A sobering truth revealed: Georgia Tech just isn’t very good
Oh, no! Zach Laskey after fumbling away a punt. (AP photo)
Miami — Georgia Tech has messed up its season, and not in the way you’d think. The losses these past two weeks haven’t been examples of a gifted team losing to its inferiors; they’ve been cases of a team that, on talent, shouldn’t have been 6-0.
Yet 6-0 Tech was, ranked No. 12 the land as late as eight days ago. Now it’s 6-2 and perhaps bound for 7-5 and another holiday in Shreveport. Which is another way of saying: Water seeks its own level.
We see now that Tech isn’t very good, and the schedule, which seemed to have done it a favor, might not have been so favorable after all. Had Tech lost a couple of games early, it might have had cause to deploy Vad Lee, the freshman quarterback who might be the most talented player on this roster, as opposed to letting him sit out as a redshirt.
Who makes major changes when a team’s 6-0 and climbing in the polls? Nobody. But now, his team climbing no more, Paul Johnson was asked Saturday if there was a chance Lee would play this season. “Probably not,” Johnson said.
What happened here Saturday wasn’t a failure of effort, as had been partially the case at Virginia the week before. The inspired Cavaliers hit Tech hard at the start and held on. Miami didn’t seem long on either inspiration or execution, managing just 262 yards and two offensive touchdowns, both of those on mini-drives of 46 yards. But Tech, which gained 768 yards against Kansas in Week 3, was held to 211 in Week 8 — by a team that entered with the nation’s 81st-ranked defense.
“I think our kids played hard,” Johnson said. “It’s just frustrating we couldn’t find anything to do on offense.”
What worked earlier this season against lesser opposition — the pitchouts to the A-backs, the downfield throws off play-action — works no longer. The plays are the same; it’s the size and speed of the opponent that has changed. Where’d the wide stuff go? Said Johnson: “We can’t get to the perimeter.”
Does that mean quarterback Tevin Washington, whose efficiency has diminished in recent weeks, is making the wrong reads and keeping or handing to the B-back when he should pitch? Johnson: “He’s making the right reads. We’ve got five blocking four, and the four are winning.”
That’s not scheme. That’s talent, or the lack thereof. And it’s a huge deal. In 2008 B-back Jonathan Dwyer had nine 100-yard games; in 2009 he had seven; last season Anthony Allen, Dwyer’s successor, had six. Know how many 100-yard games David Sims, the new B-back, has had this season? None.
The much-lampooned defense hasn’t been so laughable. It yielded no second-half points last week, three this time. But a Johnson-designed team can’t win if it doesn’t score, and over the past two second halves the Jackets, in comeback mode both times, have managed one touchdown.
“We can’t overcome bad plays,” Johnson said, “because we’re not hitting big plays.”
Yet again, gaffes in the kicking game undid Tech. Freshman Zach Laskey waved teammates away from a bouncing punt, then tried to field it himself and saw Miami wind up with the ball in the end zone. And then, with a minute left before halftime and Tech having just gone 92 yards in 20 plays to halve Miami’s lead, a squib kick spawned a crushing Hurricanes touchdown. And get this: “It was supposed to be a deep kickoff,” Johnson said.
Not for the first time, we need ask: Why does a man as clever as Johnson not hire a special-teams coordinator? Instead, the kicking game is left to various Tech coaches to oversee piecemeal, and the result has been an ongoing farce. “We couldn’t overcome the special teams today,” Johnson said, “and that’s a reflection on me. Something we’re doing ain’t right.”
And now you wonder: Is there time — with a schedule that includes Clemson, Virginia Tech and Georgia — for Tech not to finish with five losses in the final six games? Is there any way to salvage a season that got so far ahead of itself?
Said Johnson, speaking of Washington: “We just have to find something he can do.”
At this late date, all the stuff Tech can’t do outnumbers the things it can. This is a team of limited means. Limited means, and not much time.
By Mark Bradley
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
498 comments Add your comment
UGA IV
October 23rd, 2011
8:40 am
WE RUN GEORGIA!!!
Dean Tate
October 23rd, 2011
8:45 am
Maybe CPJ should expand his offensive game plan to two post-it notes.
Baldb
October 23rd, 2011
8:47 am
Better a nerd than a tick turd any day. Maybe Johnson should start singint to recruits.
Nativebird
October 23rd, 2011
8:47 am
Mark, please. Admit that your savior, the brilliant offensive “genius” is exactly what was a seemingly over the top unjustified crititcally flawed example of a coach at this level. It’s true. It’s system, it’s scheme. It CANNOT be consistently success at THIS level. Navy sure.
so Now it’s “talent”. right, just like the rilliant “offensive “genius”, let’s blame the players. the Sports press should be more objective than that. You guys so desperately WANT this “story” of the maverick and his maverick system to succeed. But it’s not, and you guys are wedded to it. sorry my friend, wrong horse this time.
GTRob
October 23rd, 2011
8:48 am
He is right, this team is not that good and in big trouble. CPJ has got to go. It is not the quirky offense. It is the inability to recruit good talent. It is the bone head moves by the players that well coached teams would not make. And it is the stupid coaching decisions like going for it in your own territory early in the game. He has got to go!
No one knows what it’s like to be the sad man. | Get The Picture
October 23rd, 2011
8:48 am
[...] Shorter Mark Bradley: So this is what everyone else with a shred of observational ability meant when they called Paul Johnson a mediocre recruiter. Share this:TwitterEmailStumbleUponRedditFacebookPrintDiggLike this:LikeBe the first to like this post. [...]
Tampa Gator
October 23rd, 2011
8:49 am
Clemson fans……..
play in a good league (and play good teams) and then start to brag. The ACC completely sucks this year. The SEC only half sucks. And….we now know there are all the other teams in college football…..and then there are two teams called LSU and Alabama. The national title game is in a couple of weeks, folks. No one else, including Clemson, matters.
And….all you Dawg fans……
WHY ARE YOU ON A TECH SITE…..Doesn’t Athens have their own paper or something?
St. Simon's Daddy
October 23rd, 2011
8:50 am
Fry some fish and punch Clemson fans in the face…..when is DragonCon?
Tampa Gator
October 23rd, 2011
8:52 am
NativeBird….
I dare say that if Paul Johnson had the level of talent Georgia has…….he would not have lost that game yesterday……and would be undefeated right now at Tech. Unnfortunately, he doesn’t. That is clear from yesterday. Paul Johnson is a really good coach. Tech no longer has an elite program to lure top talent to play there. But Johnson will make Tech competitive every year….and that is saying something.
red&black
October 23rd, 2011
8:53 am
Get ready Tech………..’cause it’s comin’…………
Bill A
October 23rd, 2011
8:55 am
I was at the game in Miami (live in Florida). Tech’s run defense is pretty good. Tech’s pass defense is shakey. The special team’s play was terrible. Tech might as well just put the kickoffs out of bounds and give it to the other team on the 35. Miami always has very good speed which makes the delta even worse. On kickoff receptions tech was lucky to get it to the 20. Without all of the special team’s problems the game would have been pretty close. The Miami D line was definitely winning the battle agains the offense. The middle was plugged up most of the time and they would penetrate the perimiter before Washington had a chance to pitch.
Hey Techies
October 23rd, 2011
8:58 am
Why are you talking about UGA on a Tech blog. Who cares what you think about UGA – the discussion is about Tech and how their coach sucks and their team sucks and their fans suck…………………
Tech is doomed to mediocrity – but you do have calculus – which is ALWAYS the fallback. For the clueless this is the sports section of the AJC not the academic section – we don’t give a rat’s butt about your calculus – it is irrelevant in the sports section.
Bill A
October 23rd, 2011
8:58 am
The triple option stops working when the defending team’s linebackers can run nearly as fast as your running backs. It becomes much harder to get outside. That’s why it doesn’t work in the NFL..
Gatorman
October 23rd, 2011
9:02 am
This is a really bad year for me, my Gators aren’t very good and my buddies at Tech are suffering as well. I hate to say it so early, but Tech has a QB problem (they don’t have one), and may not get another win this year. The 3-4 defense is a disaster with neither the personnel nor the knowledge to run it. Every week now you see simple runs through the line go for big yardage, however you must say the defense played better than the offense yesterday. PJohnson’s time at Tech may be over sooner than later, with defenses adjusting to it, and doesn’t have a QB to throw it to compensate. Sad thing was, June Jones went to SMU when Paul Johnson came to Tech, and he has taken a long time down trodden program into the best in their conference and national ranking. You have to wonder if Johnson had picked SMU instead, would Jones have come to Tech??
gtyj
October 23rd, 2011
9:11 am
No one is more disappointed in the loss yesterday than I am. The last 2 weeks, this team has not played up to potential period. Washington missing to many open receivers, throwing the ball in the ground. No blocking on the edge whatsoever, and no middle game at all. I think Washington is running ball way to much. Defense not a lot better. Watch the defense and see how many guys are trying to play off blocks. You see them with shoulders turned and the tackling is horrible. Pass coverage not a lot better. Way to much cushion on receivers. Tech has the receivers to catch the ball, but you have to get it to them. Special teams is a joke. This is a reflection on CPJ 100% as he is the so called special teams coach. If the guy kicking off can put it in the EZ on the first play of game, why in hell did he not put it in EZ after Tech scored with less than a minute left before half. The guy that tried to field punt instead of letting it go into EZ was a complete bonehead play. This team is completely out of sync and unless they get there heads of out sand, they will be lucky to win one more game, and at this point I am not even sure they could beat Duke which is the only game left on schedule they will be favored to win. The way Clemson is playing, and they are good in all three areas, off, def, and spec. teams, they will put 50 points on the board Saturday night.
Hot Seat!
October 23rd, 2011
9:13 am
tech fans are getting tired of this mediocrity–johnson better win big in 2012 or they’ll run him out of town.
Nate
October 23rd, 2011
9:17 am
Okay, as bad as Tech is playing, they always play better as underdogs. Given that I think we can still beat one of the tough opponents on our list (orange overalls, turkey necks, pups).
Bill Lewis
October 23rd, 2011
9:19 am
bill lewis is available and needs a job—bring him back! he’ll win big!
Eric
October 23rd, 2011
9:23 am
Finally… some Tech fans that talk some sense! Thank god for bringing up the “Tech fans have great jobs!” and “Football is secondary to academics!” Ass clowns.
Really?!?! If you want to brag about your student body’s success in academics, then go post on the blogs regarding engineers and mathematics, cause guess what? No one on this blog gives a shit. For the past six weeks all I’ve heard about is Tech’s success. It’s real easyto talk shit and dish it out when you’re 6-0 against the little sisters of the poor. Ya’ll come on the UGA blogs and talk shit about our losses- our losses to the #5 team in the country and #14 team in the country! But now, how the tides have turned!!!
Tech is a mediocre team. It’s that simple. Their offense is lousy, their defense is lousy, their special teams are lousy, and their coaching is lousy. FOR GAMEDAY next week (you idiots), Clemson is going to destroy Tech. Then VA Tech is going to destroy Tech. And then, best of all, UGA is going to come into that shithole that you people call a stadium, and run over Tech. Realize the Tech is an afterthought, the Mr. Irrelevant of College Football. Welcome back to reality. I hope fantasyland was fun while it lasted.
UGA82
October 23rd, 2011
9:24 am
As a UGA alum who grew up pulling for Tech, I always hope that Tech comes into the last game of the year highly ranked. It’s hard pulling for Tech with all the Techies who populate the UGA blogs with their rambling, puffed up analyses. In any case, I was pulling for you guys yesterday since I would have loved to see the “playas” at the U go down in flames. The Clemson game will be a bruiser (that used to be a pretty big rivalry for us way back when, and even though Tech fans (like all fans) can be pretty obnoxious, there’s not much worse than a drunk, redneck Clemson fan.). I hope you guys surprise us all and pull the upset, but I won’t be putting money on it.
So, tough loss yesterday. Bradley’s analysis is spot on. Your team just isn’t that good. Neither is ours, but our talent is getting us by (it sure ain’t the offensive coaching and special teams!) Best of luck next week and for the rest of the season… at least until the Dogs roll into Bobby Dodd and stake their annual claim to being the best college football team in the state!
cmon man
October 23rd, 2011
9:28 am
im pretty sure that ga southern would smash tech at their game! so where do you want this hot seat delivered to? should we send it cpj’s house or his office?
Kramer
October 23rd, 2011
9:30 am
Quite a few of you tech fans have been jabbing Dawg fans for the last year about Richt and his “soon to be firing”. Here is some advice, worry about your own coach and his inability to win big games consistently with a high school offense. Your glass house adds more rooms every week and yet, some of you continue to throw stones. After watching this team yseterday, I would be very concerned if I was a fan of Tech. Very concerned.
1276jacket
October 23rd, 2011
9:31 am
We miss Nesbitt badly. People can say what they want about his pass ability but he could run and run the offense. You could depend on Nesbitt to always pull out something with a run. That is gone. The QB type you are looking for is a Tracy Ham/Shawn Jones/Joe Hamilton type. Run and pass.
H-Town Dawg
October 23rd, 2011
9:31 am
I think it’s great that Mark Bradley has finally sobered up. Awesome! But, of course, most of us have known this all along. Nothing new here for those of us who have a clue. Nerds, you may now return to your RPGs and leave the football stuff to us.
GO DAWGS!
Bill A
October 23rd, 2011
9:34 am
The crowd at the Hurricanes game was pretty well behaved. There was a lot of security. The tickets in the upper deck were relatively affordable. Some people were there with their families. The Dolphins games have more of the scary drunk types on hand.
Bill A
October 23rd, 2011
9:36 am
The nerds are now using RPGs (rocket proprelled grenades)? Must be dangerous to drive by on I-75/85.
Doubting Thomas
October 23rd, 2011
9:40 am
If Vad Lee was better than TW then he would be playing. Come on, wake up. We have some par players using a high school offense. No big time players want to play for us because we are not taken seriously. The TO is great for high school but in college it is just not the way to the pros which is what all the top kids want to do.
SUMTER SC is the arm pit of the world!
October 23rd, 2011
9:40 am
Hell I knew they sucked when they were undefeated. Miami fans were right to chant overrated! LOSERS!
Bill A
October 23rd, 2011
9:41 am
The 2009 team had Nesbitt plus 4 high NFL draft picks. Tech is better than 2010 but not better than 2009. Nesbitt plus Demarius Thomas constituted a serious pass threat against good defenses. This year’s passing is marginally better than 2010.
Always a Jacket
October 23rd, 2011
9:41 am
Mark, you are right on all points. I began doubting Johnson last year after the KU loss. Tech is loosing more talent than Johnson was recruiting. I admit, I thought they were better than expected this year until the NCSt game. Then it became clear that the program is headed south.
My discussions with other Tech fans are about the fact that we don’t see much hope for next year and beyond. The QB problem is tip of the ice berg. That will have huge impact on season ticket sales and that is the ONLY thing that Drad cares about.
The triple option has nothing to do with Johnson’s failures, it is as good as any offense if executed properly. The problem is recruiting and all the other parts of the game. Kickoff teams are usually made of second teamers. As we see, our second teamers are not very good and getting worse.
The program will continue to decline, then a new coach will have to come in and take many years to rebuild. Drad will likely move on to greener pastures after putting the program on probation and making a poor football hire and a poor basketball hire.
RunninWithTheDawgs
October 23rd, 2011
9:42 am
Tech has gone downhill since they dropped out of the SEC. They’ll never get to the top playing in the ACC, where you don’t have to be that good to have a winning record.
realist
October 23rd, 2011
9:43 am
As above, I don’t see any fixes on the horizon anytime soon.
Program is in a slow spiral into the ground.
Bill A
October 23rd, 2011
9:44 am
Dolphins stadium has good Chili dogs! Helped me compensate for bad special teams play by Tech.
Bill A
October 23rd, 2011
9:47 am
Without the bad special teams play we would be competitive against the fair to middlin teams. The triple option is not going to beat top 10 teams. The three touchdowns by Miami were two short drives and the fumbled punt. Defense played OK.
Dawg 1
October 23rd, 2011
9:47 am
Well I guess when there is blood in the water…… Not real proud of all the Dawgs jumping in and rubbing salt in the wound. However, this is no different than what was being done to UGA after the BSU and USC games.
It is pretty clear that when kids play against Tech’s scheme two or three years in a row, the better understand how to defend it. It is also clear that Coaches that have seen the scheme multiple times, also better understand how to defend and communicate to the kids what to do.
Other factors – defenses that have fast/physical linebackers tend to ‘blow up’ the option, which means Tech has to have success running up the middle to keep them honest. This is something that they have not been able to do.
Interesting how things can swing in four weeks. A month ago the discussion was CMR is on his way out and Georgia Tech is on the rise. If Tech does lose 3 of the 4 games left, it will mean that Georgia Tech will have played very similar ball for the last two years the CCG was playing while he was Tech’s head coach. In other words, how long before all that love for CPJ turns sour?
CMR won the SEC and ended up 2nd in the Nation in 2002. Remember the argument? But not with his players. The same argument can be made with Johnson. AS CCG’S players have left the program, the players coming in (which in theory would better fit the offensive schemes) are not performing as well – especially on defense.
We’ll see… This could be growing pains from a legitimate effort to ‘red shirt’ and build depth.
Feel awful for the Laskey kid. He’ll do a lot of good things for Tech before leaving.
Wishing all a good week.
Bill A
October 23rd, 2011
9:50 am
Tech needs to merge with Georgia State and get about 20,000 more female students. That will help recruiting football players and also make the school more pleasant to attend.
Lt Frank Drebin
October 23rd, 2011
9:55 am
Proud Yellow Jacket – can you say Stephon “I announce my intent to play basketball for the university of georgia tech” and many, many others….
Go back to Dragon Con and quit hiding behind the ridiculous most GT grads have good jobs. I guess that’s why your business school has no name to it (the guy that the school was named after went bankrupt and couldn’t fulfill has donation pledge – what a great education GT provided) and your athletic association is essentially bankrupt and can’t hire real coaches because all of the GT grads with “great jobs” don’t have any money to donate to the program.
Bill A
October 23rd, 2011
9:56 am
Tech’s never ending internal philosophy battle is whether to be MIT or big state U. Always somewhere in between. They should be like Virginia Tech and pull in some more majors like science education. You go 5 miles off campus in Atlanta and lot of people don’t even know where Georgia Tech is. Tech has a hard time competing for players against the true college town schools. Georgia Tech is more like the first 4 years of your career than it is a college experience.
ATL XMAN
October 23rd, 2011
9:58 am
where is ramble84 and gtforever? im still waiting..
Joe
October 23rd, 2011
10:00 am
Johnson is a solid coach but he is so enamored with the run offense his qbs regress. I swear Nesbitt would have been an average passer if the coaching staff had worked 10 minutes a day on technique. Washington was solid early but is now throwing off his back foot and shot putting the ball. Practice=confidence.
PawleysIslandJacket
October 23rd, 2011
10:01 am
The Paul Johnson experiment is coming to an end.
dawg gone
October 23rd, 2011
10:05 am
The fact that PJ thinks Laskey is a punt returner tells you everything myou need to know about him coaching special teams. Even if the kid fields it cleanly he’s not going anywhere, to slow and not quick enough and he’s suppose mto be the best we got, how about Zenon, just asking.
dawg gone
October 23rd, 2011
10:07 am
oh yea, he forgot about Zenon, how about Melton, can’t remember him eeither cause we never throw him the ball. Oh well
joe
October 23rd, 2011
10:07 am
Yeah for Tech!!!!!. Could not happen to a better team and a more conceited, ego driven and miserable personality coach.
Let him take his Mickey Mouse offense to high school.
ACCSUCKS
October 23rd, 2011
10:10 am
dude.. ur a moron.. fort he last couples weeks.. all u media idiots in the state of ga… lauded TECH has such a great team..
ur a dumbass!
ajc sports writers are IDIOTS!
Sports watchdog
October 23rd, 2011
10:14 am
After they man handled western Carolina (in the second half) I thought for sure they were headed to the bcs champ. Game. But then I realized when you can only run the ball, and never pass …you aren’t very good at football.
Sports guy
October 23rd, 2011
10:17 am
I told the tech grads that work for me it would be ok, we have lost a couple games too, although they were both top 10 teams.
Go dawgs!
creative
October 23rd, 2011
10:18 am
I love GT, but we are going to be 7-5. maybe 8-4 with UGA being a coin flip only because UGA, with superior athletes typically plays down to our level just like they play down or up to everyones level. The defense will never be good, as I have said many times as they practice against the scout team. One off offenses will never be great. See Texas Tech (under their old coach) Oregon, etc. Now with that being said if we cant outscore people we are screwed. How can we not find a kicker. We are a top 6 state for club soccer. Unacceptable. I think superior athletes are needed for a 3-4 defense, Not sure. And for all you UGA who say GT fans suck you are correct We are nerds and come with a sense of entitlement. But UGA fans suck slightly more with their DAWG screen names, gitrdone and “really?” hacky comedy bits along with the fact that grown men wear uga football jerseys in public. With that being said I am dissapointed with the past two losses and I will probably end up getting made fun of by all my UGA friends at the end of the year (They are the good ones) as my only Tech friends I have are my parents. Oh well. THWG.
jaime
October 23rd, 2011
10:20 am
Sports in Georgia this past year have been a bust…no fire, no excitement…just boring…from the Braves to College FB and NFL…blah blah blah. The bright spot in this whole mediocre boring run of Sports disappointment is Law and Order reruns on TNT will NOT be preempted by Basketball – pitiful, huh?
Pollster guy
October 23rd, 2011
10:22 am
Bradley, you of all people should have been able to see who they beat to be 6-0
Not only was it ACC football, but it did not include the decent teams in the conference, Clemson, FSU, vtech, or Miami. It was obvious they were back heavy on the schedule.
And on that backside they are zero and two. Nice analysis for 6 weeks, your monkey help you out?