by BOB , The Virginian-Pilot

ESPN needs Thursday night fodder. Understood. But moving down a weight class didn't ignite a seemingly waning Virginia Tech or inspire an overmatched East Carolina.

It added up to a 16-3 dud in favor of Tech. Hope nobody missed "The Office" for this.

Since Tech lost to North Carolina last Thursday, the Hokies' offense has been under fire again for lacking potency, not to mention imagination. This game will provide the critics with more ammunition.

To blame, according to the most disgruntled fans, is offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring.

Poor guy. It's all his fault, these fans say, which is why some overzealous students last week handed out fliers calling for his dismissal.

Judging from the reaction of these tender geniuses, Frank Beamer is just a spectator, and Stinespring must accept all the responsibility for the predictable play calling.

Shows how much the idiot fringe knows. First, it's not the plays, but the players that make the difference. Second, if Tech's offense lacks pizzazz - and it does - that's on Beamer. It's his team, his call.

Play calling shouldn't have mattered against ECU, which was a generous host, committing enough key penalties and turnovers to keep Tech from feeling genuinely threatened.

Tech should have taken more advantage than it did, but the tone was set early when the Hokies drove 75 yards before settling for a field goal. This surprised nobody who has seen the team play recently .

In the second half, Tech scored only three points, and then only after ECU turned the ball over in the waning moments deep in its own territory.

Teams lose that way if they are unfortunate enough to be playing a stronger opponent. But don't wait for Tech to spread the field, run creative schemes or put its playmakers in position to make big plays.

Beamer Ball is vanilla flavored. Ball control. Field position. Nothing sexy. But when the defense is strong enough, it's usually good for 10 victories or more.

For what it's worth, handing the ball off to Ryan Williams produced the game's biggest gainer: a 46-yard run from scrimmage. Williams is Tech's best weapon. Why wouldn't you use him?

On the same drive, quarterback Tyrod Taylor fumbled through the end zone after he reached the 1-yard line on a designed draw. Did Tech fail to score that time because of inadequate play calling? Was it Stinespring's fault?

Should Beamer open up the attack? Sure, he should. Back-to-back losses to Georgia Tech and North Carolina revealed that Tech's defense alone can't win games.

But Beamer isn't going to change anything this year. By nature, he doesn't take risks. If Taylor were my quarterback, I'd be that way, too. The junior is overrated and severely challenged as a downfield passer.

Some of the hysteria exhibited by a portion of Tech fans is attributable to predictable bouts of delusional thinking. The polls didn't help, hoisting the Hokies to No. 4 at one point.

It's been a long, hard descent from there.

The victory over ECU stops the slide, but fails to alter the impression of a Tech team that has been brought down to earth.

Copyright 2009 Landmark Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved
	Terms & Conditions     Privacy Copyright © 2009 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.