Macon Telegraph: Stability at quarterback raises the bar at Georgia Tech

[Yoda]

I love Byerly, but even he knows his place.

 

[JorgeJonas]

Hard to hit a guy if you can't catch him.

 

[ATL1]

Or maybe losing like against Duke in 4th qtr and orchestrating a near come back!

What?!?!

 

[Declinometer]

Rememba....Byerly entered the game down 31-12 with 8:18 to go in 4th qtr and rallied the team to a 31-25 finish. Come on....you rememba.
About as silly as you wanting a 38 point lead in the 4th qtr before he gets a look!

 

[dressedcheeseside]

With the inexperience at A&B backs, will defenses try to make Thomas pitch more often? That would make sense; take JT out of the offense as much as possible and hit him more often.

If they do, it's at their own peril. Remember, our O is designed to attack the side where we have a numbers advantage. If the lead blocker on the edge gets his block, there's nobody on the pitchman. Now defenses can hedge by cheating their LB's and DB's to playside, but that opens up the counter for huge gains.

 

[cuttysark]

@ilovetheoption
"Yes, when he's healthy, he's unbelievably dynamic. That said, he's really little. He's good about not taking hits, and he's fast enough to run away from most big guys, but I think it was a minor miracle he made it though last year as relatively unscathed as he did.
172 is really, really small."


Jamelle Holieway who came of the bench at Oklahoma and led the Sooners to the 1985 National Championship as a true Freshman QB probably weighed less than 170 Lbs. after eating a plate of pancakes and several milkshakes. He didn't get hurt and JT is bigger.

Many folks consider Jamelle the best option QB at the position. Justin Thomas will have an opportunity before he graduates from GT to exceed that mark.

 

[dressedcheeseside]

Some guys have a knack for avoiding hits and it's usually the guys who are quick and fast and on the move. When JT runs with the ball, he sees the hit coming 90+% of the time and is able to take evasive action. I'm more worried about him getting hit while in the pocket, but he has outstanding awareness, too, and that worry goes for any qb no matter how big.

Another worry is getting rolled up or fallen on after the tackle, but that can happen to any guy no matter his size.

 

[deeeznutz]

If they do, it's at their own peril. Remember, our O is designed to attack the side where we have a numbers advantage. If the lead blocker on the edge gets his block, there's nobody on the pitchman. Now defenses can hedge by cheating their LB's and DB's to playside, but that opens up the counter for huge gains.

This is pretty much how I see this year playing out, teams focusing on stopping JT (especially early in the year) and ending up getting burned on the edge and counters. When the guy making the reads is the biggest threat to burn you, the whole offense becomes exponentially more dangerous at all positions. It's pretty much the polar opposite of the Tevin Washington era when defenses schemed to make him keep the ball as much as possible.

 

[sl1m75]

For all the talk of how small JeT is how many remember how small Dee Dowis who wsa 150 lbs soaking wet. But he was a master at the option just like JeT and rarely if ever took a big hit.

 

[Skeptic]

@ilovetheoption
"Yes, when he's healthy, he's unbelievably dynamic. That said, he's really little. He's good about not taking hits, and he's fast enough to run away from most big guys, but I think it was a minor miracle he made it though last year as relatively unscathed as he did.
172 is really, really small."


.

That can't be right. He was listed on the roster as late as the Orange Bowl at 5-11, 189.Coaches don't lie. Do they? Wonder what other sizes on the roster are generously fudged?

 

[JacketFromUGA]

That can't be right. He was listed on the roster as late as the Orange Bowl at 5-11, 189.Coaches don't lie. Do they? Wonder what other sizes on the roster are generously fudged?

Well at least the sizes that would be fudged the most on any list are not listed...

 

[awbuzz]

The 'vibe" JT gives compared to the guy that started a couple of years ago HAS to make some difference with the team. Not saying that the started from 2 years ago was 'bad" and that didn't have a depleted o-line per se. Bottom line, I feel more confident with JT at the helm than I think I would with VL (you know the guy starting 2 years ago that was to be THE guy) being the starter this year.

 

[Boomergump]

The only situation where I see JT's weight being an issue at all is in goal line and 3rd (or 4th) and short. In this offense, you really the need the QB follow to be a legit power, short yardage threat. It opens everything else up. It is nice to have everything, but rarely so. Most QBs who can run for power are not capable of running past everybody like JT is.

 

[Blumpkin Souffle]

The only situation where I see JT's weight being an issue at all is in goal line and 3rd (or 4th) and short. In this offense, you really the need the QB follow to be a legit power, short yardage threat. It opens everything else up. It is nice to have everything, but rarely so. Most QBs who can run for power are not capable of running past everybody like JT is.

I wouldn't be surprised at all to see Byerly in more of these situations this year. He can pound it up the gut or toss it over the top when the defense throws everything up the middle.

 

[AE 87]

About half way thru the season, cpj made the decision that jt was our qb and that he'd run those goal line plays. Maybe it was after Brandon called tb a td vulture on a radio show.

However, in one of the few places that I might 2d guess coach, I think using tb short ydg is a good idea. Breaking tackles or thru arms at the goal line is about momentum of which mass is a significant part.

 

[deeeznutz]

About half way thru the season, cpj made the decision that jt was our qb and that he'd run those goal line plays. Maybe it was after Brandon called tb a td vulture on a radio show.

However, in one of the few places that I might 2d guess coach, I think using tb short ydg is a good idea. Breaking tackles or thru arms at the goal line is about momentum of which mass is a significant part.

The threat of JT running wide helps open up the middle on goal line runs. He may not be as much of a bull as Tim but he helps create opportunities for the other backs. Plus now that we have Skov clearing a path the midline can be deadly for short yardage.

 

[Ibeeballin]

The push our Oline gets, short yardage shouldn't be an issue no matter who is under center.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

These conversations always have a "this but that" feel to them. Let me add to the back and forth. I like Byerly a lot in short yardage and goal line. But there are at least two cons to that. One is you tip the defense off that the play is likely not going to involve the quarterback using his speed to the edge. Second, the center and the quarterback have developed automatic timing and sync on the exchange by that time in the game and a new quarterback coming in might have a tendency to slow that exchange down a little for the sake of ball security and getting the right feel. That nano-second difference could slow down the development of the play slightly and give the defense more reaction time.

 

[Skeptic]

The 'vibe" JT gives compared to the guy that started a couple of years ago HAS to make some difference with the team. Not saying that the started from 2 years ago was 'bad" and that didn't have a depleted o-line per se. Bottom line, I feel more confident with JT at the helm than I think I would with VL (you know the guy starting 2 years ago that was to be THE guy) being the starter this year.

I think the "vibe", as you say, goes way beyond the team. As Nuke Laloosh might say, it's out there. No player in my memory has so excited and reignited the fan base as well as the team. (Face it, when you're 3rd and 8 and expect to make it, routinely, well ...) But GT was taken seriously on a national scene and on TV, that nonsense about high schools and gimmicks etc. disappeared, the passing offense was evident, and for the first time, Johnson's spread option was called by the national media ... a spread option and recognized by same as a big play offense. Heretofore it was the triple option and nickels and dimes. Once I decided to figure out how many different options GT could run with Thomas. I am pretty sure I got to eight before getting confused. I don't blame Johnson for refusing to let him get hit in the spring. I doubt he will get hit in August, either.

 

[AE 87]

The threat of JT running wide helps open up the middle on goal line runs. He may not be as much of a bull as Tim but he helps create opportunities for the other backs. Plus now that we have Skov clearing a path the midline can be deadly for short yardage.

The push our Oline gets, short yardage shouldn't be an issue no matter who is under center.

I don't actually disagree with yall in principle. I think TB as a backup allows us to maintain a lot of that flexibility, if not from raw speed.

The issue, for me, isn't concern over JT's ability, especially with an OL that can usually get a good push. Heck, if the OL opens the holes, we could use a nerd from the stands to play tailback in an I formation.

The fact is that we run a sneak or a follow a vast majority of the time, and if the opponents get leverage of if the have a head hunter LB like our #54 under Wommack, the QB may need to break a tackle. I think we all agree that JT got the ball into the endzone before the push back strip verus the dwags. I think TB breaks thru that. That's all I was saying.

I'm not saying JT is too small, but that we have value we can use with TB. Just an opinion.