Dave Patenaude's Offense

[TheFlyest]

Nobody is faulting him for that. Many of us question why he didn’t tailor the play calling to the personnel. We could’ve run a lot of read option and designed runs out of the shotgun that utilized our athletic QBs and Mason. Instead we ran generic spread plays for most of the season and abandoned the run too often.

correct!

 

[Ibeeballin]

Tech ran a fairly standard RPO-Spread offense last year. A lot of reads, a lot of zone runs, and a lot of quick passes. The problem was that the QB could not complete a lot of those shallow passes. Meaning the D would stack the box and basically shut down the run. CDP did a good job of trying to mitigate that by calling home run balls, and both Graham and Brown did an excellent job of completing a lot of those throws. The OL was so battered, it really wouldn’t have mattered what they ran. Couldn’t pass block, couldn’t run block. Somebody mentioned in the Mason thread about how his YPC were kind of low, but his YAC are near the top of the country. There was simply no push up front, and Mason had to earn almost every yard he got. I think a lot of people will think CDP is a lot better this year, simply because the team will be a lot better. OL and QB play is essential, and Tech was mediocre to very bad in both of those categories last season.

Great analysis and still won’t be enough for folks

 

[swampsting]

I talked with a couple of ex players after the Georgia game. My guess is they played in the 90s/early 2000s. They came across as not big fans of the old offense - but they were not sold on Patenaude either.

I rewatched the Tech-Clemson ACCG from 09 the week of this year's NC game. Tech had 14 3 and outs all season going into the Orange Bowl that year. I think I saw that many in one Saturday afternoon after Thanksgiving this past season.

 

[Augusta_Jacket]

Great analysis and still won’t be enough for folks

Agreed. After a 3-9 season, the mob needs a scapegoat, and CDP was unfortunately chosen.

I'm not sure if he is or isn't a good P5 OC yet, but I know it's way too early to draw conclusions.

 

[LongforDodd]

I agree idk why people think he’s horrible just after one year with a triple option team inherited

I see you've only been around here since March 2019? How much time have you spent viewing this site since Paul left? Spend much time in Chat during the games?

 

[Jacket05]

... The OL was so battered, it really wouldn’t have mattered what they ran. Couldn’t pass block, couldn’t run block. Somebody mentioned in the Mason thread about how his YPC were kind of low, but his YAC are near the top of the country. There was simply no push up front, and Mason had to earn almost every yard he got...

THIS!!! Mason was amazing but was constantly hit at or behind the line due to our patchwork OL. I am not trying to discredit the work our OL put in either. That transition is one of the most difficult coming from the previous offense so that was always going to be an uphill climb and to top it off they were plagued with injuries. I think the OL did the best that they could do given the circumstances, which unfortunately was not that great.

Also, I agree with @Augusta_Jacket that it is too early to draw conclusions from one year with this big of an offensive philosophy shift. He did make some questionable calls and I am not sold yet that he is going to work out, but I am 100% behind giving him at least another year. Even if the offense struggles next year I think he will probably be retained for another year but would be on the hot seat.

 

[YJMD]

Agreed. After a 3-9 season, the mob needs a scapegoat, and CDP was unfortunately chosen.

I'm not sure if he is or isn't a good P5 OC yet, but I know it's way too early to draw conclusions.

That's where I'm at too. I don't know if Patenaude is good, but I know I can't judge him based on last year's results.

 

[BeeStorm]

Agreed. After a 3-9 season, the mob needs a scapegoat, and CDP was unfortunately chosen.

I'm not sure if he is or isn't a good P5 OC yet, but I know it's way too early to draw conclusions.

CPJ is the proper scapegoat here.

 

[Jim Prather]

Ah, of course... that explains why we went from a 7 win team with CPJ to a 3 win team without...

 

[Augusta_Jacket]

CPJ is the proper scapegoat here.

I agree. His complete lack of coaching this season is why we only won 3 games with his recruits. Had he coached, I am certain we would have won at least 6 games. Completely CPJs fault. </sarcasm>

 

[TheSilasSonRising]

Well … he could have done what we did at Miami: use a lot more under center sets and use the "flex back" position for something more besides "designated bench warmer". With a blocker like Cottrell on the bench, we lost a lot of edge work that could have made - dare I say it? - option plays more likely to work. It also would have provided an extra blocker for off-tackle plays. A "pro-style" O, iow.

But no! We want to "showcase players for the NFL"! Not do something that would attract pro scouts attention, like, you know, winning football games. Personally, I don't like to think that Collins is this stupid, but I do suspect that this year he wanted to show recruits that there was a new show in town, instead of doing a real transition that would use the skills of the players we had already. And, you know, win. So we, you know, lost. A lot.

Well, let's hope both he and Patenaude think they have shown enough to get back to what our roster can do. Not, mind, that it'll make much difference during the Season of Doom.

Horse manure. PRO scouts do not give a tinkers damn if a player capable of playing in the NFL came from a winning program or not. They care if that player can play the game at that level. Now, naturally, schools that are always in the top ten often have more of those type players.

But to intimate that if we had run the option more that would have somehow put more players from our 2019 team in the NFL is absurd.

I just had a quick look at the K.C. Chiefs starting O unit and these are the schools they came from:

UConn, Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Clemson, Cincinnati, Cal, McGill (Canada), USF, Eastern Mich, Central Mich, West Alabama.

Not even to place in consideration the massive amounts of injuries our guys fought through.

 

[jayparr]

No More excuses for the OC...

Cochran is a huge addition for the Yellow Jackets but figuratively and literally. At 6-foot-7, 318-pounds, he’ll be one of the biggest players on Georgia Tech’s entire roster, let alone the offensive line. No more excuses for the Coaches...Bowl Bound or Bust!!!
LT - Devin Cochran (CGC Guy)
LG - Jack DeFoor (Ole Miss Transfer played 1 year for CPJ and 1 year for CGC)
C - Kenny Cooper (if healthy) Or the CGC Walk On at Center can't remember his name just remember that the coaches thought he played great...
RG - Ryan Johnson (CGC Guy)
RT - Zach Quinney

With that Oline CGC better be able to win 6 games or he will have to get a new OC...simple as that...

Lay the walk on and was pretty good!!!!

 

[TheSilasSonRising]

Our heritage is we have taken more than a few marginally physically developed players & coached them up to make up for the lack of pure physical talent they had leaving the HS ranks. Diamonds in the rough if you will, players “flying under the radar”, etc. I think some of us are unsure of what it means to get someone that comes in with the pure physical talent & the coaching up is additive to this “head start” we’re getting.We not used to getting a diamond, much less anyone “on the radar”.

Forgive us for our skepticism, but damn this kid looks great! Graham better fight for his position every day because I don’t think this kid’s going to wait in the wings for a chance.

“we have taken...”. Hell, we had no choice. Most of the staff couldn’t recruit, had their hands tied, or good S/As wanted nothing to do with system. Not to mention an untouchable, guaranteed for life contract Asst coach that could not even remember the name of a kid he was talking to face to face.

 

[TheSilasSonRising]

No More excuses for the OC...

Cochran is a huge addition for the Yellow Jackets but figuratively and literally. At 6-foot-7, 318-pounds, he’ll be one of the biggest players on Georgia Tech’s entire roster, let alone the offensive line. No more excuses for the Coaches...Bowl Bound or Bust!!!
LT - Devin Cochran (CGC Guy)
LG - Jack DeFoor (Ole Miss Transfer played 1 year for CPJ and 1 year for CGC)
C - Kenny Cooper (if healthy) Or the CGC Walk On at Center can't remember his name just remember that the coaches thought he played great...
RG - Ryan Johnson (CGC Guy)
RT - Zach Quinney

With that Oline CGC better be able to win 6 games or he will have to get a new OC...simple as that...

And assuming this is the starting OL -

We lose, let us say, 3 of them to season ending injuries,
We average 41 O points per game,
We only win 5 games -

Well there are no more excuses, the only thing wrong is we need a new OC.

That is the ticket!

 

[TromboneJacket]

And assuming this is the starting OL -

We lose, let us say, 3 of them to season ending injuries,
We average 41 O points per game,
We only win 5 games -

Well there are no more excuses, the only thing wrong is we need a new OC.

That is the ticket!

Don’t you get it? We just need to make it reeeeaaaaalllly clear how unacceptable losing is, and then the team will stop losing!

 

[BeeStorm]

I agree. His complete lack of coaching this season is why we only won 3 games with his recruits. Had he coached, I am certain we would have won at least 6 games. Completely CPJs fault. </sarcasm>

Ok now explain the 3-9 season in the middle of his tenure.

 

[jgtengineer]

Ok now explain the 3-9 season in the middle of his tenure.

No team survives an injury report like we had that year. Even still we lost a lot of 1 score games and were competitive in pretty much every game. We even almost beat georgia and upset the number 9 team. Not exactly the same kind of bad season.

 

[Jacket05]

No team survives an injury report like we had that year. Even still we lost a lot of 1 score games and were competitive in pretty much every game. We even almost beat georgia and upset the number 9 team. Not exactly the same kind of bad season.

Yeah you are right it wasn't the same kind of bad. In 2015 , we could have had major injuries across our both DL and OL, lost our most veteran WR, started a walk-on at center, had other walk-ons forced to play meaningful snaps at various positions, only had 8 seniors available to play, returned very little production on offense, all while transitioning to a completely different offense that required skills and body types that were drastically different than the offense we had been running for 11 years. That would have been much harder to deal with.....

 

[jgtengineer]

Yeah you are right it wasn't the same kind of bad. In 2015 , we could have had major injuries across our both DL and OL, lost our most veteran WR, started a walk-on at center, had other walk-ons forced to play meaningful snaps at various positions, only had 8 seniors available to play, returned very little production on offense, all while transitioning to a completely different offense that required skills and body types that were drastically different than the offense we had been running for 11 years. That would have been much harder to deal with.....

We were still competitive even with all those injuries in 2015 because we had an identity and we stuck to it.

None of those kids ran the option for 11 years and because we were light on upperclassman that really removes the whole offense for 11 years thing.

One of the issues in 2015 was exactly what you are talking about. We had a bunch of kids that had never played in the option before learning on the job. As you always do with young teams.

 

[BeeStorm]

We were still competitive even with all those injuries in 2015 because we had an identity and we stuck to it.

None of those kids ran the option for 11 years and because we were light on upperclassman that really removes the whole offense for 11 years thing.

One of the issues in 2015 was exactly what you are talking about. We had a bunch of kids that had never played in the option before learning on the job. As you always do with young teams.

Really terrible job of coaching with your own recruits suited for an option system is what it sounds like.