AJC > Sports > Tech > Blog > Archives > 2008 > November > 12
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Film session
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Outside of gamedays, Tuesday was the most interesting day I’ve had on the Tech beat.
CPJ didn’t hold his normal press conference, but the AP’s Charles Odom and I interviewed him in his office.
Here’s what he had to say about how poorly Tech played Saturday:
“We probably played our worst game on Saturday, for whatever reason I don’t know. We had a lot riding on the game, we knew that, and I don’t want to take anything away from North Carolina, but we played horrendous in every facet, from the kicking game to canceling gaps on defense, to offensive execution.
A lot of it was mental stuff, it wasn’t physical…
We didn’t give ourselves a chance. Having said all that, we still could have won the game if we made a couple of plays. We can play better than that. Even though we had a lot of new players, a lot of assignment busts, those kind of things, we still could have won…
I had no idea after the game that it was as bad as it was. When I watched the tape, just from a mental aspect, I knew we’d missed a lot of stuff, but it was pretty bad. I knew we’d missed a lot of reads, but it was worse than I thought.”
Without the time constraints and pressure of a game week, CPJ graciously offered to walk us through the tape of the 28-7 loss.
He said it would be educational for us. That turned out to be an understatement.
He broke down almost every offensive play. It was fascinating.
The first thing that struck me was how widespread the problems were. It wasn’t just a couple players screwing up.
We saw players missing blocks, blocking the wrong guys, blocking with the wrong technique, running the wrong routes, taking the wrong angles, turning the wrong way. Those kinds of things happen every game — especially when you’re starting 16 freshmen and sophomores — but on Saturday it seemed like they were happening on every play.
And still, there were a ton of big plays to be made. That’s the thing that had to drive coaches crazy when they watched the tape.
At least three times CPJ said something to the effect of, That should be a touchdown. The scheme had worked, the opening was there, and then the runner takes a bad angle or a blocker hits the wrong guy. Touchdowns turn into 8-yard gains. Eight-yard gains turn into 2-yard gains.
That’s why I think the off week will benefit the Jackets mentally as much as physically. A lot of guys are playing too many snaps. When you get tired, you get sloppy.
Here’s the flip side to all this: When CPJ gets his own players in here, guys who fit the system, look out. When Tech has enough depth to give players some rest, look out.
One of his last comments before the film session summed it up best.
“We’re awful on offense, for my expectation level,” he said. “I promise you we can be a lot better and we will get a lot better.”
Tech ranks second in the ACC in total offense (358.2 yards per game), but eighth in scoring (22.8 points per game).
How long do you think it will take CPJ to build the kind of offense he wants?
