Name: Chris Peace
Position: LB/DE
Hometown: Newport News
School: Denbigh
Height: 6'3"
Weight: 220
24/7: 70, two stars; #211 OLB, VA #86
ESPN: 76, three stars; #91 OLB, VA #32, East #126
Rivals: 5.4, two stars
Scout: two stars
Other offers: FCS only
Today we finally wrap up the series on 2014 recruits. Does this mean the 2015 recruiting board is finally going to make an appearance soon? It might! We can certainly hope.
Chris Peace committed on the same day that Cory Jones did; both received an offer and committed almost immediately during their official visit in January. Fitting, because the similarities between the two players are immense. If I told you about a recent basketball convert who piled up huge sack numbers in his first year of playing D-line and whose eye-opening athleticism earned him an offer from Mike London to play the role of pass-rushing OLB in Jon Tenuta's scheme, despite being ignored by the vast majority of FBS football, I still haven't given you enough info to distinguish the two.
So you're lucky I don't just mail it in and link you to the Cory Jones profile. There are some differences, though. Peace is not as brand-spanking-new to football as Jones is; he just grew. A lot. As a junior - that is, when colleges are really paying attention - Peace was a 6'1", 170-pound wide receiver, and so, ended up on no radars at all because those guys are a dime a dozen, and 170 pounds is too skinny to pay any attention to.
Then he gained 50 pounds, kept the wide-receiver quickness, and added muscle, to the point where ESPN uses the words "strong" or "strength" five times in their evaluation. This is another difference between Peace and Jones - ESPN likes Peace a lot more, praising his strength, speed, and perhaps most importantly, motor. Scout says mostly the same things, except for the strength part - they're not as high on that. Nevertheless, their write-up finishes with, "Peace IS A MAJOR GET" - emphasis very much theirs.
With Peace, Jones, and J.J. Jackson, UVA's entire linebacker class consists of hybrid DE tweeners rather than true linebackers. You would expect a learning curve for all of them, but especially these last two. I'm tempted to interpret the presence of all three of them as a way of saying, "look, not all of these guys are gonna pan out, but we're hedging our bets here and at least one of them ought to." In a way that's a self-fulfilling prophecy, because three guys at the same position in the same class can't all be starters. By definition, someone will lose that competition.
That's one to look at it, though it's probably not the coaches' intention. More likely, they saw athletes they liked and thought they could use, thought were flying too far under the radar, and offered, which has been London's SOP for his whole time here. It just so happens that these are LB/DEs rather than DB/WRs. Like Jones, Peace is a pretty blank slate, and these kinds of projections and descriptions can be easily thrown off by anything from a new coaching staff to a new growth spurt.
Showing posts with label jackson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label jackson. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
the recruit: J.J. Jackson
Name: J.J. Jackson
Position: DE
Hometown: Purcellville
School: Woodgrove
Height: 6'4"
Weight: 220
24/7: 85, three stars; #35 SDE, VA #27
ESPN: 76, three stars; #66 DE, Atl #110, VA #30
Rivals: 5.4, two stars; VA #33
Scout: three stars; #45 DE
Other offers: Duke, Ohio, ODU
Long-time followers of this feature realize by now that it's produced in order of commitment, and that would appear to mean I've skipped one. You haven't missed the Gary Wunderlich post, it's just that Wunderlich got an Ole Miss offer and reopened his recruiting. Not "officially," in that he hasn't used the word "decommit" (and his Twitter account is still pretty much UVA and not Ole Miss at all) but being a commitment and making a decision are mutually exclusive. I've written plenty of these about players who eventually decommitted but I'm definitely not spending the effort to write one when I know full well there's a chance it might not come to any use. So we're skipping ahead; the next commitment, after Wunderlich's, was J.J. Jackson.
Jackson is a big departure from the three high-profile commitments that came before him. (Yes, still counting Wunderlich in that.) You had the nation's best safety and kicker plus the state's best O-lineman and all the attention that came with it. Jackson began a run of low-radar commitments that was slightly interrupted by Will Richardson and then bookended a couple months later by Andrew Brown.
It's not easy for those radar screens to find a guy who moves from Ohio and plays one season of varsity football, which Jackson is. It's not that he's brand-new to football along the lines of, say, a Ziggy Ansah (the Lions' draft pick who literally had not played football until a year or two into his BYU education); Jackson played until eighth grade and then gave it up for basketball, returning to football in the spring of 2012 in time for his junior year that fall. But Jackson didn't go to any camps, and probably would've been pulverized if he did; when he decided to play football at Woodgrove, he weighed 180 pounds. Since then he's added 40 with an eating and weight training regimen.
The story for a guy like Jackson, then, is pretty familiar: nasty-good athlete, obviously raw, using his athleticism to eat up high school competition and slowly earning offers along the way as coaches decide if that athleticism is good enough to earn an offer for now. Jackson's probably hit his star-rating ceiling because he's already committed and not doing the college camp circuit looking for offers, as many in his position do. UVA's offer was about all he needed. As time went on, it's possible he'd have received a couple more ACC invites; Maryland in particular might've offered in May if Jackson hadn't committed in April.
The offer that's interesting, though, is one not listed above because I don't bother with the I-AA ones: Yale. Jackson is a high-quality student, and how many football players commit to a school citing its "globally recognized education"?
Jackson's position is still up in the air, though. He filled out pretty quick when you think about it, packing on 40 pounds in a year like that. The real question is, will he keep doing it? Jackson's a good athlete and all, but it really takes a physical freak like Eli Harold to come in and play defensive end at 220 pounds. Another 20 could keep Jackson at DE, his primary high school position. If he tops out around 230 or so, he'll probably move to linebacker, where he'd likely play on the weak side to free him up from dealing with a tight end and allow him to still be able to rush the passer some.
Likewise, Jackson's future on the team partly depends on his weight too. While the staff has filled the linebacker pipeline nicely, defensive end is another matter. I'd guess the team is better off if Jackson can stick at defensive end, if for no other reason than the need for depth there. It's easier to get lost in the shuffle at linebacker right now, the way the depth chart is shaking out. The staff may even decide to redshirt him and feed him protein shakes for a year, because by the time Jackson is a redshirted sophomore, the class of DEs that are currently sophomores will be gone (Eli Harold and such) and the lineup will be looking frightfully thin.
Position: DE
Hometown: Purcellville
School: Woodgrove
Height: 6'4"
Weight: 220
24/7: 85, three stars; #35 SDE, VA #27
ESPN: 76, three stars; #66 DE, Atl #110, VA #30
Rivals: 5.4, two stars; VA #33
Scout: three stars; #45 DE
Other offers: Duke, Ohio, ODU
Long-time followers of this feature realize by now that it's produced in order of commitment, and that would appear to mean I've skipped one. You haven't missed the Gary Wunderlich post, it's just that Wunderlich got an Ole Miss offer and reopened his recruiting. Not "officially," in that he hasn't used the word "decommit" (and his Twitter account is still pretty much UVA and not Ole Miss at all) but being a commitment and making a decision are mutually exclusive. I've written plenty of these about players who eventually decommitted but I'm definitely not spending the effort to write one when I know full well there's a chance it might not come to any use. So we're skipping ahead; the next commitment, after Wunderlich's, was J.J. Jackson.
Jackson is a big departure from the three high-profile commitments that came before him. (Yes, still counting Wunderlich in that.) You had the nation's best safety and kicker plus the state's best O-lineman and all the attention that came with it. Jackson began a run of low-radar commitments that was slightly interrupted by Will Richardson and then bookended a couple months later by Andrew Brown.
It's not easy for those radar screens to find a guy who moves from Ohio and plays one season of varsity football, which Jackson is. It's not that he's brand-new to football along the lines of, say, a Ziggy Ansah (the Lions' draft pick who literally had not played football until a year or two into his BYU education); Jackson played until eighth grade and then gave it up for basketball, returning to football in the spring of 2012 in time for his junior year that fall. But Jackson didn't go to any camps, and probably would've been pulverized if he did; when he decided to play football at Woodgrove, he weighed 180 pounds. Since then he's added 40 with an eating and weight training regimen.
The story for a guy like Jackson, then, is pretty familiar: nasty-good athlete, obviously raw, using his athleticism to eat up high school competition and slowly earning offers along the way as coaches decide if that athleticism is good enough to earn an offer for now. Jackson's probably hit his star-rating ceiling because he's already committed and not doing the college camp circuit looking for offers, as many in his position do. UVA's offer was about all he needed. As time went on, it's possible he'd have received a couple more ACC invites; Maryland in particular might've offered in May if Jackson hadn't committed in April.
The offer that's interesting, though, is one not listed above because I don't bother with the I-AA ones: Yale. Jackson is a high-quality student, and how many football players commit to a school citing its "globally recognized education"?
Jackson's position is still up in the air, though. He filled out pretty quick when you think about it, packing on 40 pounds in a year like that. The real question is, will he keep doing it? Jackson's a good athlete and all, but it really takes a physical freak like Eli Harold to come in and play defensive end at 220 pounds. Another 20 could keep Jackson at DE, his primary high school position. If he tops out around 230 or so, he'll probably move to linebacker, where he'd likely play on the weak side to free him up from dealing with a tight end and allow him to still be able to rush the passer some.
Likewise, Jackson's future on the team partly depends on his weight too. While the staff has filled the linebacker pipeline nicely, defensive end is another matter. I'd guess the team is better off if Jackson can stick at defensive end, if for no other reason than the need for depth there. It's easier to get lost in the shuffle at linebacker right now, the way the depth chart is shaking out. The staff may even decide to redshirt him and feed him protein shakes for a year, because by the time Jackson is a redshirted sophomore, the class of DEs that are currently sophomores will be gone (Eli Harold and such) and the lineup will be looking frightfully thin.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
the rookie cavaliers
To be clear, that's "Cavaliers that are now rookies in the NFL." Yes, once again it's time to see how the NFL draft went from a purely UVA perspective. This is a much shorter exercise than last year, when we had enough matriculation to the NFL that I had to split it up into draftees and non-draftees. This year, not so much. Maybe that has something to do with 3-9.
Anyway, here are the guys you'll be pulling for to make an NFL roster this year:
Chris Cook - 34th overall to the Vikings
The Vikings picked Cook with the selection they got from the Lions for trading out of the first round - really only a four-pick drop. The UVA fan in me is thrilled - Cook is going to a team bound and determined to upgrade a shaky cornerback position. The Lions fan in me is really pleased to finally have what looks like a really dangerous running back (the Lions took Cal's Jahvid Best with the pick acquired from the Vikings.)
But the combination UVA and Lions fan in me thinks the whole thing sucks. As a Lions fan, see, I can't stand the Vikings - maybe not as strongly as a Packers fan would hate them, but still; and I hate to see a Cavalier drafted by them, it's almost as bad as being drafted by Green Bay or Dallas. Not only that, but they used the pick the Lions gave them, and the Lions really, really need a cornerback too. (They picked one up in the third round instead.) And for the coup de grace: drafting Best gave the Lions the RB depth they needed to cut Cedric Peerman loose. So it's like a double no-Hoos whammy for the Lions.
But, Cook. As the Vikings' highest pick, he's something of a mini-star already in the Twin Cities and will no doubt be scrutinized come fall camp. He wasn't the Vikings' first choice, though; that was going to be Patrick Robinson, who got snagged two picks ahead of them. Minnesota needs cornerbacks badly enough that they decided to take the next one on their board instead of going with the best-player-available approach.
The situation there is really shaky. Cedric Griffin is the best they got, and they're not sure he'll be available for the start of the season. Everyone else was horribly unproductive last season, and the Vikings went out and signed a bunch of other guys before the draft (read: flung poo against the wall to find out what sticks) to try and shore up the position and be able to print up a depth chart and still look at themselves in the mirror. With Griffin probably out for training camp, Cook will have every chance to strut his stuff. Except for maybe the Lions, he'd have had a hard time finding a better situation.
Will Barker - Cowboys UFA
Ugh, I hate the Cowboys, but there's no denying former Cavaliers have had their share of success in Dallas. Both John Phillips and Kevin Ogletree caught on with the Cowboys last year, hauling in seven passes each, and they're joined this offseason by Connor Hughes, providing some warm-body depth at placekicker.
Barker ended up on a team that's more or less without a left tackle, but unfortunately I really have my doubts that Barker's suited for the left side. If he's a tackle, he's a right tackle, and Dallas has more depth on that side. Still, they didn't pick up a lineman til the sixth round and haven't been real active on the FA market for linemen either, so Barker's got as good a chance as any to impress his way onto the roster. As ever, UFA's face a long uphill climb to a steady paycheck and the odds are stacked against them, so when I say he's got a decent chance, that's definitely relative.
Nate Collins - Giants UFA
Another place with a nice contingent of Cavaliers; Collins will join Chris Canty and Clint Sintim on the Giants' defense. There isn't much room, though. Canty is an expensive investment that the Giants want to get some use out of after he was hurt much of last year, and so the depth chart at DT will get a little clogged. They drafted another defensive tackle in the second round as well. Overall, the Giants need more production than they've been getting out of the middle of their D-line, but there's enough depth there - especially high-priced depth - that it'll likely take an injury or something else unforeseen for Collins to crack the roster.
Mikell Simpson - Bengals UFA
Simpson's his small size - seriously, he looks like he's going to break every time he's tackled - make it a difficult battle no matter where he goes. Plus, he's not the only UFA RB the Bengals signed, and guess what else: Cincinnati picked up some familiar competition from the Lions. (Peerman, for the slow on the uptake.) The Bengals have no competition for the starting tailback job and some pretty well-established backups - they're basically looking for one last guy to fill out the back end of the roster, and Simpson's going to find it extremely difficult not to be one of the first cuts.
Rashawn Jackson - Panthers UFA
Guh. Carolina has a pair of 1,000-yard rushers in Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams and some backups they really like in Tyrell Sutton and Mike Goodson. If Jackson is going to make the Panthers' roster it'll probably be as a pure fullback, and a backup at that as Tony Fiammetta has been groomed for the starting job. Unlike Simpson, Jackson also has the size to make a mark on special teams, and in order to make the roster, this is where he'll probably have to expend a lot of effort.
Working in his favor, Fox Sports called him the second-best undrafted free agent, and compared him to Jason Snelling, who's done a terrific job carving himself a niche with Atlanta. The comparison is no accident - Jackson has a very similar skill set, looks a lot like Snelling on the field, and minus the medical year off, followed a very similar career path at UVA. Eerie similarities. Let's hope the parallels can continue; if Jackson catches on with Carolina, it'll likely be right from the Snelling blueprint.
Vic Hall - Bears UFA
Hall's pro recruitment probably reminded him a lot of his college recruitment. Defense? Offense? Different teams had different ideas. For the Bears, it'll be offense, at least at first - slot receiver. Right in Devin Hester's wheelhouse. The Bears also have Rashied Davis as a backup there, and if Hall ends up as a slot and KR, those two at least will be in front of him. His versatility makes it tough to figure his chances of making the roster, but it also greatly improves them, and don't be surprised if he does land on his feet somewhere. Might not necessarily be the Bears, and it could be anywhere on the field - kick returner, gunner, cornerback, slot. The practice squad is also a distinct possibility - thanks to his athleticism, probably a greater possibility than any of the other UFA's listed here since he can be asked to portray various opposing burners as a scout teamer. That kind of sucks, but in the end there's a reason Hall was one of Groh's favorites and I can't see him being completely shunted aside when all's said and done.
Anyway, here are the guys you'll be pulling for to make an NFL roster this year:
Chris Cook - 34th overall to the Vikings
The Vikings picked Cook with the selection they got from the Lions for trading out of the first round - really only a four-pick drop. The UVA fan in me is thrilled - Cook is going to a team bound and determined to upgrade a shaky cornerback position. The Lions fan in me is really pleased to finally have what looks like a really dangerous running back (the Lions took Cal's Jahvid Best with the pick acquired from the Vikings.)
But the combination UVA and Lions fan in me thinks the whole thing sucks. As a Lions fan, see, I can't stand the Vikings - maybe not as strongly as a Packers fan would hate them, but still; and I hate to see a Cavalier drafted by them, it's almost as bad as being drafted by Green Bay or Dallas. Not only that, but they used the pick the Lions gave them, and the Lions really, really need a cornerback too. (They picked one up in the third round instead.) And for the coup de grace: drafting Best gave the Lions the RB depth they needed to cut Cedric Peerman loose. So it's like a double no-Hoos whammy for the Lions.
But, Cook. As the Vikings' highest pick, he's something of a mini-star already in the Twin Cities and will no doubt be scrutinized come fall camp. He wasn't the Vikings' first choice, though; that was going to be Patrick Robinson, who got snagged two picks ahead of them. Minnesota needs cornerbacks badly enough that they decided to take the next one on their board instead of going with the best-player-available approach.
The situation there is really shaky. Cedric Griffin is the best they got, and they're not sure he'll be available for the start of the season. Everyone else was horribly unproductive last season, and the Vikings went out and signed a bunch of other guys before the draft (read: flung poo against the wall to find out what sticks) to try and shore up the position and be able to print up a depth chart and still look at themselves in the mirror. With Griffin probably out for training camp, Cook will have every chance to strut his stuff. Except for maybe the Lions, he'd have had a hard time finding a better situation.
Will Barker - Cowboys UFA
Ugh, I hate the Cowboys, but there's no denying former Cavaliers have had their share of success in Dallas. Both John Phillips and Kevin Ogletree caught on with the Cowboys last year, hauling in seven passes each, and they're joined this offseason by Connor Hughes, providing some warm-body depth at placekicker.
Barker ended up on a team that's more or less without a left tackle, but unfortunately I really have my doubts that Barker's suited for the left side. If he's a tackle, he's a right tackle, and Dallas has more depth on that side. Still, they didn't pick up a lineman til the sixth round and haven't been real active on the FA market for linemen either, so Barker's got as good a chance as any to impress his way onto the roster. As ever, UFA's face a long uphill climb to a steady paycheck and the odds are stacked against them, so when I say he's got a decent chance, that's definitely relative.
Nate Collins - Giants UFA
Another place with a nice contingent of Cavaliers; Collins will join Chris Canty and Clint Sintim on the Giants' defense. There isn't much room, though. Canty is an expensive investment that the Giants want to get some use out of after he was hurt much of last year, and so the depth chart at DT will get a little clogged. They drafted another defensive tackle in the second round as well. Overall, the Giants need more production than they've been getting out of the middle of their D-line, but there's enough depth there - especially high-priced depth - that it'll likely take an injury or something else unforeseen for Collins to crack the roster.
Mikell Simpson - Bengals UFA
Simpson's his small size - seriously, he looks like he's going to break every time he's tackled - make it a difficult battle no matter where he goes. Plus, he's not the only UFA RB the Bengals signed, and guess what else: Cincinnati picked up some familiar competition from the Lions. (Peerman, for the slow on the uptake.) The Bengals have no competition for the starting tailback job and some pretty well-established backups - they're basically looking for one last guy to fill out the back end of the roster, and Simpson's going to find it extremely difficult not to be one of the first cuts.
Rashawn Jackson - Panthers UFA
Guh. Carolina has a pair of 1,000-yard rushers in Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams and some backups they really like in Tyrell Sutton and Mike Goodson. If Jackson is going to make the Panthers' roster it'll probably be as a pure fullback, and a backup at that as Tony Fiammetta has been groomed for the starting job. Unlike Simpson, Jackson also has the size to make a mark on special teams, and in order to make the roster, this is where he'll probably have to expend a lot of effort.
Working in his favor, Fox Sports called him the second-best undrafted free agent, and compared him to Jason Snelling, who's done a terrific job carving himself a niche with Atlanta. The comparison is no accident - Jackson has a very similar skill set, looks a lot like Snelling on the field, and minus the medical year off, followed a very similar career path at UVA. Eerie similarities. Let's hope the parallels can continue; if Jackson catches on with Carolina, it'll likely be right from the Snelling blueprint.
Vic Hall - Bears UFA
Hall's pro recruitment probably reminded him a lot of his college recruitment. Defense? Offense? Different teams had different ideas. For the Bears, it'll be offense, at least at first - slot receiver. Right in Devin Hester's wheelhouse. The Bears also have Rashied Davis as a backup there, and if Hall ends up as a slot and KR, those two at least will be in front of him. His versatility makes it tough to figure his chances of making the roster, but it also greatly improves them, and don't be surprised if he does land on his feet somewhere. Might not necessarily be the Bears, and it could be anywhere on the field - kick returner, gunner, cornerback, slot. The practice squad is also a distinct possibility - thanks to his athleticism, probably a greater possibility than any of the other UFA's listed here since he can be asked to portray various opposing burners as a scout teamer. That kind of sucks, but in the end there's a reason Hall was one of Groh's favorites and I can't see him being completely shunted aside when all's said and done.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
it's hard to get angry at a bad team
Toward the end there, I was really starting to want that game. Obviously, you want the win; as a bonus, it would have knocked Boston College mathematically out of the ACCCG, which, sorry BC fans, but a third straight BC trip to that game would be awful for the conference. So there was a nice double whammy going, and damn if it didn't look like it was going to happen for a while there.
Then, of course, reality sank in, and here we are. And it didn't even suck too bad. Which, is that a bad thing in itself? If we were in contention for anything - anything at all - I'd have spent this whole day and probably most of the rest of the week brooding over the myriad single plays that could have swung the game the other way. If Randolph hadn't missed a field goal; if Vic Hall (of all people!) hadn't dropped a pair of passes on the same series; if we hadn't let BC out of a first-and-25 on their scoring drive; and most obviously, if Sewell could have picked up just six more inches. This is the stuff I'd have been brooding about all day. Instead I played a bunch of Civ and watched stock cars go round and round. I've come to the placid acceptance that the season is a wash. That combined with the beginning of basketball season and the happy glow from a surprise ACC soccer championship would seem to be therapeutic.
(The soccer would be a million times more exciting to me if they would ever televise a soccer game, ever. You'd think that's what ESPNU is for, but no, they'd rather broadcast "Inside the Big East" and replays of random shitty MAC games from the previous Tuesday. As it is the best I can do is nod happily.)
Anyway, this newfound numbness over losing is all well and good, as long as it's short-term and followed by a "change in the program's direction" in the offseason. You might remember I once opined that Al Groh's greatest contribution to the program has been to keep our expectations high. He might not always have met them, but he's done more than well enough to keep us wanting more. This is healthy. The last thing we want is to go the way of North Carolina, post-Mack Brown. Carl Torbush came in and let things slide, and people there lowered their expectations and stopped really caring, and it got to the point where six years of John Bunting seemed perfectly acceptable even as he flushed the football team down the crapper. I am hoping that expectations next August do not match those for next week.
*******************************************************
- BC fans ought to be furious this week. Livid. Here they are trying to stay alive for an ACC championship and their coaches came thisclose to pissing it away. I don't know who was calling the defense on our final almost-scoring drive, whether it was Spaziani or DC Bill McGovern, but they need first to be slapped and after that to learn how to scout the opposition. You are up against the second-worst offense in the entire country - worse than all the shitty Eastern Michigans, Washington States, New Mexicos, Ball States, and all the rest - and you have given up three points to that offense all day, and just because there are only two short minutes left in the game, that is the time to switch to a soft prevent zone? We haven't moved the ball like that all year because teams insist on never playing zone against us. Imagine that. It turned out OK for BC in the end, but it damn near didn't, and it would have been the Bad Decision of the Year for the Eagles. Hint to all future opposing defenses: Never ever deviate from man coverage and we will not score any touchdowns.
- Let's just agree to not play any running backs this season except for Rashawn Jackson.
- Special teams at the beginning of the season were just sort of crummy in a really boring way. Randolph has been near-automatic this year, which is nice, and Howell's a decent punter, but the return and coverage units were just wandering about in the wilderness. Somehow the special teams have made huge improvements and at the same time, regressed horribly. Now we block punts for touchdowns, return punts for touchdowns, and don't kick the ball out of bounds any more. It looks great. At the same time, we negate our TDs with the world's stupidest penalties and rough the punter on 4th-and-22. I don't know whether to give Ron Prince major-league credit for coming up with innovative punt rushes and improving the return blocking as the season goes, or rip him a new one for neglecting to coach his guys not to block in the back and dialing up all-out bumrushes on 4th-and-22.
- Putting us on national TV next week seems like a really nutty idea, but keep in mind: it's all about Clemson. They win, they set up a rematch with Georgia Tech in Tampa. Prepare yourself for the C.J. Spiller Heisman campaign as brought to you by ESPN, and for the announcers to be not entirely sure which team he's playing against. Besides, once you get past the ESPN2 game (BC-UNC) the next three games are disasters. I want to know where I can get the three-way parlay on TFSU, Miami, and Poly to each win by three touchdowns.
- It's basketball season, and Tony Bennett is 1-0.
Then, of course, reality sank in, and here we are. And it didn't even suck too bad. Which, is that a bad thing in itself? If we were in contention for anything - anything at all - I'd have spent this whole day and probably most of the rest of the week brooding over the myriad single plays that could have swung the game the other way. If Randolph hadn't missed a field goal; if Vic Hall (of all people!) hadn't dropped a pair of passes on the same series; if we hadn't let BC out of a first-and-25 on their scoring drive; and most obviously, if Sewell could have picked up just six more inches. This is the stuff I'd have been brooding about all day. Instead I played a bunch of Civ and watched stock cars go round and round. I've come to the placid acceptance that the season is a wash. That combined with the beginning of basketball season and the happy glow from a surprise ACC soccer championship would seem to be therapeutic.
(The soccer would be a million times more exciting to me if they would ever televise a soccer game, ever. You'd think that's what ESPNU is for, but no, they'd rather broadcast "Inside the Big East" and replays of random shitty MAC games from the previous Tuesday. As it is the best I can do is nod happily.)
Anyway, this newfound numbness over losing is all well and good, as long as it's short-term and followed by a "change in the program's direction" in the offseason. You might remember I once opined that Al Groh's greatest contribution to the program has been to keep our expectations high. He might not always have met them, but he's done more than well enough to keep us wanting more. This is healthy. The last thing we want is to go the way of North Carolina, post-Mack Brown. Carl Torbush came in and let things slide, and people there lowered their expectations and stopped really caring, and it got to the point where six years of John Bunting seemed perfectly acceptable even as he flushed the football team down the crapper. I am hoping that expectations next August do not match those for next week.
*******************************************************
- BC fans ought to be furious this week. Livid. Here they are trying to stay alive for an ACC championship and their coaches came thisclose to pissing it away. I don't know who was calling the defense on our final almost-scoring drive, whether it was Spaziani or DC Bill McGovern, but they need first to be slapped and after that to learn how to scout the opposition. You are up against the second-worst offense in the entire country - worse than all the shitty Eastern Michigans, Washington States, New Mexicos, Ball States, and all the rest - and you have given up three points to that offense all day, and just because there are only two short minutes left in the game, that is the time to switch to a soft prevent zone? We haven't moved the ball like that all year because teams insist on never playing zone against us. Imagine that. It turned out OK for BC in the end, but it damn near didn't, and it would have been the Bad Decision of the Year for the Eagles. Hint to all future opposing defenses: Never ever deviate from man coverage and we will not score any touchdowns.
- Let's just agree to not play any running backs this season except for Rashawn Jackson.
- Special teams at the beginning of the season were just sort of crummy in a really boring way. Randolph has been near-automatic this year, which is nice, and Howell's a decent punter, but the return and coverage units were just wandering about in the wilderness. Somehow the special teams have made huge improvements and at the same time, regressed horribly. Now we block punts for touchdowns, return punts for touchdowns, and don't kick the ball out of bounds any more. It looks great. At the same time, we negate our TDs with the world's stupidest penalties and rough the punter on 4th-and-22. I don't know whether to give Ron Prince major-league credit for coming up with innovative punt rushes and improving the return blocking as the season goes, or rip him a new one for neglecting to coach his guys not to block in the back and dialing up all-out bumrushes on 4th-and-22.
- Putting us on national TV next week seems like a really nutty idea, but keep in mind: it's all about Clemson. They win, they set up a rematch with Georgia Tech in Tampa. Prepare yourself for the C.J. Spiller Heisman campaign as brought to you by ESPN, and for the announcers to be not entirely sure which team he's playing against. Besides, once you get past the ESPN2 game (BC-UNC) the next three games are disasters. I want to know where I can get the three-way parlay on TFSU, Miami, and Poly to each win by three touchdowns.
- It's basketball season, and Tony Bennett is 1-0.
Monday, October 19, 2009
the view from the driver's seat
Jameel Sewell dropped back to pass, and like so many times before, his pocket collapsed almost instantaneously and another split-second decision was unwillingly forced out of him. Like the unwanted, skull-masked guest at the masquerade, the blood-red-clad defenders were crashing the party again. Sewell made his choice. As his doom closed in, he let the ball fly; an ill-advised throw. On a graceful arc it soared toward failure; two more blood-red saboteurs locked their greedy eyes onto the ball and leaped expectantly for the prize.
When the ball finally came to rest, it was gripped tightly and safely in friendly hands. Call it Providence, call it luck, or call it the same slippery, ungrippable ball that both teams had struggled with all day. By any name, Kris Burd held in his hands the salvation of the season. There was more work to be done, but the fickle rain gods were done smiling on Maryland. A few short minutes later, the Maryland lead was cut in half; a few short minutes after that, it was gone for good.
A football game in the rain and muddy swamps is not won by proving your superiority time and again, nor with crisp, perfect execution. That's for sunny weather. You try to gut it out each and every play, you try to make something happen, and you take what you're given and do something with that. Kris Burd took what he was given. Nate Collins took what he was given. You try not to be the ones doing the giving - at this, Maryland did not succeed.
So here we are atop the conference. How weird is that. There's only one team in the ACC that has yet to lose to any other ACC team this season, and it's not Virginia Poly, not Georgia Tech, not Miami, and definitely not Florida State, as weird as all that sounds. And yet, to the outside world, we've proven nothing. We've won our first two ACC games and they were both on the road - that's huge. As far as the outside world goes, they care little for that. The ghost of William & Mary still haunts this team. As it should. Because this is a team that can't rest on its laurels. What have we to rest on? We've proven we're not totally crappy by beating three crappy teams. "Not crappy" isn't going to get it done next week. We're sitting in the driver's seat, but there's an intersection in the windshield. One of the signs says "2007" and the other says "2008." I know which road I want to go down, but we're not gonna find out til Saturday.
********************************
Part of the reason it's so much fun to beat Maryland is because Maryland insists on being so fun to beat. Early in the game I thought "man, it's hard to stand out for douchery at such a douchey school, but Alex Wujciak is succeeding." This was because of his "we'd never wear stuff like that" quote from the previous week, and then the "look at me, I'm a fierce tribal warrior, RAHHR" eyeblack he had on during the game. Schmo.
I changed my mind, though. Wujciak, despite his proclamations of dominance (you'd think they won the game the way he speaks) is just one douche rocket in a sea of douche rockets. The attitude is pervasive throughout the locker room.
Torrey Smith: “I feel like we’re better than Rutgers, I feel like we’re better than Middle Tennessee, I definitely feel that we’re better than UVa.” (Yes, he said this after losing to all those teams. Some of them twice.)
Wujciak again: "We just shut them down. They got one lucky pass where the guy is half out of bounds, they called him inbounds. I don’t even know what to say about that." (You were halfway across the field, dude. How would you know?)
Chris Turner: "Any other day if it wasn’t a torrential downpour and the balls were dry it would have been another outcome. But shoulda-woulda-coulda, you can’t make excuses, that’s just the way it was." (I think that qualifies as an excuse. Guy sounds like Charlie Weis: "I'm not complaining but...." And I didn't realize the sun was shining whenever Sewell threw the ball.)
With all that crying about how much better they think they are, that sure sounds like a reflection on the coach. But he wouldn't be dumb enough to say stuff like that in public, would he?
Yes he would: "I don’t think these teams that are winning are better than us, but we just keep shooting ourselves in the foot."
Douche. Bags. This is why it's so much fun to beat these guys. They provide enough humor to let the glow of victory last all week. It's not about getting credit or respect for the win; I don't need it, it's etched in the scorebook for all time. It's the laughs. Schadenfreude is twice as freude-y when it's Maryland. Here's a prediction: Duke is going to beat this team next week. Book it. Come back to this page next Sunday and see if I'm right. Why? Maryland doesn't think they need to get any better. They think they're good enough. Five times now, it's been just the rotten breaks that keep going against them. They don't need to get any better, they just need the world to stop turning against them. Duke is a hungry team with a new attitude. They gave Virginia Poly hell and they crushed NC State. They know they need to keep getting better, and they are. Maryland thinks they're good enough already. Hell, they're better than we are, if you listen to their players. An ironic attitude coming from a school whose fans hate us because they think we think we're better than them.
That said....
- We didn't exactly win the battle in the trenches. Especially not on offense. And we didn't get much pressure on Turner, except for certain key moments. If we'd done what I said to do, which is make liberal use of the blitz, given what happened when we did get to Turner I think we'd have had a lot more success on defense and turned the game in our favor earlier.
- Nate Collins is a hoss. The ACC thinks so too.
- To clear it up: Yes, Groh absolutely should have gone for the score. Did you see what happened the last time we had first and goal on the 1? No cutesying around with kneeling the ball. Punch it in, take the points, put 'em down two scores. Maryland had a timeout left and would likely have gotten the ball back with a chance for a miracle. Never turn down the points when all they need to do is score once and they're on top again. Right play call, right time.
- Not only was Burd not out of bounds, but the officials could legitimately have called pass interference on Maryland. Check the tape; the defender that didn't leap into the air knocked Burd out of the way. If that was single and not double coverage, the refs would call that every time.
- Argh one shotgun draw too many.
- Speaking of what happened when we had first and goal at the 1, I'll tell you what happened: Landon Bradley singlehandedly murdered that opportunity. First with the false start and then repeatedly getting blown into the backfield. Next year's training camp is going to see a fierce competition between Bradley and Oday Aboushi for that job, and that's just if Morgan Moses doesn't show up and stick his nose into the fray.
- We didn't really miss Mikell Simpson. No way Simpson could have been effective on that field. What we missed was Cedric Peerman. Having graduated him, Rashawn Jackson would be the guy we needed; why he wasn't given the ball more often and allowed to just bull his way ahead all the time is a mystery. It was pretty damn effective in the fourth. Also, Peerman would not have whiffed that block that resulted in a Sewell fumble, but that only partly matters: Bradley should not have been doubling down on Pasztor's guy, not with two guys lined up outside him that clearly weren't in pass coverage. That might have been how the play was supposed to be blocked, and you have to tip your hat to Maryland's defensive coordinator for really mixing up his blitzes especially well. But Bradley was ineffective all day.
- This might just be the best defense we've ever had in the Groh era. Seriously. It's weird because we don't have Clint Sintim or Darryl Blackstock, those pass-rushing OLB's that do a lot of great things in this 3-4 defense. The linebacking corps is not getting much attention, outside of Steve Greer who's playing very well. But this defense is beastly when it counts. The 3-4 means not much attention goes to the D-line, but I think they deserve the lion's share of the credit. The secondary is playing exceptionally well, that is a fact. And the aforementioned Greer has been a nice addition. But the defensive line is making plays and winning battles, and the 3-4 defense cannot be successful without that. Matt Conrath has been having a terrific season. Let's hope he's not hurt too badly. But if he has to miss time, then the defense will simply adopt Groh's next-man-up mentality, and Zane Parr is that man. Parr has also played well and can fill the hole left by Conrath.
Aaaand I'm done babbling. This week: BIG GAME. Are we legit? We'll find out. Also, see the note below for some programming info.
Editor's note: This is the column I'd planned for Sunday. Unfortunately, in the middle of putting together the highlights from the Maryland game, my computer decided it didn't want to do this anymore. It is down so hard. It does not do things any more. It's not even that old a computer. In computer years, it's right in the middle of its angsty teenage phase, which now that I think of it, I suppose would explain things. Anyway, that means a severe disruption in posting. I'm doing this from work, in bits and pieces because actual work keeps getting in the way. Today I'm going in to get the data on the hard drive recovered and hopefully, get the hard drive fixed too so that it boots up again. If that doesn't work.....well, I don't know what to tell you; a new hard drive will be in order, I don't doubt. As long as my computer is out of commission, going forward the only thing I can guarantee you is a Q&A session with the FTRS boys and that beyond that, there won't be anything other than my thoughts barfed onto the page whenever I get the chance here at work. Actual research until the situation is fixed, like the weekend review post that normally happens today and won't: highly unlikely. Je suis désolé.
When the ball finally came to rest, it was gripped tightly and safely in friendly hands. Call it Providence, call it luck, or call it the same slippery, ungrippable ball that both teams had struggled with all day. By any name, Kris Burd held in his hands the salvation of the season. There was more work to be done, but the fickle rain gods were done smiling on Maryland. A few short minutes later, the Maryland lead was cut in half; a few short minutes after that, it was gone for good.
A football game in the rain and muddy swamps is not won by proving your superiority time and again, nor with crisp, perfect execution. That's for sunny weather. You try to gut it out each and every play, you try to make something happen, and you take what you're given and do something with that. Kris Burd took what he was given. Nate Collins took what he was given. You try not to be the ones doing the giving - at this, Maryland did not succeed.
So here we are atop the conference. How weird is that. There's only one team in the ACC that has yet to lose to any other ACC team this season, and it's not Virginia Poly, not Georgia Tech, not Miami, and definitely not Florida State, as weird as all that sounds. And yet, to the outside world, we've proven nothing. We've won our first two ACC games and they were both on the road - that's huge. As far as the outside world goes, they care little for that. The ghost of William & Mary still haunts this team. As it should. Because this is a team that can't rest on its laurels. What have we to rest on? We've proven we're not totally crappy by beating three crappy teams. "Not crappy" isn't going to get it done next week. We're sitting in the driver's seat, but there's an intersection in the windshield. One of the signs says "2007" and the other says "2008." I know which road I want to go down, but we're not gonna find out til Saturday.
********************************
Part of the reason it's so much fun to beat Maryland is because Maryland insists on being so fun to beat. Early in the game I thought "man, it's hard to stand out for douchery at such a douchey school, but Alex Wujciak is succeeding." This was because of his "we'd never wear stuff like that" quote from the previous week, and then the "look at me, I'm a fierce tribal warrior, RAHHR" eyeblack he had on during the game. Schmo.
I changed my mind, though. Wujciak, despite his proclamations of dominance (you'd think they won the game the way he speaks) is just one douche rocket in a sea of douche rockets. The attitude is pervasive throughout the locker room.
Torrey Smith: “I feel like we’re better than Rutgers, I feel like we’re better than Middle Tennessee, I definitely feel that we’re better than UVa.” (Yes, he said this after losing to all those teams. Some of them twice.)
Wujciak again: "We just shut them down. They got one lucky pass where the guy is half out of bounds, they called him inbounds. I don’t even know what to say about that." (You were halfway across the field, dude. How would you know?)
Chris Turner: "Any other day if it wasn’t a torrential downpour and the balls were dry it would have been another outcome. But shoulda-woulda-coulda, you can’t make excuses, that’s just the way it was." (I think that qualifies as an excuse. Guy sounds like Charlie Weis: "I'm not complaining but...." And I didn't realize the sun was shining whenever Sewell threw the ball.)
With all that crying about how much better they think they are, that sure sounds like a reflection on the coach. But he wouldn't be dumb enough to say stuff like that in public, would he?
Yes he would: "I don’t think these teams that are winning are better than us, but we just keep shooting ourselves in the foot."
Douche. Bags. This is why it's so much fun to beat these guys. They provide enough humor to let the glow of victory last all week. It's not about getting credit or respect for the win; I don't need it, it's etched in the scorebook for all time. It's the laughs. Schadenfreude is twice as freude-y when it's Maryland. Here's a prediction: Duke is going to beat this team next week. Book it. Come back to this page next Sunday and see if I'm right. Why? Maryland doesn't think they need to get any better. They think they're good enough. Five times now, it's been just the rotten breaks that keep going against them. They don't need to get any better, they just need the world to stop turning against them. Duke is a hungry team with a new attitude. They gave Virginia Poly hell and they crushed NC State. They know they need to keep getting better, and they are. Maryland thinks they're good enough already. Hell, they're better than we are, if you listen to their players. An ironic attitude coming from a school whose fans hate us because they think we think we're better than them.
That said....
- We didn't exactly win the battle in the trenches. Especially not on offense. And we didn't get much pressure on Turner, except for certain key moments. If we'd done what I said to do, which is make liberal use of the blitz, given what happened when we did get to Turner I think we'd have had a lot more success on defense and turned the game in our favor earlier.
- Nate Collins is a hoss. The ACC thinks so too.
- To clear it up: Yes, Groh absolutely should have gone for the score. Did you see what happened the last time we had first and goal on the 1? No cutesying around with kneeling the ball. Punch it in, take the points, put 'em down two scores. Maryland had a timeout left and would likely have gotten the ball back with a chance for a miracle. Never turn down the points when all they need to do is score once and they're on top again. Right play call, right time.
- Not only was Burd not out of bounds, but the officials could legitimately have called pass interference on Maryland. Check the tape; the defender that didn't leap into the air knocked Burd out of the way. If that was single and not double coverage, the refs would call that every time.
- Argh one shotgun draw too many.
- Speaking of what happened when we had first and goal at the 1, I'll tell you what happened: Landon Bradley singlehandedly murdered that opportunity. First with the false start and then repeatedly getting blown into the backfield. Next year's training camp is going to see a fierce competition between Bradley and Oday Aboushi for that job, and that's just if Morgan Moses doesn't show up and stick his nose into the fray.
- We didn't really miss Mikell Simpson. No way Simpson could have been effective on that field. What we missed was Cedric Peerman. Having graduated him, Rashawn Jackson would be the guy we needed; why he wasn't given the ball more often and allowed to just bull his way ahead all the time is a mystery. It was pretty damn effective in the fourth. Also, Peerman would not have whiffed that block that resulted in a Sewell fumble, but that only partly matters: Bradley should not have been doubling down on Pasztor's guy, not with two guys lined up outside him that clearly weren't in pass coverage. That might have been how the play was supposed to be blocked, and you have to tip your hat to Maryland's defensive coordinator for really mixing up his blitzes especially well. But Bradley was ineffective all day.
- This might just be the best defense we've ever had in the Groh era. Seriously. It's weird because we don't have Clint Sintim or Darryl Blackstock, those pass-rushing OLB's that do a lot of great things in this 3-4 defense. The linebacking corps is not getting much attention, outside of Steve Greer who's playing very well. But this defense is beastly when it counts. The 3-4 means not much attention goes to the D-line, but I think they deserve the lion's share of the credit. The secondary is playing exceptionally well, that is a fact. And the aforementioned Greer has been a nice addition. But the defensive line is making plays and winning battles, and the 3-4 defense cannot be successful without that. Matt Conrath has been having a terrific season. Let's hope he's not hurt too badly. But if he has to miss time, then the defense will simply adopt Groh's next-man-up mentality, and Zane Parr is that man. Parr has also played well and can fill the hole left by Conrath.
Aaaand I'm done babbling. This week: BIG GAME. Are we legit? We'll find out. Also, see the note below for some programming info.
Editor's note: This is the column I'd planned for Sunday. Unfortunately, in the middle of putting together the highlights from the Maryland game, my computer decided it didn't want to do this anymore. It is down so hard. It does not do things any more. It's not even that old a computer. In computer years, it's right in the middle of its angsty teenage phase, which now that I think of it, I suppose would explain things. Anyway, that means a severe disruption in posting. I'm doing this from work, in bits and pieces because actual work keeps getting in the way. Today I'm going in to get the data on the hard drive recovered and hopefully, get the hard drive fixed too so that it boots up again. If that doesn't work.....well, I don't know what to tell you; a new hard drive will be in order, I don't doubt. As long as my computer is out of commission, going forward the only thing I can guarantee you is a Q&A session with the FTRS boys and that beyond that, there won't be anything other than my thoughts barfed onto the page whenever I get the chance here at work. Actual research until the situation is fixed, like the weekend review post that normally happens today and won't: highly unlikely. Je suis désolé.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
what the hell?
In retrospect, maybe we should've seen this coming? For the third year in a row now, Al Groh's Hoos have picked a random game that looked just like any other going in - which is to say, trouble - and gone all SUPRISE BUTTSECKS on some hapless opponent. The only difference between Indiana '09 and Maryland '08/Miami '07 is the meaningless touchdown at the end. The shutout would have been nice, but it's the least of anyone's concerns. The point is that random, out-of-nowhere blowouts that make you scratch your head and ask yourself the above question somewhere around "27-0 in the second quarter" have been something of a hallmark of the Groh Decade.
It's so funny how I learn, every year, how quickly the fortunes of our football team can swing, mid-season. You'd think in my 10th year of UVA fanhood I'd have learned this lesson by now, but you'd be wrong; apparently I am not a fast learner. Two weeks into the season - actually one week, really, because eight days is all it takes to end up 0-2 - everything was DOOM. Two weeks after being 0-3 - again, actually just one week - I'm about to open my fat mouth about bowl games again.
Yes, bowl games. Before the Southern Miss game, you may recall I opined that our trip to Hattiesburg was a must-win game, because three out of the next four would keep us in bowl contention but UNC was already penciled in as a loss. One UNC upset and an Indiana-stomp later, here we are with a very good chance to pull off that 3-of-4 trick that looked very possible even at 0-3.
The lesson to be learned from Saturday is merely this: We will have an actual chance in every game left on the schedule - and in several cases much more than just a chance - because the defense is legit. I don't care if it was "just" Indiana or "just" UNC's bland, thoroughly predictable offense. Carolina has many problems but talent is not one of them, as evidenced by their ability to rack up large numbers of points against crappy teams. And Indiana has played Ohio State - one of the top ten defenses in the country - and wouldn't you know it, the defensive statistics match up pretty well. Hell, we're top-20 ourselves, and ninth (ninth!) in the country (the country!) against the pass, with opponents averaging just five yards per attempt. God, if only the offense could follow suit. For one fantastic Saturday afternoon, Indiana found out what happens when they do.
***************************************
It almost makes no sense to analyze the game, because usually that involves "what went right" and "what went wrong." Yesterday it was what went right, what went right-er, and what went more-er right-er.
- The offense was absolutely sparkling. That's the first time we've been able to say anything nice about the offense without adding ten major caveats afterwards. Take away the bad snap over Verica's head (which is a "rushing attempt" only in the most technical sense) and we averaged 5.5 yards per carry. A less statistical way of saying this would be that I thought we'd be able to run pretty much at will against IU, and we did. The offensive line spent all day bulldozing the IU defensive line, and Messrs. Simpson, Jackson, and Mack reaped the rewards.
- Duh. It seems so obvious. Hm, Vic Hall is not outplaying Jameel Sewell at quarterback and our wide receivers aren't outplaying anybody? What to do, what to do. Huh. Hey, let's line Hall up at receiver and throw at him a lot. You'd think this sort of thing would occur to me earlier, but I'm glad it occurred to the coaching staff this week, because Hall's pass-catching was huge. The only other receiver that's shown enough flashes of brilliance to give me hope for the upcoming weeks is Kris Burd, who had just two catches against IU. But they were big ones. In any case, though, I like the idea of Hall at receiver and wholeheartedly endorse it going forward. He's got a little catching up to do but if he stays there the rest of the season, he'll lead the team in receptions.
- Sooner or later someone is going to figure out that they need to watch the running back who we just play-faked to.
- I do not fault Al Groh for having Simpson in the game just long enough to get hurt. I've always felt, if you're blowing someone out, you should keep your foot on the gas pedal until the fourth quarter. Or until you have a triple-digit lead, whichever comes first. And Simpson was not being overworked: 15 carries in 2 and a half quarters works out to 24 in the game, which isn't excessive. He's barely had any work this season. Last week was the first time all year he'd gotten a decent number of carries. After that drive would have been the right time to sit him, but seven minutes left in the third quarter is still too soon.
- I do wonder what the hell we were doing going for two in the 2nd quarter. I dunno, maybe Al wanted to work on something, but not only was that some bizarre timing, it was a whacked-out play that was doomed from the start. It couldn't have been more obvious we were going for two, and that being the case, why send the kicker out there? I don't get it.
- Two weeks in a row now the tackling has been impeccable. Big reason why our pass defense is so good. Enemy receivers are getting no yards after contact at all. That's how you turn third-and-four into fourth-and-one instead of first-and-ten.
So about that bowl thing. It's back on the radar, but it's still a long uphill climb. Of the opponents left on our schedule, three are ranked and four are not; getting to a bowl requires beating all those unranked teams and/or scoring a major upset. No slip-ups allowed. The good news is, does the ACC really scare you very much? Only two teams in the conference remain undefeated in ACC play, and one of 'em lost to William & Mary. Yay crappy conference. One week at a time, and if all goes well we too can aspire to play in a bowl game in Mobile, against a third-tier MAC team, sponsored by a bailed-out bank. Sounds like fun.
It's so funny how I learn, every year, how quickly the fortunes of our football team can swing, mid-season. You'd think in my 10th year of UVA fanhood I'd have learned this lesson by now, but you'd be wrong; apparently I am not a fast learner. Two weeks into the season - actually one week, really, because eight days is all it takes to end up 0-2 - everything was DOOM. Two weeks after being 0-3 - again, actually just one week - I'm about to open my fat mouth about bowl games again.
Yes, bowl games. Before the Southern Miss game, you may recall I opined that our trip to Hattiesburg was a must-win game, because three out of the next four would keep us in bowl contention but UNC was already penciled in as a loss. One UNC upset and an Indiana-stomp later, here we are with a very good chance to pull off that 3-of-4 trick that looked very possible even at 0-3.
The lesson to be learned from Saturday is merely this: We will have an actual chance in every game left on the schedule - and in several cases much more than just a chance - because the defense is legit. I don't care if it was "just" Indiana or "just" UNC's bland, thoroughly predictable offense. Carolina has many problems but talent is not one of them, as evidenced by their ability to rack up large numbers of points against crappy teams. And Indiana has played Ohio State - one of the top ten defenses in the country - and wouldn't you know it, the defensive statistics match up pretty well. Hell, we're top-20 ourselves, and ninth (ninth!) in the country (the country!) against the pass, with opponents averaging just five yards per attempt. God, if only the offense could follow suit. For one fantastic Saturday afternoon, Indiana found out what happens when they do.
***************************************
It almost makes no sense to analyze the game, because usually that involves "what went right" and "what went wrong." Yesterday it was what went right, what went right-er, and what went more-er right-er.
- The offense was absolutely sparkling. That's the first time we've been able to say anything nice about the offense without adding ten major caveats afterwards. Take away the bad snap over Verica's head (which is a "rushing attempt" only in the most technical sense) and we averaged 5.5 yards per carry. A less statistical way of saying this would be that I thought we'd be able to run pretty much at will against IU, and we did. The offensive line spent all day bulldozing the IU defensive line, and Messrs. Simpson, Jackson, and Mack reaped the rewards.
- Duh. It seems so obvious. Hm, Vic Hall is not outplaying Jameel Sewell at quarterback and our wide receivers aren't outplaying anybody? What to do, what to do. Huh. Hey, let's line Hall up at receiver and throw at him a lot. You'd think this sort of thing would occur to me earlier, but I'm glad it occurred to the coaching staff this week, because Hall's pass-catching was huge. The only other receiver that's shown enough flashes of brilliance to give me hope for the upcoming weeks is Kris Burd, who had just two catches against IU. But they were big ones. In any case, though, I like the idea of Hall at receiver and wholeheartedly endorse it going forward. He's got a little catching up to do but if he stays there the rest of the season, he'll lead the team in receptions.
- Sooner or later someone is going to figure out that they need to watch the running back who we just play-faked to.
- I do not fault Al Groh for having Simpson in the game just long enough to get hurt. I've always felt, if you're blowing someone out, you should keep your foot on the gas pedal until the fourth quarter. Or until you have a triple-digit lead, whichever comes first. And Simpson was not being overworked: 15 carries in 2 and a half quarters works out to 24 in the game, which isn't excessive. He's barely had any work this season. Last week was the first time all year he'd gotten a decent number of carries. After that drive would have been the right time to sit him, but seven minutes left in the third quarter is still too soon.
- I do wonder what the hell we were doing going for two in the 2nd quarter. I dunno, maybe Al wanted to work on something, but not only was that some bizarre timing, it was a whacked-out play that was doomed from the start. It couldn't have been more obvious we were going for two, and that being the case, why send the kicker out there? I don't get it.
- Two weeks in a row now the tackling has been impeccable. Big reason why our pass defense is so good. Enemy receivers are getting no yards after contact at all. That's how you turn third-and-four into fourth-and-one instead of first-and-ten.
So about that bowl thing. It's back on the radar, but it's still a long uphill climb. Of the opponents left on our schedule, three are ranked and four are not; getting to a bowl requires beating all those unranked teams and/or scoring a major upset. No slip-ups allowed. The good news is, does the ACC really scare you very much? Only two teams in the conference remain undefeated in ACC play, and one of 'em lost to William & Mary. Yay crappy conference. One week at a time, and if all goes well we too can aspire to play in a bowl game in Mobile, against a third-tier MAC team, sponsored by a bailed-out bank. Sounds like fun.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
it's never over
"Next Man Up" is a handy slogan to have these days. It appears the next Next Man Up is going to be Raynard Horne or Curt Orshoski, as Rashawn Jackson has managed to get himself arrested for grand larceny. Sheesh. No truth to the rumors that we chose the colors blue and orange to match the police uniform and prison jumpsuit. You gotta hand it to the 2005 recruiting class. Between Will Barker's beer, Rashawn Jackson's XBox, and Mike Brown's car stereo, they've managed to steal enough shit for a pretty good party.
The 2009 schedule is falling into place; TCU will be one of the visitors to Charlottesville next year. We also have W&M coming by for a visit, and a trip to Hattiesburg for Southern Miss. That leaves one slot, which may well be filled by one of the four MAC games we're owed from that trip to MTSU last year.
The soccer team beat American 4-2, but the bigger news to take from this article is that Tony Tchani's knee is going to need surgery. Ugh. This brings to three the total of torn knee ligaments between Tchani and Chris Agorsor.
Here is a little bit of fluff worth reading; it's about Oscar Smith, which you'll recognize as the Chesapeake powerhouse that's sending us two of their standout players in the 2009 recruiting class.
The Blogpoll breakdown is up over at CBS Sports, and your humble blogger is an award winner this week! These awards, actually, are rather dubious in nature and meant to nudge voters toward the general mean. Mr. Stubborn is "awarded" to this blog for having the least change in the ballot from last week to this; a huge factor in this is that a lot of teams I thought sucked and were unworthy of ranking did in fact suck. Most blogs sent Pitt crashing out of their ballot for losing to Rutgers, and I never had Pitt to begin with.
Finally, check back later tonight. I have something in the works that I'm pretty excited about.
The 2009 schedule is falling into place; TCU will be one of the visitors to Charlottesville next year. We also have W&M coming by for a visit, and a trip to Hattiesburg for Southern Miss. That leaves one slot, which may well be filled by one of the four MAC games we're owed from that trip to MTSU last year.
The soccer team beat American 4-2, but the bigger news to take from this article is that Tony Tchani's knee is going to need surgery. Ugh. This brings to three the total of torn knee ligaments between Tchani and Chris Agorsor.
Here is a little bit of fluff worth reading; it's about Oscar Smith, which you'll recognize as the Chesapeake powerhouse that's sending us two of their standout players in the 2009 recruiting class.
The Blogpoll breakdown is up over at CBS Sports, and your humble blogger is an award winner this week! These awards, actually, are rather dubious in nature and meant to nudge voters toward the general mean. Mr. Stubborn is "awarded" to this blog for having the least change in the ballot from last week to this; a huge factor in this is that a lot of teams I thought sucked and were unworthy of ranking did in fact suck. Most blogs sent Pitt crashing out of their ballot for losing to Rutgers, and I never had Pitt to begin with.
Finally, check back later tonight. I have something in the works that I'm pretty excited about.
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