LOS

[Augusta_Jacket]

I remain baffled by this one thing...we gave up over 40 points in the first half (yes one TD was a pick six). In the vast nyriad of problems that we face, why does this one particular issue stick in the craw of so many people's throats???? Say we scored 14 more points today...is that really the issue we have????? Not saying the play calling is perfect but this is a fixation imo for many posters. It's akin to complaining about the paint job when the transmission isn't working.

Two things:

1. I am inclined to agree with you. I really feel like it's among the least of our problems right now.

2. On the other hand, it is a problem, and more than just a paint flaw. Personally, I think it's more a problem with the OL than OC, but that's just me.

 

[SOWEGA Jacket]

Patenaude brings nothing to the table. If you look up vanilla in the dictionary you’ll see his picture. Nothing he calls is imaginative or innovative. He takes the same plays that every team runs and that’s his playbook. And we wonder why the defenses have our number. Sure, he makes some calls that work. So could a 12 year old. But when it matters he chokes. Again, not one play that has been imaginative. I especially love the play where two of best 4 athletes in Sims and Gibbs run the play where they get the snap at minus 5 yards and then stand there deciding who gets the ball. Great use of talent and speed. At least the midget football play where Sims just takes the snap and runs picked up some yards. It worked when I coached 5 years olds and gave it to the fastest kid as well.

 

[RamblinRed]

Both coordinators should be on warm seats at this point. I suspect if GT wins fewer than 6 games that Collins will have to jettison at least one of them to appease fans and management.
Outside of the Clemson and UNC games I have seen little in the 2+ years to suggest either are really ACC level coordinators.

I've also been unimpressed with Coach Key to this point. The OL doesn't look any significantly better than it did in year one. Now that was always going to take longer, but if they OL doesn't take a huge step forward in year 4 then it is hard to justify what we are paying him.

 

[wvGT11]

That

Both coordinators should be on warm seats at this point. I suspect if GT wins fewer than 6 games that Collins will have to jettison at least one of them to appease fans and management.
Outside of the Clemson and UNC games I have seen little in the 2+ years to suggest either are really ACC level coordinators.

I've also been unimpressed with Coach Key to this point. The OL doesn't look any significantly better than it did in year one. Now that was always going to take longer, but if they OL doesn't take a huge step forward in year 4 then it is hard to justify what we are paying him.

I'm partial, what ever Thacker and Coach P.did last week worked, but this week both flat out failed .

 

[1979jacket]

Pitt played the old BC/Matt Ryan offense. Hold on every play and force the refs to call it

It's funny you mention BC because it reminded me also of the Ryan BC game where you thought there is no way you can get that much time without holding. That BC game was a long time ago. I don't know what you do if you are Thacker. Even when he rushed he couldn't get any pressure and when he covered their QB threw darts. We have to start getting some separation from the rushers for heat on QB. On offense I thought the play calling was horrible. It was like CP had a scripted plan to set up certain plays and he did not watch what the defense was doing which was stop the run. He has some good plays but you have to call them at the right time. We should have just passed until we loosened them up but the couple of early interceptions made him gun shy. Still too scripted.

 

[TruckStick]

He needs a sit down with Ralph. Geoff has ties..... should be easy to set up

Patenaude comes across as too arrogant to change anything. His balanced approach is a Jack of all trades master of none.

 

[BleedGoldNWhite21]

I remain baffled by this one thing...we gave up over 40 points in the first half (yes one TD was a pick six). In the vast nyriad of problems that we face, why does this one particular issue stick in the craw of so many people's throats???? Say we scored 14 more points today...is that really the issue we have????? Not saying the play calling is perfect but this is a fixation imo for many posters. It's akin to complaining about the paint job when the transmission isn't working.

I would say it’s because the red zone offense continues to struggle and not get better and, HOPEFULLY, we will eventually be in close games and if that problem is never fixed, then we’ll still lose all those close games lol

 

[Oakland]

During the past 3 years, with Thacker as our DC, we've really experience some pretty lopsided scores. I don't see the needle moving upward with him. Using just 3 defensive linemen today against a strong offensive line was troubling. Face it, the score should have been 59 to 21, but Pitt gave us a break at the end of the game. We could have won the NIU game if we had a defense during the last two minutes.

 

[4shotB]

I would say it’s because the red zone offense continues to struggle and not get better and, HOPEFULLY, we will eventually be in close games and if that problem is never fixed, then we’ll still lose all those close games lol

This is reasonable and thoughtful and it does make a good point. However, it is worrying about things yet to come. Until we can get to the point where all games are close it's a moot point. The biggest issue on our Pareto chart of getting to where all games are indeed close where playcalling is the difference maker is embedded in the title of this thread. Until we get better and consistent play on the LOS our playcalling is not the root cause of our issues. Just my opinion.

 

[danny daniel]

It's funny you mention BC because it reminded me also of the Ryan BC game where you thought there is no way you can get that much time without holding. That BC game was a long time ago. I don't know what you do if you are Thacker. Even when he rushed he couldn't get any pressure and when he covered their QB threw darts. We have to start getting some separation from the rushers for heat on QB. On offense I thought the play calling was horrible. It was like CP had a scripted plan to set up certain plays and he did not watch what the defense was doing which was stop the run. He has some good plays but you have to call them at the right time. We should have just passed until we loosened them up but the couple of early interceptions made him gun shy. Still too scripted.

I sat next to a very knowledgeable Pitt fan. He knows the team well. He could not understand why we did not throw deep over and over. He claimed that any team who has success over Pitt does it with mid and deep passes. The runs and short stuff do not work against Pitt according to him. As I watched the game I believe he was right.

 

[Ibeeballin]

Patenaude brings nothing to the table. If you look up vanilla in the dictionary you’ll see his picture. Nothing he calls is imaginative or innovative. He takes the same plays that every team runs and that’s his playbook. And we wonder why the defenses have our number. Sure, he makes some calls that work. So could a 12 year old. But when it matters he chokes. Again, not one play that has been imaginative. I especially love the play where two of best 4 athletes in Sims and Gibbs run the play where they get the snap at minus 5 yards and then stand there deciding who gets the ball. Great use of talent and speed. At least the midget football play where Sims just takes the snap and runs picked up some yards. It worked when I coached 5 years olds and gave it to the fastest kid as well.

Lol…

 

[GTpdm]

This is reasonable and thoughtful and it does make a good point. However, it is worrying about things yet to come. Until we can get to the point where all games are close it's a moot point. The biggest issue on our Pareto chart of getting to where all games are indeed close where playcalling is the difference maker is embedded in the title of this thread. Until we get better and consistent play on the LOS our playcalling is not the root cause of our issues. Just my opinion.

I agree, it’s hard to say that it’s play-calling, at this point. But are our OL woes talent-related, or coaching-related (or as Starlod says, “a little bit of both…”)?

 

[4shotB]

I agree, it’s hard to say that it’s play-calling, at this point. But are our OL woes talent-related, or coaching-related (or as Starlod says, “a little bit of both…”)?

I don't think anyone who posts here truly knows the answer to your question. I do think the OL coach has the credentials in that he has coached for both Saban and O'Leary, both of whom I have to believe can discern another person's ability to coach the game. I am of the school of thought that says that guys do NOT forget how to coach.

 

[smokey_wasp]

Patenaude brings nothing to the table. If you look up vanilla in the dictionary you’ll see his picture. Nothing he calls is imaginative or innovative. He takes the same plays that every team runs and that’s his playbook. And we wonder why the defenses have our number. Sure, he makes some calls that work. So could a 12 year old. But when it matters he chokes. Again, not one play that has been imaginative. I especially love the play where two of best 4 athletes in Sims and Gibbs run the play where they get the snap at minus 5 yards and then stand there deciding who gets the ball. Great use of talent and speed. At least the midget football play where Sims just takes the snap and runs picked up some yards. It worked when I coached 5 years olds and gave it to the fastest kid as well.

Blaming the play calling is always the easiest thing to do. What's the best play call for an OL that can't block?

 

[WreckinGT]

I don't think anyone who posts here truly knows the answer to your question. I do think the OL coach has the credentials in that he has coached for both Saban and O'Leary, both of whom I have to believe can discern another person's ability to coach the game. I am of the school of thought that says that guys do NOT forget how to coach.

If Key is a great OL coach then the only explanation for what we have seen is that our staff is very poor at evaluating OL talent via the transfer portal or out of high school.

 

[Augusta_Jacket]

Blaming the play calling is always the easiest laziest thing to do. What's the best play call for an OL that can't block?

FIFY.

 

[Augusta_Jacket]

If Key is a great OL coach then the only explanation for what we have seen is that our staff is very poor at evaluating OL talent via the transfer portal or out of high school.

No, There are other explanations, but you have to be able to use reason without emotion to get there.

 

[WreckinGT]

No, There are other explanations, but you have to be able to use reason without emotion to get there.

Ok. It’s not talent and it’s not coaching. What is it?

 

[Augusta_Jacket]

Ok. It’s not talent and it’s not coaching. What is it?

It's still a relatively young line. Transfers may be older but they are still new players in a new system. It's going to take a couple of years to get old and stay old on the line. We are taking transfers to keep class separation. In a year or two we shoe see drastic improvement.

 

[ibeattetris]

Blaming the play calling is always the easiest thing to do. What's the best play call for an OL that can't block?

at least realistically, when you option a player there is one less to block. so maybe as much zone read as we can. obviously isn't much you can do when the entire line seems to be underperforming at times.