BLACKSBURG, Va. -- Cody Grimm has seen all the replays of crucial errors he can stand of how No. 22 Virginia Tech's defense just isn't living up to standards. It gets a little mind-numbing for him after a while.
Having defensive coordinator Bud Foster get so fired up on the practice field he inadvertently spits inside players' face masks isn't Grimm's idea of a good time. The bad news is it will all continue until Tech (5-3 overall, 3-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) starts to show significant improvement on the defensive side.
"I know what our mistakes are," said Grimm, who will lead Tech in Thursday night's game at East Carolina (5-3). "We're really close to being a good defense. I think down the stretch here we'll start playing better and we'll be fine. ... They're not big things. Sometimes they're just making a good play and have good play-calling against us. In football, it's going to happen."
The problem is it has been happening way too often, especially against the run. Tech has surrendered 31 plays of 20 yards or more this season, including 14 against the run -- already equaling the number of 20-plus-yard running plays the Hokies gave up last season.
Tech is 74th in the country against the run, giving up an average of 154.1 yards per game. From 2004-08, Tech's opponents ran for an average of just 98 yards per game. In order to get the average down to that standard this season, Tech would have to achieve the nearly impossible by giving up just 8 rushing yards per game from here on out, assuming it plays 13 games.
Four players have gained more than 100 rushing yards against Tech this season. In the previous six seasons combined, opposing players gained 100 or more rushing yards just 10 times. The '02 season was the last time Tech gave up 100-plus yards to more than four players in a single season. In that season, Tech opponents eclipsed the mark in five consecutive games.
Getting a steady pass rush also has been a chore. Last season, Tech finished seventh in the nation in total defense (279 yards per game) and had 35 sacks (2.5 per game). This season, Tech is 29th in total defense (317 yards per game) and has just 15 sacks (1.8 per game).
"We've had some injuries up front at defensive tackle," Grimm said. "(Defensive tackles John) Graves and Demetrius (Taylor) have both been playing hurt all season. We've just been shuffling some guys in and we haven't been as physical as we usually are up front. When we get physical and take the lead, it makes them pass more. When they've got a one-sided offense, and you know they're going to pass, it's a lot easier to defend."
While the run-stopping has left a lot to be desired, Tech has been relatively stingy against the pass. Only Alabama's Greg McElroy (230 yards) and Duke's Thaddeus Lewis (359) have thrown for more than 150 yards against Tech, which is ninth in the nation in passing defense (162.6 yards per game).
Tech's total of 17 pass plays of 20 or more yards surrendered, including nine of at least 35 yards, is far below the pace to reach last season's total of 36 such plays, which included 11 of 35 or more yards. Lewis was responsible for delivering five of those 20-plus-yard pass plays this season out of Duke's spread offense, a season-high against the Hokies that included three passes of at least 48 yards.
ECU enters Thursday night's game averaging 4.4 plays of 20 yards or more per game, including 23 pass plays and 12 running plays -- against primarily Conference USA competition. Tech's opponents have averaged 3.9 of those plays per game.
Tech, which has lost two straight games, will try to regroup Thursday night with redshirt freshman Lyndell Gibson getting his first start at one of the two inside-linebacker positions -- a stable spot in Tech's recent past, but one of its least steady this season.
"I feel like we definitely have the athletes to make those (defensive) plays, but ... the experience level is not there yet," Tech cornerback Rashad Carmichael said. "(Former Tech defensive standouts) like (Xavier) Adibi and (Vince) Hall, they played together for years -- D.J. Parker, Aaron Rouse -- I could keep naming them. Those guys had good chemistry. They were all together for a couple years. This is my first year starting. We have first-year linebackers. It's Nekos (Brown's) first-year (starting) at defensive end. The biggest thing is the chemistry is not the same with us, as of now, but we still have time."
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