Reviewing Virginia Football on a Bye Week

Well, what were you expecting? Football is on hiatus this week and not much is going on in the world of football but practices gearing up for the matchup of the year against VMI next Saturday.  So with no game, you get Dwight.

Virginia has gotten a lot of street cred around the state and country from other writers for there performance against USC, which means that the Hoos now have to contend with slightly higher expectations than before.  Translation:  they are looking for a bowl game out of the Hoos.  Well our preseason predictions were slightly lower than that, but it is not out of the question.  Here are some quick thought on items the Hoos should be focusing on the next couple of weeks at practice.

1. Special Teams. We have been quite vocal on the situation, but with good reason.  When you are 0/4 on field goals and have a missed extra point, it doesn't take a Hokie to realize that something needs to be done.  Robert Randolph's effective range is about 40 yards, which means that the Hoos have to be in the red zone for him to have a legit change of making it.  Another aspect of our special teams that could use some work is punt return coverage.  We have only returned 1 punt this year and I don't know if it is a product of the punt return coverage not allowing Chase enough time to get a clean return or he's just overly cautious.
2. Getting Healthy. Jared Detrick looks like he is 100% this week and will be fired up for the game next week.  But we are still a little fuzzy on Rodney McLeod and Ras-I Dowling.  From all indications, Dowling could be ready to play next Saturday.  Rodney, on the other hand is about 50-50.  At this point in the season, you have to be considering medical red shirts.  McLeod is a Junior and could be open to the idea, but Ras-I has his sights on the NFL.  He could have gone pro last year, and his stock has not dropped dramatically over the past two weeks.  His goal was graduation, which he will accomplish.  So it seems whatever production we get from him this year will be a bonus.
3. Offensive Line Help? With the Hoos solid along the strong side with ACC Offensive Line Players of the Week winners RT Oday Aboushi and TE Joe Torchia, we must start to ask the question, "Will Morgan Moses get some looks at another position?"  Oday is only a 2nd year the other tackle, Lamar Bradley, is a 3rd year.  The only senior on the line is RG B.J. Cabbell.  So why not get Morgan over their?  Imagine MM as a pulling guard next year.  But he would also be able to protect the blind side for the future quarterbacks as well.  I would like to see him out on the field as soon as possible, since he might leave after his Junior year.
4. Slot Receiver. Tim Smith showed in the USC his ability to run in space with opportunity.  But can Smith or Green use their speed productively to give the Hoos a 3rd wide receiver?  If Tim Smith is back to full health, watch for UVa to try to get him more involved in the offense on the end around or bubble screen.
5. Stout up the Middle.  The Mike Linebacker spot has kinda been an interesting prospect this year.  The position is being manned by both Aaron Taliaferro and Steve Greer.  They haven't really been productive, but they haven't had to.  With the switch to the 4-3 and the edge rushers taking care of most of the tackles, can one of these guys seal up the starting job?