I watched the Virginia Tech/Georgia Tech game last night on ESPN, where the Hokies prevailed 20-17 in overtime. Upon watching this game and many other Virginia Tech games over the past few years, I've noticed something - their special teams (nicknamed Beamer Ball) are held to a completely different standard than any other college football team.
What Beamer Ball was most well known for were blocked kicks (punts, field goals and/or extra points). Through these blocks, the special teams unit would often times score themselves and if not, set up the offense in great field position to either completely alter the momentum of the game and/or place the final stamp on the team's victory. Virginia Tech led the nation in blocked kicks in the '90s, but their quantity of blocks has decreased quite substantially in the past several years and it has not gone unnoticed by announcers. Especially over the past 2-3 years, I can't tell you how many times I've heard an announcer suggest that Beamer Ball isn't the same as it was in the past and that the team needs to improve in that area. Also, it's seemed like every time there's even the slightest miscue on special teams by the Hokies, it gets talked about to no end by the game's commentators, with one or both of them saying that it's Beamer Ball which has placed the Hokies in a tough spot in the game. Last night was no exception.
With the Hokies up 7-0 in the game, their freshman punter dropped a very catchable snap and wound up losing 22 yards on the play to set Georgia Tech up with the tying touchdown. Granted, this was an awful play on special teams, but I can all but guarantee you that the announcers wouldn't have spent nearly as much time talking about it had the miscue not been committed by Virginia Tech. Later in the game, their place kicker missed a field goal. It was a very makeable attempt, but was no chip shot either. Once again, the announcers focused their attention on the failure of Beamer Ball.
The fact is that Virginia Tech hasn't blocked as many kicks over the past 5-10 years as they had the previous 10 years. However, this one number doesn't accurately depict how much more or less effective their special teams have been. Why are they not blocking as many kicks? Quite possibly the biggest single factor is that coaches have seen plenty of tape and have decided to bring up more guys to block on punts than they had previously or to instruct their punters to kick more swiftly when playing the Hokies. The coaches have seen tape and adjusted. This has led to other problems for their special teams' units, though. Whey they've brought in more guys to block on punts, it's left more room for the punt returner to gain solid yards. When they've instructed their punter to kick more swiftly, it's often times resulted in shanks. In none of these situations will the Hokies special teams' unit have blocked a kick, but they will have still made a positive impact on the game. Last night, Virginia Tech's kick returner, Coleman, averaged over 30 yards per return. Three of their six punts were downed inside the Georgia Tech 10-yard line. Their place kicker kicked the game-tying field goal at the end of regulation and the game-winner in overtime. That one major miscue on special teams would have been awful if any team had committed it, but was blown out-of-proportion because it was committed by Virginia Tech. Throughout the rest of the game, their special teams played very well and that shouldn't go unnoticed. What, if Alabama's vaunted defense has an off play or two, should we start to question the effectiveness of their defense? No. If the high-powered Oregon or USC offenses turn the ball over a couple times, should we lay the claim that they've apparently lost it on that side of the ball? Of course not. Overall, Virginia Tech is still one of the best when it comes to special teams (Beamer Ball). They may not block as many kicks as they used to, but still consistently make positive impacts on games and sometimes even drastically alter the game's momentum and eventually outcome.
What Beamer Ball was most well known for were blocked kicks (punts, field goals and/or extra points). Through these blocks, the special teams unit would often times score themselves and if not, set up the offense in great field position to either completely alter the momentum of the game and/or place the final stamp on the team's victory. Virginia Tech led the nation in blocked kicks in the '90s, but their quantity of blocks has decreased quite substantially in the past several years and it has not gone unnoticed by announcers. Especially over the past 2-3 years, I can't tell you how many times I've heard an announcer suggest that Beamer Ball isn't the same as it was in the past and that the team needs to improve in that area. Also, it's seemed like every time there's even the slightest miscue on special teams by the Hokies, it gets talked about to no end by the game's commentators, with one or both of them saying that it's Beamer Ball which has placed the Hokies in a tough spot in the game. Last night was no exception.
With the Hokies up 7-0 in the game, their freshman punter dropped a very catchable snap and wound up losing 22 yards on the play to set Georgia Tech up with the tying touchdown. Granted, this was an awful play on special teams, but I can all but guarantee you that the announcers wouldn't have spent nearly as much time talking about it had the miscue not been committed by Virginia Tech. Later in the game, their place kicker missed a field goal. It was a very makeable attempt, but was no chip shot either. Once again, the announcers focused their attention on the failure of Beamer Ball.
The fact is that Virginia Tech hasn't blocked as many kicks over the past 5-10 years as they had the previous 10 years. However, this one number doesn't accurately depict how much more or less effective their special teams have been. Why are they not blocking as many kicks? Quite possibly the biggest single factor is that coaches have seen plenty of tape and have decided to bring up more guys to block on punts than they had previously or to instruct their punters to kick more swiftly when playing the Hokies. The coaches have seen tape and adjusted. This has led to other problems for their special teams' units, though. Whey they've brought in more guys to block on punts, it's left more room for the punt returner to gain solid yards. When they've instructed their punter to kick more swiftly, it's often times resulted in shanks. In none of these situations will the Hokies special teams' unit have blocked a kick, but they will have still made a positive impact on the game. Last night, Virginia Tech's kick returner, Coleman, averaged over 30 yards per return. Three of their six punts were downed inside the Georgia Tech 10-yard line. Their place kicker kicked the game-tying field goal at the end of regulation and the game-winner in overtime. That one major miscue on special teams would have been awful if any team had committed it, but was blown out-of-proportion because it was committed by Virginia Tech. Throughout the rest of the game, their special teams played very well and that shouldn't go unnoticed. What, if Alabama's vaunted defense has an off play or two, should we start to question the effectiveness of their defense? No. If the high-powered Oregon or USC offenses turn the ball over a couple times, should we lay the claim that they've apparently lost it on that side of the ball? Of course not. Overall, Virginia Tech is still one of the best when it comes to special teams (Beamer Ball). They may not block as many kicks as they used to, but still consistently make positive impacts on games and sometimes even drastically alter the game's momentum and eventually outcome.
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