Notes: Tech defense receives energy infusion
1. Charles Kelly has no magic formulas. Georgia Tech’s interim defensive coordinator is just trying to emphasize the basics.
In his first interview since being elevated from secondary coach in the wake of Al Groh’s firing, Kelly endorsed a simple approach to coaching defense.
“I believe this,” he said. “I believe you try to put guys in the best situation, let ’em play fast and let the chips fall where they may.”
Tech went through its second practice of the bye week Wednesday. The Yellow Jackets will practice again Thursday and then be off until Monday. Tech plays Boston College at home Oct. 20. Players and coaches described the Wednesday practice, conducted in full pads, as energetic.
“The energy in our live drills has changed,” cornerback Louis Young said.
“He has great energy, fire, passionate,” outside linebacker Jeremiah Attaochu said. “That’s all you can really ask for.”
Kelly said the first priority in his preparations is to make sure players know where to line up and how to execute plays. Under Groh, improper pre-snap alignment and mental errors were often problems. Coach Paul Johnson said Wednesday he thought Tech had 47 missed assignments in its 47-31 loss to Clemson, Groh’s final game.
“The biggest thing we want to do is concentrate on going back and working on the fundamentals of the game,” he said. “This game, it’s not very complicated.”
2. Aside from having a new coordinator, most players on the defense are working with new position coaches thanks to a shuffling of responsibilities. Special-teams coordinator David Walkosky is coaching the defensive line, for example.
“They’re sponges. They absorb coaching,” Walkosky said of his new charges. “It’s been a great adjustment.”
Said nose tackle T.J. Barnes of his new coach, “It’s been cool. He’s a ball of energy.”
Walkosky is leaning on Andy McCollum, who had been coaching the line and is now working with the inside linebackers. Walkosky said his plan is “to try to let them run to the ball and set them loose a little bit.”
Tech will limit the amount it plays “two-gap” defense, in which linemen were tasked with controlling the gaps to their left and right and will instead play more “one-gap.” In that scheme, a lineman is responsible only for one crease and can play with a more attacking style. Johnson said that Tech was playing two-gap defense “a lot more than anybody else in the country” and didn’t have the right personnel to play it.
3. Young called Groh’s firing “bittersweet.” Young had been recruited to Virginia by Groh when he was coach there, then ended up at Tech after Groh was hired as defensive coordinator in Jan. 2010. Young had said previously that he saw Groh as a father figure.
“It hurt a little bit, but I understand it’s a transition and that’s just part of growing up and being a man,” Young said.
Attaochu also was recruited to Virginia before Groh switched jobs.
“I shot him a text message, just telling him how much we appreciate him over here, how much he’s taught us,” Attaochu said. “He’s a man of class, so I thought I’d show him some class.”
4. Guard Shaquille Mason and center Jay Finch were among those missing practice Wednesday with undisclosed injuries. Guard Omoregie Uzzi returned to practice after being held out Tuesday. Johnson said there were no serious injuries and that “everybody should be back on Monday,” the one exception being safety Fred Holton.
5. With the bye, Tech players and coaches will have their only weekend off until December. Many won’t get too far from the game. Quarterbacks and B-backs coach Brian Bohannon said he planned to watch his sons play football Saturday morning. Offensive tackle Ray Beno and Young both want to watch their younger brothers play. Barnes is going the opposite direction. He said he’s going to Daytona Beach, Fla., by himself to lie on the beach. Barnes grew up there.
“Just to get away from football for a little bit,” he said.
In case you missed it…
Notes: Jackets move forward without Groh
Jeff Schultz: Radakovich says Johnson is ‘right person for this job’
Audition begins for interim Charles Kelly
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190 comments Add your comment
I agree, Super...
October 11th, 2012
2:48 pm
…though he did line up where a TE lines up…
Supersize that order, mutt
October 11th, 2012
2:49 pm
@ FLJ…..I totally agree. It’s really just a matter of semantics, for the most part.
FL Jacket
October 11th, 2012
2:50 pm
“27th if you count games vs. FCS teams.
36th against FBS teams (you know, the teams that matter in the BCS computer polls?).”
Fact is…did you eliminate the scoring against FCS teams that the other ranked teams also had?
Supersize that order, mutt
October 11th, 2012
2:51 pm
I wish that whoever is making posts with the first part of their post as their name would just settle on one name, so we would know they always come from the same person. What you are posting is fine, but please get a single name like the rest of us do
Supersize that order, mutt
October 11th, 2012
2:51 pm
@ FLJ……good point at 2:50
Fact is...
October 11th, 2012
2:52 pm
FL Jacket: don’t play dumb. Sheesh. Go here for offensive rankings.
http://www.teamrankings.com/college-football/stat/points-per-game
Now scroll down to #36…
Fact is...
October 11th, 2012
2:54 pm
GT:
#32 in 3rd down conversion.
#77 in 4th down conversion.
Orion
October 11th, 2012
3:03 pm
Charles Kelly is a GREAT coach & an even better person. I hope he has the opportunity to put his mark on this team in what’s left of this season. I don’t know anyone that has worked with him that doesn’t have the utmost respect for his demeanor, passion, and knowledge. He is certainly headed for great things, hopefully here on The Flats. Class act.
Charles Kelly focusing in on task at hand | Georgia Tech
October 11th, 2012
3:08 pm
[...] Notes: Tech defense receives energy fusion [...]
GT fan for many years
October 11th, 2012
3:12 pm
I have tickets in the West stands. I see all you younger fans and I once thought just like you. Your optimism is commended but I have come to the hard conclusion that GT has a talent and recruiting issue. How to fix it has been posted before. You will believe like me one day soon. Then Your seats will be empty like mine. I am a graduate of GT but it is not the same school now and I am really sorry that I am an alumnus, if you want to know the truth. I thought College was learning and enjoying Athletics on Saturday afternoon. I have been shortchanged with the latter. Don’t expect football or basketball to get better because of new Coaches, they don’t have the support from Peterson or the BOR for Athletics at GT. Watch the West stands, they are emptying along with their contributions.
Supersize that order, mutt
October 11th, 2012
3:17 pm
@ many years…….I graduated from Tech in 1966, and I in no way whatsoever agree with you. If you are sorry that you are a Tech alumnus, then just turn in your diploma and go find a life somewhere else. We don’t need fans like you, nor does any other school.
Coach Z
October 11th, 2012
3:36 pm
@ supersize. I’m a South Carolina grad bug a GT fan. It’s a long story, regardless I love hearing from Tech alumni and or students. We may hold a degree from different schools, but we all still hate the Dogs.
Supersize that order, mutt
October 11th, 2012
3:38 pm
@ Coach Z……..AMEN to that. I listened to the USC – UGA game on my car radio driving home to Augusta after the Clemson game last week. I never once got drowsy; I was enjoying what I was listening to too much even to think about being tired
old dog
October 11th, 2012
3:40 pm
@Supersize;
Correct that mistake! You listened to the South Carolina game….Georgia did not show up! lol
New to this
October 11th, 2012
3:43 pm
In regards to that play against UM in overtime, it seems nobody else on offense got the play change. The tackle and extra tackle (TE if you want to call it) looked to be trying to seal the edge. They stepped out and turned back in. Tevin dove in right behind where they just vacated and ran into the defensive line. Orwin’s response (to me) looks like he was confused by what happened and was asking Godhigh about the play call, because he was expecting the pitch. None of us will know anything more than what we are told, but in my opinion this was one of those instances where TW thought he could just get the first by stepping in a whole and diving upfield. He miscalculated. I do kind of like that TW seems to want the ball in his hands in those moments, he just doesn’t always produce. He has the heart, but unfortunately heart doesn’t always win games.
Supersize that order, mutt
October 11th, 2012
3:43 pm
LOL @ old dog
FL Jacket
October 11th, 2012
3:44 pm
old dog…
If Georgia didn’t show up, then who punted the ball to Ace Saunders?
Jacket Detective
October 11th, 2012
3:45 pm
@Supersize.
Sounds better than coffee.
FL Jacket
October 11th, 2012
3:46 pm
Nobody certainly showed up to block Jadaveon Clowney
Jacket Detective
October 11th, 2012
3:48 pm
If someone told me before the Miami game that we would score 36 straight points and lose, I would never have believed him.
MaconGTFan
October 11th, 2012
3:49 pm
Don’t forget about the overrated chants from the SC fans at the end of the game.
Thanks, new to this...
October 11th, 2012
3:52 pm
…I was thinking the same thing and was going to write that but you beat me to it – good point on the seeming miscommunication! And this goes even further to prove that CPJ is blamingTW, when in fact he WAS expecting someone to be blocking #44…
Jacket Detective
October 11th, 2012
3:56 pm
Dawg fans are pretty frustrated that most of their main rivals have recent BCS national championships, some more than one, and they have a good record but can’t win the big games to attain elite status.
If there is any silver lining to losing to the arch-rival, it is that mediocre Richt’s record vs GT is what has saved his job and kept the doggies stuck with their minister.
MaconGTFan
October 11th, 2012
3:57 pm
Personally, I don’t think it would have mattered what play we ran at the end of the UM game, just for the simple fact that there blew the line up like they did. I think Tevin saw it happen and made a split decision. If he would have pitched, I think it would have been the same result as the safety against Klempsum. Meaning a tackle for a loss even more behind the line. We had no push on that play at all. UM was ready for whatever play Tech called and they prroved it.
old dog
October 11th, 2012
4:00 pm
@FL Jacket,
Sadly, you are right. At least y’all are adjusting to your problems…..we on the other hand are satisfied with the worst o-line in the league, as well as doing NOTHING to recruit better there. Also (sadly, again) if we played S.C. again Saturday, the exact same thing would happen. We do not have a top-notch SEC line, and are doing NOTHING to adjust. This has been pointed out by knowlegeble coaches, as well as arm-chair and Sunday morning QB’s. You do not have to be a Tech grad (lol) to see we have a lower tier line. If your new coach piles us up up front, you may be suprised…….and maybe THEN we will TRY to adjust to a problem. I do credit Tech for making a move to improve…….
Jacket Detective
October 11th, 2012
4:02 pm
Synjyn is a better runner than Tevin.
Vad is a better passer.
But Tevin runs the offense better than either.
According to CPJ.
And I agree.
Jacket Detective
October 11th, 2012
4:04 pm
@MaconGTFan.
Maybe part of the problem was 4 straight running plays inside the ten.
Jacket Detective
October 11th, 2012
4:08 pm
Cincy 5 outs from losing three straight at home to the Giants.
Talk about money not well spent by fans.
MaconGTFan
October 11th, 2012
4:08 pm
Synjyn needs to be on the field. He shown he can block and his willingness to do so. I’ve seen a couple of times this year where he’s taken out two defenders single handedly. He Demi ds me so much of Roddy Jones. Why PJ doesn’t put him out there more blows my mind.
MaconGTFan
October 11th, 2012
4:10 pm
*Reminds not Demi ds.
Jacket Detective
October 11th, 2012
4:10 pm
I would like to see him with the ball some too.
MaconGTFan
October 11th, 2012
4:12 pm
Is he gonna fumble though is the question.
Jacket Detective
October 11th, 2012
4:13 pm
Who was responsible for the problem with ineligible players in Gailey’s first year?
Just curious.
Jacket Detective
October 11th, 2012
4:14 pm
Does he fumble when hit or when he makes an ill advised pitch?
And that, Officer...
October 11th, 2012
4:14 pm
…is after winning two in a row in SF – are they taking lessons from the Braves?
Jacket Detective
October 11th, 2012
4:16 pm
Well they keep trying to get back in the game to their credit.
MaconGTFan
October 11th, 2012
4:18 pm
I honestly can say I know Jacket Detective about Synjyn. I know he fumbled a couple of times when he saw the field last year, but don’t remember how it happened. And as for Gailey, I’d guess it was O’Leary that got us those ineligible players.
Jacket Detective
October 11th, 2012
4:18 pm
If they lose, Dusty Baker is going to be second guessed for trying a double steal with two strikes and no outs that instead resulted in a double play
Born2Buzz
October 11th, 2012
4:20 pm
If any of you listened to the PJ show on the radio last night, he was plenty clear about the QB position. He said, and I’m paraphrasing a bit, “Vad needs to work harder and be better to get more playing time. It’s up to him. Guys don’t get playing time just because somebody thinks they should get it, they have to earn it. We watch these guys every day. We want to get Vad more time but he’s not better than Tevin right now. And Tevin is not our problem. We’re averaging 36 pts a game.”
Obviously, CPJ was all about the lack of D, and if you look back on it, even though TW had his mistakes, if the D had 1) held VT in the last 55 seconds of the game, 2) held Miami in the last 2 min of the game, 3) not completely collapsed against MTSU, and 4) not given up something like 13 of 16 3rd downs against Clemson, we might be talking about a whole different subject.
I too would like to see more Vad. I too think TW is limited and is not a great thrower and makes slow reads. I also think like CPJ, TW has not really been the problem. I would love to see Vad force his way on the field by earning more PT in practice.
GT Joe
October 11th, 2012
4:22 pm
Everyone, please stop calling for Synyn Days to play! He’s not ready!
CPJ sees him every day in practice. If Synjyn was ready, he would play! He doesn’t have a full grasp of the offense.
Jacket Detective
October 11th, 2012
4:23 pm
The complaint some make about Tevin keeping the ball was much more true of Synjyn.
He didn’t seem comfortable yet with the pitch but I thought with time, he would be.
I guess CPJ wants the QB battle next year to be between Vad and Justin Thomas.
Jacket Detective
October 11th, 2012
4:24 pm
We don’t want him to start.
We just want to see more of him.
GT Joe
October 11th, 2012
4:25 pm
Born2Buzz: Do you know where I can hear a replay of the radio show?
MaconGTFan
October 11th, 2012
4:25 pm
Who’s to say PJ just isn’t buying time for Justin Thomas next year. For all we know he’s lighting it up on the practice field and learning and understanding the playbook better than anyone else.
Born2Buzz
October 11th, 2012
4:26 pm
Most interesting thing I heard last night from CPJ was his talk about defensive players and subs. He said one of the things he wanted to see all season was more substitutions on D, getting more guys on the field. And it never happened (this was in response to a question about guys getting tired in the 4th qt). It sounded like this was a real sore subject for him with Al G. And he said we would see plenty of different guys on the field coming up. Should be interesting.
GT Joe
October 11th, 2012
4:27 pm
JD: If Days understood the offense better, and the a-back position better, don’t you think CPJ would start him there? If he’s not playing, he’s just not ready or good enough.
(just using the same argument that folks use for not playing Vad).
Jacket Detective
October 11th, 2012
4:28 pm
MaconGTFan.
CPJ can’t give the job to Justin.
Poor ole Joe would flip out. lol.
Born2Buzz
October 11th, 2012
4:29 pm
GT Joe, not sure but you might try 790theZone.com
Jacket Detective
October 11th, 2012
4:30 pm
Well Joe.
I’m OK with that argument.
CPJ is getting the big money to decide.
And if he cannot produce as coach, the failure will be on him and not one of us safely in the stands or at home.
GT Joe
October 11th, 2012
4:30 pm
JD: would LOVE for Justin to be QB. like, right now.