AJC > Sports > Tech > Blog > Archives > 2008 > April > 20 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USLooking 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!
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Comments
By roger
April 20, 2008 5:40 PM | Link to this
BLAH BLAH BLAH - 6-6 will be a great year for yall
By Kevin
April 20, 2008 6:20 PM | Link to this
… and moving out of your parents’ double-wide will make a great year for you, roger.
Point is, neither 6-6 nor you moving out of your parents’ trailer will happen this year. PJ will have things moving come fall.
By give it a rest
April 20, 2008 7:35 PM | Link to this
Come on you people, git it a rest. Paul Johnson isn’t going to produce a national champ or even a nine win team this year. Not enough talent to run his type of game. The players who are there were recruited for totally different offensive and defensive schemes and it will take time to bring in players who fit the Johnson system. Seven or eight wins will be a good year even with the weakened ACC and a watered down out of conference schedule. I’m not sold on the triple option. If it worked so good some other schools would be running that offense. It has been disected and broken down and there are ways to stop the option. It is a good offense for schools like Navy who play one or two big time programs each year and the beat up on Delaware, Temple, etc. Coach may make a convert out of me but I am going to wait and see. The spring game showed me little or nothing except a lot of mistakes from players who obviously haven’t grasped the offense and seem to be having real problems grasping the football. Let’s get through the next couple of years and see what happens when the new regime is playing with a majority of players that they recruited to run the type of offense and defense they prefer.
By TDone
April 20, 2008 7:58 PM | Link to this
I thought the first team defense was top notch especially the lineman and linebackers. As for the offense, I thought a lot of it was about timing since the effort was indeed there. I think Evans comment that the defense had practiced against the offense and thus automatically knew the tendencies was spot on.
I think there will be improvement in preseason drills and once we past the first game situations.
By the way, Calvin Booker was the best quarterback on the field.
By Bob
April 20, 2008 8:54 PM | Link to this
Georgia Tech is going to struggle mightily in ‘08. Tech fans need to get real. They are inexperienced, learning a new system, and the schedule is one of the tougest its been in years. All in all, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a losing season.
And no, I’m not a Georgia fan.
By GTinNC
April 20, 2008 9:25 PM | Link to this
O’yeah, I forget, we had to wait 2 - 3 years before Chan Gailey had a winning season. THANKS ALOT all you Chan bashers. Lewis did a dynamite job at a smi-D1 school as well before coming to Tech. We got what you wanted - a CHANge in the guard; but now you Chan-bashers are already making excuses before the year has started. AGAIN THANKS ALOT.
By gt1977
April 20, 2008 10:09 PM | Link to this
As oe who lived through the Pepper Rogers years (similar offense - triple option) of losing seasons mostly because we had smaller OL blocking larger DL. And now the game is faster than before. The triple option can work where you have slow defenses, but most of the ACC is not slow!
By AlabamaRamblinwreck
April 20, 2008 11:41 PM | Link to this
I agree that this season might be a difficult one, especially if someone thinks we are going to have a record much better that .500.
One thing I believe with all of my mind and heart is that Paul Johnson is a winner, and it will not take him very long to win and win big at Tech. But even I don’t expect that his first year, and it may take until his third year.
Another thing I believe strongly is that Paul Johnson will adjust and adapt his offense as needed to deal with fast defenses. Fast defenses can be beaten with misdirection and unpredictability. Chan called plays where even I knew what was coming; I don’t think CPJ will be that predictable.
Go Jackets. And Tech fans, be reasonable and realistic about this coming year.
By surfrider
April 21, 2008 3:02 AM | Link to this
Yes the yawns were coming in the first half but you hit on several points. The defense could be quite good and Johnson was’nt calling the plays. However, the big thing is the learning curve for most of these players and this scheme. It will get expotentially better with time. No spring games I can remember have been that exciting. Yes Ross came in with the pro style and the talent was different at that time. He also added the option that really took it the next level. Come fall when it’s a real game and we have our 30 players on offense or so on two teams this past saturday on one team it will look much different. We had several injuries sitting out and we have a full recruiting class coming in with some walkons. Going into spring like many it was expected to be a 10 to 15 passes per game according to press reports. I now expect that figure to at least double in the fall inorder to be productive and that alone will open the option attack up which then will open the passing game up. Two keys now may be just how good is this defense and how will Johnson adapt as he has proven he is a winner and understands the option and also the passing game.
By GT4EVER
April 21, 2008 9:34 AM | Link to this
I will always be a GT fan, but I just can’t get by the fact that this offense has no chance. I hope I’m wrong, and time will tell. Our chances are better against ACC competition and the fact that our out of conference schedule is easy.(with the one exception) J. State, Miss. State,UGA, and Gardner Web. Surely we can win 2 of these games?! We probably should beat Duke, so that puts us at 3 wins, and we will probably upset 1 or 2 teams if we are lucky. It’s going to be a tough season no matter what! Win or Lose I will be with the Jackets!
By Ramblin Wrecker
April 21, 2008 10:28 AM | Link to this
I forget who wrote it, but someone made an incredible point about why it is so difficult for the offense this spring…the defense knows what to look for and knows almost as much about the offense as the offensive players do because they practice against it every day. That’s not to say that the offense is that predictable, but defense is always ahead of offense in the spring because swarming to the ball and tackling doesn’t require a whole lot of thought process. On the flip side, the offensive players are a step slower because they’re still having to think and process what to do. Once the offense gets more snaps and they whittle it down to who is going to be starting and they get more comfortable as a unit (especially once a leader at QB is established) then they can weed out the mistakes. Then by that time they’ll be facing defenses that haven’t seen the triple option for a while, or never in some cases and certainly haven’t spent an entire spring practicing against it.
Some might say that having spent all spring practicing against the option is a disadvantage to the Tech defense. And on some level that may be right. But to be successful defending the option, you must absolutely stick to your assignments and show discipline. And those things will only help the Tech defense against any opponent. Stick to your assignment and be disciplined.
But we won’t know until toe meets leather, however, I am one who feels GT is on the right path and will get there eventually.
By Buzz Belle
April 21, 2008 1:39 PM | Link to this
We were so excited to be at the game Saturday but missed the opening interview of Paul Johnson - SADLY. (Blame this one on the girls having to buy Tech stuff at 25% off!). Didn’t expect much, didnt’ get much but still can’t wait for season to start. I think there will be some surprises but I have no doubt it will take some time to get Tech back to where it should be. I’m patient and it will be that much better when we get it turned around! I know Nesbitt has been hurt, but I really thought Booker was the better quarterback.
By m
April 21, 2008 2:09 PM | Link to this
It isn’t hard to find the most positive aspect of the Spring game. NO CHAN GAILEY. That trumps ALL the conerns you mentioned. Sure it is going to take a little while to get the Gailey attitude out of our players and get them to learn an offense that works. And get them to play to win every game instead just trying to make it to 7 wins. Just stop and say we now have winner as coach….and the pathetic Gailey is gone forever. Thank God and Greyhound that he is gone and that we now have a REAL college football coach. It is indeed a great day at Georgia Tech.
By ben
April 21, 2008 3:21 PM | Link to this
I don’t know whether the gimmicky triple option will work or not, but its time that Tech fans got it into their heads that we are a Texas Tech type school that needs gimmicks to go 10-2. The run and shoot is gimmicky and can be stopped occasionally, but it works well when run properly by good coaches like June Jones. It also allows you to recruit players that other big schools don’t want. I’m willing to wait and see with Johnson’s gimmicky offense. I also disagree with m that anyone can win 7-8 games a year in the ACC. Friedgen, Al Groh, Damato and others have struggled to do so. Bobby Ross was a superstar coach with a superstar staff and a superstar QB. I, too, wasn’t a big Gailey fan, but I don’t dismiss his accomplishments. A couple of 4-8 seasons will have us begging to have a coach of his caliber back in the fold.
By I can't believe it
April 21, 2008 3:53 PM | Link to this
I can’t believe that Buzzy Belle let her daughters buy Tech stuff at 75% of list price. A 25% mark down is ridiculous that stuff should be marked down at least 95%.
By wreckhorngoesTHWUGAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!
April 21, 2008 8:31 PM | Link to this
I am a longtime Tech fan and a recent Coach Johnson fan, and it is clear to any thoughtful observer that we will likely struggle some this year. It would be wise for Tech fans to lower their expectations and perhaps we’ll get a pleasant surprise or two. Even if Gailey were coming back, with the losses of personnel we could not expect a great year. So let’s feed on the hope and promise of Coach PJ’s future career and success here, and be prepared to cheer for the good, tolerate the bad, and hope to hell we can at least win a few.
By BW-9
April 21, 2008 8:56 PM | Link to this
We might not click completely this year, though when PJ starts his recruiting campaign for the seasons to come, we will get the right players his offense needs. We have a few already, they are just young and probably not used to the option.
And of course, our defense looks good.
By Nerd Hater
April 21, 2008 9:19 PM | Link to this
I don’t know what you people are smoking. When Tech goes 5-7 this year,and they will, you people will want Johnson’s head too. Your not going to win with your 1940’s triple option. As soon as you nerds get that the better off you will be.
Go Dawgs!!!!!
By romebuzz
April 21, 2008 9:46 PM | Link to this
nerd hater when ugag goes 10-3 who has a better year and with one of the 5 wins is over ugag. who is youd daddyyyyyyyyyyyyyy paul johnson. thwg
By romebuzz
April 21, 2008 9:47 PM | Link to this
nerd hater when ugag goes 10-3 who has a better year and with one of the 5 wins is over ugag. who is your daddyyyyyyyyyyyyyy paul johnson. thwg
By Jacketnation
April 21, 2008 10:35 PM | Link to this
Tech has a lot to learn. They basically have started at square one. They will get better running the “Pitch”. Barack Hussien Osama stopped by the T-Game with his homies Oprah Winfrey, Jerimiah Wright and Louis Farakan. Jerimiah cussed out all the players who wore WHITE jerseys. Oprah tried to put everyone in a trance and get them to join her new cult church, “New Earth”. Louis Farakan started screaming “Are there any Jews on this team”?!! Meanwhile Obama smoothed talked all the fans in the stands but some saw right threw it; knowing that he is really the anti-christ. Can’t wait till football season so we can have something to look forward to.
By Steve T
April 21, 2008 10:41 PM | Link to this
The option that PJ is not a 1940 option. If you recall during the Ham days with this offense, GSU could pass the ball also.
There are about 10 or more option package you can run from this thing. The speed option is not a 1940 style of option. It hits a lot quicker with only one read. The defense is not that fast to stop it. You can hit the defense with the speed pass if they start to rush up to stop the run. You can run the speed reverse is the backside of the defense start to leave to early.
PJ is the master of this offense and he can make it work.
By Objective Dawg fan
April 22, 2008 2:22 PM | Link to this
I normally would not post on another team’s blog, b/c i usually can’t stand the mindless rants of those who do. However, I think UGA’s recent few years with Coach Felton in basketball could make a good comparison to what Tech is about to go through in football. CPJ didn’t inherit the santions that Felton did, but he is having to completely rebuild to implement his system. Georgia basketball has for the most part steadily improved, aside from some setbacks in the regular season this year, but fans have had to be really patient. (some weren’t) I’m not close enough to your program to say for sure whether replacing Gailey was best for the program or not, but it’s been done, so with the record Paul Johnson has had elsewhere, why not wait and see what he can do? Don’t expect miracles, but look for steady improvement and the right attitude from the team.
Both UGA and Tech have our fair share of jerk fans and athletes who get in trouble; I just think that the rational people want both teams to be good so we can see some great football every Thanksgiving weekend.
By Mike
April 22, 2008 4:54 PM | Link to this
Soild comments, Objective Dawg fan. Nice to see thoughtful comments like those from an opposing fan. Thanks.
By xtimastah
April 23, 2008 1:03 AM | Link to this
I hope it is that our defense is just that good… but when you look at pretty much any other team’s spring game, the first team offense hangs up points on their defense. Even Auburn which has a stout defense gave up 35 points to their offense.
By David Morgan
April 23, 2008 4:38 PM | Link to this
For objective DAWG fan of 4-22-08. I would gladly share a long neck beer and a BBQ samich or Varsity hot dog with you and the late Lewis Grizzard. I enjoy college football with loyal but sensible fans.
By heeldawg
April 26, 2008 5:03 AM | Link to this
As a Georgia fan who loves college football (and who has followed Paul Johnson since his days at Georgia Southern), I can tell you that Johnson will bring a confidence and a winning attitude to Tech that Gailey could not. You Jacket fans are going to need to give his offense time—it’s predicated upon execution and split-second decision-making, and the kids playing right now simply don’t have enough reps to make it run smoothly. Things will be much better by the middle of the fall campaign. And remember, you guys lost 17 starters. This would be a rebuilding year any way you slice it.
Over the long term, I contend that if Paul Johnson can win at Navy with this offense, he can win anywhere. The service academies are an even harder place to recruit for than Tech, and he managed to beat Notre Dame and take a previously moribund program to unprecedented heights using an execution-based offensive scheme that most teams find very difficult to defend.
Give the man a couple of years and Tech will be one of the teams to beat in the ACC. You can write that down.
By Navigator
April 27, 2008 11:46 AM | Link to this
Someone said that the offense had problems, because the defense new what was coming. Guess what people, everybody in the ACC will know what’s coming. Many people disliked Gailey for his refusal to change and adapt. PJohnson is the second coming of that attitude, in that he want change and adapt if the defenses shut down the line of scrimmages. Just wait folks, you’re going to here more excuses for why the antiquated offense isn’t working, but you will never here that it’s the coaching philosophy. Remember, another 50 years set in his ways coach, so thank you Tech for 7 more years of ineptitude.
By Gypsy Dawg (nuthin' but ribs and D***)
May 6, 2008 5:49 PM | Link to this
GTinNC sounds like one of the Geico Cavemen.And to Romebuzz, simply click on post ONE TIME, and your comment, such as it is, will be posted…box of hammers that guy.
So, you techies made such fanfare about bringing your HOMEBOY Joe Hamilton back. Dir. of Player Personnel??Please! Why not Director of Player Relaxation. Let him put some DREADLOCKS in his hair, learn how to give a backrub, put on some Bob Marley and hey, the tech players are BUZZIN for sure.Oh Yeah, no question about whom to put in charge of buying team WEED!
Unbelievable! John Heisman and Bobby Dodd, both honorable men would be spinning in their graves if they knew what was happening on the flats at tech.
I can’t believe that CPJ hired this pothead. What kind of example is this? I tend to believe that since J. Hamiltons playing D A Z E were over, some of the Tech Fathers hired the boy to help him out.
Y’all Techies need to take a lesson from Notre Dame when they hired George O’bama..I mean O’leary and his lying about his degree and being a letterman. FIRE the PUNK! If you just want to have a Tech Boy in that position, get Reggie Ball. Forget that one too. Wait a couple of years and Kieth Brooking will be available.
I am curious what y’all are going to do to CPJ to run him off. You ran Chan off, you ran Bobby Ross off, you ran Bill Curry off. Obama, I mean o’leary got the big head from winning in the ACC and thought he could coach anywhere. He probably could have been one of the best coaches ND ever had…but he lied.
Your football teams suck because you want to be like the DAWGS so bad. Life Sucks to be a Techie!
By JJ the Jet Plane
May 6, 2008 6:09 PM | Link to this
Here come the Jackets and the explosive Triple Option. Wow! What ingenuity, right on the cutting edge! For those of you who have never stepped on the gridiron, the triple option is what highschools and colleges of Div. IAA and below run. Simply because they don’t have the atheletes at the skill positions to run more advanced schemes.
Yeah, Georgia Southern won some national championships with it, CPJ did well at N A V Y with it…Navy? Do they belong in the same sentence with Notre Dame, Boston College, Alabama, Georgia? A resounding NO. Yeah, you’ll surprise some by running this, but a few MINOR adjustments by a team with decent lateral speed on the D Line and you’re scr@@ed with a capital S.
Good luck tech. I know you’re excited about CPJ being there, but you were excited about Chan too when he got there. The Gamecocks were excited about Lou Holtz.
The fact is that it is HARD to recruit for Tech. You have NO tradition, at least not recently.
Your football atmosphere sucks. Who wants to tailgate beside I 75-85, or beside an abortion clinic?
I’d rather go to the Ga Aquarium than to a Tech game, Unless they’re playing the DAwgs.
Before Obama, I mean Oleary arrived, Y’all were the only school in Div. I-A to remove seats from your stadium so you could fill it up…And that still didn’t work.
All I have to say is Woof, Woof, Woof!
By godawg
May 12, 2008 10:34 AM | Link to this
Just an observation:
With all the money Tech is spending on advertising season tickets for $150, wouldn’t it be cheaper to just give them away?
By Al Mighty
May 13, 2008 12:56 PM | Link to this
To those of you who say Chan Gailey was a loser, he never ever lost at Tech. Now he is gone, and Johnson is here. For those of you who liked Gailey, great, but get over it, he already has.
Johnson will win. He will adjust as needed with the passing game in order to win. If he is here for 10 years, expect five 7-5 seasons, never less than 7-5, three 9-3 seasons, and two 11-1 seasons. (Gailey would have done the same)
In response to JJ the JetPlane and to GoDawg: no it would not be cheaper to give them away, and you do make a very good point about the attendance. I love GT football, but the quantity of fans is terrible. The players get very good exposure though and if the winning seasons continue, the fans will grow. Coach changes have often let to very depressing times though…look at Bobby Ross first years and Lewis years.
By aw
May 15, 2008 5:44 AM | Link to this
Athens, this year ga.tech 31 woofers 24.
By johnson is a johnson
May 16, 2008 12:30 PM | Link to this
They’re falling into our trap perfectly…everybody will be shocked into inertia when the team runs out on the field with CHAN still the head coach and goes undefeated…Chan Gailey…still the head coach!
By 7, 7, 7, 7, 7
May 21, 2008 10:16 PM | Link to this
The defense wasn’t so tuned in to the plays that they caused all the fumbles. Look, I root for Tech at least some of the time when they’re not playing the Dawgs (strength of schedule, it looks much nicer when we hang 51 on you if you don’t suck). But you’re going to have a rough couple of years. New QB, no receivers. You think folks aren’t going to spread the D-line and stack the box? Please. Maybe this will work out but don’t get your hopes up this year.
Jacketnation (the person, not the group), you’re a racist idiot who probably voted for W when you heard the 2000 (false) rumors (spread by Rove et al) that McCain had illegitimate black child. You’re a complete disgrace to all the respectable Tech fans out there, and they should be embarrassed by your ridiculous antics. I’m quite certain your trailer isn’t a double-wide.
Good luck Tech fans, you’re going to need it.
By RT
May 22, 2008 1:09 PM | Link to this
Jacketnation I somehow missed the link between GT football and Oprah. Would I find the logic on some nazi blog? Its sad that many comments by UGA fans made more sense than yours did.