Looking for Answers in 2015

[Lee]

No, it becomes obvious that a coach isn't doing his job when the players quit playing during the game. This team will fight to the end.

I disagree. When the team starts to quit playing during the game is when it's time to seriously consider finding a new coach. That means he has lost the locker room. That obviously isn't happening which means the players respect him and each other and want to succeed. They just aren't getting it done this year. There is a disconnect somewhere and some of that has to do with coaching.

If you have watched the team played this year and can objectively say that PJ has done a good job coaching than I would need to make sure you knew what the word objectively meant. The man himself has said he needs to do better. How someone on the outside can pretend he has done a good job coaching this year is just hard for me to comprehend.

It is possible to admit that PJ did a below average job coaching the team this year and still think that he is a good coach overall and is a good fit for our program.

The HC is a lot like the QB when it comes to getting praise and blame. A lot of times they get more credit than they deserve when things go right, while they also tend get more blame when things go wrong. Did PJ do a great job coaching last year? I say yes. Did he maybe get too much credit, while not enough was given to the players and their leadership? I also say yes. Is PJ part of the reason we have struggled this year? I say yes. Is he getting too much of the blame put on him for this team's struggles? I also say yes.

I personally think we will be a lot better next year. I think a lot of the kids that were forced into action this year will really benefit. I'm hopeful that PJ will do some soul searching and reach out to some respected coaches and at least consider making some slightchanges to our blocking schemes, especially pass pro.

 

[augustabuzz]

I disagree. When the team starts to quit playing during the game is when it's time to seriously consider finding a new coach. That means he has lost the locker room. That obviously isn't happening which means the players respect him and each other and want to succeed. They just aren't getting it done this year. There is a disconnect somewhere and some of that has to do with coaching.

If you have watched the team played this year and can objectively say that PJ has done a good job coaching than I would need to make sure you knew what the word objectively meant. The man himself has said he needs to do better. How someone on the outside can pretend he has done a good job coaching this year is just hard for me to comprehend.

It is possible to admit that PJ did a below average job coaching the team this year and still think that he is a good coach overall and is a good fit for our program.

The HC is a lot like the QB when it comes to getting praise and blame. A lot of times they get more credit than they deserve when things go right, while they also tend get more blame when things go wrong. Did PJ do a great job coaching last year? I say yes. Did he maybe get too much credit, while not enough was given to the players and their leadership? I also say yes. Is PJ part of the reason we have struggled this year? I say yes. Is he getting too much of the blame put on him for this team's struggles? I also say yes.

I personally think we will be a lot better next year. I think a lot of the kids that were forced into action this year will really benefit. I'm hopeful that PJ will do some soul searching and reach out to some respected coaches and at least consider making some slightchanges to our blocking schemes, especially pass pro.

Don't worry, after you've had more experience hearing "coach speak", you will more readily recognize it. Then perhaps you won't use it to make an arguement. As for the reasons for our less than stellar record this year, I will stick with my previous assertions in this thread.

 

[Lee]

Don't worry, after you've had more experience hearing "coach speak", you will more readily recognize it. Then perhaps you won't use it to make an arguement. As for the reasons for our less than stellar record this year, I will stick with my previous assertions in this thread.

First of all, did you read anything I wrote? Using his "coach speak" to make an argument on his performance isn't needed. Watch a game. You stick to whatever assertions makes you feel good inside. If that is placing all of the blame on some 18-22 year old kids, who by your own admission play their hearts out, more power to you. I'll stick to the fact that there is plenty of blame to go around and a good chunk of that falls squarely on the head man's shoulders.

As for "coach speak," I can promise you I don't need anyone, you especially, teaching me how to recognize it. The look of bewilderment in his eyes at the post game press conferences is enough for me to know that he doesn't know what to do to right the ship this year. I also don't need to read between the lines of his "coach speak" to know that he doesn't think this season is his fault. He is a very prideful man. He knows it would look bad to flat out blame the players, but he still finds a way to make sure everybody knows they aren't executing. It's easy to blame youth and injuries and there is a lot of truth to it. There are also games we had no business losing, even with the above (legit) excuses.

If you're related to the man, I get it. Outside of that, you would have to have not watched the team play this year or be willfully lying to yourself to think that he has done a good job coaching this team.

Like I've said before, it's okay to say he hasn't done a good job this year and still think he is a good coach overall. Hopefully we bounce back next year.

 

[takethepoints]

Well, I hate to make this seem like I'm picking on Lee here, but there's a large dollop of "leading with leadership" in this post.

Look, when things are going well, it is usually because of a combination of circumstances. Last year we had good experience at the O skill positions, a very favorable schedule, a bunch of teams in our division that were a year away from being dangerous, and an outrageous run of luck. (Like I've said before, after the first quarter of the PItt game I was convinced that somebody would call for Derrick to be burned at the stake as a warlock.) And, sure enough, Coach was praised to the skies for his coaching and JT for his leadership. Then we had the tsunami of injuries that have caused us so much trouble this year.

So, of course Coach sometimes looks like the universe is against him. It is this year. And he often faults lack of execution due to inexperience as the cause. It is this year. Knute Rockne couldn't have turned this season around once the injuries began piling up.

Leadership and coaching are easy when you have the troops you anticipated on the field and you aren't having to train the entire O backfield (except your QB) how to run the O on the job. Actually, I think Coach has down a great job this year. We've been in most of our games, despite our misfortunes. The results suck, but the effort has been there. And you never know; perhaps tomorrow will be the charm.

 

[Lee]

Well, I hate to make this seem like I'm picking on Lee here, but there's a large dollop of "leading with leadership" in this post.

Look, when things are going well, it is usually because of a combination of circumstances. Last year we had good experience at the O skill positions, a very favorable schedule, a bunch of teams in our division that were a year away from being dangerous, and an outrageous run of luck. (Like I've said before, after the first quarter of the PItt game I was convinced that somebody would call for Derrick to be burned at the stake as a warlock.) And, sure enough, Coach was praised to the skies for his coaching and JT for his leadership. Then we had the tsunami of injuries that have caused us so much trouble this year.

So, of course Coach sometimes looks like the universe is against him. It is this year. And he often faults lack of execution due to inexperience as the cause. It is this year. Knute Rockne couldn't have turned this season around once the injuries began piling up.

Leadership and coaching are easy when you have the troops you anticipated on the field and you aren't having to train the entire O backfield (except your QB) how to run the O on the job. Actually, I think Coach has down a great job this year. We've been in most of our games, despite our misfortunes. The results suck, but the effort has been there. And you never know; perhaps tomorrow will be the charm.

First of all, don't worry about feeling like you are picking on me. I have no problem having a civil discussion with someone that has a different opinion than mine. I actually enjoy it, especially when there are thoughtful responses exchanged. With that being said, I feel like your post basically just paraphrases something I said earlier:

The HC is a lot like the QB when it comes to getting praise and blame. A lot of times they get more credit than they deserve when things go right, while they also tend get more blame when things go wrong. Did PJ do a great job coaching last year? I say yes. Did he maybe get too much credit, while not enough was given to the players and their leadership? I also say yes. Is PJ part of the reason we have struggled this year? I say yes. Is he getting too much of the blame put on him for this team's struggles? I also say yes.

Of course coaching is easier when everything goes right. That typically doesn't happen. We may never see another year like last year in term of guys not getting hurt, especially at extremely thin spots (DT). The great ones overcome adversity and get it done. I'm not saying I think we should be 9-2 right now or that Paul Johnson isn't a great coach. Overcoming adversity can be looked many different ways as can this season.

You see the fact that we have been in a lot of games as a positive sign. I see the fact that we have not been able to win the close games that I feel we should have as a negative. Duke, UNC, UVA and VT had no business beating us. At the very least, we should have split those games. I'm not saying this based on records or "prestige," I'm saying this based on watching the games and how they played out. I could throw Pitt in there too, but that game was actually one of the cleaner games we played offensively. I'll leave it out since we are talking specifically about PJ's coaching (I know he runs the whole team and the D falls on him too, but he is known for his offense). If we had won half of those games, we'd have a shot at playing in a bowl game with a win over the dwags tomorrow (which is doable IMO).

I also want to reiterate that I don't think he did a terrible job this year either. He was dealt a pretty bad hand in terms of injuries and schedule, but I'm sure the most frustrating thing for him had to be the lack of execution by the experienced offensive line. I think he did an okay job, just not good. I don't think he should be fired, but I also don't think he should be commended for winning only 3 games to this point. Here's to hoping it's 4 by tomorrow around 3:30. I will be as happy as anyone if we pull that off.

 

[daBuzz]

Johnson has won 8 or more games 4 of his 8 seasons.
Gailey won 8 or more games 2 of his 7 seasons.
O'Leary won 8 or more games 3 of his 6 seasons (we will not count the takeover season against O'Leary).

Not an apples-to-apples comparison. In 2005, the NCAA added a 12th regular season game. In the same year, the ACC also added a championship game. Therefore, Johnson has the potential for 14 games with a bowl game. Winning 8 games out of 14 is a winning percentage of 57%.

Also, with respect to the arguments that keep getting made about "it's all about exection"...those people are exactly right and dead wrong. It is all about execution...you're right on that. But you guys do realize that most college football plays in any system will be successful if they're executed at the proper time and everyone executes their jobs properly? To claim that it's an execution problem is the lazy way out. That's like the Atlanta Braves saying they didn't have a talent problem this last year, they had an execution problem. If every batter had just hit every pitch that was thrown across the plate last year, they wouldn't have lost a game. Well duh.

 

[PBR549]

What I would like to see;

1. Examine OLine blocking. How the line blocks. What the guys seem to be good at opposed to forcing the issue? Should GT look into zone blocking? Are they capable of consistently drive blocking, especially elite front lines?

2. What could help with pass protection? How much time should be devoted to the passing game during practice? Would increased reps help the team in passing downs in game? Should GT pass more in game to be better effective overall? Is the Run & Shoot the best passing offense for this system? Should they incorporate other passing concepts and routes? Would re-instituting the shotgun help with JT?

I don't see anything wrong with our technique or scheme or really OL personnel. The problem is when a defense can man cover our wide outs and completely shut down our passing game. It makes everything, protection and the running game almost impossible. I hope we can make advances on that issue next year.

 

[GT1992]

I don't see anything wrong with our technique or scheme or really OL personnel. The problem is when a defense can man cover our wide outs and completely shut down our passing game. It makes everything, protection and the running game almost impossible. I hope we can make advances on that issue next year.

Why do you have hope of that? We knew that was a problem game three and it never was fixed.

 

[PBR549]

You can't fix not having a deep threat without having wide outs with speed. I hope between the RS freshmen, incoming freshmen and the three we had this year we will be able to make some headway next season. We knew it would be an issue coming in to the year but there is no quick fix. Someone needs to step up.

 

[Lee]

You can't fix not having a deep threat without having wide outs with speed. I hope between the RS freshmen, incoming freshmen and the three we had this year we will be able to make some headway next season. We knew it would be an issue coming in to the year but there is no quick fix. Someone needs to step up.

Philpott looks the part and can supposedly run. Hopefully he steps into that role next year. Juene and Stewart will both be better as well. HH will be in the mix also.

 

[upwgdrb]

I don't see anything wrong with our technique or scheme or really OL personnel. The problem is when a defense can man cover our wide outs and completely shut down our passing game. It makes everything, protection and the running game almost impossible. I hope we can make advances on that issue next year.

I know some say the scheme is not the problem, but no matter what some want to say defenses for the most part played us hyper-aggressively and it worked. This was a major change from stay in your assignment and we struggled with it. This is basically the way Foster plays us every year and we struggle with it.
It is more than time for CPJ to look at his blocking scheme with expectations of 300lb lineman always getting to the second level. I have no doubt in my mind we could successfully run the offense with a zone blocking scheme. The read option at Oregon is just not that far away from us and that's what they use. I am tired of seeing our lineman on the ground. Let's let them man up and block, they are capable.
Our passing offense is based on run and shoot concepts. If we really want to that lets spread the field and put our QB in the gun. It is not a major change. The plays do not change just the position of the qb. Our talent is set up to run the run and shoot really well if JT improves on mechanics and accuracy.

 

[Buzzoff]

Injuries and offensive line coaching were the main issues this year.

If we don't fire Sewak then we didn't learn anything this year.

 

[Declinometer]

Injuries and offensive line coaching were the main issues this year.

If we don't fire Sewak then we didn't learn anything this year.

I heard he was just injured and beat up. He'll bounce back.

 

[Skeptic]

Not an apples-to-apples comparison. In 2005, the NCAA added a 12th regular season game. In the same year, the ACC also added a championship game. Therefore, Johnson has the potential for 14 games with a bowl game. Winning 8 games out of 14 is a winning percentage of 57%.

Also, with respect to the arguments that keep getting made about "it's all about exection"...those people are exactly right and dead wrong. It is all about execution...you're right on that. But you guys do realize that most college football plays in any system will be successful if they're executed at the proper time and everyone executes their jobs properly? To claim that it's an execution problem is the lazy way out. That's like the Atlanta Braves saying they didn't have a talent problem this last year, they had an execution problem. If every batter had just hit every pitch that was thrown across the plate last year, they wouldn't have lost a game. Well duh.

Read a book once in which our hero was a career criminal , always being arrested for burglary. Judge said he had a "breaking and entering problem." Our hero denied it. Said he had a "breaking and exiting problem." Execution?

 

[Skeptic]

I know some say the scheme is not the problem, but no matter what some want to say defenses for the most part played us hyper-aggressively and it worked. This was a major change from stay in your assignment and we struggled with it. This is basically the way Foster plays us every year and we struggle with it.
It is more than time for CPJ to look at his blocking scheme with expectations of 300lb lineman always getting to the second level. I have no doubt in my mind we could successfully run the offense with a zone blocking scheme. The read option at Oregon is just not that far away from us and that's what they use. I am tired of seeing our lineman on the ground. Let's let them man up and block, they are capable.
Our passing offense is based on run and shoot concepts. If we really want to that lets spread the field and put our QB in the gun. It is not a major change. The plays do not change just the position of the qb. Our talent is set up to run the run and shoot really well if JT improves on mechanics and accuracy.

Getting to the LB is one thing on a run, and why we couldn't do it in Year 8 vs. other years I don't have a clue. But getting the blitzing LB in the gap on a pass play is entirely different, yet again and again poor Thomas takes the snap and it is a horse race as to whether he the ball or the untouched LB gets to him first. Witness the 2nd and 2 that became something like 4th and forever -- sorry, I cannot watch that again -- when we couldn't get a first down on 3rd and 1.

 

[Skeptic]

You can't fix not having a deep threat without having wide outs with speed. I hope between the RS freshmen, incoming freshmen and the three we had this year we will be able to make some headway next season. We knew it would be an issue coming in to the year but there is no quick fix. Someone needs to step up.

Hate to rain on the parade, but does anybody remember that Forever and Always thread after the signing of Brad Stewart? Among his contributions was to be great speed. He contributed surely. But speed was not part of his game. Besides, I think speed is more important at Aback than WR. And injuries robbed of us of almost all of that.

 

[Declinometer]

Hate to rain on the parade, but does anybody remember that Forever and Always thread after the signing of Brad Stewart? Among his contributions was to be great speed. He contributed surely. But speed was not part of his game. Besides, I think speed is more important at Aback than WR. And injuries robbed of us of almost all of that.

LOL!

 

[Skeptic]

I've never heard Johnson so down on a team as he was Saturday. Threatening, even. It seems inevitable that at least two assistants will be going, and I make it three with the special teams guy, and with his comment that some of those Abacks "won't be back there next year," I suspect we will have some transfers out. Not necessarily because he will pressure them, but if you come to college to play football and the message is move to the end of the bench, it is time to go while you have some eligibility left. Wouldn't you? We all saw the problems and yes, it was embarrassing.

When an A back who is the pitch man on the triple O doesn't even bother running his route and instead seems to wander off to the left on the snap? And the QB and WR can't get their routes straight? And LBs blow through gaps untouched, again, to completely disrupt the option? When Georgia leaps offside on a critical down and the center is nice enough to hold the snap long enough for him to get back onside? I dunno. But I have thought before that Johnson cannot survive another season like this one, or one even resembling it. One season is understandable. Two would be very serious. Two on top of four or five mediocre seasons broken by a great season will not get it anywhere.

I hope Johnson can put things together again. I really do, because when it is working the triple O is the most beautiful play in football, art in motion. I don't know what you call what we saw Saturday.

 

[wvGT11]

@Skeptic, couldn't have said it better myself. This is one of the only seasons I have seem a team regress through the season rather than improve. Perimeter runs looked better yesterday, but obviously something in the coaching isn't working if the team isn't improving each week. I kept thinking while watching the game, how have some of these things not been fixed, its like the guys forgot what they practiced.

 

[Lee]

When Georgia leaps offside on a critical down and the center is nice enough to hold the snap long enough for him to get back onside?

I'm glad somebody else brought this up. I couldn't for the life of me understand why he didn't just snap the ball when he saw the guy directly in front of him jump. I'd like to think he has the freedom to do that, but maybe he doesn't?

It was the little things like this that we didn't do all year that killed us. The interception instead of throwing it away and taking 3 points. Juene trying to fight for extra yards when he already has a first down only to fumble. I appreciate the fight, but knowing the situation is equally important. That play took a while to develope (nice job Oline) and they were sitting in a zone. By the time he caught the ball there were guys converging from all of the field. If he has a guy man to man on the outside, there is more to gain from fighting to break loose and less risk. Just little things that make a huge difference in the outcome of a game.

Football is a very instinctive sport and we seemed to be lacking in this department this year. I don't know if it was guys putting too much pressure on themselves when things started to go bad, guys were thinking too much or what. Hopefully we improve in this area as well next year because I know we've got some smart players.