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For all of you who have played pickup football, you know that "man to man" means to guard the guy lined up in front of you wherever he goes. That is the true definition of playing man to man defense. But there is more to this art than you think when you are dealing with the college and professional level. Let's look at "The Art of Man to Man Defense for Defensive Backs" in The Hawk's Nest.
Virginia fans were already shell-shocked Saturday with Wyoming rolling to an inevitable 23-3 victory late in the game. Then, Cavalier coach Al Groh inserted true freshman quarterback Peter Lalich in the final three minutes. Talk about shocked. Was it a mistake to play Lalich? Now What? Sabre Editor Kris Wright and Vandy-Hoo tackle the hot topic in Point-Counterpoint.
Rock bottom? I don't know. Tough to say with another game right around the corner. And were we to lose to the likes of Duke at home? Perish the thought.
But it sure feels like what rock bottom must feel like. You could see that on the faces of the players as they walked to the buses after the final whistle - and I hurt for them, knowing what they had put into the preparation for this game. In some ways, I hope this is rock bottom, and that things start to look up after next week's game. But first, we have to look back at what went wrong this past Saturday.
Philosophers would have a field day with this one. No one has perfected the "Who Am I?" act better than the Virginia football offense in recent years and the winding search for an identity has led to a growing group of head-scratching performances. Wyoming just joined the list Saturday as the Cavaliers turned in another offensive nightmare.
The 2007 season has a very strange feeling to it already. Hoos fans cannot seem to decide whether to be optimistic or pessimistic, excited or deflated, anxious or nervous ... and I can understand why. I am not sure I can remember breaking down a team that had such potential for success while at the same time having so many legitimate question marks.
What are those question marks? What key indicators will I be watching this season? Here are 10 Things To Watch as Al Groh and the Cavaliers prepare for 2007.
For the past five football seasons, I've used my student ID to swipe into games. For the past four football seasons, I've gone to work on the Corner on gameday mornings before heading over to Scott Stadium. Now, as a first year alum, I no longer carry my student ID, and I don't have to work on the weekends. There are a lot of things that will be different going into this football season compared to my five, yes, five years as an undergrad. But the one change I am looking forward to the most is definitely my gameday experience.
You've read all the previews already. The safe bets that we'll win a certain number of games, finish at a certain spot in the standings, and blah blah blah. Those previews are all fine, but let's approach this whole genre a different way so that you guys won't stab out your eyes to avoid reading yet another expert explaining that the season hinges on Jameel Sewell's wrist. No kidding. Let's take the season and break this baby down by the numbers. And let's start at the beginning ...
When Virginia opened football practice this week at the McCue Center practice fields, one thing was immediately evident: quite a few Hoos look a lot different this fall. Branden Albert has trimmed down. Mikell Simpson appears stronger. Clint Sintim looks leaner. Cedric Peerman seems sleeker.
That led to a question that many have speculated about during the offseason. Has there been a shift in Al Groh's philosophy on players' physical development?
Finally, the summer draws close to an end and with that, the end of the summer reading is upon us. And what better place to wrap up than with the last line of defense, the defensive backs? Again, there is reason for optimism, but far more cautious optimism. Why? The questions that have to be answered regarding the defensive backs are ones that reflect a lot of upside and a lot of downside. When you are talking about the last line of defense, "downside" is a word you would rather not hear.
It's going to be a long weekend. I know, I know, you've already been waiting for months since the Spring Game for fall practice to get here. But the next two days before the Virginia football opens fall practice are going to seem like forever for diehard Hoos. Never fear, The Sabre has you covered with a Fall Practice Cheat Sheet to get you ready for training camp. Here are five things to consider when practice gets under way on Monday.
Virginia men's tennis coach Brian Boland, who recently repeated as the Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID) State Coach of the Year, is still in the midst of a busy summer following the most successful season ever by an ACC team. Boland joined Jay James on The Best Seat in the House to talk about the offseason, Somdev Devvarman (the repeat VaSID State Player of the Year), his early recruiting classes, and more.
The strength Virginia athletics shined in Part I of the 2006 program rankings - how else could teams like men's lacrosse and women's soccer fall outside the top 10? Vandy-Hoo returns with the top 10 Hoo teams of 2006. Where do baeball, men's tennis, men's basketball, and others fall? Plus, Sabre Editor Kris Wright weighs in with his thoughts.
Alright Hoos, you paid attention to Virginia sports all season. Every first down, every goal, every base hit, every ankle twist, every finish line, every championship. The blood, sweat, and tears. The good calls. The bad calls. The inevitable screw job by the Carolina refs. (Yeah, I'm looking at you, Valentine.)
Well, now that the athletic year is over and before the next set of seasons descends upon us, it's time to think big picture. How did the 2006 teams rank?
PINEHURST, N.C. - Leading off the final day of the ACC Football Kickoff, Commissioner John Swofford opened his annual address announcing that Florida State sprinter Walter Dix and Duke's women's basketball stand out Lindsay Harding were the 2006-2007 Male and Female Athletes of the Year. Dix received 31 votes and Harding received 22.
Things that make Al Groh happy ... let me see, how many can I list? His family certainly. A game with no turnovers or penalties. Yes, that will make him teary eyed. His music, absolutely. Film review after a big win has to be on the list. Let me see ... anything else I am forgetting? Oh, yes, a quality depth chart at linebacker. On that last point, Groh should be awfully happy going into this season.
Since Al Groh arrived in Charlottesville and installed his version of the 3-4 defense, I have had annual concerns about whether we had he personnel on the defensive line to properly execute the defense. That is, until this year. Chris Long is an All-American candidate. Jeffrey Fitzgerald may be down the road. And at defensive tackle, the rotation should be up to the task. Add to that a talented depth chart, and you can understand why the defensive staff is looking forward to rolling out this unit for the 2007 season.
A couple of days ago, a poster encouraged me to write a long article when I got around to discussing the offensive line. Me, a long article? Never. Perish the thought. Mr. Brevity, that's what all of my friends call me ...
Of course, from Branden Albert to slotting to depth to potential to Eugene Monroe to - you get the picture - there is plenty to talk about on the offensive line. And all of the news is not grim. In fact, if you look at the starting five UVa plans to roll out on the field for the first offensive snap of the Wyoming game, the talent is fairly impressive. Will the results be?
I often refer to myself as a Chicken Little type. When it comes to football, you show me a silver lining, I look for the next dark cloud. But with the talent Virginia has at the tight end spot for 2007, that dark cloud is going to be hard to find. Led by Tom Santi and Jonathan Stupar, UVa once again returns a tight end corps that is deep, talented, and versatile.
I feel like I am on a bit of a roller coaster right now. One article about a position with a lot of questions marks. One article with very few question marks. And now? The wide receivers. You want to guess into which category this article is going to fall? The injury suffered by Kevin Ogletree sent this position into the upside down portion of the coaster and there are no certain answers to turn it right side up immediately. Hang on.
Sean Singletary is staying.
O.K., Wahoo fans welcome back to your computer. I know the jumping up and down and running around the house screaming took a few moments. So did hugging your wife, your kids, your roommate, and the dog. I know you would have hugged the cat too if he didn't disappear for days and you couldn't find him to share the love.
Ten years. As the days since graduation have stretched into months and then years and then an entire decade, the memories of the past slowly fade into a dull historic landscape. But I do remember one thing. I remember not caring about Virginia athletics half as much as I care about it now. Heck, I almost missed the 1995 FSU win because I wanted to sleep after an egregious all-nighter.
This fact struck me recently, as I enjoyed the company of some old friends at my 10-year college reunion: I'm not a casual fan anymore, I'm in it for life.
I cannot say that I was surprised to see that my quarterbacks article caused some debate on the message boards. When there are a lot of questions that have to be answered about a certain position, there are going to be a lot of opinions about what the answers will be - and why.
I suspect, however, that this article will cause less consternation. Why? Because I think that there may be less to question about the talent at the running back position than at any other position on the team.
It is that time of year again, when there is no football being played on the field but I have football on the brain. My remedy each year - my annual "outlook" posts breaking down the UVa depth chart as we head into another season. I think it was Virginia 2005 who once referred to those posts as his "summer reading." I think of it as the only way to occupy my mind as we wait for the pads to go on, but we will go with the "summer reading" title. Catchier. You know, for marketing purposes.
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