“And don’t ever let them make you feel like saying what you want is unbecoming.
If you were supposed to watch you’re mouth all the time I doubt your eyes would be above it.“

—Mike Cooley, Drive-By Truckers

I’m writing way ahead this week because I want to wake up tomorrow unencumbered by work. Heading to the Drive-By Truckers concert at the Norva in Norfolk. The Truckers always put on a tremendous show, and I’ve heard great things about the Norva, so I’m very much looking forward to this. And if you haven’t gotten your mitts on a copy of the Truckers’ new album, Brighter Than Creation’s Dark, immediately head to your local record emporium and do so.

Why this matters to you guys (unless you’re Patterson Hood, in which case you should be pleased with this free publicity): You’ll have an extra day to digest the worldly knowledge contained in the “three keys to the game” graphic below, which will eventually appear in Saturday’s paper, but first here in this humble corner of the Interweb ...

GIVE THE BALL TO DARREN EVANS: Junior Kenny Lewis Jr. remains Virginia Tech’s starting tailback, but that title won’t matter much if things keep going like they did last Saturday, when Lewis carried just eight times against Georgia Tech, compared to 19 carries for redshirt freshman Darren Evans, who is becoming Tech’s top back. For the season, Lewis is gaining 3.7 yards per carry, compared to Evans’ 4.8. Lewis, who has 33 carries this season, lost yards on four carries Saturday. Evans, who has 42 carries this season, has just two negative-yardage carries for the season.

CONTAIN BRANDON TATE: North Carolina’s senior receiver has 616 all-purpose yards and four touchdowns in the first two games. Even more absurd, he has touched the ball just 20 times this season. The Tar Heels use him punt and kickoff returns, as well as reverses and regular passing routes. He poses a challenge not only for cornerbacks Stephan Virgil and Victor “Macho” Harris, but also for the Hokies’ highly regarded punt and kickoff coverage teams.

ESTABLISH A PASSING GAME: The Hokies rank 116th of 119 teams nationally with 85 passing yards per game – a passing attack that looks like something out of the leather-helmet era. Sophomore quarterback Tyrod Taylor has thrown just 19 passes in two games. His longest is 11 yards. To juice up the passing game, Tech head coach Frank Beamer will play Harris more at receiver. He caught just one pass in his debut there last Saturday. 

One last shill for the Truckers, for those interested. Here is a video for the song “Two Daughters and a Beautiful Wife.“ It’s from their latest stop in Richmond, in March at The National. Was a fantastic show. Anyway, the song is about Richmond-based musician Brian Harvey, who was mudered along with his wife and two daughters in their home on New Year’s Day 2006. The video cuts off before the song ends, but this is the best video I could find of this song from this particular show. Enjoy ...

Posted by Darryl Slater in • College Sports • Virginia Tech
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