Jeff Sims Reset?

[Northeast Stinger]

If the opponent was Auburn or Miami, Reggie was money in the bank along with more than a little smack talk going down as well. Clemson and UGA? Not so much. One play against Miami, Reggie took off for a run of ten yards or so and was viciously hit out of bounds...he came right back up with the jawing going nonstop between him and the defensive back until the official got between them. Good times.

There were several late and or out of bounds hits by uga that never got called in his last game. Never felt so sorry for a young athlete in my life.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

Not sure how I feel about the comparison. Reggie had a much, much, much better supporting cast and still managed to woefully underachieve at times. How we only scored six points against Wake in ACCCG in 2006 with that OL, Choice and Calvin is criminal. Then again, how much was him vs. Pat Nix, who is probably the worst assistant coach at Tech, ever. Also, Reggie won 29 games over his four years on the flats. Sims will not even win half that unless he plays for five years Let me think about this.

Play calling against Wake had me screaming in frustration. How do you go so conservative against a team we outmatched in almost every way? That was win I tired of Gailey.

 

[MWBATL]

Play calling against Wake had me screaming in frustration. How do you go so conservative against a team we outmatched in almost every way? That was win I tired of Gailey.

Yup, me too. I recall being SO angry at Nix after that game that I wanted him fired on the spot.

 

[MountainBuzzMan]

jeff sims isn’t above criticism and his play in some games has been poor (although i do think people ignore what his legs bring to the table far too often)

His legs partially make up for his mostly bad passing (Duke game was great). But he is also looking like a natural team leader and that can also make measurable difference. I am all in on Sims but I also agree with where CPJacket is coming from if you look at the whole picture. We truly look like a different team now that CGC has been fired including Sims.

 

[Techster]

Play calling against Wake had me screaming in frustration. How do you go so conservative against a team we outmatched in almost every way? That was win I tired of Gailey.

That GT team was LOADED with talent. Seriously, go back and look at that roster and see how many of the guys on the team ended up in the NFL...that includes guys that didn't even start that year.

 

[MidtownJacket]

If the opponent was Auburn or Miami, Reggie was money in the bank along with more than a little smack talk going down as well. Clemson and UGA? Not so much. One play against Miami, Reggie took off for a run of ten yards or so and was viciously hit out of bounds...he came right back up with the jawing going nonstop between him and the defensive back until the official got between them. Good times.

This is what I miss. I don't want our guys out there gloryhogging but I do want that "never back down" mentality. You hit me, I call you soft and run it at you again kind of deal. Play smart obviously don't send the QB on a sneak against the gap with a DT and NG drooling over the hit, but bring the momentum with you going into a would be tackler and MAKE THEM FEEL the hit they tried to lay on you when you're running the ball.

We need more of that swagger on the team. I believe coach Key is instilling it. Watch this week's presser and his face when he talks about the guys getting after it. He wants SMASHMOUTH football. I am here for that all day long. BPbuSP.

"only way to develop toughness, is to do hard things" CBK UVA Press Week

 

[SidewalkJacket]

This is what I miss. I don't want our guys out there gloryhogging but I do want that "never back down" mentality. You hit me, I call you soft and run it at you again kind of deal. Play smart obviously don't send the QB on a sneak against the gap with a DT and NG drooling over the hit, but bring the momentum with you going into a would be tackler and MAKE THEM FEEL the hit they tried to lay on you when you're running the ball.

We need more of that swagger on the team. I believe coach Key is instilling it. Watch this week's presser and his face when he talks about the guys getting after it. He wants SMASHMOUTH football. I am here for that all day long. BPbuSP.

"only way to develop toughness, is to do hard things" CBK UVA Press Week

Give me RB in CPJ's offense. Tell me he doesn't ball out. He was a mix of JfN and JeT. Little smaller than JfN, little slower than JeT... but man he was the toughest dude on the field.

Also loved that response from Key

 

[RamblinCharger]

Sims is really talented. He needs time in the pocket to deliver accurate throws. The OL has been awful for about 3 years. They seem to be giving him more pocket this year, especially in the duke game. He has the talent to be one of the best QBs in the ACC or even the country with some separation and quality OL play.

 

[MidtownJacket]

Sims is really talented. He needs time in the pocket to deliver accurate throws. The OL has been awful for about 3 years. They seem to be giving him more pocket this year, especially in the duke game. He has the talent to be one of the best QBs in the ACC or even the country with some separation and quality OL play.

100% agree as he gets more comfortable in the pocket his throws improve, I also think we need to use the QB run and quick passes to space to force the D to hold back and not run and gun to collapse the pocket. CCL is WAY smarter football wise than me, so I hope we see more of what he wants to run this week against UVA. I understand he was limited in his calls a bit under CGC so hope we see more creative running deployment installed over the last 10 days.

 

[Heisman's Ghost]

Reggie Ball and good times don’t exactly go hand in hand.

True, but how much of that was on him and how much was on Chan and the offensive coordinator? I always will have a soft spot for him playing lights out against Auburn those two games with my in laws jaws dropping in astonishment. Both Auburn teams were highly ranked and heavily favored but the Jackets took it right to them. I was laughing the whole time. Beating Miami is always a treat especially that night we sacked the quarterback an astonishing 9 times. Upon further review, the game was 2005 and the Jackets were unranked while the third ranked Canes had won 8 games in a row after losing 7-10 to FSU in the opener. We won 14-10 in Miami and in typical Miami fashion, the upset fueled a late season collapse ending with LSU routing the Canes in their bowl game. To your point, yes Reggie had very poor games interspersed usually against UGA and he had a far superior supporting cast to Sims.

 

[AugustaSwarm]

I don't blame Reggie - I blame the staff that failed to adequately prepare him. He clearly had the talent...

One can certainly draw some comparisons between Reggie Ball and Sims. They're both extremely gifted athletes that have been failed by the adults making millions to progress them in this sport. Obviously Sims' story isn't finished being written. With a new AD, renewed focus on athletics from the President, coaching changes, etc I am hoping that Tech can help Sims become the very best possible QB. All the tools are there - it's just a matter of putting it all together.

 

[UgaBlows]

Give me RB in CPJ's offense. Tell me he doesn't ball out. He was a mix of JfN and JeT. Little smaller than JfN, little slower than JeT... but man he was the toughest dude on the field.

Also loved that response from Key

I’ve always said that too, Reggie would have been amazing in the spread-option. Funny thing is in interviews I've heard him say that he probably would have transfered if CPJ had become his coach.

 

[slugboy]

positive opinion from our upcoming Thursday Night crew:

 

[awbuzz]

I couldn't help but notice that as well...funny how that seems to play out so often with quarterbacks.

Of course, it's hard to complete a pass when your back is on the ground.

 

[billga99]

True, but how much of that was on him and how much was on Chan and the offensive coordinator? I always will have a soft spot for him playing lights out against Auburn those two games with my in laws jaws dropping in astonishment. Both Auburn teams were highly ranked and heavily favored but the Jackets took it right to them. I was laughing the whole time. Beating Miami is always a treat especially that night we sacked the quarterback an astonishing 9 times. Upon further review, the game was 2005 and the Jackets were unranked while the third ranked Canes had won 8 games in a row after losing 7-10 to FSU in the opener. We won 14-10 in Miami and in typical Miami fashion, the upset fueled a late season collapse ending with LSU routing the Canes in their bowl game. To your point, yes Reggie had very poor games interspersed usually against UGA and he had a far superior supporting cast to Sims.

Tenuta's defense were definitely feast or famine. He blitzed his LBs not stop and were a huge part of both Auburn wins. LBs love to play for him since blitzes and sacks are a lot of fun for LBs.

 

[takethepoints]

Play calling against Wake had me screaming in frustration. How do you go so conservative against a team we outmatched in almost every way? That was win I tired of Gailey.

You did, I think, see the field conditions as well? I would have gone conservative too, especially if I trusted my D. We lost that game on pure, simple, unaltered bad luck.

Btw, I was ready for a change as well.

 

[cpf2001]

I often wonder if Reggie Ball's development was spoiled to an extent by Calvin Johnson (and Nix's usage of them, ofc).

His only year above 50% completion was 2003 without Calvin.

Even in 2006, his best year for TDs and TD:INT, there wasn't a ton much more development than "throw a deep jump ball and let Calvin get it, just throw it a bit more consistently than in previous years". His completion rate dropped to 44% that year though. Felt like he was being coached to just focus on finding Calvin instead of developing more broadly.

(I also secretly believe that Wake intentionally took advantage of this in the ACCCG by committing a bunch of PI to give up just 15yards instead of 30+ on those... I haven't gone back and rewatched that game, but from the stands I swear they were mugging him on every deep attempt.)

It's hard for me to say just how much better or worse his supporting cast was than Sims' right now given what appears to be a giant Collins-induced negative performance cloud hanging over everyone... hopefully it wasn't as much better as we think, and this team can turn things around quickly! They certainly weren't ranked that high on paper coming in - I think one of Gailey's positive aspects was in talent/potential recognition.

 

[SCjacket1]

There were some very nice wins by Reggie, AU x2 comes to mind. The man hated uga so much that he just couldn’t perform in those games, but he had his moments.

Yeah counting to 4 becomes tough when u have blind rage.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

Yeah counting to 4 becomes tough when u have blind rage.

You do know the circumstances right?

 

[jojatk]

My gripes on Sims has been 2 things since the start of his career:
- he does not drive his feet into his throws enough, meaning he throws the ball too much off of his back foot or flat footed. He gets away with it sometimes because of his natural arm strength. But this is the reason for his inaccuracy and inconsistency. You’ll notice a lot of overthrows and throws behind the receiver because he’s not stepping into the throw enough. So he will tend to sail the ball over the receiver or not get it there on time. I was hoping after pat left and wienke came in, they would work on his mechanics. It seems it may have gotten a little better but I haven’t noticed a drastic difference yet.
- the other issue is him running the ball so soft, I could have pulled my hair out with how many times he would pull up and run out of bounds 2-3 yards short of a 1st down on 3rd and 4th down plays. It was clear that he did not want contact and would not give himself for the extra yard. I’m sure it was an eye opener for him to see Dart for Ole miss run over our defender when they were already up by like 30 points. That’s how you run hard and with fire for your team.

With that said, that has changed since Collins left and I’m wondering if key told him you better run hard or we’ll find someone else who will. Either way it’s been great to see the last 2 games.

I would imagine Key, Long, and Weinke would have sat down with Jeff either as a group or one on one and instead of threatening him probably said something like "Jeff, we need you to put the team on your back. That means running hard every time you tuck it and run, and we plan to use that ability a lot. It means setting an example for your teammates of playing hard on every play through the whistle. It means working even harder with Coach Long and Coach Weinke. But we believe in you that you're going to show any doubters what you're made of."

The subtext of that is absolutely that he needed to step up his game. But Jeff isn't stupid. He's in practice, too. He knows what the other guys can do. So just telling him straight out to play harder or be replaced would probably sound like an empty threat. Instead they make it about all of them turning things around together and he has every reason to want to do it. I doubt he's the kind of kid who needs to be threatened to want to play hard and win.