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

[wvGT11]

Have we found our Dabo?

Only one game , non of us should be saying that yet or saying he isn't it. Can we all just enjoy the next 8 weeks with him as a coach ?

 

[iceeater1969]

I will say this about Sims. While there is plenty to critique about his game, he has shown up without complaint behind a very porous (to be kind) OL. Maybe putting a smaller and/or less athletic QB out there really doesn't make sense given the play of our OL. After all, there was a much bally hoo'd QB under CPJ who got tired of getting beat up all the time too and essentially waved the white flag. Ended up playing FB two or three levels down. Sims has taken a pounding and still shows up for work every day. I respect that.

Good point - how hard it would be to look for someone that might be open beyond primary receiver if 3 out of 4 times you are about to be sacked.

On a play in 4th ( where he had time) he thru into a tightly coverd out route as the deeper receiver was breaking wide open for td. Looks easy w tv.

 

[GT33]

I mean we did that last year with Yates and many on here we're arguing that Yates should get the start. But usually if Yates went in a for a few snaps it got Sims more.focused

I guess I should have paid more attention. I remember Sims going out due to injuries and completely disappearing. Other than the UNC game where he had to watch Yates and then came in & played lights out, I'm trying to think of another time that wasn't injury related. Anyone remember one?

 

[bobongo]

I will say this about Sims. While there is plenty to critique about his game, he has shown up without complaint behind a very porous (to be kind) OL. Maybe putting a smaller and/or less athletic QB out there really doesn't make sense given the play of our OL. After all, there was a much bally hoo'd QB under CPJ who got tired of getting beat up all the time too and essentially waved the white flag. Ended up playing FB two or three levels down. Sims has taken a pounding and still shows up for work every day. I respect that.

I respect work he's done, and I know he's behind a porous line. I understand why he's in there. But he's got to stop throwing the ball to the wrong team. He's been amazingly lucky with that so far. If half of those errant throws hadn't been dropped, I dare say we'd have already seen the backup.

 

[lv20gt]

Plenty of coaches take their struggling starter and plop him on the sideline for a series or two.

This is something that just does not happen nearly as much as people pretend. There are coaches who have used two QBs intentionally because of varying skill sets and it was a part of the plan. There have been coaches who have benched player for playing bad and went with the back up. But it wasn't designed as a series or two thing.

We used to do that with Justin Thomas to get him focused but maybe that offense was more difficult to run and this one’s much easier?

When did we ever do that with Thomas.

In 2014 Byerly saw action in 4 games. Against Tulane he got spot duty on two short yard carries and then got the last two drives in the 4th quarter which was when Thomas came out for good. Against GSU he got two carries , both for short yard situations. Against Duke he got the last two series when we were down by 19 mid way through the 4th. Against NCSU, same story, a couple of short yard situations, and then the last couple of series when we were up 30.

In 2015 Jordan saw action in just 5 games. Alcorn State and Tulane which were blow outs for us, Clemson in which he got the last two snaps of the game, Miami which he started and Thomas didn't play, and UGA for a single play when I believe Thomas' helmet came off.

In 2016, Jordan got 1 carry against BC which was a short yardage situation. Against Mercer he got two short yard situations and then played most of the second half but Thomas never came back in. Against Vandy he saw mop up duty. Same with GSU. Short yard situation against Duke. Got the 4th quarter in a blow out loss against UNC but Thomas never came back in after. VT Thomas didn't play and Jordan went the entire game. Against UVA he came in for a 4th and 1 conversion attempt as his only action.

So he either didn't play, was taken out for a short yardage situation, or went out of the game permanently.

 

[thebull35]

About Sims, as a coach I’ve had the pleasure of coaching a couple of really bad teams. Trust me if the ones that’s behind him haven’t been on the field then it’s an absolute reason. Also, do you really believe that a coach that was on their last leg would not put another qb in the game if he thought it would have bought him at least a couple more weeks? All of that to say Sims is our guy. He’s going to drive us crazy at times but also show flashes of brilliance. Let’s just hope that when he’s off his teammates can continue to pick up the slack.

 

[GT33]

This is something that just does not happen nearly as much as people pretend. There are coaches who have used two QBs intentionally because of varying skill sets and it was a part of the plan. There have been coaches who have benched player for playing bad and went with the back up. But it wasn't designed as a series or two thing.



When did we ever do that with Thomas.

In 2014 Byerly saw action in 4 games. Against Tulane he got spot duty on two short yard carries and then got the last two drives in the 4th quarter which was when Thomas came out for good. Against GSU he got two carries , both for short yard situations. Against Duke he got the last two series when we were down by 19 mid way through the 4th. Against NCSU, same story, a couple of short yard situations, and then the last couple of series when we were up 30.

In 2015 Jordan saw action in just 5 games. Alcorn State and Tulane which were blow outs for us, Clemson in which he got the last two snaps of the game, Miami which he started and Thomas didn't play, and UGA for a single play when I believe Thomas' helmet came off.

In 2016, Jordan got 1 carry against BC which was a short yardage situation. Against Mercer he got two short yard situations and then played most of the second half but Thomas never came back in. Against Vandy he saw mop up duty. Same with GSU. Short yard situation against Duke. Got the 4th quarter in a blow out loss against UNC but Thomas never came back in after. VT Thomas didn't play and Jordan went the entire game. Against UVA he came in for a 4th and 1 conversion attempt as his only action.

So he either didn't play, was taken out for a short yardage situation, or went out of the game permanently.

You're right, it seemed like he pulled his QBs, but he didn't.

 

[Buzztheirazz]

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

Holy crap! Y’all give the freaking pylon **** a rest. He was down before he hit it. Go watch the ****ing replay! It’s obvious he was down. That’s why it was overturned.

Not just calling you out LNJ but there was two pages ruined with the going back and forth.

 

[forensicbuzz]

His knee hit before he hit the pylon

Correct. The ball was moving forward and sideways at the same time. There was never an angle that definitively showed that the ball had not crossed the plane of the goal line at the point when his knee hit the ground. We can say it looked like it probably wasn't, but the ruling on the field was Touchdown. Without definitive video evidence showing the contrary, you cannot overrule the call on the field. His knee was down inside the 1-yard line, but he was leaning forward. They placed the ball at the 2-foot line, which was a horrible spot. It should have been placed at the 2-inch line, if anywhere. The refs blew that call, twice.

Edit: Looks like both my points were brought to light repeatedly. Sorry to pile on.

 

[forensicbuzz]

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.

There's a reason they're DB's not WR's.

 

[forensicbuzz]

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.

It looked like we went prevent and only rushed 4. We had been rushing 5-6 all night and getting pressure. I think if we had continued to blitz, they wouldn't have scored two more times.

 

[forensicbuzz]

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.

Nope. That is totally legal today. Rule changed several years ago.

 

[GT33]

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!

The offense has been puzzling the last 3+ years. With Sims, seems you can tell how the game's gonna go with him very early. That being said he throws some really bad passes at times even when he's doing well. I hope we've not seen his ceiling, but how many more games could it be before the light comes on?

 

[forensicbuzz]

Holy crap! Y’all give the freaking pylon **** a rest. He was down before he hit it. Go watch the ****ing replay! It’s obvious he was down. That’s why it was overturned.

Not just calling you out LNJ but there was two pages ruined with the going back and forth.

By the rule, if you can't definitively identify where the ball was when his knee hit, you can't overrule the call on the field. That's the point. You can't just say he was short and guess about how short. They spotted the ball where his knee hit.

 

[GT33]

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.

I've been very critical of Key, but since he's been handed the reigns he's done an admirable job. He still owns the atrocious OL play the last 3 years, he boasted about recruiting high calibre OL and he over committed/ under delivered, he was AHC also so owns some of the baggage regarding team performance. He does have residual stigma from guilt by association with all the over the top antics, but he's doing very well countering that narrative by rapidly instilling discipline and eradicating the nonsense.

He's got his chance. There's a possibility he never relinquishes his spot as crazy as that seemed only 1 week ago. It's rare these days to have such a long audition. Let's hope he's our man. That would solve a crap ton of issues.

 

[Dottie1145]

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 Brads brother.

 

[iceeater1969]

Yes, Gavin is Brads brother.

I think that brad was the holder for W Wells that yesr he was so accurate.
Is that correct ?

 

[Dottie1145]

I think that brad was the holder for W Wells that yesr he was so accurate.
Is that correct ?

That’s right.

 

[katlong]

Happy for the unexpected win!
Totally thought it was Charlie Thomas vs Pitt in the second half!!!
Don't think 11/27 = "a great performance by Sims" as Roddy Jones asserted - I'd still like to see a different QB. O is still anemic at best most of the time. Can't continue to get behind the sticks on first down and win games. This continues to be a BIG and consistent problem.
Hall - great for him, but where was Donte? 1 carry? I'm not sure why we aren't using him more.
Still lots of trips to the redzone with no TD.

 

[RamblinRed]

Wonderful win.
My daughter and son in law (who is also a GT grad) visited on Sunday and it was really nice to have positive things to talk about with our program.

Big game against Duke this week (imagine saying that 6 weeks ago).

It was pretty obvious from early in the game that GT was much more engaged in that game than Pitt was. Kudos to the staff and players for really coming to play after everything that happened at the beginning of the week.

Defense played well throughout. Thomas was a terror in the second half.
Great day for the FG team.
No punts blocked.
Offense was inconsistent but had its moments.

This blurb from CBSSports Winners, Losers and Overreactions was perfect

ACC Coastal is wildest division in football: The ACC Coastal has earned a reputation for mayhem. In fact, each one of the seven members has won the division at least once since 2013 with Pitt serving as the only repeat champion over that stretch. However, the final year of the ACC Coastal before divisions are eliminated could be one for the ages.

Georgia Tech shocked No. 24 Pitt -- the expected Coastal favorite -- in a 26-21 decision the same week the Yellow Jackets fired their coach Geoff Collins. Conversely, Duke and North Carolina are the only undefeated teams remaining in ACC play, other than a Miami team that has not played a conference game yet. With Georgia Tech now on the board, virtually any team can win the ACC Coastal this season. It's a fitting tribute for the division.

(my take: whoever comes out of the Coastal is likely going to get beat badly by the Atlantic champ - most likely Clemson), but at least you made the ACC CG, which is going to become harder to make starting next season).