Game 4 #GTvsWF Postgame

GTBandit22

GTBandit22

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SOWEGA Jacket said:
Well, another 2nd half collapse (loaded with 3 and outs) on offense and needing 5 turnovers to beat a lousy Wake team doesn’t give me the warm and fuzzies. Reminders of the 5 turnover win against UNC that led nowhere. Sure, a win is a win and we are much improved from last year thanks to King and Singleton but this coaching staff has to figure out how to get this team consistent. This was our one conference gimme game.
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Duly noted. But we have been really bad since PJ left, and we have to learn to win. Sometimes that means making your own luck and perseverance through adversity. Even the orange bowl team had some stinkers. Just win baby
 

GT33

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SOWEGA Jacket said:
Well, another 2nd half collapse (loaded with 3 and outs) on offense and needing 5 turnovers to beat a lousy Wake team doesn’t give me the warm and fuzzies. Reminders of the 5 turnover win against UNC that led nowhere. Sure, a win is a win and we are much improved from last year thanks to King and Singleton but this coaching staff has to figure out how to get this team consistent. This was our one conference gimme game.
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Damn man, you sound like you're in desperate need of some piss-free Wheaties.
 
BCJacket

BCJacket

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4 games into the Key regime and I'm pleased with how we've played. We're not 'there' yet. But we're closer to 'there' than we were at any point in the four years under TFG. The losses to UL and Ole Miss sucked (losing always does). But they sucked worse because we had chances to win, especially UL. Having a chance to win in games like that is a massive leap over where we were last year four games in. We've played hard, we've (mostly) played smart, we have pieces that are starting to come together. We've yet to play a complete game. When (if) we do, we will be a pretty good team.

There was never going to be an instant fix from the mess Key inherited. He got a head start last year, but this is a new staff. It'll take some time to fix everything. But we're improving. We're not making the same mistakes over and over, game after game. That's already a big step forward from where we were.
 

stinger 1957

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I'm happy, happy with the win, the second half adjustment thing needs a look, both what we're doing and maybe more so our reaction to the other teams adjustments. Wake won the second half 13-10. I said we would win 7 this year, haven't given up on that.
 
slugboy

slugboy

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Gtbowhunter90 said:
So who is calling the plays? Is it Faulker or Key or a combination of Weinke/Faulkner? Because we gotta do better in the 2nd half with that
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I don’t know if it’s the play calling, or that we need a way to get a reliable 3 1/2-4 yards. We had a few nice runs—especially the last TD—but mostly they weren’t effective. This team either needs an effective and efficient running game or something else that’s efficient (screen passes).

King is the #2 passer in the ACC right now, behind Maye, but he missed a few wide open shots in the second half yesterday. If he makes a couple of those, the game is a blowout.

Maybe we need a second option in the running game, like an RPO run/quick pass option, or a second run option.
 

kittysniper101

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slugboy said:
I don’t know if it’s the play calling, or that we need a way to get a reliable 3 1/2-4 yards. We had a few nice runs—especially the last TD—but mostly they weren’t effective. This team either needs an effective and efficient running game or something else that’s efficient (screen passes).

King is the #2 passer in the ACC right now, behind Maye, but he missed a few wide open shots in the second half yesterday. If he makes a couple of those, the game is a blowout.

Maybe we need a second option in the running game, like an RPO run/quick pass option, or a second run option.
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I think it just has to be optioning with King in the run game more. He’s a real threat and we just don’t quite have the ability to win run matchups while down a player.
 
roadkill

roadkill

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My takeaways...

The Good:
  • 30 points and hanging on to win by two scores in the second half, on the road against an opponent favored to win.
  • 5:1 turnover ratio. Defense bent but didn’t break. In an apparent response to coach Key’s criticism during practice, D-line played with high energy - 8 sacks with several contributing to turnovers in our favor. Biggers had a huge (pun intended) night.
  • King and receivers continued their string of completing some great passes, with our O-line giving good protection again.
  • Special teams were good for 12 points and were solid in all phases except penalties. We should not be at the bottom in special teams efficiency after this game.
The Not-So-Good:
  • Obviously setting a record for penalties stands out, and they extended WF drives when we had them backed up. Many of WF’s 31 first downs were the result of penalties rather than poor defense. Especially disappointing after having what had appeared to be a very disciplined team. Refs didn’t do us any favors, but still.
  • Our run game struggled somewhat against a statistically average (FEI) WF defense. This got us behind the sticks a few times.
  • Run defense also struggled, allowing 224 yards on the ground. Although tackling seemed better (we seemed to get the runner on the ground more quickly after contact), we still were out of position quite a bit and allowed some long runs as a result. At times at least one of our DBs was not aware of who had the ball.
  • King made some great passes but there were a relatively large number that were off the mark. 16/27 @59% is a bit below his season average. I’m inclined to cut him some slack on this game due to the weather.
All in all, a pretty good performance against a near-peer, in a game we almost had to win to have a chance at a bowl.
 

Flajacket

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GTRambler said:
My goodness, what a game. Ugly and brutally physical.

Our players shot themselves in their own feet so many times with penalties and mental mistakes, especially in the second half. So much so, that they started running around on bloody ankle stubs …

But their physical efforts and mental will never waned. It resulted in a bunch of turnovers that were the difference in the game.

Of note: one thing that really impressed me, while I watched the entire game on television, was seeing all the sideline shots of Coach Key. He was remarkably calm and stoic throughout, with no theatrics, no yelling and screaming … and he very rarely spoke anything into his microphone. It’s obvious that he simply lets his assistant coaches do the play-calling.
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He was remarkably calm and stoic throughout, with no theatrics, no yelling and screaming
I was watching the post game presser and someone asked him how he was going to address the penalties. "Calm" was his response. He appears to be very level headed and business like as the coach.
 
tomknight

tomknight

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SOWEGA Jacket said:
Well, another 2nd half collapse (loaded with 3 and outs) on offense and needing 5 turnovers to beat a lousy Wake team doesn’t give me the warm and fuzzies. Reminders of the 5 turnover win against UNC that led nowhere. Sure, a win is a win and we are much improved from last year thanks to King and Singleton but this coaching staff has to figure out how to get this team consistent. This was our one conference gimme game.
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smh
 

SandySpringsJacket

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kittysniper101 said:
I think it just has to be optioning with King in the run game more. He’s a real threat and we just don’t quite have the ability to win run matchups while down a player.
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Agree with that. On some of those hand- offs that went nowhere, if King faked it and ran, he would have had big gains. Also we run the quick sideline pass too often on first down and it never seems to net any positive yards. But overall, it is a win and lot of positives things to take away such as a more lively defense, and those sacks should give them confidence moving forward. Go Jackets!
 
NorthAvenueNation

NorthAvenueNation

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orientalnc said:
The WF fan board has a consensus opinion about what happened:
Griffis is terrible and the refs favored Ga Tech.
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Being at the game, and listening to the fans around me, this is correct. However, I only believe in neither Griffis isn’t Hartman, but with time, he will be fine for what they do. As for the refs, the 14:2 penalty ration, 142:15 yards off penalty ration shows Wake fans are delusional with that narrative. The PI call on Tech late in the game may have been one of the most atrocious calls I’ve seen live in a very long time.
 
leatherneckjacket

leatherneckjacket

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Excellent win, regardless of the penalties and other mistakes. I do think our play calling went conservative in the second half as it did against Louisville. Outside of going for it on 4th down, it seemed like we were calling plays to milk the clock and playing not to lose the game. It looked like Wake's defense was running downhill towards the line to stop the run, but we still kept running the ball. I think if we would have done more play action with short passes that it would have had the desired effect without trying to run into what was defense was trying to stop. Just one idiots opinion.
 

MWBATL

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Things are never as good as they seem (our defense hasn't turned a corner yet...although it is slowly improving) or as bad as they seem (The Ole Miss blowout wasn't a harbinger of doom).

We are still a work in progress. I think we now have a shot at a bowl if we can beat Syracuse at home. But getting past 6 wins when we have 2 losses, and still have Miami (road), Clemson (road), UNC (home) and UGa (home) remaining on the schedule...well, 6-6 looks like the ceiling to me still. BUT, I suspect we'll make some of those games a lot tougher than in years past, and may make a few good teams sweat to beat us.
 
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