2023 predictions part 2: POST SPRING GAME

[billga99]

You were on a roll until you compared Rutherford and Leary to Bama’s Devonte Smith and Jerry Judy. After that nothing in the post can be considered serious.

I think the idea was a lot of speed on the outside will stretch the field. Our new OC appears to be aggressive in opening up the field. Obviously the raw talent of our receivers will not be the caliber of Alabama. But clearly better than before. My big concern is deep passes require time and I am not sure our OL will have the ability to do that.

 

[JacketFan137]

Clawson is an awesome innovative coach, and that remains constant. But few teams are getting hurt by the portal and graduations like Wake. And it isn’t just their stars on offenses. But even with last year’s talent, they looked slightly figured out and finished their last regular season games 1-4

Their new QB looks solid, but I think we can expect wake to return to near bottom ACC. Meanwhile, I’m seeing the best tech team that’s been put together in a long while. I’m a little worried about LB’s, but I think our QB, RB, WR and OL room all look the best they’ve been in years. Without even looking at the great staff we’ve pieced together, tech looks dominant in talent. (I also watched wake’s spring game✌)

people are obsessed with wake cause they have a “scheme” coach running a gimmick offense. if we play the defense we played in the second calf of the season last year they will not be much of a problem.

year over year they have an impressive win loss record but it certainly helps when the best OOC team you play is like vanderbilt or a g5 team. it’s no walk in the park as they are well coached but there’s no reason for anyone that pays attention to the sport to be terrified or worried about wake on our schedule

 

[TromboneJacket]

I think the idea was a lot of speed on the outside will stretch the field. Our new OC appears to be aggressive in opening up the field. Obviously the raw talent of our receivers will not be the caliber of Alabama. But clearly better than before. My big concern is deep passes require time and I am not sure our OL will have the ability to do that.

The exciting thing is that there’s more than one way to get speedy receivers the ball. Leary is going to be deadly on jet sweeps and jet sweep motion, not to mention inverted veer.

 

[iceeater1969]

I think the idea was a lot of speed on the outside will stretch the field. Our new OC appears to be aggressive in opening up the field. Obviously the raw talent of our receivers will not be the caliber of Alabama. But clearly better than before. My big concern is deep passes require time and I am not sure our OL will have the ability to do that.

The ol will be better due to the commitment to opening up the passing. Sure the little fast wr going long willvtake time, but they have to be covered. I saw some deeper routes to the tight ends who cut behind the wr. Wish we had a beast at TE. Also, the TE can stay and block w Rb smith and new freshman spreading the field.
Imo, Rb catching pass that is well thrown and on time will be a difference maker

In TFP plan we ran the RPO which sucked everyone to line of scrmmage = overloaded a poor ol who had to hold blocks for 7 seconds

No longer acting like we are elite - we are not elite, but we can be logical.

 

[SOWEGA Jacket]

people are obsessed with wake cause they have a “scheme” coach running a gimmick offense. if we play the defense we played in the second calf of the season last year they will not be much of a problem.

year over year they have an impressive win loss record but it certainly helps when the best OOC team you play is like vanderbilt or a g5 team. it’s no walk in the park as they are well coached but there’s no reason for anyone that pays attention to the sport to be terrified or worried about wake on our schedule

Horse pucky. No one is obsessed with Wake. What we simply see is since they hired their current head coach their season win totals have been in order: 3,3,7,8,7,8,4,11,8. Their coach simply wins ball games consistently. Wake is what GT is striving to be right now. So to see GT fans act like Wake is an easy W because we “hear” good things about our guys is just highly laughable.

Taking the homer hat off, you know what’s unknown? It isn’t the Wake QB or Clawsons’s program building. That’s all proven. What’s unknown is does GT have any WR‘s who can get separation when the defense is actually guarding them. What’s unknown is if our QB can stay on the field healthy for more than a game or two. What’s unknown is can Marco Coleman actually coach our DLine to get consistent pressure. What’s unknown is do we have any LB’s who can pursue the ball and wrap up. And our cpecial teams are one of the worst in the country.

Listen, I’m optimistic that our program is moving in the right direction, but this staff has proven absolutely nothing so far. In fairness, they haven’t had a game to prove anything yet, but it’s just laughable that all of a sudden we have fans expecting to just roll legit teams when we could barely punt last season (and the spring game looked like more of the same).

And the comment about jet sweeps, I get it. Good teams make it look good. But when I think of a jet sweep I see Ahmarean Brown getting tackled for a loss every time we ran it when our head coach was the OLine coach. This coach and staff have a lot of work to do without our own fans magically expecting wins against programs already built.

 

[Lil G]

because we “hear” good things

See*

What’s unknown is does GT have any WR‘s who can get separation when the defense is actually guarding them.

Looks like it
We’ve switched to almost all speedsters as opposed to our regular one or two.

What’s unknown is if our QB can stay on the field healthy for more than a game or two.

Luckily we have two that look good (best tech has had in years)

What’s unknown is can Marco Coleman actually coach our DLine to get consistent pressure.

He’s got some good dudes to work with. We lose Keion but the returners caused chaos as well
The unproven Horace Lockett also gave a tremendous look at spring game

What’s unknown is do we have any LB’s who can pursue the ball and wrap up.

Less sure about talent, but proven coaching success here.

And our cpecial teams are one of the worst in the country.

Agreed. Pretty much couldn’t get worse though, so with a new designated special teams coach I bare minimum expect slightly better. Definitely could use a consistent punter.

Listen, I’m optimistic that our program is moving in the right direction, but this staff has proven absolutely nothing so far.

Obviously it doesn’t completely transfer to tech but like

Worlds more proven then previous staff.
But even Key alone - If you didn’t see immediate change once Geoff was fired, then you weren’t watching.

 

[iceeater1969]

See*

Looks like it
We’ve switched to almost all speedsters as opposed to our regular one or two.

Luckily we have two that look good (best tech has had in years)

He’s got some good dudes to work with. We lose Keion but the returners caused chaos as well
The unproven Horace Lockett also gave a tremendous look at spring game

Less sure about talent, but proven coaching success here.

Agreed. Pretty much couldn’t get worse though, so with a new designated special teams coach I bare minimum expect slightly better. Definitely could use a consistent punter.

Obviously it doesn’t completely transfer to tech but like
View attachment 14309
Worlds more proven then previous staff.
But even Key alone - If you didn’t see immediate change once Geoff was fired, then you weren’t watching.

Full year 1 for Key it is how fast we overcome negative events in first 4 games. Then how we execute better in mid 4 games, and most important do we have a "confident winning altitude" in last 4 games. 9

Do that in reverse (regress at end) = not so snappy.

I am hopeful

 

[SOWEGA Jacket]

See*

Looks like it
We’ve switched to almost all speedsters as opposed to our regular one or two.

Luckily we have two that look good (best tech has had in years)

He’s got some good dudes to work with. We lose Keion but the returners caused chaos as well
The unproven Horace Lockett also gave a tremendous look at spring game

Less sure about talent, but proven coaching success here.

Agreed. Pretty much couldn’t get worse though, so with a new designated special teams coach I bare minimum expect slightly better. Definitely could use a consistent punter.

Obviously it doesn’t completely transfer to tech but like
View attachment 14309
Worlds more proven then previous staff.
But even Key alone - If you didn’t see immediate change once Geoff was fired, then you weren’t watching.

I did see the same immediate improvement we all saw. That’s why I’m optimistic. But there is a huge difference from feeling good about a dumpster fire finally being put out than expecting to beat teams who are already established.

All those things we listed have to be proved on the field. GT fans, of any fanbase the past 5 years, should know that words and past accomplishments mean nothing. Our previous coach had past accomplishments we all heard about but they never showed up on the field for GT. I don’t care about what any of our current coaches did before or what they’ll do later. All I care about is GT and what they get done here. Coach Key and everyone else has no excuses moving forward. They either get the job done or they don’t and I’m not even talking about wins or losses. I don’t care how many games we win this coming season. I just want to see a team that finally looks coached and isn’t an easy W for our opponent. I believe we can be successful but we have a LOT of work to get done between now and Sept. 1.

 

[Heisman's Ghost]

Yeah, me too. But I can see several games - UNC, Da U, maybe Wake - that we could win with bounces our way. Unfortunately, I also see some we could lose - Louisville, UVA - if we don't have luck. But … I have it on my quote board:

Luck is the residue of design.
- Branch Rickey

Again, truer words were never writ and I think Key knows it.

The corollary is "I'd rather be lucky than good." Lefty Gomez pitcher for the New York Yankees circa 1930. Safe to say, he was on more pennant winners than Branch but Branch had a lot less talent to work with too.

 

[Heisman's Ghost]

See*

Looks like it
We’ve switched to almost all speedsters as opposed to our regular one or two.

Luckily we have two that look good (best tech has had in years)

He’s got some good dudes to work with. We lose Keion but the returners caused chaos as well
The unproven Horace Lockett also gave a tremendous look at spring game

Less sure about talent, but proven coaching success here.

Agreed. Pretty much couldn’t get worse though, so with a new designated special teams coach I bare minimum expect slightly better. Definitely could use a consistent punter.

Obviously it doesn’t completely transfer to tech but like
View attachment 14309
Worlds more proven then previous staff.
But even Key alone - If you didn’t see immediate change once Geoff was fired, then you weren’t watching.

That's a lot of championships, titles, etc. Coaches that know about winning championships is a good start. The difference in the team once Key took over were to my less than discerning eyes pretty obvious. Will it carry over to next year? I don't see why not but SOWEGA made some good points. We did not lose that many players but the ones we lost we could ill afford to lose especially on defense. We will go as far as the play of the lines take us. IIWII

 

[Augusta_Jacket]

I did see the same immediate improvement we all saw. That’s why I’m optimistic. But there is a huge difference from feeling good about a dumpster fire finally being put out than expecting to beat teams who are already established.

This. We have a manageable schedule. That does not mean we are playing a schedule that we should expect 8 wins from without a lot of good fortune going our way.

 

[iceeater1969]

This. We have a manageable schedule. That does not mean we are playing a schedule that we should expect 8 wins from without a lot of good fortune going our way.

GFGOW 23.
I'd rather be lucky, than good.
Where have we heard that?

 

[Root4GT]

I think the idea was a lot of speed on the outside will stretch the field. Our new OC appears to be aggressive in opening up the field. Obviously the raw talent of our receivers will not be the caliber of Alabama. But clearly better than before. My big concern is deep passes require time and I am not sure our OL will have the ability to do that.

The idea was stupid in a word. Judy won the Bilentakoff award and was picked 15th in the NFL draft. Smith won the Heisman and was picked 20th in the NFL.

Leary was a bench warmer at Bama and Rutherford has 23 career catches.

They may well be very good players but to compare them to the best college receivers is stupid at best.

 

[JacketFan137]

This. We have a manageable schedule. That does not mean we are playing a schedule that we should expect 8 wins from without a lot of good fortune going our way.

i don’t think anyone was saying that we are an 8 win team. just that wake is a game we should and really need to win.

i don’t think wake are as good as many people here believe. last year on this board it was pittsburgh that everyone hyped up and ignored the production that had left. i don’t think people here really understand how big of a blow losing a sam hartman is when you are a team like wakeforest or even us. it’s different when you are not a team pulling in the next blue chip immediately and cycling through like oklahoma, bama or whoever.

i would say trend wise we are looking better than wake and after watching some clips of their spring game this would be a bad loss for our program and the direction we want to be

 

[UgaBlows]

The Louisville and WF games are very pivotal games for us this season

 

[SOWEGA Jacket]

i don’t think anyone was saying that we are an 8 win team. just that wake is a game we should and really need to win.

i don’t think wake are as good as many people here believe. last year on this board it was pittsburgh that everyone hyped up and ignored the production that had left. i don’t think people here really understand how big of a blow losing a sam hartman is when you are a team like wakeforest or even us. it’s different when you are not a team pulling in the next blue chip immediately and cycling through like oklahoma, bama or whoever.

i would say trend wise we are looking better than wake and after watching some clips of their spring game this would be a bad loss for our program and the direction we want to be

Listen, I agree on those games being pivotal. But Clawson has proven he knows how to win. He did it before Hartman and will do it after Hartman. Now, sure, having Hartman turns a 7-8 win team into a 10-11 win team as they did in 2021. GT is a 3-5 win team until we prove otherwise. That’s all I’m saying. I just don’t want our own fans to paint Key into a corner if/when we lose those Louisville/Wake type games. So, for our fans to say a 3-4 win program should absolutely beat a 7-8 win program at this point is just not seeing reality. I expect the 2023 GT football team to be improved and an overall better team on the field than the 2022 version. But, I have no clue if that will mean we win more games. Even if teams are close in ability we all know it comes down to turnovers and penalties late in the game. And the games where we aren’t close in ability will probably be 20 plus point losses (Clemson, UGA, Ole Miss). Key, like the other guy, needs to be given time, ie. years. But to put expectations that we should be automatically beating teams that are in tiers above us does our coach no favors if he goes 4-8 this year.

 

[JacketFan137]

Listen, I agree on those games being pivotal. But Clawson has proven he knows how to win. He did it before Hartman and will do it after Hartman. Now, sure, having Hartman turns a 7-8 win team into a 10-11 win team as they did in 2021. GT is a 3-5 win team until we prove otherwise. That’s all I’m saying. I just don’t want our own fans to paint Key into a corner if/when we lose those Louisville/Wake type games. So, for our fans to say a 3-4 win program should absolutely beat a 7-8 win program at this point is just not seeing reality. I expect the 2023 GT football team to be improved and an overall better team on the field than the 2022 version. But, I have no clue if that will mean we win more games. Even if teams are close in ability we all know it comes down to turnovers and penalties late in the game. And the games where we aren’t close in ability will probably be 20 plus point losses (Clemson, UGA, Ole Miss). Key, like the other guy, needs to be given time, ie. years. But to put expectations that we should be automatically beating teams that are in tiers above us does our coach no favors if he goes 4-8 this year.

frankly if expecting to beat wake and louisville is too high expectations for brent key then he isn’t built for p5 football. i’m gonna buy my season tickets and donate a lot of money to the beer cart right outside my section whether we’re 2-10 or 11-2 but we gotta expect some level of performance from this team.

i also think we are a lot closer to being good than you are giving us credit for

 

[roadkill]

I just looked over our schedule on espn. Their game win percentage has us at 3-9… Wind over SCST BGSU and BC

Link to source please? I only found this on ESPN: https://www.espn.com/college-football/fpi/_/group/1 predicting 4.5-7.5 wins. Although not expecting ESPN to be consistent across their predictions.

 

[alagold]

I was happy we seemed to play a "clean" game but then I learned they didn't call any? penalties.BIG big difference in success many of off and def many times.I know K Watson got a EZ grab that would have been a killer.

 

[McDooder]

I predict 6-6. This is year one for the new staff. Key got a head start last year. But there's been so much change and things that need implementation. It'll be a transition year.

But I believe one thing very strongly: We're going to see our team play good football. There are fundamental things any team at any level should be able to do, play to the whistle, block and tackle with proper form and effort, make field goals inside of 35 yards, not turn the ball over, not commit stupid penalties. Teams that just do those simple things win most of the games they should. Teams that don't, beat themselves before the opponent even has to. We saw way too much of that the last few years.

Coach Key is a ball coach. We saw positive changes start after he took over last year. I predict he'll build fundamentally sound teams that will play good football. Remains to be seen if he and his staff are capable of elevating a team to compete in games against the best. But I like what I've seen so far. I feel much more optimistic than I have in a long time.

Took the words right out of my mouth. Here's to hoping we can get the basics right again...it's been a while.