AJC > Sports > Tech > Blog > Archives > 2008 > April > 20
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Looking at T-Day spring game
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
In past years, I’d have made it to a few Spring practices. Work and a pair of little girls running (crawling) around the house nixed any chance of that this year.
As a result, I was really looking forward to the Spring Game. I loaded my 4 year old up in the Jeep and we zoomed down GA400 just like we would on any real game day.
Campus was buzzing alot more than previous spring games and tailgates had sprung up in most of the usual places. There seemed to be a good vibe and there was a good deal of excitement and optimism among the old friends I visited and spoke to.
It didn’t take long for my daughter to start up her chorus of, “Daddy I want to see the cheerleaders!” so I swung her up on my shoulders and off we went…down past Skiles and the library fountain and Tech Tower…ultimately reaching the stadium along with several thousand other Tech fans who were there to see Paul Johnson reveal a glimpse of what would hopefully be a new era of increased success on the Flats.
It felt good getting back into the Lower West stands. It was an oddly comfortable feeling of being “home”. Lord knows I’ve spent enough Saturday afternoons and evenings there over the years. Within a few minutes, a couple of my tailgate and internet buddies drifted by with their wives and kids and pretty soon we had a nice little group settled in to watch a little triple option…Georgia Tech style.
The first snap from scrimmage was a fumble and I sort of chuckled and mumbled, “Come on guys, get the jitters out.” towards the players on the field.
Unfortunately it took the next two “quarters” to get past the jitters and into anything remotely resembling collegiate football.
I kept telling myself…
“They haven’t practiced much.”
“Nesbitt was hurt most of spring, so he hasn’t had alot of reps.”
“Offensive assistants are calling the plays, not Johnson.”
“We’re gonna have alot of short runs this season, wait for the homerun…its coming.”
“The OL is missing some starters.”
“The A-backs are missing some starters.”
“Our defensive line is scary good.”
“Our offensive line is scary bad.”
“Remember…our OL is missing some starters.”
Don’t get me wrong…there were some bright spots in that first half of football…at least a few:
Darryl Richard absolutely destroyed Jonathan Dwyer on an inside hand off, hitting #21 about the same time the ball arrived. Best hit of the day.
David Brown made some nice drive blocks from the tackle position, pushing his man downfield a few yards on multiple occasions.
Jamaal Evans took a nice pitch at midfield, juked one defender, ran through the diving tackle of another, and streaked down the side line behind some excellent down field blocking for a TD.
That was about it though. The first half was actually hard to sit through. The defensive line seemed to be in the backfield every play and the quarterbacks never had time to make a read and get the ball to the right person.
The second half was a bit better. I’ve read comments online that Johnson actually took over some of the play calling. I’m not sure if he did or not but I do remember thinking that the offense needed to do something to finish the day on a high note for the people who traveled and made arrangements to be in town for the spring game. I know of several fans who came from out of state, driving or flying for hours to be there. I had only driven about 45 minutes and even I was getting a little weary and was craving some excitement.
My four year old may have provided the best entertainment of the day, dancing and spinning around with her white and gold shakers while trying to emulate the dance team and cheerleaders. It makes a father a little sad when his little girl graduates from idolizing the mascot and starts idolizing the “big girls”. But at least her antics in the stands got some smiles and laughs from fellow spectators near by. Overall, there wasn’t much else to smile about.
Driving home I spent a considerable amount of time trying to figure out how to “blog” my thoughts from the day. It really all comes down to the following:
Coach Johnson has a tall task ahead of him, getting his offense installed and tuned for Opening Day.
BUT … we have some talent coming in with the freshman class and we have Fall practice and a lower division cupcake to open the schedule before we start ACC competition in earnest.
AND … we have a coaching staff with the right attitude and hands on work ethic to get things done and sorted out before Toe Meets Leather on the upcoming season.
Go Jackets!
THWG!
