West Virginia vs. Libery Recap In One Word: Eh.

by Dr. Charley West on Sep 6, 2009 3:33 PM EDT in Mountaineer Football

OK, maybe more than just "eh," but that pretty accurately describes my feeling today on yesterday's effort. There was some good, some bad, and a lot of things that need taken care of quickly.

Let's get to this, shall we?

This game isn't meaningless, but it's important not to weight it too much. Just because Tennessee rocked Western Kentucky doesn't make them a better or worse team than Iowa, that sneaked by Northern Iowa. You get the win, get a better idea on what to work on, and you move on to the next week. With that said, you don't want to show as much weakness as we did at times yesterday.
Kickoff coverage is an abomination. There is simply no ifs, ands, or buts about it. For the head coach of our football team to be in charge of this flaming pile of a unit is simply unacceptable. If there isn't marked improvement immediately, this will continue to cost us multiple wins this year. Ultimately, if the head coach's pet unit isn't up to par, and it's very obviously not, it could start to cause players to lose respect for their coach. We certainly don't want that, but it's the direction we're unfortunately headed. This is a huge litmus test for Stewart, and after week one, it's not looking good.

I am not worried about our defense, at least not yet. They were exposed quite a few times yesterday, but this is an experienced unit with a veteran coordinator and veteran assistants. Our defense is/was supposed to be our strongsuit, and I don't think yesterday's game changed that. Still, we need to get the hell off the field on third down. Without that, we'll continue to get worn out and be vulnerable late in games. If we get better on third down defense, this team can go far. If we don't? Eeek.

Then again, Liberty was completely unable to run on our defense. They combined to have only 89 yards total as a team all day. That's a very good thing. At least we can shut down one aspect of an offense. Next item on the agenda: the other aspect.

This offense is going to be better than expected. Jarrett Brown looked to be in complete command all afternoon, the offensive line was stronger than expected for game #1, and we mixed in a great deal of different looks and attacks while not revealing too much for future opponents.

Tyler Bitancurt can ball. Now, let's try and score more touchdowns and not let him make this many field goals ever again.

How do you not go for it on fourth and one from the Liberty 41? The stadium was downright shocked when the punt unit came on to the field. And, of course, the punt sails into the endzone and nets 21 whole yards. That still burns me up a little. Of course, that could be a larger problem, being...

The short-yardage unit looks better. I saw improvement, especially with Ryan Clarke getting into the endzone, but this will certainly need continued improvement. Or at least show the same improvement next week. Converting six of twelve is a good start, though.

Someone taught Jock Sanders how to catch. Plus, even though he suffered a drop or two, Tyler Urban looks to be very involved in the offense. This makes us a more dangerous team.

Bill Stewart is a filthy liar. All week, or even all fall camp, we heard that Noel Devine and Jock Sanders would be returning the first kickoff of the year. Then, who does he trot out around noon on Saturday? Mark Rodgers and Tavon Austin. Rodgers made the most of it, though, averaging over 26 yards per return.

We won. That's a good thing, right?

Next week is enormous. East Carolina will obviously be a much stronger test than Liberty, but based on what I saw at Mountaineer Field on Saturday, it's certainly still a winnable game.

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I completely agree....

that next week IS enormous. Honestly, there isn’t a bigger game on the schedule (save for Pitt obviously) than the ECU game next week. This game will easily be the biggest assessment of the WVU team since Rodriguez left, especially given the circumstances of great talent on both sides of the ball for WVU (remember, we’re no longer a caliber of program that needs to rebuild…..we reload….and we shouldn’t fear those expectations but instead embrace them) coupled w/ an ECU team that barely beat App. State w/o Avanti Edwards…….Next week is going to be interesting and all eyes will be on these coaches and players.

by WVUColumbus on Sep 6, 2009 4:00 PM EDT reply actions

I really have no idea what to expect.

That scares the shit out of me. I guess do what we all should do: hope for the best, plan for the worst.

by Dr. Charley West on Sep 6, 2009 4:04 PM EDT up reply actions

The only point you made I disagree with

is the 3rd down comment. I believe we stopped them 10 of 13 tries. Just those 3 seemed glaring, didn’t they?

by WVUIE97 on Sep 6, 2009 4:42 PM EDT reply actions

It's interesting how your perceptions are skewed actually attending a game

It seemed, when the crowd was the loudest and the situation the most crucial, we didn’t get it done. I guess those are the glaring times you mention.

by Dr. Charley West on Sep 6, 2009 4:44 PM EDT up reply actions

One other point.

Kickoff coverage is not all there is to special teams, it is merely one facet of that discipline. That doesn’t lessen the multitude of suck that WVU has put up in K.O. coverage, but we were very good all other parts of special teams yesterday. Just be wary of the distinction.

by Dr. Charley West on Sep 6, 2009 5:25 PM EDT reply actions

the multitude of suck

A poetic yet succinct description of the kicking game.

Also, the 2nd half kicks weren’t very deep either, those are the only ones I saw. When they start at the 20 or 30, that makes everyone’s job harder, I’d think.

by phucoffaholic on Sep 6, 2009 9:00 PM EDT up reply actions

Jerry Fallwell U

I’m still somewhat befuddled and shamed that Jerry Fallwell U made it onto WVU’s schedule at all.

by Buzzardbilly on Sep 6, 2009 7:18 PM EDT reply actions

I Think We're Overreacting...

….the kickoff coverage excepted, I really believe this was not a bad effort. It was the kind of game that showed the coaches where work was needed. Having just rewatched the game…I feel confident, if, for no other reason, Stewart exuded a competency and comfort on the sidelines that was missing from last year. Maybe it was just the sunglasses (finally!), but he is also two years removed from The Shadow.

And I couldn’ t agree more with Dr. West. KO’s are not all there is to special teams, and our punting was decent, and our brand new kicker kicked ass, through the uprights.

by JP Fanshawe on Sep 6, 2009 9:25 PM EDT reply actions

Good synopsis other than the defense

Somebody in the previous post (Last nights?) made the comment that special teams was making the defense look bad, and I totally agree with that. I also would agree that Mike Brown whom I had never heard of..(but should remember for some time) is of a caliber of athlete that could compete on most any top 25 team. The only above comment I take issue with is concerning how we shut down Liberty’s running game. I don’t think they had a rushing attack worthy of giving us any trouble, while ECU will assuredly bring a higher caliber offensive backfield. I thought our defensive backs were a little sluggish early on but with Sands and Smith coming on late it looks more promising. It almost seemed the D was a little un-prepared for the potency of the Beecher – Brown combination, cause in my mind they were pretty hot. Lastly, I would be more comfortable if ECU wasn’t the team we were all talking about being the “litmus test” team. We should be aiming higher. Yes? No?

by RIDGERUNNER on Sep 6, 2009 10:07 PM EDT reply actions

I completely agree

that we SHOULD be aiming higher than ECU for our litmus test game. However, whether we want it to be or not, it is the litmus test game. More eyes will be on this game from WVU fan perspective on the assessment of these players and especially coaches than any game since Rodriguez left WVU…..partly because of how they handled us last year.

If we play very well, it will be celebrated.
If we play “eh”, it will be ridiculed by most (not most of people on this board but most of fanbase) because “it’s East Carolina”.
If we get handled like last year (but at home), a sleeping giant will awake in terms of fan reaction.

Not saying this is how it should be or that I’m hopeful these are the results……….but that this is how it is.

Our program is at another level since Rodriguez elevated it w/ regular 10 win seasons the norm, and losing to ECU 2 years in a row could potentially get the ball rolling for Mountaineer sentiment to visibly turn against the coaches.

by WVUColumbus on Sep 7, 2009 5:29 PM EDT up reply actions

I will say ‘eh’ and take the W’s all season long. If we win I will talk about the areas that need improvement but I will not be disappointed.

You play to win the game.

by 5th Year Senior on Sep 7, 2009 6:08 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions

My one disagreement...

…is with this comment:

If we play "eh", it will be ridiculed by most (not most of people on this board but most of fanbase) because "it’s East Carolina".

I think you have a fundamental miscalculation of the fanbase’s opinion. If we win this game, regardless of the score, the WVU fanbase will be happy. They might not be thrilled, but they’ll be happy; not even close to ridicule. I really don’t know who you’re hanging out with all the time, but fans are understanding of the fact that ECU is an actual game this year.

I can certainly understand the hostility against a 13 point win against Liberty, but a win against ECU is a decent win.

by Dr. Charley West on Sep 7, 2009 8:02 PM EDT up reply actions

I long for the days....

when a win vs. ECU wasn’t termed a “decent win”…..it’s ECU, a middle of the pack Conference USA school.

We agree to disagree, because I think you may have the fundamental miscalculation of the fanbase’s opinion. I certainly expect that most WVU fans realize that w/ the talent on all aspects of the game (finally, not just offense) anything less than a 10 win season would be unacceptable, especially w/ the league being so down right now. And a struggling win against ECU would imply that this 10 win season may be in jeopardy……..now if we lose??? that’s a different story altogether. The WVU fans won’t take kindly to losing to East Carolina 2 years in a row.

by WVUColumbus on Sep 8, 2009 7:48 AM EDT reply actions