Have you heard of Get Jacked? The ACC has partnered with Jacked, a Web site that provides real-time interactive stats during the game. Click on the “Get Jacked” link to learn more. It looks pretty cool!
It’s game day! The Hokies are playing a Division I-AA school, but it’s still technically game day! And yes, we are aware that it’s not called Division I-AA anymore, but we’re zealots here at VTHokieFans.com and we think the new name is complete joke. But that’s a column for another day. On to the preview!
Today is not so much about the opponent as it is about working out the kinks. Even as poorly as the Hokies played last week against the ECU Pirates, Tech should be able to sleepwalk through this game. But, they’re not going to. There are far too many kinks to work out and we almost feel a little bad for the Paladins because Beamer and the boys are really using this game a like a live scrimmage.
Usually when Tech plays this type of game against a smaller school, the Tech coaching staff is more concerned about keeping the starters healthy, but giving them just enough snaps to stay game-ready. Not today, at least not for the majority of the game.
Breaking Down the Offense
The red shirt is off and Tyrod Taylor will make his 2008 debut. He is not officially a sophomore and playing in his second season. That means we only have two more years with him, barring injury. As you’ve probably read on this site (and many others, I’m sure), don’t think for one second that Beamer didn’t give this decision a lot of thought and I’m sure it was one of the toughest he’s had to make in his career at Tech.
Tyrod’s family has said that he agreed to redshirt because he didn’t want to split playing time again this season. So if you are looking for Sean Glennon and Tyrod to split time equally today, I wouldn’t count on it – at least not in terms of quality snaps. Tyrod hasn’t played in a live game since the Orange Bowl when he was benched early for throwing a couple of INTs, so he’s going to get a ton of snaps today to help him develop timing and rhythm with the offense.
I’m not sure how the game plan will be any different from last week against ECU because during an interview with Kyle Tucker, Hokies’ offensive coodinator said that he wouldn’t change anything about his strategy last week. This concerns us. Greatly. Tucker asked him, “So there was nothing, going back looking at the ECU game, that you would’ve taken back or changed?” Stinespring responded, “No. Uh-uh.”
Still, look for Tyrod to make some big plays with his feet as I’m sure he’s going to take advantage of a much smaller and slower Paladins defense. I expect he’ll throw a few passes, too, but that part has us a little worried. We’ll be holding our collective breaths every time he puts it in the air.
As for Glennon, I think he’ll have a solid game. He’ll put up good numbers and look pretty sharp, but it’s against Furman, so I don’t think it will tell us much about his psyche after being benched. We’ll see. Let’s hope both guys play a solid game because that’ll give Georgia Tech something to think about next week. Shoot, I’m sure they remember what Glennon did to them last season … with THEIR jersey on his back!
Breaking Down the Defense
The news out of Tech’s practices this week was the Bud was working on tackling, more tackling, tackling, and, oh yeah, tackling. They were also working on angles and trying to slow those young guys down when making their angles of a attack. Last week, Foster credited youth and being too amped up about their first starts with a lot of the missed tackles. Apparently the guys were a little to geared up in their first start that they were taking the wrong angles to the tackle, thus missing them … a lot of them. This is one area that I think we’ll see considerable improvement on. Bud’s been down this road before and he know how to fix the problem. The question is, can he fix it in a week? More importantly, can he fix it before the Georgia Tech game and their crazy modified single wing type of offense? Ugh, don’t even get us started on THAT game preview! Tech will dominate on defense today, but I think they’ll give up a couple of big play and possibly even a field goal or late touchdown.
Breaking Down the Special Teams
Beamerball had mixed reviews from the ECU game. On the one hand, they blocked a PAT and returned it for a 2-point conversion, but they also missed a FG and a PAT. The kick return coverage was outstanding, limiting ECU to just 11.5 yards per kickoff return, including a fumbled kickoff that the Hokies recovered. I’d look for Tech to focus on protecting the kickers (though I’m not sure how many punts we’ll have today) and trying to get in a little closer than 44 yards for Dustin Keys’ first FG of the season. They need to give him a confidence boost, badly. The question is, if the offense is crushing Furman, there might not be many FG attempts today.
What does it all mean, Basil?
This will be a like the second-to-last NFL exhibition game of a preseason. You leave your starters in for a full half because you need to get them ready for the regular season, but you don’t want them to get hurt. You also want to get your backups some quality playing time so if they’re needed, they’ll at least have some game experience.
Tyrod will play and will probably make some mistakes, but that’s to be expected. I think he’s also going to “wow” us with some of this playmaking ability. Our only concern is the field conditions. It rained in Blacksburg last night and the weather service is calling for additional rain throughout the day, which could make it tough for Tyrod to put the moves on the defenders. We’ll just have to wait and see.
See you at the game and GO HOKIES!
