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& Bones Brewhaus & Grill is a brewpub with both an upscale dining room
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weekly prediction thread, and you could have a shot at dinner on us!
Mike O'Cain
It was a very physical football game. Tech didn't have many negative yards
in the running game, but they also didn't pick up the blitz well.- If the Hokies keep practicing like they have for the last month, they will
be fine. They have to correct some things from an execution standpoint, but
the effort is great. - The blitzes were the main problem for the passing game. When Tech picked
them up, they threw the ball pretty well. Obviously they didn't pick them up
very well. It's hard to throw the ball when you are running for your life. - Tech also had some miscommunications up front with some incorrect calls.
All of that can be corrected. - O'Cain doesn't think there was a time Taylor didn't run the football when
he could have run the football. Alabama always had a guy there. He made good
decisions, except for a misread that otherwise would have resulted in a
touchdown. - Nobody is telling Taylor to run less in an effort to keep it healthy.
There are fewer designed quarterback runs, but the staff isn't asking Taylor
to hold anything back. You can't play scared. - The Alabama game gives the coaching staff a better idea of where the team
is right now. - The play calling between the run and pass was pretty balanced. If
anything, Tech probably should have thrown a little more on first down.
Other than that, it was pretty good. - Beau Warren did a great job on Terrence Cody. He was as good against him
as any other player who has faced Cody. - O'Cain has been pleased with Ju-Ju Clayton in practice. He's making good
decisions and throwing the ball well. He has a knack for getting things
done. - As a team, Tech has to play well against Marshall. If the Hokies play like
they are capable of playing, they should win the game. - Marshall likes to blitz and pressure the quarterback in a lot of ways. The
Tech offense has another challenge this week. They need to do a better job
in their blitz recognition. Tech just has to be better in the passing game.
There is no way around it. - O'Cain seriously doubts Greg Boone will play against Marshall. The injury
isn't serious, but it's very painful.
Jim Weaver
The Atlanta experience was great. The Chick-fil-A Bowl people did a
wonderful job. The fanbases of both schools were great. That was as physical
a football game as you'll see.- Playing an opener like that is good for the team. It motivates them in the
offseason. - Weaver learned one thing from the game this weekend, and he would play it
again under one condition: "I will never play a neutral site
game again without neutral officials." - In the Clemson-Alabama game in 2008, there were ACC officials. That's why
there were SEC officials in the VT-Alabama game. - Roth asked Chick-fil-A Bowl president Gary Stokan if he would take Tech in
December if they don't make a BCS bowl game, even though they just played in
Atlanta. He said he would take the Hokies whenever he can get them. - Two of the four biggest crowds in Georgia Dome history involve Virginia
Tech. - There will be a flyover before Saturday's game against Marshall.
- Tech fans should get into the stadium earlier than usual on Saturday.
There will be some new gate workers, and things generally move slower during
the first game. - There is a new public RV lot near the airport. It's a larger area than
before. The Prices Fork public lot has been taken over for the construction
of a parking garage. Public parkers will have to think about going to the
Blacksburg area schools for parking. - There will be Big Ten officials at next year's Tech-Boise State game.
Cody Grimm and Dyrell Roberts
Grimm: It was a tough loss. Any time the score goes back and forth like
that, it's tough to lose. The attitude of the team is fine, however.- Grimm: There were some blown assignments by the defense. There were a lot
of good plays, but a few blown assignments will cost you the game. Alabama
hit too many big plays. - Grimm: Because of his father, Grimm grew up around football. It has really
helped his development as a player. Grimm and his dad talk more about
football than anything else. - Grimm: Alabama was very physical. Bud Foster puts Grimm in a lot of
positions to make plays. Grimm would like to play Alabama again. It was a
lot of fun, until the final minutes. - Roberts: It was a great experience to play in the Georgia Dome. He has
seen plenty of games there in the past when Michael Vick played for the
Falcons. - Roberts: He switched sides at the last second before his kickoff return
for a touchdown. Alabama had been kicking away from him, so he switched
sides at the last second. The blocking was great, and Roberts hit the hole
as fast as he could. - Roberts: You have to be able to set up your blocks on kickoff returns. You
have to put your blockers in a position to make good blocks. - Roberts: From a speed standpoint, the Hokies matched up well against
Alabama. - Roberts: The little things killed the Tech offense. It was blitz pickup,
route running, etc. Maybe the players were a little too fired up. - Roberts: Tech has to work on the little things against Marshall. They have
to eliminate the mistakes they made against Alabama. - Roberts: His favorite uniform combination is the orange jerseys with
maroon pants, which Tech hasn't worn yet. He will try to get Lester Karlin
to go with that combination at some point this year. - Grimm: Grimm would go with the all-maroon combo. The offensive linemen
like it because it makes them look slimmer. - Roberts: Besides Lane Stadium, his favorite place to play was the Georgia
Dome. The field is nice, and the atmosphere was great. - Grimm: He likes to play at UVA. It's always good to get a win and see
their fans all upset. - Roberts: Miami trash talks more than any other team. They would talk a lot
when they get you on the ground. - Grimm: The biggest trash talking team is UVA. Grimm knows a couple of guys
on their team, and they always run their mouth. He always tries to stay away
from the trash talking, being a smaller guy. - Grimm: It's going to be exciting playing in the home opener against
Marshall. The crowd is going to be ready. - Roberts: Running through the tunnel into Lane Stadium never gets old.
Eddie Royal
Royal watched the Alabama game. Tech did some good things, but a few
things here and there cost the Hokies the game.- The NFL game is slowing down this year for Royal. He feels more
comfortable on the field this year. - The speed of the game and the preparation is the difference between
college and the NFL. You definitely have to prepare yourself mentally to
play in the NFL. - Brandon Marshall's suspension has been lifted, and Royal is happy to have
him back. It will open things up in the passing game. Royal and Marshall are
difficult to defend when they are both on the field. - Royal's favorite Virginia Tech moment was running out of the tunnel with
the Tech flag his senior year. - Royal still talks to guys like Josh Morgan, Carlton Powell, Justin Harper
and Brandon Flowers.
Frank Beamer
- Cody Grimm was defensive player of the game and special teams player of
the game against Alabama. He had a great game. - Beamer is proud of how his team played and how hard they played. Tech just
needs to play better, but they will. - When Alabama gets you behind the chains, they are very difficult to move
the ball against. - Tech was close to having a big play about 5 or 6 times, but didn't get it
done for various reasons. You have to hit big plays against Alabama's
defense, and Tech failed to do that for the most part. - Ryan Williams did a very good job. He gives you hope. Josh Oglesby also
played well, and they need to get David Wilson involved more. - There were a couple of times in the game when the Tech defense wasn't on
the same page. One player would be playing one coverage, and a different
player would be playing a different coverage. That helped Alabama hit a
couple of big plays. - Alabama is for real. They've got it all. They've got a great defense, a
great wide receiver, great tailbacks and a good kicking game. They are a
tough, rugged team. - Beamer didn't like the holding call (on Greg Nosal) when Tech picked up a
first down late in the game. That put the Hokies in third and long. On the
next play, pass interference could have been called when an Alabama defender
roughed up Danny Coale. The Hokies were winning at that point, and it could
have been huge for field position. - The pass interference call on Kam Chancellor was a bad call because the
pass was uncatchable. The Jake Johnson personal foul was also very
questionable. - Beamer would play in the game again, as long as there are neutral
officials. - There were 5 or 6 plays offensively and defensively that determined the
game. Tech hung in there physically on offense, and they had a shot of
hitting some big plays that would have changed the course of the game. - Ryan Williams felt like he let the team down when he fumbled the punt. He
just didn't feel comfortable doing it. Returning punts is the most difficult
thing to do in football. - Marshall has a lot of Virginians on their roster, as usual. They will be
fired up to play in Lane Stadium against Virginia Tech. - Marshall gives a lot of looks defensively, and they like to bring a lot of
pressure. Tech has to pick it up. They have quality talent at quarterback
and running back. - Greg Boone's status will be announced on Thursday. He's in a lot of pain
right now.
Monday was Day 1,745 of Virginia Tech's continuous possession of the Commonwealth Cup.