In this thread: I face facts about Ted Roof

[ilovetheoption]

I'm not a Ted Roof fan. I didn't go to GT so I have no residual good will toward him as a player. I'm not fan of playing it safe on defense, especially when you'll never be able to recruit as well as other programs at GT. I'm not a fan of standard, boring schemes. I'm not a fan of giving cushions. I'm not even a fan of slicked back haircuts.

All that said, Roof has done exactly what we have asked for, at least this season, and he's done it pretty well.

He has fielded a perfectly competent defense that has been good enough to win games all season long. Even some of the games he's lost (UVa/Miami) he's called pretty good games, and the opposition has simply made plays with more talented guys.

GT's defense is absolutely no worse than an above-average defense this year, and were they not CONSTANTLY hamstrung by an abortion of a special teams situation, their numbers would likely look even better.

This is not the defense benefiting from playing few possessions. They are doing well using efficiency stats as well:

As of posting, ESPN's efficiency stats have them as the 25th best defense in teh country (asjusted for SOS)
http://www.espn.com/college-football/statistics/teamratings/_/sort/defEfficiency/tab/efficiency

FEI has them at 33, and that's not including the VT game where they ate up the VT offense, holding them to 2.9 yards per rush, and a QB rating of 34.7.

Now, he's got a bunch of seniors in the secondary, so I don't know if this is sustainable.

That said, it might be. I've said that I don't think Roof can coordinate his way out of a wet paper bag, but he can recruit, and maybe he can recruit his way to a decent defense. It's starting to look like maybe that's the case. Last year he recruited a good looking set of LB's and safeties. This year he's recruited a good looking set of DL. Kerr looks like a keeper.

The point is, if this is the new normal for a Ted Roof defense, it's good enough that we should take it and not look a gift horse in the mouth.

 

[iceeater1969]

Coach roof and his db coaches have us sell positioned with underclassmen with size and a great recruiting class of freshmen .

You have missed one point = Coach roof is rotating his players so they all get some time and and morale is way up. Coach pelton really has his guys believing Ann's supporting each other.

 

[RyanS12]

Kinda to your point. I think next year sets up well for us. 8-9 starters back on O. I think only 5 on D but I like what I see as far as talent in the secondary, plus AJ Grey is back there to stabilize it and be a leader for the young guys and the entire D. Recruiting has really picked up on that side of the bell as too. Jordan-Swilling looks like a stud and Vic has his moments at LB. If the D can duplicate this season I think we have a favorable schedule to win 9 + games next year.

 

[alagold]

I agree with you mostly but until I see these better results with less than 5 Sr starters then I'll say he has a streak of one of brilliance .(which we have been waiting for for a while)

 

[Madison Grant]

Roof's defenses have historically done better with experienced DBs. See 2014. Makes the read and react, drop 7-8 into coverage stuff work better.

 

[Sideways]

I'm not a Ted Roof fan. I didn't go to GT so I have no residual good will toward him as a player. I'm not fan of playing it safe on defense, especially when you'll never be able to recruit as well as other programs at GT. I'm not a fan of standard, boring schemes. I'm not a fan of giving cushions. I'm not even a fan of slicked back haircuts.

All that said, Roof has done exactly what we have asked for, at least this season, and he's done it pretty well.

He has fielded a perfectly competent defense that has been good enough to win games all season long. Even some of the games he's lost (UVa/Miami) he's called pretty good games, and the opposition has simply made plays with more talented guys.

GT's defense is absolutely no worse than an above-average defense this year, and were they not CONSTANTLY hamstrung by an abortion of a special teams situation, their numbers would likely look even better.

This is not the defense benefiting from playing few possessions. They are doing well using efficiency stats as well:

As of posting, ESPN's efficiency stats have them as the 25th best defense in teh country (asjusted for SOS)
http://www.espn.com/college-football/statistics/teamratings/_/sort/defEfficiency/tab/efficiency

FEI has them at 33, and that's not including the VT game where they ate up the VT offense, holding them to 2.9 yards per rush, and a QB rating of 34.7.

Now, he's got a bunch of seniors in the secondary, so I don't know if this is sustainable.

That said, it might be. I've said that I don't think Roof can coordinate his way out of a wet paper bag, but he can recruit, and maybe he can recruit his way to a decent defense. It's starting to look like maybe that's the case. Last year he recruited a good looking set of LB's and safeties. This year he's recruited a good looking set of DL. Kerr looks like a keeper.

The point is, if this is the new normal for a Ted Roof defense, it's good enough that we should take it and not look a gift horse in the mouth.

I'm not a Ted Roof fan. I didn't go to GT so I have no residual good will toward him as a player. I'm not fan of playing it safe on defense, especially when you'll never be able to recruit as well as other programs at GT. I'm not a fan of standard, boring schemes. I'm not a fan of giving cushions. I'm not even a fan of slicked back haircuts.

All that said, Roof has done exactly what we have asked for, at least this season, and he's done it pretty well.

He has fielded a perfectly competent defense that has been good enough to win games all season long. Even some of the games he's lost (UVa/Miami) he's called pretty good games, and the opposition has simply made plays with more talented guys.

GT's defense is absolutely no worse than an above-average defense this year, and were they not CONSTANTLY hamstrung by an abortion of a special teams situation, their numbers would likely look even better.

This is not the defense benefiting from playing few possessions. They are doing well using efficiency stats as well:

As of posting, ESPN's efficiency stats have them as the 25th best defense in teh country (asjusted for SOS)
http://www.espn.com/college-football/statistics/teamratings/_/sort/defEfficiency/tab/efficiency

FEI has them at 33, and that's not including the VT game where they ate up the VT offense, holding them to 2.9 yards per rush, and a QB rating of 34.7.

Now, he's got a bunch of seniors in the secondary, so I don't know if this is sustainable.

That said, it might be. I've said that I don't think Roof can coordinate his way out of a wet paper bag, but he can recruit, and maybe he can recruit his way to a decent defense. It's starting to look like maybe that's the case. Last year he recruited a good looking set of LB's and safeties. This year he's recruited a good looking set of DL. Kerr looks like a keeper.

The point is, if this is the new normal for a Ted Roof defense, it's good enough that we should take it and not look a gift horse in the mouth.

What we need to do is clone Coach Foster at VT and Freaky Friday like mix him up with Coach Roof and then boy howdy we would be cooking. No, seriously, I am with you I would rather blitz more, scheme better, get after the quarterback but the results speak for themselves. He is clearly the best defensive coordinator of the Johnson era. It could be that his more restrained style of bend don't break with that four quarters zone that he likes so much may in fact be the best remedy for the spread looks that are all the rage. I don't know, but I do know that recruiting is significantly better thanks to him and his staff.

 

[jeffgt14]

I still think Lance will be the biggest loss next season but I’m a bit excited from the limited selection I’ve seen from Kerr. Lance has consistently done a tremendous job breaking up passes throughout his career even when teams try to target him due to his size. The kid can play corner. It seems like teams have finally decided they can’t pick on him this year and have gone elsewhere with the ball.

 

[Augusta_Jacket]

This is what I've been preaching for the last two years. I think more coaches would be successful if they were truly given time to recruit to and implement their system. This year his first recruits are seniors. He inherited a 3-4, and converted to a 4-3/4-2-5 combo which required different personnel types. He now has a full complement of his own players and it's showing. The coaching carousel is tempting, especially when things are going the way you want them to, but if you're patient, most good coaches can build a winning product. As for sustainability, we might drop off a bit next year, but I don't think we'll fall off a cliff. I honestly believe we might be a bit better. Regardless, I think CTR has earned an apology from several bloggers on this site.

 

[MWBATL]

Like the OP, I have not generally bene a Roof fan, but I also agree he has done what I hoped he would do this year. Far less of the "bend-but-break" defense, and far more aggressive. Heck, even against UVa, we got caught blitzing and got beat one on one by their WR's and QB. That's what I've been asking for (not getting beat, but at least trying to be aggressive).

Kudos.

 

[Supersizethatorder-mutt]

I was not a fan of Roof when he coached here under O'Leary, and I certainly didn't like it when he was hired again. I have been a BIG critic over the past few years, and I still cringe from time to time, but overall I am eating crow, and frankly it doesn't taste too bad....LOL We still don't have a GREAT defense (probably never will, no matter who the DC is), but we finally have a GOOD defense, and the credit goes to Roof. I just hope he can repeat it next year. If he can, then the future looks good.

 

[Andewa]

The humility and maturity in this thread is impressive. Hard to find that on the internet. Dilly dilly!

 

[sidewalkGTfan]

I'm not a Ted Roof fan. I didn't go to GT so I have no residual good will toward him as a player. I'm not fan of playing it safe on defense, especially when you'll never be able to recruit as well as other programs at GT. I'm not a fan of standard, boring schemes. I'm not a fan of giving cushions. I'm not even a fan of slicked back haircuts.

All that said, Roof has done exactly what we have asked for, at least this season, and he's done it pretty well.

He has fielded a perfectly competent defense that has been good enough to win games all season long. Even some of the games he's lost (UVa/Miami) he's called pretty good games, and the opposition has simply made plays with more talented guys.

GT's defense is absolutely no worse than an above-average defense this year, and were they not CONSTANTLY hamstrung by an abortion of a special teams situation, their numbers would likely look even better.

This is not the defense benefiting from playing few possessions. They are doing well using efficiency stats as well:

As of posting, ESPN's efficiency stats have them as the 25th best defense in teh country (asjusted for SOS)
http://www.espn.com/college-football/statistics/teamratings/_/sort/defEfficiency/tab/efficiency

FEI has them at 33, and that's not including the VT game where they ate up the VT offense, holding them to 2.9 yards per rush, and a QB rating of 34.7.

Now, he's got a bunch of seniors in the secondary, so I don't know if this is sustainable.

That said, it might be. I've said that I don't think Roof can coordinate his way out of a wet paper bag, but he can recruit, and maybe he can recruit his way to a decent defense. It's starting to look like maybe that's the case. Last year he recruited a good looking set of LB's and safeties. This year he's recruited a good looking set of DL. Kerr looks like a keeper.

The point is, if this is the new normal for a Ted Roof defense, it's good enough that we should take it and not look a gift horse in the mouth.

Wow, it’s like ILTO is in my head as this is me to a stinkin tee. I still have real concerns about some of our D, such as our ineffective blitzing and our DBs ball skills BUT there’s no denying that our D is vastly improved this year.

 

[wreckrod]

I've been pretty happy with the defense. They've carried the team most of the year. The only thing I could nit pick and wish we could do better is the blitzing. By that, I mean that we do it plenty, but often it gets picked up either because it's not disguised very well or because the blitzer runs right into a blocker. Other than that, I'm happy.

If our offense was a little better and more consistent we'd have won several more games.

 

[JorgeJonas]

I am not a Roof fan, either, and I continue to struggle with him because the goofs are so bad (like not doing anything to stop the same play against Miami). But improvement is improvement, and I’m certainly open to the argument that devil you know is better than the one you don’t.

 

[collegeballfan]

Continuity.

 

[Whiskey_Clear]

I'm not a Ted Roof fan. I didn't go to GT so I have no residual good will toward him as a player. I'm not fan of playing it safe on defense, especially when you'll never be able to recruit as well as other programs at GT. I'm not a fan of standard, boring schemes. I'm not a fan of giving cushions. I'm not even a fan of slicked back haircuts.

All that said, Roof has done exactly what we have asked for, at least this season, and he's done it pretty well.

He has fielded a perfectly competent defense that has been good enough to win games all season long. Even some of the games he's lost (UVa/Miami) he's called pretty good games, and the opposition has simply made plays with more talented guys.

GT's defense is absolutely no worse than an above-average defense this year, and were they not CONSTANTLY hamstrung by an abortion of a special teams situation, their numbers would likely look even better.

This is not the defense benefiting from playing few possessions. They are doing well using efficiency stats as well:

As of posting, ESPN's efficiency stats have them as the 25th best defense in teh country (asjusted for SOS)
http://www.espn.com/college-football/statistics/teamratings/_/sort/defEfficiency/tab/efficiency

FEI has them at 33, and that's not including the VT game where they ate up the VT offense, holding them to 2.9 yards per rush, and a QB rating of 34.7.

Now, he's got a bunch of seniors in the secondary, so I don't know if this is sustainable.

That said, it might be. I've said that I don't think Roof can coordinate his way out of a wet paper bag, but he can recruit, and maybe he can recruit his way to a decent defense. It's starting to look like maybe that's the case. Last year he recruited a good looking set of LB's and safeties. This year he's recruited a good looking set of DL. Kerr looks like a keeper.

The point is, if this is the new normal for a Ted Roof defense, it's good enough that we should take it and not look a gift horse in the mouth.

The difference is talent and depth...primarily in the front 7. Is our front 7 Aubie, bammer, or Clem's son good. No. Is it far better than the last 4 years? Imo yes.

Talent and experience has also allowed, imo, Roof to call more varied coverages, including more press coverage.

Our secondary is strong imo. Our biggest weakness there is vs big tall WRs. VT had some good playmakers out there but not really any of the type that have done the most damage to us. I wasn't worried about Berrios and he didn't do much against us, the big UM receivers did. The VT receivers didn't worry me and didn't do much damage. Our secondary has had good coverage consistently this year. A lot of the passes completed against us have been in the face of tight coverage, they just made plays despite it.

I don't know what type WRs puke has. The mutts seem to have smaller quick guys rather than long / big fast ones. I like how our secondary matches up vs the butt lickers. We have to focus to stop their rush 1st and foremost. But I'm getting a game ahead of myself now. Time to curb stomp Buttcliffs pukers.

 

[Dottie1145]

What we need to do is clone Coach Foster at VT and Freaky Friday like mix him up with Coach Roof and then boy howdy we would be cooking. No, seriously, I am with you I would rather blitz more, scheme better, get after the quarterback but the results speak for themselves. He is clearly the best defensive coordinator of the Johnson era. It could be that his more restrained style of bend don't break with that four quarters zone that he likes so much may in fact be the best remedy for the spread looks that are all the rage. I don't know, but I do know that recruiting is significantly better thanks to him and his staff.

Bud Foster doesn’t scare me like he used to... now it’s the talent surrounding that goofy looking venables...

 

[Madison Grant]

Bud Foster doesn’t scare me like he used to... now it’s the talent surrounding that goofy looking venables...

One has to wonder - - was Bud Foster so good against us because Beamer MADE him take more time to gameplan against us, and now Fuente isn't making him spend the same amount of time?

 

[JorgeJonas]

One has to wonder - - was Bud Foster so good against us because Beamer MADE him take more time to gameplan against us, and now Fuente isn't making him spend the same amount of time?

Probably worth pointing out that Johnson is 4-1 against him on Saturdays and 0-5 against him on Thursdays/Monday. I’m not sure there’s a ton to read into that, because the games were all really close (except 2016), but it’s something to consider.

 

[orange14]

maybe im remembering wrong but wasn't 2009 a Thursday night game? Maybe just a Saturday night game?