GT win out?

[Jmonty71]

As long as we have Roof, I wouldn't count any game as a win. The defense gives up too many yards, doesn't force many 3 and outs and seldom produces pressure on the QB. Can't win the TOP, LOS or the total yards, usually results in loses.

 

[Jean-Baptiste Rochambeau]

Keep this in mind, guys. The option is VERY complicated, and we usually see the greatest success when we have a high volume of experience on offense. Look up and down the roster and tell me how many guys are in their 3rd year of getting major reps or starting? After Justin Thomas and Freddie Burden... who? Devine and Andrew Marshall are it, guys. Jeune is really only in year 2, JJ Green year 1, Willis year 2... just about everyone else is a freshman or sophomore. This is a VERY young team overall on offense and we will see lumps and struggles while they learn on the job. We can hope they will progress quickly, but it just takes time.

In 2018, we're going to have a VERY deep, VERY experienced team because at least 15 of the current guys on our 2-deep will still be with the team. That's not counting talented guys that are not yet in the 2-deep and future signees, that's just the current 2-deep.

Talent still here in 2018
QB: Matthew Jordan and TaQuon Marshall
AB: Searcy and Lynch
BB: Mills and Marshall
WR: Stewart, Howell, MLD
OL: Will Bryan, Brad Morgan, Kenny Cooper, Parker Braun, Trey Klock, Jake Stickler, Jahaizel Lee

That's 16 guys that are in the 2-deep (Marshall the only exception) that will get another 20+ games of experience this year and next going into 2018.

Point being, be realistic and be patient... it takes a long time to understand the deeper points of this offense.

You are presupposing that we recruit at least moderately well in 2016 and 2017.

 

[Boomergump]

At this point I think the defense is playing well enough for us to have a very good season. They have been challenged and done their job. We have given up under 60 points in 4 games, one of them being against a top 3 or so team on a night where we got 11 yards in a half of football on offense. Any and all of the concerns surrounding lack of pressure and TOs are legit, but as a sum total, our defense is working. Much of what is happening is by design. Let's face it. We tightened up our coverage and pressured clemson more later in that game because we HAD to get the ball back if we wanted any chance to win. We are playing our standard scheme on defense because we trust our offense to score more then our opponents. I don't agree with it, but I am not the coach.

My concern is on the offensive side of the ball. Until we start doing these two things, I think we are in for a struggle no matter who we have left to play:

1. Get separation at the WR position. Justin really has very small spaces within which to put the football lately. That is not our offense. Schematically, we should have guys running free. The only guy who got free against the tiggers was Stewart and that was on an assignment bust. We are being shown no respect at WR and safeties are pinning their ears back.

2. Block better in space. I am not just talking about the OL nor just the skill guys, but both. It hasn't been right yet, not in a single game, let alone Clemson. We are not timing blocks. We are not getting guys on the ground. We are not attacking the right players consistently enough. I think our guys can run with the football a little bit, but it won't matter if the area between the hash and the boundary is full of whiffed pursuers. We can have our pitch read out there, by design, but everybody else needs to be facing a lot more adversity to get to that area of the field than they have been.

 

[motynes]

We seemed to force out fair share of 3 and outs against Clemson. I'm in the boat of fans that Johnson's offense better step it up or what do we have him for. I really have been a huge Johnson fan, but lately he has laid some real eggs.

 

[GTNavyNuke]

Here are the games left in my order of likelihood of GT win after yesterday:
UVa
Duke
Ga Southern
Miami
@UGAg
@Pitt
@VT
@UNC

Point being we have to beat Miami to have a realistic chance of winning Coastal. The big wild card is injuries for all teams and how much better we get. Right now I don't think we are as good as Pitt, VT or UNC.

 

[RamblinCharger]

I doubt we win out. We play some really solid teams from here on out, but we do have a shot for a good season, and most importantly, I think we have a pretty good shot against UGAg. I still think 8-9 wins is very possible and a solid bowl game. I have no problem with that.

 

[RamblinCharger]

Here are the games left in my order of likelihood of GT win after yesterday:
UVa
Duke
Ga Southern
Miami
@UGAg
@Pitt
@VT
@UNC

Point being we have to beat Miami to have a realistic chance of winning Coastal. The big wild card is injuries for all teams and how much better we get. Right now I don't think we are as good as Pitt, VT or UNC.

From what I've seen, watching a lot of football, we are better than Duke, UVA, and GSU, and we are as good as Pitt, UNC, and UGag, but we are not as good as VT, or Miami IMO. I think realistically we can win 8 games if we play a little better. If we really step up we can win 9, but if we regress or play as poorly as we did against Clemson, offensively, we may only win 6-7.

 

[g0lftime]

This team does not seem to have the big play receivers that will be needed to come from behind or get into late shootouts with teams like UNC or even Duke or Miami. We just haven't hit over the top pass plays this year. JT has underthrown a couple of vertical passes that could have gone for TD's. We are a one dimensional football team and that is what defenses are set up to do intentionally. We do it for them. So far we aren't good enough to beat good teams and stay one dimensional. The modern game is about passing and the ref's allow so much holding now that it favors the passing game. They were supposed to allow more contact with the DB's and WR's but seems to be called with any sort of contact. As long as PJ stays one dimensional and only passes to loosen up the defenses for his run game, we will struggle to win. Watching UNC/Pitt was an example of a team being able to come back with the passing game. We could have never done that with our pass protection and no big play receivers. We are pretty successful with the wheel routes but not over the top stuff. We are going to have fun trying to cover UNC's Switzer.

 

[motynes]

I think Miami is going to be way better than UGa. I've watched UGa sever games now. They are not a good team. Th hey have talent but they aren't a good team. I am about as down on CPJ and the offense as I ever imagined I would be. So long as we don't have a rash of injuries on the OL, we will do well on offense. As a matter of fact, I would put UGa down on the lower theirs of games left. Now of course they can get better. It is the last game of the season.

 

[Supersizethatorder-mutt]

At this point I think the defense is playing well enough for us to have a very good season. They have been challenged and done their job. We have given up under 60 points in 4 games, one of them being against a top 3 or so team on a night where we got 11 yards in a half of football on offense. Any and all of the concerns surrounding lack of pressure and TOs are legit, but as a sum total, our defense is working. Much of what is happening is by design. Let's face it. We tightened up our coverage and pressured clemson more later in that game because we HAD to get the ball back if we wanted any chance to win. We are playing our standard scheme on defense because we trust our offense to score more then our opponents. I don't agree with it, but I am not the coach.

My concern is on the offensive side of the ball. Until we start doing these two things, I think we are in for a struggle no matter who we have left to play:

1. Get separation at the WR position. Justin really has very small spaces within which to put the football lately. That is not our offense. Schematically, we should have guys running free. The only guy who got free against the tiggers was Stewart and that was on an assignment bust. We are being shown no respect at WR and safeties are pinning their ears back.

2. Block better in space. I am not just talking about the OL nor just the skill guys, but both. It hasn't been right yet, not in a single game, let alone Clemson. We are not timing blocks. We are not getting guys on the ground. We are not attacking the right players consistently enough. I think our guys can run with the football a little bit, but it won't matter if the area between the hash and the boundary is full of whiffed pursuers. We can have our pitch read out there, by design, but everybody else needs to be facing a lot more adversity to get to that area of the field than they have been.

I TOTALLY agree with what you said, but one quote (and reality) bothers me: "We tightened up our coverage and pressured clemson more later in that game because we HAD to get the ball back if we wanted any chance to win." Why wait till later in the game to tighten up? Why not tighten up from the get-go, to the extent that we more-or-less know what the other team (Clemson, in this case) is going to do? Why did we play so soft on defense in the first quarter and tighten up later, and why did we revert to playing soft for Clemson's final drive of the first half. The defense has played well enough overall for us to win, IF the offense does their part, but why not play well enough to win even when the offense is not doing their part? That to me is the mark of a really good defense.

 

[Boomergump]

I TOTALLY agree with what you said, but one quote (and reality) bothers me: "We tightened up our coverage and pressured clemson more later in that game because we HAD to get the ball back if we wanted any chance to win." Why wait till later in the game to tighten up? Why not tighten up from the get-go, to the extent that we more-or-less know what the other team (Clemson, in this case) is going to do? Why did we play so soft on defense in the first quarter and tighten up later, and why did we revert to playing soft for Clemson's final drive of the first half. The defense has played well enough overall for us to win, IF the offense does their part, but why not play well enough to win even when the offense is not doing their part? That to me is the mark of a really good defense.

You might want to re-read the last sentence of my first paragraph.

 

[tech_wreck47]

From what I've seen, watching a lot of football, we are better than Duke, UVA, and GSU, and we are as good as Pitt, UNC, and UGag, but we are not as good as VT, or Miami IMO. I think realistically we can win 8 games if we play a little better. If we really step up we can win 9, but if we regress or play as poorly as we did against Clemson, offensively, we may only win 6-7.

I agree that we are better or as good as the teams listed, but I disagree with the statement of VT and Miami. VT has looked good at time, and bad so I'm not to sure about them yet, And Miami has not played a decent team yet, so I think we will find out more about them this Saturday. Maybe 2 more weeks and we will know if we are as good or better than them. I just need to see more of those two teams.

 

[Supersizethatorder-mutt]

You might want to re-read the last sentence of my first paragraph.

Yeah, that pretty much covers it, and we are in agreement.

 

[Augusta_Jacket]

I TOTALLY agree with what you said, but one quote (and reality) bothers me: "We tightened up our coverage and pressured clemson more later in that game because we HAD to get the ball back if we wanted any chance to win." Why wait till later in the game to tighten up? Why not tighten up from the get-go, to the extent that we more-or-less know what the other team (Clemson, in this case) is going to do? Why did we play so soft on defense in the first quarter and tighten up later, and why did we revert to playing soft for Clemson's final drive of the first half. The defense has played well enough overall for us to win, IF the offense does their part, but why not play well enough to win even when the offense is not doing their part? That to me is the mark of a really good defense.

Risk vs. Reward. We had nothing to lose at that point. If you play that way from the beginning, you take the very real chance of getting beat routinely by some very talented WRs. The goal is to keep the play in front of you. Our CBs are not necessarily ready to be put on an island just yet, though I think Durham and Simmons are developing well. As for the last drive of the first half, we were trading yards for time. One busted coverage on a third down gave Clemson the TD instead of a FG try. While I would like us to be a tad more aggressive, I don't know that I want our CBs playing directly on the line right now.

 

[Augusta_Jacket]

I think Miami is going to be way better than UGa. I've watched UGa sever games now. They are not a good team. Th hey have talent but they aren't a good team. I am about as down on CPJ and the offense as I ever imagined I would be. So long as we don't have a rash of injuries on the OL, we will do well on offense. As a matter of fact, I would put UGa down on the lower theirs of games left. Now of course they can get better. It is the last game of the season.

I think you are right, but I also think that Miami might be a better matchup for us than uga. I think we have a really good chance to move the ball on a weakened Miami D, and I think our D can get the 3-4 stops it needs to win the game outright.

I said 8-4 at the beginning of the season, and I still think 8-4 is reasonable.

 

[UgaBlows]

All the O's three-and-outs are not helping our defense at all

 

[Jacket4Life]

Personally I think Miami is the hardest team left on our schedule. Very good QB and athletes at every position. Next VT but I don't see them as in the same class as Clemson or Miami. UGA looks awful.

 

[GTJake]

IMO, the Miami game is crucial if we are going to compete for a Coastal Division title, and I also think they may be the toughest opponent we have left on our schedule. Though they really haven't played anybody yet.
Didn't see any of the VT game, they have been scoring a lot of points and our game is @ VT.
UNC and Pitt, will both require our A-game, I thought Pitt looked like the better team but UNC won the game.
You can say what you want about Cutcliff (I don't particularly like him either), but he's a pretty good coach, Duke doesn't have the horses but they will be prepared.

 

[AE 87]

It's hard to get a read on the coastal teams this year, and really I have no idea where GT's at in terms of performance/execution for that matter either. So far, I think our D has improved over all, but I'm not sure that we're much above average pwr 5 (which, as I said, is an improvement).

For our offense, it really depends on what to take from the Vandy game. If they're a top 25 D again this year, then we should be fine against any other D we face. If Vandy just choked under pressure down the stretch, then we have a long year.

Miami really wasn't great last year, #47 in differential ppd v pwr5 (offppd-defppd). They haven't played anybody yet this year. So, based on last year's stats for them, and how we've looked (mostly vs Vandy), we should win handily.

However, we need to keep our eyes on Pitt. Their rush D has been pretty stout, allowing 2.39 ypc vs PennSt, 3.13 ypc vs OK St, and 0.82 ypc vs UNC (8.37 ypc vs U[sic]Ga). PennSt and OKst aren't great rushing attacks, but that's still pretty stout.

 

[VolJacket]

Here's how i think GT finishes the 2016 season. I think Georgia Tech finishes 8-4

Miami L
Pitt W
Georgia Southern W
Duke W
North Carolina L
Virginia Tech L
Virginia W
Georgia W