The Sock 'Em, Bust 'Em Board Because that's our custom

Friday Feedback

September 19, 2014 by Mike Casazza

Welcome to the Friday Feedback which … man, this was tremendously tremendous.

We were already friends with and fans of Chris B. Brown. Now I want a Tony Jefferson jersey.

We also had reminders about Bad Twitter this week thanks to the the sort of stuff I’m certain we’ll get into and try to deftly manage here. But going back to the to-and-fro above, wow, what memories from that night. I’ve never seen something like that before, something so electric and so unexpected, and I can’t remember something so great being, ultimately, so unfulfilling. I find it funny how many people I come across who who think WVU won that night. Same thing with the Quincy Wilson run in that one Miami game.

Anyhow, don’t expect something quite like that tomorrow night. Oklahoma’s defense is nothing like what it was that night, when Dana Holgorsen sprung one of the great cat-and-mouse surprises ever. The Sooners are a 3-4/3-3-5 now that gets by on a mean front and uncomfortable coverage in the back, and they made changes due in large part to getting pantsed that one night. There was a cumulative effect, of course, and things had been trending that way, but it reached a crescendo right there. In the past season-plus, Oklahoma’s been as disruptive, as stingy, as good as anyone at defense.

It’s interesting, because one of WVU’s great positives when playing Oklahoma was familiarity. They run, in essence, the same offense. One may differ from the other in certain areas, but how they’ve learned and how they teach the offense is so similar that it’s easy for one to understand and anticipate the differences of the other. And since they are operating the same offenses, they understand how to defend it because they know what they don’t like to see from opposing defenses.

Then the Sooners go off and change what they do on defense, and you wonder, until you say, “Whoa, hey, it’s a 3-3-5!” It is and it isn’t. Eric Striker is that swing guy, like K.J. Dillon is for WVU. They’re not the same player, as Dillon is more safety than linebacker and Striker is more linebacker than safety. Striker makes Oklahoma more of a versatile 3-4 whereas Dillon completes the 3-3-5. And, please, stop me if you’ve heard this, but WVU rolls with the odd stack. Oklahoma is an odd front and with its own preferences for how it plays the gaps and such. It’s different, but, again, the basics are close enough that there’s some value in it as one gets ready for the other.

The major and, I don’t know, overlooked and underpublicized part of this? WVU’s offense is — prepare yourself — better this season than it was in the influential 2012 game. Reason being? Having two outside receivers is more beneficial than having one outside and one slot receiver.

“I think overall we’re probably a better offensive unit than we were then,” WVU offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Shannon Dawson said.

Bailey and Austin — with sizable contributions from Geno Smith — made the 2012 offense the best the school has seen. White and Alford do more for this offense because of what they do to the defense. Bailey was an outside receiver and Austin was an inside receiver. White and Alford are both outside receivers.

The difference matters.

“If you ask defensive guys, I think the overall threat level from outside guys is more threatening than from inside guys when those (outside) guys can take it to the house whenever,” Dawson said. “An outside guy being a threat, I think that probably scares a defense a little more than an inside guy, so having two of those guys is a good thing.”

Onto the Feedback. As always, comments appear as posted. In other words, copying has consequences.

JP said:

Kevin White looks like a man among boys on the field. I guess he’s the answer to my where’s the next Dez Bryant/Michael Crabtree complaint. He let a pass to him in the back of the end zone bounce off his hands though.

I am surprised about Alford’s proficiency at catching fade route jump balls, since he doesn’t have the height advantage that White has.

Our defense came up with so many big stops. It’s nice to have a couple decent corners so that you can bring more pressure more often. And when they dropped 7 or 8 into coverage, they still consistently pressured the Md QB with a 3 or 4 man rush. Who is the d lineman coach again? Oh that’s right, Scrap Bradley.

Starting with Scrap, you’re seeing Hyman and Nwachukwu benefit from game reps. I thought they were better at the end of Saturday’s game than they were when it started. As for White, he’s jumping up draft boards, and this is not thought to be an especially strong draft class for receivers. One drop — and it was somewhat defended on the way down — won’t damage him. Alford has underrated body control, too. He can play bigger when he measures his strides, which then expands his catching radius for fades and deep balls.

SheiYbuti said:

The officials looked lost on that sequence involving the interfered-with fair catch, but, other than that, I thought they did a decent job. In particular, there were some good no-calls on contact in the secondary, and another good no-call on the play at the end of the first half when the Maryland QB got hurt. I don’t have an opinion on the ball spots, because I was yelling too loudly at the BTN graphics guys who didn’t seem to have a clue.

The fair catch thing was a bad look, and it happens because they all work above the net of replay review. Then again, they let the Petteway hit go and I would have bet you in the moment he was going to get a flag for targeting and then we’d have that review to endure. It was close, certainly close enough to expect a flag, but I thought it was clean. That said, I also thought their spots were questionable (both ways). They did miss or permitt some things, and that seems to be a Big 12 thing. They let guys in the secondary battle a little bit.

MontanaEer said:

I liked how, on the BTN, you rarely knew the down or how many yards to go.

You did? Also, it was a painful listen, no?

I love you, Doug! said:

MontanaEer, the same was true on the Byrd Stadium scoreboards. Down-and-distance rarely aligned with reality; my wife and I took to watching the down marker instead.

Oh, gosh, yes. It was impossible to keep a running play-by-play using that as a guide. The chain gangs were slow, too, so that didn’t work for me either. I’m just glad that’s over.

Rugger said:

The jump that Trickett made this year and that which Juwan made last season are truly amazing…..must be someting in the pepperoni rolls.

… that’s actually a really good story idea. Watch someone steal it. Too. 

smeer said:

Trickett – don’t discount chemistry with receivers. This O is predicated on QBs and WRs reading each other’s minds. He might have made a significant jump last year if he wasn’t injured.

this year is showing/reaffirming that DH and crew can coach up a QB with decent skills.

as Trickett shared – he’s throwing short stuff and his WRs are making 20 yard plays out of it

said earlier in the year – Geno and company morphed DH’s O because they wer ejust that good. This maybe the first year we’re seeing what this O is supposed to look like with a QB with a decent arm and a high football IQ.

I’m happy for Trickett – he always wanted to play here and that counts a lot in my book.

Now let’s keep him healthy – no more dives on fourth and three in the red zone please

All good points. Remember last year when Dana and Dawson kept talking about the program and numbers and continuity and it was made out to be an excuse and not an explanation? It makes sense now. WVU isn’t recruiting five-star guys who can jump in and play and excel right away. Even if WVU was, those players have to know what they’re doing. You need time to get parts in pace and get them going. They you need to assemble the next line behind the first line so there are replacements that keep the thing moving. Dana was quick-hit good at Houston and Oklahoma State and even WVU, which ought to suggest he can coach winning offensive football. Years three and four require something nuanced, and you’re seeing now what was only talked about before. 

I love you, Doug! said:

First 3:31 FTW.

Honorable mention, 2:39.

Mike, did you note how many times White was targeted in the first three quarters as opposed to the fourth, or in the last couple of drives? Worth asking about at the presser.

Just watching it live, they dropped one safety or both unusually deep, and basically doubled White, or White and Alford, on just about every play. You can’t throw it there, so, eventually, WVU ran the ball. Pretty much the entire final drive was against that look.

Sammy said:

Great stuff, as always. I’m not sure I’ve seen as extreme of a Good and Bad (and you didn’t even include the blown coverage touchdown to Diggs). This Worley thing has me nervous for Oklahoma but honestly West Virginia can get blown out by Oklahoma (a serious possibility) and I don’t think it says much about how WVU will fare against the rest of the Big 12 schedule. That’s what made this W so key. Assuming a loss and (god help me) wins against Kansas and Iowa State, to get to a bowl we just have to go 2-4 against Baylor, Texas Tech (who looks bad right now), Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas and Kansas State.

It’s picking nits but I will say our run game doesn’t seem all that efficient. It was nice to see positive yards and it looked like WVU was close to popping some big runs, but averaging only 3 or 3.5 yards per carry, especially when WVU is throwing it so well, will catch up to them eventually. I still like Shel but I’d like to see them spell him a bit earlier. Seemed like Buie gave us a spark when he came in and obviously Dreamius and Garrison made plays at the end, likely helped by the fact that the defense had been worn down by 50 runs and 100 plays already.

Also, what happened to the power run play with the pulling guards that Crook brought in that Charles Sims had all those big runs on against TCU?

Run game is not getting a lot of attention, is it? I suppose it’s a nonstarter when the passing game works like it has worked so far, and the argument then is, “Well, you can’t gain a ton of yards rushing when you’re passing so prolifically.” And that’s true. It’s the average and the struggles in short-yardage and goal-line situations that get to me. But WVU has an open week next week. Four games is a healthy body of work to dissect and from which to enact changes, and you can’t do that stuff while preparing for the first four games of the season. 

Rick said:

Mike, any word on which SEC team were in discussion with for a home and home? I’m guessing its UK.

It is not UK. It is a school that can be referenced in two letters. Road in 2016, home in 2017. Virtually certain of this.

Daniel said:

My biggest ‘bad’ is punt returners. We have seen gaff after gaff for multiple seasons with numerous players assigned to this duty. It has lost us many games that we should’ve won. It almost lost us this one.

We literally had a kid out there with a sprained ankle fielding punts besause he was supposed to be the best option we had for not muffing them or doing something stupid. Well, he muffed one and then did something stupid. We were put in VERY bad positions because of those miscues.

This game is a thrashing if not for our ST ineptness, but the punt fielding issue sticks out like a sore thumb because of the disastrous history we’ve been suffering through ever since Defore__ was put in charge of it.

We’ve had I don’t know how many guys back there, all screwing the pooch. Even Tavon! The one, single, only common denominator is the coach. He needs to be relieved from this duty before we lose any more games against teams that we’re superior to but dumber than.

I’m begging at this point…

I’m with you except for the firing of the coach part, because I presume you mean Joe DeForest. Lonnie Galloway works with the punt returners. Ultimately, sure, it’s on Joe, but a coordinator defers to and trusts position coaches. I really do think WVU is just short at that position, though. Guys don’t want to do it. Guys don’t want to do kickoffs, either. 

Mack said:

The blocked punt was a huge play that shouldn’t be discounted. It seems like WVU is blocking more punts against decent teams lately than it has in years past.

I read a clinic transcript not long ago and the coach praised DeForest for his punt block schemes. You can scheme those up. You need guys to do it, but that’s apparently one of Joe’s strengths. 

smeer said:

in light of that – let’s just put 11 on the line and go after every punt

has to be better than . . .

1. fumbled catches
2. balls bouncing off returners for fumbles
3. balls caught inside the 10
4. balls that should have been caught that roll inside the 10

I like it, much like I generally don’t like punting.

Rob W. said:

Chose to condense after I realized that I spent twelve minutes of my life typing simply to make the point that we need more consistent special teams play…..

Now gonna go try to figure out why I allow 19 year old football players make me neurotic.

Do not figure that out. Do not. 

pknocker40 said:

The solution is obvious: http://247sports.com/Player/William-Crest-12376

God, I had to fight the urge to ask about that Tuesday. I did. I’m there for my amusement at this point. That and asking  most of the questions, which is aggravating and why I want to liven it up. 

glibglub said:

I think what’s being suggested is maybe a brief clinical trial to see if Crest might be an effective dentifrice for special teams car[r]ies.

Indeed.

Brandon said:

Mike I think there’s a problem with college football blogs, I really do, with that many video clips. When you take the number of clips we watch over a year these middle aged readers will end up reading 15, 16 Good/Bads with some of these things that happen. It takes a toll on you. But you know what? I was proud of us readers because we hung in there and competed.

This is Edsall’s last head coaching job, right? I mean, when he gets fired, no one goes and gets him. Coordinator or position coach? Sure. Head coach? I see no benefit. Someone made the “Oh, a small school would do it” argument with me and I couldn’t have disagreed more. What you see is what you get with him and I don’t know what there’s to like at a place that needs to invigorate a fan base. Maryland’s the perfect place for him, now that it’s in the Big Ten. Maryland football is on like the fifth tier of sports in the Metro DC area. You can be an 8-5 scoop of vanilla ice cream and it’ll pass. Speaking of, help me out here: On a scale of 48-28 to Chaminade, how big of an upset is it to discover the Rockin’ Randy flavor of ice cream dedicated to the football coach is “vanilla chocolate chip ice cream with chocolate marble swirl, Reese’s and Heath Bar pieces” and not “vanilla” or “Neapolitan with three flavors of vanilla”? I still get the feeling he sits across the room and chassises you for eating too much of it.

ffejbboc said:

Mike, would you put it past Trickett to to tell a “little white lie” about being/not being unconscious after getting knocked out of bounds?

You know, to avoid the mandatory precautionary period that is the norm these days.

Or with all the recent scary talk of concussions and the emphasis on long term effects, do you think it really was just getting the wind knocked out of him?

I would and I wouldn’t. There seemed to be some tongue in cheek happening there with him and Dana, so, sure, maybe it was a ploy. But Trickett also told us last year he was KO’d against Kansas State and never told the coaches. … Now that I think of it, I doubt he’d be so honest now. So, who knows?

Brother X said:

Here’s what I want to see Saturday Night;

Mountaineers come out for first possession, and Mario Alford lines up in the pistol behind Trickett. Takes first hand off 35/45/55/65/whatever yards up the sideline.

Wash, rinse, repeat, all night…Super Mario goes off for 350 yards rushing and about 580 all purpose yards.

Tavon 2.0 Comes Full Circle, Mountaineers win this one 51-49.

(2 years ago…Never Forget.)

Not gonna happen. We forget, but WVU didn’t have a healthy running back that game … and Oklahoma played defense in a way that could be gashed by a one-cut-and-go scheme with a ripper like Tavon. But let’s indulge for just a moment. Home team wins the toss and takes the kick. Touchback. First-and-10 at the 25. What if Dana lines Alford up as the single back in the Pistol? I don’t care what happens next. Motion him out. Pass it to White. Play fake and go deep. Just one play, but what if? I’ll settle for that one snap with Shelton Gibson in the backfield, just so there’s a No. 1.

tls62pa said:

Shame on you for the cryptic “Daryl Worley Might Play” headline today.

I think you’re kidding … but I’m 21/2 hours north of the office. I don’t touch headlines.

The Artist Formerly Known as EER96 said:

Well, it could always be worse. At least he didn’t stand on a bar stool and yell, “F*** her in the p****!”

Just kidding…you don’t put your hands on a female. Period. Regardless of the situation.

I need Mack’s take on Jameis.

I love you, Doug! said:

Even if there are extenuating circumstances there is almost no worse crime to be charged with at this moment if you are a football player. That will probably require a punishment greater than the crime. Justice is situational and political.

I get the point, and perhaps I have no other place to put this, but let’s agree to extend “…at this moment…” to a more infinite period and replace “…football player…” with “human.” That said, extenuating circumstances are nevertheless circumstances, and though they don’t absolve situations like this — which is absolutely not a direct reference to this situation — they do leverage them in particular directions. This is how battery oftentimes ends up as disorderly conduct. 

philip said:

bad time to swept up in a life lesson.

I’ll agree with that, though to a point. Obviously, the current events trump this up and people who want a piece of the action or a space to say something bold do even more to it. But — and I don’t have to tell you this, I know — it’s still bad in a vacuum. Let’s just say, generically, someone was throwing shade and coasters at a player at a bar and was mean-mugging his woman and telling people she was going to pull the significant other’s hair out and shove it down her throat.  There are so many decisions to make before the one that gets you arrested. You’ve got to have your head screwed on in a way that lets you see the ways out. Undoubtedly, that’s the life lesson here. I doubt very much someone has to tell a man he’s not supposed to batter a woman, especially this week.

DaninNJ said:

One thing that Holgorsen can pass along to the rest of the team from this is the simple truth that if you’re still out and about at a club at that time of night the chances of something bad happening go up exponentially.

That aside, you hit the nail on the head, I Love You Doug. There is a very bright light being cast on this issue and the politics swirling around the situation will make things even harder for him.

And now I present sympathy for the devil. These are college kids excitedly and understandably enjoying their profile and their presence on a football team that just won a big game. I can’t expect them to be shuttered after a day like that.

Down South said:

I don’t think that there is any way a police officer puts his name on this sworn criminal complaint, where the complaint mentions the fact that there is video, without first seeing what is on the video and making sure that the video matches what goes in the complaint pretty closely. You know when you are arresting a WVU football player (especially one who starts and has an NFL future) that the case is going to get extra scrutiny. So you better be sure about what you write in the complaint.

The sooner that video gets out in public, the better off Worley will be. The biggest problem with the way the Ray Rice case was handled is that the video leaked after the suspension was over, which created a brand new uproar. While people complained he only got two games, the uproar would have been the same if the suspension was much longer. If Worley serves a suspension, is reinstated and then the video leaks, the uproar will begin anew and HCDH will have to deal with it, probably while he is preparing to play a meaningful game in November or December. If I’m Worley’s counsel, I’d try and get the video from the prosecutor as soon as possible (he’s entitled to it in discovery in the criminal case) and, unless it is as bad as Ray Rice’s, find a way to leak it to the media (hopefully, Sunday morning after a Mountaineer win so that it can get lost a little in the post-game media cycle). That way the video’s stigma is gone when the final punishment is ultimately announced. The video surely gets replayed at that point, but the shock is most likely gone by then.

For some perspective, what Worley is accused of sounds almost exactly like what happened with Ohio State RB Carlos Hyde before last season. Admittedly, that case unfolded before the Ray Rice video leaked (at least the elevator portion of the video), but the facts are almost identical, down to the video of Hyde laying hands on the girl in the bar. Ohio State suspended him for three games. I don’t recall there being a huge outcry over that punishment at the time, but things have changed a little since then. The criminal charges in the Hyde case were dismissed because the victim didn’t want to prosecute them. By contrast, Oklahoma’s Joe Mixon was suspended for the season for going Ray Rice on someone who approached him in a restaurant late at night. That video hasn’t been released (although it would be nice if Deadspin could get it the Monday before we play Oklahoma next season, if Mixon is in the lineup), but the media was permitted to view it in a closed session. My recollection of the tweets from journalists who saw the video was that it was a pretty savage close-fisted punch that left the victim unconscious. All of this leads me to believe that whether or not we see Worley again depends on just how violent his interaction with this person was and whether there was any apparent provocation. For what that’s worth.

He’s never led us wrong before! I’ll add this for balance, context, perspective, whatever. I think WVU did right by suspending Worley without seeing the video. I’m not going to throw the university a parade, but I think there’s a benefit to the proactive step, and these stories now are almost as much about the way a team/school/law enforcement entity responds to the alleged action as it is about the alleged action itself. Similarly, you have to expect the law enforcement entities to be just as proactive and be in front of it and not chasing it. Is one or the other involved here? Probably. But I do think it has to be viewed through varying lenses.

JP said:

Getting into a fight with another guy is one thing. A football player and a woman is not a fair fight. The kid is lucky he isn’t getting the Ray Rice treatment.

See, this presumes the woman also got the Ray Rice treatment, and that hasn’t been presented in any forum to be the case. 

Drew said: 

Nice to see Dann brought his tin foil hat to the blog.

Just kidding, Dann.

Let’s not do what every single fan base does when one of their own players is accused of something. These young men – and GAM in some instances – must realize their status on the team and all of the benefits that go along with it – and there are many – have other, potentially negative, effects. When they do something they shouldn’t – or put themselves in a position to be accused of doing something they shouldn’t – it is magnified. That isn’t new and it isn’t changing.

Can we please avoid victimizing the accused just because he happens to be one of our own? Let’s not be the Ravens fans giving Ray Rice a standing ovation at training camp.

Bang. There’s zero wrong with that. Zero. Look, I understand the strong feelings here that involve morality and offense taken to certain acts, but also allegiances to teams and players. But there’s something foolhardy about having to be right about this right now. You can welcome Worley back in two weeks or two months or whatever, or you can wave goodbye. But that happens when it happens. 

Foul Shot said:

Gotta be a lot of fun getting booked on High St.
Just have trouble understanding why you have to get charged for battery.
We all went down on High St. to have some fun.
Just not getting the part where we wrap our hands around a female’s throat.
I don’t think we look for excuses to allow for the guy to stick around if that is the type of individual representing our team. Good riddance.

That’s fair, but it has always amazed me how much power is found in a word as small as “if.” You think about that … if you want.

SheikYbuti said: 

Well, you know, the guy is physically imposing vis-à-vis normal human beings, and he apparently put his hands around a woman’s neck. There has been not a peep that extenuating circumstances exist, such as might preclude the football coach not suspending him to being with (unlikely, I know, given the Rice furor) or the police declining to bring charges following their preliminary investigation. If the victim attacked the daughter of a 20-year-old man inside a bar after midnight on a Saturday night, then that presents a whole new set of questions. If people are going to argue that choking out a woman is a proportionate, reasonable response to whatever physical threat the woman might muster to a football player, then I think they’re starting out the at-bat with two strikes against them.

Pretty proud of the stances people are taking here. Reasoned, rational, even righteous, but almost nothing is obnoxious. I like that. And I will say the gap between incident, warrant and arrest is interesting, but most likely irrelevant. I’m holding onto this: I have fierce renditions of two stories. I have nothing.

MattiMo said: 

Man this sucks. Hopefully, they don’t suspend him more than 2 games. He’s been a straight boss in the first 3 games.

FREE WORLEY!!

Oh, boy.

Micky said:

He’s got a good lawyer. The man made a mistake, so what. The girl didn’t even get hurt. He’ll be back for the next game. No harm done.

A woman’s best weapon is her mouth. She will run it, and run it and run it and dare you to hit her if she thinks you’re one of those “I would never hit a woman” kind of guys. I give Worley props for taking care of business. I bet every woman will think twice before running their mouth at Worley for the rest of his life.

MattiMo is also Micky, so take his profoundly stupid words for what you will.  

JC said:

If Worley’s replacement(s) play well, get a pick, or make a game saving play of some sort, this whole thing becomes less important…..

How? 

Mr M said:

Mike — I don’t think you’ve mentioned your appearances on the pre-game broadcasts, have you? A worthwhile roundtable on the IMG affiliates, appx. 2.5 hours before kickoff — tomorrow’s appearance with Vingle and someone from the MDP maybe around 4:45, 4:50?

The MDP guy is well-dressed Ed Owens. And yes, it’s 2 hours, 45 minutes or so before kickoff. I generally publicize it on Twitter before it happens. I come to play.

Mack said: 

Two things:

1. The best line I’ve heard regarding college football this season was by Barstool Sports’ El Presidente referring to Brady Hoke from Michigan, following their 31-0 loss to Notre Dame. “You can’t be standing on the sideline without a headset on if your team is losing 31-0.”

2. I thought you could play a certain number of quarters (like one or two) and still redshirt?

Worley can’t redshirt this season. Once you play a single snap, the developmental redshirt goes out the door, unless you get hurt and qualify for a medical. Worley isn’t hurt, so that won’t happen. The hardship waiver involves injuries and life circumstances, but he won’t qualify for those either. And who’s having a better season that Barstool Sports?

Hossenpepper said:

Do you think by Dana not talking to. Lambert this year, he hurt his feelings and that is why he is missing kicks? You know how sensitive kickers can be.

 I don’t think so, but I also think that’s a running joke they’re putting out there for us. Mostly, though, Dana lets DeForest handle that stuff. He’s more worried about offense and fatigue and timeouts …

TheVLC said:

Clock management is WVU’s wide right

I’ll allow it.

MontanaEer said:

The good news is OU will debut new unis. That didn’t work so well for UMd, did it?

Enjoy the weekend!