I've heard it a lot this week. As in, after the Georgia Tech debacle, the Hoos are a wounded animal heading down to Fort Worth to take on TCU.
I get the metaphor. When an animal is hurt, cornered, backed against the wall, and just fighting to survive, it comes out biting, scratching, and clawing. I get it, and I like it. I like the sentiment behind it. And especially, I like the thought that Virginia Football has that kind of fight in it; that it's capable of baring teeth and unleashing a mean-spirited snarl.
But there's another wildlife metaphor that's worth considering this week:
"Blood in the Water"
As in, we are wounded, weakened, and the cold-blooded killers will be looking for an easy meal. Are the Frogs watching film of our disaster against GT and licking their chops? I wouldn't bet against it.
In football terms, which one are we? The wounded animal, still capable of doing some damage and fighting our way out of this corner? Or are we the floundering prey, helpless to defend against those razor-sharp teeth?
Not many UVA fans expected a win against TCU when the schedule came out. On the road, against a quality opponent, that's a tough one. It looks much tougher now, though I think TCU can be beaten.
The problem is, do we have any underlying quality? Do we have the pride to go down there and put up a fight? Or are we just looking for a swift, painless death?
Saturday is going to show us a LOT about this team, about these players, about this coaching staff, and about this program. Will we give the Frogs a game, or will we let them steamroll us?
Can we stop the nation's leader in passing efficiency in Casey Pachall? Can we slow down that TCU passing game, 20th-best in the nation?
We know they'll load the box and dare us to throw. Can we make it happen? Can we move the ball and score points against their ultra-aggressive, Virginia Techish 4-2-5 defense?
Here's what Coach London said during his weekly press conference:
"...We have our hands full thinking about TCU right now. I think it's a challenging defense. Whether you call them rovers or whether you call them the strong safeties that are down in the box, they're one of the elements that can force the run because they play their defensive ends in a six technique, meaning they're head up on the tight ends, so when the tight ends block, that employs a run read for those safeties. They kind of dare you to throw the ball, but they have those defensive ends, linemen, outside safeties that can come off the edge or they can play coverage. They can run, so they're very fast and athletic. They pose a lot of problems, not only in the two games we saw this year, they played Grambling and Kansas, but some of the games they played last year you see some of the issues they present because of the style that they play.
"Well, got to block better. I think that part of the elements of being able to run and also the elements of everyone else, too, tight end making it so you seal the defensive end, the back that's kicking out, the runners who run in the right holes, it's an ongoing process when you have a running game. You know, we have to do better there because the season, like I said, is just three games into it, and we have to address it with personnel, which we're going to do with our inside guys. We'll have to address it with how we will handle it if we don't have one of our bigger backs being able to be in there and participate. But it'll have to be addressed in a way that as coaches we've got to coach our guys and put them in those type of positions to be successful and then look at our personnel and see what we can do to make sure that - because we're going to have to run to let the clock run because if you're not firing on all cylinders in the throwing game, you tend to - the play is three, four, five, six seconds old, and then before you know it you're punting again. You need to be able to ball control a little bit to be able to help offensively."
I don't know. It's a tall order, going to TCU and competing with that team. But that's what we need to do to begin clawing our way out from the corner as opposed to sliding down the shark's gullet.
At noon on Saturday, are we lunch for TCU, or will we bite back?
I don't know. It's a tall order, going to TCU and competing with that team. But that's what we need to do to begin clawing our way out from the corner as opposed to sliding down the shark's gullet.
At noon on Saturday, are we lunch for TCU, or will we bite back?
I just don't know. I've only really made a sincere effort to commit myself to UVA sports that aren't basketball in the last 2 or so years. Because of this, the absolutely mind-boggling schizophrenia that seems to follow our football program is still a pretty new thing to me.
ReplyDeleteIt seems like, in my small sample size, our football team just consistently defies whatever expectation is set for them, high or low. They play up, sometimes remarkably so, to quality competition (GT last year) just as much as they struggle with cupcakes (W&M 2009). By the same token, this is a team that's capable of laying down the proverbial smack on a jabroni just as hard as anyone (W&M last year), and then fully not showing up and getting utterly embarrassed the next week against a quality squad (VT last year).
When it comes to the NFL, I'm a lifelong Eagles fan. I was there when they went 2-14; although I've been admittedly spoiled since then. I've been on the ride for all their NFCCG losses and 8-8 seasons of the last decade. That said, as much as the Eagles can disappoint me, they cannot confuse me like the Cavs can. Only one time since I've been a diehard Eagles fan have I ever been genuinely confused about what just happened (2009, Wild Card loss to the Cowboys). With this damned UVA team, it's every week. For all I know they'll beat TCU by 25 next week. Seems just as likely as any other result. I just don't know.
Good comment, Tom. Thanks for reading, and thanks for posting!
ReplyDeleteI think a lot of the schizophrenia you're referencing comes from the coaching change and the installation of the new schemes. The roster churning is a 4-5 year process, getting the right guys in place to run the specific schemes.
But that's really just a canned response, and not very honest. Virginia Football is schizophrenic at its core. 1990-95 was the only period of truly sustained consistency, but even then we'd lose one we shouldn't and win one we shouldn't every year.
However, I don't think we're the only fanbase that identifies with our team in this way. I'd guess that most middling power conference teams have fans who think their teams are schizophrenic. NC State, UNC, heck, even Georgia Tech fits that mold. Arizona State. Michigan State. Texas Tech. Ole Miss. The list goes on and on forever.
If you're not a college football blueblood program, like, say Alabama or USC (but even the Trojans have their own personality disorders), then you're just not getting the premium talent across your entire roster. So holes exist. And when those holes are found and exploited, you get results that make you seem schizophrenic.
College football is unlike the NFL because you only get 4-5 years with each player, at a period in his football development where he's deciding if he loves the game enough to play it at the highest level, and at a time when he's going through the most rapid physical development of his career. It's a hand full of wildcards, and it's what makes college football so crazy and so damn exciting... for me, at least.