Virginia Tech had their home opener against Furman today and struggled to move the ball through the air. The first half was one of the worst offensive displays I've seen by Virginia Tech in recent history.
Just to remind you, Furman is a FCS (Formerly Division I-AA) team. That means the Hokies only managed to put up three points against a "cupcake" opponent in the first half.
They came out in the second half and scored 21 points in the third quarter, mainly because of the defense causing turnovers deep in Furman's territory.
The problem starts at the quarterback position. Now when I say quarterback, I mean the position where the ball is supposed to be put in the air. I thought that's what quarterbacks were supposed to do.
Every time Tyrod Taylor dropped back to pass, he seemed to give up on the play, and run the ball.
Some of the calls were obvious draws, but on many plays he gave the passing game no chance. Everyone in the stands would freak out when Taylor would take off out of the pocket, but then complained about the lack of passing. Then Glennon would get put in and everyone would boo.
The reason I bring this up is some of our fans just don't seem to get it. We can't be this one-dimensional on offense against a good opponent. We have to throw the ball, and obviously what we saw today is the coaching staff is afraid to put the ball in the air when Taylor is under center.
Now you can say Taylor was more efficient. He threw the ball five times, mostly screens, and most of the passes he did throw that were incomplete came back due to penalties.
Glennon threw one pick, again Greg Boone couldn't come down with the pass and he batted it in the air causing it to be intercepted, but he had a very nice touchdown pass to Kenny Lewis. And guess what Hokie fans, he was able to make the pass on the run.
I've never been more unhappy with a win than I am today. We had a total of 68 yards passing through the air, and had a combined 13 pass attempts between our two quarterbacks.
Our running backs looked good, and Taylor led the team in rushing with 112 yards but really had only two good runs on the day.
I stated before that I wanted Virginia Tech to get back to smashmouth football, and we're almost there. However, you need an effective passing game in order for this to work.
Right now with Taylor in at quarterback, we are way too predictable. However, after today's game, it seems the coaching staff was phasing out Sean Glennon, who started the game but saw limited playing time.
This makes me believe that Taylor will be starting next week and for the rest of the season. If he does start next week I hope the coaching staff will have a little more confidence in his arm. If not that Georgia Tech's defensive line, led by Michael Johnson, is going to have a field day against our new "quarterback."
8 comments Last one added 10 months ago — Leave a Comment
Paul Branch 10 months ago
There has been several mentions about the crowd booing Glennon. the most boos I heard were on the drive where Tyrod got us down to Furman's 10 yd line and on 3rd down they pull Taylor for Glennon. In and around where I sit most people were actually not booing Glennon, but booing the idiot decision to switch QB's at that moment. Good job Stinespring!
I have given Glennon the benefit of the doubt the last two seasons because of the O-line problems, but now I'm even tired of some of his decisions. The interception was his fault considering two defenders were covering Boone pretty well. As someone with his game exprerience, he shouldn't be continuing to do that. It is not like his interceptions come from DB's making spectacular plays. Alot of his interceptions come from throwing into well covered areas, like this week and last.
When we heard about neither Glennon or Taylor not separating themselves in spring ball, was it because neither one can throw accurately? Or can neither one play well enough to overcome Stinespring's play calling?
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Tom Day 10 months ago
"Just to remind you, Furman is a Division II football team."
Just to inform you, no they're not.
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Jaybo Jay 10 months ago
Not that it excuses our awful performance most of the game, but furman is one of the power IAA programs and has been for a long time. I think they've beaten some of the big boys recently. Can't completely dismiss the fact that this may be a better defense than some of the IA schools we'll face this year (hello, duke, how ya doin', UNC!)
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Ashley Lowder 10 months ago
"In and around where I sit most people were actually not booing Glennon, but booing the idiot decision to switch QB's at that moment. Good job Stinespring!"
Taylor was tapping his helmet after that play, asking to be taken out.
Furman has never been anything lower than a Division I school, ever since the terminology existed. We're in the Southern Conference -- you know, the one that Virginia Tech was in for 40+ years. VT fans are very quick to blame their coaches and players without ever considering that maybe they were playing against a pretty good defense.
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Paul Branch 10 months ago
Taylor was asking to come out after the long run in the second half. I'm referring to the drive in the 1st half where we got the field goal. And Stinespring even said it was a designed call! Why in the world would he switch then? He's always trying to be clever, but he does it at the most asinine times!
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John 10 months ago
Furman beat UNC in 2000 (we only get one shot a year against D1A) by a score of 28-3. That team had Julius Peppers on the DL. He couldn't beat Furman...
Last time we played the shamecocks we won..
We beat NC State twice in a row...
Two years ago we lost to UNC by some score like 47-43. They were lucky to win.
Furman is D1AA - like Georgia Southern, App State,etc. Please learn the correct football terminology.
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Hugh Hughes 10 months ago
Furman is Division 1, Football CHAMPIONSHIP Subdivision has been for 26 years. Before that, Furman was Division 1.
Above guys did not mention a win and a tie and a 2 pt loss on a late fumble/long FG against Ga Tech, and one of those teams was the defending "national champion".
Last year Furman outgained Clemson, but had a plethora of turnovers that made the score look more like a runaway than Clemson thought. This was in a year when Furman was 6-5.
You don't have to give us credit, but at least do a little research before you "write".
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Justin Cocchiola 10 months ago
It's not that I'm not giving Furman credit. They were only down by three at halftime, and did look good defensively. But all these examples of beating UNC and NC State, they haven't had nearly the success Virginia Tech has had. Point of the matter is Virginia Tech looked awful, and trust me that wasn't all because of Furman.
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