Bradley’s Buzz: ESPN damns Georgia Tech with faint praise
When last we encountered Chris Sprow of ESPN.com — and if it seems like just yesterday, that’s because it was — he was saying nicer things about the 2009 Georgia Bulldogs than you’d expect regarding a team ESPN ranks No. 16 in the land. Well, guess who ESPN ranks No. 15?
Aw. You guessed.
The same Mr. Sprow takes on 15th-ranked Georgia Tech (link requires registration) and — wouldn’t you know it? — gushes less about the Jackets than about the Bulldogs. (Let the record reflect that ESPN’s ratings were done not by Sprow but by esteemed former colleague Mark Schlabach, who’s a Georgia grad.) And a magnifying glass isn’t required to read between Sprow’s lines: He wonders if Paul Johnson’s option-based spread is really all that.
As was the case with the Georgia preview, extensive quotation will be done. (Because ESPN’s Insiders is a pay site, and I’m Clark Howard.) So here goes:
• “What [Tech coach Paul Johnson] should do is put the ball in the hands of star tailback Jonathan Dwyer. As a sophomore, Dwyer finished 12th in the nation in rushing with 1,395 yards, but it was what he did on first down that was telling. At home, on 54 attempts, he averaged 11.1 yards per carry, moving from first down to first down.”
• “Tech’s offense — under the leadership of returning junior quarterback Josh Nesbitt — isn’t a complete one-trick pony. It can run in a lot of directions and get a lot of people involved. Consider that Dwyer’s 6.98 yards per carry was over a yard less than freshman Roddy Jones. The kid from Stone Mountain, Ga., went for 8.5 yards whenever he carried the ball.”
• “The bottom line: Tech is set up to be the best rushing team in the country.”
Loading ...• “Despite the offensive plaudits, Tech simply wasn’t dominating on the scoreboard. It outscored opponents by only 4.1 points a game (24.4 to 20.3) for the year, and on those rare occasions when the running game needed a boost from a little passing, it got ugly … Having even a hint of an aerial threat would help. Terrible passing teams that make an effort to improve usually gain a W or two.”
• “As the caretaker of the program, Johnson knows that he earned praise last year not because Tech was so good, but because so little was expected of it. That’s not the case anymore. Last year many looked at the underclassmen dotting the starting lineups and penciled in the team for 3-9.
My two cents: I could’ve sworn Tech was good in 2008 — it finished 9-4 and beat Boston College, Florida State, Miami and Georgia. And I’m inclined to think a team that won nine games in Year 1 under an exceedingly stylized coach would get better with time and a deepened knack for nuance. That’s why I think the Jackets will win the ACC. But I have, as we know, been wrong at least once in my life.
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271 comments Add your comment
Ramblinwreck1378
June 16th, 2009
1:08 pm
Joe Cox threw a game winning touchdown pass, yes. Against Colorado, who went 2-10 that season. And, oh yea.. It was in Athens. He has proved NOTHING to me. High school stats cease to impress me, especially when the dude’s an upperclassman.
RAMBLE ON!!!
June 16th, 2009
1:10 pm
Les Miles is Huh?
Plain as day, douche bag.
WTF???
June 16th, 2009
1:12 pm
Like I said… Watch this fall & all of your little queer questions about how good UGA’s QB is will finally be answered.
I mean, with out a doubt he will pass for oh, lets say A BUNCH of more yards than Nesbit. Which will probably be out, yet again, to injuries so Jarbo, Jabo, what ever the hell his name is will be QBing about half the year for the Jackets.
BamaPride
June 16th, 2009
1:13 pm
dawgone good dawg:
Gimmick offense or not, the fact remains, techies rolled up over 400yds of rushing on Martinez.
I’d say tech made smart adjustments on offense for the second half that Martinez just couldnt keep up with.
I’d say tech will be OK on defense, and much much better on offense.
DAWGHATER
June 16th, 2009
1:17 pm
Hey UGaly fans: It’s the same BS every year from you losers. GT may not win the ACC with VT and FSU in the mix, but we will beat your lowly overated dawgs just like last year and UF will kill ya! Get used to losing, as it will become customary around your lil chitty city of Athens. Quit whining all the time, get back in your trailers, chew your skoal and cook your pigs and quit crying. UGA loses the opener to OSU. Bank on it! Your fans need to wake up! 45-42 last year when you were preseason # 1. What a joke. Now you have Jow Phallic at QB instead of Stafford. Good luck on your underachieving season.
As for basketball, you don’t have a prayer of beating GT! We are loaded with Lawal, Bell, Miller, Shumpert, Favors, Peacock and Glenn Rice Jr. Who does UGAly have? Exactly, nobody!
RAMBLE ON AND SWAMP FEVER BABY!
Reality Check
June 16th, 2009
1:19 pm
GT should win 8 or 9 games minimum if the defense is half good based on the Offense alone. However, to get to top ten where all techies seem to think you are is ridiculus considering you lost all top lineman from your Defense and were horrible at times last year. After one freakin year of semi regular season success you have have all come out of the wood pile. If I were a GT fan I would probably STFU until my team actually won a game outside of the Sillicon Valley Bowl (Insert Puke Bowl Here).
Joe Schmoe
June 16th, 2009
1:19 pm
Thanks for some objective opinion Bama. Tech will not be 6-6 or 7-5 as some biased mutts have posted.
Knoxville Lou
June 16th, 2009
1:23 pm
I remember all the “quack” talk about Urban Meyer and his so-called “gimmick” offense.
2 NC rings later, no one’s laughing anymore. Especially me.
Any offense that can put 300-400 yards rushing week-in and week-out aint no gimmick.
DAWGHATER
June 16th, 2009
1:31 pm
Hey UGA! Your school suxs azz and will go down to GT, UF, as usual and OSU. Throw a couple of more losses in there and you will have another underachieving year. Quit whining and get back to your double wides, cook your pigs and eat your skoal. 45-42 sweet. UF SWAMP FEVER BABY AND RAMBLE ON! You all suck !
Brewer for GT President
June 16th, 2009
1:31 pm
You chumps… Paul Johnson is the George S. Patton of college football. In GT’s spring game, he was standing behind the QB, watching closely. In games he is watching like a hawk from the sideline, waiting for your team to show its belly so he can call in the kill shot. In UGA’s spring game, CMR was workin’ on the tan on the side lines while the boys had a slap fight. Maybe he was thinking about his next Ford or Carpets of Dalton commercial.
All this “we’ve got it figured out” talk is garbage. Give it a try. CPJ will hold your team by the nose while he kicks them in the butt. Btw, how has figuring out and killing UF’s Spread working for you? Guess who Urban used to call for advice when he was at Utah… The General.
WTF???
June 16th, 2009
1:33 pm
It can’t do it week in & week out. It’s too dependant upon the defense not getting pressure do disrupt the toss.
If they can keep the ball off the turf, they’re hard to beat. But I think this offense lacks consistency in the things you can do.
What if the defense is in the backfield breaking up the plays. Can they run a max protect scheme & run short to intermediate routes underneath the coverage to move the chains?
If UGA’s defense gets half as good as it was in the past years (missing link being big time DE that brings the pain) then the option will be in trouble.
Jeff Owens & Geno Atkins are going to take away the dive man. It’s just a matter of our ends stepping up & making sure the OT doesn’t make it to the linebacker. If we can push it back up the middle and contain on the edges there is no way in hell Tech wins this year.
WTF???
June 16th, 2009
1:37 pm
DAWGHATER – Nice post, you’re queer.
Joe Schmoe
June 16th, 2009
1:43 pm
WTF???, that is all nice assesment of how UGA could possibly slow down GT, but your team lacks one quality that can help slow an option, which is DISCIPLINE!
WTF???
June 16th, 2009
1:43 pm
Man, this is tough talk for a team that has only won ONE game in the last EIGHT attempts.
Do it again, then maybe you’ll have some respect.
Till then, go sit in the back of the bus & STFU.
DAWGHATER
June 16th, 2009
1:44 pm
Hey WTF! You are one clueless UGA fan. Hey question for you? How many points is a 3 point basket worth? a) 1 b) 2 c) 3 d) None of the above. Bring back any memories you illiterate rednecks? Get a life and quit whining and bragging about your crappy school in your crappy city of Athens, Ga. What a joke. RAMBLE ON AND SWAMP FEVER. THWG
WTF???
June 16th, 2009
1:44 pm
Joe Schmoe – That is what you’re hoping for anyhow.
Joe Schmoe
June 16th, 2009
1:45 pm
As noted I said slow down, not shut down, which UGA will never be able to do.
WTF???
June 16th, 2009
1:45 pm
Hey DAWGHATER, run along kid. I’m sure you can find someone to play the Xbox with you. Or go ride your bike.
Does your mommy know you like boys?
DAWGHATER
June 16th, 2009
1:49 pm
WTF: Bite me the redneck dawgpound way. That’s the UGAy way for you. Obviously, you are not very educated, so quit blogging and start dogging your crappy ol redneck underachieving team. You guys are pathetic and suc azz!
RAMBLE ON THWG!
By the way, how is yoru double wide you redneck?
DAWGHATER
June 16th, 2009
1:55 pm
WTF: You stfu, I don’t think you can with your loud obnoxious redneck azz. When you beat us 8 years in a row, then talk crap, but until then accept defeat, as you have with UF. many more wins are coming from GT over UGAy. Count on it. Joe Phallic is like you, a big shaftola. I can hear it now. Munson says ” Oh my god, phallic is back to pass and well, he’s, well, he’s throwing i think it is the ball, but I am so old and such a loser I cannot tell. Oh my god, he throws the ball right to a Gt player who runs into the endzone for the TD. The tears are falling from the sky, the tears are falling from the sky. You won’t see any sugar for a while. Go back to your double wide and stfu.
THWG RAMBLE ON AND UF ROCKS!
Reality Check
June 16th, 2009
2:00 pm
Dawghater- What a joke. Even most realistic rivals (Alabama, Auburn, etc.) would at least tell you that Athens is a great college town and has a great down town area. This is a detriment as it gives our players too many chances to get into trouble at night. It is more hilarious since GT is located in a cesspool that 99% of people in the state do not want to go to. You have no class and are typical GT fan can not take any realistic views on your team. You have a good coach but it is unrealstic in second year with that Defense to think you are going to be worldbeaters. Before you say it I am a redneck, uneducated, dumb, did not go to GT so I am stupid, etc. That is what it always comes down to.
WTF???
June 16th, 2009
2:02 pm
Joe Schmoe, I agree, Paul Johnson’s offense will be tough to stop. But come on, you guys need to start looking at things realistically.
If UGA has no injuries in the spring & puts their best players on the field there is no way that Tech can dominate them.
I mean yeah, I think the days of us winning 7 in a row are long gone. But I still believe that Tech will only win every now & then.
Based on talent alone.
Willie Martinez’s defense is not always terrible. Don’t get me wrong, last year he should’ve made some adjustments, moved some kids around.. But whatever, he didn’t, he’s the DC.
But history has shown, that more often than not, our defense is more than capable of being good.
Last year was well outside the norm for our defense.
Willie took over in 05, 05-07 we averaged giving up 119.1 ypg rushing & 17.5 ppg.
Last year we gave up 130 ypg rushing & 25.6 ppg.
Don’t think that we’re going to roll over & give it to you every year like we did in 08.
Supersize that order, mutt
June 16th, 2009
2:03 pm
WTF? If my HR manager were yours, he would probably get your ass fired for being on here throughout the work day instead of doing your job. Or do you even have a job? Incidentally, I do not have a job or an HR manager; I am comfortably retired and enjoying the good life. What is it with all you mutts who feel it is necessary everyday to log into a Tech blog and spout the same old mindless drivel over and over. At least there are a few, VERY FEW, who know enough about football to make intelligent posts. Sadly, there don’t seem to be many more Jackets who do any better.
HoundstoothHomo
June 16th, 2009
2:03 pm
Hey Saban, why does it sting when i pee???
GTVegas
June 16th, 2009
2:04 pm
First off, not going to bash either team. I truly hope that both teams are undefeated rolling into Bobby Dodd at the end of November. Do I honestly think they will be, no. There are too many dynamics to even try and say what each team may, or may not be capable of, but one can have their own hopes and opinions.
I hope that CPJ’s offense will be better and that he is able to go a bit deeper into his playbook. He has stated that they were maybe 40% of the way there last year. An expectation that his offense will be better appears reasonable based on that and his previous records. Everything I have read about Josh Nesbitt is that he has worked very hard on the passing part of his game since last season. The offensive line is the big question on offense, just as it was last year. Lets not forget, last year’s offensive line was not without its’ challenges and they managed when they needed to, mostly.
I also have high hopes for the defense. The secondary and linebackers should be improved. The defensive line has potential. It is not a given that it will be worse than last year’s by any stretch.
Special teams has got to be better, can’t be much worse.
I have complete confidence in CPJ’s coaching not to worry too much about that aspect of the game. I can see where he gets sick of the comments regarding his offense, especially since he has only run a fraction of it so far at GT, with players that he did not recruit for it. I expect it to get better each year.
WTF???
June 16th, 2009
2:05 pm
DAWGHATER – Post something else, so you will prove that you can actually be more of a douche.
WTF???
June 16th, 2009
2:12 pm
Supersize – Wow, retired & you actually know how to work a PC?
I’m impressed!
Just f#ckin with ya peter, don’t get hard.
You seem like one of the good guy Tech fans.
Not like DAWGLICKER or some of the others.
Actually, we’re behind websense and to this day I don’t understand why these blogs aren’t picked up.
Oh well….
UGAIsSoLastYear
June 16th, 2009
2:12 pm
What I like about Paul Johnson is that, on a few occasions now, he has said that he knows one thing – we WILL be better then we were last year. That takes guts to come out and say that knowing others may line up to prove him wrong. He also has said he doesn’t know if we will win more games – only that we will be better. I am totally ok with that comment and with him and feel safe and secure at GT with him as coach. The exact opposite could be said of how I felt while Gailey was here. What a great, pleasant change. Revel in it GT fans – don’t get sucked into the idiotic banter with the classless UGA fans who only wished they had a coach like ours. And to all the Ga Southern people, I get it – if Paul eventually leaves GT, I would sing his praises as the years pass too. You guys have class – UGA is ass!
Termite Terminolgy
June 16th, 2009
2:16 pm
Paul Johnson bunch won’t win nearly as many games this year. Why? Mainly because it takes a year for teams to come to terms with new offenses and teams. Every team tech played last year was flat when they played them except LSU and we see what happened there. This year there will be a lot more LSU type games than anything else. Then all you Johnson fans will be trying to run him out of town like the fair weather fans you are.
WTF???
June 16th, 2009
2:16 pm
You f#ckers have double standards….
Tech folks come on UGA blogs & talk trash daily.
We do it & we have no class?
Whatever, I guess…
Mark Bradley
June 16th, 2009
2:24 pm
WTF posed the question: What do I think of Joe Cox?
I think he’ll be better than Tereshinski but not as good as Greene, Shockley or Stafford. I think he’ll need more help than Georgia is used to giving its quarterbacks. (Not saying the Bulldogs can’t provide it, but I don’t think he’ll win games by himself.)
WTF???
June 16th, 2009
2:28 pm
Sweet, didn’t you jinx Chipper?
WTF???
June 16th, 2009
2:32 pm
Wait a minute Mark….
He’ll need more help than Georgia is used to giving its quarterbacks?
Is that the same help Stafford got in the Bama game when he was running for his life the entire first half?
Do you or do you not agree, that with the experience gained by the offensive linemen last year we should be able to protect the QB a bit more? Run block more proficiently?
Do you or do you not agree that having a healthy stable of scholarship defensive ends, we should provide a better rush off the edges than last year?
Come on Mark, I thought you & I were tight…..
BS Patrol
June 16th, 2009
2:46 pm
Dan,
GT75 is a sidewalk butsniffer who is a Tech Fan wannabe.
Tech’s 4th best RB is better than the 1ST string ga RB, whoever that is.
I also call BS on ex-NFL player. Opposition will run on Tech until they put “9 in the box” and then Tech’s “suspect” secondary will be easy pickins. It’s all so simple a cave man could do it! Duck Soup!
Saint Simons
June 16th, 2009
3:11 pm
Roddy Jones just scored again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WTF???
June 16th, 2009
3:11 pm
4th string better than 1st string at UGA?
Seeing as how that is Caleb King, this may very possibly be a true statement.
Sad, but possibly true.
Caleb has definitely got to step it up.
WTF???
June 16th, 2009
3:12 pm
Saint Simons – It is very likely that Roddy did score again, too bad you never will.
BS Patrol
June 16th, 2009
3:15 pm
1378,
You’ll never see the color of WTF??”s money I’ll guarantee. Note his terms of payment. If I could get somebody I trusted to hold the money for some of these bigmouth doggie wager offers I would be laying on the beach somewhere in the South Pacific plowing Jessica Alba.
WTF???
June 16th, 2009
3:20 pm
BS Patrol, you are correct in your statement that he’ll never see the color of my money. And yes, you’re probably correct in guaranteeing it.
Due to the fact that HE will be the one owing me.
exNFLplayer is a fake
June 16th, 2009
3:30 pm
No D huh? Sounds like of like the flea bags… if my mind serves me well I seem to remember an SEC D that gave up 35-45 + points in quite a few games last year.
WTF???
June 16th, 2009
3:33 pm
WTF is sounds like of like the fleabags?
If my mind serves me well that statement is f#cked up.
But what the hell do I know, I live in a doublewide & don’t have no edumacation.
Please refer (not to be confused with reefer) back to my 2:02 post for any questioning of UGA’s defensive struggles last season.
AMG
June 16th, 2009
3:34 pm
The Goal is 12 – 0 this year, really 13 – 0 and based on last year, I say they have a chance at it. I know it is a long shot, but VT had to have the refs cheat to beat us and it took us most of the year to really start to get the offense down. I look for GT to be the most explosive offense in the country this year, if the defense is half as good as people think we will have a really good year.
AMG
June 16th, 2009
3:36 pm
Georgia will finish this year at 5-7, 6-6 would be amazing for them. Mark my words, 5-7
Ramblinwreck1378
June 16th, 2009
3:36 pm
DAWGHATER: You need to be quiet. You’re making every other respectable Georgia Tech man on this blog look immature and unknowledgable, neither of which I am. If you’re going to say something, make a productive argument, stop talking about Athens, and start talking about our football team.
And as for the rest of you. No one is saying that Georgia Tech is going to go 13-0. But what we are saying is that Georgia lost two very essential components to their offense. Probably the two components that got them to a winning season last year. I dont’ care how much Joe Cox has watched, he hasn’t played hardly at all. All I’m saying is that it’s going to be rough for him come opening night in Oklahoma City. They’re a tough football team. Overrated? Yes. But tough? Also, yes. And enduring that brutal SEC schedule, along with non-conference foes such as Arizona St. and Georgia Tech, this could be a rough year for the dawgs. They’ll win 8 or 9.
And as I said before, Georgia Tech is capable of winning every game on their schedule. I don’t think they’ll do it, but they have the defense to keep them in games, and the offense to win them games.
WTF???
June 16th, 2009
3:39 pm
Uh, Ramblinwreck.. Looks like you spoke just a tad bit too late.
AMG is saying Tech will go 13-0, and UGA will go 5-7.
Damn…..
And they call me dilusional…
WTF???
June 16th, 2009
3:43 pm
well f#ck, I said it two different ways….
Generally the way I use the non-word ya is you.
not yours.
I think you’re smart enought to figure it out.
However, I am very worried about some of your Jacket brethren…
Supersize that order, mutt
June 16th, 2009
3:43 pm
make that “don’t seem to know”, NOT “don’e seem to know.”–typo And, WTF, it’s delusional, not dilusional. lol
Supersize that order, mutt
June 16th, 2009
3:45 pm
I’m smart enough to figure out a lot of things, but I can’t judge the intelligence, (or lack thereof), of a poster by the words he types.
WTF???
June 16th, 2009
3:46 pm
DE(DI)lusional – sue me, it’s been a long day.
I would like to point out, that my spelling is much more consistent than many posters.
Damn, that still doesn’t seem right…
DElusional….
Oh well, word checked it. I’m wrong, you’re right.
Don’t get used to it.
WTF???
June 16th, 2009
3:48 pm
DElusion is commonly defined as a fixed false belief and is used in everyday language to describe a belief that is either false, fanciful or derived from deception. In psychiatry, the definition is necessarily more precise and implies that the belief is pathological (the result of an illness or illness process). As a pathology it is distinct from a belief based on false or incomplete information or certain effects of perception which would more properly be termed an apperception or illusion.
Sound like it potentially applies to any person(s) on this post?