AJC: Dennis Andrews no longer onthe Team

SkyBuzz

SkyBuzz

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How could anyone think that a pothead is good or even OK for team chemistry? Or a thief? Or a Drunkard? Or an abuser? Or a Racist? It's all about character and the ability to perform when the going gets tough. That was the difference and the key to success last year. I feel sorry for Dennis, but it had to be done for the good of the team. Team First!
Just the musings of an OLD FART....
SkyBuzz
 
dressedcheeseside

dressedcheeseside

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Techster said:
Losing DA is not even close to what happened last offseason with all that attrition. Oh, we ended up in the ACCCG, won the Orange Bowl, and ended up in the top 10.

I think we'll be more than OK.
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That situation was a little different. With the DL, we had guys to fill in the blanks who at least knew "where to go" as CPJ likes to say. Also, you could say it was a small miracle we avoided injuries at that position.

It's not just knowing your job, it's knowing it so well you don't have to think about it. We've got a bunch of guys coming in with zero experience and only a few with barely any. Like I said earlier, they all better be a quick study.

It doesn't take much to unravel our well oiled machine. All it takes is one missed block, one guy going the wrong way, one guy taking the wrong guy, one guy out of sync, on guy just a hair late or a hair out of position, etc.... to blow up any given play.
 
DrJacket

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This is in no way an attempt to speak for CPJ. This is my analysis. I haven't asked him about this specific issue, nor will I anytime soon.

I can make 2 observations about him, though:
* He has been down this road too many times to not have a feel for how he likes to handle these situations. There's no guess work with him. When, in his judgment, a student-athlete has become a sustained burden on team chemistry he will let that kid go. However, only after due process and repeated violations (unless maybe in situations where even a first violation is of a nature that automatic expulsion/dismissal is basically out of his hands). He is not naive about the effects of a "bad apple" being left in the barrel.

* However, you are only a "bad apple" once you have repeatedly shown that you can't learn from your mistakes and do what it takes to hold your place on the team. What folks don't get to hear are the times when CPJ has worked to keep a kid from kicking himself off the team. How he meets with them about grades/attendance when those are about to mess them up. He doesn't want to lose anyone he has decided to offer a scholarship.

When CPJ lets someone go, they have already effectively let themselves go and left him little choice.
 

Declinometer

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SkyBuzz said:
How could anyone think that a pothead is good or even OK for team chemistry? Or a thief? Or a Drunkard? Or an abuser? Or a Racist? It's all about character and the ability to perform when the going gets tough. That was the difference and the key to success last year. I feel sorry for Dennis, but it had to be done for the good of the team. Team First!
Just the musings of an OLD FART....
SkyBuzz
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Racist??? Where the hell did that come from?
 
TampaGT

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From the football side of this I don't think it will be an issue. It is not because he was not a good player but because I trust cpj to "coach up" the other guys. I think early on in the season they will run a very basic offense and not to put much on their plates before they can handle it. The other thing to think about is that he might not rotate guys as much as he has in the past.
 

JorgeJonas

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DrJacket said:
This is in no way an attempt to speak for CPJ. This is my analysis. I haven't asked him about this specific issue, nor will I anytime soon.

I can make 2 observations about him, though:
* He has been down this road too many times to not have a feel for how he likes to handle these situations. There's no guess work with him. When, in his judgment, a student-athlete has become a sustained burden on team chemistry he will let that kid go. However, only after due process and repeated violations (unless maybe in situations where even a first violation is of a nature that automatic expulsion/dismissal is basically out of his hands). He is not naive about the effects of a "bad apple" being left in the barrel.

* However, you are only a "bad apple" once you have repeatedly shown that you can't learn from your mistakes and do what it takes to hold your place on the team. What folks don't get to hear are the times when CPJ has worked to keep a kid from kicking himself off the team. How he meets with them about grades/attendance when those are about to mess them up. He doesn't want to lose anyone he has decided to offer a scholarship.

When CPJ lets someone go, they have already effectively let themselves go and left him little choice.
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I believe this about him. However, was this even his decision? Let's just assume it was about marijuana (large assumption, but still), isn't that decision stripped of him by the policy the school has?
 

Skeptic

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takethepoints said:
Yes. Drunk driving and, for that matter, being publicly drunk, no matter what the substance, is against the law for a reason and should be punished accordingly. The team policies are there for a reason too.

The problem is the fit between the two. Blanket bans on substance that are fun to use (the elephant in the living room for all intoxicants) will always fail. Always. I'd have arrested the kid who was hit if I were a cop and had been in time. I'm not so sure I would have dismissed Dennis. But I'm nowhere near the hard nose Coach is.

I feel for your young friend. I've had a friend who went through a similarly traumatic and similarly groundless wrongful death suit. It isn't easy. I hope he and his family come through this alright.
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It was LibertyTurns who related the friend story. My son is a cop and said based only on what was in the recitation, that alone, he also would have cited the kid, but suspects there were other elements. The law can often be an ***, as I think it was Dickens said, but mostly isn't stupid. (I know, I know. Exceptions can be made.) My cautionary tale was not simply that stuff is illegal, but that there are potential immediate and long-term consequences, ranging from liability issues to employment issues 10 years down the road, because those convictions stay on the record. A lot of students don't have a clue about this. (Maybe schools ought to conduct a freshman seminar class on such things, non-accusatory, just statements of facts. What you do at 18 could stay with you forever. After that, you're on your own.)

I don't know I could be that tough, either, a reason I shouldn't be a coach. The same rules and consequences have to apply to everybody all the time. When they don't, more than one coach has lost his team as a result. It was widely reported that Urban Meyer's empire fell apart at Florida because of a star tier, and Mack Brown had his difficulties. But is the coach going to be supported, or is losing simply not accepted regardless of bent priorities? I would hope that at Tech coaches are supported. Oddly it is more important to me than to a graduate for a simple reason: I could root for anybody but chose GT. Grads are stuck with it.
 

Jean-Baptiste Rochambeau

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TampaGT said:
From the football side of this I don't think it will be an issue. It is not because he was not a good player but because I trust cpj to "coach up" the other guys. I think early on in the season they will run a very basic offense and not to put much on their plates before they can handle it. The other thing to think about is that he might not rotate guys as much as he has in the past.
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Coaching up is a factor, but sometimes there is only a minute difference in the talents of the back-ups and the those of the starter. When they get playing time, and practice reps, it is not unheard of for the substitutes to blossom on their own. Andrews was an excellent blocker, but I am certain he is not irreplaceable.
 
Northeast Stinger

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DrJacket said:
This is in no way an attempt to speak for CPJ. This is my analysis. I haven't asked him about this specific issue, nor will I anytime soon.

I can make 2 observations about him, though:
* He has been down this road too many times to not have a feel for how he likes to handle these situations. There's no guess work with him. When, in his judgment, a student-athlete has become a sustained burden on team chemistry he will let that kid go. However, only after due process and repeated violations (unless maybe in situations where even a first violation is of a nature that automatic expulsion/dismissal is basically out of his hands). He is not naive about the effects of a "bad apple" being left in the barrel.

* However, you are only a "bad apple" once you have repeatedly shown that you can't learn from your mistakes and do what it takes to hold your place on the team. What folks don't get to hear are the times when CPJ has worked to keep a kid from kicking himself off the team. How he meets with them about grades/attendance when those are about to mess them up. He doesn't want to lose anyone he has decided to offer a scholarship.

When CPJ lets someone go, they have already effectively let themselves go and left him little choice.
Click to expand...
This is the way I always thought of him as operating.
 

Skeptic

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TampaGT said:
From the football side of this I don't think it will be an issue. It is not because he was not a good player but because I trust cpj to "coach up" the other guys. I think early on in the season they will run a very basic offense and not to put much on their plates before they can handle it. The other thing to think about is that he might not rotate guys as much as he has in the past.
Click to expand...
Your last point might be the best one. While it is probable they will take baby steps out of the gate, on the third weekend we exit the gate. Somebody better be ready.
 
Northeast Stinger

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So many things I wanted to respond to in your post but I will choose two.

I don't know I could be that tough, either, a reason I shouldn't be a coach. The same rules and consequences have to apply to everybody all the time. (One fact that I find heartening is that CPJ has indicated directly and indirectly that different players need different kinds of motivation. I honestly believe, as Dr. Jacket stated earlier, that he tries to understand the individual athlete and work with them to over come any problems. He is firm but I see him as also long suffering and fair.) When they don't, more than one coach has lost his team as a result. It was widely reported that Urban Meyer's empire fell apart at Florida because of a star tier, and Mack Brown had his difficulties. But is the coach going to be supported, or is losing simply not accepted regardless of bent priorities? I would hope that at Tech coaches are supported. Oddly it is more important to me than to a graduate for a simple reason: I could root for anybody but chose GT. Grads are stuck with it.[/QUOTE]
I too choose to pull for Tech because Tech does things differently. Pulling for a factory school that has very little integrity either in the classroom or in how student athletes are treated would feel like pulling for an NFL team that was not good enough for the NFL but good enough to dominate on a regular basis college kids who are tying to make a life for themselves.
 
Northeast Stinger

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Declinometer said:
Lesean McCoy says are you freaking kidding me. Of all of the traits that can affect a team, racist comes up. Strang days indeed!
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I am lost. I thought we were talking about things that could impact team morale. I could definitely see racism being more detrimental to the team than a couple of pot smoking infractions. Did I miss something? Did I misunderstand?
 
AE 87

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dressedcheeseside said:
That situation was a little different. With the DL, we had guys to fill in the blanks who at least knew "where to go" as CPJ likes to say. Also, you could say it was a small miracle we avoided injuries at that position.

It's not just knowing your job, it's knowing it so well you don't have to think about it. We've got a bunch of guys coming in with zero experience and only a few with barely any. Like I said earlier, they all better be a quick study.

It doesn't take much to unravel our well oiled machine. All it takes is one missed block, one guy going the wrong way, one guy taking the wrong guy, one guy out of sync, on guy just a hair late or a hair out of position, etc.... to blow up any given play.
Click to expand...

I suspect that you may be being a bit more negative than necessary. We've got guys who can play and an experienced wr to run behind.

In 2008, Roddy carried the ball 81 times averaging 8.5 yds/carry. Lucas Cox, Greg Smith, Embry Peeples, and Marcus Wright combined for 57 carries, and some of Cox's came from BBack.

During 2009, Anthony Allen came in and got 64 carries in his first year in the system, while Roddy got 53 and Marcus and Embry got 33 & 31.

In other words, CPJ will get production from that position based on what he has. He's got a lot of talent available.
 
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