IEEEWreck
Ramblin' Wreck
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- 656
The Jackets have shown this year that they can pull through from a decidedly uncomfortable more than one behind position. As much as this team has a lot of room for improvement, we've watched every part of the team come through at the critical moment. That's pretty cool, but I think that being up by 10-14 would be decidedly helpful because, in addition to pressuring duh U into throwing more, it means that the offense can contribute substantially by playing a time of possession game. Fired up as I am that we saw Tech put up 10 in 90 (well, a bit longer, I guess) I'd like to see us in a position where JT and CPJ can start a death march that eats 8:00.
Of course, I'd also like to see us knock down tacklers like it's a game of NFL Blitz, but if wishes gave pigs wings we'd always carry umbrellas.
Otherwise, I think the key on the offense is going to be stretching duh U beyond their ability to cover. My appreciation for previous years is more or less that Miami, while not as hyper aggressive as VPI, puts their tactical advantage towards stopping the dive (first) or the middle of the field more generally and the pitch (second) and then playing at a tactical disadvantage or even ground against the QB, but having a physical matchup that they were comfortable with making all day. Punish that with speed or through the air and suddenly they have to move their plan to give more support against JT, and to do that they create a weakness in the center, etc. My point is that it's a stable, winning strategy as long as they can win the choice they force us into fairly handily. Make that a risky proposition and it crumbles. I think that we can accomplish that both with the roll out pass thing we've seen (and boy, was it fun to see) at VPI, (although there it's more important because they're going so heavy in the box) or if we can play fast fast fast and to the outside it will force adjustments.
On D, I think our priorities are 1. Shut down the run and 2. Bring some pressure. Duke is quite a runner (and I hear tell he's really not his best right now) and given our front 4 so far, I suspect those two objectives mean something we haven't seen before precisely. I'd be very surprised if we start the game in the same way we have been given that this is the first game we play against a real badass running back. My bet is we bring em up early and hope pressure and hungry play on our part creates some stops and turnovers. Hell, if I'm CPJ I feel like I'd take a chance at the stop or the turnover at the price of some long bombs if I feel like I can start a death march reliably. But that's the real takeaway for how we can improve:
We need to play well enough in the beginning that we can make strategic tradeoffs like that. We've been winning some real knife fights where we had to get a stop AND we had to score points RIGHT NOW. To really progress, we need one unit to improve enough that we can accept not coming through perfectly in every other aspect of the game. We've all seen CPJ's offense make up for poor defense by means of ball control. And if CTR carries a hard fought but not dominant offense to victory on the back of 4 consecutive turnovers, well, my friends and I will drink plenty of whiskey to him. But one way or the other, we need to see some breathing room. This game we face a pretty serious offensive talent set, so I'd expect that to come from the O.
People say we should expect uneven play from a young team. And play by play, I largely agree with that. But in the game as a whole, I see a team that has their whole soul poured into the toes of their shoes, and they keep getting better week to week. I want to see the Yellow Jackets improve their play this game as a whole. If we can do that, we'll have something really special. And that's not on talent or size or ability, it's on maturity and mentality.
That's what it means to be a Ramblin' Wreck.
Of course, I'd also like to see us knock down tacklers like it's a game of NFL Blitz, but if wishes gave pigs wings we'd always carry umbrellas.
Otherwise, I think the key on the offense is going to be stretching duh U beyond their ability to cover. My appreciation for previous years is more or less that Miami, while not as hyper aggressive as VPI, puts their tactical advantage towards stopping the dive (first) or the middle of the field more generally and the pitch (second) and then playing at a tactical disadvantage or even ground against the QB, but having a physical matchup that they were comfortable with making all day. Punish that with speed or through the air and suddenly they have to move their plan to give more support against JT, and to do that they create a weakness in the center, etc. My point is that it's a stable, winning strategy as long as they can win the choice they force us into fairly handily. Make that a risky proposition and it crumbles. I think that we can accomplish that both with the roll out pass thing we've seen (and boy, was it fun to see) at VPI, (although there it's more important because they're going so heavy in the box) or if we can play fast fast fast and to the outside it will force adjustments.
On D, I think our priorities are 1. Shut down the run and 2. Bring some pressure. Duke is quite a runner (and I hear tell he's really not his best right now) and given our front 4 so far, I suspect those two objectives mean something we haven't seen before precisely. I'd be very surprised if we start the game in the same way we have been given that this is the first game we play against a real badass running back. My bet is we bring em up early and hope pressure and hungry play on our part creates some stops and turnovers. Hell, if I'm CPJ I feel like I'd take a chance at the stop or the turnover at the price of some long bombs if I feel like I can start a death march reliably. But that's the real takeaway for how we can improve:
We need to play well enough in the beginning that we can make strategic tradeoffs like that. We've been winning some real knife fights where we had to get a stop AND we had to score points RIGHT NOW. To really progress, we need one unit to improve enough that we can accept not coming through perfectly in every other aspect of the game. We've all seen CPJ's offense make up for poor defense by means of ball control. And if CTR carries a hard fought but not dominant offense to victory on the back of 4 consecutive turnovers, well, my friends and I will drink plenty of whiskey to him. But one way or the other, we need to see some breathing room. This game we face a pretty serious offensive talent set, so I'd expect that to come from the O.
People say we should expect uneven play from a young team. And play by play, I largely agree with that. But in the game as a whole, I see a team that has their whole soul poured into the toes of their shoes, and they keep getting better week to week. I want to see the Yellow Jackets improve their play this game as a whole. If we can do that, we'll have something really special. And that's not on talent or size or ability, it's on maturity and mentality.
That's what it means to be a Ramblin' Wreck.
