Maybe Hokies Finally Figured Out Key To Winning Is Keeping It Simple

Tonight’s Virginia Tech game was far from an artistic masterpiece, as the Hokies seemed to display a hierarchy of ugliness on offense in the first half which included (1) plain ol’ ugly, (2) butt ugly, (3) coyote ugly and (4) what everyone saw in the first half ugly.

How ugly was it? Well, ugly enough that fans were booing in Lane Stadium before they even finished the first quarter of the first home game of the year.

That’s pretty ugly.

Fortunately, things got prettier. In the second half, the Hokies found a way to get going and win, and in the process may have stumbled across an answer to some of their issues. They simplified the offense, focused on the running game, and the offense came to life with 21 second-half points as the Hokies beat Marshall 31-14.

After last week’s stinker of a loss to Vanderbilt, I’d like to tell you that Virginia Tech came out of the tunnel like a house on fire, playing with huge passion and energy, all while putting together a few drives balancing inside running with passes downfield to their wide receivers.

Note, I said “I’d like to tell you.” Because if I did tell you that, it would be a lie and then someone would think I was running for office.

No, it was the same old story of slow start, predictable play calling and struggling offensive line play. A punt return produced the only Hokie touchdown in the first half, and while the defense seemed noticeably improved from last week, Virginia Tech still only led 10-7.

It was exactly the kind of first half you didn’t want to see.

Quarterback Kyron Drones did not look good in the first half. He looked confused, at some times even frustrated as he looked downfield. It seemed like he was expecting one set of circumstances in the passing game, but when real life hit, he was seeing something else.

At every level of football I’ve ever seen in my life, the answer to all this is “we have to simplify the offense.” It makes great sense too, because if you’re running a list of scripted plays where QBs have to make reads, receivers have to make their own adjustments downfield based on how the defense reacts, and the offensive line – because they have a running QB – has no idea where the quarterback is going to end up on any given play, all those options can make an offense look like a gang of fools.

Simplifying just means going back to basics. Forget about all the options that might fool a defense, just line up and run the football. And with 14:35 left in the third quarter, the Hokies did just that, putting together a 12-play drive that went 50 yards and ate 6 minutes and 33 seconds off the clock. Of the 12 plays, 11 were runs, culminating in a 1-yard TD run by Bhayshul Tuten. It was line ‘em up smashmouth football that some may find boring, but it worked.

It was also the oldest trick in the book used by successful companies since the beginning of time. It was KISS – keep it simple, stupid.

As the second half progressed, the offensive line gained confidence. The passing game started to work, as simpler plays with more limited options allowed Drones to relax and focus on what he knew could happen. In the first half he looked tentative trying to pick out the right receiver downfield. In the fourth quarter, he rolled to his right, his primary option was covered, but you could then see him immediately decide what he had to do. He understood his options, turned, and found DaQuan Felton wide open to make it 31-14.

This is a suspicion I’ve had with this coaching staff for some time and it’s not unusual in football at all. Coaches get bored with simple plays – even though they work – and can end up putting together game plans that may impress other coaches, but they actually outsmart themselves. Drones has looked confused in the first two halves of both games this season, but tonight in the second half he returned to his old comfortable, confident self.

This is not to suggest that the Hokies found an answer to all their problems tonight. Ali Jennings is probably the best receiver they have and the number of passes completed to him tonight was ZERO. Play calling is still way too predictable, and when the defense knows what’s coming, everyone from the offensive line to the quarterback is in danger of looking like they don’t know what they’re doing.

The defense played well in the first half, but when Tuten scored to make it 17-7, it took them all of two plays to let Marshall go 87 yards in two plays in only 46 seconds. They went from solid defense to a bowl of clam chowder in the blink of an eye, and if you watched an earlier game during the day between Syracuse and Georgia Tech, you can’t help but imagine how both of those quarterbacks could carve up the defense like it’s Thanksgiving dinner when the Hokies play them.

But they won the game, something they had to do. They showed flashes of improvement on defense, and they also showed they are capable of establishing an identity as a tough running team like the Hokies of old. One step at a time, the old saying goes, and winning a game at home is that first step.

They still worry me, as I believe next week we’ll be complaining about the same slow starts, and the same predictable play calls in the first half.

But hopefully they learned something tonight. And maybe next week during the first half they’ll remember how after a slow start, they were able to turn things around and win tonight.

All sealed with a little KISS.