Johnson: ‘Lack of competing’ in loss to UGA
Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson said he could have handled losing 42-10 to Georgia if he thought the effort was worthy. That was not the case.
Johnson said the Yellow Jackets were guilty of a “lack of competing” in their loss to the Bulldogs in Athens, Tech’s 11th in the past 12 years to its archrival. This season, Johnson has been critical of the team for missed assignments, poor tackling and lack of focus. However, his public challenge that the team lacked competitiveness – against an archrival, no less – compared only to his statement that the Jackets “no showed” in the 21-point loss to Middle Tennessee State. While hardly palatable to Johnson, the MTSU effort could be more understandable, given that Tech was facing a team it had blown out in each of the past two years and was seven days removed from an emotionally crushing overtime loss to Miami.
“You’ve got to play hard,” Johnson said. “You’ve got to sell out.”
From watching the game video, Johnson said coaches handed out “a lot” of efforts – demerits for not giving full effort on a play. Johnson said the offense, defense and special teams were all at fault. He did say B-back David Sims played perhaps as hard as Johnson had ever seen him play. But overall, he was confounded by what he saw from players in one of the biggest games of the year, if not the biggest.
“You get beat in life, you get beat in sports,” Johnson said. “Sometimes that happens. But what you want to do is give it your best effort and you want to compete from start to finish.”
By Ken Sugiura, Georgia Tech blog
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339 comments Add your comment
TechLB
November 27th, 2012
10:04 am
@DawginLex – Always appreciate your posts Sir…you’ve always posted as a football fan, good insights and I agree with your observations. You can be fans and rivals and still be good sportsmen, for you and other Dawg fans who post in that way, “Thank you”.
As for Saturday, at a certain point it comes down to believing you can do it…the defense has had too many disappointments this year to build any mental toughness hence the huge letdown with that first bad break as in “Here we go again.’ Young players, lack of success, tough game to expect them to step it up. And we have no leaders, Attaochu being out hurt, he usually brings some fire, but Georgia is just too deep and talented this year and playing at the top of their game.
GT will be back and that will be better for all of us!
DawginLex
November 27th, 2012
10:05 am
Al bundy
I’ve been posting on these blogs for a long time. Grow up
Take The Wheel
November 27th, 2012
10:06 am
To all the people talking about the option… are you forgetting that we actually had more offensive yards than UGA?? That scheme works with the players we have. Especially when we mix in good throws (which we did). We had some critical drops, MANY missed holding and roughing calls, a couple pivotal misses on 4th down, and they had awesome field position every time. The option was NOT the problem on Saturday. We moved the ball pretty well. We need kickers who can kick it out of the endzone (and make crunch field goals)!!
Take The Wheel
November 27th, 2012
10:07 am
Well said TechLB
roughrider
November 27th, 2012
10:13 am
The coach should never throw the players under the bus.
GTBob
November 27th, 2012
10:19 am
Lack of effort is probably an understatement. There was a lack of effort in the 1st quarter. The rest of the game the team might as well have been playing cards on the sidelines. It has been the same for years against UGA. I don’t really think the team really cares about the game as much as fans do.
GTBob
November 27th, 2012
10:20 am
@DawginLex – Always appreciate your posts Sir
Don’t let him fool you. DawginLex is one of the better trolls on the site. Over the years he has just learned to be more subtle about it.
big gt fan
November 27th, 2012
10:23 am
tech shouldnt go to a bowl, when they get blowed out saturday let that be end of wasington . Hes been over his head and the coach is to smart to see it.A real qb uplift the whole team the defense as well. Those kids knew washington shouldve been starting so that broke their motivation and will thats WHY they quit and its PAUL JOHNSON FAULT.
Most of Tech's " yardage" came late
November 27th, 2012
10:23 am
Tech generated a huge % of their yards well after UGA quit playing. You can remove about 175 TDs from their totals and you have a rather pedestrian 275 yards. Big deal.
Georgia Southern was more physical, than was Ga Tech. THAT says it all.
CPJ will never in with his recruits.
GT Joe
November 27th, 2012
10:25 am
We had absolutely no swagger. The dog were oozing swagger.
I saw ONE player that had swagger for GT. I saw one kid actually make a play, and then jaw with those mutts. I saw ONE player get in someone’s face.
Who? Vad Lee. Right after he turned that sure sack into a first down run.
Now, if only CPJ can recognize that he HAS a d1 qb, and a leader on the roster, maybe he can save his job.
GT Joe
November 27th, 2012
10:27 am
Hey guys, why are you so down? Don’t you believe that Tevin can finally deliver a big game win for the first time in his career (in the last game of his career)?
Tevin has been waiting his whole college career to deliver THIS win to us! He’s saving his best for last! It’s going to be epic! CPJ was right all along about Tevin!
(sarcasm)
GTBob
November 27th, 2012
10:29 am
Tech generated a huge % of their yards well after UGA quit playing.
UGA quit playing in the first half? Nice of them to leave their starters in and risk injury then.
ramblingbuzz
November 27th, 2012
10:32 am
Joe……….Give it a rest. At this point you need to convince Johnson. I think the rest of us believe that Lee is the better option (pun intended) at this point in the season.
gold & white
November 27th, 2012
10:32 am
Please, show some class don’t go to a bowl game, our record is not good enough.
We show no pride in the way we play or the way we dress, our uniforms are the worst i’ve ever seen in my 50 years as a fan. We look like some cheap Jr. High School team. The one thing that Georgia Tech has always had is CLASS, what has happened.
My God what would Kim King think.
Al Bundy
November 27th, 2012
10:34 am
@DawginLex, That comment wasn’t directed at all Dawg fans. I don’t consider you a crotch sniffing DAWG fan. In my opinion you are a true football fan that doesn’t talk trash.
GT Joe
November 27th, 2012
10:34 am
ramblingbuzz: if the rest of us believe Vad is better, why is CPJ such a horrible judge of QB talent?
Wasting this whole season on Tevin, rather than playing the clearly superior QB Vad, is a fireable offense.
Jacket Man
November 27th, 2012
10:35 am
Paul Johnson Must go. He has no fire in his eyes.
Review the game
November 27th, 2012
10:35 am
UGA was playing a scrimmage after half-time.
GT Bob, 11 out f 12. Tech is sliding badly.
GT has not been to two major bowl games since the mid 1950s and 80% of the bloggers here are totally unaware of the early to mid 1950s era that WAS Tech’s heyday ……. So long ago.
GTBob
November 27th, 2012
10:36 am
@DawginLex, That comment wasn’t directed at all Dawg fans. I don’t consider you a crotch sniffing DAWG fan. In my opinion you are a true football fan that doesn’t talk trash.
You haven’t been on the AJC blogs very long have you?
schmeckdawg
November 27th, 2012
10:36 am
As a DAWG fan, I do not understand why you guys are calling our guys thugs etc. for the way that they play defense.
It was an ACC officiating crew and to the best of my recollection, I do not recall any personal foul or unsportsmanlike penalties being called of Georgia.
I have been where you guys are, two years ago we were 6-7 and had lost to Central Florida in the Liberty Bowl. My point is the people that you Tech fans should be lashing out at are the guys in your coaches box and the guys on the sidelines with the headsets on not UGA’s players.
Review the game II
November 27th, 2012
10:36 am
Major bowls in a row, I should have said.
GTBob
November 27th, 2012
10:37 am
GT has not been to two major bowl games since the mid 1950s and 80% of the bloggers here are totally unaware of the early to mid 1950s era that WAS Tech’s heyday ……. So long ago.
Honestly, should Tech be going to major bowls more often than that? We would love to but would that be realistic at all?
Empty Seats
November 27th, 2012
10:40 am
Ken – ask pj what his vision is for the defense and special teams through 2016, please.
And how long would he last competing against players in better shape (coaching) and bigger (by a large % along both lines – recruiting)?
pj, Yell at the players some more and blame them some more, while taking no responsibility for recruiting, defense, or special teams, this will motivate the players, not.
Those in power – Please end this cruel thing. Tech deserves better. We are relieved of D-rad, now let’s can this arrogant lame excuse for a head coach.
Empty Seats
November 27th, 2012
10:46 am
When a coach cannot get the players up for a game like Saturday, the coach has lost the team. They will not play hard for this arrogant thing. He knows this, just milking the cow while it lasts. He is not dumb, just not a head coach.
Congratulations pj, you found your pot of gold. Enjoy the gold for crap swap. nicely done. now con your way to a bowl bonus. Up to the trough big-un. Oink oink you hog. yeah you pj.
GT Joe
November 27th, 2012
10:47 am
biggest problem in my eyes: no leaders.
Can anyone name the leader of the defense or offense?
I know of one guy who “looks” like a leader, on the field AND on the sidelines: Vad Lee. Tevin usually sitting by himself on the end of the bench. Never seen him get players hyped up on the field. A football team is ALWAYS a reflection of the leaders; our leader (if you want to call Tevin a leader) is quiet, soft, and thus our team is quiet and soft.
GTBob
November 27th, 2012
10:48 am
bigger (by a large % along both lines – recruiting)?
The lines for UGA and GT actually aren’t that far apart size wise. That is blown out of proportion. Skill wise, it is a pretty big divide though.
GTBob
November 27th, 2012
10:52 am
When a coach cannot get the players up for a game like Saturday, the coach has lost the team.
I think motivating players for the UGA game is a little hard in any year. The players have pretty much wrapped up their season and a win or a loss won’t change anything for them. They know 99% of the time they are going to get beat. And like I said earlier, I don’t think players care about the rivalry anywhere near as much as fans. That said, CPJ does have a motivation problem in all games.
Dawglasville
November 27th, 2012
10:54 am
GTBob – the ACC is ripe for the taking. You and I both know that Dabo is a joke. Beamer has lost it. Miami and UNC can’t win without cheating. FSU is the only real threat, and like UGA, can’t get over the hump. There is no reason why Tech shouldn’t compete for the ACC every year. You have the history, the money, and you are located in the center of the capital of the south.
Skull Murphy
November 27th, 2012
10:59 am
If this team has to be drug to Charlotte to play, they will also be drug up and down the field by FL State. This game could be worse than the UGA game. If Johnson is right the team will put out 100%. If they don’t “show up” this weekend, it will tell us that he dosen’t know his team.
Rick James
November 27th, 2012
11:03 am
@1 4 GT
I had typed out my comments, but deleted it after seeing one of the dwags is already making his snide comments. I’ll just be damned if I give them any ammo. The dwags can go take a flying leaping conversation (intercourse) off that super tall building in Dubai or wherever it is for all I care.
——————————————————————————————————————————–
You should not take his blog so seriously that it causes you to not express your feelings.GT Bob invades UGA blogs everyday and its fine because he makes valid points at times and sometimes he likes to just rib Georgia fans.Dont have a heart attack over other opinions.
Skull Murphy
November 27th, 2012
11:04 am
Ignition: Nice comments about the offense but its never been the problem. Until this team can play defense it will beat no one. If we don’t have atheletes on defense, lets take the best players from the offense and put them on defense. You build the team starting with defense.
How do you lose when you have twice the time of possession and twice the number of offensive plays than the other team ? Answer: By allowing the other team to score quickly and often.
JB
November 27th, 2012
11:06 am
some Tech folks posted Saturday night that we must of been looking past UGA ( LOL) to the ACC title game. Well, Saturday is almost here. We’ll see.
The New ACC
November 27th, 2012
11:06 am
Nothing wrong with Coach PJ. Nothing wrong with the offense.
We need to recruit MUCH better. We need a defense. We need special teams.
As the head coach, CPJ does need to get better at those things. If he cannot, then he should be out.
GIVE ME A BREAK
November 27th, 2012
11:07 am
When GT was down by 5 touchdowns and Johnson was still calling dive plays ,you could see that the players had given up. He’ll get another year from the administration but probably not from the fans.
Rick James
November 27th, 2012
11:08 am
@1 4 GT
1/3 of the posts are damn butt sniffers.
—————————————————–
There you go..Dont express yourself just roll over like Tech did Saturday in Athens.
djack0062
November 27th, 2012
11:10 am
IRT Georgia Cracker I’ll give you talent in the Georgia game, but are you telling me BYU, MTSU had more, no they were physical as hell! Defense is an issue…but this team lacks overall toughness and pride. If Johnson is causing recruits not to come to Tech that can be an issue but I’m pretty sure Saban is not the Mr. nice guy either but kids die to play for BAMA. One of the main problems is Tech (school, alumni, fans) don’t promote TECH in the community.(You can’t even find TECH gear in Metro Atlanta). How in the hell can you recruit the best when the best don’t have a clue about your product. CPJ will be gone in due time..and he is the blame for what happened this year but how the community views TECH is not a CPJ problem!
Rick James
November 27th, 2012
11:12 am
@Flak Jacket
Grab VanGorder for DC and go from there.
——————————————————–
Van Gorgorder is not the soulution.There is no talent on Tech’s defense and that’s the real problem.
Skull Murphy
November 27th, 2012
11:14 am
Dawglasville: You are right about the ACC being ripe for the taking. The media has a Notre Dame style addiction to Florida State but the ‘noles , along with all of the ACC this last weekend, showed that we are just a pack of pretenders. The BCS should put the ACC into the at-large category until it shows that it can compete with top 10 teams. It’s a joke that any team in the ACC is placed on probation since it is getting nothing from the cheating it’s doing.
GIVE ME A BREAK
November 27th, 2012
11:15 am
How can people say that the offense is not the problem when it gains 400 yds and scores 3 points and loses the game. UGA could have scored 70 points easy. Give Richt credit for showing mercy to a team that was clearly overmatched. GT’s only TD was a gift.
DawginLex
November 27th, 2012
11:16 am
GTBob
The only Tech person I ever have a problem with is you
That should speak volumes
I came here to talk football so why don’t you take a big swallow of STFU???????????????????
GJ
November 27th, 2012
11:23 am
Jay B – there is NO easy schedule in the SEC. Stick to your dungeons and dragons and leave the football to the big boys. That game Saturday reminded me of a Tyson fight back in the old days. Tek was beaten before they stepped in the ring.
1276jacket
November 27th, 2012
11:23 am
Georgia may have some better talent. That doesn’t explain balls getting taken out of your hands; being out of position and poor tackling; etc. Just poor overall effort and that this hasn’t been the only game. I am tired of hearing about excuses for recruiting or degrees.
At what point do we get tired of excuses and something changes?
GT Joe
November 27th, 2012
11:24 am
give me a break: yeah i saw that too. Tevin was in the game, in OBVIOUS passing situations, and CPJ calls run plays because tevin can’t throw. Put Vad back there in the pistol; show some flexibility; actually make a COACHING decision.
CPJ gave up early, it appears.
JoeFan
November 27th, 2012
11:26 am
Tech’s problem goes directly to the coaching staff. They recruited these players. They coach them and they game plan for them. There needs to be a wholesaled house cleaning of this coaching staff ,now, not after next season. Will it happen? No, not until there is a new AD in place.
Flak Jacket
November 27th, 2012
11:28 am
@Rick James,good point,but we have got to get some quality coaching in here fast.
go42
November 27th, 2012
11:29 am
Agree with coach’s assessment. They seem to act like it’s no big deal and are ready to call it a day after 2 or 3 quarters. Guess it all goes back to recruiting competitors.
Tommy
November 27th, 2012
11:29 am
This is only a small part of the problem, but , a Div. 1 team should be able to find a kicker somewhere in the US or the World that can kick the ball into the endzone on kickoffs. If your kicker cannot do that on a regular basis, just kick it out of bounds and give the ball to your opponent at the 35 yard line.
Tide/Dawg
November 27th, 2012
11:29 am
Wow! I had a lot to say about PJ but it’s being said now by many. He’s not a big time college coach. Proving his offense works is his only goal. Are there any other college coaches clamoring to adopt his style of coaching? Is he being courted by high profile teams? I don’t think so! He should be coaching Ga. State. His style would work in that league where there are usually only 3-5 good athletes on offense and defense. He has never been successful against big time college teams(at least not with his recruits) I was pulling for Ga. against Tech, but it made me sick to watch PJ’s offense(down by 25 points) running dive plays up the middle, and those end over end passes are a sight to behold. PJ says they’re capable of breaking one anytime. Yeah! And the game may be stopped because of a snow storm at anytime. Ala. and Ga. would have a tough time running against 8 men up on the D line. And, I don’t like the way PJ called out his team in public. When Ala. lost a critical game to A&M Saban took the blame and said he did not prepare the team properly. I don’t want to hear about Tech not being able to recruit because of academics(noted,they are high academically) So are Stanford and Notre Dame. O’Leary and Gailey were successful recruiting and Johnson won with their recruits. Didn’t he learn anything from that? Get some finesse players with brains and win again.
blazer
November 27th, 2012
11:30 am
Hire the Former BC coach for Defense-coached there for years as DC and go back to 4-3 defense!
Get another dt along with Gotis kid.
djack0062
November 27th, 2012
11:30 am
GT Joe I agree with you about “swagger” and that is one problem I have with CPJ he wants 50’s players in todays world of football! These “kids” play off emotion…I’m not saying he needs to do “chest bumps”..but he does need to ease up (he tried in the North Carolina game). I hate to say it but CPJ lost something during the 2010 season and its been going downhill since.