Some coaches just make up their mind on who they're going to start and it takes an injury for them to change their mind.
This many mistakes have to be attributed to coaching.
This year has been a compilation of little mistakes that lead to losses. This team has had an inability to score from possessions in the red zone for a long time. If they could score from the red zone, they'd be winning these games.
Also, there have been too many missed tackles, miscues, turnovers, penalties, and mental mistakes over the past two years to accept individual "execution" as an excuse. It has become team execution, and that's coaching.
Special teams is a shadow of it's former self. It's not just that the game has changed to make special teams play more difficult. The teams playing against Virginia Tech seem to be making these plays -- and Virginia Tech isn't. It comes down to alertness, discipline, and yes, execution.
To anyone saying that Leal would be starting if he was better than Logan, do you honestly believe that? Do you really think that Beamer would bench Logan? Also, do you not remember Kurt Warner? Dude was never supposed to play in the NFL and it took multiple injuries for him to get a shot. Hell, he might the best playoff QB ever yet he was behind MATT LEINART on the depth chart at one point.
Some coaches just make up their mind on who they're going to start and it takes an injury for them to change their mind.
Beamer has benched Grant Noel, Bryan Randall, Marcus Vick, Sean Glennon, and Tyrod Taylor for performance in their careers. That's literally every quarterback from Michael Vick to Logan Thomas. The theory that Beamer won't bench a quarterback is without any substance. If Beamer thought Leal was better than Thomas, Leal would start.
Maybe Beamer's just losing it. All of that stuff was over 5 years ago. I'm just saying that at this point, we know exactly what we're getting with Logan. Conversely, we have no idea if Leal is any good. But with this season being such a disappointment, why not at least give him a shot. At this rate, Leal might never get legitimate playing time during his whole career here, which is a shame given how mediocre Logan has been this season.