Tech defense by the numbers
Georgia Tech’s statistics from the first six games compared to the final eight games. A few words of comment below.
TOTAL DEFENSE
431.0 331.3
RUSHING YARDS, YARDS PER RUSH
163.3, 4.5 129.9, 4.1
PASSING YARDS, YARDS PER ATTEMPT
267.7, 7.2 201.4, 7.2
PASSING EFFICIENCY
128.3 132.0
YARDS PER PLAY
5.8 5.6
POINTS
30.2 26.9
POINTS PER POSSESSION
2.26 2.24
THIRD DOWN EFFICIENCY
47.8 34.1
POINTS PER RED-ZONE POSSESSION
4.5 5.2
SACKS PER GAME
1.7 2.3
TAKEAWAYS PER GAME
1.8 1.8
BIG PLAYS (20-plus yards from scrimmage) PER GAME
4.8 3.4
FOURTH-QUARTER SCORING
11.8 3.9
It’s interesting how similar some of the numbers are. For a story I wrote prior to the Sun Bowl, I noted that the yards-per-play stats were virtually identical (5.84 when Al Groh was defensive coordinator and 5.85 after the hire of Charles Kelly as interim).
In this chart, points per possession (which, arguably, is the most informative statistic about a team’s efficiency) is almost the same and yards per play is close.
But, a couple numbers jump out for their difference, fourth-quarter scoring and third-down efficiency. Tech’s inability to get off the field led to a lot of the Jackets’ problems in the first six games and ultimately played not a small role in Groh’s dismissal.
By getting off the field, Tech was more able to enforce its pace of play. Opponents ran 73.8 plays per game in the first six games, 59.6 in the final eight, a fairly staggering difference. Opponents averaged 13.3 possessions in Groh-coached games and 12.0 in games coached by Kelly. It isn’t much, but 1.3 extra possessions at 2.24 points per possession is three points a game.
Further, you could make a strong case that the second half of the schedule (4/7 if we’re going to be precise) was tougher.
Total-offense rank* of first six opponents, in order, not including Presbyterian: 82, 65, 37, 67, 8. (Presbyterian finished 110th in FCS. Yikes.)
Last eight opponents, in order: 99, 61, 120, 15, 56, 27, 22, 30.
That’s the second and third worst, but also four of the top five.
* Rankings through games of Dec. 29
All that said, and I realize I’m not the first to say this, but I think the defense passed the eyeball test more than anything, particularly in the final two games. The tackling was better, the play faster. We’ll never know what USC would have done with Matt Barkley at quarterback and without 30-mph winds. But we do know that Tech held an offense averaging 155 rushing yards per game to 98 rushing yards and fewer points and yards than it produced against Notre Dame with Max Wittek at quarterback.
There is no getting around that the BYU and Georgia (and North Carolina) games took place under Kelly’s watch, but the way the Jackets played in the final six quarters of the season was vastly better than how they played earlier in the season. For that, Kelly and his staff deserve credit.
Ken Sugiura, Georgia Tech blog
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203 comments Add your comment
Supersize that order, mutt
January 4th, 2013
12:18 pm
You want to know about throwing somebody under the bus? Ask Joe Burns how O’Leary treated him. Also, O’Leary was responsible for a lot of academic deficiencies among the players he recruited at Tech. And since so many people try to compare Notre Dame and Tech when it comes to academics, if Notre Dame didn’t like the fact that he padded his resume, why should we at Tech be willing to accept that?
George Stein
January 4th, 2013
12:19 pm
I always liked George, but I wouldn’t want him or his staff back. That ship sailed a long time ago.
Augusta Jacket
January 4th, 2013
12:21 pm
I liked O’Leary. Still do. I am not sure that he would be a good AD though. Personally, if you want to go that route, grab Whisenhunt while he’s available.(wishful thinking)
Highly Respected Southern Troll
January 4th, 2013
12:26 pm
@Supersize – So now O’Leary was responsible for a lot of the academic deficiencies among the players he recruited! How exactly was that, brainiac? Is this something someone “told” you?
Supersize that order, mutt
January 4th, 2013
12:26 pm
Don’t think we could afford the Whiz
Supersize that order, mutt
January 4th, 2013
12:27 pm
Check the records, troll. He had no academic standards, and the APR under him proves it.
go42
January 4th, 2013
12:28 pm
I like Kelly and think he did an admirable job with the defense the last part of the year but if you think about it Coach Johnson probably had a lot to do with it. I’d like to keep him but we may have to part company to bring in a new DC which is what I think is needed. We’ll see.
Augusta Jacket
January 4th, 2013
12:28 pm
@SS: I know. Unfortunately, I think finances will ultimately dictate who our next DC is.
Supersize that order, mutt
January 4th, 2013
12:28 pm
Don’t get me wrong; I liked him too when he was at Tech, other than the inexcusable Joe Burns incident. It wasn’t till after he left that all the facts came out about his questionable tactics and personal history.
Supersize that order, mutt
January 4th, 2013
12:30 pm
@ Augusta…..I am hoping that if CPJ finds someone Tech might not be able to afford, that some influential alum like Taz Anderson will step up and foot the bill. He has done similar things in the past; he is apparently loaded.
Highly Respected Southern Troll
January 4th, 2013
12:33 pm
@Supersize – So now O’Leary set Tech’s academic standards while he was coach there! Incredible! This keeps getting better.
Folks, if Supersize writes something you can just about be guaranteed that it’s wrong!
Supersize that order, mutt
January 4th, 2013
12:33 pm
Is anybody here going to the basketball game tomorrow? I was given a ticket and will be there. Would be nice to see any others who might be there too.
Supersize that order, mutt
January 4th, 2013
12:37 pm
No, you idiot, O’Leary didn’t SET the academic standards at Tech. He recruited and signed players who were only marginally academically eligible, and he didn’t hold them to any required standard while there—-including class attendance. The fact that they were even able to stay in school is remarkable. The number of deans list athletes now on the team, and the high graduation rate now speaks volumes for how Johnson approaches the whole STUDENT-athlete thing. O’Leary obviously didn’t give a damn.
Pro fan
January 4th, 2013
12:53 pm
WOW…I saw where dawgfan made his way onto yet another GT blog,and leaving his pathetic ,childish remarks proves yet again that there is NO doubt ,his age is below 12 or he refuses to take the meds.I really believe that the young man is mentally disturbed(hide your guns) and for some reason hates his life.,leaving him very bitter,ALL at the tender age of 12…I enjoy watching Uga and GT(especially GTs baseball team)…I think GT is on the verge of being a very good football team.They need to add a couple top notch D line players,and a couple more of those GREAT wideouts that GT puts out and I think they will be VERY hard to handle..btw need a GOOD DC also…I did watch the Sun bowl and GT looked very good on D.I saw NO indication that USC didn’t want to be there.LOL that’s kinda funny when you think about it…Hey guys lets go to the Sun bowl and lose…GEEZE. ..Congrats to GT on your bowl win and good luck next year……sorry about the remarks about dawgfan..that guy is on every blog leaving childish ,bitter remarks…he is a PUNK!!!!….OUT
NCAA Football
January 4th, 2013
12:59 pm
But these stats are misleading. As an ACC f.an I watched GT in about every game they played. UGA easily could have put up about whatever number they needed against Tech and took the gas off when winning by a large margin. So to be fair add about another 100 yards and 2 scores to the last 8 games; Next, something similar should be done for the FSU game. FSU was pretty vanilla on their play calling in the 2nd half because they were up by over two scores. Had this game been close for the majority they would have played more typically and also would have scored more. Credit Tech for making a game of it late. And USC…did their offense even show up? Teams don’t take games off early in the season. Groh would have held USC just as well! Shoot just about any team in the nation at any collegiate level would have whipped USC on that date. Tech’s defense just looks slow in the front 7. How many sacks did they get? Likely get the fewest of any major program per pass attempt and give the QB’s just a huge amount of time to make a play. This area will have to be improved before true improvement occurs. Even against USC did they get a sack? That QB had all day to throw an yet seemed to hurry his throws. Inexperienced for sure.
Highly Respected Southern Troll
January 4th, 2013
1:16 pm
@Supersize – You said that O’Leary “had no academic standards”. Maybe if you would learn how to write and express yourself clearer… Never mind!
Oh, the whole academic thing is a nice little crutch to cover for Johnson’s ineptitude on the field and his crappy record over the past three years.
Ol'JacketFan
January 4th, 2013
1:31 pm
HRST sounds a lot like our dera preciois WNE
Supersize that order, mutt
January 4th, 2013
1:33 pm
@ OJF……no, he’s stupid, but not that stupid
Stephen
January 4th, 2013
1:39 pm
Ken, do you know of any Sun Bowl replay coming up. I do not see where CSS is showing the replay.
Thanks
TechApp fan
January 4th, 2013
1:49 pm
The cost for assistant coaches now seem…beyond what I used to think coaches were worth.
Jon T just signed for five years @$500k. Ex head NFL coaches that were making 2-3? mill
surely would not be happy making less than half a mill and Tech does pride itself as a phrontistery
instead of a party school might never be willing to pay those amounts….I don’t know.
So what would the present guys new salary be? if he were promoted?
1 4 GT
January 4th, 2013
2:04 pm
Since CPJ’s $$ is about 1/2 what the top paid coaches get, I would guess CCK would expect/hope for the same standards to apply to him.
5150 UOAD
January 4th, 2013
2:05 pm
UGa fans are like Jonah Hill to LEONARDO DICAPRIO’S Bama…………If you are the ugly Wingman you can still get the LOVE/ hot chicks that get rejected by LEO/Bama.
http://www.tmz.com/2013/01/03/leonarda-dicaprio-jonah-hill-yacht-party-topless-women-tmz-tv/
Kicking it with Cremins
January 4th, 2013
2:14 pm
Wow, all these D experts on the board; make sure yall post a follow up after your interviews & let us know how it went!
1980 was so long ago
January 4th, 2013
2:17 pm
It’s been a long, long time since 1980
Ghost
January 4th, 2013
2:34 pm
Super, Georgias regression happened in 2009 and 2010,unfortunately for GT they didn’t have the right coach in place to take advantage of it. I understand your wishful thinking but UGA will be loaded again next season, almost the entire offense returns.The defense will again be very talented, hopefully in 2013 they will play together better as a unit. Losing Gardner really isn’t that big, Georgia has the resources to hire whomever they want to replace him as D line coach and this whole staff recruits very well. Gardner was very good but his time had come to move on.My 17 point offer still stands .
Highly Respected Southern Troll
January 4th, 2013
2:38 pm
@Ghost – Don’t waste your time. That idiot is impervious to facts and logic.
Supersize that order, mutt
January 4th, 2013
3:34 pm
@ HRST…..why is that you are the only one slamming me, and yet everybody who was in here earlier slammed you. I would say that you have an awfully inflated opinion of yourself, that nobody else shares. Ghost and I differ on things, but he can at least carry on an intelligent conversation. That is more than be said of you.
5150 UOAD
January 4th, 2013
3:55 pm
Highly Respected Southern Troll………………….Come see US….the TECH BLOGGERS that Tailgate at the games. If you come to the games and you are a TECH fan we would love to have you stop. You can count most of the regular TECH blogger to be at the games and we all meet on game day. Would LOVE to have you.
old dog
January 4th, 2013
4:12 pm
@Supersize……..
Don’t sugar-coat it!!!! (ha ha)
Y’all finally realized what defense is….congrats. Next year could be a much better year for y’all…………………..
All the way Turnt up
January 4th, 2013
4:27 pm
Remember when GT lost to Middle Tennessee State and their defense gave up 49 points?
Ho hum
January 4th, 2013
4:27 pm
Hey stupid size I stopped slamming you because I felt bad pummeling a defenseless wanna be – same can be said for 5150…………….fence post offer a more insightful discourse.
5150 UOAD
January 4th, 2013
4:47 pm
Hum a Ho………is as BRITE as a 3 watt bulb……….you haven’t slammed ANYTHING since you got your lil dwag stuck in a light socket.
As I said after Groh was fired...
January 4th, 2013
4:59 pm
…the schedule got significantly easier after the firing so there would really be no good way to guage what Kelley produced vs what Groh produced. So, Ken’s research just proved that Kelley is probably a worse coordinator than Groh, based, STRICTLY, on the numbers outlined above…
Ho hum
January 4th, 2013
5:06 pm
Nice well thought out retort 5150 – amazing display of your tek education.
Highly Respected Southern Troll
January 4th, 2013
5:24 pm
@Supersize – I was trying to have an intelligent conversation but apparently that’s impossible if you point-out that Johnson’s turned into a disappointment at Tech. Also, I didn’t slam anyone until they started in on me. I even gave Johnson credit for what he accomplished at Southern (my team even more than GT) and Navy but the fact remains that his prior success is largely irrelevant to the current situation at Tech. Sorry, but the Jackets don’t play in the Southern Conference (fine FCS conference) and they don’t play a Navy schedule, either.
Johnson has lost the game that matters most four times in a row, he’s lost three times in a row to Virginia Tech, and he’s lost four times in a row to Miami. He’s also lost two of the last three to Clemson. The bad thing is that two of those UGA teams were nothing special (unranked 8-5 and 6-7 finishes) nor were any of the Miami teams really great. Heck, even Gailey beat Miami when he was at Tech.
I just don’t see how those records combined with Johnson’s consistent inability to put decent defenses and special teams on the field do not concern some people. The expectation for Tech should not be 7 or 8 win seasons while whipping-up on Duke, Wake, UNC, and Presbyterian.
Everyone have a safe weekend.
5150 UOAD
January 4th, 2013
5:42 pm
Highly Respected Southern Troll…….stay in contact with the same name and come see Supersize and many others at a tech home game…or you can be a WnE ball sack that is full o crap and hide on the blogs but never attend games.
Ken Sugiura
January 4th, 2013
5:57 pm
Stephen – I know it was on CBS Sports Network the 1st or 2nd, but I don’t know about any future broadcasts. Anyone have any idea?
5150 UOAD
January 4th, 2013
5:59 pm
It is on YouTube.
Ho hum
January 4th, 2013
6:19 pm
Typical 5150 childish comment – “Highly Respected Southern Troll…….stay in contact with the same name and come see Supersize and many others at a tech home game…or you can be a WnE ball sack that is full o crap and hide on the blogs but never attend games” must everything you say be laced with gutter drivel? You need to invest in a dictionary and thesaurus – your style is juvenile at best.
GT Lee
January 4th, 2013
6:19 pm
Didn’t see a broadcast scheduled, but for 12.99 you can get it on DVD…..
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2012-Sun-Bowl-DVD-Georgia-Tech-21-USC-7-/110995781020?
Smyrna Gold
January 4th, 2013
6:22 pm
OH how I LOVE this. I have no idea who should be hired for the next DC (neither does CPJ) But, I definitely feel Super Size should be on the search committee.
BTW, who in the heck is in charge???? Surely not CPJ.
Smyrna Gold
January 4th, 2013
6:38 pm
5150 should also be on the search committee.
SUN BOWL
January 4th, 2013
7:11 pm
you can see the entire game on youtube, here’s first half and then 2nd half:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRfjNgEcTF8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzMl2IZo7mE
SUN BOWL
January 4th, 2013
7:14 pm
another comment, just wondering if any of you ever email CPJ with your suggestions like hiring back Giff Smith as recruiter or do you just post your opinions on this blog because I doubt CPJ reads these comments or has time…
Smyrna Gold
January 4th, 2013
7:27 pm
Don’t think CPJ has a computer.
Tech93
January 4th, 2013
9:22 pm
Just food for thought—when Mac Mcwhorter served as interim coach for GT when we won the now defunct Seattle game which they were not picked to win, the team played lights out. After the game it was apparent that all the players wanted Mcwhorter as head coach. Fast forward a couple of days later and we pay big money to get chan gailey who was a flop as a head coach. It seems like the D really wants Kelly as DC. Sometimes you need to listen at who the players want to play for. So, before we pay some big name big bucks to come in, just a little caution in the wind. Just seems eerily similar to when we hired Gailey.
Tech93
January 4th, 2013
9:25 pm
I have said but doubt it would be possible now to take Bill O’Brien in as Head Coach who used to be on GT staff and where Mcwhorter is now coaching under him as OL coach at Penn State.
jojatk
January 4th, 2013
9:33 pm
From far away my sense is that Coach Kelly has done a very creditable job, is hungry for the responsibility and has the respect of the players. Unless there’s somene else really special out there, hiring Coach Kelly sends the team a very positive message. Players’ comments post game seemed genuine and upbeat. Unless CPJ needs to wait until an AD hire, I’d sure hire him.
Andrew
January 4th, 2013
10:11 pm
How about the Defensive Coordinator at Utah State? Why not go after him?
GT Fan
January 5th, 2013
10:29 am
Andrew
January 4th, 2013
10:11 pm
How about the Defensive Coordinator at Utah State? Why not go after him?
———————
B/c, Andrew, USU’s DC was really their HC (Gary Anderson), and he was hired by Wisconsin.