How do we fix this nightmare....

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Animal02

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Here are my thoughts, rambling though they may be:

With all due respect to those who claim "we are close" or "the main problem has been xxx or yyyy", it's much simpler than that. Like it or not, our program is struggling. I don't think calling it a nightmare is wrong at all. Just think about the following question: when was the last time we were ranked in the top 25? I'm not talking about the best of the best and the top 10....but just the top 25. With Ross we won a national championship. With Lewis we sucked. With O'Leary, we were a consistent top 25 team and finished in the top 10 a few times. With Gailey, it was a pendulum. Sometimes in the top 25, sometimes we sucked. With Johnson, the first 2 years were nice, but after that, we sniffed the top 25 a few times early in the season, only to lose once we started playing stronger teams.

No matter the reason why we lose, the fact is we just are not very good when we play FCS teams. BYU beat us two years in a row! WTF? MTSU blew us out at home. WTF? We lost bowl games to Utah and Air Force? WTF?

Our redshirt sophomore starting QB, who had 2 years of eligibility left and took 95% of the snaps just transferred because he didn't like the offense. A guy who was uninjured, by the way. Name me one other time that has happened because I certainly cannot think of it ever happening. So yeah, I think nightmare isn't that much of a stretch.

I think too many "friends and family" were in his ear saying he is NFL potential if he leaves. I don't see it.
I will say it again......any kid that comes to Tech thinking it is just a stepping stone to the NFL really does not belong here.

My business partner played for Woody Hayes...he told me about the speech he gave to the freshman at their first meeting....paraphrasing......that if they were there because they saw it as a path to the NFL, that they should just leave now. He told them the only reason they should be there is that they loved playing football and the loved playing for The Ohio State University.

That is the message that should be drilled into Tech players. The thought that a player would think that the entire system should be turned on its ear to play the way he wants to play is absurd. The mistake made by CPJ was not benching Vad at the first sign that his head and heart were not in playing within the system.

As for the program being a "nightmare" that is total BS. A nightmare program is one that goes 7-5, 4-6-1, 1-9-1, 1-10, 6-5. 3-8
 

4shotB

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The AD needs to think out the box. Instead of empty seats and no revenue from merchandise and vendors. Filled seats with the possibility & the opportunity for revenue from merchandising and vendors.

As far as with Paul Johnson it is what it is.

I don't really know what to think about our AD. but one thing that would excite some of us fans is to for this position to become more of a leadership role rather than a management position. I am in the group that thinks both CPJ and CCG know a little something about coaching FB. They may not be Nick Saban or Bobby Ross but I thinking changing coaches every 6-7 years hoping to "catch lightning in a bottle" is not a sound or effective strategy. There seem to be other issues beyond the scope of the head FB coach and it is the responsibility of the next guy up the food chain to help remove obstacles and barriers. If the AD assumes the "it is what it is" approach then we are in serious jeopardy imo.

not saying that CPJ is doing a great job. Like CCG, he has definite need for improvement in several areas which have been mentioned elsewhere.
 

Animal02

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I agree that the problem isn't the type of offense we run. Like all schemes it has its pluses and minuses. We could switch to the Air Raid, the Wing-T or the A-11 and it won't magically make our o-line able to pass block or our WRs able to catch or our QB able to make a good throw. The problem with this team is the number of mental errors we make and the lack of execution. When we play, we don't look like a well coached team, and with the gap in talent against the teams we play that's a recipe for disaster.

That's the root issue we have to solve. Either CPJ needs to find a way to fix that, or we need to go in a different direction.

The more I think about this season, the more I want to point the finger at Vad. His head and heart were not in it, and the offense suffered.
Tevin was not the athlete that Vad is, but he obviously had bought into the system, studied it, and knew the reads. Unfortunately, he did not have a defense that could back him up.
You can only coach so much to a kid that doesn't have his heart in it or thinks the rest of the team should conform to the way he wants to play.
 

SecretAgentBuzz

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If you are asking what does GT do to fix this nightmare, well, I would say, WIN MORE GAMES. Yeah, yeah, I know that is obvious. Hear me out. Back in 2009, nobody was complaining about the offense. Nobody was complaining about CPJ. Other teams were saying, "We should run something more like what GT does." Everything is rosy when you are winning. When you are losing, the same things turn sour. However, I am not convinced that we are that far off. We did not have a losing season. We were 7-6 (5-3). Do I like 7-6? No. I want more. We all do, or we wouldn't be here talking about it. But we were not far away. The last 2 years, we are 1-6 in one-possession results (including 0-3 in OT games). We have been absolutely, positively anti-clutch. We have seen some really close, devastating losses. I am not trying to sugar-coat loses or say they don't count. But some of you act as if we are back in the B*** L**** years and lost in oblivion. Now, I know there are ways we can improve. We could use some more play-makers. We could use some more depth. We could use some more luck. But if a few things fall our way, we are looking at this year totally differently.

If you are asking what should WE (the fans) do to fix this nightmare, well, I would say, SUPPORT THE PROGRAM and try to stay positive. Too many negative opinions (especially when shared with bad attitudes) really looks bad. Let's rally behind the team and coach and let them know that we will still support them as long as they are at Tech. Go Jackets!
 

takethepoints

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Ok, you guys asked for this.

• Focus more on the team's real problem: the defense. Why everybody here is so focused on an O that is averaging 34 points a game is beyond me. We are playing an offense that maximizes the return from the football players we can actually get into Tech. What we need is a better D and we seem to be on the road to that. Why people don't see that is beyond me.

• Well … actually, it isn't. You folks are focusing on the offense because you'd like to get rid of Coach and it's his signature part of the game. And, so near as I can see, hire a coach who is good with the press, knows how to glad-hand donors and fans, is a "good recruiter", lets his assistants run the team, and has a rep as a "player's coach".

We have already done just that in recent memory. His name was Bill Lewis. You would think that would be lesson enough. There is simply no connection at all between a coach's mannerisms and the product you see on the field.

• The only thing that has been mentioned here that would make a huge difference is, of course, a loosening of admission standards. That is an institutional decision and, believe me, has very little to do with what football fans want out of the program. Frankly, I think they've gone about as far as we can expect by the new degree programs and I expect we'll see more of those. Tech is not going back to the admission standards it had when O'Leary was here (and he always complained about those). So the answer is the one I gave above: we need a program that maximizes what we can get out of the players we can get into the institution. Imho, that is exactly what we have.

• Can we get some realism into the conversation about expectations here? We have one of the most spoiled fan bases in the universe. We haven't had a really bad season in eons. Instead of looking at that as a success - and many schools around the country would willingly trade programs with us - we get all whiny about not winning 9 games a year. We aren't going to win 9 games a year consistently; shoot Auburn hasn't done that recently; you can check. We have been very close to doing it (2011 was a play or two away), but winning 9 - 11 games is a crap shoot even if you are willing to cut the kinds of corners you see at Bammer or - watch this space - Ole Miss. Tech isn't and won't be. The present coaching regime has had good years and the occasional great year. I'll take that.

Now, less this be called an acceptance of mediocrity, let's be clear: the program at UVA is mediocre, the program at Mississippi State is mediocre, the program at Minnesota is mediocre. Our program isn't. We can always hope for better, but I've seen some mediocre Tech football in the 30 years I've been going to games at Grant Field. What we field today is consistently much better in comparison.

Here endeth the lesson.

ps: I hadn't heard about John Davis and his son. That is not acceptable and I can see why he is upset. Recruiting is a nasty, unethical business and the worse aspect of modern big college football, imho. I expected better of our staff.
 

Dirty Jacket

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In terms of football, and I am NOT an X's and O's guy. Nothing should be addressed until our offensive line is fixed. Nothing will get better. You could have Manziel, Winston, Connor Shaw, Aaron Murray, etc behind our line and we would be a 7 win team. Our offensive line is putrid. Everything starts with the O-line. Our defense starts with the O-line. If we can win the LOS more often than not on offense, then we can run wherever we want with our 2* athletes. We can find open "receivers". We can control the clock and our defense can be fresh. That's where the nightmare correction should begin. Whether it's under CPJ (which won't happen) or under someone else, we need to start winning at the LOS.
 

33jacket

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My idea is to bring back GOL for 4-5 years. Keep roof. Bring back fridge in the same timing. Hire key and godsey and create a situation where a good young coach takes over for GOL after 4 or 5 years and george puts this program closer to what we had

This would be similar to bill snyder at k state.

I know many dont care for george. I am just giving my opinion. I think he is a hell of a coach and loves gt.

But he probably wont do this and is close to retiring.
 

Ggee87

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CPJs problem is that he is a bad evaluator of talent. So half the time we don't have the best players on the field. I.E. David Sims starting at Bback when he may have 5 runs over 20 yards. Vad obviously wasn't a true option QB, What do we do? Keep him in the game and run no pistol/diamond formations that we brought him here to do. I don't believe CPJ forgot how to coach overnight... So what's the issue the past 3 years?
 

LongforDodd

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Force him to hire an OC.

Get Waller & Smelter in the weight room and move them to TE/H-back.

Allow that OC to have a lot of authority over play-calling with CPJ serving as a Bowden-type HC that only makes decisions like going for it on 4th down and stuff like that.

Scour the West Coast JUCO ranks for a pass-first QB and see if we can get him to come to GT instead of going to Boise, U-Dub, Cal-Berkely, etc., with our QB depth chart we are hurting for a passing QB.

With the way that CPJ has recruited hiring a new OC might not help at all, with the way that CPJ has recruited, he has the fanbase and GTAA by the 'nads, even if we want to change our offense we really can't now that VL is gone.

IMO we are in for a rough next 2 years.

I don't know why anyone thinks PJ would hire an OC. PJ is here to run his offense. He'll quit playing golf before he hires an OC.
 

Whiskey_Clear

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CPJs problem is that he is a bad evaluator of talent. So half the time we don't have the best players on the field. I.E. David Sims starting at Bback when he may have 5 runs over 20 yards. Vad obviously wasn't a true option QB, What do we do? Keep him in the game and run no pistol/diamond formations that we brought him here to do. I don't believe CPJ forgot how to coach overnight... So what's the issue the past 3 years?
Who would you have started ahead of Sims? Vad couldn't run the pistol effectively either...
 

LongforDodd

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Here's my idea:
Some of you ex- football players need to start impregnating a bunch of smart amazon women so in a couple of decades we can field a competitive team. After birth, put a football under your son's right arm and a calculus book under the other. Pray for divine intervention.

I tried that - twice.

First one ended up at a northeastern school. The second and last is on campus now in her second year. I'm too old for another shot at it.
 

TheSilasSonRising

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I am not an expert. Really, I know you may find that hard to believe, but true.
I think our O needs to be changed, or modified, for the simple reason it has the knock on it now. In no way am I saying it won't work. Only saying others are now using it against us in recruiting, and effectively so. This, I believe, has carried over to D recruiting as well.
People with connections and/or money need to make the Hill understand there are MANY branches that make up the GT family tree, not just theirs. Too often, IMO, Petersen acts like a jellyfish.

JMO
 

LongforDodd

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I don't think anything can be done right now. The Boosters and Powers are aware of the situation and have either already decided their solution or will so soon. There is nothing we can do at this time. I suspect, CPJ will be here and coach next season. He is going to get paid for it whether he coaches next season or not, so most likely the solution is already set. Again, most likely the AD will let him coach with a new QB and see what happens next year. We might as well resign ourselves to follow the team with the quarterbacks we have and let the chips fall where they may next year.

Sometime soon we have to address his contract so that recruiting doesn't suffer. I suspect we'll keep doing this year-to-year until the burden we're under with Gailey/Hewitt is lessened (if we're still burdened by them, I don't know the particulars) and then we cut bait with PJ when his buy-out is under $5mil - if his records don't go in the toilet before the Gailey/Hewitt burden is gone..
 

Oldgoldandwhite

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It is amazing what can be done with a great QB. FSU all of a sudden playing in a NC game. Look at Texas A&M, Louisville, Central Florida, etc. Florida and USC all of a sudden not so great w/o a great QB.
 

LongforDodd

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It sounds wonderful to think about having Friedgen back on campus. His schemes and play calling were the best our school has seen. The last time I saw Ralph he was one cheeseburger away from a date with the coroner. I hope for his sake he gets his problem under control. But at his age and with his problem, I'm afraid we, and perhaps no other major school, would (or should) take a chance on him. He was the closest thing we've really had for an offensive genius but that ship may have sailed, unfortunately.
 

Eric

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Great post LongDodd, I agree.

I hear Godsey could be headed to the Texans with O'Brien.
 

Jerry the Jacket

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Good point on the QB. I think most fans thought we had that with Vad. Now that it has turned out not to be the case, many are ready to put a gun to their head and pull the trigger. Maybe JT will be that guy?

Go Jackets!
 

Animal02

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It sounds wonderful to think about having Friedgen back on campus. His schemes and play calling were the best our school has seen. The last time I saw Ralph he was one cheeseburger away from a date with the coroner. I hope for his sake he gets his problem under control. But at his age and with his problem, I'm afraid we, and perhaps no other major school, would (or should) take a chance on him. He was the closest thing we've really had for an offensive genius but that ship may have sailed, unfortunately.


He will be 67 this year. Bring a coach in that would only be around a few years would not be a "fix"
 

BigDaddyBuzz

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GOL almost retired 2 years ago. Wouldn't surprise me if he retires this year if his qb goes pro. He has bought a retirement home in Ponce Inlet, FL.
 
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