Tech

By GT

April 15, 2008 5:38 PM | Link to this

I am wondering about the defense for Tech. It should be very good, if it can cover the pass, which it will not see much in practice.

By BlackJacket

April 15, 2008 6:18 PM | Link to this

We pass way more than we run during practice so our Defenses are getting worked well in the passing game.

Nesbitt is GREAT at putting the ball only where the WR can catch it. The CBs are surprisingly good at man coverage. Makes you wonder..

1. Why wasn’t Nesbitt starting last year while Bennett was throwing balls into the ground/stands?

2. Why didn’t we switch schemes when teams were roasting our CBs?

By m

April 15, 2008 6:27 PM | Link to this

Sure the defense is ahead while the new offense is being installed. But since Tech now has a REAL COLLEGE football coach, the offense will quickly catch up. In the past 6 years, the defense stayed ahead of the offense due to he pitifully inept offense of the worst coach in the history of Tech and the NCAA, Chan Gailey. Thank God and Greyhound he is gone!!

By Michael Cameron

April 15, 2008 6:46 PM | Link to this

Mike — I’m confident you’ll acquit yourself well during your speaking engagement at Frankies next Monday. However, speechwriters are available for a modest fee! Should you need my services…just joking.

Please don’t forget that, although the goal line drill was — as you accurately pointed out — won by the defense, the offensive line appeared to block extremely well in the earlier in-practice scrimmage (which they usually have during period 10). During said scrimmage, we saw one long run after another ripped off by the offense on the triple option, with a bevy of good five, six, and seven yards gains. This was accomplished without the probable starting QB. The blocking was there. I want other Tech fans to know that about this particular in-practice scrimmage on 4/14/08.

I’ve attended every practice except the first Saturday, and I was elated to see the offensive line finally start to come around during the in-practice scrimmage Monday. Yes, they still have quite a ways to go with the learning curve for this aggressive, charge forward blocking style before arriving at the point that they fire off the ball without thinking and just automatically nail their assigned defenders. Nonetheless, their blocking success Monday during the in-practice scrimmage caused me to think that the proverbial light had switched on, as if they experienced an epiphany.

Unfortunately for the offense (though kudos to the defensive line, which should be very strong for Tech in 2008), they did not finish strong. However, the goal line drill troubles at the end of practice, although taking some of the lustre away from its prior success, does not erase the reality that the offense was dominant during almost the entire in-practice scrimmage session on Monday.

Also, the redshirt freshman QB, during the officiated scrimmage at Grant Field last Saturday morning, ran an option right, made the correct read, and kept for a 60+ yard TD. The blocking was effective on that as well as other plays that day.

Of course, we’re only in spring practice, thus it’s very early. This is an old — and fantastic — offense, but it’s new to the players. Despite the current fumble-itis (which has lately been in regression) and mis-reads, they will get it down pat, and should be running up and down the field like the Kentucky Derby by mid-season, and perhaps earlier.

While recognizing my bias and hopeful thinking, I believe my optimism is rationally justified by the riveting success of this coaching staff in the past with less talent and against comparable competition (Navy did occasionally play some strong teams).

Expect great things.

By mowreck

April 15, 2008 9:13 PM | Link to this

I have never seen a football team in the beginning thats defense wasn’t ahead of the offense … that is just the way it is … takes a little time to get the timing and lots of other stuff down on offense.

By Harper Maddox

April 15, 2008 10:00 PM | Link to this

I’m beginning to think that Paul Johnson will win 10 or 11 games instead of 7 or 8 this year.

By yellowblood

April 15, 2008 11:44 PM | Link to this

I don’t think it’s any surprise that more of the defensive players are attending Tickle Piles than the offensive players. I believe that is why they are doing better.

By JD

April 16, 2008 8:03 AM | Link to this

Harper Maddox, put down the crack pipe. I think Paul Johnson is a better coach than Chan Gailey, but 10-11 wins in year one is not going to happen. The players he is working with weren’t recruited to run the option. It will take time.

By GTforever

April 16, 2008 10:31 AM | Link to this

I am glad to see the article about Anthony Barnes. I watched him with great interest the short spots he played last year. I was always confused as to why he didn’t play more. He was one of the few who had a head for the football. He was always looking to hit somebody, unlike Mr. Wheeler who ran away from the action on several occasions.

Hey Yellowblood, go play with your UGAy friends on their blog. Nobody really cares what YOU think!

By NASCAR Dave

April 16, 2008 12:25 PM | Link to this

Hey NERDS… Who do you have at WR???

NUFF SAID.

GO DAWGS!!!

By GT

April 16, 2008 1:06 PM | Link to this

Watch the draft and you see a lot of Tech talent being talked about. I don’t think any era of Tech has had better talent and done less with it. Don’t even get me started on Calvin Johnson.

By gtfan

April 16, 2008 1:38 PM | Link to this

hey mike answer me this…

ive been an ajc reader for 28 years an this year is one of the worst times ive seen for gt spring fb content in the ajc…

we seem to have very few articles when you consider we have gone through a coaching change.

ive noticed more than just a few articles that are moved around an had the link title changed to make it look like a new article.

ive noticed that the ajc got suckered into reporting Jo Kerrs’ committment off the hive.

ive noticed that many articles are verbatim posts off the hive.

ive noticed that many of the articles tend to be negatively slanted. recruits we lost… fumbles …. injuries… etc.

its been like 2 days an i am still waiting on an article on joe ham returning to the flats to help with recruiting yet…. nary a peep from the ajc.

did you know that we have up to 10 commits?

not pointing a finger at you perse but i have to wonder if the mutts an their toothless fans like nascar frog are a bit worried?

we all know that the ajc is staffed an owned primarily by graduates sic of uga. tell us the truth…. are they so worried that they have restricted the gt info even more?

i mean gosh all mighty… interviewing paul johnson is akin to interviewing lou holtz. neither guy had a quip he didnt like. its not like we still have boring chan gailey.

what seems to be the problem?

By TTech

April 16, 2008 2:41 PM | Link to this

Gailey’s downfall was that he was a man of his word and committed to players that if they came to, or stayed with, Tech that he would play them at their chosen position. Of course this tied his hands on offense, specially when the chosen players couldn’t handle the tall order of, not even winning but executing. More than any other player, Ball comes to mind, and keeping him at every game that he chose to play (notice that the only times he didn’t play where when he took himself out of the game because he was so beat up) cost us dearly. Same scenario, different quarterback with Bennett. Had Gailey substituted players the way he should have, instead of going with his ill-advised commitments, we would have won a lot more close games. a great coach doesn’t make those restraining commitments but plays his best players at the right times.

By gtfan

April 16, 2008 3:23 PM | Link to this

no offense but ‘keepin his word’ was not the only issue with gailey.

the fact that we had cliques and ME players on our team says it all.

gailey treated 18 year olds like they were 33 year old pro athletes is one example. does anybody doubt that had we had the TEAM first concept during the chan era that we would have won a few of those close games?

had chan monitored the kids like they were kids (like pj will) grade-gate would NOT have happened. this is another chan issue imo.

if chan (and paul hewitt) were smart they would get athletes who want to beat out the best competition not be guaranteed minutes. having quaranteed minutes sounds like an athlete who is selfish or lazy or not confident.

we had 2 pro coaches coaching our teams (now we have 1). chan is an nfl coach who was just not cut out to coach a college team. paul hewitt is a wannabee nba coach who tries to coach gt like its an nba farm team. he is definitely profiling for the nba.

sorry paul but gt is a college not your farm club.

this approach is why both our programs were/are mediocre.

paul johnson ‘gets it’ so the football program will win at least 2 more wins a year at least with pj than chan imo! 10-3 years could be the norm as i see it.

AND our graduation rates an team gpa’s will improve.

AND we get a whole lot of fans of paul as gt sidewalk fans. we have tons of navy an gsu fans who are now gt fans.

go jackets go buckeyes

By Mike Knobler

April 16, 2008 4:46 PM | Link to this

Gtfan

Thanks for reading my blog. I am sorry you haven’t enjoyed our Tech coverage. I wonder if you have been reading it.

We have had an article from every Georgia Tech spring practice except last Friday’s, when it was pre-empted by an article about the death of a Tech baseball player. This is far more coverage than we had in the past.

None of those articles, nor any articles of which I’m aware, are verbatim posts off the Hive. Nor are they slanted in any direction other than the truth. Would someone interested in Tech football NOT want to know about 14 fumbles in a scrimmage? Is there a positive way to slant that story? (If so, tell Paul Johnson, who was clearly not very positive after watching the scrimmage. He was, instead, honest, which I think is a good thing in a coach.)

I did not fall for any hoax this spring. If someone else at the AJC did, that’s a shame. I can assure you it wasn’t intentional, just the mistake of someone having a bad day. I can not promise you that we at the AJC won’t make mistakes; I make my share. But as someone who has been to every spring practice but two (the ones while I was at Augusta National) and written more than 15 spring practice stories, I do not take kindly to your assertion that we aren’t covering spring practice at Georgia Tech.

By m

April 16, 2008 4:50 PM | Link to this

Chan Gailey is the worst coach in the history of Tech and of the NCAA….and it makes me want to puke to listen to some of you make such lame excuses for him. There is no excuse for him. He should NEVER have been hired. And Thank God and Greyhound that he was FINALLY FIRED. He sucked when he was (stupidly) hired and he still sucked when he was wonderfully fired.

By NASCAR Dave

April 16, 2008 6:05 PM | Link to this

It doesn’t matter who you NERDS get…

Gailey, Johnson, O’Leary… It doesn’t matter…

You’re still NERDS… you STILL suck… and you’re STILL gonna get a beatdown on November 28th, 2008.

HAHAHA!!!

GO DAWGS!!!

By Donald

April 16, 2008 7:17 PM | Link to this

To Nascar Dave—-the triple option when run correctly could have a cheerleader go long and still connect for a TD!!! Go hump a stump!!!!

By hang_50

April 18, 2008 3:11 AM | Link to this

Donald -

Well said!