Paul Johnson’s offense isn’t hurting Tech; his approach is
Paul Johnson on Saturday: Another close game, another loss. (AJC photo by Johnny Crawford)
Because Paul Johnson’s stylized offense has become the public image of Georgia Tech football, it’s tempting to blame his creation whenever Tech loses. (Which, not incidentally, it has done seven times in its past 11 games.) But here’s where numbers rear their pesky head. The Jackets scored 36 points and gained 419 yards against Miami on Saturday. And we pin this loss on the offense?
Right about here, you’re probably expecting some Al-Groh-has-to-go screed. If so, you’ll be disappointed. Has this coordinator elevated Tech’s defense? Those 42 points and 609 yards yielded Saturday are all the answers we need, but to finger Groh and the D is to miss the bigger picture. What’s dragging Tech back to mediocrity is …
Paul Johnson.
Yes, he’s the same coach who went 20-7 his first two seasons here, beating Georgia in Year 1 and winning the ACC title (since vacated) in Year 2. That’s the trouble: He’s still the same coach, and he’s coaching the same way.
Whenever you’d see Johnson’s teams at Georgia Southern or Navy, your first thought was, “What it would look like if you ran that offense with real Division I-A talent?” For two years we saw. We saw Joshua Nesbitt and Jonathan Dwyer and Demaryius Thomas and this offense score 45 points in Athens and 49 in Tallahassee and 39 against Clemson in the ACC championship game, and we hailed Johnson for taking Chan Gailey’s players and winning bigger than Gailey ever had.
Then Gailey’s players began to leave, as college players will. From the 20-7 of those two giddy seasons, Tech has since gone 16-14 overall, 10-9 in ACC play. An even more salient stat: With Nesbitt as starting quarterback, Tech was 23-11; since Nesbitt broke his arm at Virginia Tech in November 2010, Tech is 11-10.
That sounds like an indictment of Tevin Washington, who succeeded Nesbitt. It’s really not. Washington isn’t the player Nesbitt was, but that isn’t his fault. The greater issue is that Tech football functions less as a total program and more as a front for Johnson’s stylized offense. In 2008 and 2009, that offense had so many good players it could overcome most any failing anywhere else. Without those players, the whole operation has suffered.
Oh, the offense still functions. Tech ranks 19th nationally in total yardage, 13th in scoring, third in rushing yards. But the offense couldn’t kill the clock — you’d think a running team would be able to kill the clock — with a 17-point lead against Miami, and by the final frantic minutes the Jackets’ defenders, who aren’t to be confused with Alabama on their best day, were covering nobody and missing every tackle. For the third time in five games, Tech couldn’t hold a late lead and was forced to overtime. For the third time in those three overtimes, the offense couldn’t score a touchdown.
We flash back to Nov. 7, 2009. Tech had seen Wake Forest score late to force OT. The Deacons took the ball first and kicked a field goal. Tech faced fourth-and-1 at the 3. After considerable lobbying from Nesbitt, Johnson chose to go for the first down. Nesbitt converted. He scored the winning touchdown on the next snap. He did those sort of things.
On Saturday, Johnson eschewed an overtime field goal and saw Washington stopped on fourth-and-inches. Same coach, same bold choice. Different players, different result.
Those who criticize the scheme have it backwards. If you took these same players and put them in a pro-style offense, Tech might finish next-to-last in its division. Johnson’s offense is the only thing that makes Tech worth mentioning. (Lest we forget, that offense stacked 56 points and 594 yards on Virginia only nine days ago.) But Johnson is not just some scheming offensive coordinator: He’s the head coach of a proud and distinguished program, and too often it seems the program exists only to prop up his offense.
Johnson might think recruiting rankings don’t matter — he has said as much — but we’re seeing now the limits of a team that has talent closer to Georgia Southern’s than, say, Georgia’s. So long as Johnson can outsmart somebody and his offense can run free, Tech can win. But you can’t outsmart everybody, and the better teams won’t let that offense go unchecked. So then it’s down to execution, and Tech has lost five of its past six games decided by 10 or fewer points. The exception came against Duke.
Johnson might say his team is two plays away from being 4-0 and leading its division, and he’d be correct. But plays must be made by players, and Tech doesn’t have enough of those. What it does have is a stylized offense. And that’s about all.
By Mark Bradley
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515 comments Add your comment
Destin Dawg
September 24th, 2012
4:20 pm
which would you prefer… Grampa Groh’s 3/4 defense or Todd Grantham’s 3/4 Junk Yard Dawg defense…. both coaches are in their 3rd Year ??…. Love my Dawgs !!!
stone cold paul johnson
September 24th, 2012
4:21 pm
If Mr. johnsons see this hes liable to punch you in the face
ramblingbuzz
September 24th, 2012
4:21 pm
Hammer meet nail. CPJ is an offenive coordinator posing as a head coach. Buck stops with him for the team’s performance. But all he seems to focus on is the offense. To quote him: We made too many mistakes in all 3 phases of the game. It’s your team and the players you recruited CPJ. If you can’t correct the errors in all 3 phases, then maybe you’re in the wrong position.
blackandwhitestripes
September 24th, 2012
4:22 pm
Mark you are entirely wrong. When you score 36 points on a team and your defense gives up 42 I would say that you have a problem with defense. The best offense is a good defense. You only have to look at Alabama and LSU to understand this. Bad article indeed.
Cdpridg
September 24th, 2012
4:23 pm
Destin…were taking the Dawgs all day everyday…its called superiority!
ylojkt
September 24th, 2012
4:24 pm
I like CPJ and his scheme. His plays have also widened to where we see a lot more active passing game, with some good schemes coming into play. These are good things and the offense has looked good running its plays.
I have noticed some indecision in his play calls when we’re trying to kill time, or going for it when we shouldn’t and not when we should. These have killed us and I hope he can coach with more confidence going forward. That said, Al Groh’s defense looked great against UVA and non-existent against Miami. Watching them let Miami back in the game was a severe disappointment, and why we didn’t go for it with 4th and 1 instead of punting on our last drive kind of baffles me; we’d have won if we got it.
the voice of truth
September 24th, 2012
4:24 pm
Defense is problem # 1. Anyone who watched us make Miami look like Oregon, LSU and Alabama rolled into one knows that. Problem 2 is stubborn Johnson and his refusal to use a play chart. He falls into a rut calling plays and would be better served to use a chart for situational purposes. I respect his play calling and I don’t think anyone could do better without a chart but he would be better WITH one. No one can effectively keep all that offense organized and as a moments notice in his head. NO ONE He has more plays now than ever. He reminds me of the man who’s eyesight is failing but refuses to get glasses . Pride goes before a fall
Larvell Blanks
September 24th, 2012
4:24 pm
Shorter Bradley: The problem isn’t the offense — after all, it scored 36 points and gained 419 yards, which should be enough to win. The problem is the offensive players — they only scored 36 points and gained 419 yards, which is not enough to win.
Reebok
September 24th, 2012
4:25 pm
Mark, you nailed it. The schemes aren’t the problem, the talent level is. We don’t have anyone who can make a play in crunch time, on O or D.
ramblingbuzz
September 24th, 2012
4:25 pm
Hey DDawg…………Get back to us after you guys play USCe.
TomB
September 24th, 2012
4:26 pm
Mark is right in that Johnson is the head coach and not the offensive coordinator. He’s responsible for the direction of the program, and all his problems lately in my opinion can be seen through his coaching hires and specifically his two choices for defensive coordinators. In Division 1 football you win with great defenses; even offensive minded Spurrier understood this very well. You might can win a national championship at Georgia Southern with a great offense, but at this level you better make sure you hire the right people on the defensive side of the ball.
T-Square
September 24th, 2012
4:27 pm
Well, Dawglasville said it in the second post. You’re going to get blog punched for that article. Have to agree with what you’ve said though. As a former and current student at Tech, it hurts watching them play games like they did against Utah, VT and Miami. There is absolutely no reason any team should ever be up by that much and let off the gas enough to allow the other team to catch up. It seemed obvious to me that depth became an issue on defense towards the end of the game. A good coach, with as good of a running game as Tech has should have been able to give them more than a 4 down break before sending them back on the field. It didn’t help that the O-line seemed to get manhandled by one or two players the entire game, but CPJ should have figured out a way to work the offense around them (assuming the O-line wasn’t going to be able to stop them consistently). But like we usually do, we found a way to grasp defeat from the jaws of victory in a very stunning and horrible way.
Mark Bradley article
September 24th, 2012
4:27 pm
[...] sorry if its a dupe. but it looks like Mr. Bradley is not singing Paul Johnson praises any longer. Paul Johnson’s offense isn’t hurting Tech, but his approach is » Comment Page 2 | Mark … Reply With Quote [...]
lee
September 24th, 2012
4:28 pm
What people forget about Techs defense is they practice against an offense they never see
in a game.
SansWorld
September 24th, 2012
4:29 pm
Tech played an abnormally good game against UVA
Tech played an abnormally bad game against Miami,
I suspect that the rest of the season will fall somewhere inbetween these two perfonaces.
Tech will likely when six of the next seven games. Will likley lose to either UGA or in a bowl game.
This is exactly what a reasonable person would have expeceted from this years team.
Expect a win by 20 points v MTSU, Clemson games are always close (except for last year). Tech is better than, and should win most of the other games leading upt to UGA.
Get over Saturday. It was an outlier.
BigTimeTECHFan
September 24th, 2012
4:29 pm
but he’s still the best football coach in the state of Georgia, by far.
T-Square
September 24th, 2012
4:30 pm
lee – Which would make you think they should be able to stop the run, but that didn’t seem to be the case on Saturday. Sure, Miami threw plenty, but they gashed us on the ground just as much.
Holy Guacamole
September 24th, 2012
4:30 pm
I am a Dawg fan so some of you will discount my opinion. But, IMO, Tech hasn’t had enough success in recruiting the type of players needed for the 3-4 defense. From what I saw at UGA, it takes a couple of years of good recruiting to build the depth necessary to play 4 quarters. Also, it takes a couple of years for players to understand the 3-4 defense and as they do, the speed at which they execute increases because they know instinctively what to do and they have learned to trust the system. Yes, I know that Groh has been there that long but frankly, he hasn’t had the players to build the depth necessary. Look at the depth of the D-line. What about noseguard? Also, Groh hasn’t forgotten how to coach, nor has Johnson. They just need the players to execute the system and for some reason, they haven’t gotten them. And, by the way, I am not buying the academic excuse. There is something else missing on the recruiting front.
SansWorld
September 24th, 2012
4:30 pm
“What people forget about Techs defense is they practice against an offense they never see in a game”
They don’t 1st string D and O both practice against scout teams
Defense wins Titles
September 24th, 2012
4:30 pm
Hey Paul, Go to a Georgia High School AAAAAA program and see if you can win. We have some pretty dang good High School Defensive Coordinators and Defensive Teams. It would be a challenge. Only your players will have to go to an US Academy School or FCS school like Ga. Southern. You ain’t beating these Dawgs no time soon. Rots of Ruck Paulie.
Concerned
September 24th, 2012
4:31 pm
Like I have said, Gailey recruits better players because it was a pro system, underachieves, and averaged winning 8 games.
Johnson does not recruit at as high a level (because nothing in his offense prepares you to play in the NFL…defensively, players will not be as prepared for the NFL because it practices against a non-NFL offense), overachieves, and will average winning 8 games.
It is Tech’s choice.
10per
September 24th, 2012
4:31 pm
We have had problems on defense for years now. How many times did we have a lead against FSU or UGA late in the 3rd only to give up points and lose? We had first string guys who could play with anyone, but not much depth which is crucial on the D-line. Our guys were gassed and stated giving up big plays late. All we needed was one stop. Just one.
I was optimistic that Groh would be able to get better talent using the 3-4 as a selling point, but it does not seem like that is happening at the level it needs too.
The offense is fine. Out Vad in now and open up the playbook. We are not going to lose any more games than we will lose with the status quo.
fayncdawg
September 24th, 2012
4:33 pm
BTW that’s win, not when. Also GT MUST realize that with the right face on the program, they CAN recruit very good players that might actually graduate from their school. I think an entry in the “Burnette Proposes….” blog clearly indicated past and present smart Dawgs GT could have had. And mind you that was not a complete list ( omitted Sean Bailey, MoMass, and Trinton Sturdivant among others). And I am in NO WAY implying that the Dawgs got a bunch of smart players on their team. GT and their fans just need to realize that the few that the Dawgs have on their team could have been on a GT roster.
TomB
September 24th, 2012
4:33 pm
I agree Guacamole, but coaching is about finding the best schemes that match the talent you have on the field. This is the problem with Tech.
Big G
September 24th, 2012
4:33 pm
Defense wins championships and we don’t have a defense. The 3-4 scheme requires a 350 lb nose tackle and we don’t have the beef on the d-line, nor the o- line for that matter. 52 passing plays, no sacks , no hurry’s. Pitiful! Probably THE most disappointing loss I have experinced as a Tech fan. uga will destroy us.
The Grinch
September 24th, 2012
4:34 pm
I’m not trying to rub salt in the wound, but I do believe Johnson has run his course at Tech (no pun intended).
Seriously, you guys are facing a Jim Donnan moment. He came to UGA with an impressive record but from a D2 program. In 5 years he won 40 games and won all 4 bowl appearances during that time. Many were in disbelief when he was fired, asking “how can you fire a coach with 40 wins in 5 years”? But consider this:
• He was 1-4 against Florida.
• He was 2-3 against Auburn.
• He was 1-4 against Tennessee.
• He was 2-3 against Tech.
Things just weren’t going to get better. UGA was average and would stay average had Donnan stayed longer.
Sound familiar? You may disagree, but here’s Johnson’ record through 2011 against some rivals:
• He is 1-4 against UGA.
• He is 1-4 against VT
• He is 2-3 against Miami.
I believe GT is at the same crossroads with Johnson as UGA was with Donnan. Time for your AD to step up and earn his money. It will be a tough decision and questioned by many, but it should help the program.
If Stanford can win in the PAC then GT should be able to win in the ACC. You can start by getting a new coach.
Cecil34
September 24th, 2012
4:35 pm
In the final analysis, it is the quality of players that Johnson has convinced to play for Tech.
Fact is, no matter what the cottage industry of professional recruiting analysts and prognosticators say, Johnson has brought in players that are not talented enough to compete at an ACC level. Forget SEC.
He has players that are pretty much on par with Division II football talent.
If you join that shortcoming with coaching that appears increasingly more suspect as Johnson’s time rolls on, you can clearly see that Tech is going backward, not forward.
They very well could give Johnson another couple of years and I don’t think it would matter.
Tech fans should be used to this – the death watch is officially on for Johnson’s demise.
jdatl
September 24th, 2012
4:35 pm
Stop telling them Mark. The hardheads at Tech will never figure it out, unless you tell them. The truth is, talented kids want to play an offensive style that will give them experience for the pro’s. The triple option will never be run in the pro’s.
BigTimeTECHFan
September 24th, 2012
4:36 pm
Tech’s awesome, ran up 36 strait points against Miami. They are at times the most dominating team, then they lose it. If the QB would have just pitched the ball to Smith and ran the play he called we may still be playng the game.
If this team had a QB that was a little better they would be 4 and 0. TW is ok but not close to Nesbitt.
SansWorld
September 24th, 2012
4:36 pm
Gaily has not out recurited CPJ
Per rivals, of the 11 years between the two coaches.
CPJ has 3 of the top 4 recruiting classes.
Gaily has the bottom 3 classes
the ‘tie’ with the middle 4 recruiting classes.
T-Square
September 24th, 2012
4:37 pm
Holy Guacamole – I would definitely agree that recruiting is a problem on the defensive side. I would also say that the problem comes from location. If we were somewhere like Virginia or North Carolina, we would have two or three schools competing locally for talent. In Atlanta, we have Georgia, South Carolina, Clemson, Tennessee, Alabama, Auburn, Florida State, Vandy, and Florida that are all within a few hours of here, with LSU, Ole Miss, and Miss State not being too much farther. It is hard to convince a high school junior/senior that going to a school like Tech, where he knows he will have to work a little harder and not play as many high profile games/have as great of a chance to compete for titles as he would at others, but could have an immediate impact/be a star is better than going to Alabama and possibly competing for a national title. Especially a defensive player where you could probably switch out their defense with a couple of NFL defenses and people would notice because Alabama’s would be worse and the NFL team’s would be better.
ramblingbuzz
September 24th, 2012
4:37 pm
TomB……Couldn’t agree more, especially on defense. The attitude seems to be, By golly I’m going to run MY sytem whether I have the players to do it or not.
EE92
September 24th, 2012
4:38 pm
I’m not ready to get rid of CPJ yet but am questioning the defense. Not sure if it’s talent/scheme or combination. One week they look great and the next they look lost. If we play like we did Saturday against UGA, Murray will have 1000 yds passing. Also would like to see us move to more of a spread/read option look a la Urban Meyer and Chip Kelly…..at least once Vad Lee is in there.
AAdams
September 24th, 2012
4:38 pm
Bradley-
Compare PJ’s record to Chan’s first 4 years. Then compare BCS games, ACC titles and wins over Uga to Chan’s. Then to top it off, compare PJs first 4 years recruiting rankings to Chan’s. I admit, PJs recruiting had struggled, but it’s still better than Chan. Gailey was flat put terrible. Anybody who knows anything about college football would never say that Tech is better off with Chan Gailey. If you think so, then you’re an idiot.
T-Square
September 24th, 2012
4:40 pm
EE92 – We need depth and more talent. Lacking those two things, I would say we’re likely to see something as bad as you predicted against U(sic)GA.
Yellow Fever
September 24th, 2012
4:41 pm
I think Georgia Southern could probably beat us.
barry
September 24th, 2012
4:41 pm
paul Johnson needs too let ZACK LASKEY run the ball more he is the best RB they have.
GTBob
September 24th, 2012
4:41 pm
The truth is, talented kids want to play an offensive style that will give them experience for the pro’s. The triple option will never be run in the pro’s.
Its pretty amazing that even when the title of the blog says that the problem isn’t CPJs offense people still want to argue that the problem is CPJs offense.
TomB
September 24th, 2012
4:42 pm
That’s hilarious T-Square
SansWorld
September 24th, 2012
4:42 pm
When people here compare CPJ to Chan, you are not really saying you want Chan as the coach are you?
T-Square
September 24th, 2012
4:43 pm
TomB – Which part?
dc74
September 24th, 2012
4:43 pm
I thought he was a genius
DawgK
September 24th, 2012
4:43 pm
I think CPJ is doing a great job, extend his contract! It’s fun to watch GT run the Marist School offense. Seriously, it’s time for you guys to find a coach with some new ideas. He’s too stubborn to adapt to new things and that’s hurting your recruiting big time. You turn into a one-dimensional team and that’s hard to sell to recruits. And Al Groh is the best you can do for a DC? Really?
Dawglasville
September 24th, 2012
4:44 pm
Not much trolling. This has been a good read. I would love to see what CPJ would do at a school like Miss State where the academics would not be so restrictive.
www
September 24th, 2012
4:44 pm
meh.
GTman
September 24th, 2012
4:46 pm
CPJ is suffering from the same problem that Chan Gailey had – the inability to recruit and develop a suitable and effective quarterback for his offense. Reggie Ball (or Josh Nesbitt for that matter) for a pro style offense? Are you kidding me? This led to the biggest waste of the most talented player ever to wear a GT jersey (I don’t even need to say the name).
Tevin Washington for the TO? Are you kidding me? He’s not fast, he does not run tough (shame on CPJ for thinking TW can get the tough 4th down yard like Nesbitt could), and he can not pass.
Yes, the defense has to be expected to keep a team from driving 90 yards for the tieing score, but the offense should never have allowed the question to be asked and unfortunately the answer given.
THWG!
GT Geoff
September 24th, 2012
4:47 pm
CPJ just needs more time.
TomB
September 24th, 2012
4:47 pm
I don’t think they are SansWorld, but lets say Johnson has an average year and wins maybe 7 games. Then record wise you could argue there has not been much difference between them. PJ took Tech to one ACC championship game -win now vacated-and Chan took Tech to one ACC championship game. I mean winning games and championships is what we’re after, isn’t it?
Noodle Nose
September 24th, 2012
4:47 pm
I feel like im at a quizbowl rally.
www
September 24th, 2012
4:48 pm
“two plays away from being 4-0 and leading its division”
YEP!