Johnson explains defensive switch

By DOUG ROBERSON

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson said that the Yellow Jackets are switching their defense from a 4-2-5, with four linemen, two linebackers and five defensive backs, to a 4-3-4 to simplify things.

“We had too much in, yeah,” Johnson said. “Anytime you can’t do what you are doing you’ve got too much in. It’s better to get good at something than not be good and do a lot. There’s two philosophies you can have: You can do all kinds of stuff and not be good at anything, or you can do limited stuff and try to be good and whatever you do.

“On both sides of the ball we’re not really good at anything right now.”

Johnson said he thought the defense played well in the first half against Clemson. Indeed, the Tigers were held to 146 yards and one touchdown. In the second half, though, big plays propelled them to 240 yards and 20 points.

Those big plays kept coming against Miami, as well. While Jacory Harris passed for 270 yards and three touchdowns, Johnson said what hurt Tech more was that Miami rushed for 198 yards.

“If a team can do that and throw, you are in a world of trouble because you take nothing away,” Johnson said. “So we’ve got to try to take something away this week. Good teams, you’re not going to totally shut them down, they’re going to get something, but you’ve got to try and take something away.”

For the season, Tech’s defense is allowing 135.7 rushing yards per game, and 241.3 yards passing. That’s 15 more rushing yards and almost 50 more yards passing compared to last season’s averages. Johnson said it’s too early to tell what the issues are on this year’s defense, but that he won't lower his expectations.

“You set the bar where you want to be, and you don’t give in until you get there,” Johnson said.

Defensive end Anthony Egbuniwe, who will be starting for the injured Robert Hall against North Carolina at noon Saturday at Bobby Dodd Stadium, said it’s going to take a focused effort by everyone to get the defense turned in the right direction.

“It’s not going to be one person, or just me,” Egbuniwe said. “It’s going be all of us doing our assignments, going to the ball and playing fast.”

Storms

Johnson said he had no idea how bad the flooding was in Atlanta until he started to drive home after Monday’s practice. That’s when his wife called to say he wasn’t going to be able to get to their home. He eventually parked near his home and walked the rest of the way.

The team practiced in the Georgia Dome on Monday, so the players and coaches weren’t exposed to the elements. They were back at Rose Bowl Field on Tuesday.