850 The Buzz on Saturday in the Triangle

'07 Football General44

850 The Buzz’s Blog has posted a fascinatingly insightful entry that definitely deserves attention. (Link to entry)

Excerpt –

O’Brien made a point in his press conference to illustrate how the whole game was a microcosm of how practice went leading up to the season opener. Tanking is a strong way to describe what happened on Saturday, but reading between the lines it’s easy to imply that O’Brien let his team figure it out on their own in the 1st half. Mike Krzyzewski does this with his Duke teams in the early season, and Roy Williams employed the tactic against NC State in the Heels loss at the RBC Center last season. Obviously, it’s not 100% the same between football and basketball because of the amount of games and such. However, the comments from O’Brien ring truer for the specific players he was talking about but would never name. O’Brien has years of bad habits built up from the previous regime, and not all of the bad Amato habits can be broken in practice. Unfortunately for the players, it came at the expense of a game

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'07 Football General

44 Responses to 850 The Buzz on Saturday in the Triangle

  1. Mr O 09/04/2007 at 4:21 PM #

    Unfortunately, you have to give the Heels credit. Sure it was a JMU, but I still thought it would be a close game.

  2. noah 09/04/2007 at 4:32 PM #

    I’d love to be a fly on the wall at positional meetings and practices this year. I think all of us were disgusted at the BS our players would constantly strew all over the field while getting their…um…hats…handed to them on the scoreboard.

  3. Trout 09/04/2007 at 4:36 PM #

    Where did our talent go?

    Look at the last 5 recruiting rankings:

    2003 tied for 9th in the nation
    2004 20th
    2005 23rd
    2006 42
    2007 60

    The only players that would still be on the team from the 2003 class would be RS Seniors. 2004 class (ranked #20th) would be true Seniors and RS Juniors. 2005 class (ranked #23) would be true Juniors and RS Sophs. 2006 class would be true Sophs and RS Freshman.

  4. RAWFS 09/04/2007 at 4:47 PM #

    The best coaching move of the game (obviously) was changing QB’s. Daniel Evans might look better in practice, but he didn’t look at all like he was comfortable in the UCF game. Beck was more mobile and has a stronger arm, so it worked out well. Whether Beck is another flash in the pan is anyone’s guess, but at least there’s help on the way with the QB situation.

    I thought in the first half Andre Brown was auditioning for Dancing With The Stars. Is it me, or does he always look for the big play instead of lowing those shoulders and blasting through the line for 2-4 yards?

  5. Trout 09/04/2007 at 4:56 PM #

    ^ I think Andre has lost too much weight in an attempt to gain speed.

    – When UCF muffed the punt, Beck started to run out onto the field, and TOB grabbed him and brought him back, letting Evans go out.

    I think TOB had told Beck he was going in on the next series. Then the muffed punt happened, and we had the ball around the 20. I think TOB changed his mind and went with experience (Evans). I wonder if he regrets that?

    I dont think Evans has been a good QB since the concussion against Wake Forest.

  6. newt 09/04/2007 at 4:58 PM #

    Not one of 850’s brighter posts, thinking that Tom O’Brien and/or Roy Williams intentionally let their teams flounder. Uh, no they didn’t.

    I know we won’t use that as an excuse for losing.

  7. noah 09/04/2007 at 5:05 PM #

    Even though our recruiting has fallen off (since Doc Holliday left), there’s still talent on this team. And I’m talking about the younger guys…

    Javon Walker, Jarvis Williams, Donald Bowens, Nate Irving, Ray Michel…those are all good players.

  8. pakfanistan 09/04/2007 at 5:55 PM #

    Has anybody posted Donald Bowen’s stiff arm on youtube yet? That was awesome.

  9. vtpackfan 09/04/2007 at 6:01 PM #

    Thats five guys Noah. Could you name five more young guys that really excite you?

    That ’05 class had Brown, Baker, and Crouch. It really sucks that Baker got hurt, when I heard TOB’s comments about guys having an over inflated image of themselves I thought of Brown, Crouch, and some others right off.

    Another thing I read was a player qouted saying that Dunlap and Blackman were giving a spirited lecture to the team after the loss sat. Maybe’s it’s maturity, maybe it’s turning over a new leaf, but I didn’t peg DB as having much credibility in the “let’s work hard and get serious” category.

    I don’t know him personally at all, and it’s truly unfair (and is partly irrelevant) to speculate who the worst offenders are, but some guys just stick out as true “Chucksters'”.

  10. brickman 09/04/2007 at 6:12 PM #

    it all starts on off. line and i do not see a great line out there. We won 3 games last year! One was a lucky pass . And one was when florida st. had like 2nd string def. backs . And if i am not mistaken app. st had a few flags at end of game. So we were pretty lucky to win 3!!!!!!!!!!!!

  11. wallacepark 09/04/2007 at 7:07 PM #

    we were VERY lucky win 3.

  12. GAWolf 09/04/2007 at 7:13 PM #

    Trout: some of that talent left early for the NFL.

    Again, my pet peeve under Amato was our DB’s getting burnt by as much as ten to fifteen yards only to dance around like idiots when the quarterback would get the big eyes and over shoot the wide open receiver. I opted to hunt instead of go to the game on Saturday, but many of my friends who did attend said this one thing hadn’t changed much if at all.

  13. bTHEredterror 09/04/2007 at 8:16 PM #

    Just for some perspective, the Holes had fewer offensive yards and more penalty yards than we did against a lesser opponent. Plus JMU hadn’t played a IA opponent since 2004.
    But I digress, don’t get caught up worrying about them until the week of 11/10. We have enough to worry about with our guys. I will peak in on their game this week, because I think with ECU’s stingy D they will give the boys in girly blue a tough game. But I’m not gonna miss the UGA-USC game or the LSU-VT game.

  14. vtpackfan 09/04/2007 at 8:38 PM #

    That was maybe the worst post I’ve ever left here. It’s not worth speculating who TOB was calling out since the the point is that the environment surrounding the program has been tainted by it.

    Although it is interesting and revealing cooments the coach made, I am not overly optimistic he can do a lot to correct it. I think it’s an issue dealt with during recruiting, and the steps taken to ensure the dedication of a recruit. It’s easy to watch film and see ability and talent oozing out of a prospect, but it’s and entirely different approach to get to know how hard the individual works and prepares to better themselves in every facet of the game. Something tells me TOB will pass on those who think they can turn it on and off like a switch. Time will tell.

    On a side not, I’ve noticed the Duke LB (concealed weapon charge, resisting arrest charge, DUI charge), and the ECU QB (twice the legal limit DUI charge) have served their respected team penalty. No word regarding McCuller’s team suspension, but he is still not listed on the 2 deep depth chart for the BC game.

  15. vtpackfan 09/04/2007 at 8:41 PM #

    ^Adding to the above comments regarding the stunning performance of the Holes. JMU had two punts blocked and six times were whistled for not enough men on the LOS. WTF!

  16. wolfonthehill 09/04/2007 at 8:46 PM #

    I 100% agree with what the Buzz is saying, and I was thinking the same when I heard TOB’s comments Sunday. He said something similar a month ago, and it’s obvious no one listened. I don’t think he MADE it happen, but I do believe that, at some point, he realized they weren’t going to believe what he was telling them until they got smacked in the mouth.

    And I believe that, in the end, this weekend was a wake-up call for quite a few guys. I don’t believe that TOB’s one of them. My opinion is that he saw it coming a mile away.

  17. beowolf 09/04/2007 at 9:06 PM #

    Roy Williams employed the tactic against NC State in the Heels loss at the RBC Center last season.

    LMAO. “So THAT explains it!”

  18. burnbarn 09/04/2007 at 9:20 PM #

    “we were VERY lucky win 3.”

    fortune from fortune cookie?

  19. choppack1 09/04/2007 at 9:26 PM #

    Well – we’ll be able to tell by what happens on Saturday. If we play w/ the effort and focus we played w/ in the second half – they got the message. We may still get beaten pretty bad, but hopefully, we’ll be able to run and pass a little and stop the run.

  20. noah 09/04/2007 at 10:08 PM #

    “Could you name five more young guys that really excite you?”

    Jake Vermigilo, Desmond Roberts, Russell Wilson, Willie Young, George Bryan, Jay Smith, Owen Spencer, JR Sweezy…

    We are severely lacking in a couple of critical positions and we’re trying to fit square pegs into round holes.

    But there’s some talent here.

  21. gumbydammit 09/04/2007 at 10:21 PM #

    So what the heck did Jerrail McCuller do to get the doghouse, anyway?

  22. noah 09/04/2007 at 10:26 PM #

    DWI

  23. GAWolf 09/05/2007 at 12:29 AM #

    I spoke with his lawyer last week and I believe JM was as responsible about the aftermath of his arrest as he could have possibly been. It’s just a shame to me that a kid has to be suspended due to an arrest… which is still just a mere allegation until proven guilty… regardless of the charge upon which the arrest was made. DWI’s should be no different. It’s a mere allegation until the state proves otherwise. But who are we to wish to live under the protections of the Constitution???

  24. MatSci94 09/05/2007 at 12:31 AM #

    *I thought in the first half Andre Brown was auditioning for Dancing With The Stars. Is it me, or does he always look for the big play instead of lowing those shoulders and blasting through the line for 2-4 yards?*

    I noticed that as well, starting sometime mid season last year. It seemed like he got some of his old form back in the 2nd half.

  25. haze 09/05/2007 at 8:08 AM #

    ^ Toney was always the goal line back for exactly this reason.

    Short yardage may be the biggest RB adjustment with Toney out. I think Brown+Eugene will be just fine otherwise. I’m looking forward to seeing what Jamelle can do with more carries.

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