Special teams a nightmare for Georgia Tech
CLEMSON, S.C. — Georgia Tech’s special teams play was “a nightmare” in its 27-13 loss to Clemson on Saturday, according to coach Paul Johnson. It has been a consistent issue this season and was a much different performance than those in last year’s two wins over the Tigers.
Six miscues were made:
A roughing the kicker was called after Tech held the Tigers to three downs on the game’s opening drive. Johnson said two players were cut loose by the Tigers on the play. Instead of blocking the ball, Johnson said the unidentified player turned and his head and got alligator arms, causing him to miss the ball and slam into the punter. Clemson scored on its next play.
The next error occurred when Anthony Egbuniwe was called for a late hit on Tech’s first punt. Clemson missed the field goal.
Isaiah Johnson had a chance to down a punt at the 1-yard line, but the ball flew right through his arms. The Tigers went down the shorter field and hit a field goal for a 10-0 lead. The Yellow Jackets were called for holding on the subsequent kickoff return, forcing them to start at the 17-yard line, instead of the 27.
After the Tigers’ second touchdown, the Yellow Jackets were called for an illegal block, backing them up to their 12-yard line, instead of starting on the 22.
Later in the game, Louis Young failed to recover a fumbled kickoff return that he seemed to jump on, and Scott Blair, who kicked seven field goals and threw a touchdown pass in last year’s victories, put a bow on the issues by missing a 49-yard field goal with 11 minutes, 4 seconds remaining.
There was a highlight: Lined up as an upback, Lucas Cox called a fake punt that he ran for a first down. But it wasn’t nearly enough to overcome all of the errors.
“We’ve just got to go back to the drawing board in practice and start to work on the little things,” Mario Butler said.
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143 comments Add your comment
Genius Jacket
October 24th, 2010
5:25 pm
We need to fire Johnson. Maybe some high school wants him to come in and teach the wishbone.
superDawg
October 24th, 2010
5:34 pm
macro is scared to come out and play the bullies are waiting.
WAR DAMN EAGLE
October 24th, 2010
5:39 pm
See you doggies very soon. Better wear your rain gear (from the 80’s)! You old timers know what I’m talking about.
superDawg
October 24th, 2010
5:42 pm
thats funny macriod.
Tech/Tide Fan
October 24th, 2010
5:49 pm
I too was at Death Valley. I was treated with respect by 100% of the Clemson fans. The # of Dog fans who act in a disgusting manner was the primary reason I chose to send my two daughters elsewhere. I have been in all but 3 SEC stadiums — no one gets close to GA fans for “most disgusting” label. The same behavior shows up on these blogs.
UGA rolls 50 on GT
October 24th, 2010
5:57 pm
I’m sorry, but GT is just a bad team this year. Poor performances? They just don’t have the talent and are not very well coached. Plain and simple. You can put lipstick on a pig, but I’m not gonna sleep with it (unless I went to UGA). UGA will roll up 50 on GT b/c they simply have bigger, stronger, faster kids. GT is recruiting some studs on defense, but we are still 2 years out from the talent making any impact.
GT is simply not that good. And I’m a die hard GT fan. We just stink and the lack of big bodies and playmakers are starting to show.
Alabama Jack
October 24th, 2010
5:59 pm
Paul Johnson did a sorry job of coaching and I believe he is not the coach we thought he was! Time for him to be fired!!
GDBurdell
October 24th, 2010
6:11 pm
Relax my flies, the hive is in meltdown right now, you have a terrible coach, school and option scheme.
smitty
October 24th, 2010
6:30 pm
GTZ, nope, went to HS in Jax, FL…..but while orwin doesn’t pound it, he looks to be one of the most talented players on offense……orwin smith needs alot more playing time…..i bet he can catch passes too…..go jackets
Beat Dook
October 24th, 2010
7:08 pm
With the availability of any name, it’s hard to tell if most of these very negative comments are really Tech fans or dogs just trying to stir up chit.\
Lets wait until VT for Tech and FL in Jax for the dogs before we call each other laughing stocks.
blazer
October 24th, 2010
7:14 pm
work on the little things-how about the big things like tackling and blocking and catching!!
Al can go back to Ole Virginia!!
RAMBLINWRECK
October 24th, 2010
7:31 pm
The special teams coach should be fired TODAY! I can’t blame the special teams coach only however. This entire team sucks a**! I don’t know if we can even beat duke at home. Hell, kansas beat us and they are worse than duke so who knows.
VT and miami will beat us by 3 td and uga will beat us by 14 as well. We won’t run on any of those teams and everyone knows nesbitt is a joke passing the ball. 6-6 at best and heading to shreveport. As a tech fan, i will say that i teased uga fans about last season. Karma is a bitch it seems. We suck this year in every phase of the game. Uga sucks too but they are better than GT.
I have some uga friends and even they will say that they are surprised about how bad GT really is this season. Some of them still tell me that they don’t know if uga will win or if GT will get up for the game and play well. I say uga trounces us because we just suck. Plain and simple.
Paul Has A Small Johnson
October 24th, 2010
7:36 pm
Can’t believe how terrible GT is this season.
Double Zero Eight
October 24th, 2010
7:40 pm
The novelty of the wishbone has worn off. Teams now know how to defense it. That is why the passing game is now extremely important. Unfortunately, GT has no passing game.
macrotech
October 24th, 2010
7:44 pm
superDawg, CERTAINLY you’re not suggesting that I’m afraid of your middle school bantor?! I see you continue in your obsession with all thing, GT! Your first post was around 10 a.m. with your latest at 5:42 p.m…..you’re comin’ off a little desperate. Remember, pathetic doesn’t attract! For the record…I’ve been out kayaking, taking my lovely lady out to dinner…sorry to keep you waiting, but you fall WAY down my list of priorities. It’s called living…you should consider it!
In regards to Tech, I have NEVER given up on them and I remain hopeful in our team. Our defense continues to be my greatest concern! WAY too many missed tackles and our linebackers seem lost out there. Groh came here with a 3 year plan and he may not get the chance…we needed a quick fix and this is proving to be painfully slow! But, in the end, at least we havn’t had to win our way back to .500 this year…so far! Unlike our canine friends from the little ‘a’! Keep it stupid superDawg…keep it stupid! GO TECH!!!
macrotech
October 24th, 2010
7:46 pm
Paul Has A Small Johnson, can’t believe how obsessed you are with another mans johnson! Envy?!
gtyj
October 24th, 2010
7:54 pm
I love all of you band wagon Tech fans who are now wanting to run the coach off, saying this offense is high schoolish, want work, etc. I sure didn’t hear any of this the 1st. year CPJ was coaching and we had a good season. I didn’t hear it last year after winning the ACC and going to the Orange Bowl. I am as disappointed in this season so far as any true Tech fan, but don’t blame everything on the Coach. When your players are not executing properly, it is the players fault. When your line is not blocking or missing blocks, its the line not doing the job. Yes Nesbitt for the most part can’t throw as effectively as most pure passing teams, and yes Tech should go the short underneath routes instead of trying the bomb every time, but your receivers have to make the play when needed. I question sometimes Nesbitts decisions of trying to run when he should be handing off to the B-back, or pitching, these are bad decisions. For Tech to be successful in this offense, they have to establish the run first with the B-back. The times Allen ran yesterday, he was getting yardage, you run it until its stopped. Then you go option pitch or keep.
The biggest problem I see with Tech this year is special teams and the defense as a whole. Besides being ripped up the gut by a couple of Clemson runs and sorry tackling, Tech never adjusted to the short underneath route that Parker hit every time. Tech does not have a good defense, I personally do not like the 3 4, and when you put no pressure on the QB, the chances of him completing his passes is very high. Tech made enough stupid mistakes yesterday that caused them to lose the game. Clemson is not what I call a good football team, but they had a game plan, they executed it and they won.
Anybody that has seen Tech this year at all, knows that with the kind of defense we have, and the secondary we have, you could beat this team passing and never running the ball.
Perhaps, the players will get it figured out before the VT game, because if they play on both sides of the ball they way they can, it will be hard, but they can win out.
Stranger things have happened. Go Jackets.
The Dream
October 24th, 2010
8:16 pm
Everyone is missing Demaryius Thomas, as I am too, but I think I’m starting to miss Cord Howard. When we needed 3rd and 3 last year, we generally got it every time. Now we are 3rd and 7 or 8 because we don’t have Howard and company to move the line foward. I’m still on board and will be until the final whistle this year, but I was surely hoping for better than what I’ve seen so far. I think CPJ is one of the smartest coaches around, but we have fewer weapons this year than last and our defense is mediocre at best so it will be rough over the next few games. I miss Cord Howard even more.
superDawg
October 24th, 2010
8:26 pm
poor macriod went kayaking I hope your tears raised the water level lord knows we need all the help we can get.
Tech Man
October 24th, 2010
8:26 pm
When we get behind, there is no way we can catch up. A quarterback that can’t pass a lick and a defense that is afraid to tackle. Boy, have we gone down hill fast.
GT87
October 24th, 2010
8:28 pm
We need open field tackling practice… You can’t sit back and wait for the running backs to get to you. You have to close the gap and HIT someone!
billbuzz
October 24th, 2010
8:32 pm
Having watched Tech football as a season ticket holder for over 35 years, it seems to me that our problems are that we are being pushed around on both lines of scrimmage. Our offensive and defensive lines are being beaten on almost every play, and you will not beat good teams when that happens. Joshua Nesbitt had a BAD game, and we made some of the dumbest plays and committed some of the most foolish penalties I can recall seeing in a game! We will not win until these issues are addressed and cleaned up. Our receivers also cannot consistently catch the ball. When we get decent blocking, the offense gets rushing yards and moves downfield, but it happens only sporadically. I think Coach Johnson realizes now that he does not have the guys in the trenches to make the plays like he did last year. He talks about young players a lot, and I think he means ones who do the dumb things they did in the Clemson game, and that we have no real good senior leadership.
Delbert D.
October 24th, 2010
8:46 pm
Navy OL starters:
LT Sr 6-4 256
LG So 6-3 270
C Jr 6-3 295
RG Jr 6-4 260
RT Jr 6-5 270
These guys manhandled Notre Dame’s defense. It was their first dominating win this year. B-back Alexander Teich ran for 210 yards. Dobbs only passed twice (both completions, 71 yards and 1 TD). *No* fumbles.
Georgia Tech’s offense needs to step it up a *lot*.
macrotech
October 24th, 2010
8:53 pm
superDawg, poor me?! I went kayaking while you trolled the blogs….poor YOU! Not to mention you’re a mutt fan!!! Bless your little heart!
delusion
October 24th, 2010
9:00 pm
What happened to all the PJ nob polishing that went on around here the last few years? Reality is a bitch!!
Technophobia
October 24th, 2010
9:17 pm
I see the Uga posers continue their bogus posts. You’re not fooling anyone idiots.
Alabama Jack
October 24th, 2010
9:20 pm
Would the dawg who thought he was cute posting under my name please go back to Athens. Your momma crawled out from under the porch and wants you to help find your sister who rode off with a bunch of bubbas and two sheep in the back of a Ford pickup, you know the kind that Saint mark pitches.
GT9
October 24th, 2010
9:29 pm
Give a little credit to Clemson. They played a great game. Congratulations, Clemson Tigers.
Anyone bringing up how good Navy’s offense is playing didn’t see the Maryland game.
We’re playing bad this year. Not converting inside the red-zone left eight points on the field. Dropping a sure touchdown pass left another seven.
Auburn is #1 in the BCS and they needed a missed field goal to secure a win over Clemson in overtime.
Go JACKETS!!!
Beat Va Tech.
doobiedoo
October 24th, 2010
9:29 pm
OK, guys, leave the poor Dawgs alone. They are only two weeks removed from yelling for Mark Richt’s scalp in a baggie. They’re beat a coupla patsies, and now life is great again. I’m lookin’ for more from this team, and if we don’t get it, ………they’ll be better next year. But it ain’t changin’ my life around. Some of these rednecks forget that it’s for fun. You have to kind of pity them………….
Stumpknocker
October 24th, 2010
10:13 pm
Seems that Joshoua was a better QB when he was just plain ole JOSH.
GTBob
October 24th, 2010
10:55 pm
A nightmare is putting it mildly. Our special teams pretty much gave us no chance to win the game.
college football
October 24th, 2010
11:03 pm
Not only is the special teams a nightmare…the entire team is. They will get exposed big time in Blacksburg…43-17.
Derrick Steagall
October 24th, 2010
11:39 pm
Nesbitt is a warrior, but he is not an option QB much less a college QB. He may make a tough WR in the NFL however.
Wes Durham's Gigantic Bottom
October 24th, 2010
11:58 pm
GT is just not good at all this season. Thomas, Burnett, Morgan, and Dwyer were the most talented players in this program and losing them at the same time killed GT. CPJ has had two full recruiting classes, so he deserves time, but so far the future does not look bright.
kennyh
October 25th, 2010
12:39 am
we are georgia tech. we have to play almost perfect to win against tough teams..what if we were texas…we would be bitching..lol
ramblin man
October 25th, 2010
1:27 am
haha wow i cannot believe what some of yall are saying when youre criticizing CPJ…its the players folks!!!!
we have tons of issues all over, and that’s why we are so mediocre this year. but its not because of CPJ. After 20+ years of winning and running the same “gimmick” offense with his own recruits, he all of a sudden has forgotten how to coach? that’s what yall think is going on here? wow…
GTech
October 25th, 2010
2:00 am
We’ve been pushed around on the offensive and defensive all season long – hell, even South Carolina State was marching up and down the field on our defense. Until, we can control the line of scrimmage, Tech will continue to struggle. Not sure why everyone is hanging Tech’s problems on CAG and CPJ. Guys simply are not making plays. The coaches can’t get out there and block and tackle. How many times did someon on the D-Line make a tackle on a running play or pressure the quarterback on a passing down? Not once during the entire game!!! For the most part, skill guys are a dime a dozen. It’s all about the game in the trenches.
bigplay54
October 25th, 2010
8:01 am
We need this we need that? The major difference between last years success and this years downfall is the lack of passion from the players and fans. Last year’s seniors and some of the guys who quit were moslty walkons, but they loved Tech football and were the heart and passion we are missing this season.
Buzz builder
October 25th, 2010
8:19 am
The real problem is simply talent. Tech does not have any exceptional player at any skill position. If this offense is built on running, why can’t he recruit top notched linemen and backs?!
Crazy Robert
October 25th, 2010
12:04 pm
If anybody misses Chan I am sure there are plenty of seats available in Buffalo’s stadium.
GT Man
October 25th, 2010
4:47 pm
this clown that calls himself paul has a small johnson i bet never played flag football but he knows all about coaching. MY ASS. your to stupid to even coment. have a nice day
longtimeGT'er
October 27th, 2010
3:47 pm
I admit it — I was too quick to rush to judgment. Some of you say Paul Johnson is the answer, others say no. If he is, will he be able to attract the talent needed to make the team effective? (I want the talent to be able to beat UGA every year by at least a couple of touchdowns, but unrealistic.) Ultimately, can he field a competitive team??
That said, where does the problem lie? We’ve had 2 coaches since Bobby Dodd that I can remember that were effective — Ross and O’Leary, and possibly Curry. Is our selection process/committee flawed? Are we overlooking some very good candidates because they don’t fit a particular mold or come from certain colleges and not others.
Are the Athletic Dept and Administration at odds, or the Educational Dept? I am not talking about lowering stds. But, could student/athlete schedules be optimized to allow them sufficient time to concentrate on both athletics and higher learning? (I admire any student trying to balance studying, athletics, other activities, outside interests, part-time job, contact with family and friends — and still maintain her/his sanity! We need to keep that in perspective in our venting.) Above all else, we must support students in their pursuit of an education.
Maybe, it would be worth while contacting other schools both in and out of the ACC who face strict academic regulations. How are they supporting their students? What works for them, and what does not. Even though we compete in athletics and other areas, we have to put that aside when we are talking about what is best for each student.
paul morgan
October 29th, 2010
5:00 pm
Did you all watch Navy destroy Notre Dame? Notre Dame could not stop the triple option PJ installed there. Who has the better athletics, Navy or Tech? Who is our special teams coach?
Time to get rid of him, period.
Once again, the bottom line is we do not have the athletics and I am sorry to say that.