AJC > Sports > Tech > Blog > Archives > 2008 > October > 09
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Looking for improvement
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I imagine it will surprise none of you, but Paul Johnson is not taking this game lightly. I don’t think he sees this game any differently than a game against a I-A out-of-conference opponent and doesn’t want his players to, either.
“It’s like I told the guys on Monday, ‘Gardner-Webb will have good players. Everybody does,’” Johnson said at his press conference.
That said, it’s a game the Jackets should win, and handily.
Another thing Johnson said Tuesday: “Our big focus is on Georgia Tech and trying to make sure Georgia Tech gets better.”
Particularly offensively, coaches weren’t overly excited about how the Duke game played out. Remember that it turned out 27-0, but it was 3-0 at the half. The line had a lot of trouble blocking the way Johnson wanted them to; Jonathan Dywer made a lot of yards on his own. Tech’s 3.8 yards per carry average was its lowest of the season. While Jaybo Shaw and Demaryius Thomas connected for 230 yards, pass protection wasn’t great. I don’t know if you remember, but Shaw got drilled just after he released the pass to Thomas for the 88-yard touchdown.
On his radio show last night, Johnson said that, while Thomas made a lot of big plays, he also didn’t block well, and that is something, as you know, he’s been great at thus far.
Linebackers coach Brian Jean-Mary was hard-pressed to find positives and, you’ve probably heard (or, preferably, read) that special teams is not high on Johnson’s list right now. One reason Johnson gave is that special teams isn’t being coached well right now, which is the first time I can remember him saying something that pointed about the staff. (Granted, I’ve been around him for about six weeks and my memory isn’t that good.)
It might be hard to really judge improvement against a team that most likely will on the whole less talented, but is there a position group that you want to see make some strides Saturday?
