Your guide to breaking news, recruiting updates and important offers from TheSabre.com! |
|
SabreMail - September 9th, 2005 |
Sabre Links
Home Page Football Recruiting
Recruiting Home Basketball Recruiting
Recruiting Home Sabre Edge
Articles/Features Sabre Products
|
||||
Well, Virginia's first game of the football season sure generated a lot of discussion on the message boards, huh? To me, that's a good thing.
That's fine. In fact, that's the beauty of the Sabre message boards - fans can discuss the good, the bad, the ugly and the excellent about UVa sports. It's not a cheerleading site or a mouthpiece for the athletic department. TheSabre.com represents and reflects the whole spectrum of fan opinion and provides an open forum for discussing anything and everything about the Cavaliers. That's why it bothers me when some fans try to stifle those discussions by attacking anyone who's critical. Over the course of the week, some posters jumped into critical threads and accused anyone negative of failing to be a good fan. As if being a good fan means never voicing complaints or expressing concerns. Please. Sure, some fans overreact to a poor performance and become overly negative or critical. If you don't like it, ignore them. Just please do me a favor and avoid casting a chill over the message boards by accusing your fellow 'Hoos of being lesser fans. Challenge their opinions if you like, but don't challenge their right to express themselves. And please don't forget that you can be critical and still be a great fan.
John Galinsky |
|||||
Recruiting News | |||||
This Week In Recruiting By Chris Horne Official Visits
First Game A handful of prospects were in attendance for last weekend's game. The committed prospects on hand included jumbo athlete Nate Collins, 4-star tight end Joe Torchia, nose tackle Asa Chapman and 3-star defensive end Sean Gottschalk. Greg Davis, who has been told by the UVa staff that he is the #1 target at the safety position, was on hand as well. Davis is also considering offers from Nebraska, N.C. State and Virginia Tech, among others.
2007 Offer We know at least one player Virginia has offered in the 2007 recruiting class. West Springfield (Springfield, VA) quarterback Peter Lalich received an official offer from UVa this week. At 6-5, 230 pounds, Lalich has a strong arm and prototypical size for a pocket passer. Tomorrow, he begins his first full season as the West Springfield signal caller. As a sophomore last season, he completed 38 of 67 passes for 372 yards with five touchdowns and one interception in just five games. A solid athlete, Lalich played wide receiver for the other part of the season. Lalich lists the 'Hoos as his number one choice right now. He told TheSabre.com that he would like to take official visits before committing, but we'll be sure to check back this fall to see if anything has changed.
For more recruiting information and updates, please sign up for Sabre Edge.
|
|||||
Support TheSabre.com's Sponsors | |||||
Today's SabreMail is brought to you by American Dream Luxury Stone We're thrilled to introduce a new sponsor that can make your home look more luxurious. Based in Richmond, American Dream Luxury Stone creates and installs custom granite and marble for any room in your house. The natural stone provides a classic, elegant look for your kitchen, fireplace, bath, foyer or custom furniture. And make sure you tell them TheSabre.com sent you. If you purchase a home installation from American Dream Luxury Stone, they will give you a free one-year subscription to Sabre Edge! Please check out their website and/or contact sales manager Nick Bohanon at 804-359-8100 (O) or 804-837-3962 (C).
Thank you for actively supporting the sponsors of TheSabre.com. Sponsorships are a critical component of our business and sponsors' success will permit us to continually improve our services to you, our community.
|
|||||
News, Notes and Fan Discussion | |||||
Post of the Week
Subject: Ten Things I Learned This Weekend
(1) Cedric Peerman may turn into a special back. Those who follow the program already knew that he had talent, but the ability to step up to the opportunity in a real game -- his first college game -- is something that you simply cannot predict. You know a kid has it when the moment comes, and he performs. Peerman did. (2) NCSU is a very talented, but not very smart, football team. The fair catch on the half-yard line was classic. I give Amato some credit for not exploding when DB made it over to the sideline, but I probably would have. "Don't back up from the 10-yard line" is not a new concept. And there were a ton of other mental mistakes in the game. Whether this is a sign that the turmoil in Amato's staff is resulting in dumb play on the field is an open question, but one worth asking. I'll ask it again after three or four more games.
(4) We got decent play out of the NT position, and I was at least pleased with what I saw. That said, I think we can expect more out of the position, and will need more later in the season. Carter has more to give, I believe, for starters. Also, I was a little disappointed in how seldom the NTs were able to force a double team. We need more of that. (5) Clint Sintim, your table is now ready. (6) If there is a team that I would buy season tickets for (after my UVA tickets, of course), it would be Navy. I was surprised at how disappointed I was to see UMD pull out that game. And while I am on the subject, I would highly recommend John Feinstein's A Civil War: Army vs. Navy to anyone interested in reading a great book about these two programs. (7) Five or six games from now, I wonder how important Hagans' 12- yard run on 3rd-and-8 in the 4th quarter will look. A big play, in my book, and one of the reasons that Hagans is more valuable to this team than stats indicate. (8) FSU's QB situation is a disaster right now. They got by on defense and emotion this week (with the help of a meltdown in Miami's kicking game), but that is not going to be enough some weeks, particularly on the road. Maybe the light will come on for Weatherford or Lee in the next couple of weeks, but Noles fans have reason to be concerned amid the excitement over the win. (9) The key to Tech's season is the OL, and not asking Vick to think too much. When Vick is allowed to play in his comfort zone, his talent is obvious. The OL, however, still has to establish itself. But I would not compare it to UVA's OL situation, which is more of a case of players having to gell together, particularly on the interior line. (10) Was anyone hanging around the beginning of the Wahoo Walk, just before the team buses arrived, and happened to see a 4-year-old, dressed in an orange #18 jersey, lead the cheerleaders in the Good Ole' Song, and then lead the crowd in a encore rendition? My kid. Goes to show that if you train them young, good things happen. Bucking the Broncos not so easy It wasn't the blowout that everyone expected, but it was a victory all the same. The Cavaliers opened the 2005 season with a 31-19 win over Western Michigan, an outcome that wasn't secure until Cedric Peerman scored a touchdown with 5:38 remaining. To read about the game and check out Coach Groh's comments on his weekly call-in show, please click the links below.
To get the most in-depth analysis, Edge subscribers can read the stories below. If you're interested in joining Sabre Edge, please sign up here.
Around the Wahoo sports world...
For more information on UVa athletics, please see their official website below.
|
|||||
What's New on TheSabre.com? | |||||
Sabre Edge articles from the past week
Six months may seem like a long time, but, trust me, Signing Day will get here soon enough. So far, Virginia has landed 15 verbal commitments and the position breakdown goes like this - 2 QBs, 2 RBs, 2 WRs, 1 TE, 1 OL, 2 DL, 2 ILBs, 2 OLBs and 1 jumbo athlete. Look for UVa to try to fill up this recruiting class to the full 25. The Cavs have landed two solid receiver prospects but hope for a big catch in either Chris Bell or Vidal Hazelton. It looks like adding one or two more offensive linemen is in the cards as well as landing one or two defensive linemen. Linebacker remains a need and Virginia hopes to land a few studs like John Graves.
Chris Slade was an All-American defensive end for the Cavaliers and played outside linebacker in the NFL for eight seasons. In this article, Slade answers five of your questions, including: What was the hardest part of switching from a 4-3 defensive end to a 3-4 outside linebacker? Do you think college athletes (especially linemen) are physically mature enough to make the 3-4 work? How does playing OLB in a 3-4 differ from playing OLB in a 4-3? What are the most important qualities for a good pass rusher? And what made the 1991 Cavalier defense so effective and dominant?
Now that the final cuts have been announced, it's a big relief to know that I've made an NFL roster. Throughout the preseason you try to stay away from making any assumptions or thinking about where you fit and where you sit. But the closer you get to cut day, the closer you get to September 3rd, especially after the last preseason game, it's on your mind constantly. It's tough when you see a veteran guy like Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala let go. You understand how competitive this league is.
For many Cavaliers, including freshman guard Branden Albert, Saturday's win over Western Michigan represented their first experience in a college football game. Because of that, it's understandable that the performance fell a long way short of perfection. But we don't grade on a curve around here. We evaluate each position along with special teams and the coaching staff, giving out mostly B's but also a few C-minuses.
Al Groh might not like it, but this is how we watch Virginia football games now, don't we? Not worrying about the final score so much as searching for flaws that may prove fatal against tougher competition. If so, we saw way too many Saturday night against lowly Western Michigan to feel good about the rest of the season. Wali Lundy's injury. Michael Johnson's fumbles. Jason Snelling's fumbles. Marques Hagans' interceptions. Shaky line play. Missed tackles. Porous pass defense. Four sacks allowed. A missed field goal. A sea of errors silenced the sea of orange. That the Cavaliers won by 12 points almost didn't seem to matter, did it? Sabre Edge recruiting updates from the past week Our resident recruiting expert, Chris Horne, provides updates for Edge subscribers about UVa's commitments and recruiting targets in football and men's basketball. To sign up for an Edge subscription, please see the sign-up promotion below. If you're already on board as an Edge subscriber, click the links below to catch up on recruiting. Football
|
|||||
Sabre Edge | |||||
Get your Wahoo fix. Subscribe to Sabre Edge!
All of the great Sabre Edge content can be yours for the price of $5.99 per month or $59.99 per year. Try it for a month and cancel if you like. But we think you'll get hooked on the Edge and find out for yourself why the most knowledgeable Cavalier fans are Edge subscribers. If you're a true Wahoo, then the Sabre Edge is right for you. Check it out!
|
SabreMail is a trademark of TheSabre.com - Copyright © 2001 - 2005 - All Rights Reserved |