Chris Landry on 680

[MWBATL]

5 wins best realistically. My concern is the trenches both trenches.

This makes sense ot me.

Depresses me, but makes sense....

 

[jacket_fan]

I actually expect our defense to be okay, but the weakness along the DL will make it hard for us to be much better than okay. The other side is going to be rough. The coaches can go on all they want about how great people are picking things up but there is a reason that the defense had to be limited to 5 plays in the spring game.

Speaking of the spring game, I could be very wrong about this but...

I thought CGC was yelling at the defense prior and during the play where the play was going. Not every play but occasionally it looked that way. Sorta like it bothered him the defense was not stopping the offense since his background is defense. Again, just something I thought about during the spring game.

The strengths of the team should be special teams and offense. I agree, the defense will be a work in progress.

 

[Skeptic]

And they'll be learning a system while their opponents are playing in a system they have already learned. Unless you think they'll pick up things overnight that is a big disadvantage.



Yes, they are learning new techniques while their opponents aren't. Sure, they have the ability to learn. But learning takes time, and we're talking about next year. Having to rely on an OL all of whom are trying to learn on the fly is not a recipe for success.



That is a solid group and not really a concern, but that is by far our best group on an offense and the only one that doesn't have major ?s. WRs and QBs are a huge concern, and the OL will be learning on the fly without a lot of depth as well.



Secondary will be no problem. LBs won't be as big an issue as DL but there is little depth and nobody has really stood out on the field there. A mediocre LB group behind a bad DL group is not a recipe for success.

Of the 22 starting positions on offense and defense we have big questions at what, 15 of them? Maybe be generous and it's 12 question marks? Going position by position you can scrape up arguments that most could turn out fine, but the reality for any team is that it isn't reasonable to expect every question mark to go your way. So maybe Camp turns out to be a great WR. But how much will that help if it also turns out that an injury and 3 years removed from anything resembling the system we are running means Jordan has difficulty consistently making the right reads? Maybe it'll turn out that 80% of our OL adjusts fine to the new scheme. That still leaves a glaring weakness that teams will look to exploit. .

I actually expect our defense to be okay, but the weakness along the DL will make it hard for us to be much better than okay. The other side is going to be rough. The coaches can go on all they want about how great people are picking things up but there is a reason that the defense had to be limited to 5 plays in the spring game.

In the first place it is football. They are not designing a moon lander. It is just football. In the second, if they are smart enough to get into GT they probably can learn different football schemes.

 

[dressedcheeseside]

And they'll be learning a system while their opponents are playing in a system they have already learned. Unless you think they'll pick up things overnight that is a big disadvantage.



Yes, they are learning new techniques while their opponents aren't. Sure, they have the ability to learn. But learning takes time, and we're talking about next year. Having to rely on an OL all of whom are trying to learn on the fly is not a recipe for success.



That is a solid group and not really a concern, but that is by far our best group on an offense and the only one that doesn't have major ?s. WRs and QBs are a huge concern, and the OL will be learning on the fly without a lot of depth as well.



Secondary will be no problem. LBs won't be as big an issue as DL but there is little depth and nobody has really stood out on the field there. A mediocre LB group behind a bad DL group is not a recipe for success.

Of the 22 starting positions on offense and defense we have big questions at what, 15 of them? Maybe be generous and it's 12 question marks? Going position by position you can scrape up arguments that most could turn out fine, but the reality for any team is that it isn't reasonable to expect every question mark to go your way. So maybe Camp turns out to be a great WR. But how much will that help if it also turns out that an injury and 3 years removed from anything resembling the system we are running means Jordan has difficulty consistently making the right reads? Maybe it'll turn out that 80% of our OL adjusts fine to the new scheme. That still leaves a glaring weakness that teams will look to exploit. .

I actually expect our defense to be okay, but the weakness along the DL will make it hard for us to be much better than okay. The other side is going to be rough. The coaches can go on all they want about how great people are picking things up but there is a reason that the defense had to be limited to 5 plays in the spring game.

You have it backwards, the O will continue to be the stronger unit. The D will be worse than last year.

 

[UgaBlows]

Get over your hate for CPJ . And Tech does not have the worst OL and DL.

That statement has nothing to do with CPJ hate imo, who in the ACC has less line talent, maybe WF? Who has less LB talent than us?

 

[ATL1]

I’m not gonna keep diminishing the talent the kids that are playing for the team now.

I think Quez, Curry, Bruce, and Charlie are talented but somewhat undersized lb’s. That’s a very fast group. They’ll have to rely on that speed.

The OLine particularly the starters should be capable, especially in the run game. I hope the new OC remembers that at Clemson. They putting on weight and should be closer to 300lbs by the beginning of the season. No depth tho so they have to all stay healthy.

The Dline will be interesting. I’m not sure who will be playing DT or SDE but the edge will have speed & versatility.

 

[bke1984]

I get the problems on the LOS, but I’m not sure I understand the “complete lack of talent” narrative. We haven’t been recruiting top 25 classes, but we also haven’t been down in the 90’s-100’s either. The two lowest class rankings Rivals has for us in the last five years are 53 and 67. The rest are top 50.

Not that top 50 is anything to write home about, but it’s good enough to win some games.

It’s funny to me that the radio guys that tout recruiting rankings in one statement turn around and say a team has less talent than everyone else without referencing the rankings. These guys are all a joke when it comes to facts. It’s all about ratings, and it’s a problem that extends way beyond sports media to the general media in our country these days.

...pretty sad, actually.

 

[UgaBlows]

I get the problems on the LOS, but I’m not sure I understand the “complete lack of talent” narrative. We haven’t been recruiting top 25 classes, but we also haven’t been down in the 90’s-100’s either. The two lowest class rankings Rivals has for us in the last five years are 53 and 67. The rest are top 50.

Not that top 50 is anything to write home about, but it’s good enough to win some games.

It’s funny to me that the radio guys that tout recruiting rankings in one statement turn around and say a team has less talent than everyone else without referencing the rankings. These guys are all a joke when it comes to facts. It’s all about ratings, and it’s a problem that extends way beyond sports media to the general media in our country these days.

...pretty sad, actually.

Compare those rankings to the rest of the ACC

 

[iceeater1969]

You have it backwards, the O will continue to be the stronger unit. The D will be worse than last year.

Like u said the offense will plug along unless we find a dc that's not prepared - then we will do well


Per cgc we will see a defense that looks like Chaos On Attack. Hopefully organized chaos by second half of year.

I hope the special teams make a big improvement.

 

[stech81]

That statement has nothing to do with CPJ hate imo, who in the ACC has less line talent, maybe WF? Who has less LB talent than us?

Just looking at 2018 and 2017 the avg rating of only the OL Pitt, UVa, and VT all about the same as Tech. the Top OL those years was UNC ( guess ratings don't mean much if you don't coach them up.) All the OL on these teams were rated 3 stars same as Tech , 1 2 star at UVa. Again UNC did have 4 4star OL again that has not seem to help them . The problem we have on the OL is Depth not talent . As for coaching I would think CBK could coach up his platers better than our last OL coach.

As for LB I didn't look it up.

 

[ncjacket79]

In the first place it is football. They are not designing a moon lander. It is just football. In the second, if they are smart enough to get into GT they probably can learn different football schemes.

Learning/being smart enough has nothing to do with it. Repetition makes it possible to play without thinking when it’s live. If experience doesn’t matter why do teams practice? Why are seniors typically better than freshmen? The HOPE is our staff can help the guys become competent quickly.

 

[kyle.smith828]

Learning/being smart enough has nothing to do with it. Repetition makes it possible to play without thinking when it’s live. If experience doesn’t matter why do teams practice? Why are seniors typically better than freshmen? The HOPE is our staff can help the guys become competent quickly.

Absolutely. Its definitely possible to understand a concept but not be proficient when applying concepts in the real world.

Efficiency due to experience certainly matters.

 

[Coloradojacket]

Any prediction about us at this point is useless. We have no idea who is playing where and nobody else does either. As far as talent, if you really go back and look we have been recruiting at the same level regardless of the coach. We had one top year in 2006 but if you go back and look, many of those 4 star players never played. Many of our top players have been 2 stars. That is why this entire recruiting ranking is a joke. What has propelled Clemson and now even Georgia. They are recruiting at the same level they have been for the last 15 years. They have talent 2 deep but what has made the difference? Simple and trite. Fro Clemson, Deshaun Watson and now Lawrence. Taj Boyd was not near their caliber and even last year in our game, Kelly could not move the offense. They beat us when Lawrence came in. For UGA, Jake Fromm. He is really good. I wish they had kept that kid, the 5 star from Washington State. He was a wonderful interception machine.

I hope CGC can get some D-lineman, that is where we lack. But even now, his current recruiting class is about the same as last years.

 

[Technut1990]

Where to begin.



What? The single most cliche'd insult of our offense was that it was a highschool offense because a lot of smaller schools will run something similar because they could just put their best athlete at QB and get the most out of him. What people want to play in doesn't change what is actually run. On top of that a statement about students who didn't want to come here doesn't lead to a conclusion about those who did come here. So you can assume that those who didn't want to come here must have been playing in a different offense. But that doesn't tell you squat about those that did choose to come here. On top of all of that experience is not equal. That players played in, maybe, a similar system back in middle school doesn't mean they know it more than what they have been playing in recent years. Recent experience far outweighs that of experience from the distant past especially since differences in time and commitment in highschool means there is no way the system they were in was actually the same. And the cherry on top is at best, the very best situation, our guys have the same highschool experience in our new system as other players on other teams have in theirs, but are still trailing substantially in college experience in the exact system they will be playing in. No mental gymnastics changes that fact.



And he'll produce better in our new system than the old. So what? That isn't saying anything. What argument is there that he'll be able to step up and be a legit #1 WR threat this year? Maybe he will, but even if he does what about the #2 WR? #3? Our most proven receiving target is a TE transfer who has 500 career receiving yards. I'm sure some will step up to some degree but that many question marks don't just go away because you're a fan of the team.



So he's got the experience of a true freshman? Actually it's less because at least a true freshman's experience would be recent.



And it's being said about our starters. That's the problem. Once again, if you expect every question mark we have to be answered well this year you're being blinded by your fandom.

I don’t know how we got into this conversation. No I don’t think all questions are answered, and I never said that. I was saying that we’re arent talent bare, it’s that simple. My comparison to The 3O was a simple one, if we won in an unusual offense I think we will be better in a offense that’s more familiar to most high school players. You seem to be attacking on this subject as if you agree their is no football talent here, like I said there is a lot of talent here.

BTW can you name a team who does have all the questions answered ? Even Alabama has questions and they have for 3 seasons running. Nobody feels they have all the answers.

We have just as much talent as 80% of the teams on our schedule. My predicting a 7 or 8 win season should tell you that I do think we could be better though. Can you tell me who you think is going to own us on the field ? Temple ? UNC ? USF ? Who ? I think your answers will be very similar to everyone else’s which leaves us looking at 7-8 wins that are within reach, hardly an indicator for no talent.

 

[Novajacket]

This thread perfectly sums up the issue with predicting this team. Normally you have a fewer unknowns when predicting. The new players and progression of existing players. You know the schemes, coaches, and returning players capabilities with those unknowns. This year there are too many unknowns, everything is basically new. It’s exciting to think about, and predictions are all over the map. Of course we with our gold glasses think we know more about our team then anyone. We feel we know these unknowns and can predict better. I can’t wait for the season to start to see who is right. I’m firmly in the middle with any where from 3-9 to 8-4 range and think we finish 6-6.

 

[smokey_wasp]

This thread perfectly sums up the issue with predicting this team. Normally you have a fewer unknowns when predicting. The new players and progression of existing players. You know the schemes, coaches, and returning players capabilities with those unknowns. This year there are too many unknowns, everything is basically new. It’s exciting to think about, and predictions are all over the map. Of course we with our gold glasses think we know more about our team then anyone. We feel we know these unknowns and can predict better. I can’t wait for the season to start to see who is right. I’m firmly in the middle with any where from 3-9 to 8-4 range and think we finish 6-6.

This sums it up for me.

 

[Jerry the Jacket]

If we get decent quarterback play we will win 8 or 9 games. If not we will be a .500 team. These guys that say we have no talent are full of crap. We just need to find a QB.

Go Jackets!

 

[Skeptic]

Learning/being smart enough has nothing to do with it. Repetition makes it possible to play without thinking when it’s live. If experience doesn’t matter why do teams practice? Why are seniors typically better than freshmen? The HOPE is our staff can help the guys become competent quickly.

Never heard anybody say being smart doesn't count, in any sport. Of course it does. And it can counter "experience". Based on my experience, journeyman at best, if seniors are "typically better" than freshmen (Lawrence, Tua and uncounted others may disagree) it is because they are 3-4 years older, in mind but most importantly, body. A lot of vaunted experience is really one year three times. We are not inventing time travel. It is football.

 

[dressedcheeseside]

If we get decent quarterback play we will win 8 or 9 games. If not we will be a .500 team. These guys that say we have no talent are full of crap. We just need to find a QB.

Go Jackets!

Jerry, it’s hard to win games when you can’t stop anybody. Quarterback is not the linchpin to our success. We are going to score points. The question is will it be enough.

 

[Gtbowhunter90]

Local media acts like we’re COMPLETELY devoid of talent.

Absolutely maddening to hear bad press. A lot of the players on the roster now, had MULTIPLE D1 offers from plenty of ACC and SEC schools. People in the media are pure fkn idiots. They get paid to spew misinformation.