Week three with a broken finger is just about over, with about two or three more weeks to go. Just like last week I’m dictating this article into my phone late Sunday night, and emailing myself what will turn out to be Monday Thoughts.

Unlike last week, I had the time and the ability this week to put together a few videos to enhance this article, but it continues to be a slog as I make my way through my first season playing hurt. Moving on…

It’s always a big relief when a win comes along to break up a losing streak, or at the very least break up a string of bad performances. Chris Coleman and I have been saying recently that the Hokies have gotten progressively worse with each game this season, and that was true of the first four games. In this fifth game they finally broke that tendency with a win that included more heart, more effort, and more plays to give you hope for the future than we have seen all season.

What we witnessed against Duke was more than a little scary, and I’ll admit that I along with many of you fell into the trap of thinking things had gotten worse and weren’t going to get better. Even the bravest souls who agree with Frank Beamer that things are never quite as bad as they seem were shaken by the lackluster effort at home against the Blue Devils.

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