But the bottom line is that VT's defense isn't good enough this season to "play it safe" on offense the way Beamer tended to do, or the way that Fuente also seems to want to do. Tech isn't going to hold opponents to 14 points or less, so the offense is going to have to score a bunch of points in order to have a chance to win. Along with that comes taking risks. Sure, Willis takes more chances than Jackson, but it's mainly because his arm is much stronger than Jackson's. Willis knows he can take shots down the field and trusts his arm to do so. The risk is that the farther you throw the ball downfield, the more difficult it is to be accurate. It's like a long tee shot in golf - any problem with accuracy gets magnified the farther the ball travels from the launch point.

Like him or not, Ryan Willis is VT's best option at QB right now. Jackson is hurt, Fuente seems to have decided Hooker is not capable of throwing a forward pass, and Patterson is just too raw. Willis may make some mistakes that you will be able to argue cost VT the game. But every player makes mistakes. VT needs Willis to put up points, and unless the receivers start getting tons of separation and creating easy targets for him, Willis is going to have to take some chances to give VT a chance to win.