Learning from mistakes, Georgia Tech’s Jeff Sims ‘going to be great’

[Techster]

Player comparison time. Freshmen year stats:

Player 1 (11 Games):

57.4% completion. 1342 passing yards. 7 TDs passing. 13 Ints. 243 yards rushing. 3 TDs rushing.

Player 2 (10 games):

54.9% completion. 1881 passing yards. 13 TDs passing. 13 Ints. 492 yards rushing. 6 TDs rushing.

Player 1 is Joe Hamilton. Player 2 is Jeff Sims.

Keep in mind, Joe Hamilton also split some snaps with other QBs his freshmen year. Either way, you can see that Jeff Sims has the potential to be a star for us.

 

[4shotB]

Yes he can make a step up and likely will. Great post.

There’s so many naysayers on here. C’mon get excited and let’s see what we got. Maybe, just maybe we can stop all the doom and gloom, predictions of 3 wins and another year of misery. Damn.

Go Jackets!

I don't know any of these Debbie Downer Tech fans in real life. Most of us enjoy football and take the ups with the downs as one has to do when rooting for a school like Tech. Maybe they do exist but perhaps I steer clear of people who are miserable all of the time. Unforturnately the internet gives these people an audience they have never had before. Thanks Al Gore.

 

[Techster]

Player comparison time. Freshmen year stats:

Player 1 (11 Games):

57.4% completion. 1342 passing yards. 7 TDs passing. 13 Ints. 243 yards rushing. 3 TDs rushing.

Player 2 (10 games):

54.9% completion. 1881 passing yards. 13 TDs passing. 13 Ints. 492 yards rushing. 6 TDs rushing.

Player 1 is Joe Hamilton. Player 2 is Jeff Sims.

Keep in mind, Joe Hamilton also split some snaps with other QBs his freshmen year. Either way, you can see that Jeff Sims has the potential to be a star for us.

Something I would also like to point out: Joe Hamilton was a redshirt freshmen. Jeff Sims was a true freshmen that didn't have the benefit of a full camp due to Covid. How impressive are his numbers now given the Joe Ham comparison?

 

[TooTall]

Player comparison time. Freshmen year stats:

Player 1 (11 Games):

57.4% completion. 1342 passing yards. 7 TDs passing. 13 Ints. 243 yards rushing. 3 TDs rushing.

Player 2 (10 games):

54.9% completion. 1881 passing yards. 13 TDs passing. 13 Ints. 492 yards rushing. 6 TDs rushing.

Player 1 is Joe Hamilton. Player 2 is Jeff Sims.

Keep in mind, Joe Hamilton also split some snaps with other QBs his freshmen year. Either way, you can see that Jeff Sims has the potential to be a star for us.

How dare you bring facts to an internet discussion!

 

[WreckinGT]

He cut his interceptions by more than half over the course of 2020 season. 8 in the 1st 3 games and 5 the rest of the year.

His interceptions dropped when we limited his throws and put him in better situations. In the 5 games where he threw more than 25 times he had 10 ints. In the other 5 he had 3. Now maybe we limit his throws from the get go in 2021 which would probably be a wise strategy with the guys behind him but at some point we are going to have to lean on his arm and his decision making will have to be better than last year. We will see. Like I said, with an improved offensive line, there is no reason he can't make sizable jump.

 

[WreckinGT]

Player comparison time. Freshmen year stats:

Player 1 (11 Games):

57.4% completion. 1342 passing yards. 7 TDs passing. 13 Ints. 243 yards rushing. 3 TDs rushing.

Player 2 (10 games):

54.9% completion. 1881 passing yards. 13 TDs passing. 13 Ints. 492 yards rushing. 6 TDs rushing.

Player 1 is Joe Hamilton. Player 2 is Jeff Sims.

Keep in mind, Joe Hamilton also split some snaps with other QBs his freshmen year. Either way, you can see that Jeff Sims has the potential to be a star for us.

Its probably worth noting that we fired our offensive coordinator after Hamilton's first year and brought in the best offensive coordinator in the history of the program.

 

[augustabuzz]

His interceptions dropped when we limited his throws and put him in better situations. In the 5 games where he threw more than 25 times he had 10 ints. In the other 5 he had 3. Now maybe we limit his throws from the get go in 2021 which would probably be a wise strategy with the guys behind him but at some point we are going to have to lean on his arm and his decision making will have to be better than last year. We will see. Like I said, with an improved offensive line, there is no reason he can't make sizable jump.

Do you recall if there was a common trend in the pics? Like a given distance , or putting it up instead of eating it?

 

[WreckinGT]

Do you recall if there was a common trend in the pics? Like a given distance , or putting it up instead of eating it?

Not really. 7 of his picks were on 1st down. Some of those were on the 1st play of the drive. Three picks were on 3rd and long. Three were on second down. In his last 5 games, all of his picks were on 1st down. I have no idea what to read from all of that. It's just erratic like freshmen can be sometimes.

 

[augustabuzz]

Sounds like he just needs experience.

 

[FlatsLander]

Not really. 7 of his picks were on 1st down. Some of those were on the 1st play of the drive. Three picks were on 3rd and long. Three were on second down. In his last 5 games, all of his picks were on 1st down. I have no idea what to read from all of that. It's just erratic like freshmen can be sometimes.

Maybe not being in rhythm, trying to force a big play to spark the offense early on in a drive? I really have no clue. Hopefully Gibbs and the RBs will be enough of a problem for defenses that we can get some "easy" throws early in drives.

 

[Techster]

Its probably worth noting that we fired our offensive coordinator after Hamilton's first year and brought in one of the best offensive coordinators in the history of college football.

Fixed it.

Ralph Friedgen was so ahead of his time. It's almost insane the stuff he was doing with Shawn Jones back in the early 90's that other coaches get credit for with dual threat QBs.

 

[forensicbuzz]

Player comparison time. Freshmen year stats:

Player 1 (11 Games):

57.4% completion. 1342 passing yards. 7 TDs passing. 13 Ints. 243 yards rushing. 3 TDs rushing.

Player 2 (10 games):

54.9% completion. 1881 passing yards. 13 TDs passing. 13 Ints. 492 yards rushing. 6 TDs rushing.

Player 1 is Joe Hamilton. Player 2 is Jeff Sims.

Keep in mind, Joe Hamilton also split some snaps with other QBs his freshmen year. Either way, you can see that Jeff Sims has the potential to be a star for us.

Joe Hamilton had Ralph Freidgen.

 

[Heisman's Ghost]

From KS and the AJC

“I have literally witnessed that this offseason,” safety Juanyeh Thomas told the AJC on Wednesday. “He has that down pat. He’s going to be great.”

Link

We all hope we can hit 65% completion or better passing this year!

I have no idea if this optimism is warranted. I will say after watching several games from 1998 and 1999 that Joe Hamilton went through a similar transformation. In an interview prior to the 1999 game with NC State or UNC, can't remember which, he said the game slowed down from 150 mph. to 50 mph at about the same stage of his career as Jeff. Of course, having Dez White, Kelly Campbell, Harvey Middleton, Jon Carman, Ed Wilder, Sean Gregory, Joe Burns, Phillip Wheeler will help "slow" the game down for most quarterbacks.

 

[kyle.smith828]

Dang. I boycotted the Dwag Paper 15 years ago. But I'm tempted to swallow the 99 cents to read this one.

Is it worth giving my hard-earned 99 cents to the Atlanta Dwag Constitution?

 

[Heisman's Ghost]

Player comparison time. Freshmen year stats:

Player 1 (11 Games):

57.4% completion. 1342 passing yards. 7 TDs passing. 13 Ints. 243 yards rushing. 3 TDs rushing.

Player 2 (10 games):

54.9% completion. 1881 passing yards. 13 TDs passing. 13 Ints. 492 yards rushing. 6 TDs rushing.

Player 1 is Joe Hamilton. Player 2 is Jeff Sims.

Keep in mind, Joe Hamilton also split some snaps with other QBs his freshmen year. Either way, you can see that Jeff Sims has the potential to be a star for us.

Of course by 1999, Hamilton had left those stats in the dust. During the course of his Heisman campaign, Joe led Tech to a number 8 ranking, and at the time of the UNC game, Tech was averaging over 500 yards a game good for #1 in the country, well over 250 yards per game rushing good for #7 in the country and over 40 points per game good for #1 in the country. Alas, the homecoming game that year against UNC was almost a disaster. Six turnovers with Hamilton responsible for 4 of them including 2 interceptions. A much derided UNC team with a defense at the bottom of the ACC managed to stifle Hamilton for a while. UNC was ahead 24-21 in the fourth quarter with about 2 minutes to play on the Tech 3 yard line and Torbush decides to go for the TD on fourth down. The 245lb fullback is stuffed. Hamilton drives Tech down to the 18 yard line or thereabouts and Manget who had missed two earlier field goals ties the game up and Hamilton becomes the hero in true storybook fashion with a TD in OT to win. He still did not get the Heisman.

 

[Lee]

His interceptions dropped when we limited his throws and put him in better situations. In the 5 games where he threw more than 25 times he had 10 ints. In the other 5 he had 3. Now maybe we limit his throws from the get go in 2021 which would probably be a wise strategy with the guys behind him but at some point we are going to have to lean on his arm and his decision making will have to be better than last year. We will see. Like I said, with an improved offensive line, there is no reason he can't make sizable jump.

Our defense (or lack there of) might have had something to do with this.

What were the scores in those games he threw 25+ times? My guess is we were down big in most, if not all of them.

11 of his INTs were in games our defense gave up 30+ points. Now his picks could’ve and did contribute to that, but it’s still a factor.

The other thing that jumped out looming back at his stats was that he was sacked 1 time in the first 4 games (8 INTs). He was sacked 20 times in the next 6 (3 INTs with 2 in the last game).

This tells me he was holding onto the ball maybe too much to not throw picks.

Sounds like he’s grown a lot. I’m excited to see it live this Fall!

 

[Heisman's Ghost]

Something I would also like to point out: Joe Hamilton was a redshirt freshmen. Jeff Sims was a true freshmen that didn't have the benefit of a full camp due to Covid. How impressive are his numbers now given the Joe Ham comparison?

The problem with the offense is not Sims, it is just about everyone else. If the blocking improves we will be better. If the defense improves, we will be better. If neither of those things are better, it won't matter how good Jeff is because he cannot do it by himself. It is true that turnovers and some poor decisions by Jeff were an issue last year but many of them were due to him trying to make a play. IIWII

 

[SWATlien]

Sims has all the tools to be a star. It's just a matter him putting it all together from the film room and whiteboard to the field. GT fans need to root for Sims to succeed because he can be a transformative player for our recruiting.

& wins.

 

[ramblinwreckguru]

Rooting for Sims to take the next step as our team leader. I think at least 6 wins should be expected this season.

 

[UgaBlows]

The problem with the offense is not Sims, it is just about everyone else. If the blocking improves we will be better. If the defense improves, we will be better. If neither of those things are better, it won't matter how good Jeff is because he cannot do it by himself. It is true that turnovers and some poor decisions by Jeff were an issue last year but many of them were due to him trying to make a play. IIWII

I actually feel pretty damned good that the OL and def will both be better this season...