Virginia Tech Offense Stuck in Neutral

Four games into the year, the Virginia Tech Hokies are facing a big problem: They can't establish any offensive consistency. The ACC is without a dominant power and VT has a good defense as usual, but unfortunately they are a one-trick pony.

They say defense wins championships, but that's not entirely true. Some semblance of offense is needed to win games, and Tech doesn't even have that.

Frank Beamer certainly made the right choice by going with Tyrod Taylor. Sean Glennon had clearly lost all confidence to lead and make plays in the loss to ECU, and Taylor is the future for Tech.

Thus far Taylor hasn't been dominant, but Tech has made the necessary plays to beat overmatched opponents. He has minimized the turnovers, keeping the defense on the positive side of the field.

Freshman running back Darren Evans leads the team with 264 yards and four rushing TDs, while Taylor has been effective running from the gun with 221 yards and one TD. The running game has done its part, but unfortunately Taylor has not won Beamer's trust so that Tech can become less one-dimensional.

That passing game is nonexistent largely due to Taylor's run-first instinct. Taylor has only thrown for 199 yards and no TDs. He threw two interceptions last week in the win over UNC and has yet to strike fear into any defense with his arm.

Most of the play calling consists of runs up the middle and option gives from the shotgun. Passing plays usually end up breaking down, resulting in a Taylor scramble. This hasn't led to a loss with Taylor yet, but with Nebraska and Boston College in two of the next three games, Tech has to improve.

Tech can't fall too far behind these teams as they lack the firepower necessary to come back. In addition the defense, though solid, isn't as impenetrable, ranked only 53rd in the nation. They give up 327.5 yards per game and have surrendered nine TDs in four games.

Those aren't the worst stats, but when your offense is ranked 112th out of 119 teams, things can get dicey. Tech averages a paltry 271.75 yards per game and has only scored 10 TDs. Those numbers really leave the defense out to dry.

Despite losing key players like Chris Ellis, Vince Hall, Xavier Adibi, and Brandon Flowers, VT still has some NFL-caliber players on defense. Defensive backs Kam Chancellor and Macho Harris ensure the secondary remains stable, while Brett Warren leads the team with 35 tackles.

The defense is only giving up 17 points a game and has 11 takeaways, so Beamerball is still alive and kicking, but the offense needs to generate some momentum if the team wants to compete in the ACC.