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October 2008
UVA’s Offensive Line Dominates…Cavs Win…
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
There will be much discussion regarding the Yellow Jacket turnovers and how they cost Georgia Tech a win and a 7-1 record. Its easy to look at the box score and see the fumble at the UVA 7 yard line and think to yourself…that was the game right there.
Unfortunately, the truth of the matter was the fact that the Virginia offensive line dominated the vaunted Georgia Tech defensive line for a majority of the afternoon. The Jackets were unable to put any semblence of consistent pressure on Marc Verica and the defensive secondary got shredded for 270 yards and two touchdowns as the Hoos completed 29 passes in 30 attempts. That’s a completion rate of almost 75%. Nine different Cavaliers caught passes on the day.
That high completion rate allowed the Cavs to mount four drives that consisted of 10 or more plays…11 for 53, 12 for 66, 10 for 46, and 12 for 27. The Cavaliers ran up 23 first downs on the afternoon, coverting 11 of 18 third down efforts to extend drives and keep the Tech defense on the field.
The nearly 10 minute advantage in time of possession resulted in a play advantage of 75 to 56 for the Cavaliers and it became obvious that our defense was winded in the fourth quarter when Cedric Peerman started ripping off chunks of yardage en route to a 118 yard performance.
So…I submit that the bottom line in this game was the dominance of the UVA offensive line. The lack of pressure on the quarterback allowed UVA to extend their drives and wear our defense down. And the extra time that Verica had to check through his progressions allowed him to find receivers and safety outlets that resulted in passing yards against corners and safeties who simply couldn’t cover their assignments indefinitely.
So what went right for the Jackets? If forced to find positives I’d say that the improved kick returns from Roddy Jones were a nice improvement and the fact that Georgia Tech was only penalized twice all game. That’s about it really…beyond the nice toss sweeps to Jones and passes to Thomas that seemed to be working in the first quarter but then disappeared for the remainder of the game.
Looking forward, its realistic to be content with a 6-2 record and knowledge of the fact that noone else on Tech’s schedule has the behemoth offensive line that UVA possess. No other team possesses a quarterback that is slinging the ball around at a nearly 70% completion rate combined with a senior running back like Cedric Peerman. Tech would have soundly defeated UVA with quarterback pressure and better ball security…and the same can be said of everyone else left on the schedule going forward.
Being married to a huge FSU fan, I’ve watched quite a bit of Seminole football this season. Its been obvious that the FSU offensive line is woefully bad. They are nowhere near as good at pass protection as the UVA line is. Tech WILL get pressure on Christian Ponder. BUT…FSU seems to have found their running game and Antone Smith is extremely dangerous. It should be an interesting game and one in which Tech can bounce back and get to 7-2 and solid bowl eligibility before facing UNC on the road in two weeks.
But again…the Jackets MUST pressure the quarterback and must protect the football.
Go Jackets!
THWG!
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Get Well Bell!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Yellow Jackets host Virginia for Homecoming tomorrow but I’d like to shift focuses just a bit to senior basketball player D’Andre Bell.
Bell was a part of the 2005 hoops signing class and traveled across the country from Pacific Palisades, California to play for Coach Hewitt and the Yellow Jackets. He played in every game last season and started most of them because his defensive tenacity and leadership as an upperclassman was crucial.
As you have likely read in other AJC articles, Bell was set to be a critical factor in the 2008/09 basketball season as a senior until he got hurt diving for a ball in practice. A visit to the doctor resulted in a diagnosis of spinal stenosis, which is a congenital defect that normally doesn’t show up until the age of 40-50 years. Obviously, Bell was fortunate to discover this issue now and while he was under the care and watchful eye of the Georgia Tech basketball program.
Treatment for either cervical or lumbar stenosis appears to be either removal or reshaping of spinal discs in extreme cases and physical therapy and weight loss in minor cases. Recovery times appear to be anywhere from one to two years depending on severity and treatment.
So…depending on the severity of Bell’s condition it sounds like he’ll be able to use his redshirt year, get treatment for the condition, finish his Management degree at Tech, and then see where things are at for the 2009/10 season as a redshirt Senior.
The Yellow Jacket basketball program will be hosting their annual Hoopfest as a part of the Homecoming weekend. There will be a chance to get autographs and watch a basketball scrimmage after the football team has defeated the Virginia Cavaliers by what I expect to be a score in the 28-13 range. (They cannot stop our defensive line and we’ll make them one dimensional by stopping Peerman…)
So I’m challenging everyone to get out there and support the hoops program after the football game is over. Maybe D’andre will be there with his team mates. And maybe some encouragement and well wishes from his fellow GT brothers and sisters will reassure him that the Tech community is thinking of him and that he really did choose the correct Institute and program when he came to Tech in 2005.
Go Jackets!
THWG!
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Six & One and Ranked!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I regretfully missed this past weekend’s Clemson road trip, the first Death Valley trip I’ve missed in several years. The GT vs Clemson games in the past decade have largely been tightly contested matches between two quality teams. This weekend was no different.
Interim coach Dabo Swinney looked a little like a clown who had arrived at the wrong party, but the Tigers defense definitely showed up at the right time and place. More often than not the Clemson defensive line seemed to be blowing past the Tech offensive line and disrupting plays in the backfield.
Luckily for the Yellow Jackets, Josh Nesbitt was back under center and the Tech defense was able to grab some early points and slow down the Clemson offense long enough for Nesbitt to knock off the rust and get into a groove.
So now we sit at 6-1 and lead the ACC Coastal…ranked #21 in the AP and #18 in the BCS. These are heady days to be a Georgia Tech fan. Who would have thought we’d be in this position in the first year of Paul Johnson’s tenure on the Flats? I thought Tech would win seven or eight games this season but never expected a 6-1 start that is realistically three points from an undefeated 7-0 record and probably Top 10 ranking.
In my last blog I suggested that we’d learn a good bit from Virginia’s game against North Carolina. I’m not so sure that’s true, in retrospect. The Hoos trailed North Carolina for the entire game until evening the score with 47 seconds left in the game. North Carolina coach Butch Davis then elected to run the clock out and go into overtime rather than attempt reaching field goal range. That decision may have ultimately cost the Tar Heels the game as UVA held them to a field goal and then answered with a touchdown to win 16-13.
North Carolina owned an edge in both time of possession and yardage in this game. From my perspective, only three Heel turnovers prevented them from sealing this game and winning handily. The Hoos ran up less than 300 yards of total offense and were never able to establish a running game…yet still managed to hang around and steal a win.
Tech fans should have a good feeling going into the UVA game. Not only is it going to be Tech’s Homecoming, a game the Jackets typically win, but Josh Nesbitt will be back up to full speed and his timing will be much improved over the first half against Clemson.
I’m in the process of looking more closely at UVA’s stats this season and am curious to see what people think about Paul Johnson’s triple option offense against Al Groh’s 3-4 defense.
I’ll check back in with some numbers and a prediction before the game this weekend. For now, lets hear from GT fans who made the trip to Clemson. I wish I could have been there myself. How was the scene and the game. Anyone suffering from altitude sickness after sitting up in those high nosebleeds? Been there, done that…
Go Jackets!
THWG!
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Five & One and Looking Forward…
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
So the Jackets are sitting at 5-1 with their toughest games still ahead.
Lets take a look at each game based on where the teams are today…
October 18 at Clemson - The Tigers have disappointed this season, just had their coach removed, will be starting a freshman quarterback, will be missing CJ Spiller, and are extremely soft on the offensive line. They’ll come out fired up and emotional but once again I think we’ll see Tech’s defensive line dominate.
October 25th hosting Virginia - The Hoos looked woeful in their first four games, scoring a combined total of 20 points while giving up over 150 points on defense. But then in their last two games they’ve come out on top with two wins by a combined 66-20 score. Are the Cavaliers settled down and for real after a rough start? We’ll learn alot when we see how they play against UNC this coming weekend.
November 1st hosting Florida State - I just watched the FSU / NCSU game and while the Noles notched a win on the road I was not overly impressed with their offensive line. This is a game that GT can dominate defensively up front. FSU hasn’t beaten anyone with a winning record at this point and Ponder will be running for his life when he makes his first trip to Atlanta.
November 8th at North Carolina - This game will be huge and I predict it will have a large impact on the ACC title hunt. The Heels are legit and the Jackets will have to go on the road to face them.
November 20th hosting Miami - Miami is down this year and I predict they’ll be even lower by the time they visit Bobby Dodd Stadium for a Thursday night nationally televised game on ESPN. I’m really curious to see how Duke plays them this coming weekend.
November 29th at UGA - Clean Old Fashioned Hate. Not much more to say there. I’m not going to make even the smallest prediction on this one yet. We need to see how GT plays against FSU and UNC. We need to see how UGA plays against the Gators and LSU. Its entirely possible that one or both teams could come into this game solidly in the mix for their respective conference championships. If the Jackets and Dawgs are both 9-2 or better coming into this game…look out!
Realistically I think we’ll probably be 8-3 coming into the UGA game with a chance to make a statement and secure a Gator Bowl bid. That would be outstanding in the first season under Coach Johnson and an immediate improvement over the status quo of 7-5 from the previous regime.
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Take the W and Move On!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I had a great weekend at West Point. Army beat Eastern Michigan in a tight 17-14 contest on a perfect day for football and in a truly beautiful and historic setting. Cadets marching, skydivers delivering the game ball, canons celebrating each score and the end of each period, and ecstatic home fans enjoying a tough Homecoming victory. In short…awesome! That was followed Sunday morning with a game of touch football between the groomsmen, in Michie Stadium, and my 17 month old running wild across midfield while I chased her with camera in hand. It concluded with dinner and dancing at the officer’s club, overlooking the Hudson River, late into the evening.
I detail all of the above to preface the fact that a 10-7 win over Gardner Webb wasn’t enough to damper the weekend for me. The Jackets won…that’s about all I needed to know. Sure, I got a flurry of pages and text messages from friends who were at the game and I was waiting anxiously to hear if that final field goal attempt was good or not. But once that W was in the books I didn’t think about it again until I got home and started getting caught up.
The general concensus seems to be that Coach Johnson attempted running his option offense with Calvin Booker at the controls. That surprised me. I would have expected Johnson to mix things up a bit and play to Booker’s strengths. Its pretty easy to predict that Gardner Webb would sell out on the dive in order to take Dwyer out of the game and force Booker to get outside or pitch. He’s a great competitor and a real team guy, but he’s just not built for that offense.
I’ve hoped or suspected all season that Coach Johnson had some sort of two minute desperation package for Booker since he’s our most polished passer. I’d hoped and expected that we’d run some of that against Gardner Webb as a way to get Booker some live playing time in case he was needed in a come-from-behind situation later in the season.
Apparently my hopes, expectations, and suspicions were unfounded.
On one hand I have to give Coach Johnson credit for not panicking and putting one of our injured QBs into the game. That took alot of “fortitude”.
But on the other hand, one has to wonder if we have an offensive version of Coach Tenuta…stubborn to a fault and unwilling to make a change when things are obviously off the rails and into the ditch.
In the end, I think our coach has more “fortitude” than “Tenuta” in the mix. But make no mistake…we could have lost that game to Gardner Webb…
Go Jackets!
THWG!
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Another bunch of Bulldogs?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
This will be a short blog. I’m hopping on a plane first thing in the morning to fly up towards West Point.
That’s right…I’ll probably be the only Georgia Tech fan in Michie Stadium on Saturday. Originally, there were supposed to be several thousand of us headed up there. But then Army backed out of the game and Dan Radakovich had to scrounge up Gardner Webb to fill the gap.
I’ll be there for a wedding that was planned the same weekend. My sis-in-law apparently finagled her way into getting married in the campus chapel during Homecoming weekend. (She has a knack for these sorts of things…) I have to give her alot of credit…the original plan was for the wedding to occur the same weekend as the GT vs Army game. It would have been an epic road trip with some site seeing on Friday, tailgating and football on Saturday, and the wedding on Sunday. Its still going to be a great trip and I’m still looking forward to seeing Army play there on their home field…its just that the icing on the cake would have been an actual GT game wrapped up in the middle of it all.
As far as the game here at Tech goes, I don’t think I’ll miss much. Gardner Webb will come in and take their lumps and collect their paycheck and then bow out.
We have a few interesting story lines that have popped up recently…
First, neither Josh Nesbitt nor Jaybo Shaw may play in this game. It might be the Calvin Booker show. If Nesbitt and Shaw are both dinged up, it only stands to reason that Paul Johnson will keep both of them safe and sound in preparation for Clemson next weekend. That means that Calvin Booker will get a chance to get the football for a majority of the snaps. Really…I think that’s great for Booker. He transferred from Auburn and then went through a coaching change that basically renders him ineffective in the base offense that we run. But through it all he has remained positive and a true team player. He doesn’t complain and just wants to get on the field in any capacity possible. Because of this, I expect the other guys on offense will be fired up and ready to play as hard as possible in support of Booker. It won’t matter than Gardner Webb is the opponent. The Jackets offense will be ready to play.
Secondly, we may finally see Marcus Wright get some snaps. The original plan was to redshirt him since he’s a bit small and has been learning how to be a better blocker. Unfortunately, depth at the a-back position may force Paul Johnson’s hand. Keep an eye on this kid when he’s on the field. He is small but he has blazing speed, home run capability, and was a Parade All American coming out of high school. I’d love to see Booker dump a screen or a pass in open space to Wright where he can make something happen. And we definitely need him to get plenty of live snaps and some experience if we are going to need him against Clemson and the upcoming heavyweights in the ACC.
I’ll be checking the scores on my Blackberry and keeping track of Tech and the rest of the games this weekend. I’m looking forward to a 5-1 start, especially considering we’re in the first half of the first season of a new coach and new offensive scheme.
Make no mistake though…after this weekend, the season begins in earnest and the easy wins are all behind us.
So lets hope we get through this weekend with a nice win and no injuries.
Go Jackets!
THWG!
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Duke and the Top 25
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I’m sitting here watching College Football Live and I’m extremely aggravated by the fact that teams like UNC and Auburn are ranked ahead of GT.
I’m not going to spend alot of time on Duke, so lets get that out of the way…
As predicted, our defensive line was the difference in this game. The veteran Duke defense played well as expected but they spent too much time on the field and eventually cracked and then it was all over as Tech ran out to a 27-0 win. Jaybo looked like a true freshman at times, which he is…so no surprise there.
Game Ball to Demarius Thomas…9 catches for 230 yards. Good job!
So lets get back to the Top 25 and my problems with it.
North Carolina is suddenly ranked at #22…in spite of the fact that two of their wins are against a 1-4 Rutgers and a 2-3 Miami. Don’t waste your time telling me about UNC’s win against a ranked Connecticut…UConn had only beaten Hofstra, Temple, Baylor, and a woeful Virginia before getting a quasi-decent win over a .500 Louisville.
North Carolina carries pretty much the same loss that GT does…17-20 against Virginia Tech at home. They didn’t even have to go on the road to Lane Stadium like the Jackets did.
So then lets look at Auburn…one of the worst offensive teams in the nation. They’re still milking their preseason ranking for all its worth. They’ve lost two games to LSU and Vanderbilt while barely squeaking past Mississippi State 3-2 (yes that was the score). Georgia Tech spanked that same Mississippi State team 38-7 with our backup quarterback one week later. Mississippi State then went on to give LSU a tough game at 34-24.
Lets recap Auburn overall…in case you aren’t getting the picture.
The Aubies have stumbled past Mississippi State and a BAD Tennesseee squad 3-2 and 14-12. They lost to both LSU and Vanderbilt. They’ll lose their next three games and finally disappear from the rankings for good this season.
All Georgia Tech has done is go on the road and beat Boston College, play toe to toe with Virginia Tech, and return home to absolutely BURY an SEC team in Mississippi State and a 3-1 Duke team whose only loss was 5-0 Northwestern and who was scoring 31 points a game.
At this point I hope Paul Johnson puts a big fat chip on his shoulder and gets the Jackets fired up for the second half of the season. We should be able to put Gardner Webb away early and then start getting rested up and ready for the second half gauntlet of Clemson, Virginia, Florida State, North Carolina, Miami, and Georgia.
With each season I’m more and more convinced that polls shouldn’t come out until the middle of October. The preseason rankings give teams an advantage based on expectations and reputation and its not fair. We’ll never see another team come from out of nowhere like Georgia Tech did in 1990 when we started the season unranked and won it all. I don’t think the BCS is set up to allow that anymore…if you aren’t ranked early in the season you are pretty much out of luck.
Go Jackets!
THWG!
EDIT: Apologies to Northwestern. Those guys are being overlooked at 5-0 worse than GT is. And I also forgot to mention Wake Forest remaining in the Top 25 after losing to a Navy team that beat them in Winston Salem. The pollsters are giving Wake the benefit of an earlier ranking and consciously ignoring the fact that Duke beat that same Navy team before losing to Georgia Tech.
Ultimately I’m not arguing that Georgia Tech should be ranked so much as I am arguing that we should be ranked higher than some of the teams that DID actually make the Top 25.
I’m quite content to fly under the radar until we ring up a big Clemson road win.
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Focus: Duke Blue Devils?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
At face value it may sound silly to focus on, or worry, about the Duke Blue Devils.
Still, make no mistake…this is not the same Duke team that ACC teams have been abusing for the past several years. Coach Cutcliffe has taken over the reigns and has directed what has become a veteran team to a 3-1 record and a big ACC win over Virginia last weekend.
Duke opened with a 31-7 win over James Madison in which they ran up 364 yards of offense and capitalized on a big third quarter scoring flurry.
A 24-20 loss to Northwestern (5-0) followed but looking at the details showed that Duke outgained its opponent 294-251 and ran up 28 first downs in the game while holding the ball for nearly 40 minutes. From what I can tell, Northwestern benefited from short fields on two of their touchdowns.
Duke’s third game presented a look at Paul Johnson’s old Navy team and offense. Duke responded with a 41-31 win, running up 396 yards of total offense. The Blue Devils held the Midshipmen to 207 yards rushing and only 13 first downs. Offensively, Duke did its damage through the air as Thaddeus Lewis connected on 25 of 35 pass attempts for 317 yards and three touchdowns. Eron Riley had a huge game with 8 catches for 137 yards.
And most recently, the Dukies put a lopsided beating on a woeful Virginia team…31-3. While UVA actually outgained Duke 304 to 258, the Devils capitalized on two fumbles and four interceptions in a 28 point second half to bury the hapless Hoos.
So what does that mean for Georgia Tech?
It means Duke can score and force turnovers…both areas which make me nervous.
Offensively, Georgia Tech MUST protect the football and avoid giving Duke a short field. The Jackets CANNOT give up easy points and fall into a “catch up” situation where Jaybo Shaw is forced to win the game with his arm. Georgia Tech fans should be confident in Jaybo’s ability to make reads and pitches in this offense. He played well beyond expectations when forced into action against Mississippi State. This will be different though…this game is Jaybo’s and he’s been thinking about it for the better part of two weeks now. He’s the starter from the first snap and that’s alot different than running out there mid-game without having time to put any pressure on yourself.
Defensively, the Tech front four MUST generate pressure and a pass rush on Thaddeus Lewis. Lewis is a cagey veteran and Eron Riley is a legitimate threat and weapon in the passing game. Riley was actually a Georgia Tech recruiting target when he came out of high school and he’s done very well for himself at Duke. In his career he’s already pulled in 105 receptions for 1,988 yards and 20 TDs. Lewis and Riley are Duke’s biggest scoring threat.
Ultimately I think the Georgia Tech pass rush will rattle Lewis and he’ll make some mistakes or take some losses that will hurt. That means Jaybo Shaw just needs to run the offense and hold onto the ball and let the offensive line and Jonathan Dwyer take care of business.
If Tech can do this and play solid special teams we’re looking at a Jackets win somewhere in the 30-14 range.
If we turn the ball over or give Lewis too much time to find his receivers…we’re going to be looking at a tight game and quite possibly a loss against a Duke team that believes they can win and who has proven it under Cutcliffe.
And really…when you think about it…we may be watching the two leading candidates for ACC Coach of the Year facing off this coming weekend. Either Johnson or Cutcliffe could win that award if their teams continue and finish the season the same way they’ve begun.
Go Jackets!
THWG!
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