Saturday was interesting because I was both encouraged, but also incredibly frustrated. I don’t think those emotions have to be mutually exclusive. Tech went on the road and gave a top ten team all they could handle, this team continues to show improvement and fight each week, the defense continued to give the team a chance, and the “future of this program” quarterback actually looked the part.
However, I continue to be frustrated by special teams play, the offensive line, and losing the turnover battle.
No sequence illustrates my frustrations like with 7:03 left in the third, the Tech defense forces a punt after the offense scored a TD. Then, the 4th punt returner of the season decided to field a punt inside the 5-yard line, and tech proceeds to go 3 and out in less than two minutes. The tired Tech defense trots out there to try to stop OSU again and fails. Kind of felt like the ball game at the time… and it was.
Morton was a revelation Saturday and needs to be the quarterback moving forward. There is zero doubt in my mind about this, that, in and of itself, makes whatever happened Saturday worth it.
The four plays in the clip above are plays that no other QB on the roster makes.
In the first play, Morton feels and escapes pressure to throw an absolute dart in a spot where only Bradley can make the play.
Second play is a run play, Morton recognizes the soft coverage on White, and communicates that they are going to run a “hot.” He doesn’t waste any time with the mesh, just quickly gets the ball to a play maker in space.
Third play is a poorly blocked zone read. Morton sees a millimeter of space after he pulls it and is able to squeeze through to the end zone. Can’t really explain it, but it works haha
Last play, OSU sends an all-out blitz, Morton recognizes the lack of safety, buys just enough time for the route to develop, and uses a different arm angle to deliver a strike.
Again, no insult to Smith or Shough… I just don’t think they are making any of those plays.
Now, it wasn’t all good, this was his first start against a top ten team with a defense filled with 30-year-olds. There were, and will be, growing pains. The two plays in this clip are examples of that.
I really like this play design; the problem is the Tech offense provides no threat of running in a short-yardage situation and the defense knows it. Even still, I’d like to see Morton ride the mesh a half second longer to suck the OSU defender in, pull it, and dump it to Tharp for the easy first down. That’s just his processor being a little fast, I’d expect him to correct that with more experience.
Why is every interception a forced throw to Tharp? Anyway, Morton thinks he’s got the linebacker when he quickly looks to the speed out, but he doesn’t hold him long enough and quickly looks back to Tharp. The linebacker reads it well, and it’s an easy pick. Again, this is just his processor being sped up, that will, presumably, slow down with reps.
I liked these plays because it shows that the offensive line is capable of at times. OSU sends a slightly delayed blitz up the middle in both clips. First one is a disaster that results in a pressure, second one is picked up and resulted in a beautiful throw, catch, and touchdown.
I did think the offensive line played some of their best football, at times, on Saturday. Granted, that is a low bar, but I’ll take any progress at this point. There were still far too many times where simple mistakes were made and Tech was flat out beat in the run game, but I’m not sure how much of that is fixable at this point.
These problems reared their heads in the second half when OSU stopped blitzing as much, showed Tech favorable run boxes, and Tech could not, consistently, make them pay.
These are just two of my favorite plays made by two of my favorite dudes on the team. I love Trey Cleveland stepping up the past few weeks, and he made bigger plays Saturday, but the move he puts on this Poke DB is not one I thought he had in his bag.
Next one is SaRodorick just deciding to he’s got bigger ones that the linebacker and getting a first down by sheer force of will. Love it.
Sir Rod’s rushing numbers look pretty good, and we can count on one hand how many times he hasn’t had to make something out of nothing/make a man miss before he hits the LOS. It truly is remarkable what he’s doing.
There were a lot of people upset with Kittley after the game, right or wrong, it’s part of the job. The only two play calls I really didn’t like are in the clip above.
We’ve discussed it ad nauseam, Tech cannot run the football when the defense knows Tech is running the football. Before the ball was snapped with this first play, I loved what Kittley was doing. Get in a run heavy formation, then boot or play action out of it, well, that’s not what happened. Instead, the Red Raiders brought a bunch of guys they can’t block as close to the line as possible… only to run it right at them. Don’t get it.
I love the play call here; I hate that the ball is thrown to a guy who has played very little. I’m shocked OSU is even playing off coverage here, so it was the perfect time to run this route, but it’s not fair to trust a guy who has played as little as Brown. Part of play calling is putting guys in positions to succeed. That did not happen here.
Despite the defense playing pretty well, I guess I’m going to have to reluctantly give Spencer Sanders some credit here, he was not exceptional, but he, and his receivers, did just enough to get the job done.
My biggest issue with the defensive performance was the lack of pressure created without blitzing. Maybe I’m already spoiled, but I expected more out of a defensive line that has played really well this season.
The clip above is good example of that, Sanders has all day, but the Tech back 7/8 leave him nowhere to throw the football. I will never tire of this defense being able to create coverage sacks because of what we have watched go on here for years. Think of how many times these exact scenarios would have ended in huge gains in years past.
I’ve discussed this a few times this season, but the biggest issue with Tech’s defense is their aggressiveness and tendency to over pursue. Now, I do think that this mentality has done more good than bad, but the Pokes, smartly, took advantage of that at nearly every crucial moment in the game. The clip above is nearly a minute of examples, they are not all screens, but watch how the defense moves with every misdirection and/or screen. They create easier angles to get blocked, windows for throwing lanes, and holes to run through.
All of this, to me, culminates with the 4th and 8 screen call. That is a ballsy call, and really shows how confident OSU was in being able to take advantage of this flaw.
Just like with the offense, above are 4 of my favorite individual defensive plays from Saturday.
Jaylon Hutchings has made a habit of this play, and I love it every time. He’s incredibly quick across the face of the lineman and is right there to put OSU behind the chains.
Next play is a brilliant play by Kobee Minor, a guy who has not seen a ton of reps. It’s nothing groundbreaking but having the wherewithal to shove the OSU receiver out of bounds was point saving.
The third play is tough to see because of the score box, but you can tell enough. Rayshad is on an island, withstands several good moves by the receiver, and never loses a step which allows him to make the play. I thought Saturday was his best day as a Red Raider.
Finally, I couldn’t believe who made this play when it happened. I expected Bradford, Hutchings, or Blidi. Nope, it was the true freshman flying through an opening to make a point saving tackle for loss. That is really encouraging for the future.
I cannot lie, playing well is cool, but I am ready to win some football games and I believe this team is too. The bye-week has typically been my favorite week of the season because I didn’t have to watch Tech play, not anymore. I know they need it, but I wish the Red Raiders were rolling up the Mountaineers this Saturday.
However, I continue to be frustrated by special teams play, the offensive line, and losing the turnover battle.
No sequence illustrates my frustrations like with 7:03 left in the third, the Tech defense forces a punt after the offense scored a TD. Then, the 4th punt returner of the season decided to field a punt inside the 5-yard line, and tech proceeds to go 3 and out in less than two minutes. The tired Tech defense trots out there to try to stop OSU again and fails. Kind of felt like the ball game at the time… and it was.
Morton was a revelation Saturday and needs to be the quarterback moving forward. There is zero doubt in my mind about this, that, in and of itself, makes whatever happened Saturday worth it.
The four plays in the clip above are plays that no other QB on the roster makes.
In the first play, Morton feels and escapes pressure to throw an absolute dart in a spot where only Bradley can make the play.
Second play is a run play, Morton recognizes the soft coverage on White, and communicates that they are going to run a “hot.” He doesn’t waste any time with the mesh, just quickly gets the ball to a play maker in space.
Third play is a poorly blocked zone read. Morton sees a millimeter of space after he pulls it and is able to squeeze through to the end zone. Can’t really explain it, but it works haha
Last play, OSU sends an all-out blitz, Morton recognizes the lack of safety, buys just enough time for the route to develop, and uses a different arm angle to deliver a strike.
Again, no insult to Smith or Shough… I just don’t think they are making any of those plays.
Now, it wasn’t all good, this was his first start against a top ten team with a defense filled with 30-year-olds. There were, and will be, growing pains. The two plays in this clip are examples of that.
I really like this play design; the problem is the Tech offense provides no threat of running in a short-yardage situation and the defense knows it. Even still, I’d like to see Morton ride the mesh a half second longer to suck the OSU defender in, pull it, and dump it to Tharp for the easy first down. That’s just his processor being a little fast, I’d expect him to correct that with more experience.
Why is every interception a forced throw to Tharp? Anyway, Morton thinks he’s got the linebacker when he quickly looks to the speed out, but he doesn’t hold him long enough and quickly looks back to Tharp. The linebacker reads it well, and it’s an easy pick. Again, this is just his processor being sped up, that will, presumably, slow down with reps.
I liked these plays because it shows that the offensive line is capable of at times. OSU sends a slightly delayed blitz up the middle in both clips. First one is a disaster that results in a pressure, second one is picked up and resulted in a beautiful throw, catch, and touchdown.
I did think the offensive line played some of their best football, at times, on Saturday. Granted, that is a low bar, but I’ll take any progress at this point. There were still far too many times where simple mistakes were made and Tech was flat out beat in the run game, but I’m not sure how much of that is fixable at this point.
These problems reared their heads in the second half when OSU stopped blitzing as much, showed Tech favorable run boxes, and Tech could not, consistently, make them pay.
These are just two of my favorite plays made by two of my favorite dudes on the team. I love Trey Cleveland stepping up the past few weeks, and he made bigger plays Saturday, but the move he puts on this Poke DB is not one I thought he had in his bag.
Next one is SaRodorick just deciding to he’s got bigger ones that the linebacker and getting a first down by sheer force of will. Love it.
Sir Rod’s rushing numbers look pretty good, and we can count on one hand how many times he hasn’t had to make something out of nothing/make a man miss before he hits the LOS. It truly is remarkable what he’s doing.
There were a lot of people upset with Kittley after the game, right or wrong, it’s part of the job. The only two play calls I really didn’t like are in the clip above.
We’ve discussed it ad nauseam, Tech cannot run the football when the defense knows Tech is running the football. Before the ball was snapped with this first play, I loved what Kittley was doing. Get in a run heavy formation, then boot or play action out of it, well, that’s not what happened. Instead, the Red Raiders brought a bunch of guys they can’t block as close to the line as possible… only to run it right at them. Don’t get it.
I love the play call here; I hate that the ball is thrown to a guy who has played very little. I’m shocked OSU is even playing off coverage here, so it was the perfect time to run this route, but it’s not fair to trust a guy who has played as little as Brown. Part of play calling is putting guys in positions to succeed. That did not happen here.
Despite the defense playing pretty well, I guess I’m going to have to reluctantly give Spencer Sanders some credit here, he was not exceptional, but he, and his receivers, did just enough to get the job done.
My biggest issue with the defensive performance was the lack of pressure created without blitzing. Maybe I’m already spoiled, but I expected more out of a defensive line that has played really well this season.
The clip above is good example of that, Sanders has all day, but the Tech back 7/8 leave him nowhere to throw the football. I will never tire of this defense being able to create coverage sacks because of what we have watched go on here for years. Think of how many times these exact scenarios would have ended in huge gains in years past.
I’ve discussed this a few times this season, but the biggest issue with Tech’s defense is their aggressiveness and tendency to over pursue. Now, I do think that this mentality has done more good than bad, but the Pokes, smartly, took advantage of that at nearly every crucial moment in the game. The clip above is nearly a minute of examples, they are not all screens, but watch how the defense moves with every misdirection and/or screen. They create easier angles to get blocked, windows for throwing lanes, and holes to run through.
All of this, to me, culminates with the 4th and 8 screen call. That is a ballsy call, and really shows how confident OSU was in being able to take advantage of this flaw.
Just like with the offense, above are 4 of my favorite individual defensive plays from Saturday.
Jaylon Hutchings has made a habit of this play, and I love it every time. He’s incredibly quick across the face of the lineman and is right there to put OSU behind the chains.
Next play is a brilliant play by Kobee Minor, a guy who has not seen a ton of reps. It’s nothing groundbreaking but having the wherewithal to shove the OSU receiver out of bounds was point saving.
The third play is tough to see because of the score box, but you can tell enough. Rayshad is on an island, withstands several good moves by the receiver, and never loses a step which allows him to make the play. I thought Saturday was his best day as a Red Raider.
Finally, I couldn’t believe who made this play when it happened. I expected Bradford, Hutchings, or Blidi. Nope, it was the true freshman flying through an opening to make a point saving tackle for loss. That is really encouraging for the future.
I cannot lie, playing well is cool, but I am ready to win some football games and I believe this team is too. The bye-week has typically been my favorite week of the season because I didn’t have to watch Tech play, not anymore. I know they need it, but I wish the Red Raiders were rolling up the Mountaineers this Saturday.
