What’s wrong with Tech? Bay-Bay went away (boo hoo)
This Yellow Jacket pass was dropped Saturday in Pickens County, S.C. (AP photo)
I’ve actually had requests to write more about Georgia Tech. This is noteworthy because I usually only get asked to stop writing about something. But enough about me.
Georgia Tech, I’m afraid to say, is what I thought it was when last I mentioned the Jackets. It’s bad on defense and limited on offense. To say the Tech D has gotten worse under Al Groh would be statistically incorrect: The Jackets were 54th nationally among FBS teams in total defense last season; they’re 53rd now. What’s hurting Tech, believe it or not, is that Paul Johnson’s stylized offense isn’t holding up its end.
The Jackets are second in the nation in rushing offense, same as a year ago. The difference is that Tech ranks 48th nationally in total offense, down from 26th last season. What has gone wrong? There’s no Bay-Bay.
Demaryius Thomas, known as Bay-Bay, averaged 82.43 receiving yards per game last season — pretty darn good for a wideout on a team that ranked only 116th in passing yardage. With Thomas now gainfully employed in the NFL, Tech averages only 84.75 yards passing as a team.
A year ago, Bay-Bay made Joshua Nesbitt look like a competent passer: Tech actually finished 12th nationally in passing efficiency. (Didn’t know that, did you?) This year Tech ranks 106th in passing efficiency, and Nesbitt’s personal rating has dropped from 148.69 to 110.51. His completion percentage was 46.3 last season; it’s 38.2 now. His yards-per-attempt average was 1o.5 last season; it’s 6.61 now.
Put another way, whenever Nesbitt threw the ball last season there was (almost) half a chance he’d complete it for a first down. This year there’s roughly one-third of a chance the ball will be caught for substantially less yardage. Yes, that’s some difference.
Part of Nesbitt’s problem is that he’s rarely asked to make an easy throw. He can’t just dump the ball over the middle to a tight end because Tech has no tight ends on the roster. And Stephen Hill, billed as the Next Bay-Bay? He has 12 catches for 165 yards and two touchdowns in eight games. Thomas had 46 catches for 1,154 yards and eight touchdowns in 13 games last season.
This shows us, not for the first time, that Johnson’s stylized offense has its limitations: It cannot win at the highest level with a passing game this poor. And we can’t say that Tech has been set back by having to break in a new quarterback: This is Nesbitt’s third year as a starter in this system.
Bay-Bay made PJ’s offense look good because he made astonishing catches on demand. Bay-Bay was also signed by PJ’s predecessor, Chan Gailey, who ran a pro-style offense. Georgia Tech isn’t apt to sign a receiver so talented again anytime soon.
We went back and forth over the summer in trying to decide which of the four junior Jackets who left early for the pros was most indispensable, with defensive end Derrick Morgan being the early favorite. But now it’s clear: Thomas was the man Tech couldn’t lose. With him to bail out Nesbitt, the 2009 Jackets didn’t sustain their second loss until two days after Thanksgiving. With Bay-Bay as a Denver Bronco, the 2010 Jackets lost their third game eight days before Halloween.
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524 comments Add your comment
GT
October 26th, 2010
1:14 pm
We have had jokes at Tech but Paul Johnson is not one of them. Lewis was a very funny joke. Never saw a man lose a football team the way he did.
When you have close football games the bounce of the ball can dictate the outcome. Clemson had seen Tech down in Atlanta and in Jacksonville last year. Both games were close and they lost both games away from home. You don’t think these boys were laying for us. That probably was the game on their schedule they had marked. The thing with talented teams like Clemson is they can play like they did against Auburn or Tech then they can smell it up against nobodies because they get reading their own press clippings. Georgia and Clemson have always been very similar teams. Lots of small town talent that is distracted once they hit the big times.
Forrest Gump
October 26th, 2010
1:15 pm
i’m not a smart man, but even i know ga has more titles than gt.
1927, 1942, 1946, 1968, and 1980.
5>4.
NOBODYYOUKNOW = UGA Fan
October 26th, 2010
1:16 pm
Yeah Vandy vs Ole Miss would be a real barn burner with lots of BCS ramifications
Dawg-gone
October 26th, 2010
1:17 pm
tech’s schedule in 1990 makes boise state’s schedule in 2010 seem daunting.
Everybody knows that.
historian
October 26th, 2010
1:19 pm
if you look at all-time records, head to head records, league championships, heisman winners, etc., it’s pretty clear georgia has a much better history than Clemson.
Richt walks warily down the street, with the brim pulled way down low
October 26th, 2010
1:20 pm
Dawg-Gone
You’re right, GT had a 4-7 UGA team on it that GT beat by 2+TD’s be’twinx the hedges
dawghater
October 26th, 2010
1:20 pm
Mark,
Your arguement is way too simplified. WR is one area of concern. Watch the film. Players are missing key blocks, too many turnovers, key penalties at key points of the game, Nesbitt can’t pass, etc. I love my Jackets but this squad is just not that talented. Tech will be lucky to become bowl eligble. After the Kansas game I saw a 3 game losing streak and we are one game into that. I’m not stating I’m in this camp yet but does CPJ have an issue recruiting the talent we need? Only time will tell, but 6 wins will be a challenge with this team.
dawghater
October 26th, 2010
1:22 pm
Dawg Gone proves that they can’t teach history at UGA. Tech beat the #1 team in the nation in 1990. When the puppy’s won their last Nat’l title it took GT to tie Notre Dame to even get UGA in the running.
Ramblinwreck83
October 26th, 2010
1:22 pm
dawgy
UGA fans say the same stuff year in and year out. What has UGA accomplished since 1980. Not very much. No MNC, no Heismans. You boast about how bad UGA beats Tech but it’s really funny how UGA fans don’t like to talk about the annual game coming up this weekend. If a team really owns another teams ass, then it would be UF over UGA. I can’t wait for Meyer to call his timeouts when the gators are blowing out the mutts. It’ll be funny.
historian
October 26th, 2010
1:23 pm
and by Ramblin’s argument, the 1968 title should be universally recognized as Georgia’s, as they were the only undefeated team with a record of 8-0-2. Right? Apples to Apples.
Realist
October 26th, 2010
1:24 pm
Mark, nice article, but I could have written this for you 8 months ago. See comment below, from one of your blog posts back in February:
Realist
February 26th, 2010
1:22 pm
Thomas may or may not become an NFL route runner, but he was a dominant force at Tech. And more importantly, Tech is going to miss him. What Kiper says about Tech’s passing game is the same thing I’ve been saying on here for months — Tech’s whole game plan was throw it up and hope Thomas comes down with it. Wait til he is gone and Nesbitt has to actually quarterback a little. It won’t be so easy.
dawgy
October 26th, 2010
1:27 pm
point. in. case.
and would you like to compare the georgia/tech series record over the last 20 years? And when you do so, please only count games where tech players were academically eligible. I think you’ll find that georgia “owns tech’s ass.”
Loser.
Ramblinwreck83
October 26th, 2010
1:29 pm
Dawg-gone
You have proved only 1 thing with your comments. You don’t know anything about football. Your opinion is only formed from your short-sightedness of football outside of UGA and whatever makes you feel better about hating Tech. Besides, what so special about UGA schedule this year. They’ve played so many teams that aren’t really that good and have lost to teams that aren’t good. What does that make them? Not very good. I hope I made that simple enough for you.
Dawg-gone
October 26th, 2010
1:30 pm
you are correct on one thing, new georgia students aren’t handed the same (inaccurate) talking points about tech the moment they step on campus. Unlike they do at tech.
It’s pretty funny – all the hatred towards georgia is so contrived. Everything from the little pre-game drum circle to the fight song to the exact same TECHNIQUE georgia theme every year.
Does it bother tech fans at all that the majority of georgia fans don’t even think about tech until the week of the game? Classic little brother syndrome.
Dawg-gone
October 26th, 2010
1:32 pm
ramblin – when did i say georgia had a good team this year? they don’t. Kind of like tech. But they’ll beat tech again this year. AGAIN.
and i find it funny a techie would criticize my football knowledge. Did you even know what football was when you stepped off your plane from India? Tell me, how complicated a game is Cricket?
Ramblinwreck83
October 26th, 2010
1:33 pm
Forrest Gump
HAHAHA. Now that’s funny. Those weren’t MNC. Back then, there were so many polls that had their own ranking. Good luck on selling that to someone.
Richt walks warily down the street, with the brim pulled way down low
October 26th, 2010
1:35 pm
Dawg-gone
Ok so why are YOU on a Ga Tech blog on Oct 26th…..
This seriously is too easy. you must have an IQ of an acorn.
historian
October 26th, 2010
1:35 pm
Ramblin, aren’t three out of four of tech’s claimed titles from that same era (or even before)? If you can sell me on how tech’s are different from georgia’s, then you should be in sales.
Dawg-gone = A Racist
October 26th, 2010
1:36 pm
Typical uga fan
RambleOn84
October 26th, 2010
1:36 pm
I see a lot of UGA fans right now who are thinking about Tech…I’d say they’re obsessed.
Dawg-gone
October 26th, 2010
1:37 pm
oh, i’m only on here for entertainment purposes. I think it’s funny reading about nerds trying to talk football. And getting so riled up at all the “stupid” georgia fans.
What can i say? You idiots entertain me.
Dawg-gone
October 26th, 2010
1:38 pm
Tech students = terrorists.
typical tech fans.
dawg day afternoon
October 26th, 2010
1:38 pm
Do national titles during World Wars count?
Weren’t the real men fighting overseas while tech was beating Agnes Scott in the championship game? Hell, tech probably beat Agnes Scott’s second string because all the able-bodied women were riveting tanks!
GTBob
October 26th, 2010
1:39 pm
lol. I love UGA fans. They don’t realize the irony of coming onto a blog about Ga Tech and telling us how much they don’t care about us.
GOJACKETS77
October 26th, 2010
1:39 pm
Bay Bay being gone is the least of our worries. I think our #1 problem right now is on the Defensive side of the ball. I think CPJ went out and got a washed up head coach who runs a complex D that we just do not have the talent to run. Last year…maybe, this year no where close. As for the Offense..well I believe that CPJ MUST hire an offensive coordinator. At Navy and Georgia Southern he could compete with his play calling at a “big” school it just isn’t cutting it. I sat and watched all of the Navy/Notre Dame game on Saturday and I must admit I was a little jealous because people that is the way a triple option offense should run and their QB1 can actually throw the ball accurately and consistantly. Don’t get me wrong I love my Jackets and actually traveled to the Clemson game and left utterly disappointed. The outside was there over and over again but CPJ refused to run it often. Instead we threw more but Nesbitt is inconsistant to say the least and our receivers(Hill more than the others) couldn’t catch a bad cold! To the UGA hillbilly who says we still may have three losses this year you’d better take the time to remember you morons beat a BAAAADDD UT team, a annually bad Vandy team and a Kentucky team who always holds their breath until Bball season!
Ramblinwreck83
October 26th, 2010
1:40 pm
historian
October 26th, 2010
1:23 pm
and by Ramblin’s argument, the 1968 title should be universally recognized as Georgia’s, as they were the only undefeated team with a record of 8-0-2. Right? Apples to Apples.
Really? because by my facts, Ohio State finished 10-0 that year with no ties unlike UGA who had 2 ties.
Furman Bisher
October 26th, 2010
1:41 pm
i’ll have you know that it was an evenly matched game. The day the girly men of georgia tech squared off against the manly girls of Agnes Scott, the feather definitely flew. But it was the hearty nerds of north avenue that emerged victorious that glorious afternoon at piedmont park.
Well-deserved and recognized title for the stingers of the flats.
GOJACKETS77
October 26th, 2010
1:41 pm
Oh and to Dawg Gay Afternoon…who was the last team to win a National Championship in the State of Ga…that’s right Tech in ‘90. UGAG won in 80. What morons!
Bill McCartney
October 26th, 2010
1:43 pm
Tech didn’t win the title in 1990. Colorado did.
Small Paul Johnson
October 26th, 2010
1:44 pm
Actually, the last team in georgia to claim a legitimate title were my GaSouthern eagles of 2000. Ah, I miss those days. I miss playing in a real conference.
Dawg-gone = A Racist
October 26th, 2010
1:47 pm
Bill McCartney
In that case, in 1942, UGA didn’t win the national title, Ohio State did
Chris Hatcher
October 26th, 2010
1:47 pm
i believe the Valdosta State Blazers won one in 2007 as well.
Ramblinwreck83
October 26th, 2010
1:48 pm
Oh yeah, my facts also show that UGA was 8-1-2, which puts them with 1 loss and 2 ties. doesn’t sound like a MNC to me
Techmate
October 26th, 2010
1:49 pm
All you dawg fans – you have your own problems so back to your kennels.
Techsters – Our receivers do not yet understand the concept of owning the ball when it is thrown to them. Hill has talent but is not yet committed to going up at any time to use his hands to out manuver the defender. And, as good an athlete as Nesbitt is, he is truthfully not the prototypical QB for this offense. That said, I’ve never seen an athlete warrior like him. He may not have the best footwork going but never question his will. The man is a winner and as tough a competitor as there is.
ManUp...
October 26th, 2010
1:49 pm
I love that we’re all recruiting experts. Who’s to say CPJ doesn’t play the “you can start immediately if you’re good enough” angle on a 4 star receiver and also tell him, “hey, Bay Bay blocked and jump-caught his way to being a first round pick in the NFL draft…get big, learn to block, stay good at catching, and you’ll be our key to more hardware while you get drafted as a junior.” I think more receivers will come.
Honestly, though? Imagine if we develop guys like Orwin Smith and BJ Bostic into a more CJ Spiller type of player that can catch, make guys miss and win the footraces. Then our B-back can stay average (Allen, I’m lookin’ at you…finish runs, son) and our QB doesn’t have to be Nesbitt immediately. If I can see potential here, I have to believe our coaching staff sees it too.
We aren’t in the kind of bad shape that says CPJ was a bad choice. Just keep giving it time. One year of reverting to an average college football team after two years of surprisingly quick success relative to the past is fine. Expectations will stay high, and this program will continue to build.
And no matter what it will always be great to be a Yellow Jacket!
joey gt
October 26th, 2010
1:51 pm
once again gt will be fine ! all the bandwagon tech fans you can leave now we dont need yall!!1 coach pj will get it fixed this year i fully expect us to win 3of the next 4 if….. we execute our offense right, we have yet to execute our offense even half to what its capable of due to very poor blocking and dropping passes. coach pj earned our loyalty to him for what he has done the past 2 years, i can tell you one thing gt will be a constant 8-10 wins every year, something gailey could never do… go gt if we execute against vt we win in a shootout 38-35.
historian
October 26th, 2010
1:55 pm
Ramblin – titles were awarded before bowl games in those days. Didn’t make much sense, but that’s how it was done in the ancient days of yore. So georgia finished the regular season undefeated. which is all that matters.
GOJACKETS77
October 26th, 2010
1:55 pm
We shared the title in 90 moron! I know I was at the bowl game where we blew out Nebraska and had to wait for the Notre Dame/Colorado game. Ishmael ran a punt back for a TD which was called back alas us sharing the title with Colorado. Why are so many UGAG fans on this blog? Shouldn’t they be worried about their own problems?
dawgy
October 26th, 2010
1:56 pm
i actually think tech beats vatech next thursday. the extra time off is huge.
regarding d. thomas, i would think tech wouldn’t have a problem finding a receiver. the pitch should be “you only have to run go routes, you’ll get 1,000 yards a season, you’ll have single coverage every game, and you’ll be picked in the first round like bay bay.”
that’s not hard to sell.
joey gt
October 26th, 2010
1:57 pm
gt
Dawg-gone
October 26th, 2010
1:58 pm
whoa, settle down there, GoJackets. It’s just a game. And this is just a blog.
and you’re wrong.
other than that though, settle down. Breathe.
Dawg-gone
October 26th, 2010
2:00 pm
Dawg-gone is a racist – please explain your title. Are you calling me a racist because i pointed out that the tech student section resembles the bar scene from Star Wars?
Wow, the truth hurts a little bit?
Ramblinwreck83
October 26th, 2010
2:02 pm
No one recognizes UGA winning the MNC in ‘68. Nearly every poll back then had OSU as #1. That’s a Fact. Look it up. Also, doesn’t sound too good when the so called shared MNC team loses it’s bowl game. that right there shows that OSU was #1.
RambleOn84
October 26th, 2010
2:02 pm
If we want to count RECOGNIZED national championships (meaning championships picked by selectors recognized by the NCAA), Tech has three (1917, 1928, and 1990) and UGA has one (1980).
If we want to count any year that ANY selector chose either team as their national champion, Tech has 6 (1917, 1928, 1951, 1952, 1956, 1990) and Georgia has 5 (1927, 1942, 1946, 1968, 1980).
If we want to count BCS National Championships, both Tech and Georgia have 0.
If we want to count undefeated seasons (including ties), Tech has 8 (1905, 1915, 1916, 1917, 1928, 1951, 1952, 1990) and Georgia has 4 (1896, 1920, 1946, 1980).
If we want to count undefeated AND untied seasons, Tech has 3 (1917, 1928, 1952) and Georgia has 3 (1896, 1946, 1980).
Tech comes out on top of every list except undefeated and untied seasons, although it should be noted that in 1896 Georgia only played 4 games.
When Tech and Georgia were both in the SIAA conference (1895-1920), Tech had 5 titles (1916, 1917, 1918, 1920, 1921) and UGA had 2 (1896, 1920). Tech and UGA shared the title in 1920 apparently.
When Tech and Georgia were both in the Southern Conference (1921-1932), Tech had 3 titles (1922, 1927, 1928) and UGA had 0.
When Tech and Georgia were both in the SEC (1933-1963), Tech had 5 titles (1939, 1943, 1944, 1951,1952) and UGA had 4 (1942, 1946, 1948, 1959).
So in summary, Tech leads UGA in every one of these historical measures, save for one: UGA leads the all-time head-to-head series.
But since UGA fans don’t care about Tech anyway, this is really nothing to brag about.
I guess we now see why so many UGA fans come onto our blogs so often.
Jealousy is a very ugly thing.
IE80
October 26th, 2010
2:04 pm
Good points, Mark, but the loss of Thomas has hurt our offense in even bigger ways. Sure, we miss the 3 catches/game he made which always seemed to be big plays, but his departure has hurt our running game even more. The double coverage he often drew opened holes for the running backs which aren’t there this year. GT’s option blocking scheme depends on mismatches, and when the defense has another tackler to stuff the run, they usually can. In addition, he was a great blocker on the many, many plays that weren’t passes to him. We’ve just got too many holes to plug this year and not enough depth and talent to do it.
ManUp...
October 26th, 2010
2:06 pm
Dawg-gone. I as a Tech alumnus and die-hard fan find Star Wars and other nerd jokes hilarious. Tech students are indeed a quirky bunch, by and large. After they graduate? Well, that’s where the pride points tend to pile up. Whoever’s calling you a racist is too sensitive. It’d be the same as a Dawg fan yelling at me for making the same age-old joke about Sanford stadium being the biggest gathering of trailer trash this side of the Sprint Cup. No one’s mad about that. We say things in jest knowing that generalizations are just stupid and funny. Racist…sheesh…
dawgy
October 26th, 2010
2:07 pm
RambleOn – good summary, and very informative. I think the Litkenhous poll recognized UGA as champ in 1968, but nearly everyone recognizes that the Buckeyes were the real champs that year.
It would seem as though each school has one legitimate title, although tech’s came during a time when the country was in the throws of ww1 and georgia didn’t even field a team. Not trying to get you excited, i’m just saying.
Dawg-gone
October 26th, 2010
2:09 pm
ManUP – i hear you. Generalizations are stupid…but also fun. and convenient.
GOJACKETS77
October 26th, 2010
2:09 pm
Dawg-gone is a complete idiot. He has to come on a Tech blog and run his mouth. I wonder how he actually feels about UGA this year. Is Aaron Murray the future(they better hope not), is the D up in Athens stellar…hmmm let’s see 31 pts allowed against Kentucky. Could they beat Tech not in a million years if we play up to our potential. Joshua Nesbitt is the TOUGHEST college football player right now.
joey gt
October 26th, 2010
2:11 pm
who cares what gt or ga did 30 years ago what matters is now.. im a diehard gt fan but at best case senario we are a 8-4 team and georgia you have beat a bad tenn and vanderbuilt team and kentucky a ok team…both teams are not that good this year, please lets stop fighting and wait til the week we gt and ga actually play for our clean old fashion hate………..