TKP Roundtable: Therapy Session

Since there's no game from last week to lament, we decided to take some time and just talk about our feelings. In a season that has vacillated between horrifying and stroke-inducing, it's time to just air everything out. Got something that hits you in the feels? Share it with the group. Just remember something that you've repressed for weeks, like losing by a million to Al Golden? Share it. This is group therapy for all of us.

Jeff Beyer

Was Mark Leal's announcement to leave the program a bit surprising? Sure. But can we fault him for it? Certainly not. From what I've read, Mark had already graduated and had a great career opportunity to pursue, so he went after it. I'm sure Coach Beamer, after recovering from the initial shock, was proud. Especially after how much focus he puts on the players getting their degrees and having them for life after football. He always said things happen that can keep you from playing football, but once you get your degree that can never be taken away from you. I'm sure it wasn't an easy decision for Mark to make, to consciously leave something that he's devoted his five years of college towards just a few weeks from the end. Sure he'll miss his senior night ceremony and the chance to play in front of the home crowd one more time. But he was able to weigh that against the future ahead of him with this career opportunity, and I think he made the right decision. Sometimes the timing of things doesn't always work out perfectly, and this is a good example of that.

Regardless of what the TV show Blue Mountain State wants you to believe, being a backup quarterback is tough. I'm not talking third or fourth string back-up, those roles are easy. I'm talking second string, true backup QB. It's one thing to be able to come to practice, watch the other QBs on film, execute a few plays drawn up on cards for the scout team, then signal in the plays from the sideline for the first team. All that is done in the 3 hours of practice per day. I was able to come to practice, do my stuff, then leave and not really have to think about football outside of the time on the field. I was okay with that. But it's another thing to be always be wondering what you need to do to be better, to see the field, to prove yourself to the coaches. That can be mentally draining.

I thought about quitting almost every time spring practice came around. Getting away from the games, the hype, the excitement of football season always made me question whether I should continue or not. But I never had a good reason to leave the program. I loved what I did for the team, and it gave me a hell of an experience. In Mark's case, he's got that strong reason to leave. He has chosen to put his life after football in front of what he has left to gain as the No. 2 QB, and had the resolve to take that big step. I really hope that step is the right direction for him, and that it leads to greater success later on in post-football life. From one backup to another, I wish you the best of luck Mark.

TheFifthFuller

If any season was going to put me in therapy, it's this one. At least in past years, we've just been all around mediocre; offense not quite reaching the giddy heights of below average, defense not quite able to hold the opponents to negative points to make up for the offense. This year, it seems like we've just gone completely mental. Good things happen, but then worse things happen as some kind of evil karmic balance, like:

• Beat the serious non-conference team on our schedule (at night in THEIR house), lose to East Carolina and BC at home.
• Defense makes tons of huge plays in the backfield, then gives up huge plays in recompense to the other team.
• Bring in a veteran QB transfer to steady the ship? Loves throwing interceptions.
• Speaking of which, said quarterback throws zero interceptions? We're 0-3. Throws 1 or more? 4-2.
• Shane Beamer actually tries to pare down his running back rotation, they proceed to drop like flies and he has to go seven deep into his depth chart.
• Get our home Thursday night game AND #ALLMAROONEVERYTHING back, lose 6-30.
• Possibly the worst Coastal Division ever (which is really saying something), Hokies are 1-4 in conference.

But it's not only that. Even with our readjusted expectations from the last few years, we've still be able to count on some things which we don't seem to be able to count on anymore, like:

• Play tons of young guys the last few years to build for the future? THIS year, play the YOUNGER guys because the older guys haven't developed or don't bring as much talent to the table. Seriously, I've heard the joke "they don't rebuild, they reload", we're like the opposite; the only analogy to the current state of our program's "rebuilding" is the house from the Money Pit.
• Preseason articles about possible best #DBU secondary ever? 6 interceptions through 9 games, Brandon Facyson headed for a medical redshirt, Corey Marshall tied for second most picks on team.
• Hokies engineer several fourth quarter comebacks, manage to lose all of them anyway.
• New offensive coordinator has "fresh" game plan; screens.
• "Commit" to running the ball; pass.

Okay, so the last two aren't actually new to this year. But it still feels like this entire season is being played through some weird cocktail of prescription drugs that manage to cause ALL OF THE SIDE EFFECTS. The only thing I can give them credit for is finding new and creative ways to lose, which is at least keeping the pain fresh and interesting.

My only hope is that something knocks the hangover out of this team by Nov. 27, because no matter how weird things haven't gotten, I can't imagine what it would be like for all those fourth graders out there who have yet to witness LOLUVA hoist the Commonwealth Cup in their lives.

Pierson Booher (PhillyHokie007)

Let's put this topic to bed right now: Regardless of how this season shakes out, expect to see an open competition at quarterback come spring.

The enigmatic play of current starter Michael Brewer has hardly put a choke hold on the position. With talented unknowns in Andrew Ford and Chris Durkin waiting in the wings, and Preseason ACC Player of the Year vote-getter Brenden Motley (I half kid) finally healthy, it would stand to reason that each would get a legitimate shot at earning the starting gig. And they should.

Brewer did not turnover the football against Boston College for the first time this season. He once again exhibited a knack for slipping out of would-be sacks and extended plays by rolling out and finding receivers downfield. He led the Hokies on three second half touchdown drives that illustrated what this Hokie offensive could, or maybe should, be. He finished with 345 yards passing and a 64% completion percentage, which — after the last two-and-a-half seasons — would make most Hokie fans jump for joy.

Nine games into his starting career and we're seeing some progress, right? Sure. Maybe. I don't know. His freewheeling attitude has been reeled in to the point where we are seeing less turnovers but less big plays. The dynamic offense we have caught glimpses of has been reduced to an inconsistent unit that has struggled to put everything together since September 6th.

This program has steadily amassed an exciting group of playmakers on the offensive side of the football — and continues to do so — but has failed to properly utilize those attributes and put defenses on their heels. Is this a product of inconsistent quarterback play, or is it a sign of some degree of dysfunction amongst the coaching staff? Who knows. What we do know is that something is missing.

There have been rumblings from fans indicating a need for a return to a "prototypical Virginia Tech quarterback," which apparently is a dual-threat type of field general. Honestly, I could care less whether they run a 4.4 or a 4.9 40-yard dash so long as they make good reads, reliably accurate throws and execute Loeffler's system.

Maybe that person is Michael Brewer. Maybe it's not. What's important is that the coaching staff takes advantage of the spring to see what they've got at the quarterback position — both for the 2015 season and beyond — and give those players meaningful reps throughout the offseason to best prepare them for the 2015 campaign.

Alex Koma

Looking back on all the wacky, bizarre things that had to happen to get us to a world where the Hokies sit in the Coastal division's basement in November, I keep coming up with the same thought over and over: the Ohio State win might've been wonderful, but Lord knows it's had plenty of negative effects on this program as well.

Sure, the OSU win felt glorious. The streets of Blacksburg were truly a magnificent place to be that night. I won't soon forget it.

And sure, that win was ginormous for recruiting. Recruits, especially the ones in Columbus that night, are going to remember the Hokies going into the 'Shoe on primetime TV and embarrassing what's turned out to be a very good Buckeyes team.

Yet it also ratcheted up expectations for this team in a HUGE way that's probably been detrimental to the players and fans. I know my first thought after the win was "with our cushy schedule, and this win under our belts, this could be something." I suspect many of you felt the same.

But all along, coming into this season I had no expectations that this would be the team to get to the Promised Land. Did I think a throwback 10-win season was possible if all the chips fell right? Absolutely. Yet losing to FSU in the ACCCG is the ceiling I was looking toward here.

Yet this is an incredibly young team with a schedule that isn't much tougher next year. Most of the offensive and defensive starters are returning, and it's always seemed like Frank and the rest of the coaches were looking toward next year, and even the year after.

But then we all started expecting greatness, and it probably wasn't fair to this team, which we all knew had plenty of flaws. We forgot about them for one awesome night in Columbus, but they've reared their ugly heads time and again afterward.

Should we expect better than the truly reprehensible outings we've seen the last two Thursday nights? No doubt.

Still, I can't shake the feeling that we jumped the gun a bit. This 2015 class is shaping up to be dynamite, and 2016's could be too.

So that's why I'm not ready to cry about the state of the program and call for Frank's job, like so many seem ready to do.

There's a plan here after a few years of aimless drifting, and I don't think we've seen the finished product yet.

Joe Lanza

If this is a therapy session, then I'll vent and share my outlook on the program. I'm not happy to be a fanatic of a middle- to bottom-of-the-pack ACC team, but even with Charmin-soft schedules these last couple of seasons, being a bad team was a more-than-likely possibility. Program killers like poor recruiting classes in 2010 and '11, a potpourri offensive scheme, lack of innovation and ingenuity in Merryman and some coaches too comfortable with their job security, among others things, collided together and created a disaster. I was mentally prepared for this possibility a long ago.

Many of these issues have been addressed by Beamer Co. There's young talent on the roster. The 2013 and 2014 recruiting cycles were two of Tech's best ever. 2015 could quite possibly be the best of the recruiting star era. A no-corners-cut indoor facility is being built, and Lane's new video board is big and beautiful. Bud Foster and his defensive staff, among the best in the business, are still in Blacksburg. Although, the jury is still out on the Scot Loeffler offense, Shane Beamer as a running backs coach and Stacy Searels coaching up a bigger offensive line. However, I'm still along for the ride as a back seat driver, at least through the 2015 season. Anything less than 3 years isn't enough time for the program to climb out the hole it dug.

The 2015 campaign will be Tech's third since Frank Beamer made significant changes to his staff. On paper, next year's schedule will be slightly tougher than this year's with road games at Miami, Boston College, ECU and Georgia Tech. Still, it's more than manageable for a team that returns the core of its defense, has had freshmen score the majority of its points and is recruiting more top-end talent. If next year is a disaster, or really anything less than a December trip to Charlotte, it'll be more than fair to vigorously question the direction of the program.

Also, it sucks the only bright light right now is next season. Remember when Tech used to hit its stride in November? Those were good times.

Joel Smith (joelestra)

A few years ago a close family friend was nearing the end of her battle with cancer. Regrettably I procrastinated on sending a last hand-written note thanking her for the impact she had made on me, but finally I sat down to write out all of my thoughts and dropped the letter in the mail that day. She died unexpectedly the next day, before my words could reach her. Her husband later told me that the letter was (of course) received too late but that it still meant something to him; he said he wished he could go back in time to warn me that the positive feelings I felt would be short-lived.

I still have the Ohio State game on my DVR. I started to turn it on not long ago, but as it turns out going back in time is great at erasing the positive feelings before tragedy but is worthless at avoiding the negative feelings that come later.

That's what is so great about loving a sports team: in the age of media being all about teasers and on-demand content and social media-coordinated hints at what happens next, sports play out live, right in front of you. No one else has any more idea what will happen next than you do. Certainly at 9-0 the stakes would be higher, but at 4-5 I already feel anxiety for playing Duke. Every play is a lottery scratch-off, and most end in disappointment or simply winning back your money but every now and then you find yourself in disbelief at your good fortune, checking and rechecking to make sure it is real.

Invest yourself emotionally in the Hokies and the goods will always bring you higher highs than the bads will bring you lows. If possible, go to every game. When Enter Sandman plays, jump like you want the stadium to crumble underneath you. When the opposing team is lining up for a play, yell like hell. When they have third down, jingle your keys while you yell like hell. In the red zone, chant "Stick it in".

9-0 teams breath a sigh of relief after a big win. 4-5 teams rush the field and talk about it for years. The energy is always there when you love your team.

Start jumping.

Brian Marcolini

I've spent much of this season in the North End Zone with my remaining college friends, packed into the metal bleachers like sardines soaked in green label Evan Williams and Keystone Light. Normally I don't get to be as observant in this type of environment as I hope to be, considering that I barely have enough room to turn my head, but I noticed something interesting as Tech played Boston College.

For a number of reasons the stands weren't nearly as packed as usual (though I would say that on percentage the North seemed to be be the fullest section at kickoff), and I had the chance to observe what was going on.

At some point during the middle of the game, I looked down to see a man in a maroon jacket standing alone about 30 feet from the tunnel in the northwest corner of the stadium. It was Whit Babcock, collar turned up against the rain, taking in the scene before him. He was watching the game, but during every stoppage in play he would stare at a different section of the crowd, grimacing while taking in the "55,000"-person crowd.

I was fascinated. What was he thinking? What was his plan? Is it even fair to assume he has a concrete plan at this point?

These are the only two things we know right now:

1. Football is cash cow that makes everything else happen. Remember that little piece of news this spring about paying a basketball coach two million dollars a year? We all know basketball hasn't exactly rolled in the cash the last few years.
2. There was an announced attendance of just over 55,000 fans against the Eagles. That's Babcock and Co. publicly stating that 10,504 tickets went unsold. If we calculate that out, estimating that an average ticket costs $50 face value, the athletic department lost $525,200 in ticket sales alone.

I don't know what he's thinking, or what he's going to do. What I do know, is that something will change come January, simply because there's no other alternative. We just have to trust that whatever he decided to do is the right thing.