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Ellis says passing could cure what ails Cavaliers

Dan Ellis readily admits that the Virginia Tech defense battered, mauled and just about knocked him into next week. And he couldn't be happier to be there.

Wild-eyed quarterback killer Corey Moore has left town. His fellow assassin on the defensive line, John Engelberger, is back in Blacksburg as well. So, too, is the rest of the nation's top-ranked defense, which stormed into Charlottesville Saturday night, ransacked the Virginia offense and promptly departed with a lopsided 31-7 win and a reputation as Cavalier executioners.

For Ellis though, all he has to do is move his legs to recall the massacre.

"I'm sore - I've got a thigh bruise and multiple other bruises," Ellis said. "I did take a lot of shots in that game. You know you're going to be hurting the next day when you're hurting during the game."

Healthy or not, happy or not, Ellis knows one thing: the Cavalier offense must be better, and it must be better now, starting with the man in the mirror.

"We got our asses kicked," Ellis said following Saturday's loss. "We just didn't play very well. That's all I have to say."

The Exton, Pa., product was in a slightly more amiable mood Monday morning, but the fact remains: With the third year under center Saturday, Virginia picked and scratched its way to an anemic 213 total yards at just 3.4 yards a snap, a marked regression following the squad's 45-point, 432-yard breakout against Brigham Young.

Ellis, at first reluctant to question traditional offensive strategy, eventually relented and spilled his guts about what the ailing offense must do.

"I think we need to take more shots down the field," Ellis said. "Maybe we need to pass more on first down. We're going to have to change it up a little bit."

Diversifying an offense centered around Thomas Jones starts with abandoning at times the smashmouth running philosophy that epitomizes George Welsh-coached football.

The Cavs ran Jones 10 times on first down in the first half Saturday, a trend Ellis and a few of his offensive mates are out to change.

"I'd like it if we'd open up the passing game," tackle Brad Barnes said. But "our philosophy is to run the ball, and as long as we win, then it doesn't frustrate me."

Welsh insists offensive improvement must take precedence over offensive expansion, starting with Ellis, the nerve center of the Cav attack. The Virginia head man senses his signal caller may be a bit tentative, unsure of when to get rid of the ball, when to throw it away and when to tuck it under and scramble.

"We want him to take off at a certain point, but we don't want him running laterally so much," Welsh said. "We want him to run around and get some positive yards. Just tuck the ball down and go. He's running around and he's getting hit."

The bruises prove that fact.

Consistency in the passing game, with receivers running precise routes and finding open spaces down the field, will mitigate the pressure Ellis must shoulder.

"I don't think we've helped him enough," Welsh said. "The wide receivers have to get open more. We have to win more of these battles; we're not winning enough."

Two plays into the contest Saturday, Ellis watched one of his preferred targets, third-year Kevin Coffey, hobble to the sideline with a twisted knee.

But Ellis never had Florida State's Peter Warrick or Georgia Tech's Dez White to begin with; instead, he relied on a horde of wideouts to succeed by committee. Now, with Coffey gimpy but expected to suit up, the onus is on relative unknowns and unprovens like Billy McMullen, Ahmad Hawkins, Tavon Mason and Demetrius Dotson. Ellis, however, is not averse to having a bevy of receivers taking the place of a single superstar.

"I really don't think there is a number one receiver," Ellis said. "I'd rather have the number of guys we have now, because that way teams will have single coverage on almost everybody."

Whether or not Ellis has the weapons, the arm strength, the mobility or the gaudy numbers, he does have the confidence: unbending confidence.

"I think we'll bounce back pretty well," Ellis said. "We have an important game against Duke that we have to really come out and play well in. We can't come out flat. I think everybody will realize that."

Ellis certainly won't come out flat. As Virginia Tech taught him, he can't afford to.

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