Paul Johnson believes Tech will be even better in Year 2
Remember the offense that trampled Georgia underfoot? You still haven’t seen the monster fully unleashed. So said Paul Johnson, whose first Georgia Tech team won nine games. As his second round of spring practice was drawing to its end, the coach spent a half-hour discussing the past and the future. His prognosis: “I think we’ll be a better football team than we were a year ago.”
On his option-based spread: “It’s not so much putting in the basics. It’s the little nuances, the little changeups we didn’t get to last year … We were still just scratching the surface a year ago. There were so many games where if we’d been a little more adept at running it we could have done so much better … We will be better on offense. Now I don’t know if we’ll win any more games, but I guarantee you we’re better than we were a year ago.”
On just how that will happen: “It’s not just that we’ll get faster – we’ll be able to execute at a faster pace. You can watch our tape right now, and I can put on tape of my last year at the [Naval] Academy, and even though the kids here are much faster we don’t go as fast. Now this spring, I think we’ve made strides. If you ask our defensive kids, they’ll tell you it’s night and day from last spring to this spring, just the speed of it.
Sorry, there are no polls available at the moment.
On the offense at peak capacity: “When we get good at doing it, it’s like death [for the defense]. It’s not like, ‘I can take a wrong step and recover because they’re coming off slow.’ It’s like, ‘I thought he had the ball and [the real ballcarrier] is 15 yards downfield.’ ”
On continuity: “We replaced a lot of moving parts a year ago. This year we don’t have as many moving parts to replace … We’ve got 16 starters back, and there may be one or two of those guys who get beat out.”
On the importance of beating Georgia: “Because of the recent history it was a big deal to the fans. And it was an important game to our players because it was the in-state rival, and we know they’ve a good program and a good team. But I don’t think about it [every day]; we don’t talk about it here. You move on. While it’s a big game, it won’t be mentioned until we get ready to play them. It’s not like our be-all and end-all.”
On the blowout Chick-fil-A Bowl loss to LSU: “I did a poor job of bringing our guys back down. When you have a young football team and you have 42 days of everybody telling you how good you are, you start to believe it and you forget how you got there.”
On the Chick-fil-A buildup: “I’m sitting there at a bowl function, and the emcee is talking about how Georgia Tech may have the best defensive line in the country, and I can see those kids from LSU bristling. And I’m thinking, ‘Dude, you’re not doing us any favor.’ ”
Sorry, there are no polls available at the moment.
On what might have prompted LSU coach Les Miles to order a fake punt with his team leading by 35 points: “I have no idea. During the week, everybody was friendly and nothing happened. I just took it as … who knows?”
On the rings Tech commissioned bearing a certain score (45-42): “We didn’t get rings for beating Georgia. Everywhere I’ve coached, there’s always been dollars for bowls. Rather than give the kids a couple of hundred bucks that they blow in one week, we’ve always gotten bowl rings … There’s a ton of teams that do it – it’s not like we’re the only ones who ever thought of it. Rather than get another set of sweats, we got a ring.”
On the reborn rivalry with Georgia: “[That one game] wasn’t as big a deal to me because maybe I hadn’t been here [for the losing]. I understand it’s a big game and an in-state rival. And I don’t want to sound cocky, but if you act like it’s a huge big deal, then it becomes huge… Hopefully we’re going to win some more.”
Tech and Georgia meet at Bobby Dodd Stadium on Nov. 28. Johnson’s team will win again.
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305 comments Add your comment
Kenny Powers
April 16th, 2009
1:26 pm
And to cool everybody off on some really nice college football debating a line from the movie “Spaceballs”…..
“I knew it, I’m surrounded by a$$holes…Keep firing, A$$holes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
Reality Check..
April 16th, 2009
1:27 pm
R-wrecked what church to you preach at? I would love to attend. Thanks for letting me know that I will nnever get into heaven. Appreciate your judgement.
Reality Check..
April 16th, 2009
1:29 pm
Big Johnson, which one? the three on US 1941! I’ll punk you boy!
Supersize that order, mutt
April 16th, 2009
1:31 pm
Reality Check, I don’t know who tommy boy is. I doubt you will believe me, but after one of Tech’s wins in Athens, I was spit on and threatened. I had an aunt, who incidentally was a Georgia fan, who had booze poured on her in the stands by a drunk Georgia fan. When I was a student at Tech (in the 60s), our number one rivals were Georgia, Auburn, UT, and Bama. The Bama fans, as bad as they were, did not compare to the Georgia fans in nastiness, whether in Atlanta or Birmingham. I was actually a Georgia fan when I was in HS. But experiencing the “hatred” of the rivalry while at Tech (and Tech won the first two years I was in school) soured me forever against the dawgs. It was not losing (since we won) that soured me; it was the fans. And, sadly, they haven’t changed.
atl-xmen
April 16th, 2009
1:32 pm
Im sorry to tell you tech fans but ga tech will not be better this year. they lost there best players this year to the nfl from their d-line. that old school offense will not score enough points to make up for it. i will also bet ga tech qbs will get hurt more than 3 times this year and miss important games due to injuries. both of them. they cant keep taking a beating like that and not get hurt. that offense they run opens them up to big time hits. they will lose 3 out of the first 5 games they play. pj will also show his true colors when the crap hits the fan and his team will quit on him for it. i think tech will be lucky to win 8 games this year. they just dont have the depth to keep up with the quality of teams they play year in and year out to run that old school offense. the teams they play this year will have experience back on the d line and they will shut down that offense like LSU experience d-line did…techies will start barking for a new coach by the 6th or 7th game…that LSU game was not a fluke just a glimse of what is to come. UGA will have most if not all of their returning d-line that was hurt last year. add that to the young guys who played last year and now have a year under their belts and another year in the weight room to get stronger and faster. uga will kill tech much like LSU did. UGA offense will score at will against Techs weak defense. UGA will not make the same mistake twice against tech and not wrap up. they will lay the wood down extra hard just to make sure dwyer goes down. if it were not for about 5 miss tackles last year in the 2nd half uga would have won 42-12..uga let tech back in it with sloppy tackling in that 3rd quarter. it was nothing tech did just what UGA didnt do..and i dont see that happening this year or in the near future. that game was a fluke and a good win for the techies.
so start looking coaches now guys..=)
R-Wreck
April 16th, 2009
1:33 pm
Reality Check. I am a Southern Baptist. Read your Bible, man. Ephesians 2:8-9. It is faith, NOT WORKS, which gets us into heaven. I did not mean to judge you; I just wanted you to know that no matter how hard you “work”, it won’t do you any good, unless you have faith. It was the “work” of Christ that saves us, not our own.
PTC Jacket
April 16th, 2009
1:37 pm
Reality Check:
You, sir, are the one that needs a reality check.
Reality Check..
April 16th, 2009
1:38 pm
And that’s where I don’t get it. I have been to every home game for the last ten years and no one has ever done anything like that to any of the opposing fans. Where was your seat? So you did go to tech right? So you mean to tell me that you would have graduated from tech and been a dawg fan? Spitting and pouring alchol on anybody is wrong no matter where you go. I am sorry that you and your family had to experience that.
Empty Bleachers
April 16th, 2009
1:39 pm
Wow! What a fund raising team we’ve got at Tech! Our alumni don’t contribute enough money nor buy enough season tickets, so our marketing department decided to make up for it by price gouging the UGA fans for the Georgia game. Once again we are gonna be carried by Georgia Football.
I hope we can round up at least a thousand people to watch the game this Saturday. By the way, history doesn’t favor the option attack after year one in the modern era. So we have two guys who would be fourth string in Athens at WR? Plus a bunch of walk-ons? Don’t look now but I think the only passing we’re gonna see is the pitch and shuttle variety.
I think CPJ needs to drop some random drug tests…some of the guys are chanting “National Champs” at practices. Looks like our boys are going the Joe Hamilton route…why does our campus have to be the highest in crack head per capita ratio? We are helluva engineers, we should be able to engineer athletes without drugs and class skipping, let alone a helluva remedial program.
Supersize that order, mutt
April 16th, 2009
1:40 pm
Wow, atl-xmen, how uniformed and naive can one person be? Tech has 19 returning starters, most on offense. As far as our losses on defense, it wasn’t Tech’s defense that won games last year. In fact, the defense pretty much sucked, although it was better than it was previously. The defense will be young next year, but there are several outstanding players on it. The offense will be even better than last year, and with more than just 2 QBs now who can run the option, I don’t think even the likely injuries there will hurt that much. As long as Willie Martinez is your DC, your defense will continue to suck, and since you have no proven QB or running back now, I don’t see you having much of an offense either. I see Tech winning 9 or 10 games, and UGAG winning 8 at most. Spurrier knows how to beat you and probably now has the QB to do it, plus a better-than-average defense. Ok State will probably take you down in the opener. NO WAY you will beat the Gators. And I predict another Tech victory in Atlanta over the mutts. That’s four losses there
Supersize that order, mutt
April 16th, 2009
1:44 pm
No, Reality, I would not have gone to Tech and been a dawg fan, but I probably would have pulled for the dawgs in all games but the Tech games. Incidentally, my brother-in-law was a Tech fan who went to Georgia in the late 50s, and he ALWAYS pulled for Tech, even against Georgia.
I was not in my seat when I was spit on and threatened. That was leaving the stadium (in a parking lot actually) after the game. My aunt, who had booze poured on her, was in the Georgia section in Knoxville for a Georgia-UT game. And it was by a Georgia fan, not a UT fan.
Big Johnson
April 16th, 2009
1:45 pm
Do you mean the Waffle House before 316 (by Home Depot) the one in Five Points, or the few off of 441? BWAHAHAHA! And Empty Bleachers, you have posted that exact thing 5 times, good for you.
Supersize that order, mutt
April 16th, 2009
1:46 pm
What history book are you reading, Empty Head (I mean Empty Bleachers). Oklahoma, Nebraska, Navy and Ga Southern under Johnson, Tech’s wishbone under Pepper (YUCK)—all those offenses failed after the first year? NEWS TO ME
Supersize that order, mutt
April 16th, 2009
1:47 pm
Enter your comments here
Reality Check..
April 16th, 2009
1:47 pm
R-wrecked, cool, thanks for the help, I am in, because I believe in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. I do believe you have to live like a Christian.
PTC Jacket here is reality…..The flexbone is the hardest offfense for a defense to prepare for. Not because, you see it once a year, but becasue you have to play assignment fooball and tackle the guy that is your responsibility. If you don’t the next guys is five yards away. It turns small gains into big plays. But if you tackle, then it is easily shut down. People need to quit worrying about Tech offfense and concentrate on their defense. That is where the concerns are.
Mark Bradley
April 16th, 2009
1:48 pm
Does anybody really go into McDonald’s and say, “Supersize that order, Mutt”?
Just asking.
fortebuna
April 16th, 2009
1:49 pm
I’m a vet, served on board the SSBN 598, there were sure to heck more GT grads working on that (at the time) technological marvel than Ugay grads to be exact none. As far a Tech grads go they served our country in times of need just like UGay grad did. So no more crap about who served where or when. It’s crap vets like you who give us all a bad name. Screw you and the horse you rode in on.
fortebuna
April 16th, 2009
1:50 pm
to answer your question Mark yes they do.
Supersize that order, mutt
April 16th, 2009
1:50 pm
Good one, Mark.
R-Wreck
April 16th, 2009
1:52 pm
Thanks, Reality. I think we are on the same page now. Glad to know you’re a fellow believer, even if you are a dawg fan….LOL (Sorry, just couldn’t resist that)
Reality Check..
April 16th, 2009
1:58 pm
I didn’t back down little johnson..LOL…We can all man up.
Supersize, again, I am lost. A UGA fan poured alcohol all over another UGA. If I were there, I would have said someting to that person and his friends around them. Also, when I am leaving the stadium, I have never seen anyone spit or threaten an opposing fan. I have left after a loss and seen opposing fans verbally assault our fans. But after a win, most UGA fans are quiet and trying to get back to their cars or dorms. I believe you been a part of or seen the nasty side of college football. I can’t explain why you have been tested so much in your life.
PTC Jacket
April 16th, 2009
1:58 pm
And that’s why we’re “installing” passing plays, so that we can get some yardage before we get tackled, in situations where the defense is well disciplined (ie LSU game)
Don
April 16th, 2009
2:00 pm
Reality check , You are right on!! You are hope for the human race,could not have said it better myself. Like you, I hope Tech wins all their games until—-GO DAWGS!!!!! I’m sure we will be labeled as liberal’s, tree hugger’s or atheist.—To HELL with UF and GOD BLESS!!
surfrider
April 16th, 2009
2:01 pm
Eventhough I agree that the program is heading up the other ACC teams are going to be getting better too. The key will be our ability to hit some passes to keep the defenses honest. That said, leading up to that game I remember thinking LSU kids are about the most talented in the SEC coming out of high school don’t ever underestimate the opponent. It’s going to be fun to watch this offense in year 2 but the other key is the defense. Eventhough they were good they faded somewhat late in the year for a variety of reasons, playing some really good teams to mention a few. It’s great to have the dawgs put us back on their schedule of tough teams to beat.
Supersize that order, mutt
April 16th, 2009
2:04 pm
Reality, you obviously are a true Georgia fan who contributes to the school and probably has seats with others like you. I know that all Georgia fans are not like the ones I have encountered, but the seats given to the fans of your opponents are scattered amongst the dregs, and it is those fans whom I (and other Georgia opposing fans) encounter regularly, both inside and outside the stadium. As far as my aunt’s problem, I didn’t mean to imply that the booze was deliberately poured on her. She told me that the people behind her were drunk out their minds, and it was an accident. Accident or not, however, she was not a happy camper, and she understood my own complaints about your fans.
Mac
April 16th, 2009
2:05 pm
Good to see the Dogs and Jackets leaking all over each other again. This I know, Paul Johnson is a heckuva football coach who is going to win a lot at Ga. Tech. They are going to win ACC championships under him. Diss and moan all they wish, that’s a fact. It’s up to UGA to man up and deal with it. They very well may, but they are going to have to do it. Tech is a pushover no more.
Reality Check..
April 16th, 2009
2:06 pm
fortebuna…I served on LST1198, I was a BM2(SW). No GT or UGA grads on this ship there fortebutt. Also, I will get off my high horse when you come up for some fresh air. You are a crap vet as well.
Jack G.
April 16th, 2009
2:10 pm
Reality Check—I too am a veteran of ww2 and your post certainly implied tha GT players were not patrotic and GA players were.
Now before you start calling people out, do a Reality Check. If you were a ww2 vet you are in your 80’s and calling anyone out could be an embarassment.
Reality Check..
April 16th, 2009
2:12 pm
Gotta go to work…. time to flip burgers…yeah right. Sorry about flying off the handle guys. Florida fans really get under my skin….Can’t blame them though, after what erk russell’s defenses did to SOS.
abtoal
April 16th, 2009
2:15 pm
Can someone explain to me why this early in the season the Braves are on a four man rotation? That makes no sense to me. Save the starters! Good ol’ Bobby times
Huh?
April 16th, 2009
2:16 pm
Oh here we go with the tall tales of unruly UGA fan behavior. I challenge the self-righteous Techies to name a single instance where a UGA home game had to be stopped by the refs because the fans were throwing things on the field and at the opposing team bench. Sound familiar Techies? It should. Your precious little darling students did just that against Boston College in 2007. So maybe you should worry about cleaning up your own house before you worry about UGA’s you flipping hypocrites. Tech fans simply have no integrity. Class dismissed.
RAMBLE ON!!!
April 16th, 2009
2:20 pm
Hey Kenny, thanks for the shout-out. Dawginlex will hate you.
Reality Check, I am a veteran as well. My mom lost 2 brothers in WWII and also had another in a prison camp. That’s two Uncles I never had. I also know that a BM in the Navy is where all the idoits who can’t get into Naval school go to. You know, like half of UGAgs 5 star recruits who end up at Hargrave.
How dare you call anyone a “crap vet”. You are a self-righteous, indignant, ignorant hypocrite. Especially after your pathetic diatribe.
The Clint Castleberry reference was awesome. Compare the only jersey numbers retired at both schools and I’ll take GT’s every time.
eBuzz
April 16th, 2009
2:25 pm
Getting a little amused by Reality Check. UGA and Tech both have had many fine students serve and even die for their country. I respect that he served his country (and I’m a veteran, too), but it has nothing to do with today’s programs, and I’m somewhat concerned about Reality Check’s current mental state, ranting, terrible grammar, spelling, etc. Is dementia creeping in? Maybe we should be a little kinder to him, that is if he can remember it.
Richt is a fine coach and does a fine job. Likewise with CPJ. Tech is hopefully on the upswing, and it’s good to be back in fight, but everyone should stop crowning them for now. They should be improved, at least on offense, but their opponents in some cases will be, too. Everyone will be better prepared to play them.
Get too cocky and you get knocked down, as UGA painfully learned last year. Don’t think they will be a cocky this year, and Tech fans shouldn’t be either. Go Jackets!
Mac
April 16th, 2009
2:30 pm
I think if you walked into McDonald’s and said, “Supersize that order, Mutt,” you’d end up with a large Farva and a literocola all over vous’ face.
Kenny Powers
April 16th, 2009
2:30 pm
Maybe if everybody was as awesome as me with my 101mph heaters, burmese python man organ, 4ft. mulletude, and an HBO special there would be low blood pressures…I’m just saying.
Kenny Powers
April 16th, 2009
2:32 pm
Hey Mac, who wants a mustache ride??????????????
Uncle Hud
April 16th, 2009
2:34 pm
This is what makes college footbal so GREAT! Blind loyalty!
Last year, with no players of his own, little time to teach his playing philosophy or his playbook, and history staring down the barrel at him, Paul Johnson led a less-talented team to victory over the Boys from Athens. With a big-old grin, I’m saying, “Wait till next year!”
It’s a TEAM sport, fellers. Individual talent will only take you so far …
Reality Check..
April 16th, 2009
2:36 pm
Ramble On….Good to see you pipe in. Here is some information for you. Back in the 80’s, the Navy was offering a program that was called the Sea College Fund. You do two years active service, four years active reserve, and then two years inactive reserve. Then the Navy pays for your college. It was twice as much as the GI bill. You cannot get into an “A” school if you signed up for that program. You have to go to an apprenticeship school. I choose seaman apprentice training becasue it offered the most traditional rates in the Navy, which is Boatswain Mate. And guess what, I served my time, got out and went onto graduate from college.
And I feel better about myself just because you called me names. Everybody know’s you anin’t da man. I would call you names, but I am going to take the high road on this one because I am self-righteous.
I agree with you on the jersey comparison.
Dawg fans on notice
April 16th, 2009
2:36 pm
Ah ..look at the dawg nation followers on here. They’re upset. They’re nervous. Their team is on the downward slope while their in-state rival in on the up. Nation. You will lose the in-state game in ‘09, in 2019, 2011 ..who knows after that. Seriously, Tech willl be better in ‘09 and even better in 2010. Georgia will not have a team as good as in ‘08 for a while. Freak things can happen in a football game for certain, but no doubt, tech will be favored in this series for the next few years –just the way it’s gonna be for a little while.
RAMBLE ON!!!
April 16th, 2009
2:44 pm
Take the high road and not call me a “crap vet”…how nice.
Reality Check..
April 16th, 2009
2:48 pm
Calling you names only feeds your ego. What service was you in?
Mac
April 16th, 2009
2:51 pm
You boys like Mex–eee-co!?!
Cap'n
April 16th, 2009
2:52 pm
When those boys get that syrup in ‘em, they get a little antsy in there pantsy.
RAMBLE ON!!!
April 16th, 2009
2:53 pm
USN-FFG42 OS 3
Supersize that order, mutt
April 16th, 2009
2:55 pm
Huh? I don’t know what you are talking about when referring to the 2007 BC game. I was there. I certainly don’t remember the game being stopped by the refs. Now if you had referred to one of the two Notre Dame games when that happened, you would have a point. Although inexcusable, that was Tech students who did that. What I have encountered with UGAG fans were grown men who should know better. But then they probably never went to school anywhere, so what do you expect? The student body at UGAG is probably no worse or better than that at Tech or any other school. It’s the adult rednecks amongst your fan base who give you the bad name, and it is a bad name all over the southeast. By the way, do you remember the hosing incident at Auburn several years back? I’m sure you blame the Auburn people for that, but what were UGAG fans doing on the field after the game anyway? And whose fans punctured that sillly inflatable Yellow Jacket that we used to have at Grant Field? I believe that was dawg fans. Did your school ever pay for that? I doubt it.
Reality Check..
April 16th, 2009
3:00 pm
An operation specialist on a frigate. Applaud you for your service to your country and you were even lucky to serve on one bad a$$ ship. My brother was was a sonar tech on a FFG. That piece of information explains alot about you. WOW, brings back memories. Man did we love picking on those OPS boys. Even though things change, somethings remain the same. I understand your comments and I am LMAO right know. Thanks for the pick me up Ramble On!
Supersize that order, mutt
April 16th, 2009
3:04 pm
Reality, even though we exchanged a few verbal spars earlier, I want to repeat that I applaud and thank you for your service to our country. And the same for Ramble On. God bless you both!!!
Kenny Powers
April 16th, 2009
3:12 pm
(MEOW) WHAT IS SO DAM FUNNY???????????? (MEOW) Now where were we?
Cap'n
April 16th, 2009
3:16 pm
Just EAT THE DAMN SOAP!
Seriously
April 16th, 2009
3:18 pm
We should just recite Kenny P and Super Trooper quotes on here. It will accomplish the same amount as calling each other crap vets, and its a lot funnier….even though seeing a walker fight between you two would be funny..