White: UVa Notebook
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com Release: 10/26/2009
By Jeff White

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- UVa sophomore Sylven Landesberg stood outside the lobby of the Grandover Resort in Greensboro, N.C., a piece of paper in his hand.
"This is going up on my wall," Landesberg said Sunday evening, waving the results of voting at ACC Operation Basketball.
The media picked its preseason all-ACC team Sunday, and Landesberg wasn't on it. He finished sixth in the voting, behind Maryland's Greivis Vasquez, Clemson's Trevor Brooker, Duke's Kyle Singler, Virginia Tech's Malcolm Delaney and North Carolina's Ed Davis.
"That's motivation," said Landesberg, who in 2008-09 was named the ACC's rookie of the year.
A 6-6 guard from Queens, N.Y., Landesberg led the Cavaliers in scoring, free throws made (and attempted) and minutes played last season. He was second in rebounds and assists.
Landesberg shot only 31.4 percent from 3-point range, but he expects to be more accurate this season. He'll need to be, because opponents are well aware of his ability to slash to the basket, and late last season they started leaving him open on the perimeter.
"I felt like every time I did drive or penetrate, there were multiple people being thrown at me, and at times I got frustrated and tried to force things instead of making the smart decision and finding an open teammate," Landesberg said.
"But this year, the whole summer I worked on basically just my jump shot. Got tons of shots up, and I feel like my jump shot improved tremendously. So this year I'm hoping it'll be a lot harder to guard me, with teams worrying about my outside ability and being able to get to the basket."
NOTHING TO IT: Landesberg's new coach, Tony Bennett, made 49.7 percent of his 3-point attempts during an illustrious career at Wisconsin-Green Bay.
That's still an NCAA record, and Bennett, from all accounts, hasn't lost his touch.
Asked if he ever challenged his players to games of H-O-R-S-E, Bennett smiled and shook his head. "That'd be like taking candy from a baby," he said.
THE WRIGHT STUFF: Landesberg has become the face of the men's program. On the women's side, that distinction belongs to senior guard Monica Wright, who Monday was named the ACC's preseason player of the year at the conference's media day in Greensboro.
Wright is the only senior, in terms of athletic eligibility, on Debbie Ryan's team this season. The roster includes five freshmen who'll look to Wright as a mentor.
Her early impressions of the class?
"They all came in with a great mentality, they all came in ready to work," Wright said. "There have been zero problems at all from our first-years."
The newcomers include 5-6 point guard China Crosby, the first McDonald's All-American to join the program since Wright.
"She's definitely been a shining light," Wright said. "She's been working hard. She's someone that wants to get better. You can see it.
"She's so eager to get better, and she thinks the game, which is rare for a freshman, to have that high [a basketball] IQ. But she definitely has it, and it's important being a point guard.
SHAPING UP: When he graduated from Word of Life Christian Academy in the spring, Tristan Spurlock weighed 220 pounds.
"I'm at 216 right now," Spurlock said at UVa's media day this month.
Like his teammates, the 6-8 forward raves about Virginia's new strength-and-conditioning coach, Mike Curtis.
"He trimmed me down, but he's definitely bulking me back up now," Spurlock said. "In the summer, I remember I tried to do one body-weight pull-up, and I kind of struggled. Now I can do eight or nine pull-ups with a 20-pound vest on. So he's definitely got me a lot stronger.
"I can feel it when I'm going to the basket. I've always been a pretty good athlete, but now I'm jumping probably higher than I've ever jumped before. The other day I hit my head on the rim. It's definitely helping me."
TRICK OR TREAT: In football, UVa plays at home Saturday for the second straight week. In a Coastal Division game, Virginia (2-1, 3-4) hosts ACC rival Duke (2-1, 4-3) at 3:30 p.m.
The Cavaliers' record on Halloween is 5-8. They haven't played an Oct. 31 game since 1998, when they crushed Wake Forest 38-17. UVa hasn't played at home on Halloween since 1992.
DECISION DELAYED: An announcement was expected Monday on the starting time for Virginia's Nov. 7 football game at ACC foe Miami. ABC/ESPN and Raycom, however, chose to exercise six-day options on four games, including UVa's.
The announcement will be made no later than noon on Sunday.
RAISING HIS GAME: If it's Monday, Nate Collins must be the ACC defensive lineman of the week.
Collins was so honored two days after UVa's Oct. 17 win at Maryland, and he repeated this week. (He's sharing the honor with Duke lineback Vincent Rey this time.)
A 6-2, 290-pound senior, Collins had a career-high 16 tackles, 10 of which were unassisted, in Virginia's 34-9 loss to No. 11 Georgia Tech. Two of his tackles were for loss.
"It seemed like he was in on almost every tackle," inside linebacker Steve Greer said Monday. "Sometimes I was trying to get there, and he was already there way before me."
In the Cavaliers' first six games, Collins played defensive end. He moved to nose tackle -- his position in 2006, '07 and '08 -- for the Georgia Tech game.
Collins is "a player who's got good versatility on [the regular defense], where he can play a couple spots, and because of that versatility also has a role on the dime team," Groh said. "That's very valuable to us, and there's a good likelihood that that might prove to be very valuable to Nate in the future."
Asked about Collins' prospects for playing in the NFL, Groh said, "His athletic ability is quite a plus for him, and that's going to give him a chance."
COMING ON: Tight end Colter Phillips entered the Georgia Tech game looking for his first reception as a Cavalier. The 6-6, 245-pound redshirt freshman finished the game with two catches, for 20 yards, and ran a short kickoff back 9 yards.
"He did a nice job yesterday," Groh said Sunday night. "I was pleased with what he showed, and on the basis of that, he certainly, probably will get some more time.
"As we've talked about in the case of developmental players, he really wasn't ready for this earlier in the year. But he applies himself every day, he's a good practice player, and he did a real nice job on special teams yesterday. And so the jobs we've given to him he's starting to grow into more."
EXPANDED ROLE: On an afternoon when the Cavaliers' other starting defensive linemen, Collins and left end Zane Parr, had 16 and 12 tackles, respectively, John-Kevin Dolce's total of seven was more modest.
But the 6-2, 245-pound Dolce, heretofore a nose tackle this season, played well at right end in his first start as a Wahoo.
"He didn't have the kind of numbers that the other two did, but he certainly gave us a very positive performance," Groh said.
"There was one play early where he was in the backfield and had a chance for a negative play on the quarterback, and [Yellow Jackets QB Josh] Nesbitt eluded him. But there were really very few plays in the game that you could realistically or honestly say, 'Oh, gee, we wish somebody else was in there other than John-Kevin.'"
 

Oct. 25, 2009
2:48 p.m.

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Before interviews with ACC men's basketball players and coaches began Sunday, John Swofford held his annual Commissioner's Forum.

Most noteworthy was the announcement that the 2012 ACC tournament will be held at Phillips Arena, and not the Georgia Dome, in Atlanta.

Phillips Arena, which seats a little more than 20,000, is significantly smaller and more intimate the Georgia Dome, the site of the 2009 tourney.

Based on feedback from various sources, including fans and coaches, the ACC decided "that having our tournament in a traditional-size arena was the best thing," Swofford said.

During most games at the 2009 tournament, thousands of seats remained empty at the Georgia Dome.

The ACC tourney will be held at the Greensboro Coliseum in 2010, '11, '13, '14 and '15.

-- Jeff White





Oct. 25, 2009
1:48 p.m.

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- The college football season isn't much past its midpoint, but the focus Sunday at the Grandover Resort is ACC basketball, the men's variety.

The occasion is ACC Operation Basketball, an annual event in which the league's head coaches and select players visit with media members.

Representing UVa are new coach Tony Bennett and sophomore guard Sylven Landesberg, who in 2008-09 was named ACC rookie of the year.

While Bennett is off doing TV and radio interviews, Landesberg is meeting with print reporters and fielding questions about a variety of topics.

One query concerned Bennett's staff, which includes former UVa players Jason Williford and Mike Curtis.

A 1995 graduate of the University, Williford is one of Bennett's assistant coaches. Curtis, who earned a bachelor's from UVa in 1998 and a master's in 2000, is the team's strength-and-conditioning coach.

Williford was at American University last season and Curtis at Michigan. That they're deeply committed to helping UVa rejoin the ACC's elite is apparent to the players.

Curtis and Williford "always fool around with us and show us the [NCAA tournament] banners" at John Paul Jones Arena, Landesberg told reporters.

"They're like, 'We were part of that.' But it's also more than joking around. They're trying to motivate us, like, 'You guys can get up there, too. You guys are talented enough, you're good enough, to be able to get your year up on a banner.'"

-- Jeff White

 

Al Groh Weekly Football Press Conference Transcript
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com Release: 10/26/2009

THE MODERATOR: Unless Coach has an opening comment, we can start with questions.
COACH GROH: Well, the subject was brought up last evening, we had a complete flip here in one respect. We're getting ready for a team that has passed the ball more and has used the pass more effectively than anyone else in the conference. Last week we played the team that runs the ball more than anyone is the conference.
So for all the conversation when a team plays Georgia Tech, about the uniqueness of it, you've got to play disciplined. You've got to fit on the plays properly. You've got to do your jobs. Clearly that's the case here once again. You're just deploying the same principles against a different set of variables. Where the probably best continuity of preparation is that the defensive alignments by the two that the last opponent and next upcoming opponent are not dissimilar. So perhaps there is some good in that given we didn't do a very good job with those alignments 48 hours ago. But to make sure we figure out how to do a better job against those alignments than we did last week.
QUESTION:You weren't able to use the dime as much in the last game as much as you normally do. In this game are you expecting to use it more or put them in on earlier downs?
COACH GROH: Two plays, two plays.
QUESTION:This game, safe to say there should be opportunities because of where they play?
COACH GROH: Well, sure, if we can get them into the third down.
QUESTION:If they pass as much as they do, would you put them in?
COACH GROH: That, against a team like this that always becomes an ongoing situation-by-situation decision. That is do we want to match personnel or do we want to leave the regular in there, because there is an overlap in what we can do from a coverage standpoint between the two. Not entirely the same, but because there is an overlap, we have that option. And in the past in circumstances like this we've worked that option both ways.
QUESTION:Compared to other teams you've played, how sophisticated is this passing game? Can you just elaborate on that?
COACH GROH: Well, yeah, clearly when you see the numbers of their frequency, what that also clearly indicates is that there is a strong commitment and they are a dedicated passing team.
And when you make that decision just as, again, the comparison to Georgia Tech, there is a sophistication in the schemes in which they run, because they know that when certain runs aren't working, Georgia Tech isn't going to say; okay, we've got to start passing more.
They're going to keep running. They're going to either change the particular run patterns that they have, or change the schemes around which they utilize the actual backfield action. Duke is the same way in their fashion. That when they have difficulty passing the game, passing the ball, they don't suddenly say; okay, now we're going to run it 60 times in this game. They say we have to find some patterns that will get open better from the one that's we've been running.
There is that similarity. And as I mentioned, it was going to be very important through the course of the game with Georgia Tech that we got good feedback as to how those patterns and those schemes were changing.
And in grading the video yesterday, for future reference, and just information on the game itself. Recorded all the schemes as well as the plays. So there might have been play A, but there were one, two, three versions of it, and how we have to change up against that.
It will be a similar circumstance here with the patterns against this obviously the certain fronts that Georgia Tech would want to run certain plays or schemes and there are certain coverages now that Duke will want to run certain patterns against.
QUESTION:What is Thaddeus doing that's different from years past? Even with losing his best wide receiver from last season?
COACH GROH: Well, I think probably a little bit of a question as to whether he actually lost his best wide receiver or not. But he's showing one, the value of being a four year starter. Those of you who were here to see him in his true freshman year or, I guess it was down there when we played him as a true freshman, will remember it was pretty challenging for him. He had a difficult time that day, as might be expected with a first year quarterback against an ACC defense.
He's now a fourth year quarterback with probably in all likelihood more starts than any quarterback in the Atlantic Coast Conference at this current time. So, that certainly shows - not only the fourth year as an ACC starter, but the second year under David Cutcliffe who has great experience and know how and development of quarterbacks. He clearly has profited by that.
QUESTION:You look at the N.C. State game?
COACH GROH: We look at them all.
QUESTION:But Coach Cutcliffe said that was the greatest performance by any quarterback he's ever coached?
COACH GROH: 40-for-50 is probably the greatest performance than anybody's ever coached. It's probably better than Brady or Manning has ever had.
QUESTION:How about 42-for-58?
COACH GROH: Still, that was pretty good. Still probably not the same percentage (laughing). I guess that was against Florida State 19 10 or 19 6 game, I believe. A Saturday night game. I think that was the one.
QUESTION:Following up on Lewis. It's more than just a quarterback. But speaking about the quarterback position, how much do you contribute the quarterback play to what that program has done the past two seasons?
COACH GROH: It's very significant. Clearly, that that position and, again, there is some interesting I hadn't really thought all of this out coming over here. But thinking on the run here is another interesting comparison to last week. Josh Nesbitt's in an offense that clearly suits his skills with the coach that knows that offense very well. And he's now in his second year operating that offense. He's certainly elevated his performance from the first to the second year. Thad Lewis is the same way. He is with a coach that really knows the offense and he is in his second year with it and he has really elevated his performance. As a result both players have elevated their teams as well as that position can do.
QUESTION:From a coach's perspective, how long does it take players to forget the loss and move forward?
COACH GROH: To bounce back, I would have to say you have to bounce from every game. You have to bounce back from a win just the same as you do from a loss. And sometimes that's more difficult. Bouncing back from a win. I actually talked to a couple coaches last week and they were really concerned about their team's focus given the success they've had over the last couple of weeks.
One was saying I can tell. And he turned out to be right. He said, I can tell we're making the same sounds, but we don't have the same focus. We're making as much noise, but we don't have the same focus.
So it occurs in both circumstances. In either case, it better be pretty quick.
QUESTION:Last year when you talked about Matt Conrath playing well early and how he was a baseball pitcher, and I forget exactly the correlation made?
COACH GROH: I said he was a big, tall player. One of the things that Matt has is very good leverage, and we could tell that by one of the indicators to that was you can't be a stiff guy ask all up high to be a baseball pitcher. You've got to bend your knees, bend at the waist to get down low and get that delivery. And that was reinforcing to us. Because we never saw him play in person, we only saw him on video. And that was another piece of evidence and reinforcing to us about whether he'd have the type of leverage with the height that we prefer, that he'd have the type of leverage to be able to do the job which he clearly does.
QUESTION:Were you aware that Zane Parr was also a baseball pitcher?
COACH GROH: No, I was not. But I did personally watch Zane play basketball. And was impressed for a lineman what a good got to make some of sometimes those basketball evaluations a little relative to the positions they played. But for a lineman, he was a very smooth, easy on his feet, adept basketball player.
QUESTION:He pitched at 95 miles per hour.
COACH GROH: Is that right, huh?
QUESTION: Are they a passing team that should allow you some opportunities to get to the quarterback? Is it the type that will allow a pass rush or is it one of those two step drops?
COACH GROH: Well, any time I think they've only given up they've thrown the ball more than any team in the conference, and they've only given up 12 sacks this year or something to that number, 12 or in the low teens. So that is always a function of a number of different things.
But one of the things that we know for sure, even with even with real good pass protectors if it's in the low numbers like that, the ball's coming out very quickly. Even the very best pass protectors can hold the rush out for so long.
QUESTION:Regarding coach Brandon and coach Prince, how have you seen them progress this year?
COACH GROH: You'd probably have to ask them that. But they've been here for quite a while. I would expect that by now in each particular case that the adjustment has been complete.
QUESTION:Nate Collins was talking a little about his high school team last year, you probably didn't see him in person, but what did some of his games look like?
COACH GROH: Well, the press box wasn't very high. It was pretty close to ground level. Perhaps in some circumstances it looked like maybe a Parent was taking it from the sideline. As Nate well explained it one time last week, as you can he see, a small private, small, exclusive, private school that he went to that there probably weren't many athletes or people of his size like that in school.
So wherever they needed somebody, Coach said can you play there? Even took one week when he said, Nate, can you play quarterback? So that's how he played linebacker, defensive line, offensive line, running back, quarterback. But in our circumstance, before his senior year, Nate attended our camp. Even though I think the position that was on -- next to his name when he came in was one of those positions, you know. Linebacker, running back, or whatever.
It was clear to take one look at him that that wasn't going to be his college position. Kind of similar to Zane, and Nate. Or Zane and Nate, in spending a week with them and watching him do drills, athletic ability for a player that was going to be well above the mid-line. We saw that with our own eyes.
QUESTION:Have you ever seen Nate throw the ball?
COACH GROH: No, and I can't say that since I've been here. Most of the time everyone's career you see at least one time they have picked it up and thrown it some. And we can see whether they have any sense. But I can't give you an evaluation on that. We won't be throwing any tackle around passes though.
QUESTION:Mel Kiper said last week that Rashawn Jackson is the best fullback in the country, Has Nate kind of emerged as a guy who can play on Sunday?
COACH GROH: Nate has certainly been exceptionally stellar to the half way mark of the season. He's certainly playing himself into that position. He's probably making a similar move on that, say that Alvin Pearman utilized his senior season to do.
QUESTION:How important is it to stop Duke's rushing game and have a good rushing game yourself?
COACH GROH: Yeah, the statistics on the Maryland Duke game are pretty interesting in that the two teams combined for less than 100 yards rushing. So good defense, more passes, whatever. Certainly the passing game was a major component of that particular game, obviously, to go 40-or-50 in their previous game against N.C. State was the same thing.
So they can't afford to let that one go, obviously. It's more of a distraction than it is an issue. The big issue is finding what we can do to slow down this on target, precision passing game.
QUESTION:Nate made a lot of plays in his first three years with the program, but he really seems to come into his own this season and particularly in the last two weeks.
COACH GROH: Yeah, he has. He's made plays, he's made a lot of those plays on an overall athletic ability. But, the efficiency of how he plays his position from play-to-play is dramatically upgraded. And that's why we probably all remember plays that he made, you know, just as your citing. Probably remember plays that he made. But, have not seen the kind of production numbers that we're seeing this year.
QUESTION:Obviously, there are a lot of tackles in that game the other day for your guys, a lot of guys have tackle totals. Parr has 12 stops, what kind of game did he have?
COACH GROH: Very good. Very good. I don't want to be redundant to those fellows who are on the conference last evening. But as we discussed last evening as we discussed last evening, two pretty significant changes for Zane in a week's time. One, he went from being primarily a dime player and a back up at left end, to playing 44 plays at right end. Then all of a sudden, he's back to playing every snap of the game at left end.
So it's a very positive thing. And we're well impressed with his versatility, his adaptability to be able to do that.
As we've talked about a lot of times in the past, any time a player can go from side to side, whether it's right guard to left guard, or left end to right end, that really gives us the equivalent of two players and gives us a better option.
So if you back up left end is the third-best left end, then he's also your back up right end instead of having to put in your fourth best end because he's just a right end. So really showing that developing, and as we come into this phase of the year, that's a real plus for us.
So he we now have Nate who can clearly play nose. And we have Zane who has played left and right, and actually a little bit overlooked here is that we've got a very nice performance from John-Kevin Dolce who moved from nose to right end.
So now in certain circumstances, he gives us more flexibility and adaptability there.
He didn't have the kind of numbers that the other two did, but he certainly gave us a very positive performance a.
QUESTION: Seven tackles is normally good for 79 defensive plays?
COACH GROH: But he did a nice job. There was very little, there was one play early where he was in the backfield and had a chance for a negative play on the quarterback and Nesbitt alluded him. But, there are really very few plays in the game that you could realistically or honestly say, oh, gee, we wish somebody else was in there other than John-Kevin. He did a nice job.
Again, not to wear it out, but those two players stepping up and being the next guy in there at their spots, they've performed like a starting player is supposed to. That's why we don't make too big a deal out of it when we don't have somebody in there.
QUESTION:Are you a coach who scripts the first few offensive plays and what value is that first offensive possession for the tone of the game and the confidence of the offense?
COACH GROH: When it works and you win Zach, you say that first possession really set the tone, when it doesn't work and you overcome it and you win, and you say it really wasn't that important, but any positive possession clearly is important. Not just the first possession, but the avoidance of three and outs is really something that any offense wants to do, wherever he they come. You know, it's over before you know it.
So I think that's something that really is just the beginning for, and how you put together your first and second down calls as a lot to do with that whether you just package. Here's our series of first and seconds. Or here are 15 in a row, whatever.
Bill Walsh was really the architect of the scripting of the plays. His theory was it's just a lot easier to think on Wednesday than it is in between plays. That in a lot of cases it didn't make a lot of difference what the plays were. It's just they were already on paper and it was easier to read them than think them. And sometimes they had a realistic purpose, and sometimes the purpose it was just easier.
We've done that on occasion. And some teams the 15 plays is just a number they've just thrown out there. I've known some guys who some weeks, not every week, I've known some guy who just said I'm going to script the whole first half.
And you have to get off of that when you're in situational play. If it's 3rd and 1, and you have a double seam call, you're probably going to make a 3rd and 1 call. Then they get back on the script. You get in the red zone, you get off the script, but you might have a red zone script. So I know some guys who have just scripted the whole first half. No matter what the outcome of the previous play was, no matter what play 14 did, they're calling play 15.
QUESTION:You have talked a lot about Lewis already, but what kind of things are their receivers doing well now? They have two guys leading the conference in receptions at this point.
COACH GROH: Well, they lead in receptions because they're playing in the Duke offense. If they were playing Georgia Tech, they'd probably not be leading the conference in receptions. They run very precise routes. They're where they're supposed to be. It's a timing, precision, passing game which requires that receivers have the discipline to be at the spot, at the time as much as having raw skill.
To do that, there could be some guys who would be blazing fast guys, but if their routes are being run at 18 where they're supposed to be run at 14 or vice versa , then it dramatically effects the rhythm and timing of the passing game that's constructed such as this one. So that's what they do a very nice job with.
QUESTION:You talk about another offense. What's their defense do that your offense is going to have to exploit?
COACH GROH: They're a four three scheme. Over, a little bit under, but mostly over. Matched man-for-man in zone. Not that that's traumatic, but we play some teams play little to no man, this is a team that plays more man-for-man. Now that creates a different circumstance for receivers, now it's up to them to win one on one.
Now if you win, you usually get a big return on it. But you can also result in the quarterback having to hold the ball and not be in the rhythm that he wants. Coaches are certainly this way. I'm certain some people say hold it, don't hold it, throw it, throw it. Sometimes if you have effective man-for-man coverage, there is nobody to throw it to. That would be the dilemma for the quarterback.
What do you want me to do with it? There is nobody open, and you don't want me to stand there I understand that. I don't have anybody to throw it to, either. What should I do with it? So we're going to get a good combination of both.
QUESTION:After the game Saturday Nate mentioned last year's game in Durham. I don't think you are a coach who likes to use revenge for motivation. Do you have any problems with your players going over past games like that? Would you discourage that?
COACH GROH: I remember the results of most games that I've been involved in.
QUESTION:Is there really that much time to make that many adjustments at halftime?
COACH GROH: There are certainly some that there is the opportunity there to be made, but there is a lot very frequently what happens at halftime is whatever adjustments were made during the course of the first half are just confirmed and more clearly defined for the players. Frequently those adjustments have to be made on the run, often in between often during the course of the series when you don't have a chance to talk to the players.
But you change your play selection. That's more the case on defense than it is offense. Okay, here's something that just a lot of offenses do, is they'll package their plays by series. Okay, in this in a lot of game plan will look literally like a box.
They'll have boxes on the sheet; okay. Just like a package. And in box A ... okay, these are the players that are going to run during this series. And in box B, these are the plays they're going to run during that series. And the intent of that is to stay one move ahead of the defensive team.
So if they ran a package of play B in this series, and the players come on off, and the coaches are discussing the series with the players and making adjustments about what just occurred, well, that's not going to occur in the next series because they're going to box C with a different package of plays.
Now after while, those things tend to recycle. But early in the game, you know. So once you see by a series on the sideline, what's going on, sometimes you have to change the whole style of calls that you're making on defense. And then come off and tell the players why you did it, and the next time this happens, this is what we're going to do.
So, obviously, that takes some adaptability on the part period of the players to have that happen during the course of the season. I'm sorry, series. And if not, then it occurs on the sidelines there. We've had some teams that were particularly good at that. I think I've cited, I remember citing some examples with the team in '07 and there were two or three circumstances where we put some things in on the bench that we hadn't put in yet that year that we had added in previous seasons. And that group was, look, fellas, this will take care of this situation for us.
Can we do this? And can we do this? We can do this. Or I'm not comfortable with that. Just give me an honest answer. So you've got to know how well the players can adapt to that, and whether you should make changes in between series.
Those things then get a little more confirmed at halftime, not necessarily because they're different, but because you have a more settled, more extended circumstance to explain these things to the players. Here's what we remember. Here are the adjustments we've made during this series. Here's why we're going to continue to do that. Okay, is everybody clear on what we're doing?
Okay, now I'll use Phil Simms as a reference. Phil Simms in his book writes he can't remember a meaningful halftime adjustment that was made. Okay. Now this was with some real good coaches on some real good teams. So he's obviously not saying I didn't have very sharp coaches. He's saying in his book "Sunday Morning Quarterback", which is a good read; okay. It's a fun read, and it's a good football book, too. He writes, "I can't remember when a half time adjustment was really meaningful."
I guess that kind of negates the commentators making great half time adjustments speech, right?
QUESTION:For Jameel, playing from behind and having to throw almost every time, how does that change his role?
COACH GROH: I don't think it changed his role at all. It just created greater frequency. We were looking for and will continue to look for a far more productive performance from everybody associated with the offense.
QUESTION:The last game had injuries, but much has been made about Georgia Tech and taboo subject, chop blocks, was Aaron Clark's injury any result of that or was it just kind of normal play?
COACH GROH: No, actually, Zane Parr leg whipped. Zane came off a block very nicely. Looked like he was going to come off. He really came off and made a good play. He came off and tackled the player, one to two yard play, and as he came down, he leg whipped down.
QUESTION:Is it likely that Nick Jenkins will return to his normal role this week?
COACH GROH: It is. You know, that was just one of those cases where the particular style really fit one player's game. And that particular style didn't fit the other player's game as well. But Nick's done a real good job for us. And, actually, as we discussed on Saturday we might not have been in the same situation last year if Nick hadn't sprained his ankle at the end of the North Carolina game, and was unavailable for are the Georgia Tech game. So, Nate moved up and did a terrific job. It would have been foolish to not take advantage of that again.
QUESTION:How did Conrad play last year?
COACH GROH: He played very well. He played very well.
QUESTION:Do you see you see a lot more tape than I do, but is it common for the long snapper to be one of the first ones down the field and be the guy to make the tackle or save the ball?
COACH GROH: In this protection scheme it often is. It was an advantage we were discussing last week. And some of the advantages of the scheme and one of the things that allows all the protectors to be moving forward into the protection rather than backing up as the NFL style spread punt does and allows everyone to get out faster. And Danny tries very hard to take advantage of that.
QUESTION:Are there reviews with him going over the line?
COACH GROH: It was close. But in college football, you can be in the end zone and still get credit for downing the ball. In the NFL, if the players are in the end zone, and the ball is on the field, it's still a touchback. College football for players in contact with the end zone, but the ball is not, it's a legitimate stop. Not only did he get to the ball early, but he had the presence of mind to try to flip it backwards. So it was a very head's up, situational play.
QUESTION:I can't imagine the special teams unit has had the amount of game-changing plays that you envisioned entering the year. What needs to be done for more of those?
COACH GROH: Well, it's not exactly the same exact thing. It carries the same weight as the quarterback position. The major thing is your specialists have to have an outstanding performance. That is kickers and returners on two of the three units, let say we're not shooting par, and we're looking for a much-upgraded performance in punting the ball and kicking off. Robert's done a nice job with the placements. And Drew Jarrett has done a nice job in his role. And we need a more dynamic performance out of our return guys. We've got to get them a lot more help.
The coverage units have been here ever since the mess with that one kickoff return with Southern Mississippi, ever since then they've done a relatively decent job. The punt coverage unit has done a decent job. But the return guy has got to pick it up.
QUESTION: Where has Duke come in the last couple of years under David Cutcliffe?
COACH GROH: As we understand it, the school has upgraded its commitment to being successful in football, that's always part of it. And it's usually, it's more than just the coach. They've upgraded their commitment to being successful and done some things in that direction.
You know, David was very successful in a very challenging conference when he was the head coach at 'Ole Miss. And probably was unjustifiably released from that position. He had his team in the Cotton Bowl. I think they won ten games or whatever they did.
So he's a quality coach. Knows how to run a real good program. It was expected, and he had a positive attitude, but demanding standards. He's done a very good job with their team. We're very respectful of it.
QUESTION:What did you see of the 'phantom' personal foul called on Saturday?
COACH GROH: What we had suggested is that for anybody who has most people Tivo the game in order to go back and take a look at it and write your stories based on what you see there. So, I just suggested that everybody look at their Tivoed version and come up with your own opinion. And if you have any questions since clearly I'm not the expert on this. If you have any questions, I'd suggest that you direct them to the ACC office and see what they might want?
QUESTION:Did you direct any questions?
COACH GROH: I have the same question you might have. I guess Halloween was one week early. You know, Ghostbusters or whatever.
QUESTION:You were talking about the returns. One of them just got buried - is that the blocking or something else?
COACH GROH: We took a look at that group-wise yesterday. That was kind of an embarrassing moment for some of the other people who are on the field with the returner at that time.
But I think he had one of them. I know Perry Jones had one.
QUESTION:Couple years ago there was a season where you had a lot of dropped balls. It didn't seem like you had many dropped balls in the first six games. Obviously some challenging conditions the other day. Do the receivers need to help out Jameel because he's not a 70 percent passer?
COACH GROH: That definitely falls within that earlier statement about we're looking for increased performance from everybody associated with the offense.
You know, Zach, I think was on the right track here last evening. It's not the only part of it. But against the two teams that we played that are Top 12, Top 10 teams. Georgia Tech and TCU, scoreboard wise, we were in pretty decent shape at the half. Had the numbers down in yardage and had the numbers down in points. In both of those games, when we got over, and they were both pretty rugged games. And both of those games we started to get into the 55, 60 play count is when some of the creases started to show up.
We've got to make more first downs. We've got to be more productive. We've got to get better field position either to start our offensive series as a result of these punts that aren't going far enough or these returns that aren't long enough, or a better starting position for the offense to do something with it. Then even if nothing happens with it, then they'll punt it further down the field than what we are.
And that field position would help the defense. It certainly sometimes inhibits some of the things that the opponent offense can do. But if we can sit them down there for a little bit longer and not get that pitch count up there so high, but that certainly has to be a factor in there. I mean, that's that's not something that you like to take out, or sometimes necessarily from our standpoint acknowledge.
But that's the body is built. These guys are college football players, not members of the Marvel Comics family. They're not super heroes and they wear down. And they have energy lapses like all people do. So I think there is certainly some significance to that. And that's an important issue that we have not been oblivious to up to this point. It's just putting an explanation, another explanation point behind it here.
QUESTION:You have had injuries at running back this year, and how much of an advantage is it having the running game going, especially the production?
COACH GROH: Yeah, you're right about the fact that we have not had the continuity of the back that would be preferable. You know, Jackson wasn't available in the first game. Simpson made a cameo appearance, both coming off their training camp injuries. Both of which were freak injuries. We're very enthusiastic about getting Wallace into the mix. He only was able to give us that one game. And Simpson had his issue again.
So that's not just in the games itself, but obviously in those circumstances, they miss practice time, and so probably that's a contributing issue, but I would still like to make the answer be that if the holes were bigger, most anybody could run through them.
 

Collins Named ACC Co-Defensive Lineman of the Week
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com Release: 10/26/2009

Charlottesville, VA - The ACC announced today senior defensive end Nate Collins (Port Chester, N.Y.) has been named co-Defensive Lineman of the Week following Virginia's game against Georgia Tech Saturday. He shared the honor with Duke's Vincent Rey.
Collins had a career high with 16 tackles, including 10 solo stops, against the Yellow Jackets' run-oriented offense. A defensive end this season, he played nose tackle against Georgia Tech as UVa reworked its defensive line for the contest. Collins also had two tackles for loss in the game. Collins was particularly effective stopping the Tech inside running game. On 11 of his 16 tackles, the Yellow Jackets managed to gain three yards or fewer on the play.
It marks the second straight week he earned All-ACC honors. He was selected the ACC Defensive Lineman of the Week after UVa downed Maryland 20-9 on Oct. 17.
It is the fourth consecutive week a UVa defensive player has been tabbed an ACC player of the week. Cornerback Ras-I Dowling was the defensive back of the week after UVa's 47-7 victory against Indiana and defensive end Matt Conrath was the defensive lineman of the week following the Cavaliers' 16-3 win at North Carolina.
 

Fewer gains for UVa offense
By Doug Doughty | The Roanoke Times

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- At his current rate, Virginia sophomore Rob Randolph will challenge the school record for field goals in a season.

That's not necessarily a good thing.

While the Cavaliers have to be thrilled with Randolph's 92.3 field-goal percentage, the objective is to score touchdowns.

Randolph has kicked eight field goals in UVa's three ACC games. Over the same span, the Cavaliers have scored three touchdowns, one on an interception return.

Virginia has gained 254, 201 and 198 yards in its three conference games -- two of them victories -- and has fallen to 115th out of 120 Division I-A teams in total offense.

"We were looking for and continue to look for a far more productive performance from everybody associated with the offense," head coach Al Groh said Monday.

UVa is 107th nationally in rushing offense and 103rd in passing efficiency. The Cavaliers are 109th in time of possession.

Inability to put together sustained drives has had an effect on UVa's defense, according to Groh.

"Against the two teams that we've played who are in the top 10 or 12, scoreboard-wise we were in pretty good shape," said Groh, referring to losses to TCU (30-14) and Georgia Tech (34-9).

"In both those games, the 55- or 60-play count is when our creases started to show."

Georgia Tech had 79 offensive plays, compared to Virginia's 44. In the UVa-TCU game, the differential was 71-51 in the Horned Frogs' favor.

Randolph is 12-of-13 on field goals after seven games and had as many field goals (nine) through six games as Virginia had all of last season. Connor Hughes set a school record with 23 field goals in 13 games in 2003 and only two other UVa kickers have had as many as 20.

Not satisfied

Groh invited reporters to call the ACC office when asked about a penalty against cornerback Ras-I Dowling with UVa trailing Georgia Tech 20-9 early in the fourth quarter. It gave the Yellow Jackets a first down when they were facing a fourth-and-7 from their 37-yard line.

"I suggest that everybody look at their TIVO'd version and come up with your own opinion," Groh said. "Clearly, I'm not the expert on this. If you have any questions, I'd suggest you direct them to the ACC office and see what they might say.

"I've got the same questions you might have. I guess Halloween was a week early. Ghostbusters, you know, whatever. Let's put it this way. It was not a part of the competitive part of the play."

When contacted Monday, ACC supervisor of football officials Doug Rhoads said he was travelling but was able to access the officials' report on-line and said the head linesman cited Dowling for unnecessary roughness for a "head butt."

Rhoads said he hoped to review the play upon returning to Greensboro, N.C.

By the numbers

Virginia (3-4, 2-1 ACC) has moved up to fifth in Division I-A in pass defense, which should make for an interesting matchup when Duke (4-3, 2-1) comes to Scott Stadium for a 3:30 p.m. Saturday kickoff. The Blue Devils lead the ACC in passing offense with 322.7 yards per game.

Saturday's game will mark Virginia's 1,200th in its 120 college football seasons. That's the most for any ACC team and ranks 12th nationally. North Carolina is second among ACC teams with 1,183.

After a 16-tackle afternoon Saturday against Georgia Tech, UVa defensive lineman Nate Collins has 47 tackles for the season, two behind team leader Steve Greer. Collins did not have more than 36 tackles in any of his first three seasons, although he was a starter or top reserve as a sophomore and junior.

Odds 'n' ends

Groh said that outside linebacker Aaron Clark, who suffered a sprained knee and was helped from the field in the fourth quarter, was inadvertently leg-whipped by teammate Zane Parr on the play. ... Groh commended junior long snapper Danny Aiken from Roanoke for successfully downing a punt at the Georgia Tech 1-yard line. Sophomore Ray Keys from Franklin County is up to three special-teams tackles in limited action. ... Ex-cornerback and quarterback Vic Hall has 16 receptions in the past three games. No other UVa receiver has more than eight.

 Duke has Cavs' full attention
October 27, 2009 12:36 am
BY TAFT COGHILL JR.
CHARLOTTESVILLE

--The Duke University football program is no longer a laughingstock.

And perhaps no Atlantic Coast Conference team knows that better than Virginia.

The Blue Devils snapped their 25-game ACC losing streak against the Cavaliers last year with a 31-3 victory.

The embarrassing loss is serving as motivation as the Cavaliers prepare to host the Blue Devils (4-3, 2-1 ACC) on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.

"I think everyone on the team was pretty frustrated with that performance," Virginia redshirt freshman linebacker Steve Greer said. "So we definitely want to upgrade our performance from last year."

The Cavaliers committed five second-half turnovers as they lost to Duke for the first time since 1999.

Groh downplayed the 2008 Duke game by saying he remembers every game he's been involved in, not just that one.

But Greer said the coach has reminded the Cavaliers of the game already this week.

"I think it's in the back of our heads," Greer said. "Coach did bring it upHe just said 'We don't want a performance like last year.'"

The showing the Cavaliers (3-4, 2-1) are coming off on Saturday wasn't much better.

Virginia allowed 362 rushing yards to Georgia Tech in a 34-9 setback that ended its three-game winning streak.

Greer said the Cavaliers aren't thinking about the loss, and they aren't underestimating Duke, especially after losing 26-14 to Division I-AA William & Mary in the season-opener.

"I think we saw in week one that any team can beat you any day," Greer said. "We take the mentality that every week's a big game."

COLLINS AWARDED AGAIN

Virginia senior defensive end Nate Collins has been named ACC Co-Defensive Lineman of the Week.

Collins shared the honor with Duke's Vincent Rey.

Collins registered a career-high 16 tackles (10 solo) against Georgia Tech on Saturday while filling in at nose tackle.

Groh said Collins will return to his regular position this week and Nick Jenkins will be back at nose tackle.

Collins earned the award solo last week after he had a key third-quarter interception return for a touchdown against Maryland.

Groh said Collins has made himself an attractive NFL prospect this season.

"Nate has certainly been exceptionally stellar to the halfway mark of the season," Groh said. "He's certainly playing himself into that position. He's probably making a similar move on that say that [ex-Virginia running back] Alvin Pearman utilized his senior season to do."

Pearman was selected in the fourth round of the 2005 NFL Draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars.

WAS FOUL PHANTOM?

After the loss to Georgia Tech, Groh said he would review a 15-yard personal foul penalty against Cavaliers' junior cornerback Ras-I Dowling.

The call was key because the Cavaliers had just stopped Georgia Tech on a third-and-9 play early in the fourth quarter, trailing 20-9.

Groh said his review didn't turn up any evidence of wrongdoing by his team.

"I guess Halloween was one week early," Groh said. "You know, Ghost Busters or whatever."

lewis a changed qb

Groh said Duke quarterback Thaddeus Lewis has certainly grown up since the first time he played the Cavaliers.

Lewis was 11-for-25 passing with three interceptions in the Blue Devils' 37-0 loss to Virginia in 2006 when he was a freshman.

Young is now second in the ACC in passing yards per game (281.7) and total offense (287.9 yards per game).

Groh said Lewis' best performance this season would be great for any quarterback, including NFL stars.

Lewis completed 40 of 50 pass attempts for 459 yards and five touchdowns in a 49-28 win over North Carolina State. He also ran for a score in the contest.

"Forty-for-50 is probably the greatest performance anybody's ever coached," Groh said. "It's probably better than [Tom] Brady or [Peyton] Manning has ever had."

Cavaliers switch gears
By Jay Jenkins
Published: October 27, 2009
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For better or worse, Virginia’s football players are given a game plan for their upcoming contest on a weekly basis.
At no point, however, have the back-to-back plans been of greater variety as what Virginia (3-4, 2-1 ACC) will face in transitioning from Georgia Tech to Saturday’s tilt with Duke (4-3,
2-1) at Scott Stadium.
The Yellow Jackets, en route to a 34-9 victory over UVa, ran the ball throughout.
Don’t expect that from Duke — the Blue Devils rank 5th in the nation in passing, using the run sparingly.
“It is definitely going to be tough going from polar opposites, going from an extreme running team to an extreme passing team,” Virginia linebacker Steve Greer said. “It is definitely going to be a different week of practice. I am sure coach will get us ready and change practice around to get us ready for that.”
When facing Georgia Tech’s triple option, “you’ve got to do your job,” Virginia coach Al Groh admitted on Monday.
“Clearly, that’s the case here once again,” he said. “You’re just deploying the same principles against a different set of variables. Where probably best continuity of preparation is that the defensive alignments by the two [Georgia Tech and Duke] are not dissimilar.
“Perhaps there is some good in that given we
didn’t do a very good job with those alignments [on offense on Saturday], but to make sure we figure out how to do a better job against those alignments than we did last week.”
Switching to a pass-happy opponent will include the consistent usage from the Cavaliers’ dime package, one of the team’s best units. Last week, Virginia sent the dime package onto the field for merely two plays.
Groh did not say just how much the dime, which includes cornerback Chase Minnifield and Dom Joseph, would play.
“That always becomes an ongoing situation-by-situation decision,” he said. “That is do we want to match personnel or do we want to leave the regular in there, because there is an overlap in what we can do from a coverage standpoint between the two.
“Not entirely the same, but because there is an overlap, we have that option. And in the past in circumstances like this we’ve worked that option both ways.”
If the season’s results are any indication, don’t expect an inordinate amount of pressure to impact the play of Duke quarterback Thaddeus Lewis.
“I think they’ve only given up … they’ve thrown the ball more than any team in the conference, and they’ve only given up 12 sacks this year or something to that number, 12 or in the low teens,” Groh said. “So that is always a function of a number of different things. But one of the things that we know for sure, even with real good pass protectors if it’s in the low numbers like that, the ball’s coming out very quickly.
“Even the very best pass protectors can hold the rush out for so long.”
The lesser known
Nate Collins, the ACC co-defensive lineman of the week, and Zane Parr combined for 28 tackles against Georgia Tech.
Their play overshadowed a solid performance, however, from a first-time starter on the defensive line.
John-Kevin Dolce, once a linebacker, drew praise from the players and his coaching staff.
“He played great,” Virginia linebacker Denzel Burrell said. “It was exactly what we needed on that side of the field.”
Groh added: “[Dolce] didn’t have the kind of numbers that the other two did, but he certainly gave us a very positive performance. There was one play early where he was in the backfield and had a chance for a negative play on the quarterback, and [Yellow Jackets QB Josh] Nesbitt eluded him. But there were really very few plays in the game that you could realistically or honestly say, ‘Oh, gee, we wish somebody else was in there other than John-Kevin.’”
Haunted on Halloween?
Virginia will play on Halloween for the 14th time in program history on Saturday.
It will mark the first time at Scott Stadium, however, since 1992.
The Cavaliers record? The team is 5-8.
 

Don’t believe all that you hear
By Jerry Ratcliffe
Published: October 27, 2009
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The next time you’re watching a football game on TV and hear one of those brilliant talking heads make the observation that, “those coaches made some great adjustments at halftime,” beware.
In reality, any coach worth his salt will tell you that if he waits until halftime to make adjustments, then his team is probably so far behind that nothing would save them.
Such was the case last Saturday when Virginia coach Al Groh and his staff were constantly adjusting to Georgia Tech’s triple option offensive attack. Every time the defense came off the field, which wasn’t all that often, Groh would quiz the players about what they were seeing, whether or not their defensive schemes were working or not against what they were facing.
Getting confirmation
It’s a high-profile game of chess that the two head coaches and their staffs play for 60 minutes.
The halftime adjustment thing is highly overrated and a product, mostly, of TV analysts not really knowing what they’re talking about.
“Very frequently what happens at halftime is whatever adjustments that were made during the course of the first half are just confirmed and more clearly defined for the players,” Groh said Monday. “Frequently, those adjustments have to be made on the run, often in between or during the course of the series when you don’t have a chance to talk to the players.”
Groh and his staff were constantly getting feedback from players during the game, which is one reason why the Cavaliers defense held Georgia Tech to three yards or less on 48 plays. It’s those others that the Jackets broke for more significant gains in its ball control offense.
“Coach Groh is good at coming up with stuff on the sidelines, kind of on-the-run stuff,” said UVa linebacker Steve Greer of his mentor, who also doubles as the team’s defensive coordinator.
Player feedback
There’s only so much that coaches can see from the sidelines or even from the press box. Sometimes they don’t get a truly clear picture of what the opponent did until they break down film the following day.
“It was very important through the course of the game with Georgia Tech that we got good feedback as to how those patterns and those schemes were changing,” Groh said. “In grading the video [Sunday], for future reference, and just information on the game itself, I recorded all the schemes as well as the plays.”
“So, there might have been Play A, but there were one, two, three versions of it, and how we have to change up against that,” Groh added.
Virginia Tech went through the same drama a week ago in Atlanta when the Hokies lost to the Yellow Jackets. Georgia Tech changed its blocking schemes more than once, particularly in the second half, to confuse Virginia Tech’s defense.
Groh and his defense will be facing a similar situation this weekend when Duke’s pass-happy offense comes to town.
“Georgia Tech wanted to run certain plays or schemes and there will be certain coverages that Duke will want to run certain patterns against,” Groh said. “There is a sophistication in the schemes in which Georgia Tech runs because they know that when certain runs aren’t working, they’re not going to say, ‘OK, we’ve got to start passing more.’ They’re going to keep running.
“They’re going to either change the particular run patterns that they have or change the schemes around what they utilized the actual backfield action,” Groh said of Tech. “Duke is the same way in its fashion. When they have difficulty passing the ball, they don’t suddenly say, ‘OK, we’re going to run it 60 times in this game.’ They say we have to find some patterns that will get open better from the one that we’ve been running.”
Duke (2-1 ACC, 4-3 overall) will bring the league’s top passing attack to Scott Stadium on Saturday (3:30 p.m., ESPN360.com) to face the league’s top pass defense. The Cavaliers are No. 1 in the ACC, but No. 5 nationally in pass defense, surrendering a mere 151.29 passing yards per game.
Groh said defenses normally must make more adjustments during a game than an offense.
“A lot of offenses will package their plays by series,” the coach explained. “A lot of game plans will look, literally, like a box.
“They’ll have boxes on a sheet, just like a package. And, in Box A, these are the plays that are going to be run during this series. And in Box B, these are the plays they’re going to run during that series. The intent of that is to stay one move ahead of the defensive team,” Groh said.
“So, if they ran a package of play B in this series, and the players come off the field and the coaches are discussing the series with the players and making adjustments about what just occurred, well, that’s not going to occur in the next series because [the offense] is going to Box C and a different package of plays.
“After a while, those things tend to recycle, but early in the game once you see a series on the sideline, sometimes you have to change the whole style of calls that you’re making on defense, then tell the players why you did it so that the next time this happens, this is what we’re going to do.”
Groh remembered that in 2007 there were circumstances where he put some things in on the bench that the team had run the year before but had not been put in for ’07.
He informed his players that the scheme would cure the immediate problem, but had to get confirmation they could execute.
“Can we do this?” he asked them.
They responded positively and solved the dilemma.
On those heralded halftime adjustments you hear about on TV, Groh referenced former New York Giants quarterback Phil Simms’ book “Monday Morning Quarterback,” on that topic.
“Phil writes, ‘I can’t remember a meaningful halftime adjustment that was made,’” Groh said. “I guess that kind of negates the commentators making great halftime adjustment speeches, right?”
Right.