Archive for October, 2009

Well, Tech knows where it is in the BCS (12), it knows where Miami is (two spots ahead at 10), and where VT is (two spots behind at 14).
The Jackets know they must win out, and that either Miami must lose once in the ACC, or (if I’m figuring this correctly) that the Hokies must stay within five spots of the Canes and keep them all together in the tiebreaker scenario. Should that happen, it’ll come down to a draw.
I’m not sure anybody wants to see that.
Comrade Jeff Schultz posted a very interesting scenario on how Tech can make it all the way to the national title game. Make sure you check that out.
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As always, please follow my GT page on facebook at http://bit.ly/T16am

I want to thank all those who posted photos and videos from last night’s game on there.

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Here are the ACC stats, straight from www.theacc.com. It’s stunning that UVA is 3-3 when you see where they rank on offense and special teams.

SCORING …

Continue reading Just win, baby »

I would be remiss if I didn’t revisit the comments made by Virginia Tech safety Kam Chancellor this summer during an ACC media session in Greensboro.
Paraphrasing, Chancellor said he picked up something while watching film of the Jackets that he thought gave him a pretty good idea where the ball was going and what the play would be.
When asked about that at the same media session, coach Paul Johnson said that Chancellor should be able to make every tackle.
Chancellor had six tackles on Saturday.
Josh Nesbitt was asked if the team talked about Chancellor’s comments this week in the lead-up to the game.
He smiled and said, “How about them Jackets?”
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Oh, and if you have the goalposts and would like to post a photo of yourself with them on my GT facebook page, the address is http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/pages/AJC-Ga-Tech/164582392136?ref=mf

Continue reading Nesbitt on Kam Chancellor’s comment »

Hopefully you’ve read the Georgia Tech report card I’ve written. I’ve love to hear your thoughts based upon the categories:
rising star
falling star
enigma
what’s going right
what’s going wrong
prognosis for second half
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Roddy Jones says he’s not disappointed that his numbers aren’t what some may have expected. His longest run this season is less than 20 yards and his yards per carry average is 3.7, among the lowest of the most active A-backs. He said as long as the team is winning, everything’s cool.
Keep in mind, he didn’t come on last season until the final two regular season games when he had more than 300 yards rushing.
On a side note, Jones, a big baseball fan, said he’s rooting for the Dodgers in the playoffs now that the Rockies have been eliminated. And, if not the Dodgers, then anybody but the Phillies.

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Kickoff for Saturday’s game will be 6:01 sharp. As you know, Georgia Tech likes to start fast….

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Please join my Georgia Tech page on facebook at: …

Continue reading Your GT report card »

Paul Hewitt held a press conference with the press today ahead of full practices, which start Friday.
This is courtesy of the sports information department at Tech:
- On strengths of this year’s roster:

“Compared to last year, our back court is much stronger from a health standpoint, experience standpoint, and talent standpoint. I think a lot of people point to the addition of Derrick [Favors] and think that that will be the big difference. But last year I thought Zachery Peacock, Gani Lawal, and Alade Aminu played extremely well. I thought that frontcourt was as good as any in the league maybe with the exception of North Carolina’s. I think our back court will be the big difference this year. We have Mfon Udofia, and having D’Andre Bell back is as important as any addition we’ve had in the last year. We have more depth with Brian Oliver and Glen Rice. Lance Storrs is improved this year. So now we’ve got more options. Last year, we basically played with one ball handler in …

Continue reading Hewitt, and thoughts on “No Dome” »

A transcription of head coach Paul Johnson’s weekly press conference, courtesy of Tech’s sports information department.

Opening Statement:

“I was proud of our team Saturday night. It wasn’t always pretty, but I imagine it was a fun one to watch. Our guys fought hard, never gave up and came out in the second half and made some stops when we needed it. We found a way to win a tough football game on the road. Florida State played with a lot of emotion. You have to give our guys some credit for coming out of there with a win.

“This week is a huge game for our team and our program. One of our goals every year is to compete for an ACC championship and we’ve gotten ourselves to the point that this is game is meaningful along those lines. If we win, we have a chance, if we lose we probably have no chance. We’ll find out if we’re good enough on Saturday. Virginia Tech has a very good football team that is strong in all three facets of the game, so it will be a challenge. All you can …

Continue reading Paul Johnson’s press conference: »

Because of the weather, the team did its Monday conditioning and walk-thrus at the Georgia Dome.
As I wrote in the notebook already online (which is also linked to from my facebook GT page), Cooper Taylor was able to practice for the first time leaving the Miami game.
Coach Paul Johnson said “we’ll see” about the possibility of Taylor playing on Saturday against Virginia Tech.
Based upon the fact that Roddy Jones was held out a week after he was cleared, and that Jaybo Shaw didn’t return the week of the Mississippi State game when he was cleared, I would be surprised if Taylor played this week. But, what the heck do I know?
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Some of you wrote on the facebook page that you would like to see Taylor back because GT will need all the speed it can get going against VT’s offense.
I don’t think speed’s been the issue. This is my rudimentary take on what I saw against FSU: GT tried to blitz but really could never get to Ponder in the first half. When coaches started moving …

Continue reading 3 steps Tech says it’ll take »

For those who made the trip to Tallahassee, you certainly got your money’s worth.
For those who didn’t, well that’s cool too.
It was like nothing I’ve ever seen, real or in a video game.
9 consecutive touchdowns.
63 points in the first half.
1,000 yards of offense.
1 punt.
What does it mean?
It means that Tech’s offense is really rolling (more on that in Tuesday’s paper, or Monday evening’s ajc.com), and that Tech’s defense has some work to do before Saturday’s all-important game against Virginia Tech.
FSU was able to complete pretty much any pass in the first half, and if not for drops, in the second.
Tech seems particularly susceptible to passes in the middle of the field. I’m not a coach and couldn’t tell you why or how, but that’s just my impression. It happened against Miami and the Seminoles.
They also seem susceptible to runs between the tackles. Again, couldn’t tell you why or how. I hope to get some more answers about that, and to verify the accuracy of my …

Continue reading Well, that was quite the weekend »

Bob Davie, now ESPN analyst former coach of Notre Dame, was gracious enough to call me today to talk about Saturday’s game against Florida State.

More on the majority of our conversation in the Saturday advance in the paper, or on Friday’s ajc.com.

Anyway, he expressed his keen appreciation and respect for Paul Johnson and the option, going so far to say that it is the offense he would run should he ever get back into coaching. Remember that he went against CPJ for several years when he was at Navy.

I’m paraphrasing his next comments:
If the offense is running right, it could be Florida State’s defense or the Pittsburgh Steeler’s, it doesn’t matter.

Defenders hate going against it more than any other offense.

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Thinking about it more on Thursday, I still can’t figure out how this game is going to go, but I’m of two minds: Tech is either going to thump Florida State, but good. Or FSU is going to win 42-40.
I thought MSU would be a high-scoring game, and I thought Tech would …

Continue reading Thought you might like this »

Moving the game against Georgia could be a very good thing for Georgia Tech.

Why?

Consider this: Every other year Tech has home games against Clemson, Virginia Tech and Georgia, which I would guess are the three biggest revenue drivers. The next year, Tech will host Duke and Virginia, for example.

It’s not exactly balanced.

The complete schedule in 2010: Tech will host South Carolina State, Middle Tennessee State, N.C. State, Virginia, Duke and Miami.

In 2011, as it stands now: Tech will host Western Carolina, Kansas, Georgia, Maryland, Clemson, North Carolina and Virginia Tech.
If you were trying to sell a package of home tickets, which would be the easier sell?

Now, if Tech and Georgia agree to move the 2011 game from Bobby Dodd Stadium to the Georgia Dome, Tech will host Georgia in 2012.
Suddenly, the 2012 home schedule, which includes SE Louisiana, Middle Tennessee State, Boston College, Virginia, Duke and Miami becomes an easier sell.

Plus, throw in the money the team …

Continue reading Why moving the game could be good for Tech »

FSU is averaging more than 100 rushing yards a game this season.
However, more than 300 of their season’s total came in one game against BYU.
To show how inept the running game has been in the other four games, the Seminoles are averaging a little less than 70 yards a game on the ground.
More than half their sacks came in one game, Jacksonville State.
It is a team that can neither run, nor can it defend the pass.
Do either of those play to Tech’s strengths?
That’s a tough question. Tech doesn’t pass just to pass. It pass for big plays. Therefore, the other team’s pass defense, no matter how good or bad, sometimes doesn’t matter.
And the Seminoles’ inability to run may not matter because FSU loves to pass. As you know, Tech has had issues getting to the quarterback the past few games. When quarterbacks have had time they have done well against the Jackets. It’s only fair to say that would be true for most teams.
Some are saying this is a trap game for Tech, as odd as that …

Continue reading A few odd stats about the foe »