There were plenty of reasons why Georgia Tech allowed a season-high 48 points and more yards (579) to North Carolina this past Saturday than it had given up in a game since 2012. One of the most costly was perhaps one of the most understandable.
As the points and yards accumulated, players began to abandon their assignments to try to make plays on their own, coaches said.
“I think that’s part of it,” defensive coordinator Ted Roof said after Tuesday’s practice. “What we all have to focus on is everybody’s got to do their job and do it with fanatical effort and attention to detail, and understand that when they decide to take a chance, how that impacts the rest of the defense.”
On a given play, a defender is given a responsibility, perhaps filling a gap in the line or staying in a particular zone in pass coverage. However, by choosing to play independently of the other 10 defenders to try to make a play, a player can jeopardize the integrity of the entire defense, particularly with an agile quarterback like North Carolina’s Marquise Williams and his assortment of skill-position players.
“Things weren’t going well and everybody started trying to make plays instead of playing their keys and do what they were supposed to do, and it just snowballed,” defensive line coach Mike Pelton said. “You can’t do that when you’re trying to execute, and it was just a downhill thing.”
The matter has been addressed this week, Roof said. There is plenty to address this week as the Jackets prepare for Pittsburgh and try to end their two-game losing streak. Tech is 112th in yards per play in the country (6.37) out of 128 teams and 122nd in third-down conversion percentage (50 percent).
“Hopefully we’ve made it very clear what the expectation level is and how we can do things, because we can’t afford to miss another opportunity,” Roof said.
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