Paul Johnson Q&A
Opening statement:
Anytime you lose, it’s certainly disappointing. I give Georgia a lot of credit. They’ve got a good football team. They showed up and they played very well. For us, the margin of error was small and we didn’t take advantage of a couple of opportunities we had early and when we didn’t do that, we got behind and we never could claw ourselves back into the game.
It was kind of a tale of two halves. The first half, we had a hard time getting them slowed down and the third quarter, we kind of self-destructed offensively, turning the ball over. But like I said, I give them credit. They came in here and they did what they had to do. I thought their kids played hard and they won the game.
On lack of pass rush:
They did a nice job of protecting their quarterback. We didn’t get to him much. We’ll have to look at the tape. Anytime guys get that open at times, we turned a couple guys loose in coverage, especially crossers. A couple times, they just beat us. They ran a post-corner (route) and beat us down on the goal line. … The play where the tight end caught the touchdown in the back of the end zone in the third quarter, we called the play. We knew the play and they still completed it. So you’ve got to give them credit for that. The bottom line is they made plays when they had to.
On Synjyn Days‘ play:
Tevin Washington has been our quarterback all year. I’m excited about Synjyn. I think he can bring something to the game. It’s not fair to evaluate him on the two series he got to play in that game.
On reverse pass play to open the game:
It’s a play we’ve worked on all year. It’s just a reverse pass. It went about as planned except we didn’t complete it. We had some guys open, I think. It’s something (that) you’ve got to execute those things. It was one play in the game. It certainly didn’t determine the outcome of the game.
On expecting so much passing:
Not really. We game planned for whatever. I was just trying to look (at the stats). I mean, they ran the ball 28 times out of 57 plays. That’s about half the time. It got a little heavy towards the end, but they were having much more success throwing it than running it. I don’t know that was so much by design. You kind of do what you’re having success with. I’m sure if they were gashing us running the ball, they would have run the ball, although they ran it pretty good on us that last drive at the end there when they were trying to run out the clock.
On Georgia’s special teams:
They’ve got a really good kicking game with both those kickers. They just kind of rotate and they both banged it six yards deep on kickoffs. The punter hit some great punts, pinned us down. They didn’t punt the first half but in the second half he pinned us inside the 10 twice. The field-position game was not as favorable as you would have liked. We actually started the game out getting a pretty good punt and pinning them back, but they kind of flipped the field on us. Even with the interception, we ended up back on our end.
On the timeout negating the missed field goal:
It just seems like sometimes that’s the way it goes. There’s nothing you can do about it. Sometimes it goes that way. Plenty of times I’ve seen where you call timeout and the guy makes the field goal and they have to kick it again. Trust me, if I’d have known they would have a bad snap, I wouldn’t have called timeout.
On play of David Sims:
I thought David Sims played really hard. He made some really nice runs. He had a nice run on the goal line on a touchdown, he had a nice run on a screen pass. I thought David played hard.
On the start to the second half:
It wasn’t good. It’’s not exactly the way you want to start the second half. The guy got outside our contain guy. Our guy couldn’t get off that block. It was a good one. (Johnson was being sarcastic about the block.)
On defense not being able to get a stop:
It’s deflating. I think it deflates the whole team. The other thing that’s deflating is giving up the score before halftime after you score. That’s probably the third or fourth time that’s happened this year, where you grind the thing out, you make a fourth down, you go down, you score with a minute left and – boom – they come back and score. And even thought it was a field goal, it changes the momentum and changes the way things go. We tightened up in the third quarter and played better defensively, and then the offense went helter kelter there with turnovers.
On if Washington’s first interception was a broken play:
It wasn’t a broken play. I don’t know till you look at the tape. We need to hit some of those plays. When we’re really successful, we hit some of those and stay on the field and get some big plays. I think there was another time – you were talking about the reverse – the first time we ran the play action off the toss, they turned the wheel route loose and we missed that, too, down the sideline. It could have been a huge play.
When you’re playing a good team and they’re a good football team, you’ve got to hit those. When you get a chance, you’ve got to take advantage of them.
On Roddy Jones playing his last game and setting the school record with 51 career starts:
Roddy’s just a great person besides a really good football player, and a model student-athlete. He’s got tons of character. He’s got tons of it. He’s going to be very successful at whatever he decides to do. He’s been a big part of a lot of real positives for Georgia Tech while he’s been here, both on the field and off the field. Personally, I’ll miss him a lot. He’s a great kid.
On if losing to Georgia hurts more:
It hurts every time. Anytime, if you’re a competitor and you lose, it hurts. I hurt myself, but I also hurt for those kids, because they wanted to win that game badly. They wanted to play well and win the game, and you hurt that you couldn’t help them find a way to do it.
On the problems covering crossing routes:
Usually if guys are running wide open it’s (a mistake in) coverage. I don’t know the specific one you’re talking about; they hit a couple of crossers. We’ll have to look and see. I think that and, again, with the calls I’d be just trying to guess without going back and looking at the specific defensive call and seeing what happened on the tape. But, yeah, we had trouble covering them, especially in the first half
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
431 comments Add your comment
macrotech
November 28th, 2011
9:56 am
El Paso?! I’m TOTALLY pumped that we’re going to El Paso…going into this season there was NOONE that thought we’d do much this year. Admittedly, the 6-0 start got us all excited! However, anyone that didn’t see things playing out the way they did throughout the rest of the games….too, optimistic! Granted, when we beat Clemson, there was reason to ‘believe’. It was a nice response to losing to a bad Miami team. I thought that this team COULD beat uga….but, they couldn’t play poorly to do so. We played poorly! Props to uga for getting their act together after starting 0-2. Both teams seemed to over-achieve this year! I’m TOTALLY cool with El Paso…it’s better than ANYONE expected! GO TECH!!!
Dawgbreath
November 28th, 2011
9:57 am
A ‘Bama fan calling dawg fans obnoxious is like the pot calling the kettle black.
Help me understand their thinking, please
November 28th, 2011
10:02 am
It is said that “UGA has nothing to be proud of or excited about” because we :played a lousy schedule”. Um, ah, if GT won their silly lil division, they would be excited and looking forward to playing for the silly lil ACC title. ACC IS the weakest football league in USA.
Why, then, should UGA fans not be pumped up and really excited? AT LEAST THE SEC IS BIG BOY BALL AND TO WIN ANYTHING HERE IS FAR SUPERIOR TO THE ACC.
As one example, a good Wake Forest team was TROUNCED BY VANDY and GT’s one “big win” over Clemson was revelad to only a joke, because SC stomped Clemson and SC was nothing in the SEC East.
ramblin
November 28th, 2011
10:02 am
not a sore loser – there’s no reason i can’t voice my opinions as every else is. I had no expectations of beating GA this year and thought we didn’t play well enough to so – your generic comebacks further cement the fact how delusional you actually are – ill take a bowl game any year – but as i said LSU will smoke the dawgs hands down.
William Casey
November 28th, 2011
10:08 am
DAWGINLEX is exactly right. My son and I (both die-hard Jacket fans) were riding the bus back to the parking lot after the Maryland win. We were happy to win but also realized that this game exposed GT’s weaknesses. A couple of drunken GT fans (hate it when that happens) were chest-thumping about 6-0. We just looked at each other and discussed: “Yeah, this is nice but we still need a QB who can pass a little and a couple of stud defensive line guys. Our offensive and defensive schemes are good for GT. Vad Lee MIGHT be the QB. It’s not impossible to recruit a couple of 4-5 star defensive linemen. CPJ and his system are right for us because we will NEVER be able to match UGA’s recruiting across the board. We don’t have to. All is not lost.
Techie From Sheneckie
November 28th, 2011
10:11 am
Its basketball season. We are never a good football team any way. I’ve come to grips with that.
dmr
November 28th, 2011
10:14 am
Big Georgia fan here! Georgia Tech, just like Georgia has had an amazing turnaround from last season. No one can diminish that accomplishment. The Yellow Jackets finish 8 – 4 with a signature win over #5 Clemson, who at the time, was one of the hottest teams in the Nation.
Paul Johnson is a good coach and will make Tech better each year in my opinion. Tech has one glaring weakness. Because of their inability to mix the pass in well with the triple option, it makes it much tougher for Tech to comeback from big deficits.
Tech’s numbers Nationally: 3rd in rushing, 21st in points for, 58th in points against, *112th in passing
Tech’s defense will improve simply through recruiting. However, Johnson has got to find a way to use formation shifts or play action or option fakes to develop more of a passing threat and force teams to respect both.
I think he can do it. Tech is on the right path with the right man in my opinion.
Tell it like it is.
November 28th, 2011
10:19 am
GA Tech is a basketball School,and the Football coach is a joke!
William Casey
November 28th, 2011
10:20 am
MACROTECH is also right on the money. We have to give the Dawgs props. They made few mistakes and played to their strengths in their game plan. They beat us fair and square. However, now they are in exactly the same position we were in against them: going up against an LSU team with superior talent and also on a roll. Can they beat LSU? Certainly. But LSU would have to play badly. Murray won’t be able to stand pristinely in the pocket and pick the Tigers apart as he did us. Dawg fans can only hope that Crowell is 100% and that they can run between the tackles.
Al Bundy
November 28th, 2011
10:20 am
HighTech Sorry to disappoint you but I know nothing of a website that promotes the firing of CPJ. I believe in giving any coach a chance to prove he can put together a winning team. I’ve been a Tech fan since the mid 60’s and have spent more time watching GT lose games than I care to remember. My frustration with CPJ is that he always makes the same excuse (we didn’t execute) for every loss. How about we didn’t do a good job of coaching? We should have never lost to Virginia or Miami but we did. That’s what makes my blood boil. We are paying this guy an above average salary and he has had 4 years to get it together and he’s failing. I’m not saying he’s got to win them all next year, I’m just saying he’s got to quit losing to teams we should beat, win a bowl game and beat UGA.
Jacketdad
November 28th, 2011
10:20 am
William Casey is basically correct about the recruiting situation. I was sitting with my younger son at the game and as the teams line up for Tech’s first offensive play he says “my God, look at #6 for Georgia!” That was John Jenkins who is listed as being 6′ 4″ and 351 but actually looks bigger.. For a variety of reasons Tech cannot recruit players like him. Tech can be successful on their own terms but it simply cannot go head to head with UGA and other SEC powers for the really elite players that the recruiting services tag as superstars. Tech fans have to understand this reality.
DeanfromUGA
November 28th, 2011
10:39 am
I’ve been watching football in this state since 1980. Growing up I loved the Bill Curry teams and that black watch defense. My acceptance and attendance at UGA sealed up my loyalty to the Bulldogs. You guys have a good team and a gret coach. But, I do think that teams in the ACC tend to play down to the level of their competition. I don’t know how you change that but if Johnson could then you guys could be the ACC champs every year and be more successfull in OOC games. I know it’s moslty hate between the two fan bases but I root for you guys when we are not playing each other. Hope next year turns out better with the one exception against UGA.
Tell it like it is.
November 28th, 2011
10:40 am
As long as CPJ is at Tech,expect the samething every year,7or 8 wins a year.Never in the run for a national CH,geting blownout by UGA,and any other team that plays in a desent conference.
schmeckdawg
November 28th, 2011
10:42 am
Hey Dirt Daubers, y’all love ragging on Georgia’s schedule; take a look at this.
Western Carolina
Middle Tennessee State
Kansas
Duke
And you want to talk about a wussified schedule, give me a break!!!!!
Go DAWGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
DeanfromUGA
November 28th, 2011
10:44 am
JacketDad, I agree that the talent levels are different but I’d be carefull at looking at that as an escuse. Let’s face it, when was the last time Tech truly had more talent than UGA. Sometimes talent can be overcome with desire and a solid coaching plan which Johnson usually has. Lots of UGA kids wouldn’t be academically eligible to play for Tech but many of them would. I read where Herschel Walker says that he would have loved to play for Tech as he loved the team and the Ramblin Wreck motto. They never came and talked to him whereas even Harvard paid him a visit. Tech has beaten many more talented UGA teams.
Bobo is Not the Problem
November 28th, 2011
11:13 am
GT is singlehandedly keeping CMR in Athens.
Poor bumblebabies.
gdawginkalamazoo
November 28th, 2011
11:16 am
Wow I am glad we got through that game Saturday. Better D lessens the worry. Good luck to Roddy Jones, always great to see the student athletes doing it the right way.
gtgrad94
November 28th, 2011
11:39 am
Pretty funny facebook post I saw…
We might beat UGA in football when UGA can have a halftime show with grads that are astronauts like Tech.
Still PROUD of my degree and my school. We just can’t offer PE, Sport Management, and I love this one Pre-Business degrees. I hope we never lower our standards!
Go Jackets!!
gdawginkalamazoo
November 28th, 2011
11:40 am
Good luck to you Bees in your bowl game.
Dawgoneit
November 28th, 2011
11:41 am
You know, we need to make sure we keep focused on what this is all about-good competition between two great programs that represent two great schools. Yes, UGA and Georgia Tech are BOTH great schools. I am a graduate of UGA, and would love to have gone to Tech for an advanced degree, but they just don’t have my field of study there really. But in the last few years, there has been much bitterness between the two programs. While I realize it is all about competition for recruits and program advancement, trashing each other like we are barbarians doesn’t really help anyone. Lay off the comments about the school’s academic programs. No Georgia fan can honestly say Tech is not a good school. It is the MIT of the South, and no Georgia Tech fan can say UGA is not a good school. Look at its law school, business school, education program, and vet school. Come on! Really? I love this state, love the DAWGS, and am proud to have Georgia Tech as our hottest rival and collegiate neighbor. I hope GT wins every game each year except the last one it plays. To love the Dawgs does not mean I have to hate the Jackets. Good luck in the bowl game Tech, and Go DAWGS!!!!! BEAT LSU!!!!
RTD
November 28th, 2011
11:57 am
ProudTechFan, was it classy when the Tech fans booed the Red Coat Band as they spelled “Munson”? If that is class then I don’t want it.
Kendell Jones
November 28th, 2011
11:58 am
I think TEch used to have a great team when they were a part of the SEC, and then they decided they couldn’t compete so the left and went to the ACC. The ACC is a basketball school, not a football school.
WnE
November 28th, 2011
12:02 pm
Between now and Feb. will be a great time to be Ol’ Wrecksie!
For the entire Coach Kung Fu Panda tenure I have been consistent in my opinions & my analysis, but now 4-yrs. into this gimmicky, crappy, triple-SLOPtion Offense, now all the otehr putzes that called me an idiot are now saying the same thing about CPJ that I said when he was first hired.
On the 3 major GT-themed message boards everyone is parroting what WreckNEffect has said for years about Coach Fish Fry.
It is amazing how TIME can some of us seem like geniuses.
Jacketdad
November 28th, 2011
12:04 pm
DeanfromUGA, I did not mean to imply that academics were the only reason Tech cannot recruit players like John Jenkins but Tech’s tougher curriculum do play in part in who Tech can recruit. Just as important. though, is that Georgia has more money, better facilities, more national exposure and is a member of the SEC.. All these factors combined put Tech at a major disadvantage when recruiting against Georgia and the other SEC heavyweights.
GIVE ME A BREAK
November 28th, 2011
12:16 pm
The game boils down to Washington completing two passes to UGA players and missing at least three passes to Tech players. Tech’s recruits need a year in the weight room and to grow. The teams, like Alabama, recruit players that are ready to go. I like our players and GT’s reputation world wide. Recognizing the astronauts at halftime was awesome. We’ll beat UGA again, we should have beaten them Saturday but just made too many mistakes including coaching. Always proud to be a Tech fan. ” KEEP ROLLING JACKETS “
GT Alum
November 28th, 2011
12:18 pm
I hate losing to the Mutts, but I will take my degree and a great job over graduating from a football factory and spending my days on message boards waiting for my shift at the Little Caesars to start.
old dog
November 28th, 2011
12:21 pm
The truth is out; Tech had a few good athletes, but they ain’t gonna keep bring in nothin’ but chop-blockers and undersized running backs. A real q-back (who wants to SURVIVE) will not come to a triple-option team. Gimmicks work for a little while; then the better athletes and football minds take over. Nothin’ ‘gainst the tekkies, but the runs ’bout over with the triple option!
GIVE ME A BREAK
November 28th, 2011
12:21 pm
Ken, I had a comment that didn’t get through.
headley lamar
November 28th, 2011
12:22 pm
Still PROUD of my degree and my school. We just can’t offer PE, Sport Management, and I love this one Pre-Business degrees. I hope we never lower our standards!
Thats why 98 percent of the football team majors in “Management” and very few of them graduate.
In fact last I looked Tech had the lowest graduation rates in the ACC for football.
Tech is not an great academic school.
Thats just the first crutch Tech fans fall on after losing.
headley lamar
November 28th, 2011
12:25 pm
I hate losing to the Mutts, but I will take my degree and a great job over graduating from a football factory and spending my days on message boards waiting for my shift at the Little Caesars to start.
Paul Johnson tell you that one ?? Surprised you didn’t call hard working people who work at Little Ceasers retards.
You stay classy Tech folks.
gtfanfrom1951
November 28th, 2011
12:30 pm
CPJ was brought in to beat UGA and win ACC it is not getting done!
headley lamar
November 28th, 2011
12:30 pm
ProudTechFan, was it classy when the Tech fans booed the Red Coat Band as they spelled “Munson”? If that is class then I don’t want it.
Hey, Tech is what it is. A cesspool that produces the likes of Reuben Houston.
They are constantly on probation and the head coach is a joke.
Did you really expect any different ????
headley lamar
November 28th, 2011
12:31 pm
CPJ was brought in to beat UGA and win ACC it is not getting done!
He is now 2 – 9 against Va Tech, UGA, and the bowl game.
gtfanfrom1951
November 28th, 2011
12:33 pm
Tigers by 30
CT_Jacket
November 28th, 2011
12:58 pm
Dawgoneit is right. UGA has improved their academics yet still have the mission of providing an education for all of the state. The venom has gotten worse, natually, over the past 20 years because Tech isn’t staying competitive on the field.
A UGA grad told me a long time ago, he doesn’t like it when one team wins too much because then he and his GT friends won’t speak as often. Too bad we let a game played by 18-22 year olds get in the way of what really matters.
1 4 GT
November 28th, 2011
1:00 pm
Hey Georgie folks—quit yer whining—no where do I recall or find thru Google that Georgie did any kind of tribute to Al Ciraldo—and they were good friends—our “tribute” to Munson was requested by Wes Durham I read because he and Munson were good friends—so who had more “class” in honoring a well known radio personality—I;ll bet Georgie kids would have done the same thing in a reverse situation— at least it was done during the Georgie bands tribute, not the “official” school before the game
jarvis
November 28th, 2011
1:01 pm
“When they had to…”
Apparently they had to all day.
RT in NC
November 28th, 2011
1:10 pm
Georgia whooped us good and it hurts, I’m just glad I live in NC where there aren’t so many dog fans. My take on the game/season.
The team is young, and once we lost to UVA, I was already looking forward to next year.
We have got to get someone who can pass decently and know when to throw it away. Tevin and Josh would just heave it long and pray when no one was open and some of their passes were just laughable. We’ve got to get some balance.
Academics is not an excuse for recruiting when you are dead last in the conference for graduating players. Our graduation rate is an embarrassment and removes our right to claim a difficult curriculum as an excuse.
Losing 10 of 11 is pathetic. We can’t blame Brain and Gailey any more. Johnson needs to start feeling the heat.
We don’t have the talent in the secondary, the beef on the D line, or the guts to blitz in the 3-4. We need to drop the 3-4 or have an innovative blitz package. Getting rid of Groh would be a good start.
philSC
November 28th, 2011
1:11 pm
dawg fans have no bite–cause i bitch slapped one during the game and he ran away like the bitch he was.
RT in NC
November 28th, 2011
1:13 pm
Headly, you seem bitter after a win. Lighten up, the world won’t end when UGA gets embarrassed by LSU.
Whattever
November 28th, 2011
1:23 pm
Georgia mutts get rady for an As@ Kicking By the Tigers !
Enjoy this week cause it will be ugly in Atlanta this week.
ChickFilA Bowl Appearance
November 28th, 2011
1:26 pm
gtfanfrom1951 – you seem to be confusing the upcoming UGA-LSU game with the whooping you took the time you faced LSU in the Dome. Funny how bitter you guys get after a loss. Take the whooping and move on losers.
ChickFilA Bowl Appearance
November 28th, 2011
1:27 pm
Oh yeah, I almost forgot…enjoy another bowl loss.
Al Bundy
November 28th, 2011
1:40 pm
I do think both sides, UGA and Tech fans should lighten up just a bit. The facts are pretty clear in my opinion. The University of Georgia is a great school with great tradition and for the most part great fans too. The Georgia Institute of Technology is a great school with great tradition and for the most part great fans as well. Both schools have their share of morons that call themselves fans but in fact are low-life dirt bags who need to get a life. UGA kicked our butts in football 9 out of the last 10 times, period! UGA has a better football team right now and we (Tech fans) need to quit making excuses. It makes us sound like cry babies! Our problem is not just one thing you can point a finger at and it’s certainly not academics. We have big problems in every area of the game.
Shinhoster
November 28th, 2011
1:40 pm
My friend says there’s rumors of CMR to Penn State. Thoughts anyone???
Paul's a Puss
November 28th, 2011
1:41 pm
Everytime I try and like Paul Johnson, he manages to start flapping those hog jowls and say something beyond stupid. like his comment that the SEC was overrated. What a moron.
Let’s see. The SEC has won 6 straight national championships and will most likley win #7 this year. Going into this past weekend, the SEC had schools ranked #1, #2, and #3 in the pools. UGA, who is not very good this year, just bitch slapped you for the 10th time in 11 years. Tech runs a high school offense that may work at Ga. Southern and Navy. And it may work in the ACC since that is nothing more than AAA high school football. But Tech will never become a consistant top 25 team running a gimmick high school offense and their defense is non-existant.
So Paul, before you start flapping those hawg jowls again, you need to show you can play with the big boys. I would have a lot more respect for the guy if he had just said ” We are not very good and we play in a conference that is barely one step above high school football. Georgia will wipe the field with us and my hope is that one day soon Georgis Tech can be competitive with an SEC school”.
Greatest Coach Who Ever Lived
November 28th, 2011
1:47 pm
Same old story with Paul “I’m the greatest coach who ever lived – just ask me,” Johnson. Furman Bisher first annointed him the next great coach between the flats, and Mark Bradley has continued that after Bisher retired.
Sure Johnson’s winning percentage is among the best. The question is who all has he beaten? We’re not talking about the powerhouses he played against while coaching at Georgia Southern. That joke of an offense works on that level. Did he beat anybody other than a mediocre Notre Dame team while he was at Navy?
The bottom line is Johnson and his SUPERIOR offense are great for seven to eight wins a year at Tech, which actually is pretty good for that school. There’s even a chance for nine or 10 wins every five years. Playing in the ACC allows for little to no competition.
The difference comes when Tech plays a team with superior talent, such as Georgia, an average Miami team with great players, or just about any school in a bowl. Any coach can figure out how to beat Tech with 20 or more days to prepare.
I really feel for Paul Johnson and the Tech fans. Delusions aside, he’d be much better off coaching against those 1-AA teams. Tech might actually have a chance to beat a decent team with another coach.
Until Tech wakes up and realizes what a joke Paul Johnson and his I’m the greatest coach who ever lived attitude is, nothing much is going to change. Enjoy those seven to eight wins a year.
Typical GA fans
November 28th, 2011
1:55 pm
You can’t lose with class, and you certainly don’t win with class. You will get yours this Sat…about like 50-3
Typical GA fans
November 28th, 2011
2:00 pm
headley lamar
November 28th, 2011
12:30 pm
“A cesspool that produces the likes of …”
Ooooh, say Montez Robinson, Zach Mettenberger, Caleb King, Washaun Ealey, Isaiah and Carlton….
Gorilla Biscuit
November 28th, 2011
2:06 pm
Hello girls. Just stopped by to see if ya’ll have recovered yet. I guess not.