would be more involved this year?; October 8, 2012 at 8:41 AM
Anonymous said...: None of this should take away from the fact that yes, this was a rebuilding team and one that was supposed to struggle in some areas. The fact that the OL couldn't get that 4th and 1 is still bothersome (then again, so is the fact that London decided to go for it then and there, IMO). I'm really hoping Brad Henson sticks and is able to play right away next year (and is an upgrade) because it's hard for me to see where the internal upgrades are for the interior OL.; October 8, 2012 at 8:43 AM
Anonymous said...: You know how we complain that Rocco relies too heavily on check-downs to the RB, with an occasional shot at the TE, but rarely to a WR? I'm beginning to think that's evidence of Rocco's smarts. Our WRs just aren't that good.

Anyway, it's easy to go on and on about the QB controversy, but we gave up 42 points, after giving up 44, 27, and 56. It's obviously not about the QB.; October 8, 2012 at 10:57 AM
Anonymous said...: It certainly isn't just about the QB, but the ability to move the chains keeps the defense off the field, which gives them a shot.

Reading London's press conference, I think he's starting to "get it" about this year's defense. I entered the season hoping that the depth on the line, particularly inside, would make up for the loss of veteran players, and I think he's slowly realizing that could be a factor, based on his comments.

The defense was going to be burned at times this year. The youth of the group, coupled with the lack of a dominant pass rusher, were elements that were going to hamper the group, and the lack of a dominating run-stuffing interior was another piece.

The offense isn't helping them. Again, this isn't a defense of Rocco's season. The LA Tech game was bad. But yesterday, with a strong run game at first, that would've been perfect for him. His knowledge of the offense and ability to hit the short-intermediate stuff would've opened up stuff downfield.

I just don't think this offense is built for Sims right now, but moreover, he just doesn't seem ready. Drops have hampered both QB's, but taking that element out, it sure seemed like accuracy was a problem, and he seemed, on TV, to make some poor reads and judgments.; October 8, 2012 at 8:46 PM

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