Well, being a Hokie myself, I’m no fan of BC football, but I have to admit that the Falcon’s choice of Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan to replace the idiot (C)Hokie Michael Vick is a good one.  Last October, Tech went to the God-forsaken “prevent defense,” and Ryan took advantage of that stupidity in brilliant fashion.  (In the Dec. 1 rematch for the ACC Championship, however, Tech did not repeat their earlier stupidity, and kept the pressure on Ryan the whole game, winning 30-16.)

The Rams have also made a fantastic choice in UVa’s defensive end Chris Long, son of Hall-of-Fame Raider Howie Long.

I am very impressed that the first round was dominated by linemen.  “Seven tackles were taken in the draft’s first 21 picks, and eight in the first round. Seven defensive linemen were selected in the opening round.”  (WaPo)  It does a team no good to have and excellent quarterback and receivers if the receivers cannot run their routes before the quarterback is sacked or flushed out of the pocket.  It does no good to have a running back without a line to make holes and provide lead blocking.

One of the most impressive wins I’ve seen was a few years back when the underdog Redskins crushed the Dallas Cowboys.  On each running play, the Redskins linemen were getting five yards upfield before the running back passed through the holes they made.  On the other hand, in Virginia Tech’s national championship game in 2005, the Hokies took the lead by rushing the football.  They had a bigger and stronger offensive line than Florida State’s defense could handle.  But it was Vick’s last game, and they wanted to make it the Michael Vick Show, so they went back to the pass.  The Criminol’s defensive line, smaller and faster than the Chokie’s offensive line, ran right around the outside and sacked Vick.  Game over.

I’ll take the best lineman and with a mediochre backfield over the reverse any day.