God we needed that. (POSTGAME THREAD GT 26 - PITT 21)

[bobongo]

Our offense was careless with the ball, despite what you see in the box score for turnovers. We were fortunate.

Very fortunate. Sims threw four balls that could well have been intercepted. He's been lucky in that regard not only in this game, but this season so far.

 

[JacketFan137]

long making the adjustments in the run game at the end was nice. get sims running more his legs are the best weapon on the team

 

[wvGT11]

I'd agree that our run game when it works, feels more powerful than our passing game. We're so inconsistent on the pass side , it's either a beautiful long pass or a real sketchy pass that likely gets intercepted .

 

[Jerry the Jacket]

I would not worry about Dontae. There is no one on this team that is not irreplaceable. I hope the coaching staff will play more people. Find the guys that play with fire all the time. Guys like Charlie Thomas and Dylan Leonard. I think we need to try another quarterback at times. Sims did some good things but he still makes a lot of errors and fails to get the yard when we absolutely have to have it. I think one thing last night is that we pressured and hit the quarterback for most of the game. When we started playing soft at the end, we got in trouble. We need to rotate the defensive linemen and linebackers more. Fine those rush dogs that will bring the heat regardless of what point in the game it is. The offensive line actually improved as the game went on. Like Key said we wore down their defense and began to dominate toward the end. That one play where we pushed the pile with Hall carrying the ball an extra 7 yards or so and got a clutch first down was a great example of how you show your opponent that they are whipped.

We can be a pretty good team but we need to quit playing favorites and worrying about hurting people's feelings. Just like Collins, if you are not getting the job done you should lose your job. I hope we can build on this. We are still a below-average football team but most teams left on the schedule are in the same boat. The team that plays hard,, limits mistakes, and executes their roles the best will win We got a chance to have a decent season but we have to continue to improve and the coaches have to demand the best from what we got.

Go Jackets!

 

[AugustaSwarm]

We're not good. The offense needs a lot of work. But I saw more heart and want-to tonight than I've seen in years. Excited to see how the players respond and (hopefully) build on this performance.

It is so refreshing to see the simple errors actually get addressed. CBK really did an excellent job preparing a game plan and getting the team mentally prepared. Great job!

There were also adjustments made mid game! Our RG was getting abused every play - they replaced him! It didn't totally fix the problem, but they actually tried something different!

Our offense is not good and it really boils down to the OL being bad. OL aside, it really seemed like the offense gained confidence as the game went on. Play calling left a lot to be desired, but I'm not sure how to call plays when you can't block upfront. Either way, we won!

I'm actually excited about GT football!

 

[Jerry the Jacket]

I think at some point you just have to admit that Sims is not a great quarterback. He may be the best we have but he is not a difference maker and is more of a liability than someone who is going to come through in the clutch. I hope Key will give the other guys a chance just to see if a change would improve results. It appears to have done so in the case of changing the Head Coach. It seems like we keep playing Sims thinking he is going to have a breakthrough and elevate his play to some superstar status. After 3 years, I think it is what it is and if we are going to play him we best limit his passing and run him as much as possible.

Go Jackets!

 

[JacketFan137]

I think at some point you just have to admit that Sims is not a great quarterback. He may be the best we have but he is not a difference maker and is more of a liability than someone who is going to come through in the clutch. I hope Key will give the other guys a chance just to see if a change would improve results. It appears to have done so in the case of changing the Head Coach. It seems like we keep playing Sims thinking he is going to have a breakthrough and elevate his play to some superstar status. After 3 years, I think it is what it is and if we are going to play him we best limit his passing and run him as much as possible.

Go Jackets!

we’re still in the coastal hunt. if we’re knocked out then i bet we see others play.

key gave a chance to hall and stewart. if any of those guys were better than sims they would be playing

 

[CuseJacket]

 

[Jerry the Jacket]

Like I say, he may be the best we have, but, I think there is not a lot of downside at this point in trying someone else.

 

[Adadu]

Interesting comments from him here (he’s not happy). It still doesn’t make sense to me why he’d be McDuffie’s backup even in non-short yardage situations. And why he was Hall’s backup right away, before Hall got going. I mean Dontae didn’t even get the start. That’s a demotion. I think there’s more here but since I don’t know, I’ll leave it. And just say how proud I am of the team.

He needs to stop talking on twitter if he wants to play. Coaches decided to not play him for one reason or another and he needs to deal with it. If he thinks the coaches aren't gonna see what he's doing on twitter he is stupid.

 

[AlabamaBuzz]

I would not worry about Dontae. There is no one on this team that is not irreplaceable. I hope the coaching staff will play more people. Find the guys that play with fire all the time. Guys like Charlie Thomas and Dylan Leonard. I think we need to try another quarterback at times. Sims did some good things but he still makes a lot of errors and fails to get the yard when we absolutely have to have it. I think one thing last night is that we pressured and hit the quarterback for most of the game. When we started playing soft at the end, we got in trouble. We need to rotate the defensive linemen and linebackers more. Fine those rush dogs that will bring the heat regardless of what point in the game it is. The offensive line actually improved as the game went on. Like Key said we wore down their defense and began to dominate toward the end. That one play where we pushed the pile with Hall carrying the ball an extra 7 yards or so and got a clutch first down was a great example of how you show your opponent that they are whipped.

We can be a pretty good team but we need to quit playing favorites and worrying about hurting people's feelings. Just like Collins, if you are not getting the job done you should lose your job. I hope we can build on this. We are still a below-average football team but most teams left on the schedule are in the same boat. The team that plays hard,, limits mistakes, and executes their roles the best will win We got a chance to have a decent season but we have to continue to improve and the coaches have to demand the best from what we got.

Go Jackets!

Good post.

Sims also seems to struggle so many times with the "easy" passes. He will throw behind or low or out of bounds passes that should be the easier of the passes he has to make. I don't know if this comes down to confidence, a lack of fundamentals, or something else. It is easy for me to point out, though, since I am not trying to be a QB behind a swiss cheese O-line.

 

[LongforDodd]

long making the adjustments in the run game at the end was nice. get sims running more his legs are the best weapon on the team

I’m concerned with our run game that doesn’t involve Sims. The OLineman have to do better.

 

[JacketFan137]

I’m concerned with our run game that doesn’t involve Sims. The OLineman have to do better.

thankfully that d line may be the best d line we see the rest of the way in acc play. need that unit to get some more confidence and momentum

 

[rfjeff9]

Sims hit the Pitt backs in the hands several times and they just dropped the pick. It's scary how close we came to having multiple turnovers ourselves.

 

[bobongo]

Sims hit the Pitt backs in the hands several times and they just dropped the pick. It's scary how close we came to having multiple turnovers ourselves.

I'd like to see Zack Gibson in there for a series or two. Hopefully we can get a sufficient lead late in the Duke or Virginia games and see what he can do (fat chance, I know). At any rate, it's good to get a backup some playing time just in case. Sims has plenty of upside but he's inconsistent and looks like an interception waiting to happen. If they snag one or two of those ill-advised throws, we probably don't win that game.

 

[JacketFan137]

Like I say, he may be the best we have, but, I think there is not a lot of downside at this point in trying someone else.

if we weren’t still in the hunt in the acc i think we would try something. sims gives us the best chance to win right now

 

[85Escape]

thankfully that d line may be the best d line we see the rest of the way in acc play. need that unit to get some more confidence and momentum

And I really do think that we wore them down and built our will up as the game went on. I loved the comment from one of the game announcers about how the normally 'business-like' Sims was marching up and down the sideline in the last few minutes saying "We have to finish! We can't let this slip through our fingers." Like war, winning in football is as much about moral as it is combat strength. Once you start believing that you will lose you usually do.

(The reverse isn't true, however. Believing you will win is necessary but insufficient. But believing you will lose greatly increases the chances that you will.)

 

[85Escape]

if we weren’t still in the hunt in the acc i think we would try something. sims gives us the best chance to win right now

I agree, but didn't at all at points in the game last night.

He has all the tools, but just seems to struggle to put them together. But in retrospect, I have to give due to the D-line from Pitt. Look at their sacs and QB hurries. You might say that was on Sims, but when you look at the TFL you realize that they were living in our backfield all night. So to give Sims all credit, we still haven't seen him when he isn't under constant pressure. And in the fourth quarter when we went to those quick passes he looked pretty good.

And, yes, QB's do need to be able to operate under pressure...but not all the time.

 

[malak05]

I was at a concert last night, so I missed the live chat. Seeing the in replay knowing the outcome lacks immediacy. My question is how was Key able to fix the kicking game and innumerable mental errors in one week? Is he actually a better coach than we realized?

I suspect one was the guy kicking the ball... Jude Kelly seem just frazzled. I know Stewart was reportedly banged up and perhaps they thought Kelly had better leg but if your a mess im your head dont matter how far you can kick. Punt team look to be running more of a traditional blocking arrangement this week.

 

[Techwood Relict]

Key just might only be a "normal" HC, who cuts out the BS, doesn't talk in sound bites, and focuses on what's important- the details.

So, he's an improvement

I like it