Expectations

[stinger78]

7-5

Still….

 

[Oldgoldandwhite]

I hope you’re right about the big 10. Can you imagine Penn St, Ohio St, Michigan, USC, UCLA, Washington and the other big 10 teams playing in Atlanta I would think most of these games sell out and that’s a huge win for Ga Tech football and the fans. I get excited thinking about it it also would be a big win for the big 10 because they’re going to get Ga Tech one of the best schools in the country plus better recruiting for most sports but especially football.

Illinois, Northwestern, Iowa, Rutgers, Indiana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Purdue would probably be our home schedule.

 

[jgtengineer]

Illinois, Northwestern, Iowa, Rutgers, Indiana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Purdue would probably be our home schedule.

Honestly in some years that wouldn't be a big deal. I think on average we'd dominate most of that consistent 8to 10 win seasons with losses to Ohio state and Michigan in the Championship games would build us rather quickly.

What i Imagine is we would get 2 of the "blue bloods" every other year in bobby dodd. Our schedule likely Starts with UGA though as i imagine the Big 10 and SEC would want to set up a Big10 SEC challenge to start the year.

 

[BleedGoldNWhite21]

The defense is who we thought they’d be. I’m more worried about how the offense looked through three quarters last week. If the offense plays to its potential, we will make a bowl easily. If not…yeah it could be bad. I still think we’ll finish around 8 wins.

 

[yeti92]

Reminder that our offense sputtered for stretches a lot last year too, especially early on. Go look back at the Louisville, BG, Miami, and BC games. We all hoped we would pick right up where we left off after UCF because of who we returned, but rarely does that happen even for the elite teams.

 

[stinger78]

Reminder that our offense sputtered for stretches a lot last year too, especially early on. Go look back at the Louisville, BG, Miami, and BC games. We all hoped we would pick right up where we left off after UCF because of who we returned, but rarely does that happen even for the elite teams.

The issue is what is happening in the trenches. Our OL, especially, is getting pushed around. This after pushing F$U around. It’s puzzling, but true. Must be fixed.

 

[yeti92]

The issue is what is happening in the trenches. Our OL, especially, is getting pushed around. This after pushing F$U around. It’s puzzling, but true. Must be fixed.

No they aren't, they just didn't win the numbers game and blow Cuse's defense off the ball on run plays.

FSU had 0 sacks and 3 TFL, while we averaged 5.3 yds/carry. GSU had 0 sacks and 5 TFL while we averaged 6.6 yds/carry. Syracuse had 0 sacks and 3 TFL while we averaged 4.7 yds/carry, but they did a much better job of bringing extra guys on the downs they thought we were running.

There are 15 teams in the country that haven't allowed a sack yet. We are the only team who has played 3 games in that group, and the only one who has played multiple P5 opponents.

 

[stinger78]

No they aren't, they just didn't win the numbers game and blow Cuse's defense off the ball on run plays.

FSU had 0 sacks and 3 TFL, while we averaged 5.3 yds/carry. GSU had 0 sacks and 5 TFL while we averaged 6.6 yds/carry. Syracuse had 0 sacks and 3 TFL while we averaged 4.7 yds/carry, but they did a much better job of bringing extra guys on the downs they thought we were running.

There are 15 teams in the country that haven't allowed a sack yet. We are the only team who has played 3 games in that group, and the only one who has played multiple P5 opponents.

Avoiding sacks is only one aspect of OL play, and that is also influenced by QB mobility.

As for YPC, you are conveniently including King. Here are the RB YPC individually:
Haynes - 11/35 (3.2 ypc) 15 long
Carrie - 5/5 (1.0) 5
Singleton - 1/3 (3.0) 3
Pyron - 1/2 (2.0) 2
Totals - 18/45 (2.5)

That’s a bad day by anyone’s measure. Maybe it’s because they were stacking the LOS and getting numbers at the POA. Could be, but our OL was largely ineffective in the running game
Saturday. We also had some bad grades along the OL. Call it whatever you want.

 

[GTJake]

Not sure this is an issue, but the last few games, dating back to UCF in the bowl game, except for the opening drive vs. FSU, seems like we started out slow with a lack of intensity, especially on defense.

 

[yeti92]

As for YPC, you are conveniently including King.

Does King not run the ball? Does the OL block differently for him than they do for the RBs?

Additionally, how much responsibility do the RBs bear for their lack of yards? We had a WR block his man on a play to the outside and Jamal ran right into the back of them. Is the OL to blame for that?

I've said it before, but nobody for Tech looked sharp against Syracuse, we appeared half asleep across the board - coaches included. We were not blowing their DL 3 yards off the ball on run plays like we'd hoped, seemed like mostly stalemates. But I'm not sure there's an OL in cfb that can go 5-6 vs 7-8 and block everybody.

Perhaps a review of the 2019-2021 OL performances would be a good reminder of what a line getting pushed around looks like.

 

[leatherneckjacket]

Avoiding sacks is only one aspect of OL play, and that is also influenced by QB mobility.

As for YPC, you are conveniently including King. Here are the RB YPC individually:
Haynes - 11/35 (3.2 ypc) 15 long
Carrie - 5/5 (1.0) 5
Singleton - 1/3 (3.0) 3
Pyron - 1/2 (2.0) 2
Totals - 18/45 (2.5)

That’s a bad day by anyone’s measure. Maybe it’s because they were stacking the LOS and getting numbers at the POA. Could be, but our OL was largely ineffective in the running game
Saturday. We also had some bad grades along the OL. Call it whatever you want.

Average yards per rush before contact is also a metric for OL blocking performance (as yards per rush after contact is a measure of the ball carriers performance). I do not have the exact numbers, but a lot of the yards we gained on Saturday were after contact, which further illustrates how poorly we blocked.

 

[iceeater1969]

The issue is what is happening in the trenches. Our OL, especially, is getting pushed around. This after pushing F$U around. It’s puzzling, but true. Must be fixed.

1. With out max protect when straight up pass blocking, can our ol give king a clean pocket for 5,6,7 seconds so our wr get open?

2. Are they too slow of foot for agile DE or bull rush dt or are any wr be sides Lane able to create space by route running.

3. Can they straight up zone block?

4. Does ol need to down block and pull around to get push to get rb lanes?

5. Are we running a scheme to stay even with teams like SCuse and to burn clock so not embarrassed by very good teams?

At start of year i felt 1 and 3 were going to be a clear yes.

Now i am worried its 5 with defenses adjusting. .
AND
We run the scheme because our wide recievers cant get open down field ( hard to see on tv).

Louisville, Duke, Unc will give us time to be ready for ND/Vt.

 

[g0lftime]

1. With out max protect when straight up pass blocking, can our ol give king a clean pocket for 5,6,7 seconds so our wr get open?

2. Are they too slow of foot for agile DE or bull rush dt or are any wr be sides Lane able to create space by route running.

3. Can they straight up zone block?

4. Does ol need to down block and pull around to get push to get rb lanes?

5. Are we running a scheme to stay even with teams like SCuse and to burn clock so not embarrassed by very good teams?

At start of year i felt 1 and 3 were going to be a clear yes.

Now i am worried its 5 with defenses adjusting. .
AND
We run the scheme because our wide recievers cant get open down field ( hard to see on tv).

Louisville, Duke, Unc will give us time to be ready for ND/Vt.

Sometimes their guy might just be better than our guy.

 

[takethepoints]

I'm with the fonts above. The OL didn't tear up the peapatch last Saturday, at least on runs. I think this was because the Orange picked our tendencies on O up; they were guessing our run strategy pretty well.

The solution might be more self-scouting and getting Cooley back on the field. Having a big back would have made things easier for Haynes. Another thing, though I know the coaches are loath to do it, is to run King more and do more double options. That's risky, but King seems resilient and we need more deception to make Haynes more effective, imho.

 

[stinger78]

Does King not run the ball? Does the OL block differently for him than they do for the RBs?

Additionally, how much responsibility do the RBs bear for their lack of yards? We had a WR block his man on a play to the outside and Jamal ran right into the back of them. Is the OL to blame for that?

I've said it before, but nobody for Tech looked sharp against Syracuse, we appeared half asleep across the board - coaches included. We were not blowing their DL 3 yards off the ball on run plays like we'd hoped, seemed like mostly stalemates. But I'm not sure there's an OL in cfb that can go 5-6 vs 7-8 and block everybody.

Perhaps a review of the 2019-2021 OL performances would be a good reminder of what a line getting pushed around looks like.

QB draws are blocked differently. You know this. Penetration sets up a draw. You go ahead and defend the OL performance last week. We just differ. Their grades were not good.

ETA: 5-6 vs. 7-8…
Another font said they were dropping 8 into coverage. Amazing DC, that Syracuse guy! If they were so good that they could guess our run plays/pass plays that well, we need to reevaluate our scheme.

 

[yeti92]

QB draws are blocked differently. You know this. Penetration sets up a draw. You go ahead and defend the OL performance last week. We just differ. Their grades were not good.

ETA: 5-6 vs. 7-8…
Another font said they were dropping 8 into coverage. Amazing DC, that Syracuse guy! If they were so good that they could guess our run plays/pass plays that well, we need to reevaluate our scheme.

They were dropping 8 into coverage, on passing plays. YOU know this. Cuse was not bringing 3 defenders and stopping the run. Agreed that we need to reevaluate - several other have already mentioned the need for self-scouting because clearly we had tendencies they were able to go off of.

 

[roadkill]

Game on Paper tracks a stat called “OL Line Yards” which are the total yards minus the yards attributed to the runner.
Yards Per Carry have been:

• FSU: 1.21
• GSU: 1.65
• SYR: 1.34

These stats don’t appear to be an indictment of our OL play against Syracuse, at least in comparison to the FSU game. They tend to point the finger at the RB.
I can't vouch for the accuracy of these stats, but thought they were interesting given the discussion.

 

[stinger78]

They were dropping 8 into coverage, on passing plays. YOU know this. Cuse was not bringing 3 defenders and stopping the run. Agreed that we need to reevaluate - several other have already mentioned the need for self-scouting because clearly we had tendencies they were able to go off of.

Yes, sort of… My response was how did they guess so consistently well that they could stack the line some plays and “drop” 8 some plays with such effectiveness for three solid quarters? You tell me.

For my part, I think they had some success doing this, but part was poor OL play as well. Our LT and LG graded 48 and 47 respectively. That’s a very bad game.

 

[Creative]

I said going into this season that my expectations weren't going to be based on a win-loss number. We play a brutal schedule - in opponent strength, how it lines up and in the travel/away draws we got. What I wanted to see was progress in our team playing like a good football team. We're not going to be the biggest, fastest, most talented team week in and week out. But do we play clean, protect the ball, play well on special teams, have good technique in tackling and blocking? So far, we look better in most of those areas. Not perfect. But our tackling has been mostly better. Outside of (BS IMHO) holding calls against GSU, we've played pretty clean. Few turnovers. Special teams has been great - nearly helped us manage a miracle comeback last Saturday. Birr's misses have been on long kicks.

The hype machine got a little ahead of the wheels after the FSU game. Syracuse ended up being an unexpectedly tough draw on the road. McCord is a great passer. But I'm pleased with where the team is at. We kept competing and very nearly made a huge comeback.

Just two years ago, we couldn't get punts or kicks off, couldn't cover, couldn't block or tackle, threw more INTs than TDs, made stupid self-defeating penalties. Go watch the UCF game from 2022 and then try to be mad about where we're at now.

Expectation? We'll continue to compete in every game. Some weeks, the other team will be better. We'll pull off some upsets. We might drop a game we feel like we should win. We'll get better as the season goes, but the W/L column might not show it, since we play some legitimately very good teams.

What's with all the rational thought??

 

[GTflyer0116]

IMO, our goal is the following.

Prio 1: At minimum, to get back to and win a bowl game. That gives our team more practices and eye balls on the team during the holidays. And hold onto our great recruiting class.
Prio 2: Get to 7-5 regular season with bowl win. Shows nice improvement despite our difficult schedule.
Prio 3: Anything above that is a nice to have and significantly above expectations...