Welcome Back Stiney: Hokies Lose 28-23 in ATL

Could've seen this one coming from a mile away. What were the keys to the game for Georgia Tech? Abuse the young VT linebackers en route to a strong rushing effort...check. Force turnovers early (slash keep the crowd in it)...check. Have Kam Chancellor screw up...check. I wasn't able to watch this one, thanks to marching band as mentioned earlier, but I had my trusty Blackberry in hand (and ready to throw against a wall). From everything I've heard, and the highlights I've seen, it seemed as though we couldn't get any real key stops, and Georgia Tech came in with a great gameplan. I expected no less from a well-coached team. Frank Beamer's teams now are 0-1298483 when ranked in the top five in a game that matters, and 0-82012948 in Atlanta. Ok, not that bad, but it sure feels that way.

I could get into the stats on this one, but it just doesn't feel worth it. Maybe I'll take a little extra time this week to dive in with the week off (Redskins too), but my heart isn't in it right now. I'll just wax poetic on our relationship with the other Tech for now. I hate you Bumble Bee. You can go straight to hell. You rushed your field and punched out some of our staff members. You are classless. I hate to say this, but we have a rivalry. For the forseeable future, we will slug it out every year for the ACC Coastal crown, and I will be happy to have our boys come back to Blacksburg next year and kick your asses. But furreal, since WVU is irrelevant/off the schedule, looks like GT gets kicked up a notch. Go f*%# yourself Bumblebee.

Week 6: Kansas City

The Redskins will face their NFL record SIXTH consecutive winless team when the Chiefs come calling to FedEx Field this afternoon. They'll have to do so without one of their best players, and last hope at a semblance of offensive line in Chris Samuels, and with questions swirling around ownership, coaching, and leadership within the organization. The team has seen the likes of Sonny, Sam, Joey T, and John Riggins completely trash everything about the organization in the last several weeks. Things are bad kids. Real bad.

Looking at today, I know I can assure one thing: FedEx will NOT be filled by any means. Not only is Dan Snyder trotting a crappy product under crappy direction onto the field, but it's supposed to be 46 degrees with a 90% chance of rain. Guess who gave his tickets away last night? I was shocked that I was able to find anyone to take them. Now it kills me to miss a game, don't get me wrong, but between my frustrating Saturday (i.e. marching band "competition" sans percussion judge, two hour bus ride with Mermaid Man from SpongeBob at the wheel, Tech choking..again, and the Caps playing down to the Preds) and the weather, there was no way driving up to Landover was in the works for today. So from the comfort of my couch under my still very loved VT blanket, here's my crappy prediction on today's ugg-fest.

• To say the Redskins offensive line is patchwork is laughable. We'll see Stephon Heyer at left tackle (vomit) and Mike Williams (yeah, that dude) at right tackle. I'm pretty sure Will Montgomery's getting the start too. Let's hope he blocks better than his Hokie brethren. Considering that Kansas City has spent a considerable number of picks on their D-line in recent years (from memory: Tyson Jackson, Dorsey and Tamba Hali?)...they aren't without talent, and we'll probably see that today. Ugh. JC might be dead with 6:34 in the second quarter. He'll probably be happy to be put out of his misery.
• What egregious coaching error will we see today? Blown time out? Zorn saying that Brandon Flowers hits too hard and should be kicked out of the game for making a routine tackle? Benching Albert Haynesworthless? Oh wait...
• What the hell happened to Larry Johnson anyway? Wasn't he Adrian Peterson before AD came around? Damn did he drop of the face of the earth. Look for him to crawl out from a rock today and rush for 300 yards.
• Over/Under on Matt Cassel dropped interceptions from Carlos Rogers? 3.

As you can tell, I'm none too happy right now. We have a weak defense, and a pathetic offense. Even superhero Chris Cooley has to stay in and block. God help us all...

Redskins 9
Chiefs 15

Field goal fest, here we come!

Nabby Dances, Caps Win: 4-1

What on God's green Earth was he attempting to do on that save? We'll probably never know, but man was it pretty. After Nabby thwarted an early shot by Ovechkin with his glove hand, he and Ovi seemed to exchange some playful words and a laugh. Then Ovi had fun the rest of the night. #20 for San Jose? Not so much. Here are a few of my observations from last night:

• I was really skeptical about the Ovechkin-Morrison-Knuble line, but man did they have a solid night. Knuble made the heady plays, Morrison moved the puck up ice quickly, and Ovi capitalized...it's all good.
• Brian Pothier hasn't looked as sharp these last few games.
• No bad penalties, and I thought Quintin Laing looked really solid last night.
• Alex Semin had a few really pretty takeaways, and I agree with Alan May that Sasha had an overall solid game last night. I also thought that Shaone Morrisonn continued to play physically strong and effective in his own zone.
• Varly's glove looked pretty solid last night, eh? It's a shame that seeing it had to be at the expense of Theo's back, considering that JT60 had played really well so far this season. Get better soon Theo.

Kudos Go To:

Brendan Morrison. The guy has just seemed like he's out to prove himself all over again, and he really seems like a quiet leader that the Caps need. Someone that plays with a lot of heart on the top two lines is a big plus right about now, and B-Mo fits in well with the team's attitude and chemistry. Let's hope this is only the beginning. That signing is looking like a pretty good bargain at this point...

Week Seven: Bring on Gah Tech

So maybe I was a little harsh yesterday. I mean, Georgia Tech is a solid program with a history worth discussing prior to the Clinton administration. They've beaten a team by over 200 points before. Not bad. It doesn't mean I have to like them though. In reading message boards and blog posts this week, I've seen a lot of cockiness that resembles Miami circa week four. We can't have any of that business. Georgia Tech is a solid team with a solid coach, playing at night as a home dog. Nothing about those last three sentences gives me the warm and fuzzies this week. How do we ever feel when we're a legitimately good team that gets no credit at home? We stomp people. That's the mindset that the Yellow Jackets must be taking this week. Here are three keys to the game for each team on Saturday.

The Ramblin' Wreck will win if:

• Paul Johnson wins the chess match with Bud Foster. Unfortunately for us, Bud's pieces include two very young linebackers that have been known to play a little too instinctively. We all saw what happened the last time we were in Atlanta when Jake Johnson followed his instincts (hint: touchdown Upchurch). If GT wants to dominate the Hokies, they have to exploit the overaggression of the young linebackers and set up some timely throws over the top to Bey-Bey Thomas. I believe Johnson will find some yards out of the Tech D, and there are two ways this could go: Either the bend-but-don't-break Nebraska type of game, or the bend-then-break Alabama type of game...defensively speaking of course. If the latter takes place, the Hokies will have another long trip home from the ATL.


• They force a turnover or score quickly. While Homecoming isn't sold out just yet, the "other" Tech fans that will be in attendance will be pumped. Georgia Tech's defense hasn't been able to slow anyone lately, but a loud crowd that helps cause early mistakes (e.g. turnovers, penalties, coverage breakdowns) could spell disaster for the visitors on Saturday.


• Kam Chancellor acts like typical, overaggressive, "blame everyone else" Kam Chancellor. Saturday is about playing disciplined, assignment football. Chacellor has proven that this is not his strong suit. The fact that he sells out for plays leads to big hits, and sometimes interceptions, but it also has caused major lapses and big plays against the Hokie defense. Chancellor's blown assignments also tend to snowball when he initiates finger pointing and bitching (Jimmy Williams anyone?) as a result. If Chancellor makes mistakes early and often, Thomas and the Jacket offense could be in for a big night.

The Hokies will win if:

• Bryan Stinespring continues his recent trend of calling effective, game-managing type games. Because Georgia Tech will run the ball over 70% of the time, they will look to wear down Tech's defensive line and time of possession will be big. Stinespring might think quick strikes are great for morale, and obviously the points (much like Boykin's touchdown last week), but our defense needs the offense to try and hold onto the ball as long as possible. The last thing the Hokies want is to get into a shootout mentality, because the defense will not be able to hold up. Luckily, Tyrod Taylor has been managing this gameplan to perfection over the last several weeks.


• The defensive line gets penetration against the Jackets and hits Josh Nesbitt early and often. Nesbitt will be jumpier if he's forced into early decisions, whether pitching, keeping or throwing. It is important for the defensive line to neutralize the inexperience of Johnson and Rivers by dictating how the Jackets run their offense.


• The special teams continue to pull their weight and control field position. Bowden is first in the ACC in net punting average, while Dyrell Roberts sits second in the nation in kick return average. If the Hokies can control field position, and take points when they can get them (kick the damn field goal, Frank), they should help control the tempo and keep the crowd out of the game.

The key stats for Saturday are time of possession, Georgia Tech's first down YPC, average starting field position, and red zone conversion percentage. Overall, I just don't feel great about this game. The hype and the pundits are weighing on our players' ears. If they buy into their hype, even a little bit, this will be a close game, or we will lose outright. The intangibles point entirely toward Georgia Tech. However, I'd say that I consider the VT Offense/GT Defense an advantage, the VT Defense/GT Offense a push (with a slight edge to GT), and Special Teams to heavily favor VT. With regards to talent, the Jackets just don't have it on the defensive side of the ball. I think if Bryan Stinespring can stay out of his own way and coordinate like he has recently, the Hokies should win. Georgia Tech will get their yards, and probably their points, but the Hokie defense has to be opportunistic and force turnovers. I think this will scare us all more than we'd like, but I'll go ahead and make my standard homer prediction:

Hokies 27
Ramblin' Wreck 23

Let's do this thing.

I Have a Bone to Pick With You Bumble Bee

You know, I put up with Calvin Johnson. I've lived with the fact that we're repeatedly called "Vah Tech" by the media and the Jackets never hear "Gah Tech." I even let the whole '2008 Championship Banner for the Yellow Jackets' thing fly. No more of this rubbish bumble bees. This disrespect must stop. Apparently, Georgia Tech decided that we would be the most appropriate homecoming opponent for them this season. That stings a little (pun intended).

We all know that collegiate homecoming games are supposed to be scheduled against scrub teams. Maybe they're trying to pay us back for scheduling them as our homecoming guests back in 2005, and also for whipping them 51-7. Whatever the case may me, Virginia Tech should not be anyone's homecoming opponent. To make matters worse, they haven't even sold out the damn game, and it's a 6:00 PM start time. I would do horrible things for a 6:00 PM kickoff in Blacksburg on a Saturday. I wouldn't normally be so fired up about this little injustice, but in context with some of the other garbage we've heard spewed from and about the Jackets since last season's supposed "fluke," I think the Hokies should be a little mad about this. Let's hope we can party like it's 2005. We are no Western Kentucky.