5 Games in: Observations

Boomergump

Helluva Engineer
Featured Member
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3,262
I have hesitated to post at all really, mostly because I don't like making rash judgements nor simply venting to keep my snow-flake from melting. Without a doubt, as a person who loves TECH, there has been some pain to endure thus far this season. Pain is weakness leaving the body, or so I have been told. That is pretty much what is going on right now within the GT family. The player's and coaches' resolve is being tested. Our fandom is being tested. We all need this weakness to leave us in order to make it through the near future. There is no magic pill. There is no magic play we need to run more. There is no magic player on the roster who needs to touch the ball on 90% of snaps from scrimmage.

At this point, in my estimation, we have a single core issue, and several smaller ancillary things that could be improved upon. That single core issue is that our opponents are able to sustain blocks on us at the point of attack, while we are unable to sustain blocks on them. That disparity is the root cause of the majority of our issues. IMHO our secondary is pretty good. However, you could put the NFL pro bowl secondary out there (I am not joking right now) and they might cover a little better than our kids, but they wouldn't be able to shut down a throwing offense (like UNC) with the time and clean pockets their QB was provided. Do any of you ever watch a game with a stop watch? The allowed time disparity between opposing QBs making decisions with eyes down field and ours is not even close. That can be nearly impossible to overcome, especially when the underneath defenders have been committed to the rush (to no avail).

I like the sound of the comments made surrounding our off season work. Kids are lean and fit. With that said, we are a small team, pretty much across the board, with the exception of the defensive secondary. As a program, we have chosen a style of play. At the current moment in time, we do not have the body types along the LOS to thrive in that style. We need length on both sides of the ball and we need girth. Unfortunately, we have neither. The UNC team looked like giants against us, like a varsity going against a JV. Our kids are very tough and they are warriors, but there is just so much one can do when the guy you are going against has 8 inch longer wingspan, 30 more pounds than you, pretty good feet, and practicing his craft just as hard as you are.

We can go round and round about play calls, rotating QBs, clock management, kids dancing on the sideline, untimely penalties that extend drives etc etc, but all that means very little until the core issue gets fixed. We might be able to steal a game here and there, but we will not be able to sustain winning streaks of any kind.

Generally speaking, it looks to me like our kids have been well coached. There aren't a ton of busts, tackling has been better than I am used to seeing, and our kids play with a ton of effort despite a lack of results to inspire confidence. I think CGC is taking the exact correct approach to his team's situation, just focus on getting better every single day and play with great passion. We have some pieces in place at the skill positions, if not experience, that should be very competitive once things equalize at the LOS. As long as the kids are learning, improving, and playing with great passion, while we find the right kids for our system over time, I will hang with this group as I personally get stronger by letting this pain leave my body.
 
Last edited:

sgreer

Jolly Good Fellow
Messages
397
Well said Boomergump -I made the comment to my buddies yesterday that if Tech had the same size/skill level as UNC's line of scrimmage they would probably have won the game. I am hoping in year 3-4 that Tech will have that. Until then I will be patient and supportive and enjoy the good things that happen in the games.
 

MWBATL

Helluva Engineer
Messages
6,119
I have hesitated to post post at all really, mostly because I don't like making rash judgements nor simply venting to keep my snow-flake from melting. Without a doubt, as a person who loves TECH, there has been some pain to endure thus far this season. Pain is weakness leaving the body, or so I have been told. That is pretty much what is going on right now within the GT family. The player's and coaches' resolve is being tested. Our fandom is being tested. We all need this weakness to leave us in order to make it through the near future. There is no magic pill. There is no magic play we need to run more. There is no magic player on the roster who needs to touch the ball on 90% of snaps from scrimmage.

At this point, in my estimation, we have a single core issue, and several smaller ancillary things that could be improved upon. That single core issue is that our opponents are able to sustain blocks on us at the point of attack, while we are unable to sustain blocks on them. That disparity is the root cause of the majority of our issues. IMHO our secondary is pretty good. However, you could put the NFL pro bowl secondary out there (I am not joking right now) and they might cover a little better than our kids, but they wouldn't be able to shut down a throwing offense (like UNC) with the time and clean pockets their QB was provided. Do any of you ever watch a game with a stop watch? The allowed time disparity between opposing QBs making decisions with eyes down field and ours is not even close. That can be nearly impossible to overcome, especially when the underneath defenders have been committed to the rush (to no avail).

I like the sound of the comments made surrounding our off season work. Kids are lean and fit. With that said, we are a small team, pretty much across the board, with the exception of the defensive secondary. As a program, we have chosen a style of play. At the current moment in time, we do not have the body types along the LOS to thrive in that style. We need length on both sides of the ball and we need girth. Unfortunately, we have neither. The UNC team looked like giants against us, like a varsity going against a JV. Our kids are very tough and they are warriors, but there is just so much one can do when the guy you are going against has 8 inch longer wingspan, 30 more pounds than you, pretty good feet, and practicing his craft just as hard as you are.

We can go round and round about play calls, rotating QBs, clock management, kids dancing on the sideline, untimely penalties that extend drives etc etc, but all that means very little until the core issue gets fixed. We might be able to steal a game here and there, but we will not be able to sustain winning streaks of any kind.

Generally speaking, it looks to me like our kids have been well coached. There aren't a ton of busts, tackling has been better than I am used to seeing, and our kids play with a ton of effort despite a lack of results to inspire confidence. I think CGC is taking the exact correct approach to his team's situation, just focus on getting better every single day and play with great passion. We have some pieces in place at the skill positions, if not experience, that should be very competitive once things equalize at the LOS. As long as the kids are learning, improving, and playing with great passion, while we find the right kids for our system over time, I will hang with this group as I personally get stronger by letting this pain leave my body.
Best post on the boards in a long, long time.

It remains all about the LOS in football, blocking and tackling. We are simply too small to be effective against much larger teams (unless they are incompetent).
 
Messages
2,034
I certainly concur with your analysis. However isn't it the solution to most winning football teams. If you don't have lineman, D and O you generally can't win. We are missing 5 starters from last year due to injury and people leaving. We are missing a Big D starter due to death. What I worry about is there is this belief we can go out here and out recruit our neighbors. We have never proven that we can. I think we can get some O lineman that better fit what we need but history has proven that we will have a deficiency on the D line.
 

Animal02

Banned
Messages
6,269
Location
Southeastern Michigan
I have hesitated to post post at all really, mostly because I don't like making rash judgements nor simply venting to keep my snow-flake from melting. Without a doubt, as a person who loves TECH, there has been some pain to endure thus far this season. Pain is weakness leaving the body, or so I have been told. That is pretty much what is going on right now within the GT family. The player's and coaches' resolve is being tested. Our fandom is being tested. We all need this weakness to leave us in order to make it through the near future. There is no magic pill. There is no magic play we need to run more. There is no magic player on the roster who needs to touch the ball on 90% of snaps from scrimmage.

At this point, in my estimation, we have a single core issue, and several smaller ancillary things that could be improved upon. That single core issue is that our opponents are able to sustain blocks on us at the point of attack, while we are unable to sustain blocks on them. That disparity is the root cause of the majority of our issues. IMHO our secondary is pretty good. However, you could put the NFL pro bowl secondary out there (I am not joking right now) and they might cover a little better than our kids, but they wouldn't be able to shut down a throwing offense (like UNC) with the time and clean pockets their QB was provided. Do any of you ever watch a game with a stop watch? The allowed time disparity between opposing QBs making decisions with eyes down field and ours is not even close. That can be nearly impossible to overcome, especially when the underneath defenders have been committed to the rush (to no avail).

I like the sound of the comments made surrounding our off season work. Kids are lean and fit. With that said, we are a small team, pretty much across the board, with the exception of the defensive secondary. As a program, we have chosen a style of play. At the current moment in time, we do not have the body types along the LOS to thrive in that style. We need length on both sides of the ball and we need girth. Unfortunately, we have neither. The UNC team looked like giants against us, like a varsity going against a JV. Our kids are very tough and they are warriors, but there is just so much one can do when the guy you are going against has 8 inch longer wingspan, 30 more pounds than you, pretty good feet, and practicing his craft just as hard as you are.

We can go round and round about play calls, rotating QBs, clock management, kids dancing on the sideline, untimely penalties that extend drives etc etc, but all that means very little until the core issue gets fixed. We might be able to steal a game here and there, but we will not be able to sustain winning streaks of any kind.

Generally speaking, it looks to me like our kids have been well coached. There aren't a ton of busts, tackling has been better than I am used to seeing, and our kids play with a ton of effort despite a lack of results to inspire confidence. I think CGC is taking the exact correct approach to his team's situation, just focus on getting better every single day and play with great passion. We have some pieces in place at the skill positions, if not experience, that should be very competitive once things equalize at the LOS. As long as the kids are learning, improving, and playing with great passion, while we find the right kids for our system over time, I will hang with this group as I personally get stronger by letting this pain leave my body.
Great post......but my concern is that we will NOT get the superior lineman......we may get lineman equal to a duke or UNC, which will lead us to 6-6 or 7-5 seasons....i.e nothing special when we are doing the same thing everyone else is.
 

684Bee

Helluva Engineer
Messages
1,599
Great post......but my concern is that we will NOT get the superior lineman......we may get lineman equal to a duke or UNC, which will lead us to 6-6 or 7-5 seasons....i.e nothing special when we are doing the same thing everyone else is.

And that is a valid concern. We won’t know for a couple years, though. If this staff can get a little momentum going (that can be sparked by any number of things), I think they have the ability to land those guys. It has to start up front.
 
Messages
2,034
Great post......but my concern is that we will NOT get the superior lineman......we may get lineman equal to a duke or UNC, which will lead us to 6-6 or 7-5 seasons....i.e nothing special when we are doing the same thing everyone else is.

And what I have said several times on here, we may have a pretty good set of number 1s on each side of the ball, but when the injuries start we drop pretty quick with the 2s. That is the advantage that Bama, Clemson etc have over us. Depth. If you were a really good player would you rather be a number 2 at Clemson or Tech.......
 
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2,034
Kind of interesting. Go on Rivals and take a look at our 2020 class. Take a look at each O linemen and D lineman and look at where there offers are coming from. a couple have UGA and one has Auburn, but for the most part they are G5 Lineman. Now I am not saying that they aren't good and maybe overlooked, or that they can't be coached up. I am just saying we are not our there trying to get big boy recruits from Clemson, UGA etc.
 

yeti92

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Messages
2,577
I am just saying we are not our there trying to get big boy recruits from Clemson, UGA etc.
You must not follow recruiting very much then. We were very actively in on a lot of guys that UF, Auburn, Bama, UT, FSU, etc. were after, we just wound up in 2nd or 3rd for most of them this year. Hopefully that improves next season and beyond, but to say we aren't going after these guys is incorrect.
 
Messages
2,034
You must not follow recruiting very much then. We were very actively in on a lot of guys that UF, Auburn, Bama, UT, FSU, etc. were after, we just wound up in 2nd or 3rd for most of them this year. Hopefully that improves next season and beyond, but to say we aren't going after these guys is incorrect.
Ok, point taken, so I will change the phrase, we can't get the big boy recruits because they can go to those schools and not have to actually go to school.
 

TheFlyest

Ramblin' Wreck
Messages
838
Best OP I’ve read on here this season. You are absolutely correct sir.

It is an issue that coach through recruiting is working on. CGC said it at arrival the team needs length. It’s coming.
 

684Bee

Helluva Engineer
Messages
1,599
Ok, point taken, so I will change the phrase, we can't get the big boy recruits because they can go to those schools and not have to actually go to school.

Yeah, yeah. Let’s keep telling ourselves this. That our guys are smarter. What I see tells me differently. If we’re smarter, snap the ball when the DL gifts you 5 yards by jumping offsides. If we’re smarter, don’t commit dumb personal foul penalties against an FCS team. If we’re smarter, recognize what the D is doing and put yourself in the right play. And on and on.
 

swarmer

Ramblin' Wreck
Messages
699
Kind of interesting. Go on Rivals and take a look at our 2020 class. Take a look at each O linemen and D lineman and look at where there offers are coming from. a couple have UGA and one has Auburn, but for the most part they are G5 Lineman. Now I am not saying that they aren't good and maybe overlooked, or that they can't be coached up. I am just saying we are not our there trying to get big boy recruits from Clemson, UGA etc.

6 of 9 have multiple P5 offers. 3 of the 9 do not. Not sure how that quantities as “for the most part they only have G5 offers”

The biggest difference in our OL recruits is size/body type. We aren’t recruiting 6foot1 guys anymore. They are 6’7-6’4. Size matters. The disparity between what UNC fielded and what we tried to make work was huge
 

Whiskey_Clear

Banned
Messages
10,486
5 games in.

Clemson is possibly the only real good team we have played to compare our talent with. And they indeed looked elite against us in game one. We will see how they finish now.

USF is bad. Citadel is a bad FCS team. Temple is average. UNC is average. If we look completely outmanned by theses teams at the LOS.....

Talent is definitely a factor but it’s also coaching. We should absolutely be more competitive than we have been. IIWII
 

herb

Helluva Engineer
Messages
1,036
Yeah, yeah. Let’s keep telling ourselves this. That our guys are smarter. What I see tells me differently. If we’re smarter, snap the ball when the DL gifts you 5 yards by jumping offsides. If we’re smarter, don’t commit dumb personal foul penalties against an FCS team. If we’re smarter, recognize what the D is doing and put yourself in the right play. And on and on.

Book smarts and football smarts are not the same thing, but I agree with what you say
 

Southpawmac

Helluva Engineer
Messages
1,111
So this is always the counter point. Oh boy, we got one guy. How come we can't recruit 8 of him. Because that is what UGA, Clemson etc do. I said we can get a few, just not enough.
Then don’t deal in absolutes. You can’t say we “can’t” get them when we have and not expect to get called out on your BS. You’ve had to change your statement three times now.
 
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