For the Mountaineer faithful...two deep finally released

[mountainman]

I hear the competition for some of the spots has been fierce .... that can mean a couple of different things ..... good or bad, guess we'll have to wait and see.

Interesting that Quinten Andrews is not listed in the secondary ..... freshman All-American and all ...... Hmmmmmm.

[Spence]

Is he in the doghouse?

[mountainman]

Could be ..... last I heard he was moved from the free spot to the spur spot. Whispers had it that he and Rodriguez weren't seeing eye to eye .... and over the summer he had an "off campus issue" that involved Jason Gwaltney and the police.

....... makes me wonder ...... even more so in light of the recent happenings involving a couple of players.

I would be remiss if I didn't say that the guy is one heck of a good player too.

[Spence]

I wondered because usually when a good player drops of the depth charts it isn't because he suddenly isn't talented anymore. Usually it is because he starts thinking the rules don't apply to him. The coach usually teaches him that the rules do apply.

[mountainman]

...cause he is/was highly overrated. Don't get me wrong, he's a physically gifted player who can make plays with his athleticism...but he doesn't have the mental capacity to play at this level....

Sounds like he should have went to Pitt.

Andrews is one of those, as you say Bones, big, strong, physically gifted guys that wants to be a tough guy and knock people's heads off instead of playing his spot and doing his job within the defensive scheme. When you do that from the free safety spot you leave your teammates hung out to dry an your team ends up #109 in pass defense.

The kid is a great talent and everybody can see that as he was voted a freshman All-American, but if he doesn't lose his 'attitude' ..... well, he simply can't play ..... and that would be sad not only for him, but also for the Mountaineers.

[Spence]

Don't confuse attiude with mental capacity Bones. They are two very very different things. He can make a decision to listen and learn from the coaches and have a bright future or he can not listen and his future will be decided. He needs a big kick in the tail and it seems that RR is giving him just that. Let's see whether he is man enough to listen and learn or a coward who decides to cut and run.

[donovan]

Let's see whether he is man enough to listen and learn or a coward who decides to cut and run.

Whoa.....now there is a new definition of subtle......

[Spence]

I don't understand what you are saying. Corner is a read-react position. It doesn't require the lots of football IQ (except like everyone on D with angles) Safeties have to know what it going on, they generally call the defensive coverage. Corners only have to know angles and who to take on a switch. It is an athletes position. Basically a corner just needs to pay attention and read his man's hips.

[Spence]

Ok, then I see your point.

[mountainman]

I don't buy it Bones ...... from what I've seen he is back there free lancing .... doing it his way instead of the way he's been taught.

[wvjohn]

Andrews is in the third spot in the depth. For his troubles this summer.He just have to prove his self again.

[mountainman]

Well, let's hope that's all there is to it ...... if the coaching staff can't trust a guy and don't have some assurance that he is going to be there then they have to find someone who will be.

In all fairness, the free safety spot is a tough spot to play ..... offensive coordinators will put that spot in conflict with looks (run??, pass??, which do I support???? and who do I cover?????) that are designed and intended to make it make a choice, and they just love doing those kind of things to freshman ..... if he reads and reacts to one they will go the other way and if his teammates haven't made the same read and reaction then somebody is going to be running free in the secondary.

Let's hope they get whatever it is resolved and we see Andrews on the field.

[Spence]

I agree. FS is one of the toughest on the field because he is responsible for the wild card. He can be playing center field or be stacking the middle for run support. That is why coached usually have these guys call the defense. They are usually the Qb's of the defense.

[WoVeU]

I want to see QA (not a bad acronym for a safety) play just to see if it is worth the hype. If he gets his legal issues straight.

But in Voo's D you don't need some artist formally known as dense! I see their D getting better but they have to seal up that crease. W. Michigan had 2 guys in the offense the TE and the WR catching balls near the slot receivers short porch primarily. Free lance and head hunting starts when the ball goes in the air...until then you have to be in assignment football (no news to guys here.) The OLB's and DB's were a half step away from stopping about 35% of those catches, and that half step was made up by game 4 or 5 last year. UL opened it back up last year as the D got flustered and lost their mental alertness.

Some impassioned hot shot kid could mess up the whole scheme!