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

[Skeptic]

First week we’ve significantly moved the stats needle in the right direction in a while

I am proud of this team. It could have gone belly up and perhaps because of the acting coach, came out swinging. His being an offensive lineman may account for some of the truculence.

 

[GTNavyNuke]

IMO

Our defensive performance was as good as last week's.

Our offensive performance was as poor as last week's (thank goodness for no picks).

Difference? Special teams (and turnovers).

I think our O performance was much better this week since the Pitt D was much better than the UCF D.

D performance was better with major hits and sound tackling all game.

The post game interview was class. I think Key handled it perfectly, didn’t sugarcoat the mistakes, didn’t just spew BS about loving his guys, but gave them a shoutout, and the “Go Jackets” put a cap on a stellar night of football.




PS: GAVIN ****ING STEWART!!!!

Is Gavin Brad's brother?

For punts, they ran a different formation and the punter got the ball out quicker. Just speculation on my part, but with statements from Key this week, the way the players played until this game, and the way players played in this game, I would say that this week was the first time they practiced with detail and purpose.

I think I saw two things this week which I think were different in punting. First I think it was a two step vice three step to punt. Second, the long snapper consistently put the ball higher at about eye level. That way Shanahan could drop the ball without raising it up first. Riskier since you don't want to snap over his head. At least that is what I think was different. Regardless, the ball was in the air a lot quicker.

The roughing the kicker call was fortunate for us. Not intentional but legit call since Shanahan was exposed with his leg in the air and hit. Not a soccer flop either.

Damn it's a great feeling to win a game we weren't supposed to; that has been missing for years.

 

[leatherneckjacket]

Nah he was clearly down inside the 1.

His knee was down on 1 yard line, but it was not clear where the football was in relationship to the goal line from any of the views they shared. Either way, since he was not holding the ball with his knee and he was vertical, the ball should have been on the half inch line and not the 1.

 

[leatherneckjacket]

His knee hit before he hit the pylon

Yes, but he was diving crossways towards the pylin and hit it from the side, not the front.

 

[wrmathis]

I think our O performance was much better this week since the Pitt D was much better than the UCF D.

D performance was better with major hits and sound tackling all game.



Is Gavin Brad's brother?



I think I saw two things this week which I think were different in punting. First I think it was a two step vice three step to punt. Second, the long snapper consistently put the ball higher at about eye level. That way Shanahan could drop the ball without raising it up first. Riskier since you don't want to snap over his head. At least that is what I think was different. Regardless, the ball was in the air a lot quicker.

The roughing the kicker call was fortunate for us. Not intentional but legit call since Shanahan was exposed with his leg in the air and hit. Not a soccer flop either.

Damn it's a great feeling to win a game we weren't supposed to; that has been missing for years.

yes, Gavin is Brad's Bro

 

[bobongo]

I disagree because even though you could tell his knee hit before the ball hit the orange pylon, there was no way to tell if the ball was actually over the goal line when his knee hit.

The only question is, what was the position of the ball at the moment his knee hit? I thought there was no way to tell for certain whether the ball was over the goal line, and since it was initially ruled a TD, the call should have stood. In fact, from one view it looked to me like the ball was over the goal line.

 

[RonJohn]

The only question is, what was the position of the ball at the moment his knee hit? I thought there was no way to tell for certain whether the ball was over the goal line, and since it was initially ruled a TD, the call should have stood. In fact, from one view it looked to me like the ball was over the goal line.

The replay booth has more angles than what TV was showing to us. I get the impression sometimes that the TV production truck probably has a very good angle, but they don't want to show it so they can manufacture controversy.

 

[takethepoints]

I watcher Duggins dismantle Oklahoma and Martinez kill off Texas Tech single-handed. Im just fine with Sims running more; I've been calling for tai since the UNC game. He isn't hard nosed yet, bu8t you can coach that up. If we ran more double options, QB sweeps, and QB counters the O would work a lot better then it does. After last night, maybe, just maybe, Long will see that an start to convince Sims that he needs to get that shoulder down every now and then. That's all he lacks.

Oh, and that'll increase his efficiency as a pass too. Nothing to make a QB better then a DL that is reluctant to go full out because their coaches have warned them about the QB taking off on the grouse.

 

[bobongo]

This is the play of the game to me--not because it's the most highlight-worthy, but it tells the story of the game to me more than any other. It's offense, but the entire line getting together in a scrum to make 13 yards on 3rd down was really important to the game (hopefully, the time code for YouTube works--if it doesn't, go to 17:14 on the time slider):

Yeah, and we also saw some gang tackling. Seems in games past one guy makes a hit and everyone stands around to see if he takes the runner down. Not last night. They played as a team.

 

[danny daniel]

I didn’t see the play he got hurt - did it appear serious? Jaylon is probably the 2nd most important guy to have on the field after CT and we really need him for Duke.

I saw a replay where he severely twisted his ankle. It looked like his toe stuck in the turf as he was rolled over.

 

[laoh]

I watcher Duggins dismantle Oklahoma and Martinez kill off Texas Tech single-handed. Im just fine with Sims running more; I've been calling for tai since the UNC game. He isn't hard nosed yet, bu8t you can coach that up. If we ran more double options, QB sweeps, and QB counters the O would work a lot better then it does. After last night, maybe, just maybe, Long will see that an start to convince Sims that he needs to get that shoulder down every now and then. That's all he lacks.

Oh, and that'll increase his efficiency as a pass too. Nothing to make a QB better then a DL that is reluctant to go full out because their coaches have warned them about the QB taking off on the grouse.

Sim played tougher this week. I wrote him off after he ran out of bounds on 4th down in the UCF game. But on that play last night with 1:55 remaining in the game, Sims made a key block that allowed Hassan to get 35 more yards to their 10.

 

[danny daniel]

Except for failing to score from the 1, the offense in the 4th quarter was stellar. We had not scored a 4th quarter point all year (they said on TV) before Pitt. Did we struggle in Qs 1-3, yes, but we looked like a different O in the 4th.

Not being able to score in two tries from a foot out has been a real problem for 3+ years and needs priority to get fixed. After the 8 minute mark in the 4th Q both teams were spent on D. Pitt could not stop us run and we could not stop the pass. The game was very physical and hopefully our safety is the only one seriously hurt. Pitt got really beat up.

 

[yoshiki2]

I take back anything I said or thought about Brent the last 3 1/2 years. This week has totally changed my opinion of him. I hope he continues to do a great job, the rest of the year and winds up with a good job next year. I don’t think he gets our permanent job, but the way he has handled this situation should set him up for good jobs in the future.

OL Coach and head coach are different gigs. As a OL Coach you have to answer to the head coach. I just hope he learned a lot during the time he worked with Saban.

 

[MidtownJacket]

This is the play of the game to me--not because it's the most highlight-worthy, but it tells the story of the game to me more than any other. It's offense, but the entire line getting together in a scrum to make 13 yards on 3rd down was really important to the game (hopefully, the time code for YouTube works--if it doesn't, go to 17:14 on the time slider):




If you look at the stats, Dontae is our most effective runner up until yesterday's game. If you look at the matchup yesterday, Pitt is tough against the kind of running that Dontae is best at. Third and goal from the 1 and 4th and goal from the 1 told that story (and, in retrospect, I'd have preferred different play calls against Pitt's defense)

Hall is normally our least effective runner, but he was the right choice against Pittsburgh--his speed made him dangerous. Against a speedy defense, Smith might be a better choice.

yep and heads up play by Vaipulu to stand him up immeadiately and communicate to Hall not to go down while the boys ralied.

I can't overstate the importance of the team seeing that play on O, and the D Swarming with multiple guys to make plays, that this is a team sport. CBK in postgame talked about those bodyblows and he is so right. Such good tape for teaching this week and ESPECIALLY going into the BYE. I hope we can get a win from Duke and go into the off week with some Real Momentum and time to teach them up a bit more.

Dang that was fun.

 

[danny daniel]

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.

I also counted 4 when watching the game but I saw the replay and there was a fifth late in the game. We were very fortunate. Maybe a wet ball early in the game helped. Most throws are still short and outside. Sims has to run more and be part of the run attack. This should help his passing as the rush will have to slow down to account for his run threat.

 

[Heisman's Ghost]

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.

You want to win a ball game? Get in the other quarterback's grill like Charlie Thomas did a few times and they will begin the happy feet act.

 

[Sheboygan]

You want to win a ball game? Get in the other quarterback's grill like Charlie Thomas did a few times and they will begin the happy feet act.

I watched a little film today focusing on our OL. #67 ( R- Fr )was clearly overmatched against Pitt # 8 (R-Jr) 3rd team All ACC in 2021. #60 and#71 for us did a little better, but that Pitt guy was a beast and in our backfield all night. Great at shedding blocks and quick.

 

[takethepoints]

yep and heads up play by Vaipulu to stand him up immeadiately and communicate to Hall not to go down while the boys ralied.

I can't overstate the importance of the team seeing that play on O, and the D Swarming with multiple guys to make plays, that this is a team sport. CBK in postgame talked about those bodyblows and he is so right. Such good tape for teaching this week and ESPECIALLY going into the BYE. I hope we can get a win from Duke and go into the off week with some Real Momentum and time to teach them up a bit more.

Dang that was fun.

You know, something like that was a 15 yard penalty in my day. If you tried to help a runner by pushing him forward, you got flagged. I still feel uncertain about doing this; the rule is still on the books (I think) and sooner or later you can get a little overboard with it.

 

[85Escape]

You know, something like that was a 15 yard penalty in my day. If you tried to help a runner by pushing him forward, you got flagged. I still feel uncertain about doing this; the rule is still on the books (I think) and sooner or later you can get a little overboard with it.

I thought I read someplace that it was now explicitly permitted as long as you just pushed the pile and didn't pick up the runner (which I think we might have in that pile, but I'll take it!) But I am no rules expert by any stretch

 

[laoh]

I thought I read someplace that it was now explicitly permitted as long as you just pushed the pile and didn't pick up the runner (which I think we might have in that pile, but I'll take it!) But I am no rules expert by any stretch

Reminds me of the Bush Push