Notes: Johnson calls loss ‘my fault’
1. Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson held two fingers inches apart.
“We’re about this close to being 4-0 and everybody ranting and raving,” Johnson said Monday. He then spread his arms wide. “But we’re also about this close because we haven’t done the little things to make it happen.”
Following the Yellow Jackets’ practice, Johnson shared his disappointment in his team’s performance in its 42-36 overtime loss to Miami on Saturday and accepted responsibility for the loss. Tech plays Middle Tennessee State Saturday.
“It’s like I told the team [Monday],” he said. “You get beat like that, it’s my fault. I’m ultimately responsible.”
After playing fairly well in the first three games, Johnson said he thought the defense’s giving up 609 yards to Miami was “an aberration” and called the fourth-quarter play more of a concern than any specific defensive shortcomings such as the pass rush or secondary play.
“And I’m also concerned that we didn’t score any points in the fourth quarter,” he said.
Addressing the possibility of fatigue playing a role in the team’s fourth-quarter failures in losses to Utah in the Sun Bowl and this season to Virginia Tech and Miami, Johnson brought up third downs as a contributing factor.
Saturday, Miami converted 11 of 16 third downs. In the second half, the Hurricanes were 8-for-11 overall and 6-for-7 when they needed seven yards or more. Last season, Tech was 83rd in the country in defensive third-down efficiency at 42.4 percent.
“If you can’t stop ’em on third down, your [butt] is going to be on the field for a lot longer,” he said.
As might be expected, the loss did not sit well with Johnson. After the game, he returned home and “replayed the game in my head 40 times” before falling asleep at 4:45 a.m. and getting up 30 minutes later to come to the office.
“You just want to punch somebody or go hang yourself or something,” he said.
2. Punter Sean Poole is out after suffering an injury making a tackle Saturday. Poole was in a sling with ice on his shoulder/collarbone area after the hit. He was replaced by Ryan Rodwell, a true freshman who was the first punter in Johnson’s tenure to come to Tech on scholarship . Rodwell became the third true freshman to play this season, following wide receiver Anthony Autry and defensive lineman Adam Gotsis.
Johnson said he expected cornerback Louis Young, who left the game with an upper-body injury, and guard Will Jackson, who didn’t finish the game after injuring his leg, to play Saturday. Johnson said that safety Fred Holton (foot) ran Monday and is improving, but he wasn’t sure about his availability for Saturday.
3. Wide receiver Jeremy Moore has been reinstated to the team after leaving for personal reasons last Tuesday. Johnson said Moore came to him Thursday and told him that he had made a mistake in leaving and wanted to come back. Johnson left it up to the team’s seniors, who accepted him. Moore practiced Thursday but did not dress for the game. He apologized to the team Monday.
“Young guys, they do rash things sometimes,” Johnson said.
4. Johnson said that there is not a “hard-and-fast rule” regarding the number of audibles that the quarterback can make at the line of scrimmage. Following the game Sunday, quarterback Tevin Washington said he is coached to only make one “check” at the line, which helped lead to a 4th-and-1 play in overtime resulting in no gain. Johnson accepted responsibility, saying that Washington may have misinterpreted being told to not get in “a checking contest.”
5. Defensive end Izaan Cross will wear the No. 40 jersey Saturday in honor of former linebacker and captain Julian Burnett, who suffered a career-ending neck injury in the Sun Bowl. Different seniors have worn it each game. … Tech will play its Oct. 6 game at Clemson at 3:30 p.m. The game will be televised on either ABC, ESPN or ESPN2. Tech’s home game Saturday against Middle Tennessee State will be a noon kickoff and be televised on regional sports networks, including Fox Sports South in the Atlanta market.
In case you missed it…
The meaning of Tech giving up 609 yards
After Miami loss, Tech tries to regroup
Mark Bradley: Johnson’s approach hurting Tech
Thanks for reading.
Ken Sugiura, Georgia Tech blog
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305 comments Add your comment
fuzzybee78
September 24th, 2012
11:00 pm
Amen SS, another voice of reason with Hayseed
GT Joe
September 24th, 2012
11:01 pm
Supersize: we gave up a 17 point lead because our offense couldn’t get but 4 first downs in the last 25 minutes of the game.
GT Joe
September 24th, 2012
11:04 pm
Okay fuzzy, supersize, and hayseed, answer this for me:
How do any of you possibly expect us to be better than 7-5 this year? What, in the past 20 starts by TW, gives you the idea that he can do better than he has done? Which is sub .500 football against BCS conference teams?
fuzzybee78
September 24th, 2012
11:05 pm
This reminds me of the Jasper Sanks game argument– when all the uga folks hollerin about the “fumble” and ignoring the fact that they gave up 53 POINTS until reminded by Mark Bradley I think:)
GT Joe
September 24th, 2012
11:05 pm
Tevin against Miami: 20 rushes for 47 yards. 3-8 passing. yeah, he did his job, lol.
maybe you guys saw that game last year vs. UGA? 3-10 with 2 INTs? Yeah, he’’s the MAN for us.
GT Joe
September 24th, 2012
11:09 pm
Fuzzy: hate to break it to you, but the first 55 minutes of the football game just gets you to the final 5. Winners win games late. Losers don’t. And we’ve seen TW in these situations. Hell, his first game he threw a pick to end the game at VT, 2010. Bad from the start.
Ask any basketball coach: all they can hope for is a possession at the end of the game to win it. What happened in the 1st quarter matters very little.
Hayseed Dixie
September 24th, 2012
11:09 pm
Kam Chancellor with the pass interference.
Anyone remember him telling anyone who would listen at ACC media days that he had ‘figured out’ the triple option?
Then Sportscenter does a segment in prime time about how Tech put him on his rear early and often.
GT Joe
September 24th, 2012
11:10 pm
I wonder if Michael Jordan is most known for his 1st quarter performances, or 4th quarter?
Hint: you don’t win games in the 1st quarter.
George Stein
September 24th, 2012
11:12 pm
It was a terrible call, Hayseed, but I definitely recall his comment.
Delbert D.
September 24th, 2012
11:15 pm
The folks on that Bradley blog were most unreceptive.
George Stein
September 24th, 2012
11:16 pm
Ha! That sounds about right, Delbert.
fuzzybee78
September 24th, 2012
11:16 pm
GT Joe, I dont expect him to be much better. I expect our D and ST to be better and I hope CPJ and CAG can scheme a little better. I expect to see Vad hopefully a lot this weekend and hopefully help us the rest of the way. I would like to see that “situational package” CPJ talked about earlier.
Who of us thought TW would come back after bad games against UVA and UM last year and put 31 on Clemson??? Better still who thought we could hold them to 17???
Dont think Vad is ready to start in Death Valley but I do hope to see a lot of him in Athens.
Hayseed Dixie
September 24th, 2012
11:17 pm
You’re right, it was a BS call.
But a little schadenfreude on a hokie never hurts.
Delbert D.
September 24th, 2012
11:17 pm
Just thought I’d get that in here. Time to go on upstairs now.
GT Joe
September 24th, 2012
11:21 pm
Funny, everyone seems to know for a fact that Vad “isn’t ready”, “doesn’t know the offense”, “can’t be thrown in the fire yet”, etc. etc. etc.
Well, was Tevin ready to be thrown in the fire at VT in 2010? Nobody will ever know if a guy is ready until he gets the start.
Hayseed Dixie
September 24th, 2012
11:22 pm
GTJoe.
No one’s saying Tevin is Tommy Frazier II.
I’m just saying I understand the amount of snaps he’s gotten to this point.
If you’d read my posts instead of emotionally reacting to them, you’d understand that.
Lets’ recap:
36 points is far and above the national average (fact).
If the defense makes ONE stop we win (a far more straightforward fact than any silly interpolation of the offense you have).
GTJoe resorts to name calling and emotional retorts on both the UGA *and* the Tech blog. Hence, he is a troll (irrevocably true. Google backs me up.)
Hayseed Dixie
September 24th, 2012
11:23 pm
Delbert, you been to any games this year?
GT Joe
September 24th, 2012
11:25 pm
Hayseed: there is NOTHING more straightforward than “if Tevin throws an INT in OT, we lose”.
there is NOTHING more straightforward than “if Tevin blows an audible and gets stopped on 4th down in OT, we lose”.
How much more responsible can one be for a loss (or two)?
Hayseed Dixie
September 24th, 2012
11:26 pm
Yeah there is.
If the defense makes *one* stop, Tevin’s not even in that situation.
They know it. You know it.
SLCtechfan
September 24th, 2012
11:26 pm
Half you idiots are living in a fairy tale. The damn offense isn’t the problem it the defense. When you put up 400 yards of offense and over 35 points what more do you want? I’ve coached for several years and have studied under Paul Johnson and believe me, the mans a genius. His offense always produces and controls the clock. What do you want the spread? Pro-set? Air-raid? Please. Take a look at 90% of these teams and tell me how they do. Ya Alabama runs a pro offense, when you get those caliber of skill positions and offensive lineman let me know.
GT Joe
September 24th, 2012
11:27 pm
Hayseed: GT defense only gave up 17 to VT in regulation; by your logic, this loss was solely on the OFFENSE because 17 is below the national average. Right?
LOL, do you see how lame that argument is now?
fuzzybee78
September 24th, 2012
11:28 pm
Hayseed, I still love watching Tommy Frazier run the option on Youtube. I think Vad has the potential to be really good.
Seems like Neb had a pretty good D as well.
GT Joe
September 24th, 2012
11:29 pm
Hayseed: If the defense makes the stop, Tevin wouldn’t be in that situation? Well, if the offense scored more points, the defense wouldn’t have been in THAT position?
See how lame your argument is NOW?
Hayseed Dixie
September 24th, 2012
11:32 pm
No, I don’t see how lame that logic is.
The quickest route to the win in *both* situations was that the D made the stop. That’s sound logic by any standard.
You need to learn how to talk to people, son. I’m loathe to see any supposed ’supporter’ of the Institute come off like a common internet troll.
Give the ‘lame’ words a rest.
fuzzybee78
September 24th, 2012
11:35 pm
Lets tune up for Clemson this weekend and see if we still have Clemson’s number like UM has ours:)
No matter who plays QB—
GO JACKETS!!!!
GT Joe
September 24th, 2012
11:36 pm
With Michigan down by two points with 20 seconds to go, Chris Webber calls a timeout at the end of the national championship game. One problem, his team had no timeouts. Loss of possession, no chance to win, game over. Because of a bonehead decision.
Nobody would ever blame the Michigan DEFENSE for letting UNC score more points up to that point. ALL the blame went on Webber.
but I guess Hayseed, George and supersize would blame the Michigan defense for putting him in that position. LOL. funny.
Hayseed Dixie
September 24th, 2012
11:38 pm
fuzzybee78
Tommy Frazier was a bad arse.
Maybe Vad will be Tommy Frazier. Just not this season, regardless.
GT Joe
September 24th, 2012
11:39 pm
You know what, while we’re at it, I would like to go back and blame bobby dodd for the losses to Miami and VT. If not for him, we’d be in the SEC and not even had to play VT or Miami, and Tevin would never be on those situations where winners making winning plays and losers don’t. LOL.
Hayseed Dixie
September 24th, 2012
11:40 pm
GTJoe
Are you sure you’re a Tech fan?
Cause it sounds to me like you can’t tell the difference between football and basketball.
I have a 6 year old who can tell the difference.
You should go back to trolling the UGA blogs and making all Tech fans look like blithering idiots.
Actually, on second thought, don’t.
GT Joe
September 24th, 2012
11:45 pm
The defense of Tevin is really mindboggling.
3-10 with 2 INTs vs UGA. game ending INT at VT. Boneheaded audible against Miami essentially ending that game. 20 for 47 yards rushing. under .500 record vs. BCS Conference teams. WTF.
Hayseed Dixie
September 24th, 2012
11:47 pm
Uh oh-
The scab ref thing is about to reach fever pitch here.
They just blew the final call on the GB game.
GT Joe
September 24th, 2012
11:47 pm
sorry hayseed, too much of a leap for you to understand?
GT Joe
September 24th, 2012
11:49 pm
doesn’t matter what the ref called on the field, he knew it would be reviewed anyways.
Supersize that order, mutt
September 24th, 2012
11:54 pm
@ GT Joe…..what you fail to (or refuse to) understand about what I have been saying to you since Saturday night is that I agree, that Vad is probably the better QB, and I WANT him to get a chance. What I object to is your blaming EVERYTHING on one person. Like I said earlier, if Vad had been in there at the end instead of Tevin, I still would not have blamed the loss on him. You blame two entire games on one person, regardless of who that might be. As far as I am concerned that is just plain stupid BS.
Supersize that order, mutt
September 24th, 2012
11:58 pm
I have never said that Tevin played a perfect game up until that point, nor have I ever said that Vad might have played as good as or even better a game. ALL I am saying is that for you to blame a loss on one player having one bad play that brought the game to an end is totally ignoring everything that led up to that one play, be it good things or bad things. A team wins or loses as a team, and seldom because of one individual player or one single play. It would be very easy for me to blame last year’s lost to VT on Attaochu’s punching the VT QB. That, indeed, seemed to be a turning point in the game. But that one incident did not lose the game. The TEAM lost the game
GT Fan
September 25th, 2012
12:02 am
The Offense did more than enough to win the game. The D overcame a bad 1st qtr only to diappear from the 10 minute mark in the 3rd to OT.
Again, Miami was 8 for 11 on 3rd downs in the 2nd half, 6 for 7 when they needed 7 or more yards!
That’s a defensive letdown, plain & simple.
GT Joe
September 25th, 2012
12:03 am
SS: sometimes, it’s very possible that ONE person can lose a game for a whole team. And I’m not talking about someone just having a bad game. I’m talking about someone making a wrong decision in a critical play that immediately and conclusively ends a game.
Apparently it hurts your heart to blame Tevin, or maybe it’s against your religion to blame a human being for a loss, then so be it.
GT Joe
September 25th, 2012
12:04 am
The attaochu punch is nowhere near what Tevin did. The game did not end for us after the attaochu punch.
DOC 51
September 25th, 2012
12:05 am
Anybody that thinks the GT defense will come back strong is dreaming.Defense is mainly about coaching, heart ,and intensity(especially when you only recruit 2 and 3 STAR players.Our team doesn’t have much of those ingredients.—CPJ usually talks about winning by one point.When your Defense and ST ARE EXCELLENT,then games are generally on ice by the fourth quarter.Any HC should want to win every game handily.Outscoring everybody is not the answer.
Supersize that order, mutt
September 25th, 2012
12:06 am
@ GT Joe……IF Tevin had had a bad game all the way through, then yes, I would blame him, or blame Johnson for not making a change when it was obvious that he couldn’t cut it. But Tevin had a good game. In the 4th quarter even, I don’t blame Tevin for not getting first downs when we needed them. I actually blame Johnson for not telling Tevin to do what he had done all the way through that 36 point run. Johnson seemed to be willing to sit on the lead and take his chances, and because the defense couldn’t stop anything, it backfired on him. I don’t care if it was Tevin, or Vad, or Synjyn, or even Nesbitt (if he were still around), I would NOT blame the loss on one single play in OT.
Silly Mutts
September 25th, 2012
12:06 am
SS….joe just thinks that vad is the answer to all of gts problems and nobody but him thinks this is true. You arent going to change his mind. He just doesnt understand that there are more issues and people to blame other than tw. Rod sweeting, orwin smith, the entire d line, coaching, play calling etc etc. personally i dont think gr scores 36 straight with vad after beind down 19-0 having nothing to do with tw. Did he make a decision at the end of the game that was bad? Yes end of story.
GT Joe
September 25th, 2012
12:07 am
“offense did enough to win the game?” Let’s see. no points in OT. no points in the 4th. hell, no points since 10:06 left in the 3rd! 4 1st downs in the last 25 minutes. Come on.
Supersize that order, mutt
September 25th, 2012
12:10 am
@ GT Joe…..so was Tevin the only offensive player on the field during that final 25 minutes plus OT? HELL NO, he wasn’t, but you want to blame everything on him. What about maybe the line didn’t block? The rb’s didn’t run with authority and dig their heels in? The coach didn’t call plays designed to do anything more than eat up time on the clock? Why is it that you blame EVERYTHING on Tevin?
GT Joe
September 25th, 2012
12:10 am
sure silly. TW is definitely the answer. His record vs. BCS conference teams is awesome. under .500.
GT Joe
September 25th, 2012
12:13 am
SS: let’s see, every back averaged 5+ yards per carry EXCEPT tevin. He completed 3 passes. THREE. All game. Before the punt back to miami, an incomplete pass by… wait for it… TEVIN.
Supersize that order, mutt
September 25th, 2012
12:15 am
Did every back average 5+ yards per carry during the last 25 minutes plus OT in the game??? HELL, NO !!!!
GT Joe
September 25th, 2012
12:16 am
I just wonder, at what point would any of you EVER blame Tevin for anything? What exactly would have to happen? Because clearly, game ending INTs or incorrect audibles just isn’t enough to warrant any blame.
Silly Mutts
September 25th, 2012
12:17 am
Gt joe….im guessing we disnt have al groh during those games? That is your reason bro not tevin! If tw goes 0-10 and throws three ints he is going to start over vad. Your not going to convince anyone that tw is the problem. Nobody agrees with you and mean nobody
GT Joe
September 25th, 2012
12:20 am
funny you ask, SS: last 25 minutes, tevin had 5 rushes for -5 yards, and 0/1 passing. Every other back averaged 4 or more, with Godhigh and Zenon averaging 5+.
But nah, Tevin did well enough to win, right? especially in the last 25 mins? LOL.
Silly Mutts
September 25th, 2012
12:22 am
If pur defense gave up less than 200 yards and tw accounted directly for more than 3 tos and gt had no one with 5 yards on a carry then id go with vad