Article Jackets Brought the Juice to Tallahassee

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Jackets Brought the Juice to Tallahassee

Courtesy of ACC Digital Network

A post-mortem following yesterday’s wild victory for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (1-0, 1-0) over the Florida State Seminoles (0-1, 0-1), starting with my overall takeaway.

We are an improved team.  We are not a good team, yet.

Based on Saturday’s performance, both the national media narrative and the Vegas narrative are likely to change going forward.  That is, the ceiling for this year’s Yellow Jackets squad is higher than most expected in the preseason.  Picked last out of 15 teams in the conference by the ACC media and pegged as a 13-point underdog by Vegas in the opener, the Jackets effectively shattered those expectations one game into the season following a 16-13 win on the road in Doak Campbell Stadium.

Let’s break down some of the highlights and opportunities for improvement, of which there are more than are included here.

What Went Well

  • Quarterback Jeff Sims

What more can you say about the grit and poise out of the true freshman from Florida? Originally a Florida State commit and allegedly asked to look elsewhere by new Seminoles Head Coach Mike Norvell, Sims played up to his Elite 11 credentials and then some in a redemption game of sorts.  Connecting on 24 of 35 of his passes (68.5%) for 277 yards, along with 64 yards on the ground, Sims stat line by itself was a good one for his first collegiate game reps.

More than that, the intangibles showed up.  He showed above average awareness in the pocket, and above average ability to keep plays alive, and a selflessness to give up his body for the extra yards to extend drives.  There were absolutely freshman mistakes, some of which showed up in the stat line and others where he was more fortunate.  However the body of work as compared to that of a typical true freshman suggests the Jackets got a good one.

  • Offensive Line Improvement

Much was made of the NFL talent on the Seminoles’ defensive line.  There probably aren’t many Yellow Jackets who would start for the Seminoles defense based on recruiting rankings and next level projections.  In the end the Yellow Jackets offensive line, now in year 2 under line coach Brent Key, conceded just one sack. The Seminoles generated six tackles for loss (TFL), some of which occurred on the perimeter on failed jet sweeps and wide receiver screens.

The offensive line can lay claim to the most decisive improvement for one position group from year 1 to year 2.  Credit goes to Offensive Coordinator Dave Patenaude and Quarterback Jeff Sims as well.  The Jackets’ offensive strategy appeared designed to get the ball out quickly and exploit the short and intermediate game, rarely taking the time required for shots downfield, and Sims was masterful at avoiding pressure when plays inevitably broke down.

  • Defense Locked Down After Early Miscues

After the Seminoles’ opening possession ended in an all too familiar easy touchdown drive, there were likely few Tech fans who would have predicted that the Jackets would yield just 6 points the rest of the way.  That is exactly what Defensive Coordinator Andrew Thacker’s defense did.  The defense was disruptive and forced 4 turnovers (1 on downs).  They gave up just 3.8 yards per play and sacked Seminoles Quarterback James Blackman three times.  Yes, this was a beleaguered and much maligned Florida State offense, but how many times in recent past have we seen those same offenses move through the Jackets’ defense with ease?

  • Confidence and Swagger

At the end of the day, fair or not, wins and losses often affect perception of the components as much as anything else.  In order to win though, one team needs to be the better team for 4 quarters, and that is exactly what the Jackets proved on Saturday.  The pregame ESPN match-up predictor suggested that the Jackets had a 24% chance of winning.  The in-game predictor suggested that the Jackets were underdogs into the 4th quarter, up until Defensive End Curtis Ryans’ strip sack of Blackman. At no time did it appear that Tech lost focus.  “Competition is King” reared its beautiful face until the final whistle.

Room For Improvement

  • Special Teams

There’s not much more that needs to be said that wasn’t readily observed.  The Jackets struggled with field goal protection, field goal kicking and in the kickoff return game.  Even famed Punter Pressley Harvin had a misfire, but past performance suggests his first punt attempt late in the 2nd quarter (you read that right) was an aberration.  Nowhere to go but up from here.  Kudos to true freshman kicker Jude Kelley for delivering when it mattered most and hitting the game winner.

  • Penalties

Eight (8) flags for 80 yards just isn’t going to get the job done against most ACC teams, especially on the road.  While penalties rarely come at good times, one could argue that the timing of yesterday’s hiccups nearly handed the game to the Seminoles.  The Jackets moved the ball with relative ease between the 20’s, however ill-timed personal fouls created headwinds for an offense that is still trying to find and confirm its identity.  The missed field goals might not have been attempted at all if not for the Jackets’ miscues.  The good news is the penalties can be learning opportunities, which are much easier to swallow when complemented with a win.

  • Quality of Opponent

Simply put, Florida State is not a great team.  Despite their talent and program history, the ‘Noles were average last year, finishing 6-7 (4-4) under since-fired Head Coach Willie Taggart.  Now they’re going through a transition of their own and we caught them during their first live game reps under new Head Coach Mike Norvell.  Their quarterback, Blackman, has struggled through a handful of different offensive coordinators to the point where any quarterback’s head would be spinning.  Then the program went through an offseason without a full install of their new offensive and defensive schemes due to Covid-19, along with off-field drama among the coaches and players.  Putting it mildly, it was a great time for the Jackets to catch the Seminoles.

Closing Thoughts

Restating my post in the game 1 preview thread:

My hypothesis is that Week 1 will be sloppy in CFB. Whether that’s due to new practice schedules, revised team protocols (e.g., less contact), or off-field distractions/priorities, there are a variety of reasons this season and especially week 1 may not match expectations when compared to other years, regardless of roster talent and coaching. It might also mean some teams inadvertently appear to “click” more than they otherwise will, whether that’s due to random chance or an under-prepared opponent.

What does that mean for my week 1 expectations? I’m mentally prepared that anything can happen. And the results may not be indicative of future performance. I just hope we’re the benefactors of the unpredictability.”

May I emphasize “the results may not be indicative of future performance”?  Tech won and Tech improved.  It is hard to demand much more than that.  But as the areas for improvement suggest, we have a long way to go before we can say Tech has arrived.  The good news is there are many signs of hope and potential for continued improvement.  The speed at which the Jackets realize that improvement will go a long way toward determining their record in the 2020 season.

 
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Heisman's Ghost

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I was really impressed with Sims. We haven't seen a QB spread the ball around like that with high completion percentage since Goose and Hamilton, it seems like anyway. I love the pocket presence, the feet, the physical nature and finishing runs, the setting up of screens, and cool demeanor. You really can't hope for better in a freshman QB's first game. Other than forcing about 4 plays, two which cost us, he really played at a high level. That bodes well.

Let's not get too too excited about who we just beat. To my eye, FSU is not a good football team right now. Having said that, any road win in conference is a major building block for our program at this juncture. This was a very ugly game, BUT, the kids played awfully awfully hard. I am so proud of their effort.

While we have made improvements along both sides of the LOS, we are still far from from dominant, IMHO. We are going to have our struggles matching up. However, making plays to move the sticks on offense, like we did tonight (and have been unable to do in recent seasons), will alleviate that some on the defensive side by keeping them off the field.

I love the energy. I love the skill position players. It is time to start believing in what the coaching staff is selling. This season may still prove to be a struggle but the growth is impossible to ignore. 50% on third down with a frosh QB spoke volumes to me. Controlling the ball matters at least as much as big plays.


As always, a spot on analysis. Boomer. Thank you for the insights you provide. Jeff may be the best quarterback in terms of poise and spreading the ball to his playmakers we have had in a long time. No, FSU is not that good....but it is ALWAYS satisfying to beat them and Miami.
 

UgaBlows

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I don't know if he is "terrible" but he was clearly uncomfortable and under pressure a lot. He does, have some kind of FSU record for touchdown passes in a row but he has a tendency to blow hot and cold. I hate to tell you James, but that freshman Sims was clearly more poised and managed the game far better.
You could call him a poor man’s Jeff Sims....
 

Ibeeballin

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Former walk on Curtis Ryans

They kept talking about how we took advantage that an FSU RT was injured and Ryans beat the backup RT to get a strip sack but failed to mention that Ryans was a former walk on as well, so it wasn't a mismatch but a great effort by him!

bc it’s not true. Ryans was a late CPJ signee. We just assumed he was a walk-on. He definitely deserve the praise tho
 

BainbridgeJacket

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QB- huge improvement from last year, even with the stupid mistakes. Looks like a top half ACC QB with a skill set that gives him a really high ceiling. Will need to take a huge leap before UCF if we want to win.
RB- so much talent here, glad we leaned on them in the second half
WR- the routes are so so so much better than last year. These guys always had the physical tools, wow what an improvement. Was A. Brown playing dinged up? Seemed to limp a couple times after the play.
TE- caught a couple passes, made some blocks. Utilized better than last year, but have to avoid big penalties.
OL- miles ahead of last year. Held up really well against what should be one of the toughest lines we play this year (I hate making these kinds of statements so early in the season, we'll see if that's true). I'm hoping to see more improvement, especially run blocking which was nonexistent in the first half.
DL- rough first half, but were able to make hay in the second when it became our second string vs theirs. Ryans is game ball imo.
LB- ugh. Maybe I'm just spoiled because I was at Tech 2005-2009, but I really cannot wait for this position group to live up to my expectations
CB/NB- I thought they played a really good game and contested most passes
S- I was disappointed, I thought they were a couple steps slow on most plays
ST- if there's one area where it's obvious the split practices hurt us, this is it. Holy cow that was bad.
 

malak05

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50 more offensive yards than we had in any single game last year.
and any game where we did have offensive production just seemed to be all compromised of big plays or Mason just taking over no consistency... I saw consistent blocking, moving chains, etc tonight much better sign today of what direction offense is heading...and I'll say this about of defense and applies to last year they aren't the going out as the most talented group but they always get after it
 
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