Tech wins, but pugnacious Paul plainly isn’t pleased
It started nicely. Note Paul Johnson in Jonathan Dwyer's wake. (AJC photo by Johnny Crawford)
PJ was not pleased. PJ was, to borrow a term he used himself, another sort of “p” word. PJ could barely find anything good to say about a 20-point victory over an outmanned team, which isn’t to say he was at a loss for verbiage.
“I want to see some intensity and some fire and some fight,” Paul Johnson said Saturday. “We’re just not nasty enough. We’re too nice.”
That Georgia Tech was never in distress against Jacksonville State didn’t mollify the Jackets’ coach. If anything, it made him ever madder. Jonathan Dwyer scored on the game’s first snap and that, in PJ’s mind, “probably wasn’t the best thing that could have happened.” Because it didn’t give Tech cause to buckle down and execute. It didn’t give it cause to do anything except flail for the final three quarters.
Tech led 17-0 after 15 minutes but outscored the Gamecocks by only three points over the next 45. It managed three touchdowns over that span, one of them a punt return. It lost three fumbles, all three by quarterbacks. Said PJ: “Maybe we should have knocked the crap out of them in fall camp and they’d have hung on to the ball.”
Asked about his team’s passing game: Johnson said: “It was OK — about like everything else.”
His offensive line? “About like everything else.”
About his second-team defense, which yielded a touchdown on the game’s final drive: “If something like that had happened to me, I’m going to be ["p"-word here]. I’m not going to be smiling.”
Did he catch some second-teamers smiling after JSU’s touchdown? “No,” he said, without smiling.” If I did, I would have went and got ‘em. But I didn’t see anybody looking crushed, either.”
Johnson believes these Jackets have the capacity to be really good, perhaps better than good. “I’m trying to raise the level of expectations,” he said. “We could come in here and say, ‘We gained 500 yards [actually 497],’ but we didn’t play the way we needed to play to reach the level I want us to reach.”
On why Tech ran only 11 third-quarter plays: “Because we weren’t worth a crap. We missed every read on the option.”
On his displeasure over a missed PAT: “I don’t think you should be high-fiving each other when you miss a extra point that a junior high school team could make. I don’t think you should have a group discussion and sing, ‘Kumbaya.’ ”
We pause to reflect: Tech wasn’t awful. It was great in the first quarter, mediocre thereafter. Dwyer gained 74 yards on his first carry and only 21 more.
Loading ...And here we must also note: As teaching tools go, this game falls squarely into PJ’s wheelhouse. He has five days to prepare his men for an old enemy in orange, and those men had already gotten the message. Said Dwyer: “If we came out like this against Clemson [due in Thursday night], we’d get beat.”
The Jackets have had nine months to revel in beating Georgia, nine months to hear how much better they’ll be in Year 2 under PJ. Some teams can handle that. Others require some instruction.
Of his teams at Georgia Southern and Navy, Johnson said: “They liked to win. They fought hard. They played scared. We’re talented, but we don’t have that down-and-dirty part.”
PJ’s men might find some of that these next few days. There will be no “Kumbaya” moments before Clemson comes to town, no group harmonizing. There will be only the sound of one man yelling.
How might practice be Sunday? Said Dwyer, the diplomat: “I don’t think it’ll be any different.”
Said defensive end Derrick Morgan, the realist: “I think it’ll be different.”
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186 comments Add your comment
HoCoJo
September 5th, 2009
10:52 pm
What were the attendance numbers today?
Scott
September 5th, 2009
10:56 pm
That Tech won with no major injuries= mission accomplished. PJ may not ever be satisfied, especially in front of the media, and that makes me glad he is GT’s coach. The Jackets may not have the top talent according to the recruiting guru’s but the coaching the guys get will help them be a overachieving bunch!
Mark Bradley
September 5th, 2009
10:58 pm
A little over 46,000 was the announced crowd. And Paul Johnson bought lunch for everybody!
dandydawg
September 5th, 2009
11:04 pm
That’s not an answer Mark. You know what I mean. Somebody from North Ave must be paying you off with something….your a freaking UGA grad and you stilll want to put out this hogwash of that nerd school is the best team in the state….
dandydawg
September 5th, 2009
11:07 pm
Again, the football factory in Athens will blow out that nerd school after i’m fat on thanksgiving turkey by 20
Mark Bradley
September 5th, 2009
11:09 pm
A UGA grad? Me?
dandydawg
September 5th, 2009
11:21 pm
If you dont answer trhe comments Bradley…than the columns are all fluff. You and Bisher are the two biggest Georgia Tech apologists I’ve seen in this town in a long time. You two are drinking that nerd kool-aid.
Next time, come up with “one”.. legitimate reason
Supersize that order, mutt
September 5th, 2009
11:22 pm
dandydawg, how about going back to school and learning how to spell. “your a freaking…..”??? The appropriate word there, dummydawg, is “YOU’RE”, not “YOUR”. And that is only the latest of many examples of your total ignorance of the English language. Athens may be a football factory, but it’s obviously not an education “factory.” By the way, how many 4 and 5 star athletes were on the Ok State team today? I don’t know, but I would assume not nearly as many as UGAG has, and look how much good those 4 and 5 star recruits accomplished for the mutts today. NOT MUCH.
dandydog is my biatch
September 5th, 2009
11:24 pm
typical uga idiot who thinks its 1980. thuga is irrelevant
dandydog is my biatch
September 5th, 2009
11:25 pm
and your sister is ugly
dandydog is my biatch
September 5th, 2009
11:26 pm
sorry didnt mean to speak ill of your wife
Drummerguy1978
September 5th, 2009
11:27 pm
Fat on thanksgiving turkey, huh, dandy. Are you sure you’re not already the average UGA fan. Some smelly, beer gutted redneck who barely managed to get a G.E.D. and only dreamed of being smart enough to get accepted into a school as good ad UGA. Add to that you only real experience with football came when you were a backup on your high school’s JV team.
Supersize that order, mutt
September 5th, 2009
11:30 pm
All these UGAG idiots who post on the Tech blogs should go check out the UGAG blog and see what many of the mutts there have to say about the game today. Now they’re not only down on Martinez (like they were last year), but Booboo and Richt too. I love it when they fall off the bandwagon and hate their own kind.
dandydawg
September 5th, 2009
11:35 pm
Supersize
Why dont you just shutup for once you jackass. Your unbelievablely ignorant. Think Bobby Cremins is suddenly Hugh Durham? Jerk.
Drummerguy1978
September 5th, 2009
11:42 pm
Hey, there is that “your” again. It’s YOU’RE you idiot. Anyone who actually managed to go to UGA would know that.
dandydawg
September 5th, 2009
11:45 pm
Hey Drummer.
BIte the big one and crap your pants you loser.
Oprah's furry third pierced nipple
September 5th, 2009
11:46 pm
Mark can read and write, so he is obviously not a UGA grad.
Drummerguy1978
September 5th, 2009
11:51 pm
Oh that’s all you got, a wish of death? Wow, I must have really struck a nerve. I know…I know, The truth hurts sometimes. Life must suck knowing that you’re a loser poser who wishes he could have been smart enough to go to UGA.
GameTime
September 5th, 2009
11:54 pm
Hey dandy (interesting moniker by the way – usually implies a gay person) — help me understand how UGA has top 10 recruiting classes every year, full of 4* and 5* recruits and gets beat by teams with less talent. How does that happen? Why does it happen so often?
Robert Reagin
September 5th, 2009
11:56 pm
Wow, Drummerguy. In successive posts you’ve underestimated what is required for a GED and overestimated what is required for acceptance to Georgia. Actually they’re (that’s “there” for you dandydawg) about the same.
Brent S.
September 6th, 2009
12:03 am
D-dawg, I don’t even like table tennis, dude. I’ve forgotten more about football than you’ll EVER know!! You are right, in that, Athens IS a football factory, b/c nobody goes to class, players get arrested left and right, and your graduation rate is piss poor AT BEST!!! So the only thing the players know IS football!!! I guess the intelligence factor is only equal to the production of their last game played…tisk..tisk..tisk!!!
UGA(Y) always thinks they’re better than they REALLY are!! Ironically, they are (now-were) ranked in the top 15, EVEN THOUGH 95% of their offense from last year is in the NFL this year. They have a rookie qb, an unproven running back, and a defense that was down 31-0 to ‘Bama last year during the “black out”, that eventually became the “Black Eye”. So don’t sit there and tell me that UGA(Y) will be contending for ANYTHING this year, b/c EVERYONE is sick of hearing how great UGA(Y) THINKS they are!!!!
Go gators
September 6th, 2009
12:11 am
Dandydog, go to sleep, but the problem is you will sill be 0-1 in the morning…TIMEOUT
Not Disappointed!
September 6th, 2009
12:15 am
Nite all. Pups too.
Ramblin Wreck!
Supersize that order, mutt
September 6th, 2009
12:16 am
Does anybody here have a clue what dandy(dummy)dawg meant by the “Think Bobby Cremins is suddenly Hugh Durham?” comment? I sure don’t have a clue, but then I don’t guess I should expect anything that retard says to bear even a semblance to anything intelligent.
Robert Reagin
September 6th, 2009
12:21 am
That comment (Durham/Cremins) was off the rails even for “he who hides behind his gay alias.” But then again, his first post tonight had Florida vs. Georgia as a push.
stony
September 6th, 2009
12:24 am
Dandydawg, just wanted to say thanks for the hilariously funny(completely intentional, I’m sure) posts. Enjoyed them tremendously, although now I probably won’t sleep comfortably tonight due to the pain in my sides. And allow me to try to clarify something for you, GT is the best team in the state this season due to beating UGA last year, just as UGA was considered the best team in the state for the last 7 years. I’m sure this explanation was futile due to your obvious intellectual abilities, but had to make the attempt.
AMG
September 6th, 2009
12:54 am
UGA 0 and 1 and heading towatds a ranking around 125th. Go Dawgs and Go SEC, because you are sooo awesome, Except lets not include any mens sports like football when we say that. I mean you guys can make excuses better than anything I have ever seen.
really dandydog?!
September 6th, 2009
1:01 am
dandydog.
you clain you know football and that UGA is where the gods play (figurative of course), but they barely got any yards from a team that was 98th in defence last year. Also the team isn’t top 5 they were 9 and you were 13. pretty close. i know you are upset the you lost to us last year and you lost to Oklah. St., but please, use knowledge when you post. Trust me, you wouldn’t want to fight me, especially at the varsity. This is for two reasons; one is i’m probably much stronger, and two is i dont want to explain to you mommy that you were being ignorant online and i had to come beat your ass…
thank you and have a great day.
best of luck to GT and UGA.
Thank you to those that have let me enjoy this year of bragging rights
nothing better to do
September 6th, 2009
1:15 am
helo, my name is dandydawg. i like the dawgs, the dawgs are gud. i like futbal. it is fun. i passed the 4th grade this year. yay. do not tell my mommy i am still awake. i sit at my computer all night long riting on this blog. i have no thing beter to do. futbal is fun. go dawgs. noshon for hiseman
Never Ever
September 6th, 2009
1:17 am
Coach Paul Johnson, Ladies and Gentlemen,
“Because we weren’t worth a crap. We missed every read on the option.”
“I don’t think you should be high-fiving each other when you miss a extra point that a junior high school team could make. I don’t think you should have a group discussion and sing, ‘Kumbaya.’ ”
Your Georgia Institute of Technology fans.
Representing the White and Gold with class.
Yellow Fuzz
SatchelBuzz
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m
hateadog
satan
lucifer
dogs suck
stinger
ramble on
saint simons
nochancedog
life coach(SUCKS)
tohellwithga
Sandyspringsjacket
GTOldSchool21
ksmallsGTawzum
Keepin it 100
MVP
fu_gtbuzz
jacketbacker
Richt Still Sucks
dogcrap
Statue for CPJ
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Life Coach
September 4th, 2009
3:30 pm
Cuz; Again using you disabled daughter for sympathy is just not Kosher! Let’s all cry for Cuz now. You think because you have a disabled child that you hold some special place on this silly UGA blog. I knew you couldn’t resist responding to my last post about you. And you did and tried to get some love with your sob story. I hope for your daughters sake that you are a better father than you appear on this blog. Calm boy, I just jerking you chain!
mary mac
September 6th, 2009
1:19 am
BEAT clemson
chris o bomb
September 6th, 2009
1:36 am
mark bradley has and still will be ajc’s best blogger no matter what the outcome maybe for tech and uga.
Belvedere
September 6th, 2009
1:52 am
Holy crap! Reading dandydawg’s ignorant ramblings makes me realize just why I hate Georgia. I’m ashamed to have been born in Georgia because I share a birthplace with wastes of sperm like him.
To all the Tech folks, I’m looking forward to some good Varsity dogs and cold beers with y’all Thursday night. Go Tigers!
Butts Wagner
September 6th, 2009
1:56 am
My observations:
1) The team was clearly not focused. The offense was about as good as they were for much of last year, which is to say, not clicking. I was expecting the team to score a lot more in this game, even with second and third stringers. If the team is as good as I think they can be, they should be averaging around 40 pts/game(this means blasting D-1AA teams by scoring in the 50s). The defense should be the big question.
2) I think the passing game is improved, even if it didn’t look like it in the game. Nesbitt made one bad throw, but the receivers/A-backs dropped a couple passes. If the receivers can deal with getting hit, there should be a couple more big plays each game from the passing game.
3) The freshmen: Orwin Smith is a player. I didn’t expect him to be so ready so soon. Izaan Cross has the size to be a beast with some more experience. Stephen Hill looks to be the real deal. And Julian Burnett should probably be starting.
4) The offensive line is still not where it needs to be. Not even close.
5) With more experience Tevin will be a solid backup, though I don’t think he’s yet an upgrade over Jaybo, and I’m one of those who does not believe Jaybo is a solid backup at the D-1A level, just because of his lack of size. Next year will really showcase the depth at QB when Luallen is healthy and Tevin, Jaybo, and Sims have more experience and size.
6) Special teams looks to be improved at this point with regards to punt and kick returns. But the kicking game still needs work.
7) Overall: This team still has a lot of question marks. A good showing against Clemson would go a long way to answering those questions. But Clemson is very athletic, especially on defense. I’m still not convinced that this team is not a middle of the road ACC team, especially being in the Coastal Division. My expectations still range from 6-6 to 10-2. Better expectations than last year, but not much confidence in the high end.
Finally, what the hell Tyrod? I don’t think you’re that great, but everyone else seems to think you’re the bee’s knees. Correct me if I’m wrong, but you’re on the freaking Davey O’Brien Watch List. Where were the flashes of athleticism against Bama?
And one more “What The Hell?!” for the ACC as a whole. For now, I take solace in the fact that the Big 10 showed how crappy it is.
brewdawg
September 6th, 2009
7:29 am
Mark, I know you’ve talked about Gregg Doyel in the past, so you’ve probably already got this ready. But he makes some interesting comments about UGA in the middle of this column that might make it a good fit in your inevitable “Bradley’s Buzz” article about the goings on in college football this weekend. I know, I know, this is a Tech blog. Sorry guys. http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/story/12162552
Baba O'Riley
September 6th, 2009
7:46 am
I’m very happy for Julian Burnett. I’ve known the kid since he was in middle school. He’s a hard worker and I know he will succeed at GT. He was the best HS LB in the state last year and is not intimidated by the bigger stage.
Jeepers
September 6th, 2009
7:54 am
It was the first game, so it’s not a surprise that Tech fumbled often a made several mistakes. We should improve. A win is a win. It’s sort of amusing that the “Dawgs” lost, but I really had wished that they won that game. I hoped for a battle between two highly ranked teams in late November. Oh well, perhaps it could still happen. Go Tech!
jconservative
September 6th, 2009
8:42 am
Enter your comments here
Gt4ever
September 6th, 2009
8:46 am
I really like this coach. He says all the right things. Time will tell if these guys really want to win. If they don’t come to play with the intensity of champions, they will go home LOSERS…. Let’s hope that the mentality has changed.
collegeballfan
September 6th, 2009
8:47 am
I thought #40, straight out of school high school linebacker Burnett, had the best game of anybody on the field.
1Jacket7
September 6th, 2009
8:57 am
I have to agree with CPJ on the level of our physicality. We have to get tougher up front on both sides of the ball. And we have to value the ball better in games. Josh, this is your third year in college and you have been playing Football all your life and you run the ball in your hands, not tucked away high and tight? I just get upset with not doing the little things. Josh Nesbitt made some great throws down the seam. If the receivers would run hard the entire route and catch the ball the outcome would have been highly favorable. Embry didn’t start running hard until he saw the ball in the air. Allen, just dropped it. Bey Bey just dropped it. Nesbitt running just fumbled it.
On Defense many of you forget that we have had many a game in which we didn’t hear the D-Line names called. What we have is getting better and yes they need to crank it up a bit and they will. Robert Hall needs to loosen up and just play football. Julliam Burnnett looked good. Cooper if you attacked the ball more you would have had two picks. Mario you need to be able to see the ball and reciever to adjust, you didn’t recognize that the ball was overthrown until it hit you on the arm. That was a pick six and stop jumping around, catch the ball. That goes for B. Jefferson too. You had two picks that bounced off your hands. There was a lot of good out there so don’t get me wrong. Its just that if you all want to really make a difference this year those plays must be made. I trust that I am just talking to the bloggers not the players, because I hope they are not reading these. But if you are take heed to what I just said. GO Jackets!!!
orangebloodedal
September 6th, 2009
9:36 am
Thursday night. Judgement Day for both programs. Speed kills. Can’t wait. Man I love this game.
GM
September 6th, 2009
9:43 am
Unless we start showing some toughness and determination, this will be a long season. We don’t look like we can compete with FSU, VT, UNC, and will struggle with Clemson Thursday. Sorry guys, but yesterday was unimpressive.
Typical Dawg Fan
September 6th, 2009
9:49 am
We are still better than that Nerd school on North Ave that can’t fill its stadium. We are from the SEC and we are great. I can’t believe Mark Bradley would say anything good about Tech because he is a UGA grad. We will win the rest of our games this season and play for the NC, after crushing you bugs in November. If not for Joe Cox having the flu, the penalties, the yardage, the refs, and the score, we would have beaten OSU by 3 TD’s yesterday. Blah, blah, blah….
Gen Neyland
September 6th, 2009
10:02 am
Just thought I’d drop by today and see how Dragon*Con was going. Curiosity had me wondering how the ACC faired against the SEC in opening week. Anybody got the tally..?
MB : You were right before you were wrong on UGA. Alas, in many a divorces and remarriages, it’s the reverse.
calvin
September 6th, 2009
10:04 am
On the pre-game handshake, why should the quarterback and
everybody else who handles the ball be required to shake
hands with a hundred men just before the game? This is
crazy. Why are the coaches so meek that they put up with
this kind of thing? An awful new rule, which should be
repealed immediately.
Buzz Belle
September 6th, 2009
10:29 am
Yeterday was a win. And UGA lost. Yesterday was about finding out in a game situation how these guys are playing. And UGA lost. Yesterday was about finding our weaknesses before anybody else does, and then correcting them. CPJ will do this. I have faith in him, in our team, and our season this year. And UGA lost! Now enjoy the rest of the weekend and see you on the Flats Thursday for our first conference win! GO JACKETS and THWG!
joey gt
September 6th, 2009
11:18 am
i was not disappionted after yesterdays win over jax state. i know their were some things that definitely we need to improve on such as protecting the ball and being tougher and nastier, but we did play half the game with most of our starter resting for the clemson game.if john drwyer played he would have had over 200 yards rushing.with coach johnson their he will not allow tech to get complacent .tech will be 11-1 or 12-0 if they play the cards rightlook for tech to come out fired up against clemson on national tv and beat them 31-14.
joey gt
September 6th, 2009
11:19 am
orange bowl here we come
Spelling Nazi
September 6th, 2009
12:10 pm
I hate to pick on fellow Tech bloggers, but for God’s sake, joey gt, would you please learn the English language, or at least how to spell. Twice you used the word “their” where you should have used the word “there.” If we are to claim superiority over the mutts both athletically and intellectualy, then we should at least know how to spell simple one-syllable words that we use everyday. There is a BIG difference between the words “there”, “their”, and “they’re” as there is between “two”, “too”, and “to”, not to mention “no” and “know” and “threw” and “through”. I expect lousy spelling and grammar out of the redneck mutts who post here, but we Jackets SHOULD be above such a show of ignorance. Also, it’s Jonathan Dwyer, not John Drwyer.