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Tuesday, November 25, 2008
The missing ingredient?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Have the Jackets been too uptight in preparing for Georgia in recent years?
I bring this up because of Darryl Richard’s riff the other night after Tech carved up Miami:
“The thing about Georgia, we get so focused around here, and that’s the focus…Maybe this year we might want to try to go about things a little bit differently.
“If you keep trying to do the same thing and you get the same results, isn’t the definition of insanity to try to do the same thing and expect different results? So we might try to change some things, the way we go about preparing this week. It’s definitely going to be intense but focus on having fun…
“I think we dominated this game because we had fun. If you saw our team, we had guys who were excited to play football and I think we need to bring that excitement down the road.”
The fun started on Tech’s first play from scrimmage. WR Demaryius Thomas got the toss on an end-around, then threw back to A-back Lucas Cox. The play carried 22 yards and could have gone for more if the ball wasn’t underthrown. The Jackets threw quick passes on their next two plays. Three straight passes? Very surprising. It set a tone for the rest of the game.
CPJ tried an onside pooch kick in the second quarter. The opening was there because the Miami players took off early to block for a return, but the kick wasn’t executed and the Canes recovered.
Asked about it, CPJ pointed out that the gamble didn’t do any damage because Rashaad Reid came up with an interception. But he also said, “We’re not going to play scared.”
In the third quarter, it was 27-10 when Tech faced 4th-and-goal from the 1. Instead of kicking the field goal, the Jackets went for it and Josh Nesbitt scored to put the game away.
Tech is 9-for-18 on fourth downs this year. Only Boston College has gone for it more on fourth down. The 50 percent success rate is tied for third in the ACC.
There’s no question the Jackets have embraced CPJ’s bold mentality. Of course, it’s only fun when gambles and trick plays work.
Could CPJ’s daring approach be the key to ending the seven-game losing streak?
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