AJC > Sports > Tech > Blog > Archives > 2006 > October
October 2006
Jackets still focused
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
One of the most overused concepts in football is the idea of “looking ahead.” Sometimes, though, there’s some truth to it. Teams come out flat because their minds were never really on the game being played because the next game was so big.
Well, that’s one thing Tech won’t be doing this week. “Looking ahead” to North Carolina? To Duke? Not very believable. And the Georgia game and whatever comes after it are still a long, long way away.
If there are any issues this week, they might be from being mentally exhausted after a four-game stretch that included games at Virginia Tech, at home against Maryland, at Clemson and at home against Miami. Going 3-1 on that stretch will be the key to Tech’s season, assuming it doesn’t screw up in the next three weeks.
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Some non-BCS bowl options
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia Tech fans are thinking Orange Bowl, and that’s understandable. But they might want to give a thought about what happens if Tech gets to but doesn’t win the ACC championship game.
Here are a few factors that could complicate what happens next in that situation. Remember, this year the Chick-fil-A Bowl gets the first pick of ACC teams after the Bowl Championship Series selections.
If Clemson wins out but doesn’t make it to the ACC championship game, the Chick-fil-A Bowl probably would want the 10-2 Tigers over a Yellow Jackets team coming off a loss. So Tech fans probably ought to be pulling against Clemson.
The Chick-fil-A Bowl might have to choose between inviting Tech or Georgia (barring any game that justifies a rematch). The bowl formerly known as the Peach essentially gets the fifth choice among SEC teams, the sixth choice if two SEC teams make it into the BCS. As things stand, Florida, Auburn, Arkansas, Tennessee and LSU could be unavailable. Tech fans might want to pull for South Carolina to finish strong and the Bulldogs to falter.
The good news for the Jackets about the Gator Bowl, which picks after the Chick-fil-A: Notre Dame is almost certainly BCS-bound, unless it loses to North Carolina, Air Force or Army. If the Irish don’t go to Jacksonville, there’s nothing to stop the Gator from matching Tech against a team from the Big East or the Big 12. (Virginia Tech went to the Gator last season after losing in the ACC title game.)
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Final pre-Miami thoughts
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Gonna keep it short.
Barring the unusual, like a bunch of turnovers or strange special teams plays, if Tech slows the run the way the Jackets did in the first give games (including a major slowdown of Va. Tech’s Branden Ore) and the offense plays the way it can and should, Tech wins.
I don’t know if Chan Gailey really would leave Reggie Ball in if he were to get beat up like last week. Kind of hard to believe that might happen two weeks in a row. Miami’s defense is still very, very fast and athletic. Probably four to six future pros there.
Look out for the tight end. The U likes to use them.
One miss, and Travis Bell is probably out.
A personal plea: Fools are going to post on these blogs. Please, ignore them. Pretend their garbage isn’t even there. You merely encourage them, or justify their existence. Thanks.
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Some glaring weaknesses
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
This blog will be posted before I speak with Chan Gailey after practice, but I’m going to ask about Reggie Ball today. Will Chan and his staff monitor Ball more closely, give more thought than most weeks to pulling him if he’s not up to his usual speed?
Clearly, against Clemson, Reggie was banged around enough that he became limited. Most of his rushing yards came on broken passing plays, and fairly early in the game Patrick Nix appeared to stop calling his number as a runner.
The passing attack was poor, obviously, against Clemson, and much of that was probably due to the fact Clemson could see Ball was limited, and didn’t have to fear/respect Reggie as a dual threat. When a defense has to be on its toes to look for him to run or pass, it helps Tech’s passing game as linebackers in particular have to kind of linger before either committing to him as a runner or drop into coverage. It helps Tech’s running game, too, of course.
But when Reggie’s gimpy, a team can defend Tech more straight up; make a call and execute it.
It’s been said, but I’ll say it again: If the Jackets’ defense doesn’t slow the run better than in the last two games, they’re in trouble again.
In the past two games, Maryland’s Lance Ball, Clemson’s James Davis and Clemson’s CJ Spiller have all gone past 100 rushing yards against Tech, Davis way past that mark, obviously. Tech in those games had to come from behind than then hold on for life against Maryland, and got whipped at Clemson.
Miami can throw the ball a little anyway, and they may get back one of their better receivers from last season. If the ‘Canes find they can run it Saturday — and their running game has improved with the freshman James — it will not be a good omen for Tech.
And what about Travis Bell? Tech’s options behind him are limited.
On hoops:
Coach Paul Hewitt has the way his team is going about conditioning, chiefly in the offseason, by reducing or eliminating track work and instead doing most conditioning on the hardwood.
“We’ve had a lot of lower leg and back injuries and [previous training methods] may have contributed to that,” Hewitt said. “[Lewis] Clinch missed five games with a stress fracture [in his leg]. Going back a year, Elder tore a hamstring, and dislocated a knee cap. The year before that, Tarver dislocated a knee cap. Jeremis Smith had problems with his lower back all last year.
“We changed our conditioning this year to do more on-the-court workouts, just running the lanes, doing some basketball drills. Two things I hope come out of it. Number one, I hope our conditioning is better, and number two, we reduce the probability of injuries. You can’t eliminate injuries. Our trainers feel like if we’re running them on the wood rather than the track, you might reduce some of it.”
Asked about the impact of freshmen Javaris Crittenton and Thaddeus Young, Hewitt said, “They’re both very talented players. So is [freshman] Zach Peacock, and Mouhammad Faye is essentially a freshman. I think [freshman] Brad Sheehan is going to be very good as well, but physically he has to develop.”
And as for how long it will take new players to mesh with returning players:
“A lot of it’s going to depend on how quickly we develop defensively. We’re not talking real well on the court. Because we don’t talk, we’re playing like a team that’s slow. We’re a step slow on our rotations, and a step slow on a lot of our closeouts. When we get to a point where we become a fast team defensively, we’ve got a chance to be pretty good. If we don’t ever develop that communication on the court, then we’ll be average, or below average.”
Anthony Morrow (back) remains on schedule to return to practice Nov. 5. Hewitt said he “might” play in the Nov. 10 opener against Elon.
Morrow said he’s ready to go now, but understands the idea of holding him out now to reduce the likelihood of his back nagging him later in the season.
It was interesting to see him and Mario West hanging out in the lobby of the hotel in Greensboro the other day, chatting with Maryland’s DJ Strawberry and Ekene Ibekwe, and Virginia’s very good backcourt of Sean Singletary and JR Reynolds. They were speaking to one another for at least 20 minutes, waiting for their respective coaches to finish so they could head back to their campuses.
Finally, Maryland coach Gary Williams comes rolling through, sticks his head in the lounge and says, “Anybody get a Redskins score?” to folks watching NFL games (which the players completely ignored, by the way). Told the Redskins-Colts game had not yet started, Williams corralled his lads and bolted.
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What about the game plans?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Shooting, or at least writing, fast here …
Georgia Tech’s going to have to be a lot better Saturday against Miami than the Yellow Jackets were against Clemson. Miami’s not nearly as good as Clemson, but good enough that if Tech plays exactly same this week, the Jackets will lose.
Specifically, Patrick Nix needs to call a better game, Jon Tenuta needs to come up with a game plan much-better tailored to the opponent than last week, players need to ramp up their intensity and execute better, and double-top priority — Reggie Ball needs to get back on his horse.
He was lousy against Clemson. I’ve heard some dispute on this. I disagree. He was on the run, yes. He’s been on the run a lot this season. I’ve heard his pass protection is better this season. He’s been sacked seven times in the past four games versus eight times all of last season (I admit some of this is because of a re-designed offense, but not all of it). His decision-making was sub-standard, and his execution was, too
Ball needs to look at Calvin Johnson more, AND throw that way more. Period.
Coach Gailey has said more than once, “we tried a number of ways” to get the ball to Calvin, while also crediting Clemson’s double teams. He’s also said he doesn’t figure Miami will copycat a lot of what Clemson did defensively because the ‘Canes have been so successful playing defense their way.
Well, riddle me this: EVERYBODY throws a lot of double teams at Calvin. If credit goes to Clemson for taking Calvin out of the plan with some SORT of revolutionary double-team scheme, why wouldn’t somebody else copy that?
If you don’t buy the idea that Clemson’s double-teaming scheme was so special, and I don’t, then it goes back to Nix’s play calling, and the execution of the entire offense, chiefly by Ball. His timing was poor the other night, he fumbled at least one snap, he threw poor passes, he ran out of bounds on aborted passing plays rather than throwing the ball away. He did a lot of things poorly.
I don’t know whether Tenuta’s game plan was more the problem on defense, or players failing at it. I’ll say this: If a Clemson back broke the first level, meaning got through the line, he was gone, or nearly gone. Look at the play-by-play. At one point these were consecutive plays on four consecutive drives in the second half:
Run for 30, run for 4, INC, INC, FG, run for 8, run for 12, run for 6, run for 3, run for 9, run for 8, run for 3, INC, sack, punt, run for 22, run for 50 (touchdown), run for 4, run for 2, pass to sideline and ensuing run for 50 (touchdown).
That can’t all be gameplan, but it can’t all be players stinking, either.
Regarding Avery Roberson taking over at cornerback in place of Jahi Word-Daniels, yes, Roberson - not Word-Daniels - started at CB at Clemson. But Roberson started at safety. Tech opened with three safeties and one cornerback (Scott) because Clemson opened with just one wide receiver, two tight ends, a fullback and a tailback.
Miami has used a lot of two-tight end stuff over the years, but Gailey said the ‘Canes aren’t using that kind of personnel grouping as much these days.
I wonder: in nickel situations, will Jamal Lewis continue moving up from safety to nickel? If he does, who’ll play that safety spot? Roberson? That would mean Word-Daniels would probably move back to the outside CB spot.
Or, does Roberson stay at CB, Lewis at S, and does Pat Clark, nickel back at the beginning of the season, move into the nickel spot. Or, does freshman Laurence Marius crack the rotation this week?
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Picking up the pieces
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The mood at Georgia Tech Tuesday was what you’d expect, and then some, as players were as sullen or moreso as all season, which is to say more deflated - by far in my opinion - than after losing to Notre Dame.
My theory is the nature of Saturday’s 31-7 loss at Clemson was a lopsided game whereas the Notre Dame game was not.
Add the fact that the run defense — which Tech takes great pride in — was gutted, and the Yellow Jackets’ wonder weapon — Calvin Johnson — was shut out, and it probably doesn’t come as a shock.
Still, the Jackets know that the Miami game matters more than the Clemson game because the Hurricanes are in Tech’s division in the ACC. “We’re aware of that, but our coaches always tell us the next game is important,” said linebacker Philip Wheeler. “We feel the same way the coaches do about it. We’re really excited to kind of redeem ourselves, and to win against Miami to maybe even clinch an ACC title.”
As Gailey said, “[Players] understand this is a division game. Division games are always big because not only do you get a win, you give somebody in your division a loss. That’s what you’re trying to do, win the division so you get to the championship game. That’s why this is big, because it is a division game. It is bigger in the scheme of getting to Jacksonville than last week’s game. Division games take on double importance.”
Miami’s defense is still very good, ranked No. 8 in the nation, in fact (Clemson is No. 4, Virginia Tech No. 6 and Georgia Tech No. 37). The running game’s been very poor, but appears to be improving, and the ‘Canes will get back 12 of the 13 players suspended for that ridiculous brawl on Oct. 14. They can throw some, too.
I think the psychological approach this week is more important than game-planning. Gotta convince players they’re still a good team.
It looks like Avery Roberson will replace Jahi Word-Daniels at cornerback in the starting lineup. Word-Daniels had problems, and so did several teammates, with tackling at Clemson. His knee may be bothering him, too.
Regarding basketball, at the ACC gathering Sunday in Greensboro, N.C., I found several things interesting, including coach Paul Hewitt’s willingness to gush about a player who hasn’t played, forward Mouhammad Faye. Team officials have re-measured players, saying he stands 6-10 1/2 in shoes (like Alade Aminu, by the way), and that Jeremis Smith (among others) also has grown, to 6-7 1/2 in shoes.
Hewitt said Smith’s improved offensively while facing the basket and has added enough quickness to occasionally defend the small forward spot, players are having problems communicating on defense, Lewis Clinch and Anthony Morrow will be the shooting guards, Morrow (back) is slated to return to practice Nov. 5, and he likes the overall versatility of his players.
The Jackets will be bigger, and they’ll play differently. They’re going to get into people’s faces a lot more, and attack on offense. Apparently, they’ve re-tooled their fast break, for example, so that when they don’t get a layup right away rather than pull the ball all the way out to near halfcourt to re-set the offense, the goal will be more to make quick passes and get a shot up quicker.
Piecing tidbits together, here’s your starting lineup: Center - Ra’Sean Dickey; power forward - Smith; small forward - Thaddeus Young; shooting guard - Morrow, or Clinch at the beginning of the season if Morrow’s not ready; and point guard - Javaris Crittenton.
Mario West will play backup PG, and D’Andre Bell will play there some was well.
Aminu and freshman Zack Peacock will see honest action in the frontcourt, but it’s a little less certain if freshman Brad Sheehan (6-11) will fit in the rotation. Hewitt says he needs to bulk up, like Morrow, who claims that after playing last season at around 205 pounds, he’s up around 215 or so. He claims, and Hewitt more or less back it up, that it’s muscle, not chow.
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The world’s still spinning
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
OK, I’ll admit it. I listen to sports talk radio. So there I am Monday morning, and Jim Mora is talking with 790 the Zone’s Chris Dimino, and the topic is how big it is for the Falcons to have beaten the Steelers, and Mora says, basically, bunk. Sure, 4-2 is better than 3-3, but 3-3 is only one game worse, and the world wouldn’t have ended at 3-3, and it’s a long season.
So I thought about Georgia Tech, which is 5-2 (3-1 ACC). The sky didn’t fall when Tech lost at Clemson. The end didn’t come. Tech didn’t even get knocked out of first place in the Coastal Division.
We in the media deal in extremes. Losses become crises. Victories become championships. Sometimes, everybody needs to slow down, take a deep breath, and resist the temptation to judge the remainder of the season on the basis of the last game.
Me, I’m waiting for Tech-Miami.
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Bracing for the running game
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It has been a long time since an opponent was able to run all over Georgia Tech, but that’s what Clemson will try to do Saturday night.
The Tigers average 250 yards a game on the ground. No team has run for more than 200 against Tech since 2004, when Virginia rolled for 207 yards and North Carolina for 284. This Clemson offensive line is huge and experienced like that Virginia line was.
Can the Yellow Jackets match up? Will they be able to do it without leaving themselves unable to cover the screen passes Clemson loves to throw?
Those are the key questions for the Yellow Jackets’ defense heading into this game between the top teams in the ACC’s Atlantic and Coastal divisions.
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Gailey’s best handoff
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
You win with players, coaches may say, attempting either to be modest (not always genuinely), or to set the stage for failure by seeding the idea that when the inevitable hits their team, somebody other than the director should shoulder blame. It can be a lunge for exemption.
Tough to argue an axiom suggesting that nobody has a right to expect an Oscar from a great script if the actors stink. Coaches know that when their teams lose, it’s not the water boy’s fault. That leaves two potential culprits.
Tech’s head coach couldn’t swap out his roster, nor did he need to, and didn’t want to change but a pair of assistants. So Chan Gailey swapped out himself.
Formerly a director, he’s is a producer now, making his team better than when he exercised more control of those on screen.
Giving up act-by-act, scene-by-scene oversight by ceding play-calling — of his own volition — was no small thing.
Good thing folks on The Flats hired a man whose ego is bound-able because Gailey’s not having an easy go of it. “It’s not as fun, to be honest with you, as calling plays, but it’s best for the program,” he told The Touchdown Club of Atlanta on Monday. Gailey was understating for sure.
Tech’s winning, and with more moxie - whether on the road against a perennial national power (Virginia Tech), by leading from the get-go, breaking a late tie (Troy), or by coming from behind and holding on (Maryland) — for many reasons, none more relevant than the head coach.
He gave it up because he couldn’t keep up. (Don’t suggest he did this because of the heart attack he had last year. I’ve asked. He’s emphatically said no, and it was enough for me. Gailey’s many things, and believable is at the top of my list, which I can’t say for every coach I’ve dealt with in 19-plus years.)
The man’s said it before, and offered the explanation again Monday. Simply, he grew too busy to do his offseason homework, to set or even follow trends.
The result? Tech’s offense has moved into the modern age, and neo-play caller Patrick Nix’s playing cow sweeper on that train.
Gailey admits spreading the field works, helping create mismatches. And the presence of perhaps the land’s best college player, wide receiver Calvin Johnson, is one hell of a multiplying effect to boot.
That offense you keep seeing but not believing is not just about the shotgun, or spacing. It’s about players, too. But the former are big bullets, and Gailey gave away the gun. “I think the offense Patrick has put together really fits Reggie [Ball] very well,” he said.
Tech’s quarterback’s no more talented than before. But he’s utilized more wisely. That rides largely on the shoulders of Nix, who wouldn’t be in position to uplift Ball and others but for the humility of Gailey.
Players will always count plenty, but no more now than Gailey letting coaches coach, which he’s always done with uber-defensive coordinator Jon Tenuta anyway.
To hold office rather than rule, to delegate rather than dictate, is a larger move still when the officer chose wisely his delegates. Gailey has, saying, “My role now is to be the administrator, the organizer, look at the big picture and help in areas where I can.”
He won’t win an Oscar (perhaps ACC coach of the year?), but we’re seeing that it can be of seminal import when a director decides to step from behind the camera and instead make sure those in front of and directly behind it work their roles expertly.
College football has plenty of visionaries, so to speak, some who out-think themselves routinely, men who’ve no business manning the cameras. Gailey worked the machinery for years, and smartly at the college and NFL levels.
But as the style of the game took off, he left himself still holding a Polaroid. The coach looked through an ever-narrowing lens in recent years. He realized it, and moth-balled his camera.
That’s real vision.
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ACC split causes confusion
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I think Clemson coach Tommy Bowden was joking. He was speaking on the weekly ACC coaches teleconference with reporters on Wednesday when somebody asked him to comment on the Atlantic Division being 6-1 against the Coastal Division this season. “Which one are we in?” Bowden asked.
The fact remains that the ACC’s division breakdown remains a mystery to many people, and it’s likely to stay that way. Hard-core fans have learned which teams are on which side, but fans who follow other conferences most of the time aren’t going to remember who’s Coastal and who’s Atlantic any more than they could remember who was Red, White and Blue in the old Conference USA format.
Things would be so much simpler if the ACC had broken in two along north-south lines. At least then everyone would assume that Florida State, Miami, Georgia Tech and Clemson were in the south and Boston College, Maryland, Virginia and Virginia Tech were in the north. The North Carolina schools would still be hard to keep track of, it’s true, but at least there’d be some idea who’s who. The easiest way to get from the status quo to a north-south format would be to have FSU and Clemson swap divisions with Virginia and Virginia Tech and leave the other schools the same. The bad news for Tech: It’s new division would be tougher than its current one the majority of the time.
Clemson, by the way, is in the Atlantic Division. Tech is the only Coastal team that has beaten an Atlantic team (Maryland).
‘No excuses’ week at Tech
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
This is ‘no excuses’ week at Georgia Tech. There’s no reason for the Yellow Jackets not to be able to give their best accounting of themselves on Saturday at Clemson, because: —They’ve had an extra week off between games. —They had no classes Monday and Tuesday because of a campus-wide fall break.
Calvin Johnson, Joe Anoai and Tashard Choice met with reporters this afternoon and sounded rested and ready and quietly confident. I don’t know if that will translate into a victory on Saturday; Clemson might simply be the better team. But I see nothing that should keep Tech from playing up to its potential.
Looking ahead a bit
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I know it’s Clemson week, but I find myself wondering about Miami.
The Hurricanes come to Atlanta a week from Saturday for THE most important remaining game on Tech’s schedule. Sure, the Yellow Jackets would love to beat the Tigers on Saturday, but beating the Hurricanes next week means more in the race for the Coastal Division title (especially after Virginia Tech’s loss to Boston College).
Will the Miami-Florida International fight and the accompanying criticism unite what has been an unimpressive Miami team on the field? Assuming the 13 one-game suspensions aren’t enough to affect the outcome of Miami’s game this week against Duke (50 suspensions might not be enough to affect that one), Miami will come here 5-2, 2-1 ACC.
If Larry Coker can sell the us-against-the-world message so many coaches have used so effectively so many times before, he just might be able to save his job and his team’s season.
Or the already cracking Hurricanes could fall apart. Which one will it be? Tech had better be ready BOTH of the next two weeks.
Jackets must still keep improving
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Seems like forever since Tech last played, and forever since the next game. Much as I like an off week as it allows time with my family (we’re in Chattanooga, as a matter of fact), I otherwise hate them.
For my two cents, I don’t think the Jackets can win the Coastal by continuing to do what they’ve been doing.
Wait, don’t freak!
What I mean is that championship teams keep getting better. As the season goes on, they keep doing what they do well and get better at it, abandon, things they don’t do well, and add wrinkles (without over-doing it) regularly.
Championship teams are usually better at the end off the season than the end, although sometimes a team will get off to a fast start in a poor conference, or division in the NFL, and than sag but still win the title if in a bad league.
Tech doesn’t have that luxury, I don’t think, even though Virginia Tech looked to be waving a white flag Thursday night, and I don’t think Miami is a championship-caliber team this year.
Ya don’t wanna win a championship by default, though. The best way is to keep improving because there are definitely some other teams that are (N.C. State). Speaking of teams on the other side, it’s still hard for me to believe Florida State is as lousy as the ‘Noles have looked.
Looking forward to the start of basketball, by the way. That’ll be my primary responsibility, in fact, before too much longer.
Have a great weekend. This is the best time of year.
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Sizing up the schedule
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Although coach Chan Gailey has said that you kind of don’t want an off-week when things are going well, he acknowledges that it helps heal some people, and young players get to play catch-up in practice.
Meanwhile, defensive coordinator Jon Tenuta said today that having a bye smack in the middle of the schedule works out great.
Some would argue that any time you get extra prep time before arguably the biggest conference game Tech’s played in, oh, half a decade (not that the Miami game Oct. 28 won’t be just as critical, depending on variables), that it’s a win-win.
It’s a simple breakdown: Tech has five ACC games left, three that appear tougher than the others (at Clemson; offensivelychallenged Miami; at much-improved N.C. State) and two that do not (at North Carolina and Duke). Then there’s the season-ending game against “that other team,” as coach Tenuta said.
Wonder what it’ll take to win the Coastal Division. Any scenarios?
Still puzzled by the two-point play
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia Tech picked up a nice verbal commitment today from OT Clyde Yandell, a player who’s kind of coming on fast and late.
The St. Augustine player has been on defense most of his career, but switched to full-time offensive line for the first time this season so there wasn’t as much preseason hype about him as some others.
Tech has 15 verbals now, and is likely to sign 18 players in February, more if a player or two transfers or leaves the program. Don’t think the Jackets will go after any more offensive linemen, as they have three in Yandell, Claytor and Gilbert. Coaches are definitely going hard after a D-lineman, led by Derrick Morgan, the kid from Pennsylvania. Also, Jason Peters of Baton Rouge.
Don’t believe anything you read or hear about how Reggie Ball (leg) might not have played this week if the Jackets had a game. It’s bunk. He’d have played, and will play for certain next week at Clemson.
Hoopsters start practice Saturday, when they’ll go twice. Practice is expected to be closed. Women start, too, on Saturday with a pair. Then, they’re headed after a Sunday practice to North Georgia for some “team-building,” whatever that is. And, of course, more practice. Tech’s got a mid-term break coming up that enables the Lady Jackets to spend a coupla days away.
Wonder how Travis Bell’s confidence is these days?
Anybody else still puzzled by Chan Gailey’s explanation Saturday about going for two? I was there, and still don’t quite get it, Dick Vermeil’s chart or not. Bottom line, the touchdown made it a four-point game. Yes, with a one-pointer, it’s still a one-score game if Maryland scores a touchdown to take the lead. But then, assuming Maryland kicks after a score (for a 30-27 lead), Tech can merely tie with a field goal. If they had kicked the one, and made it, Tech would’ve been in position to win (31-30) with a field goal assuming Maryland kicked a one-pointer after the presumed touchdown. Or, following the failed two-pointer, two Maryland field goals after that point would’ve given the Terps a win (29-27) if Tech didn’t also score again. With a one-pointer, two Maryland field goals would’ve resulted in a tie.
Say what you want about the defensive stand at the end, and you should say plenty, plenty, plenty, but the play that gets forgotten came on the previous Maryland possession, when Tech held on fourth down and Kenny Scott got his first interception. If Maryland converts there, and goes on to kick a field goal, the Terps would’ve been kicking for a win on that last fourth down rather than being stuck in goal-to-go with no choice but to pass.
I understand the fake field goal inasmuch as coaches saw something on film. Looking at replay, if Durant Brooks didn’t get caught up on a rusher, he’s wide open with green in front of him (he’s more of an athlete than you might think). What I don’t get is trying the fake when in pretty makeable range (40-yarder, although Bell missed a 31 later), and especially since it was fourth and a yard or less. What do I know?
Who are the best Tech coaches ever?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I got some excellent reader response to last week’s story about my Dream Team staff of former Georgia Tech assistant football coaches. A couple of readers — and Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen — asked why Bobby Ross wasn’t on the list. Well, that’s because my list was restricted to former Tech assistants, and Ross never was an assistant at Tech. But there’s no reason not to consider the staff you could get if you included head coaches, too. Bobby Dodd, Bobby Ross, Pepper Rodgers and Chan Gailey all would have plenty to offer, and John Heisman probably knew a little something about football, too.
My knowledge of Tech history can’t match the knowledge of many of the readers who lived it. Dick Bestwick, a member of the 1967-75 staffs and later a longtime administrator at Georgia, sent this in response to my story:
“It made me think of all the people who coached there during my nine year tenure as an assistant coach.
“Turns out there were 42 of them on the coaching staff during that time frame, including three head coaches, and there were also five of my former players or assistant coaches at UVA who made the list of All Time Assistant coaches.
“Frankly, I would build a staff from the guys who coached there who either were or became head coaches in college. They include George Barclay, Marvin Bass, Richard Bell, Jim Carlen, Gary Crowton, Rex Dockery, Randy Edsall, Ray Graves, Bill Lewis, John McKenna, Bill Pace, Ted Roof, Rip Scherer, Steve Sloan, Charlie Tate and Bob Thalman. Since I coached with eight of those guys, I would probably choose them, but that would leave out eight really good coaches from which you would have to choose the ninth member of the staff.
“Or, you could go to the pro ranks and pick guys who coached in the pros after leaving Tech. That would include such luminaries as Bob Bossons, Bobby Franklin, Marty Galbraith, Al Lavan, Mark Leachman, Doug Marrone, Tom Moore, Steve Ortmayer, Dwain Painter, Chuck Priefer, Floyd Reese, Jimmy Robinson and Pepper Rogers. There may be more that I don’t personally know, but that gives you an idea of the kind of talent a school like Tech is able to attract as assistants, particularly since they’ve had so many coaches since Coach Dodd left.
“I’m most proud that Jon Tenuta, one of my former players and two-year GA at UVA, is doing such a great job as defensive coordinator at Tech. Tech ties are deep and I root for them every game but one.”
So, who would you put on your all-time Tech staff?
The reasons for success
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I have spent the last couple of days working on a mid-season evaluation of Georgia Tech’s football team, and it’s been a little harder than I thought.
What it comes down to is there are a lot of reasons Tech has done so well, and many of them are interrelated. Here are my top eight, in random order:
*The new offense.
*The new Reggie Ball.
*The secondary performing better than expected with three new starters.
*The defensive front seven shutting down the run and, with the exception of the a long stretch against Notre Dame, getting pressure on the quarterback.
*Calvin Johnson.
*Only two starters missing a game because of injury, and neither of them missing more than one game.
*Better play by the offensive line.
*A down year for three opponents — Virginia, Virginia Tech and Maryland.
What order would you put them in?
Plenty on Tech’s plate
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
This stuff came out when I was cleaning my ears this morning …
I’ll be surprised if Maryland doesn’t muster more than 82 yards of total offense Saturday against Georgia Tech, but not if the Terrapins are held below 200. And I don’t think they’ll win unless the Jackets turn it over a ton.
The running game gets better each week, which is large. Tashard Choice looks more and more comfortable with each game, I think, in what certainly is not a standard design for a run game with all the shotgun stuff Tech’s doing.
I’m not going to say reserve guard Jacob Lonowski is out for the rest of the season after dinging his surgically-repaired shoulder Thursday in practice, but Chan Gailey sure made it clear that’s possible. He missed a bunch of summer camp because of that same shoulder, and wasn’t available for the Notre Dame game because of it. In the past few games, coaches put backup guards Lonowski and Trey Dunmon in there for one full first-half series (I’m not counting mop-up duty against Samford and eventually Troy). I wonder now if coaches will operate the same way with Dunmon-LeShawn Newberry (who had a solid summer)?
The one offensive lineman the Jackets can least afford to lose is center Kevin Tuminello. He’s the glue; smart, mean, tough.
After waffling early in the week (and after the Va. Tech game) about the nickel back spot, Gailey said Thursday coaches have decided on a nickel back between Pat Clark and Jamal Lewis. He wouldn’t say who it is, citing competitive advantage (don’t want to give away secrets until it’s obvious). Gotta be Lewis, who played there last year, right? I wonder, if that’s the case, if it’s because Lewis is really that much better than Clark (I don’t know, just wondering), or if it’s because that way Avery Roberson gets on the field more (in Lewis’ safety spot)? Or both? Pat Clark’s having a rough season. First, he loses punt return duty to Andrew Smith. Then, he loses the starting CB spot to Jahi Word-Daniels. Now, he may have lost the nickel spot to Lewis. He can’t be in a good mood.
Durant Brooks would be in the top five for Tech MVP right now, although he obviously has no chance of winning it in the end. Patrick Nix even said the other day he’s willing to take a few more chances offensively from the wrong end of the field because of the confidence coaches have in Brooks booming the ball away in the event of a failed third down (combined with confidence the defense is going to be a bear). That’s more than slightly significant. And he’s been unreal from the 50-yard-line in, huh?
Reggie Ball continues to say very little, relative to years past, to the media. Hey, it’s his prerogative. Just keep running the show smartly, sir (although that first pick at Va. Tech was hauntingly familiar, and the next one was a very poor throw, he sure bounced back nicely after that).
Regarding one of the high school players Tech’s recruiting hardest, Coatesville, Pa., native Derrick Morgan: a whale of a player, he’ll graduate in December. If Tech lands him, he could be the third early enrollee, joining QB Steve Threet and WR Tyler Melton. Morgan visited for the Notre Dame game, and has also visited Miami. He has visits planned to Penn State and Boston College. Ohio State and N.C. State also are recruiting him heavily, apparently.
The only senior prospect making an official visit this week is OL Clyde Yandell, whose recruitment by Tech and others has picked up steam as he’s played well in his first year as a full-time OL. Detroit CB Cedric Everson and Orlando S Lorenzo Edwards will make official visits Oct. 28, for the Miami game.
Juniors Chris Jackson, a wide receiver from Henry County High who will be attending his fourth Tech home game, and Kamaron Riley, a defensive back/wide receiver from Hawkinsville, also will attend Saturday’s game against Maryland. Good players. Jackson’s been on campus many times.
Wide receiver James Johnson said the shoe’s on the other foot now. He knows how Maryland feels … the same way Tech felt last week heading to No. 11 Virginia Tech. “[The Terrapins are thinking] ‘They’re No. 18, and we’re not ranked, so this is our chance to show people we should be ranked, too,’ ” Johnson said. “That’s how we felt.”
Gailey’s got Tech on solid footing
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I get the sense that whatever Chan Gailey’s doing with the Yellow Jackets these days, it’s working.
They just seem to have a rock solid mindset working. Should Tech beat Maryland, and, well, they should, I wonder if that’ll hold through the off week.
I’m betting it does. This team seems to have a solid group of player-leaders, some seniors, some not (Tashard Choice among them), and it’s hard to imagine a big letdown unless there are significant injuries.
Georgia Tech’s offense obviously looks different, and feels that way, too, even for linemen. “We’re doing a lot of new stuff,” said center Kevin Tuminello. “Some of the same concepts are carrying over. There’s a lot of new terminology.”
Gailey said, “I have to give [offensive coordinator] Patrick Nix and the staff a lot of credit because they’ve done a super job of putting people in position to make plays, and spreading things out. The new ideas they’ve brought to the offense have been wonderful.”
Punting game is truly special
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Maybe it’s the performance of the secondary with three new starters. Maybe it’s the steadyness of Reggie Ball, who has upped his pass efficiency rating 30 points this season over his junior year number. Maybe it’s an offense that finally manages to get the ball to Calvin Johnson on a consistent basis, or isn’t afraid to throw it over the middle, or doesn’t stop scoring once the point total reaches the 20s.
Those have all been pleasant surprises for Georgia Tech this season, and here’s another one: Durant Brooks. The Yellow Jackets have the best punting game in the ACC. Not only do they lead the league in net average at 39.4 yards per kick, but 17 of Brooks’ 31 punts have pinned opponents inside their 20-yard line. That has tremendous implications for field position. Not many offenses are going to drive the ball 80 yards or more against the Yellow Jackets, and a lot of them are going to go three-and-out inside their 20, with Georgia Tech’s offense starting on the opponent’s side of the field. The punting game has become a major asset for the Jackets.
Gailey looks at big picture
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Greetings.
Kinda pressed for time so I won’t babble as much as usual, but I thought it was interesting today that Chan Gailey spoke of the big picture. What’s interesting about that? Well, he’s been talking to players about the big picture. That’s rare, but can you guess why he’s brought it up?
Clue: It has something to do with the payoff for winning at Virginia Tech, or how that payoff could be mangled with a loss.
Clue 2: It helps break up the monotony of all the game-week speeches, which generally sound very similar from one to the next.
Give up?
Here’s the deal: Winning at Virginia Tech, which is in Georgia Tech’s division and a challenger for that side of the league, won’t mean as much if the Yellow Jackets lose at home to Maryland. As Gailey said, “If you keep winning, you don’t throw it back to tiebreakers at any point [when deciding the eventual division champions].”
Tie, you say? Well, a lot would have to happen, but Tech could end up in a tie for the division if, for example, Miami and Clemson beat the Jackets, Virginia Tech beats Miami and somebody else upsets Virginia Tech to leave all three with two losses. This is certainly not the only way there could be a tie, and I’m not getting into how the tiebreakers would work because I haven’t researched them and we’re early into the ACC schedule anyway.
But to make the point in another way, or to make the point coaches try to make with their players every week in convincing them the only game that matters is the next game … if Tech loses to Maryland, the big picture could get screwed up. It’s not exactly reverse psychology, but a somewhat abnormal way of conveying what is the normal message every week: this game is most important one right now.
Chan said it better: “I think that you have to be able to see the big picture. So often we talk to these guys about, ‘Don’t worry about tomorrow. Learn from yesterday, but forget yesterday, really, and let’s talk about today.’ This is one of those cases where you say early in the week, ‘Look at the big picture. Now, what do we want to invest in preparation.’ “
FYI: Calvin Johnson, Greg Smith and Tashard Choice aren’t expected to practice today beause of injuries.
Miami game looms large
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The rankings say the Georgia game will be the toughest remaining on Georgia Tech’s schedule. Games and highlights I’ve seen on TV suggest the Clemson game will be tougher.
If you ask Georgia Tech players and coaches, they’ll point to Maryland — it’s the next game, after all.
But the key game is the Miami game. Say what you want about how mediocre the Hurricanes have looked this season. I won’t disagree.
But the fact remains that Miami is the only Coastal Division team other than Georgia Tech that controls its own destiny. If Tech beats Miami, it can lose one of its other five games and still have a guaranteed spot in the ACC championship game. My prediction: Miami will come to Bobby Dodd Stadium Oct. 28 2-1 in the ACC, 5-2 overall, after betating North Carolina, Florida International and Duke. The Hurricanes will have regained their confidence.
Tech might be 6-1, 4-0 ACC; it might be 5-2, 3-1. Either way, that’s the key game on the Yellow Jackets’ march toward an ACC title.
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