■ 23 November 2008 | 6:40 PM
Tech looking to lock up title, lock out media ...
Well, folks, that was a typical ACC football game this year, was it not? This league is like ancient Rome and all 12 teams are contestants in a fight for their lives in an arena full of lions.
It’s not easy to watch. A little stomach-turning, really. But you keep peeking through your fingers, just a little curious to see who eventually makes it out alive. You could call that team the winner, but really the ACC champ will just be a survivor, limping out of the arena in tatters.
Saturday’s game, like the league, was ugly, crazy, unpredictable … with a chance to turn the conference championship picture upside down AGAIN. In the end, though, the Hokies did enough to steal that one.
I should say … Sean Glennon and the defense did enough to beat Duke. Tech’s defense allowed just two pass completions and 20 passing yards – all-time lows during Frank Beamer’s 22-year tenure here – and only 136 total yards. It was about as dominant as you can get.
Meanwhile, the Tyrod Taylor-led offense was a stumbling, bumbling mess. Taylor fumbled twice and threw two interceptions, negating otherwise decent offensive production.
The Bryan Stinespring haters can rip the coordinator all you want for this one – and a healthy amount of criticism of him this year has been justified – but the play-calling wasn’t the major issue last night. This time, it really was execution. It’s not very popular around this place lately to tell things exactly like they are (ask Purnell Sturdivant) but this is my space and I’d like to be honest: Taylor is not a great quarterback right now.
Is this even up for debate?
Taylor is an AMAZING athlete, a terrific runner. But for now, that’s all he is. He certainly has all the tools to be a tremendous QB. He’s a smart kid, has a great arm.
But he still makes a heap of rookie mistakes. Some of you, the ones who already wear those Super Man shirts with his No. 5 in place of the “S” … you’ll argue with me on this. I don’t want to argue. Let’s go to the numbers.
Taylor is 63 of 114 passing (55 percent) for 675 yards and one touchdown. He has thrown five interceptions and lost three fumbles.
Glennon, meanwhile, is 62 of 99 passing (63 percent) for 704 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions (one of which was tipped up into the air at the line last night, and another bounced off the target’s mitts early in the year).
And check these numbers: Since Taylor sprained his ankle at FSU, Glennon has played in parts of three games and all of the Maryland game … and in that span, he is 41 of 64 (64 percent) for 490 yards, two TDs and one interception (the batted pass).
YOU tell ME who the Hokies need in the game if they’re hoping to have any kind of passing game? But based on Frank Beamer’s post-game comments, saying he doesn’t like to “flip around a lot,” I’m betting Taylor remains the starter for Virginia.
Frank … uh … you don’t like to flip around a lot? REALLY?
Let’s review: Glennon starts last season, the plan being to redshirt Taylor. Glennon gets yanked in the second quarter of the second game, and from then on, it’s Taylor’s team. Then Taylor gets hurt against Duke, Glennon comes in and gets hot … a quarterback rotation ensues, leading to an ACC title and Orange Bowl. This season begins, Glennon is named the starter, Tyrod to redshirt AGAIN … but after one game, Glennon is benched, Tyrod’s the guy … Taylor goes down at FSU, Glennon again enters in relief, plays well, starts against Maryland and helps get a win … Glennon gets benched after the first series of the second half against Miami (after going 6 of 8 for 98 yards in the first half) and it’s Tyrod’s team again … Taylor struggles against Duke, Glennon comes in for relief AGAIN and leads the second-longest drive of the year on 7 of 10 passing, throwing darts for the game’s decisive points … now he’ll probably get benched again.
Nope, Frank, you don’t like to flip around a lot.
Actually, when it suits you, you do. Beamer, in fact, issued an edict just this afternoon that only two of his players will be available to talk with us reporters this week. And that interviews with assistant coaches may be limited.
My guess is he’s angry at the media for continuing to grill him on his team’s offensive struggles (is this not fair, when the defense ranks eighth and the offense 109th?) or for publishing Purnell Sturdivant’s frustrated comments about the offense last week.
Whatever the reason, we’ve been essentially locked out.
Never mind that the media policy for the entire season leading up to this week is that we can speak to players and coaches after each of the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday practices. And that no less than a half-dozen players come to a regular press conference every Tuesday afternoon.
But Beamer has, in fact, flipped around on us hacks. He has shut us out. So, if the blog is thin-to-non-existent this week, feel free to write your local congressman (or athletic director Jim Weaver) to ask why you’ll see very limited media coverage of your favorite team during the biggest week of the season.
My paper, and many others, were planning daily coverage, blow-out stuff leading up to a huge game between Tech and its rival, with an improbable Coastal Division title on the line.
There’s a good chance most of that coverage will now not come to fruition. That’s fine. As Beamer likes to say of his team, “It is what it is.” The coach has decided, I guess, that the media is a distraction. Seems there are more pressing matters with the team. Like scoring seven offensive points against Duke.
If I sound frustrated, I am. I’m simply trying to do my job. I’m trying to give YOU, my readers and Frank’s fans, and the folks who help pay the coaches’ contracts and fund the palatial stadium, basic information on the team you love. To get answers to the questions you’re wondering about.
And if I can’t do that this week, I wanted you to understand why. I’m going to take a deep breath now.
In the meantime, here’s a heap of stuff that I CAN give you. Post-game reactions from the Hokies …
COACH FRANK BEAMER
OPENING REMARKS: “The first thing I want to do, really, is thank our fans. They hung in there on … somebody told me the second-coldest night we’ve had since I’ve been the head coach here … hung in there with us, and I appreciate that a lot. A win is a win. I’ve been in this business a long time, and not all games are pretty. And that certainly had some ugly spots in it, but I think we battled and hung in there and found a way to win. That’s the main thing. All I know is we’re one win away from going to play for the ACC championship. I’d be really proud of this football team if we beat Virginia and get to that game. I think it would really be something by this coaching staff and this football team to do that. But we know we’ve got work to do. We know we can’t turn the ball over five times. But I commend our kids and coaches for just hanging in there and battling and finding a way. I congratulate Duke. I said before I came in here: They play hard. I think that program’s going to continue to get better.”
ON WHETHER THE PLAN COMING IN WAS TO START AND PLAY TYROD TAYLOR THROUGHOUT AND, IF SO, WHEN AND WHY HE DECIDED TO SWITCH TO SEAN GLENNON: “(Yes, that was the plan) Things weren’t clicking. And it wasn’t, certainly, all Tyrod’s fault. A couple batted balls and for whatever reason it wasn’t clicking. So we decided to go with Sean and he led us on a great drive right before the half that pretty much was the difference in the ballgame.”
ON THE DEFENSIVE EFFORT AGAINST DUKE: “I thought our defense did a fantastic job … really to keep us in the game in the first half when we were having some troubles. They did a great job.”
ON FRESHMAN WR JARRETT BOYKIN WITH A TD CATCH, THE FIRST FOR A RECEIVER ALL YEAR, AND WHETHER HE’S A POTENTIAL BREAKOUT PLAYER: “I think so. I think Dyrell, I think all of them are certainly improving. But he’s a guy that’s got a big body for a receiver, got those big hands, and he’s got great toughness. I think we’re going to like him a lot before he leaves here.”
ON WHETHER HE’S EVER HAD A TEAM THAT HAD TO BE SO RESILIENT AND GRIND IT OUT SO MUCH OVER THE COURSE OF A SEASON: “I appreciate the way they are. Somebody told me today that Syracuse beat Notre Dame. And, I mean, it’s just … this college football, and our conference in particular, you better be ready to play. It’s just a fact. Until the very end, Duke didn’t turn over the football. We did. We played on our side of the field. … I can tell you all that, but I’m just glad I’ve got kids that will battle like heck. I like this football team, because they practice hard. We’re not always pretty. All I know: We’re one win away from playing for the ACC championship, and that to me is pretty daggone special.”
ON WHAT GLENNON SHOWED HIM AND WHETHER HE EARNED THE STARTING NOD FOR THE REGULAR-SEASON FINALE AGAINST VIRGINIA: “Well, we’ll see about that. I’m not one to change around a bunch. Tyrod had a couple of rough things, but it wasn’t all Tyrod. It was just, ‘OK, let’s see if we can get a lift somewhere else.’ I’m not one to flip around very much. We’ll see where we go from here. Don’t get me wrong now, I thought Sean did a great job for us. A couple times, we’d liked for him not to have taken a sack. But there’s no question about how competitive he is, how much he likes to play. He led us on that drive right before the half that basically was the difference in the ballgame. I don’t question his toughness or desire or how competitive he is. Not a bit.”
ON WHETHER HE’S CONCERNED OVER TAYLOR’S PSYCHE, GETTING YANKED MID-GAME LIKE THAT: “I just talked to him. Everybody, you have moments. Again, all the moments weren’t right back to him. He was the quarterback while some things happened (bad) … but I think everybody, if you’re a quarterback, you’ve got to put things behind you. That’s what I know he’ll do. I believe Tyrod can win a lot of football games for Virginia Tech. Already has and will in the future.”
QB SEAN GLENNON
ON NOT EXPECTING TO PLAY AT ALL AGAINST DUKE: “It’s the same old thing: Always be ready. But I guess if the game went according to plan, I would not have. The plan was to play Tyrod, but like usual, stay ready if my number was called.”
ON HOW HE GETS DIALED IN, THEN, WHEN HE HAS TO COME IN HAVING NOT BEEN A FOCUS OF THE GAME PLAN DURING THE WEEK: “It’s happened before. There’s been a lot of games in my career where I wasn’t the guy. Over the last two years, there’s been 10 or so games where Tyrod (was the guy). I’ve had a lot of preparation being ready. It happened last year at Duke. It happened this year at Florida State. It happened again tonight. So it’s not the first time I’ve had to come off the bench in relief. It’s not a new experience.”
ON WHETHER HE THINKS HE’S DONE ENOUGH TO START AGAINST VIRGINIA: “(laughing) This is the last regular-season game of my senior year and … don’t even try to get me to predict or make guesses on what’s going to happen. I’m just going to keep playing whenever they call my number. Beyond that, I don’t really have any control. I don’t want to waste any time thinking about it.”
ON FEELING CURSED WHEN ONE OF HIS FIRST PASSES WAS TIPPED AT THE LINE AND INTERCEPTED: “Andre (Smith) was open, too. We would’ve picked up the first down. Someone got their paw up there. It seemed like it fell right in their hands again. It seemed like every time something bad would happen, a fumble or a tipped ball, it was always bouncing toward them. But I just shrugged it off, got ready for that two-minute drill and came after it. I knew there was nothing I could do about it.”
LEADING AT HALF DESPITE FIVE TURNOVERS: “That’s a credit to our defense. I don’t think they could’ve played any better. I mean, geez. We won a game where the offense scored seven points. They played unbelievable. I know in the past, they’ve been saying, ‘Oh, this isn’t Bud Foster’s normal unit.’ Tonight, they looked as good as any defense I’ve seen.”
ON GETTING A LITTLE LUCKY LATELY: “I don’t know if it’s luck, but we were blessed the defense played so well. Sometimes you’ve got to grind out wins. Five turnovers … it seemed like in the second half, we were around their 30- or 35-yard line, driving three or four times and we come away with nothing every time. I don’t know. It was just one of those nights we had to grind it out, and fortunately for Virginia Tech, the defense came to play. They helped us grind it out.”
ON GETTING A RECEIVER A TD PASS: “(Boykin) got the monkey off their backs. That was a good effort by him, getting hit about the 5 and clawing for that touchdown.”
ON HOW BAD THE OFFENSE NEEDED THAT 86-YARD TOUCHDOWN DRIVE HE LED: “We needed something going into halftime. It probably would’ve been not a satisfying feeling going into half time against … well, I don’t want to say against Duke, because they’re very much improved … with zero points in the bank. I just thought it was important to get something on the board. A lot of people made plays on that drive and we did.”
ON HIS EMOTIONAL CAREER ROLLER COASTER AND HANDLING IT ALL: “It’s definitely not easy. Obviously, I’ve had the conversation a few times now: ‘Alright, we’re going with Tyrod.’ I thought maybe this was the start of déjà vu for last season. Get a little hot, ride it out. But when they told me before this game we’re going to go with Tyrod, it was definitely a blow. I mean, shoot, I’m only here for a couple more games. But I got my opportunity tonight and all I can do is hope that I’ll be out there again next week.”
LB PURNELL STURDIVANT
ON THE DUKE BEING THE BEST THE DEFENSE PLAYED ALL YEAR: “I think so. For a whole sixty minutes, yeah, I would say so. It felt great. When it’s crunch time is when the playmakers have to show up and perform. Coach Foster tells us all the time: Don’t go out there and play. Go out there and perform. He could put his grandmother out there and she could play, but he doubts if she could perform. The key is just going out there and giving it all, laying it on the line for each and everyone of us, trusting the guys beside us, behind us, in front of us.”
ON WHETHER HE FELT LIKE HE, PERSONALLY, HAD TO HAVE A BIG GAME AFTER THE CRITICAL COMMENTS HE MADE DURING THE WEEK: “Oh, no, actually I wasn’t really worried about that. I just came out here trying to help my team win, get to another ACC championship. We’re past Duke. Now it’s time for UVA.”
ON WHETHER HE SPOKE TO O-COORDINATOR BRYAN STINESPRING AFTER HIS COMMENTS CRITICIZING HIM: “Yeah, I talked to him. We cleared everything up. But you know, it really wasn’t a big deal. I know what I said. I know how I said it. My coaches trust me 100 percent and … they know that I did the right thing. I’m not really worried about that. It’s not a topic. Just get ready for UVA.”
ON HOW SWEET IT IS, PLAYING FOR THE FIRST TIME AS A FIFTH-YEAR SENIOR, TO NEED JUST ONE MORE WIN FOR AN ACC TITLE GAME BERTH: “It feels great. This year was my year to shine. We’ve had previous ACC wins here, but I wasn’t a starter. This year, I am. I’m giving my all, each and every game, each and every week. I just pray to God we get a victory next week … and we’ll see what happens from there.”
RB DARREN EVANS
ON NEEDING JUST ONE WIN TO REACH THE ACC TITLE GAME DESPITE ALL THE BUMPS IN THE ROAD: “That just shows how competitive this conference is. Everybody’s losing. That just shows that on any given Saturday or Thursday, anything can happen.”
ON WHETHER THIS GAME IS THE DEFINITION OF GRINDING OUT A WIN: “Oh, definitely. It was cold and a lot of things weren’t happening … we couldn’t keep a steady drive going. We moved the ball down the field a couple times, but then it was one or two things here … penalty, interception, the fumbles, they hurt.”
ON FEELING GOOD AFTER A 111-YARD, PUNISHING PERFORMANCE ON THE GROUND, GETTING TOUGH YARDS: “It feels good to get the win, but it doesn’t feel good to feel like I’m feeling now. My shoulder’s hurting and my head’s pounding. I think I do a good job of getting back into it by the next week, so I won’t feel previous pains.”
ON WHETHER THE OFFENSE RALLIED AROUND O-COORDINATOR BRYAN STINESPRING THIS WEEK, AS HE WAS BEING CRITICIZED BY A FELLOW PLAYER: “Yeah. Just because when it boils down to it, he’s our leader. He gets us ready to play the game. We were all behind him. I thought he called a good game. There weren’t no plays that was like, ‘Why are we doing that?’ It was us executing, really. It’s been like that a couple times, just us here and there where we didn’t get a block or whatever and it kind of falls back on him, because he is our leader.”
CB VICTOR “MACHO” HARRIS
ON TALKING TO THE TEAM THIS WEEK ABOUT HIS OWN PERSONAL STRUGGLES IN HIGH SCHOOL (GETTING BURNED, HIS MOTHER PASSING AWAY): “When you get knocked down … everybody’s going to get knocked down once or twice in their life. But what people want to see is can you bounce back? If you can bounce back, that says a lot about your character. I shared that with the players, and it says a lot about our character.”
ON A SPEECH D-COORDINATOR BUD FOSTER GAVE THE TEAM THIS WEEK: “I believe it was Monday or Tuesday. There was a lot of mess going around. Coach Foster, he came out and made it clear he’s still committed to us. Ain’t nothing changed. He’s focusing on playing Duke and he’s hear with us. His mind is nowhere else, his heart is nowhere else, his body’s nowhere else but with us. For a coach to come out and just show respect like that to our players and let us know what his situation was, why not lay it on the line for him? And that’s what we did.”
ON WHAT AN UNLIKELY ACC TITLE TEAM THESE HOKIES WOULD BE: “Like Coach Beamer says: We’re not pretty, but we’re scrappy. I think that’s all that counts, because at the end of the day, whether it’s 4-3 or 100-0. A win is a win. We might not be pretty, but we’re going to come out on top.”
ON WHAT HE LOOKED LIKE WATCHING GT BEAT MIAMI: “It was just one roommate with me at the time, Cory Holt. We were just talking trash to each other like, ‘Man, what you gonna do?’ I love this team so much. Our chemistry and our togetherness is just special, and I really admire it.”
CB STEPHAN VIRGIL
ON WHAT A HIDDEN CAMERA MIGHT’VE CAUGHT IN HIS APARTMENT DURING GT’S WIN OVER MIAMI: “Me asleep. My father called me and woke me up and said, ‘Did you see the game? They blew them out.’ I said, ‘Alright, cool. I’m going back to sleep.’ My mind was on Duke this week. If Miami won or Georgia Tech won, we still had to come out here and beat Duke.”
ON BEING SURPRISED TO BE IN SUCH A TIGHT GAME HAVING GIVEN UP SO FEW YARDS: “Nah. With all the turnovers we had, (the defense) had to pick the team up. So that’s what we did. We got three-and-outs and made big plays, and basically showed the team, ‘Come on, follow us. We’re going to lead this team to victory today.’ ”
ON WHETHER HE’S AMAZED THIS TECH TEAM CAN WIN THE ACC: “No. We knew we needed some help. We got that. Now we have to take advantage of it.”
ON HOW SUCH A YOUNG TEAM GETS READY FOR THIS HUGE STRETCH RUN: “Stay focused and prepare like champions, like Coach Foster tells us every day. Prepare like champions. That’s what we do.”
ON FOSTER TALKING TO THE DEFENSE LAST WEEK AND TELLING THE TEAM HIS FOCUS WAS STILL ON THEM, NOT CLEMSON: “It was comforting to me, to know he wasn’t going anywhere right now. He’s like a father figure to us. If we lose him, we don’t know where we’re going to be. I just know that speech, that felt real good inside. It was almost like warming to me.”
WR JARRETT BOYKIN
ON HEARING, OFTEN, ABOUT THE RECEIVERS NOT CATCHING A TOUCHDOWN THRU 10 GAMES: “Yeah, it’s been brought up a lot. But we don’t let it bother us. We just figure it’s going to happen when it happens.”
ON MAKING IT HAPPEN ON HIS TD AGAINST DUKE, DRAGGING A DEFENDER FIVE YARDS INTO THE END ZONE: “Yeah, I told myself I wasn’t going to be denied. This week, I been telling everybody I wanted to score. When I had that chance, I just had to seize that moment and just give everything I had.”
ON HOW IMPRESSED HE WAS WITH GLENNON COMING OFF THE BENCH, WITHOUT EXPECTING TO PLAY: “He did a very good job. When things happen, he just comes and he did what he had to do.”
ON THE MONKEY OFF THE RECEIVERS’ BACK: “It’s a relief, but there’s plenty more to come. We’re not going to stop there. It was just a matter of time, and now that we have it, we’re just going to keep fight and get some more touchdowns out of this group.”
ON THE CRAZINESS THAT TECH IS ONE WIN FROM TAMPA, WITH ALL ITS YOUTH AND STRUGGLES THIS YEAR: “It’s very mind-blowing. I want to play for the ACC championship so bad. I want to win it so bad. I was tuned in for the Georgia Tech-Miami game. I was rooting for Georgia Tech. I’m glad Maryland beat North Carolina. So now that we have the opportunity, I’m just giving my all, my teammates are giving their all, and we’re going to get the job done.”
ON WHAT HE LOOKED LIKE DURING THE GT GAME: “Man, I was running around. I was screaming, rooting for Dwyer when he was breaking them long runs. It was just me, Ju Ju, Eddie Whitley, we were just excited. I live in the dorms … so I just went from room to room saying, ‘We’ve got another opportunity! We’ve got another opportunity!’ ”
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Glennon's production as a starter
Kyle - first, thanks for fantastic coverage of our beloved Hokies. you really do the best job out there of chasing down answers. and I almost always agree with your analysis as well. and to that end, I agree Beamer will start Tyrod against UVA. and this time, I agree with Beamer's decision but probably not for the same reasons (though I think building TT's confidence is very important for the offseason and next year). but the reason I think Tyrod should start is Glennon seems to have a monkey-on-his-back as a starter and doesn't play nearly as well as he has off the bench (or when he clearly knew the reason is was starting is a TT injury).
any chance, since you are apparently not going to be spending a lot of time with the team this week, that you can compare Glennon's numbers as a starter versus his numbers off the bench??
thanks again!
-phillip
oh, and I'll echo what every other Hokie has already said; we need a new OC. there's just no way that empty trophy case is ever gonna get filled with Stiney calling the plays!
Ending the fight
Us Hokie fans need to stop with the Tyrod/Glennon debate. This team is incapable of winning a game on offense, but can only not lose it...sometimes. I am a Tyrod fan and for any point made for Glennon, you can make a counter point for Tyrod. And this does nothing. It was pretty obvious we needed to go to the bullpen for a new arm last night. The case and point is we need both and should play the hot hand. I don't care if announcers and Hall of Fame QB's they interview think it's stupid, it's necessary for us (and last year's National Champions did it pretty well in case they need an example). Each of our QB's individually can be gameplanned for, dare one to throw, the other to run. So we might as well play them both and hope one steps up. I hope this makes some sense.