Looking for Answers in 2015

[ATL1]

Lol
OK bud if that's good enough for you.

 

[InsideLB]

Wow I think CPJ would be (and has been) the first one to say he thinks they could have coached 'em better this year. Coaches can do a great job one year and not so great a job the next.

Sure injuries, schedule, crappy luck, etc. have made it tough. At the same time, coaches are paid to find the right levers to pull, move folks around, simplify, motivate, and find a way. This year the staff hasn't gotten the results in the face of admitted adversity. If they had, it would have been a hell of a coaching job. Last year was as a hell of a coaching job. Team got better and better as the season went on and notched an Orange Bowl Championship. Lots of preseason player losses and some in-season injuries.

This year, not such a great job by the same staff. Every year is different with new challenges to overcome. We just can't get our act together this year. I think Johnson has taken some of the blame as he should. He has also pointed out some of the challenges. I don't have a problem with it because we have had a shipload of adversity. Doesn't mean the guy's off the hook for the results though....adversity is opportunity to show you are a bad ***. Did not show out.

Statistically this season is an outlier when Johnson's whole career is considered. IMO he's still a good coach even if he didn't get it done this year. Give him a few more classes like last year and some better luck and we'll be hell on wheels. Just my humble opinion though.

 

[GTRX7]

Aight is spelled AIGHT.
Didn't say he should be canned, but he definitely needs to take a look and examine his program to see what's has to happen to build a consistent winner, hell at min a consistent bowl eligible program.

What if he looks deep down inside and his answer this year was that we played a lot of good teams, lost a lot of close games, that it is really difficult to run the offense with all of the injuries/true freshman and that it is difficult to win close games with all of the turnovers and special teams disasters?

I personally think we learned more about what this team can do last year than this year, but maybe I am just a glass-half-full type of guy.

 

[RamblinRed]

IMO coaching has absolutely been an issue this season. Doesn't mean I want CPJ to leave - I don't. But things need to be looked at seriously in the offseason.
The same mistakes are being made in week 11 that were made in week 1, that's an issue. For whatever reason the coaching staff has not been able to get the best out of this team, injuries notwhithstanding.

IMO CPJ has earned 2 years to turn this around (and his contract virtually guarantees he will get that).
Johnson has been an interesting coach. His ceiling is high, but his floor is low. he nearly ended the bowl streak a couple of years ago.
His only remotely good defense has been the very first one that had Tenuta/Gailey players anchoring it. We've had 3 different DC's now over 8 yrs with very similar results. That suggests the results have less to do with the DC and more to do with the program as a whole.

I'm hoping for a quick rebound but past GT history would recommend caution in assuming that.

Just FWIW, CPJ's win percentage against legit (P5/BCS, bowl, and BYU&ND) teams is lower than both O'Leary and Gailey. like i said - higher ceiling, lower floor.

I love the 11 win seasons, but I wish our floor was 6 instead of 3/4.

 

[ATL1]

^^Bravo Bredren^^
Nail on the Head

 

[GaTech4ever]

I can't see how people can deny coaching has been an issue, CPJ even said they need to coach better. That doesn't mean CPJ forgot how to coach. If that was the case, every coach who has had a great year would never get fired. Or any coach who has a bad year followed by a good year "remembered how to coach?" Every coaching decision is independent from the results of the previous years. Sports is not something where you can look at past years to try and justify current results. This year is just that, this year.

Neither here nor there, but I think people are seeing that CPJs coaching/our offense last year was the result of three legitimate NFL players, plus a bunch of seniors. I don't see that perfect storm any time soon. Or CPJ remembered how to coach from 2013 to 2014 according to the logic by some here? No... it was the players.

 

[JorgeJonas]

I think the issue, though, is that the same mistakes aren't being made. Many of the errors we make one week are fixed, then others are introduced (which is probably because of the inexperience at many positions). We see this complaint specifically with respect to the offense, in my opinion because the offense is different. It's one thing to say the blocking has not been strong, but it's entirely another thing to state with specificity which part is the problem (is it the scoops, or the backside sealing, or the blocking in the alley, or getting beat by a DT on the inside - and why are we getting beat by said DT?). I mentioned on another thread that this board is incapable of discussing X's and O's, and this is what I was referring to - essentially lumping all problems in as one and saying nothing is getting fixed.

The issues on defense are well noted, but it's worth pointing out that there aren't a whole lot of teams dominating defensively other than the usual suspects (Boston College being the outlier, but they can't score, so what's the difference).

 

[swampsting]

So you're ready for CPJ to get the axe???

Also aight is spelled alright.

Actually, it's spelled all right.

I don't think the coaching has been that bad. PJ said today they went over the goal line play for 10 minutes Wednesday and Thursday - and for a late-season practice, that is a long time - and it still got screwed up. He said the O line probably wasn't good as everyone made it out to be. It did play pretty well at the end of the season - rewatched the O vs Georgia from last year, and those guys moved the line of scrimmage back two yards on so many snaps - but he said after the first two games we're still making mistakes we shouldn't be making. When you've got this many experienced O linemen back, there isn't much they hadn't seen. I saw it at Southern with PJ and Sewak's lines. Those guys played with so much confidence it didn't matter what opposing defenses lined up in. We're playing with some guys who don't have a lot of experience and that may have something to do with it, too.

Maybe the play calling has been more than some of the guys can handle at this point. Maybe he really did know something back in August when he said not to crown these guys champs just yet. And if the coaching is that bad, why would the players be playing this hard so late into a crappy season? Effort hasn't been the problem. And I saw enough PJ practices at Georgia Southern to know neither he nor the coaches nor the players half-a$$ it through practice. Plus, players are given tests Friday on their assignments. They're taught what to do, when to do it, and how to do it. When they don't do it right, then what do you do? You can change out personnel but at some point, with all the injuries, there ain't much to shuffle in and out.

 

[iceeater1969]

GT is a once every 3-4 year school. That is not going to change no matter who the coach is.

I am sure you can hear coach saying to ad = thanks for raise and big buyout, but you know the 2014 tech team is way over rated. Also I assume u understand gt can only hope to win more than 8 every 6 years and way we will prbably need a miricale to by win any game after tulane _ where do we sign.

I bet he said what is true=" 2015 great recruiting class , 2014 team has it rolling, we could have trouble next year due to past bad recruiting , but after that we could be good for a while. I and my staff are commited to bust our *** to get there.



Dont aim at ok. Aim high.
I witnessed art briles turn baylor around . They were winless in big twelve for 3 years while my son attended. It can be done.
Ga tech will be back.

 

[GTRX7]

IMO coaching has absolutely been an issue this season. Doesn't mean I want CPJ to leave - I don't. But things need to be looked at seriously in the offseason.
The same mistakes are being made in week 11 that were made in week 1, that's an issue. For whatever reason the coaching staff has not been able to get the best out of this team, injuries notwhithstanding.

IMO CPJ has earned 2 years to turn this around (and his contract virtually guarantees he will get that).
Johnson has been an interesting coach. His ceiling is high, but his floor is low. he nearly ended the bowl streak a couple of years ago.
His only remotely good defense has been the very first one that had Tenuta/Gailey players anchoring it. We've had 3 different DC's now over 8 yrs with very similar results. That suggests the results have less to do with the DC and more to do with the program as a whole.

I'm hoping for a quick rebound but past GT history would recommend caution in assuming that.

Just FWIW, CPJ's win percentage against legit (P5/BCS, bowl, and BYU&ND) teams is lower than both O'Leary and Gailey. like i said - higher ceiling, lower floor.

I love the 11 win seasons, but I wish our floor was 6 instead of 3/4.

Interesting to hear that CPJ's win percentage against legit (P5/BCS, bowl, and BYU&ND) teams is lower than Gailey's. Even with this unbelievably bad 1-7 ACC season, CPJ still has a slightly better win percentage against the ACC than Chan and a better win percentage against UGA than Chan. CPJ has done worse in bowls (2-5 for CPJ vs. 2-3 for Chan). Maybe CPJ's % is punished for having gone to 3 ACC title games and 2 Orange Bowls with a record of 2-3? If that is the type of thing "hurting" CPJ's percentage (that he makes a lot of ACC title games and BCS bowls instead of staying at home and playing "Mediocre State" every single year in a bowl) I am okay with that.

Based on CPJ's ACC record, I am not sure how anyone could conclude that this season is anything but an outlier.
2008 Georgia Tech 5–3 T–1st (Coastal)
2009 Georgia Tech 7–1 1st (Coastal)
2010 Georgia Tech 4–4 T–3rd (Coastal)
2011 Georgia Tech 5–3 T–2nd (Coastal)
2012 Georgia Tech 5–3 T–1st (Coastal)
2013 Georgia Tech 5–3 T–2nd (Coastal)
2014 Georgia Tech 6–2 1st (Coastal)
2015 Georgia Tech 1–7 6th (Coastal)

Here is Chan:
2002 Georgia Tech 4–4 T–5th
2003 Georgia Tech 4–4 T–4th
2004 Georgia Tech 4–4 T–6th
2005 Georgia Tech 5–3 3rd (Coastal)
2006 Georgia Tech 7–1 1st (Coastal)
2007 Georgia Tech 4–4

At least with respect to the ACC and UGA, I am pretty sure I know which I would call a "lower floor" if you made me pick, and it wouldn't be CPJ based on one season with somewhat freakish levels of injuries and close losses.

 

[SecretAgentBuzz]

FWIW, I never intended this to delve into a discussion on CPJ. I think he is a great coach, and has done a good job here, but its clear he and his staff need to take a hard look at what they are doing and look for ways to improve.

In my original post, poor coaching was reason #4, not reason #1. I was hoping to have a good discussion about which factors contributed most to the contrast between last year and this year. It's not just one thing. It's a lot. Let's just hope we can get them fixed before next year.

 

[MWBATL]

Interesting to hear that CPJ's win percentage against legit (P5/BCS, bowl, and BYU&ND) teams is lower than Gailey's. Even with this unbelievably bad 1-7 ACC season, CPJ still has a slightly better win percentage against the ACC than Chan and a better win percentage against UGA than Chan. CPJ has done worse in bowls (2-5 for CPJ vs. 2-3 for Chan). Maybe CPJ's % is punished for having gone to 3 ACC title games and 2 Orange Bowls with a record of 2-3? If that is the type of thing "hurting" CPJ's percentage (that he makes a lot of ACC title games and BCS bowls instead of staying at home and playing "Mediocre State" every single year in a bowl) I am okay with that.

Based on CPJ's ACC record, I am not sure how anyone could conclude that this season is anything but an outlier.
2008 Georgia Tech 5–3 T–1st (Coastal)
2009 Georgia Tech 7–1 1st (Coastal)
2010 Georgia Tech 4–4 T–3rd (Coastal)
2011 Georgia Tech 5–3 T–2nd (Coastal)
2012 Georgia Tech 5–3 T–1st (Coastal)
2013 Georgia Tech 5–3 T–2nd (Coastal)
2014 Georgia Tech 6–2 1st (Coastal)
2015 Georgia Tech 1–7 6th (Coastal)

Here is Chan:
2002 Georgia Tech 4–4 T–5th
2003 Georgia Tech 4–4 T–4th
2004 Georgia Tech 4–4 T–6th
2005 Georgia Tech 5–3 3rd (Coastal)
2006 Georgia Tech 7–1 1st (Coastal)
2007 Georgia Tech 4–4

At least with respect to the ACC and UGA, I am pretty sure I know which I would call a "lower floor" if you made me pick, and it wouldn't be CPJ based on one season with somewhat freakish levels of injuries and close losses.

Just as an FYI, if one simply removes the lower division opponents on the schedule (the Woffords and Jacksonville States and Gardner Webbs), Gaileys winning % is .590 BEFORE post season games while Johnson's is 0.563. Add in post-season play and Gailey drops to 0.561 while Johnson drops to .533. Facts are your friend, so not sure why you are upset or disagree with Red's comment. Beyond that, there can be a ton of argument about who should get credit for 2008/9...two fairly decent years....I gave credit to CPJ, but if one argues that it was with Gailey's players, the stats would be skewed pretty heavily towards Gailey. Even if you simply eliminate them from either coach, CPJ drops to 0.500 in regular season play and 0.471 including post-season.

And, no, I am not pining for the days under Gailey. He drove me nuts on offense. But let's not glorify what exists today either.

 

[GTRX7]

Just as an FYI, if one simply removes the lower division opponents on the schedule (the Woffords and Jacksonville States and Gardner Webbs), Gaileys winning % is .590 BEFORE post season games while Johnson's is 0.563. Add in post-season play and Gailey drops to 0.561 while Johnson drops to .533. Facts are your friend, so not sure why you are upset or disagree with Red's comment. Beyond that, there can be a ton of argument about who should get credit for 2008/9...two fairly decent years....I gave credit to CPJ, but if one argues that it was with Gailey's players, the stats would be skewed pretty heavily towards Gailey. Even if you simply eliminate them from either coach, CPJ drops to 0.500 in regular season play and 0.471 including post-season.

And, no, I am not pining for the days under Gailey. He drove me nuts on offense. But let's not glorify what exists today either.

I don't know that I am necessarily "upset or disagree" with Red's comments. As I said, I am "surprised." Particularly given that CPJ has a better ACC record and better record against UGA than Gailey did.

To your other point though, if we remove the two years with Gailey's players in 08 and 90, and then remove last year as a fluke, and then maybe the game over FSU as luck and any other cherry picked stats, I agree that it does start to look bad for CPJ. I mean, certainly we all agree that Gailey would have won 19 games in two years with Nesbitt at QB. That is just a given. Maybe could have done better actually. We should probably be mad that CPJ only went 9-4 and 10-3 with Gailey's players.

 

[RamblinRed]

I think CPJ is a better coach than CCG and wouldn't trade them so don't think that is what I am saying.
The floor comment seems pretty simple - 3 is lower than 7. But the ceiling is also legit - 11 vs 9. Whether the 3 is an outlier (I sure hope it is) - CPJ also has a 6 win season, which is lower than any season since the mid-90's. The 2 lowest win total seasons of the past 19 years have been CPJ as have been the 2 highest.

I still think the coaching has been less than stellar this year and its not 100% injuries.
Look at our 3rd quarters this year after halftime adjustments. We have 3 offensive scores in 9 games, a field goal against Duke (where we forced a TO and moved 2 yards before kicking it)
A FG against FSU - in what was out best 2nd half opening drive of the entire year, moving 52 yds.
Unlike last year where it felt like we made the better half time adjustments, this year it felt like the opponents made better half time adjustments. One 3 scores in 9 games by the offense, one starting in scoring position and another starting less than 10 yds from scoring position.

As far as the CPJ/CCG win percentage. They are very close (0.1% difference). CPJ has a better record against the ACC and UGA (the more important ones imo). Gailey was 0-1 in Championship games, CPJ is 1-2, not really much of a difference there. in bowl games CPJ in 2-5, CCG 2-4, once again not a huge difference. What allows the numbers to stay close is outside of UGA CCG performed slightly better against legit OOC competition than CPJ has. 2 wins over Auburn, 1 over ND 1 over BYU.

 

[GTFLETCH]

I just can't get over how frustrating this season has been for the team and the fans. Obviously, the season is not over and I hope we can end this miserable season with a resounding win, but up to this point, it has been a big, ugly mess.

Here are the first two things that can point to as logical reasons for a decline in performance:
1. Injuries. We have had multiple players go down and we just don't have the depth to plug in experienced players. Instead, we are plugging in true freshman and asking them to compete at a level they are probably not ready for.
2. Schedule. We all knew it would be tough, but in reality, it turned out worse than we thought. ND and Clemson were indeed title contenders, and with the addition of FSU and the improvement of UNC and Duke and Pitt, it was a murderer's row to begin the season. Things seemed to spiral from there.

To be honest, though, even with the harder schedule and the injuries, I still expected a lot more. We still had multiple chances to make plays and win games. What else happened?

3. Intangibles. I do not believe the talent level between last year's 11 win team and this year's 3 win team is that wide. Last year we saw some seniors step up and take responsibility and lead well. This year, we saw some seniors make mental mistakes and perform poorly when the game was on the line. Clearly, this team has lacked leadership and togetherness.
4. Poor coaching. I am not privy to what happens in practice, but it seems like our guys have not been in a position to succeed and have not progressed. If it were only a few players, we could point to personal issues, but it seems like there has been a general lack of effectiveness and growth in skills and awareness on the team, and this points to a lack of good coaching.
5. Bad luck. I intentionally listed this last. Random timing of bounces, referee calls (or lack there of) and inexplicable (and un-repeatable) performances do indeed affect the outcome of football games, and most of these have been against us this year. What can we do but throw up our arms and say, "Oh, well." Such is life as a GT fan.

Did I miss anything? Would you rank them differently?

As always, win or lose, I'll be cheering on the Yellow Jackets.

I think you missed all the players that quit during the season!
LB A. Harrell
LB. B. Hankins
WR M. Summers
DT J. Hunt

Not sure if I left anyone out but man having four players quit has to be tough when you are already dealing with a ton of injuries!!

 

[GTRX7]

I think CPJ is a better coach than CCG and wouldn't trade them so don't think that is what I am saying.
The floor comment seems pretty simple - 3 is lower than 7. But the ceiling is also legit - 11 vs 9. Whether the 3 is an outlier (I sure hope it is) - CPJ also has a 6 win season, which is lower than any season since the mid-90's. The 2 lowest win total seasons of the past 19 years have been CPJ as have been the 2 highest.

I still think the coaching has been less than stellar this year and its not 100% injuries.
Look at our 3rd quarters this year after halftime adjustments. We have 3 offensive scores in 9 games, a field goal against Duke (where we forced a TO and moved 2 yards before kicking it)
A FG against FSU - in what was out best 2nd half opening drive of the entire year, moving 52 yds.
Unlike last year where it felt like we made the better half time adjustments, this year it felt like the opponents made better half time adjustments. One 3 scores in 9 games by the offense, one starting in scoring position and another starting less than 10 yds from scoring position.

As far as the CPJ/CCG win percentage. They are very close (0.1% difference). CPJ has a better record against the ACC and UGA (the more important ones imo). Gailey was 0-1 in Championship games, CPJ is 1-2, not really much of a difference there. in bowl games CPJ in 2-5, CCG 2-4, once again not a huge difference. What allows the numbers to stay close is outside of UGA CCG performed slightly better against legit OOC competition than CPJ has. 2 wins over Auburn, 1 over ND 1 over BYU.

I guess I just believe this year is an exception and don't necessarily agree that an exception proves the rule. I think CPJ's coaching history speaks for itself and it shows that his floor is not any lower than Gailey's as a general rule.

As for adjustments in the third quarter, maybe that has to do with coaching this year, but I still doubt it. Again, historically we have been at our best after halftime adjustments. I think it makes sense that this would be one of the areas where we would struggle the most given a young lineup. It is hard enough getting young guys to understand the offense and execute after a week's prep for a particular opponent, but I think it makes sense that they would have an even harder time making and executing in-game counter adjustments.

What I do think is entirely fair is to say that this year has been due in large part to recruiting failures (as much as injuries). And that is on the coaching staff. This year's "senior class" was originally something like only 14 recruits and something like half of those are not even with the program anymore. Also, we took some shots on some guys like Custis and Autry (x2) that I think we hoped would be the strength of this offense, but are not even with the school. I also agree that there is a track record of CPJ's teams having worse defenses than Gailey's. I think that is entirely fair. The combination of recruiting failures and injuries this year was just too much to overcome as far as I am concerned, and I don't believe a primary reason for this year's failures has been on in-game coaching.

To be honest, the bottom line is that we need better defensive lineman if we are going to really be successful. Can this staff get them? I thought Freeman/Hunt-Days/Gotsis would be enough this year. Due to injuries, discipline, and lack of development, they have not. To me, that has been the biggest disappointment, not anything to do with the offense.

 

[Jean-Baptiste Rochambeau]

Many people on here have now commented on poor coaching being the downfall this year. This argument is both comical and disappointing; and much more plausible had there been any material coaching changes over the last year, but there haven't. Does everyone on here really think PJ and the rest of the staff have forgotten how to coach over the last 12 months after doing it for the last 20 years. This is the same staff that went 11-3 and won the Orange bowl with a bunch of 2 and 3 star recruits, and not one player drafted higher than the 4th round. Come on now.

Both comical AND disappointing?? How so? I understand what you are saying, that last year things were great and then this year things are not great. So how do you explain it? Here's my take. It is the staff's responsibility. They are the ones that need to see there are no on-the-field leaders IN THE SPRING. They are the ones that need to see we don't know how to block. In the same vein as your question about the coaches, did the offensive line just forget how to block, forget their assignments? Did Justin Thomas just forget how to pitch? It is a daunting task, I feel certain, to take a group of 75 or 80 college kids, turning over 25 new faces every year, and mold them into a disciplined, cohesive, SUCCESSFUL unit. Sure, it's difficult. That's why the coaches get paid more than most CEO's, brain surgeons, nuclear physicists, and ship captains in our society. We are currently ranked 70th in the country. Is that acceptable? Is that even explainable? We should NEVER be 3-9 with what we pay our coaches. Just give the job to Trent Miles at $600k and we can get 3-9. A Miami team that can't stop anybody, has an interim coach that had his team ready and blew us off the field. It has gone completely beyond ridiculous. The results would indicate there are major problems within the program. A dozen grown men, allegedly seasoned professional coaches, get many millions of dollars to identify and fix those problems. If they can't hack it, then move out and let someone else give it a try.

 

[65Jacket]

I don't agree with any of you guys who think Coaching was the issue in spite of the massive injuries. When they started the season they were pretty good, despite the youth at the skill positions. But, by the end of the ND game they had to train another group of skill players on a crash course to replace other injured players. Then that group was injured before they became proficient. That went on the whole season. There was no continuity with personnel.
I will defend CPJ in face of any who doubt him. We are very lucky to have such a great Coach at a place that makes it so difficult to succeed.

 

[Whatllyahave]

Many reasons for this year's debacle and plenty of blame to go around. Despite optimism for the future, this much I know, we ain't going to be consistently good until we can stop folks. It has been years since we had even an average defense.

 

[Pj4prez01]

@Jean-Baptiste Rochambeau

I don't agree with any of you guys who think Coaching was the issue in spite of the massive injuries. When they started the season they were pretty good, despite the youth at the skill positions. But, by the end of the ND game they had to train another group of skill players on a crash course to replace other injured players. Then that group was injured before they became proficient. That went on the whole season. There was no continuity with personnel.
I will defend CPJ in face of any who doubt him. We are very lucky to have such a great Coach at a place that makes it so difficult to succeed.

This.

With the reduced allowable practice sessions it is nearly impossible to get the 4-5 deep roster enough reps to be proficient in any offense. especially when so many are freshmen or played on the scout team last year. And unfortunately this year we are fielding the 4-5 deep.