Ramblin' On

If any of you see a silver Jeep with a GT flag on one side and an FSU flag on the other, en route to Tallahassee today, it’s probably the wife and I heading south for the game tomorrow.

The plan is to meet up with FSU family and GT friends tomorrow for some tailgating and fellowship before the primetime kickoff.  We might even try to catch a little of the UGA vs UT game, so we can sing Rocky Top a few times.

I have no idea what to expect from our game…both GT and FSU have been very up and down this season.

The result could easily come down to whichever team can play four quarters of football and make a big play on special teams or defense.

Because I’ll be out of town, its likely to be very late on Sunday or possibly Monday before my next blog.

Rest assured its not an AJC conspiracy or lack of support of GT…its simply the fact that I’ll probably be driving back from Florida.

Go Jackets!

Beat the Noles!

Continue reading Heading to Tallahassee! »

A few things are floating around the boards and blogs today…so lets just get right into them…

1) Clean Old Fashioned Hate…in the Georgia Dome?

Are you kidding me?  Who came up with this wrong headed idea?

Pardon me while I vent for a few minutes…

Neither GT nor UGA gain enough from this proposed debacle to make it worth moving the annual Thanksgiving ritual anywhere but Between the Hedges or On the Flats.

Both the Dawgs and Jackets are already located right square in the middle of the best football recruiting territory in the nation.  There would be minimal recruiting advantage over what both already enjoy returned from this game.

One of the teams, most likely Georgia Tech, would have to give up a home game.

The Georgia Dome SUCKS for football games.  Football games should be played outdoors…period.  I don’t care if its cold or rainy at the end of November.  That’s part of the experience.  I’ve been to games, both college and pro, in the Dome and I don’t like it.  Its …

Continue reading Hot Topics on a Wednesday Night »

Just a quick hit here, before I try to catch the end of the Miami vs Oklahoma game.  (Go ACC!)

If you had told me that the Jackets would throw for more yards than they would rush for, I’d have laughed.  But that’s just what happened as Josh Nesbitt went 11 of 14 for 266 yards and a touchdown.  Four different receivers caught passes, led by Demarius Thomas’ eight catches for 175 yards.

The Jackets still ground out yards on the ground as they ran 54 times for 216 yards.  But it was the passing game which saved the day.  And it definitely gives the FSU coaches something to look at and worry about before the upcoming game this next weekend.

I expected the Bulldogs to be able to run the ball.  They have a real stud in Anthony Dixon and he was instrumental in MSU running for over 200 yards on the Tech defense.  The Jackets defense didn’t seem all that keen on tackling anyone, especially Dixon.

It was a strange, strange game with huge momentum swings and big plays.  Kick …

Continue reading Offense Bails out the Defense in Starkville »

MSU Thoughts

One thing is for certain, this will not be the same MSU team that Jaybo Shaw and the GT offense ran roughshod over last season.  The new coaching staff up in Starkville has made significant improvements to this 2009 iteration of the Bulldogs.

MSU is 2-2 although they should rightly be 3-1 win a big upset win over LSU.  LSU escaped only on the merits of a game saving goalline stand and a punt return that went for a TD.  The last time Tech faced LSU…well…lets just say MSU played the Bayou Bengals a bit tougher.

Statistically, the Bulldogs pass a little better than Tech does but don’t run quite as well.  That’s to be expected.  The really interesting part is the fact that they are scoring pretty much on exactly the same pace as the Yellow Jackets…27.5 points per game versus Tech’s 27.0.  And three of their games have come against SEC opponents…Auburn, Vandy, and LSU.  So they haven’t padded their offensive stats against cupcakes any more than GT has.

We’ll …

Continue reading Getting ready for Mississippi State… »

Great  Game Day Despite the Rain

Its hard to think of a better way to get a mental break during a 70+ hour work week than getting down on campus to see Tech put a beat down on Butch Davis and UNC.  Nothing could dampen my mood today, not even the rain.  Those glorious few hours with friends down on The Flats were a much needed respite from a really tough week.  I should probably apologize to some of the folks who were sitting around me in lower 102 today.  I let a week’s worth of frustration loose on the refs on more than one occasion.  At least it was warranted…anyone else who was there will agree with me…I think…

Defensive Redemption!

I’ve been as harsh as anyone on the Tech defense the past few weeks.  And while I would like to say I was trying to use some sort of reverse psychology to motivate any of them who happened to read the AJC…well, that wouldn’t be honest.  I’ve been harsh on the defense because before today they just simply hadn’t been that good.

The …

Continue reading Defense Finds Redemption Against UNC! »

Around noon tomorrow we’ll begin to see if the Jackets have healed up, rested up, and gotten their heads on straight after the debacle down in Miami.

We’ll also get a look at how this coaching staff, including Coach Johnson, will react to obvious deficiencies on both offense and defense.

Offensive Thoughts

With Jaybo Shaw back in the depth chart is there any chance we see him take snaps against UNC?  Nesbitt has played poorly through large portions of the past two games.  But how poorly would he have to play in order for Shaw to come into this game?  I don’t think anyone had expected to see Jaybo before the Mississippi State game at the earliest.

With Tyler Melton back in the depth chart at wide receiver will we finally have a receiving threat on the far side of the field from Thomas?  The past few games its been obvious that one receiver was on the field to catch passes and one was on the field to block.  Its imperative that we have two receiving threats to put more …

Continue reading Ramblin’ Thoughts about UNC »

Jeffrey M. Boan / Special

Well, the latest AP Top 25 rankings are out and the Jackets aren’t on the list.

Its funny how quickly you can go from knocking on the door of the Top 10 to being an also-ran that doesn’t get a mention on the list at all.

If Tech had defeated Miami we’d be discussing a Top 10 ranking right now.  If Tech had played Miami competitively and not gotten shoved all over the field we’d still be talking about a Top 25 rating.

Instead…Tech isn’t ranked…

And why is that?

A combination of things, in my opinion:

• The Jackets defensive line has been dominated and rendered a non-factor for six quarters of football now.  Only Derrick Morgan’s first half against Clemson prevents me from giving the squad a poor review for the entirety of the past two games.
• The new “wolf defense” looks ineffective overall.  With pitiful defensive line performances, the Jackets need another linebacker on the field making plays instead of a hybrid defensive back that is less than …

Continue reading Yellow Jackets Out of the Top 25 »

Well…at halftime, two things are evident.

1. Patrick Nix is no longer calling the offense in Miami.

2. The Tech defensive line, which was already suspect, is gassed playing their third game in about 12 days.

The Jackets seemed to impose their will on the opening drive, starting with good field position and grinding down into the redzone before settling for a field goal.

The defense then forced a 3rd and 11 on Miami’s first possession, but allowed the Canes to convert…and then score on a deep pass soon after.  The defensive line was a non-factor on the first drive.

The Jackets then squandered another bad kickoff, gave the ball back to Miami, and allowed them to drive and score again.

Then, trailing 14-3 the Jackets mounted a drive and would have scored except for a bad blocking decision on a big Roddy Jones scamper.

Instead of six points and a likely 14-10 score, the Jackets found themselves in long yardage at about the 30…where they fiddled around and eventually made use of …

Continue reading Live Thoughts from the Miami Game »

If you’ve been reading the Miami articles and message boards recently, you’re well aware of the swollen Cane egos that resulted from their season opening win over FSU.

To listen to Jacory Harris, you’d think he was Reggie Ball incarnated…predicting that they can’t be stopped.

And we all know how things went down after Reggie’s less than prophetic pronouncement.

So what really happened against FSU to make Harris so confident?

Well…he threw for 386 yards, which is no small feat as he averaged over 10 yards per completion.  But the truth of the matter is that some of his receivers were catching balls with no FSU defender within 10 yards of them.  They routinely beat the FSU defensive secondary for big plays because the Noles couldn’t develop any pressure or rattle Harris at all.  This is where Derrick Morgan will figure into the Tech defensive plans on Thursday night.  FSU doesn’t have anyone on their defensive line remotely as good as Morgan and he’ll be a difference …

Continue reading Miami…Swagger or Substance? »

So, fellow Tech fans…who gets the “game ball” from this past Thursday evening?

Josh Nesbitt…Ran for 92 and threw for 83 yards? Gutsy fourth quarter leadership?

Anthony Allen…151 total yards of offense, including the 82 yard run early?

Scott Blair…Threw for a TD on a fake and kicked three field goals, two in the fourth quarter to tie and win?

Jerrard Tarrant…returned the quick kick for a TD and deflected the late Clemson desperation pass?

Derrick Morgan…10 tackles (4 for a loss) and 3 sacks, dominant in the first half?

Did I miss anyone?

Personally, my game ball goes to Scott Blair.  He was responsible for 18 points…not bad for a place kicker!

Discuss!

Also check out my account of the game in my earlier blog: Clemson: Tough as Always…

Continue reading Clemson Game Ball? You decide! »