It was not so long ago that Georgia Tech quarterback Vad Lee hung tough in the pocket against a North Carolina blitz and fired a pass into the end zone, where wide receiver Darren Waller extended high to bring down a 21-yard touchdown pass.
Lee finished that Sept. 21 game a tidy 7-for-12 for 104 yards with a touchdown. After three games, Tech ranked fifth in the country in passing efficiency. Since that soggy afternoon, however, the Yellow Jackets’ passing game has fragmented in the face of stiffer competition.
“It’d be easy to fix if you could say, ‘Well, the quarterback, he couldn’t throw it in a barrel, so he can’t throw it,’” coach Paul Johnson said. “Well, that’s not the case. Or if this guy can’t pass block, so you know you’ve got to get him out. Well, that’s not the case.”
Blitz protection packages haven’t been executed properly. Linemen have been beaten one-on-one. Lee has not thrown to the “hot” receiver (a designated outlet) on blitzes or thrown with accuracy. Routes haven’t been run well. Penalties have trapped the offense in obvious passing situations.
On poorly executed pass plays, “there’s probably, anywhere across the 11, there’s an issue with one thing or another on any particular play,” quarterbacks and B-backs coach Bryan Cook said, “be it a defensive look or what one of our guys is doing. All it takes is one to kind of leave us hanging high and dry.”
In the past two games against Virginia Tech and Miami, Tech has completed 13 of 43 passes for 210 yards with no touchdowns and four interceptions. The Jackets’ passing efficiency ranking has plummeted to 81st. The Hurricanes and Hokies deserve their share of credit, ranking fourth and eighth in the country, respectively, in passing-efficiency defense. Further, Lee is in his first season as a starter, Tech is inexperienced at wide receiver and the line was depleted by injury against Miami.
BYU, Tech’s opponent Saturday, likely won’t have much interest or sympathy. The Cougars rank 18th in passing-efficiency defense, and the Jackets may play without offensive tackles Ray Beno and Morgan Bailey. Tech’s run game was vastly improved against Miami, but the Jackets almost certainly will need to pass effectively to take the heat off of it against the Cougars. Completing 30 percent of their passes, which is the Jackets’ rate in the past two games, likely won’t suffice.
Three consecutive passes in a critical fourth-quarter possession against Miami illustrate the prongs of Tech’s inconsistency with the pass. Trailing 31-23, Tech faced a second-and-7 on the Miami 38-yard line.
Lee dropped back and threw an incomplete pass downfield to wide receiver DeAndre Smelter. The protection was solid, but because of previous hits taken in the pocket, Lee threw off his back foot, thinking he was about to be drilled. The loop on the pass enabled Miami cornerback Ladarius Gunter to successfully challenge Smelter and break up the pass.
On third down, two Miami blitzers barreled in untouched at Lee, who barely had time to get rid of the ball for an incomplete pass. On fourth down, Miami blitzed again, and Lee’s hot read was A-back B.J. Bostic. Seeing what he thought was a favorable matchup, he instead threw into coverage to Waller and was intercepted, Tech’s final gasp in the game. Even still, the breakdown in protection might have made it difficult for Lee to turn to throw to Bostic.
“I was supposed to go the other way,” Lee said. “I was just trying to make a play.”
On the practice field, the Jackets are trying to develop the trust, confidence, ability, focus and experience necessary to forge a better passing game.
“We’ve just got to coach it better,” Johnson said. “We’ve got to work at it, and we’ve got to pay attention to detail. We can’t just go out there and wing it and do what we want to do.”
The Jackets already know what will happen if they do.
About the Author
