Virginia Tech Football: Where The Problem Lies

This last week has been a tough one for Hokienation as fans have gone from booking trips to Pasadena to planning their two-hour car ride down to Charlotte for the Meinikie Car Care Bowl.  Obviously, with four weeks left in this college football season, a lot can still happen (VT still has a shot at winning the ACC, can you believe that?).

However, since the Hokies have a non-conference game this weekend, I'm not going to dive into the psyche of the ECU Drunkin Pirates, instead I'm going to do some soul searching on what exactly is wrong with this Virginia Tech team.

The Virginia Tech fanbase has become spoiled over the past few years.  Going into this season, Tech was alone with USC and Texas as the only schools to win 10 or more game each of the past five seasons.  So, it's no secret that Tech fans have become accustomed to winning.  But, with the Hokies now losing two straight, some fans have pulled out their guitars and began their Kumbaya chants while other have resorted back to burning Stinespring statues in effigy.

As much as I disagree with the direction Beamer wants to take in this offense, this season has at least been a breath of fresh air for us on the offensive side of the ball.  And, this brings me back to what I wanted to talk about: What the hell is wrong with our team?

I've really decided that their are three things that currently concern me with the direction of the Virginia Tech program, however the good news is that all are correctable without one of the coaches getting the ax at the end of the year.

1. Offensive Line Woes Continue

Do you all remember the talk heading into this season that the offensive line should finally be able to take a step forward?  Ok, do you remember the same talk before last years season?  You remember that to.  Ok, do you remember the excitement that surrounded the fanbase when Coach Newsome was hired after molding JMU's front five into the best in Division 1-AA?

If you remember all of that then your probably asking yourself why is Virginia Tech still ranked 97th in sacks allowed this year?  If you think that's bad, take a look at this... the Hokies are ranked 116th in passing attempts per game with just 146 passes this season.  The only teams that have thrown the ball less than the Hokies, the four teams that run the triple-option offense (Navy, Army, Georgia Tech, and Air Force).

So we throw the ball less than 17 times per game but we still give up about three sacks a game, which is about 1.5 more sacks on average than teams like Houston that throw the ball 50 times per game.  That folks, is where the problem lies on offense.

Stinespring was the offensive line coach before switching over to tight end coach when Newsome was hired in 2006.  After the 2004 season, the offensive line was slowly going down hill and with Stiney taking over as offensive coordinator, it was clear that the Hokies needed somebody who devote all of their attention to coaching the players on the line. 

But since the Hokies hired Newsome, the offensive line has never been able to play at that high level most Hokie fans were expecting with Newsome being hired.  This year and that 97th ranking in sacks allowed, is the highest the offensive line has risen in that category since 2005 when Tech was ranked a mediocre 80th with just over 2.5 sacks given up per game.

So is it coaching, is it player effort, or is it talent?

Up until last season, I probably would have said it was a lack of talent.  But, with the Hokies bringing in some better overall recruiting classes lately, it's pretty clear that Virginia Tech has the talent up front capable of better results.

Sergio Render is currently listed as one of the top three guards in the country by most NFL scouts.  Ed Wang is also considered a player that should be drafted by many scouts, especially the New Orleans Saints.  Add those two along with Warren, Brooks, and DeChristopher and there is plenty of talent there.

Also, when I went back and watched a few of the games this year, the guys on the offensive line were playing their hearts out but they seemed a little lost in certain situations.  The sack on Tyrod Taylor in the 2nd quarter that I broke down in my previous article, was a perfect example of the kids playing hard but completely missing an assignment (aka not knowing what to do). 

Boone stayed in to be an extra blocker but completely missed the UNC defensive end, allowing him to come free.  Dechristopher sold the run to the left where as Boone ended up blocking the outside linebacker.  It's mistakes like that, that keep this offense from reaching it's full potential.

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