His Jackets pull a no-show, and Paul Johnson is not pleased
This one picture is worth a couple of hundred thousand words, give or take. (AJC photo by Johnny Crawford)
Athens – There were two snippets of good news for Georgia Tech on an otherwise wretched Saturday: The Jackets still get to play for the ACC Championship, and the Georgia Bulldogs will be occupied elsewhere.
Other than that, this was a wipeout of epic dimensions. It wasn’t quite as bad as the 51-7 loss here in 2002, but at least that drubbing came in Year 1 under a new coach. This one arrived in Year 5 under Paul Johnson, who seemed the anti-Chan Gailey. Meaning: A man who could hold his own against the hated mutts. (Gailey went for 0-for-6.) But now Johnson, after stunning the Bulldogs on his first try, has lost four in a row to Georgia, and the series has again gone lopsided.
And Johnson, who on taking this job ordered that the slogan “Beat Georgia” be displayed on Tech’s practice field, was not pleased. Afterward his voice could be heard — at great volume and great length — railing at his players through the metal door of the visitors’ locker room, and his subsequent press briefing was sardonic even by Johnson’s standards.
When a reporter mentioned that early turnovers might have compromised Tech’s chance of winning, Johnson said: “Were you watching the game? Do you think it mattered where (the Bulldogs) got the ball?”
Speaking of which: “(Georgia) averaged 14 yards a play the first half.” (Actually only 10.6. But it seemed like 14.)
When another reporter noted that Georgia had the ball for only 8 1/2 minutes en route to 28 first-half points, Johnson said: “Good thing, huh?”
This is the same Paul Johnson who said in 2009, when his Jackets were about to play for (and win, at least on the field) the ACC title, who blithely said his program “had bigger fish to fry” than Georgia; the same Paul Johnson who has said repeatedly that he came to Tech “to win championships.” Technically, he still can claim the 2012 championship of his middling league, but the mythical state title is gone yet again. And, given that Tech’s 42-10 loss Saturday was its worst against Georgia under this coach, it wouldn’t appear the gap is narrowing.
Said Tevin Washington, Tech’s senior quarterback: “The only way we’re going to get it going the other way is to beat them.”
Whenever Tech loses — and it has lost half its games this regular season — the knee-jerk reaction is to label Johnson’s stylized offense as high-schoolish. But here again we saw that the option is all that distinguishes Tech as a program of worth. The defense, now on its third coordinator under Johnson, remains terrible. Special teams are again a calamity. If not for the Jackets’ capacity to run the ball, they’d be Vanderbilt before James Franklin. They’d be, in a word, hopeless.
But here’s the thing: The rest of Tech football has grown so feeble that it can no longer prop up the stylized offense, and on a day when the offense gets yards — Tech outgained the Bulldogs 426 yards to 379 — but not points, it has no chance. Said Johnson: “We couldn’t match them score for score,” and that has become the only way the Jackets can hope to beat anyone halfway decent.
This was the sixth time this season the Jackets have yielded 40 or more points. The wonder isn’t that they lost five of those games; the wonder is that they won even one. (At North Carolina 68-50.)
A big-time program cannot long subsist as a one-trick pony, and we’re seeing the limits of Johnson as a program builder. (As opposed to an offensive schemer.) He hasn’t recruited as well as he needs to recruit to sustain the successes achieved with Gailey’s holdovers. That Tech will play Florida State in Charlotte for the ACC title says more about the flimsy state of the conference than it does about Tech. The only time these Jackets look like a real team is when they have the ball.
The Jackets saw early Saturday what a real team looks like when it doesn’t have the ball. Tech back Robert Godhigh burst inside the Georgia 5 on the Jackets’ first series, and for a moment it seemed the game — Georgia had seized a 7-0 lead after 63 seconds — was about to be joined. But no. Safety Bacarri Rambo wrested the ball from Godhigh’s grasp, and that was essentially that.
Asked if it would be difficult to rouse his men to play Florida State after such a beating, Johnson said: “I look at it as another opportunity. We’ll see how they respond.”
It must be noted that Johnson did not give the impression of a coach living in fervent hope. True, a different opponent and a different venue could yield a different result. But it’s hard to imagine any game involving the Bulldogs turning out well for Tech anytime soon.
Further reading: On Paul Johnson’s poor early choice and Tech’s lack of fans.
By Mark Bradley
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519 comments Add your comment
icedawg
November 25th, 2012
10:09 am
Every program has its ups and downs. Bama wasn’t that good not too long ago. Defense is a must. Johnson knows what he has to do.
michael
November 25th, 2012
10:12 am
if notre dame can do, we can. i think ted roof for d.c. and george godsey as o.c. re-hire o’leary to oversee, but from a distance these guys. he is bobby knight!! spend the cash to get those guys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BigBalls
November 25th, 2012
10:22 am
Tech stinks plain and simple. Johnson has crafted a fairly good FCS team. Big booboo if you’re playing FBS/BCS. Can they get better and be legit? I think so 100%. Can Johnson get the job done? Have serious doubts about that.
Rich
November 25th, 2012
10:22 am
Where’s St. Simons to give us his insight? hahahahahahahahahahaha
jarvis
November 25th, 2012
10:29 am
@George P Burdell, your conference stinks, your team stinks, your coach stinks, your stadium stinks and your Program stinks.
If you want to talk engineering here’s the Blog for you.
http://chem-eng.blogspot.com/
Otherwise, admit your inferiority and bow to your superiors.
GtFormerPlayer
November 25th, 2012
10:30 am
Arkansas fired their coach after one year. What is tech waiting for?
jimbob
November 25th, 2012
10:34 am
Would Phillip Fullmer consider coaching at Tech? I’d take him in a second.
Old School
November 25th, 2012
10:45 am
Since I have lived in Georgia my whole life I would really like to pull for them against Bama but it’s these obnoxious Dog fans that keep me from it. I have a lot of respect for Mark Richt though so I will try hard.
Double T
November 25th, 2012
10:50 am
Rob from Tech, and the rest of you tech fans have it right, your coach is and comes across as a stiff lipped ASS. Could you imagine playing for a guy like that? What a shame, you hire a guy like that and expect a different outcome, really? We, as DAWG fans, love the guy and enjoy kicking his ass every year. No extra motivation needed, all we have to do is remember his classy move of shoving our coach after the game. Best luck with CJ, maybe he has another wrinkle to that stylish offense of his. Please, please give him a contract extension. Can’t wait until next year.
Hang Time
November 25th, 2012
11:22 am
Hope CPJ’s tirade went on to include defensive coaches, they are the worst in all college football. Those D coaches must be teaching poor tackling and running around blocks. Charles Kelly? seriously. CPJ – I can do better, call me.
Go Dawgs
November 25th, 2012
11:26 am
Beat Bama!
Peter
November 25th, 2012
11:35 am
The play calling under CPJ has been poor and predictable. Tevin Washington should be done as starter. He’s had his chances. CPJ needs to bring in
Lee or another potential starter and restart the season now while it has an impact. Tech needs better play calling and better defense. They need an inspiring coach. Personally I like the creativity of Mac McWhorter who called an excellent game in his only game as head coach. He is 100% as a winning head coach. He put so many offensive looks up that he confused the opponent. He lined up in an I, Wishbone and more. Let’s get a new Coach and not pay
him a 7 figure salary until he performs. CPJ got a massive salary for not performing. He’s paid too much and doesn’t seem that concerned about winning.
SlimG
November 25th, 2012
11:40 am
Wow!!!!!!!! No show was stating the obvious. CPJ has expired. Love the comment about o’leary.
Confused
November 25th, 2012
11:40 am
Academia is not Tech’s major hurdle to football success. Atlanta is Tech’s major problem. No urban schools, save USC, consistently perform well in football. Will there be periods of success? Absolutely, but sustained success is not in the cards for an urban school. Anywhere.
Newtonite
November 25th, 2012
11:42 am
This season has proved conclusively that Paul Johnson’s system cannot work at Tech. And the reason is not the system itself, but that Johnson can’t recruit the kind of players he needs to make it work. Surprisingly, his recruiting shortcomings are more pronounced on the defensive side of the ball, rather than on the offensive. His commitments for next year don’t look any better than his previous classes. You wonder how much longer management at Tech can go along with Johnson defore they cry “Uncle.”
Seriously
November 25th, 2012
11:42 am
TECH DEFENSE CANNOT PRACTICE AGAINST TOP TIER TRADITIONAL OR SPREAD OFFENSES….THEY’RE DEFENSE WILL ALWAYS BE TERRIBLE AS LONG AS THEY RUNNING THE TRIPLE OPTION…..
big daddy
November 25th, 2012
11:43 am
I have seen a lot of Tech football games over my life, but this is the sorriest defensive team and special teams that I have ever seen. This game was lost from the kickoff. When you can’t find a kicker to put the ball in the end zone you are in trouble. When you can’t tackle and give field position, you are in trouble. That has been Tech’s albatross all year long. Defense can’t tackle, defense can’t put pressure on QB and secondary can’t defend. When you never know where the ball is and you are looking at the receiver, don’t expect to make plays. After GA scored and Tech marched down field to the one and have ball stripped which is good defense, you could see the air come out then.
The hiring of Al Groh by CPJ has ruined this team defensively. When a team gives up over 40 points in 6 games, you have problems, and friends, Tech has problems.
CPJ should have put VL in game earlier, not that TW played that bad, but this is the QB of the future and let him play.
Unless CPJ can hire a good defensive coach, who can teach how to tackle, how to defend a pass, I don’t care what kind of offense he runs, the results will be the same.
Tech has some good athletes, but has sorry coaching especially on the defensive side of ball.
Yes, GA has a good team, but GA is not as great as all of you Bulldog lovers think they are. Yes, you have lost only 1 game, but go back and look at some of the games you were behind on and should have lost because of bone head plays by your opponents, and I don’t believe you would be so happy this morning.
Just as you do when you lose a game, you will be blasting Richt, Bobo, and Grantham as not being able to coach.
Go Bama
Dawg Talk
November 25th, 2012
11:45 am
WE OWN THIS STATE!!!!! LOL
BOY THAT DAWG IS UGLY
November 25th, 2012
11:47 am
Big Tech Fan here but I can call it for what it is. For Dawgs, strong performance, physical, talented, well coached and played with passion. Deserved the win and deserves to play in the SEC Championship. For Tech, poor execution, not physical and poor, poor performance in all aspects of the game. They were manhandled. Johnson has been a poor recruiter. Heck, I’d love to see some passion from the guy. O’Leary could recruit by Tech standards (6-8 really good players, 3-4 on O and 3-4 on D) but he had the ability to build toughness. Gailey could recruit fairly well (not to the level of UGA/SEC teams) but had decent defenses. Look at the # of NFL players recruited by O’Leary and Gailey and then let’s count the same for Johnson in a few years. You can win at academic schools just look at Vandy, Stanford and Northwestern.
Dawg Talk
November 25th, 2012
11:47 am
Same Mickey-Mouse Offense, same outcome! Go Dawgs!
SlimG
November 25th, 2012
12:00 pm
Confused ur clueless. Atlanta is the colored Mecca . If you can’t recruit and sell Atlanta my friend , where can u . Gailey had no problems.
Speaking of, when are we gonna admit tech gave up too soon on him ????
SlimG
November 25th, 2012
12:02 pm
Oh yeah, Vad is not the answer
Coffee Bluff DAWG
November 25th, 2012
12:29 pm
GT might have a good front runner offense but if you get down big like GT did yesterday their total lack of a passing game is exposed.
Even late in the 4th Q after UGA emptied the bench GT couldn’t complete a pass with no pressure on the QB and no coverage on the receiver.
GT just looked pitiful. I’d give the edge to GA Southern in a GT – GSU matchup.
BOY THAT DAWG IS UGLY
November 25th, 2012
12:37 pm
Also, where’s the Quarterback, 5th year senior who brings leadership, inspiration and talent developed over 5 years? At some point you get mad and say I’m not going to take it anymore and do what it takes. A Defense who have not “laid it on the line” and said “enough is enough and I’m going to step up and play”. A kicker who tells himself, this is D-1/FBS and kickers have the skill to kick it to the goal line and make field goals.
SlimG
November 25th, 2012
12:38 pm
How angry were tech fans when running plays being called down by 5 TDs?
BgTimeTECHFan
November 25th, 2012
12:40 pm
Refs won the game for UGA.
Record no-calls for UGA was the difference in the game.
BgTimeTECHFan
November 25th, 2012
12:42 pm
10 no-Calls in 1st 12 plays, Tech had 2 in 30 plays.
nobody in the country can win with those odds
Coffee Bluff DAWG
November 25th, 2012
12:47 pm
BgTimeTECHFan, Refs won the game for UGA – can’t you come up with something better than that?
Refs should have called “stealing” when Rambo took the ball from your RB.
Maybe you can work on getting better refs for next yr. Good post.
jacketdad
November 25th, 2012
12:56 pm
For Tech to have been competitive yesterday they would have needed UGA to play sloppy and make a lot of mistakes. Unfortunately, Tech was the sloppy, mistake prone team and the blow-out ensued. I have come to the realization that Tech beating Georgia in football is going to be a rare event unless the Dogs suffer self inflicted wounds (such as Ray Goff or Jim Donnan). Mark Richt is a good enough coach to take advantage of the built in advantages that UGA has to ensure on going dominance over the Jackets. What are the built in advantages? They should be obvious but here goes:
– a $92M athletic budget versus a $45M athletic budget at Tech
– SEC dominance over the ACC; look at the carnage from the four inter-conference games yesterday; the SEC is a much more attractive league to play football in
– tougher academic standards; while not as big a deterrent as some people like to think it is it still prevents Tech from even looking at a large number of players who are borderline students and these tougher academic standards are used extensively against Tech in recruiting;
– fan support; UGA has an much larger and more devoted fan base than Tech; the recruting benefits to this cannot be overstated
– UGA football tradition versus Tech football tradition; there is no comparison here as UGA has been a nationally prominent team for the last three decades; Tech’s visibility has been on a much lower level
– All of the above contribute to the enormous recruiting advantage UGA has over Tech; fans from Tech clamor for 5 star and 4 star players to be signed by Tech but the reality is that most of these 4 and 5 star recruits will not give Tech the time of day; it would be interesting to find out about how many of the current Tech players were seriously recruited by UGA (or by Alabama, Tennessee or Auburn for that matter) My guess is that they would not be at Tech if they had been offerred by these schools
The fact of the matter is that the UGA and Tech football teams exist in two separate but unequal football solar systems. Expecting Tech to beat Georgia frequently in football is an unrealistic pipe dream. One or two wins every tne years is pretty much the norm.
Peter
November 25th, 2012
1:01 pm
Great point. Tech D has no traditional offense to practice against. They are probably the best D in the country against the option. That will only help playing Army or Airforce, not UGA, Bama or FSU.
OrlandoDawg
November 25th, 2012
1:17 pm
As a UGA fan I will be pulling for GT to beat FSU…Go TECH!
Mountain Dog
November 25th, 2012
1:18 pm
As a Ga. grad, but growing up a hugh Tech fan, I feel for you Tech fans. Just a few weeks ago many of us dogs were so sick after the S.C. game that we were ready to lynch Rich and Bobo. What a differance several weeks and some key losses by BCS leaders make. Its funny to see how cocky we have become after a few wins over unranked teams(Fla. excepted). All us dogs would be proud to have a son attend Tech and we could so easily be in Techs shoes today but for some great players who finally started playing like they were expected to. Tech will be back for us to hate again.Good luch next week.
Rusty
November 25th, 2012
1:35 pm
There’s a new Sheriff in town.
Rusty
November 25th, 2012
1:36 pm
Just wait until he gets his own players.
Rusty
November 25th, 2012
1:39 pm
Bigger fish to fry.
Sugar Hill Dawg
November 25th, 2012
1:40 pm
SEC 4 – 0 vs ACC yesterday. I guess that says it all. I’m looking forward to Saturday – would love to be at the Dome, but I’ll camp out in front of my TV and cheer on the Dawgs. I’ll watch the ACC game (at least for a little while), but I’m afrasid Tech may be in for another behind kicking. Hola, Sun Bowl!
Buzz2011
November 25th, 2012
1:44 pm
Uga was most impressive. As a side bar, they deserved to win based
on out gaining GT 426 total yards to 375 total yards. They also won time of possesion 40 minutes to only 20 minutes..Bama should be really scared…..
Wait, wasn’t Thuga that was the Jackets winning those stats? Wait?? Bama licking their chops.. Good luck Dawgs…
to eat Dog defense…
Rusty
November 25th, 2012
1:47 pm
Hey Buzz2011… Georgia didn’t have the yardage or time of possession because they had short fields all day. Dummy.
MiamiDawg
November 25th, 2012
1:51 pm
Yeck can still get some rings… first you go to Kmart, then you put dimes into the machines and turn the knob. Repeat until you run out of dimes or get the ring you want.
See you next year.
Bucky Shamburger
November 25th, 2012
1:56 pm
Who gives a rats arse if PJ is upset. His system attracts kids that otherwise can’t play at another major college. The system is then destroyed by any athletic team. It is one thing to have great athletes like Tech did at the Orange Bowl only to see the system destroyed- it is quite another to see inferior athletes coupled with an inferior system.
PJ- see Gregory. You are in a top 5 talent state where the HSchools run more advance offenses. Evolve or move on. Bobby Dodd Stadium and Ga Tech should be Atlanta’s team. PJ can build a spread offense around Vad Lee. Can the triple option- it is a silly offense that kills defensive recruiting as well.
Bucky Shamburger
November 25th, 2012
1:59 pm
Jacketdad- don’t be an apologist. There is no corner of the earth that doesn’t know and respect Ga Tech as an academic institute. The same is simply not true of UGA. Ga Tech needs to get an AD and coaches that play up to the quaility of the institute. The $s will follow.
Dogham
November 25th, 2012
2:02 pm
It’s Sunday morning – How is Paul Johnson still employed by Georgia Tech? After losing the ACC Championship game then a lower tier bowl game. The Jackets will finish 6 wins and 8 losses. Terrible F.
Coffee Bluff DAWG
November 25th, 2012
2:02 pm
Buzz2011, Yeah, we were laughing all day that GT fans could at least brag about something – time of possesion.
Richt pulled starters in the 3rd and 4th Q or it would have been 63-3. Congrats on your time of possesion victory.
billydawg
November 25th, 2012
2:06 pm
Air Force thumped GT in Independence bowl a few years ago.
GT TN
November 25th, 2012
2:18 pm
I’m a huge Tech fan and will always be..you Tech fans make me sick that sit here throwing things out there that make no since..Im not happy about yesterday but it showed something that we already knew..we have no defense and special teams are horrible..you are an idiot it you blame this on CPJ offense..offense wasnt the problem..you can say if we get down like we were yesterday our offene cant come back..that would be true with any offense..we were down 28-3 and couldnt stop UGA..we could have scored everytime we got the ball in the 2nd half and still would have lost by 2 tds..
@PETER..did you watch yesterdays game..saying that TW should be done and give it to VAD..Vad first drive turned it over on downs and then he threw a int to a guy that he had wide open if he would have thrown it when he was suppose to..but we were still in the game and he over threw the Bostic by 5 yds..TW first 2 drives was a fumble on the 1 and a FG..his third drive lead to a missed FG..Vad is going to be special but he isnt ready to just take over the team yet..
We need to get a DC and have him build us a defense..we have alot of good young players on that side of the ball..if we could just slow some people down we will win at least 3 more games this year than we did
Our special teams will take care of itself with the kicker that is coming in this year..he will be able to make FG and kick the ball in the endzone
GT will never have the same star guys as UGA..we never have and never will..CG hadone great class and that was it..CPJ has some good players in this class..I think we will be much better next year
Dumpster fire
November 25th, 2012
2:21 pm
wow all these excuses…better players…..to hot to play…….game was to early…….. Tech standards are to high to get the same players……..Obama caused us to lose……we had more yards……..You Lost….that’s all that matters, I SAID it would be over by the half…..Tech didn’t want nothing to do with UGA yesterday. the defense starting using wwf moves on your guys…..Dang! did anyone see that DDT?
Sunbury Ga dawg
November 25th, 2012
2:23 pm
Tech has been wrecked…..
We have bigger fish to fry ladies and gentlemen……
keyser soze
November 25th, 2012
2:24 pm
@BgTimeTECHFan:
November 25th, 2012
12:40 pm
Refs won the game for UGA.
Record no-calls for UGA was the difference in the game.
Man, did those mean old **ACC** refs have it in for Tech? I hope that you’re not as stupid in person as you are here.
Seriously. In the meantime, kiss my bulldog azz.
Dogham
November 25th, 2012
2:30 pm
@ GT TN – I seem to remember George O’Leary was able to get quality players into the system when he was HC and even held their own against UGA. As far as the DC – yes they need one, but the one PJ had to let go mid season he brought in. While the offense can move the ball against undersized ACC teams they couldn’t move it on UGA or even BYU earlier this season. The defense gave up 40+ points six times during the season, but the offense only scored 40+ 3 times (not counting the high school match against Presbyterian – Really?? Presbyterian ??). I don’t think Tech fans should accept and settle for being second fiddle in the state.
P.S. I noticed you’re drinking kool-aid. What flavor?
GT TN
November 25th, 2012
2:33 pm
@ Bucky S..it shows how much that you know about football if you are comparing basketball rec to football rec..by the wasy C Gregory hasnt done anything yet..he has got good players but he still has to win..I think he will but look back at our basketball records with guys like Favors..I hope we are goign to be very good in basketball but we havent done anything yet..so staying CPJ needs to be like CG is stupid..CG hasnt done anything yet.. 3 basketball players can change a program..you could get 3 of the best offense football players in the country and if you dont surround them with a good defense you will do nothing..lastly, you are showing how much you know about football rec if you think the offense we run hurts defense rec..a kid doesnt say “Im not going to GT because they run the triple option.”…it is Tech fans that have football IQ’s like you that embarrass me as a Tech fan