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
WnE
September 25th, 2012
6:43 am
re:
Supersize that order, mutt
September 24th, 2012
6:30 pm
Mark…..the post attributed to me at 3:51PM was NOT by me. I didn’t read the remainder of the posts made since then, so there may have been other fake posts also. Ken Suguira has somehow managed to get rid of the name thiefs; it’s time you did as well.
That being said, I unfortunately, agree with much of what you said. The offense itself is not what’s hurting us; it’s Johnson’s loss of a killer instinct. It appeared against Miami, as well as in the Utah game, that he is content to sit on a lead and dare the other team to get it back. With the defense we have, we will lose every time he does that. What happened to the “pistol” formation and the forward pass after we went up by 17 against Miami? Why was he satisfied with meaningless handoffs and pitches that had no blocking to help the pitch-man gain yards? Like somebody else said earlier in the posts which I read, Johnson seems now like he would be a great offensive coordinator; but he is the head coach and not JUST the offensive coordinator. He needs to keep pounding even after he has a lead. That doesn’t mean running up the score; it just means doing enough to keep the other team’s offense off the field. He didn’t do that against Miami, and he didn’t do it in the Sun Bowl game against Utah. And, in addition to that, as head coach, he must also accept responsibility for the performance of the defense, and that just plain sucked against Miami
_____________
Wow!
Just wow!
You are such a hypocrite!
I said many of the same things about CPJ being a HC and NOT just an OC going back to the Bowl Game and up through Recruiting Season last Feb., and yet here you are saying the SAME EXACT THINGS and then acting as if it is YOUR original idea.
I guess we can call this Sports Blog Plagiarism on your part.
CPJ hasn’t lost his moxy, guts, stones or whatever you want to call it, he simply looks out on the field and sees no Nesbitts or Dwyers or Bay-Bays, the less TALENT you see on your team the more conservative you are during crunch time or as Joe Ham would say, “nut-cutting-time”.
CPJ simply knows he does not have the horses to execute the Riverboat-Gambler section of his playbook.
BTW SuperSize who the one person that constantly talked about our DL being undersized?
Did you notice that our opponent attempted 52 passes w/o ONE SACK and the only “QB-hurry” came from a CB-blitz by Jamea Thomas, we basically GOT NOTHING from our DL that was supposed to be so ready and “together” and unified according to folks like you.
As the days go by Izaan Cross is watching his chance at an NFL draft slot and a better signing bonus slip through his hands, I’ll bet he regrets allowing CPJ & CAG to develop him for a future shot at the NFL.
ON that TD run in OT did you see how lazy and beaten that Attachou looked on that last run, he didn’t even try to get off his block and make the tackle, he basically QUIT, yet you and many other kool-aid drinkers think that Attachou could start at UGA.
We don’t have ONE player on our D that could start on UGA’s Defense and that is taking into account Muttville missing 4 starters due to knuckle-headedness.
While I’m on a roll, late in the Game we had Co-Ray Carlson in at Safety along with I-Johnson, and they looked putrid, would have rather have had a 6-2 215lb. physical specimen like Days at Safety or would you rather see Days continue to get LESS than 5 snaps per game at A-back?
A lot of my detractors are very hard to find these days on Ken’s blogs, I guess they knew that after the way we played vs. Miami that “Judgment Day WnE” would be looking for their @$$e$ like that Liquid-Metal Terminator.
In closing feel free to apologize to the CFB genius that is WnE!
Ave’ WnE!
All Hail WnE!
WnE
September 25th, 2012
6:53 am
re:
Burgess
September 25th, 2012
5:18 am
When it’s all said and done, it’s just like Paul said…..it just wasn’t meant to be. LOL, that has to be the damndest comment ever by a D1 head football coach.
____________
As small as our Athletic Budget is at GT, this is what we get for effin’ $2.6MM per year:
“I guess it just wasn’t meant to be………………”
CPJ is so lucky he’s at GT, at most SEC Schools comments like that will get you canned mid-season.
But many of our CPJ apologists are forcing themselves to overlook such statements like that because their PRIDE won’t allow them to admit they were wrong about CPJ, while people like WnE had CPJ accurately assessed from the time he was hired.
After the Miami Game i guess the rest of the GT fanbase in now “Wide Awake”:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYXkGdSe_SQ
georgiadawg70
September 25th, 2012
7:32 am
Some questions about CPJ. Why can’t he recruit? His offense is not a ticket to the NFL. Ask Dwyer. who was drafted 8th round if believe. Answer. He couldn’t block for the blitz or catch a pass. All he could do was run. In a pro style offense he would have gone 1st round. Why doesn’t anyone else in a top program run CPJ’s offense if it is so effective? The answer is it’s not. Why hasn’t CPJ’s name been mentioned for any of the top coaching jobs that has come open since the has been at Tech. Answer zero. That tells you something right there.
georgiadawg70
September 25th, 2012
7:38 am
When CPJ’s tenure is up at Tech, and it won’t be long. He will be back at military schools or division 1AA. It’s only there that he will be successful.
Lorenzo
September 25th, 2012
7:39 am
His offense needs to recruit players that cannot give his defense a good look at the Pro-set or Spread offenses that everyone else in D-1 college runs outside of the military academies. Most of his past teams have had defensive issues………it is not coincidental.
GT
September 25th, 2012
7:43 am
If you want to study a team without talent study how Gary Patterson built TCU. Go back and look at the picking he had in Texas after the big boys like Texas or Texas A&M, Texas Tech who all threw TCU out of their conference for not being competitive, left him. I was in Ft. Worth a couple of times and bought football tickets on game day from the ticket cage that were close to the 50 yard line, this man rose the dead with no talent.
Johnson thought his guys could hold the fort, he shut the offense down, a couple of passes would have loosen it up. When the offense can’t hold the field the defense, particularly playing that stupid prevent they love to play, get tired and distracted. The team with no talent and watching it fade out the door is Vandy, which gives Georgia another year of overhype, while Tech is underestimated. Paul Johnson is a stubborn man as is Al Groh, Saturday was not a Bobby Dodd moment in coaching for him, but he is a good coach, and Miami is a good football team. That said we should have beat them, but both teams on that field were better than Vanderbilt, much better.
Hal
September 25th, 2012
7:44 am
There was a time in college football when teams were the deciding factor on where players went and rivalries mattered where you ended up. Now as any of the top players in Georgia whet their preferance is andit will be playing in the SEC for 3 years and going pro. Johnson has placed an empahsis on recruiting in Georgia and it has gotten him nowhere. UGA can’t sign them all but the rest would rather leave the state than to play for Tech as long as they are in the SEC. Why one reason is ESPN ,CSS who play the SEC tune all day long. They are the beat recruiting tools the SEC has.
WnE
September 25th, 2012
7:54 am
re:
Lorenzo
September 25th, 2012
7:39 am
His offense needs to recruit players that cannot give his defense a good look at the Pro-set or Spread offenses that everyone else in D-1 college runs outside of the military academies. Most of his past teams have had defensive issues………it is not coincidental.
________________
This is what the CPJ apologists don’t understand.
It is very hard for CAG to get his Defense ready to play vs. TEs or a QB with the arm strength of a Stephen Morris when he has no one on scholly that can simulate those guys in practice, your scout teams is made up of guys OUTSIDE of your 2-deep, so Vad Lee won’t be used on the scout team to get the defense ready for real passing QBs that they might see.
As good as Morris was on Sat., A. Murray is much better and UGA uses their TEs & FB better than does Miami.
How can our DBs “really prepare” for a good passing attack when they never see accurate strong-armed QBs until the day of the game and they are playing for the other team?
Imagine being a Baseball Player and you never see a 95mph Fastball in Spring training and the only time you see them are in games that count vs. the opposition, that’s what CAG has to deal with trying to get his DB ready for “decent” passing teams.
Once upon a time UGA’s DBs faced Zach Mettenberger as the Scout Teams QB, he now STARTS for LSU, is it any wonder that their DBs play the pass better than our DBs here at GT.
The other Scout Team QBs since Mettenberger got booted haven’t been bad either, guys like LeMay or Hutson Mason that could START for other SEC teams like Kentucky or Miss.
Much easier to get your D ready to play going against guys that could START for lower level SEC & ACC Teams, than by playing vs. weak-armed guys that will never play at the D1-A level.
All of this is a function of CPJ ’s poor Recruiting.
Coach
September 25th, 2012
7:55 am
“Unnecessary Roughness on the AJC! 15 Yards from the spot of the Foul. FIRST DOWN, GA TECH! (Insert whistle sound here)
Freddie Blassie
September 25th, 2012
7:55 am
Mark,
Your entire premise is wrong; i.e. the program exists to prop up his offense??? Johnson would run the Nortre Dame box or the green apple quick step if he thought it would win games.
Josh Nesbit or Cam Newton could not have scored on the play that Tevin ran at the goal line; okay, maybe Newton would’ve, but the tackling sucked. These players need to be taught to tackle rather than running full speed at a ballcarrier or trying to strip the ball.
Atlanta is Corrupt
September 25th, 2012
7:56 am
Johnson’s mistake is going for it on fourth down near the 50 yard line, failing, and giving the ball to the other team, putting tremendous stress on the defense. I counted at least 16 points given to Miami by Johnson’s offense, and I include the safety scored by one of his offensive players. In the second half of the season, when the offense has “jelled” going for it on 4th down might make more sense, but not on the first series in a 0-0 game with the ball near the 50 yardlne!
Ed Pilcher
September 25th, 2012
8:31 am
And just a few years ago, you guys at the AJC were calling him a genius…..Furman Bisher said he was the greatest coach ever……that he would never lose to UGA again…….However, you all also forgot one thing…..It’s STILL Ga. Tech.
ugaG
September 25th, 2012
8:33 am
UGAg
ugaG
September 25th, 2012
8:35 am
UGAg signs 5 star players and how many national championships have they won???????
Wet Willie...keep on smiling
September 25th, 2012
8:38 am
@ the poster that mentioned bringing Lance Thompson to GT. You do understand Alabama pays Lance almost 400k as a LB coach? The strength coach at Alabama makes more than the OC at UGA. Football is serious business in T-town and you will be paid very well but you better love it 365/24/7 or you’re gone.
Another thing is Tech needs to sheet can that Russell Southern bullsheet stuff and get with Nike or UnderArmour. The program is at a deadend no doubt with Paul even though he is a decent HC. The buyout info is a killer no doubt. Hate it for the GT fans but hell we had Dubose,Curry,Shula,Fran, and our best buddy that we never really knew Mike (it’s rolling baby) Price so the Bama fans understand. In a fair world money paid to the BOT and AD would be garnished and applied to the buyout of Paul . Just code it to the account for stupid azz decisions. That account is used often these days …much like the obama decision.
Dwayne
September 25th, 2012
8:42 am
EXACTLY! You have written what I started seeing and saying last year. I kept hearing people (Ga Southern Fans) say “wait til he gets his players”. I began to see in the ‘10 season and I knew it last year. We (TECH) need players that are pro caliber at every position and then he would be unstoppable. Recruit like Gailey, Coach like the genius you are Paul Johnson. I am not ready to fire CPJ or Al Groh.
But just like he hired a special teams coach (which are way better) last year. He needs to hire a top notch recruiter. And a new strength and conditioning coach. For years Tech has not finished games and I said it’s because they’re tired. You can see it, If you can’t wrap up on the last drive of the game then that’s a tell tell sign. Just a couple of adjustments and we’ll win every week!
USMC
September 25th, 2012
8:51 am
Anybody else notice that UGA has started scheduling their annual game against Georgia Southern the week BEFORE they play GT??
Sounds like a good strategy for getting ready for the Triple Option Offense against the in-state rival GT Yellow Jackets.
Crap
September 25th, 2012
8:53 am
For those of you who think gt is 2 plays away from 4-0, that MAY be correct, but how much better would the team actually be because of those 2 plays? Still the same talent, depth and coaching – and still to lose to the same teams the rest of the way.
Buzz2011
September 25th, 2012
9:04 am
Right Bradley, GT is two plays away from being 4- 0 and you know it Mark!
When we cxlean your Dawgs out in November it will not hurt so bad!
You had better be concerned with your leghumpers after they finish their pre season ball.
Hughy
September 25th, 2012
9:06 am
I went to Tech, am a huge fan, hate UGA, and really like CPJ, dating back to what he and Erk did with GSU. I like his offense, and love to see it work like it did against Kansas in 2011, and UVa this year, but I always admired CPJ for going for it. I watched him make a 1st down on 4th and 1 from within his own 40 before, and the opposing coach stated if we could do what they can, we’d try it to.
That being said, and coupled with the other blogs about 2 pllays from being 4 & 0, there is more truth to the point of him not being willing to take a risk, than to the defense not making 2 plays (granted That would have been nice and needs to be fixed). CPJ keeps trying the same play thinking it is gonna work, and yes I saw it work when Dwyer was there, when he should avoid plays that are being shut down and use some of the other options that are working. Isn’t that the purpose of an “option offense”. Also, is there anyone in the nation that doesn’t know what he’s trying to do, and jumps offside when he moves the ‘A’ backs back beside the ‘B’ back on 4th & 1? I’d love to see him do the same thing, but when the 2nd ‘A’ back starts in motion, have all 3 of them and the QB sweep wide, with the WR’s helping clear a path, anything would beat watching us look like idiots on 4th and 1, and you know it would catch most teams by surprise. An how about an option pass on a sweep? Would it kill us to try more?
WnE
September 25th, 2012
9:09 am
As of Today, Sept. 25th, 2012, CPJ is 2-2 in the ACC and those 2 wins came vs. Presby & UVa..
Meanwhile Chan Gailey is 2-1 in the AFC East.
Even though I never liked Chan as a College HC, it would seem that our current Genius isn’t the Genius that our Fanbase had made him out to be, now that Chan’s players are long gone.
Bill Gullion
September 25th, 2012
9:10 am
You got to be be kidding. Johnson is a great coach! He’s taking players who are on the same par as Miami, Florida State, Clemson, etc. and making them competitive. His problem is his personnel are not good enough to sustain a high level of play throughout the whole game.
Don’t blame him for that. Maybe if he were able to add a few scholastic dummies, he’d solve his problem.
I’m not a Tech graduate.
Hughy
September 25th, 2012
9:14 am
->Dwayne, One reason they don’t “finish” games, is they have the lead, go into prevent defense and no-risk offense, instead of “dancing with the one that brung ya’”. Be bold, shove it down their throats, until the referees make you get off the field!
Joey
September 25th, 2012
9:16 am
I actually thought PJ made a good hire when he got Groh, but his D just hasn’t improved since he took over – without looking it up, it seems to allow more points.
Get the D down to under 20 PPG, and Tech will be fine.
BigBalls
September 25th, 2012
9:23 am
The lustre is gone from the Johnson offense but the main problem by far is the defense. Definitely, definitely, definitely. Offense needs a lot of work but the defense is horrible, horrible, horrible. And we won’t even mention special teams today. Pee You!
Rex Racer
September 25th, 2012
9:24 am
Fact is the ACC has caught on to HCPJ’s High School Offense
Not too many RGIII or Tebows or Steve Youngs out there which means GT recruits RBs as QBs and
When they MUST pass, they just can’t do it
GT simply CANNOT pass & ACC teams (good ones anyhow) are not gonna lose to a one-dimensional team
Joe T
September 25th, 2012
9:29 am
You’re full of crap Bradley. Paul Johnson is a fine coach and Tech is lucky to have him. I am a Georgia fan and a Georgia Southern Alum. How about writing about something you know something about…..maybe like putting on your shoes or something!!!
Birmingham Jacket
September 25th, 2012
9:30 am
I’ve said it more than once… Will say it again and again…
When your “leadership” signs football “players”– and I use the term loosely… whose only other offers are to Duke, Wake Forest and Kentucky…
Well… You’re football program begins to look like Duke, Wake Forest and Kentucky.
Half the job in college football is recruiting. And Paul Johnson is making MILLION$, not doing his job and making every alumni and tax payer in the state look like fools.
He doesn’t deserve to sport the GT logo, and neither does Radakovich. He’s a very poor leader as well.
CLEAN HOUSE!!!!!
Blackberry Cobbler
September 25th, 2012
9:30 am
Mark, it seems you’re quick to criticize CPJ but you’ve been very patient and clearly not critical of CMR. I’m a big UGA fan and don’t give a rip about GT- but itseems you’ve jumped on CPJ pretty quickly while giving CMR a pass these past few years.
Gorilla Biscuit
September 25th, 2012
9:50 am
I think Paul Johnson has outsmarted himself.
WnE
September 25th, 2012
9:51 am
re:
Bill Gullion
September 25th, 2012
9:10 am
You got to be be kidding. Johnson is a great coach! He’s taking players who are on the same par as Miami, Florida State, Clemson, etc. and making them competitive. His problem is his personnel are not good enough to sustain a high level of play throughout the whole game.
Don’t blame him for that. Maybe if he were able to add a few scholastic dummies, he’d solve his problem.
I’m not a Tech graduate.
_______________
CPJ FAILED to close on Tuitt, Tomlinson, Ray Drew, Wilder-Jr.(FSU), Jordan Watkins (Stanford) and myriad of other Academic Qualifiers that could make a huge difference for GT.
Academics or “narrow curriculum” ain’t GT’s problem, CPJ ’s poor Recruiting is GT ’s main problem.
The Baseball Team has no problem Recruiting with the narrow curriculum, top notch players come ANYWAY because GT Baseball has a track record of sending guys to the Major Leagues or getting guys Drafted with a shot at the Majors.
Athens Campus Ninja
September 25th, 2012
10:11 am
Johnsons main problem is that he doesn’t kiss enough HS football recruit (and media) ass.
Mike S.
September 25th, 2012
10:40 am
Johnson is recruiting as well as he can. Fact is, Dwyer and Nesbitt are on record as saying they would never have signed with Tech had Johnson been recruiting them. Gailey recruited them for a pro-style set. None of the top rated high school offensive talent with NFL aspirations is going to sign with Tech to play the option. It has no translation whatsoever to the next level. You could actually argue it sets a player back.
I never understood why people assumed top recruits would want to come to Tech to run the option.
Mike S.
September 25th, 2012
10:43 am
On Saturday’s game, yes Groh’s defense was awful, but I’m not sure the offense was a whole lot better. Those 36 points all came within a quarter and a half after Miami built a 19-0 lead. Then they shut down Tech from the mid 3rd quarter on. So was that a case of Miami relaxing before the game was won then waking up, or Tech stepping on and then running out of gas?
Brian
September 25th, 2012
10:48 am
I’m glad to see this being talked about more. I’ve been talking about it since we beat UGA and couldn’t convert that into any kind of recruiting. I was afraid then we’d suffer without some talent and that’s unfortunately what happened. Johnson’s offense works great with good players but unfortunately Johnson can’t recruit any. It’s too bad our AD was once again short-sighted and extended a contract before he saw what he had. We’ll either be handing Johnson extra cash to go away after next season or we’ll have to live with him longer than we’d like. The nail in Chan’s coffin was more UGA fans at the UGA game than Tech fans. I predict that will happen next year and then Paul will be gone.
Mike S.
September 25th, 2012
10:49 am
A word on Groh…his Va teams were not very good which is why he got fired. This was not the same caliber of hire that UGA got with Todd Grantham even though both run basically the same scheme. That being said, how is anyone going to prepare a defense at Tech when their best offensive players are option guys? The WRs are blockers and not very good route runners. The QBs cant begin to throw the ball around with the likes of Aaron Murray (UGA), Taj Boyd (Clemson), or any other solid pro-style or spread offense QB they will face. The RBs arent on the level of the opposition either.
I just dont have any idea how you prepare a defense properly when you cant practice against players that can remotely simulate your competition.
Old Gold
September 25th, 2012
10:51 am
Bottom line is results matter. Not results from a “what have you done from me lately”, “only winning matters”, “it’s all about the dollar”, “win at all costs” mentality. Heck, you can recruit any kid who can run and catch but have no values and dismiss him from the team and suspend him for a game or two (Hmmm…sounds like a program in a town 70 east of North Ave.) and call yourself a “Nation”. Back to the point..bottom line is that over 4 years that results matter and 0 for 4 in bowl games, 1 in 4 against “that team and school only known for 12 Saturday’s a year” and many times not even on those Saturday’s. For the school that still owns 4 national championships, institutional integrity, smart minds it may be time for change. Still love the Jackets though!
Mike S.
September 25th, 2012
10:56 am
As far as getting rid of Johnson, I dont know what Tech should do. If he manages to pull the upset of the century and beat UGA this year, I’m sure all will be forgiven and a statue will be raised. Still, the same problems will exist, and the likelihood of beating UGA two in a row will be tougher than when the 2009 team got upset by a revenge minded 6 win UGA team.
The problem is, it will likely get worse before it gets better with the next coach, unless he’s also an option coach haha. A pro-style or spread coach will have to work with option guys until he can get his type of players into the system. That could translate to a rough 2-3 years start.
ATLDawg, ya dig?
September 25th, 2012
11:00 am
Georgia Tech has a confidence problem. It starts with the fans. There’s a whole tier of recruits you don’t even try to get. When I point this out, Tech fans say, well, “we’re a top rate school, those guys can’t get it.” or “we’re not as big as georgia.” And then I watch Stanford land top 50 talent in Georgia, I see Notre Dame, Vanderbilt, even Wake Forest landing these kids. Tech also has an image problem. Tech is in the capital of Georgia, which coaches across the country have recognized as a premier place to find football talent. And Tech is out recruiting undersized LB’s in Maryland. Recruits need to think – I can stay close to home, in the ATL, in the big city, in the South. I can play on this big stage. And yet, you talk to Tech fans, and they seem content with 6-6, with 40-60 rankings in recruiting. They don’t want to play in the Chik-Fil-A kick-off because they might lose a home game. They have billboards on Piedmont advertising “fan friendly day on the flats,” whereas Auburn has a billboard that has a flaming tiger eyeball saying “Auburn Country.” Hell, Tech even outfits their kids in Russell Athletic. Everything about GT screams old and cold. When it should be screaming ATL, URBAN, BAD-ASS. You want to win more games in the South? Get more talent defense. Get bad. Get mean. Every decision needs to flow from there.
ATLDawg, ya dig?
September 25th, 2012
11:04 am
One more thing. Al Groh is the best X’s and O’s defensive coach in the ACC, including Bud Foster. You’ve got to give him something to work with. Talent. Also some first half drives. I’m sure Dan or CPJ will scapegoat him. But consistent 3 and outs, and year after year of average, 3 star talent adds up to points for the other side.
Reality
September 25th, 2012
11:05 am
BRADLEY – you are so far off base on this one. The issue isn’t with the offense at all. The issue in the Miami game was that the defense simply could not force a Miami 3-and-out. Did Miami ever even punt?
Bradley, it may be time for YOU to retire!
MC
September 25th, 2012
11:15 am
Mark the problem with his offense is that when he gets in certain situations it’s inept. He’s so arrogant that he never plans for the times when he has to adapt. UGA’s defense will stone him this year and watching GT try to throw the ball is downright painful. And then he picks the dumbest times in the dumbest places to go for it on 4th down. PJ is no long term answer for GT.
Steve
September 25th, 2012
11:16 am
Tech’s problem is on defense and it starts with Al Groh!
MC
September 25th, 2012
11:19 am
Steve Tech’s problem is PJ can’t recruit the talent Groh needs. Al Groh is alot more respected at all levels of his profession than PJ ever will be. Groh has forgotten more football than PJ ever knew. PJ IS THE PROBLEM. GT’s D NEVER sucked so bad when Gailey was at the helm.
MC
September 25th, 2012
11:20 am
Paul Johnson will wreck GT football for a decade after he’s inevitably gone. Fire his butt now.
Stiffneck
September 25th, 2012
11:23 am
The first loss is completely on the defense. GT offense did what they had to do, take the lead late in the 4th quarter with time running out. This is where you D has to step up.
West Coast Jacket
September 25th, 2012
11:42 am
Extremely perceptive column. We simply need players who can make plays at the end of a game. That’s recruiting. Tech can never get all the players that UGA, FSU and the like get (did someone say calculus) but we should get enough to make those last two tackles.
JoeFan
September 25th, 2012
11:44 am
Miami didn’t stopTech, Johnson’s conservative play calling after grabbing a 17 point lead stopped Tech. Tech’s defense was awful but the willingness to sit on a 17 point lead only added to the problem. Johnson gets paid the big bucks to win these games but to date Tech isn’t reaping dividends on its investment. If he were the CEO of a corporation, he would be fired for this type of performance.
bobo
September 25th, 2012
11:44 am
must be sad growing up with the athletic ability of a snail and the brain the size of pea…..that way you can become a sports writer and criticize every coach in the area for everything that happens under their watch…better yet lets be selective on whom you criticize and when….
mark-there is not a coach in your area that you have not left alone…the amusing aspect of it all is the reaction you have or your co-workers have when the coach strikes back…you then get to label him as arrogant or abrasive and question why no one wants to talk to you….it would be interesting to watch your reaction if you were in their shoes…
RealDeal
September 25th, 2012
12:12 pm
I am sick of lazy reporting and idiot fans always calling for the head of a coach to make them feel like they are more important than they are. All the players you named from the first two years under Paul Johnson were very good. However, other than that starting defensive line, none of them had accomplished anything near a first-round grade before Johnson’s arrival. Be Be was just Demaryious and Dwyer looked nothing like the ACC POY. You have a good coach who is closer to right than he is wrong. He develops talented players and gets them to play as a team. Allow him time to figure it out because when he has, his success rate has been off the charts.