MJ vs JeT

[takethepoints]

Like this?

Looking at these clips (where, oh, where would we be without Longestday?) brings up something else that I mentioned in an earlier post.

Notice how MJ pitches the ball. He doesn't challenge the pitch key much at all. He runs at him and, as soon as the pitch key's shoulders turn toward him, he makes the pitch. No waiting until he's in the grasp, no juking to try to create edge openings: he makes the pitch, period. Now watch how quickly the plays develop. The AB is at the edge almost as soon as the pitch is made. This is how QBs like Jordan operate in Coach's O: they either run the ball to the hole when the pitch fails to commit (Nesbitt was great at that) or they make the pitch.

I think JT was more like Keenan Reynolds (or vice versa; your choice). He held the ball and pushed the edge to try to create opportunities for big plays. MJ seems to be more like Will Worth. He will either make the pitch on the first commitment of the pitch key or he'll head for the hole and bull his way forward for 4 - 5 yards, or, if he's lucky, more. Worth made most of his big runs on mid-line options; he wasn't fast enough to blast around the edge. I expect the same with Jordan, although he appears to be a step faster then Worth.

But this could all be off. We'll have to see how he develops to get an idea how he'll play and how the O will work. Having Mills back there will probably change things.

 

[deeeznutz]

Anyone expecting MJ to make the same reads in his limited appearances that JT did as a multi-year starter are out of their minds. I'm thinking Matt will look like a much more polished player this year (assuming it's his job) when he's had a full offseason as "the man" at QB, working with the #1 skill players behind the #1 line, and having the summer to work the route tree as the starter. It's like looking at JT in 2013 vs 2014...he looked like a very different player with that experience.
Also, I can see some parallels in our team this year vs 2014...experience on the line and at the RB/WR spots with a new QB with a couple years in the system ready to step in. The table is set for Matt or whoever wins the job to succeed. The nice thing is we aren't going to be decimated by graduation after the season...we have a nice distribution of contributors spread through a few classes.

 

[potatohead]

Wasn't the Center a true freshman, also making his 1st start in Blacksburg?

Yes he was. Kenny Cooper. Our three olinemen and defense were the heroes of that game. Unbelievable what Cooper, braun, and Lee did this last season. They could be as good as any olinemen that have come through tech and they're all from the same class. Unreal.

 

[dressedcheeseside]

Yes he was. Kenny Cooper. Our three olinemen and defense were the heroes of that game. Unbelievable what Cooper, braun, and Lee did this last season. They could be as good as any olinemen that have come through tech and they're all from the same class. Unreal.

Bryan and Marshall are no slouches, either.

 

[Eastman]

I love how MJ walks up and down the line speaking into each OLs ear to make sure they have the play. He's like Ernie Els in golf - EasyE they call him - never gets too up or too down. Calm, steady eddie. I don't know what he does off the field to keep so calm on Saturdays.

Evidently he's a player and a "playa"

 

[Whiskey_Clear]

I'm not at all worried about MJs deep ball. Im not real worried about his passing in general and I don't really see why some here are so concerned about that part of his game. Can he make the back shoulder throws in pressure situations the way JT did? That was something I thought JT did very well. I dunno, time will tell. Hopefully he won't have to often.

 

[GTJake]

"passing in general" ... same old argument for me, IMO you have to stretch the defense and make them defend the whole field.

 

[deeeznutz]

He's got an eye for talent too...

My favorite part of this (well, 2nd favorite) is that the guy in the back does too.

 

[redmule]

Jordan played almost the entire game at Miami in 2015 if you are looking for a bigger sample size of his playing time. In that game he definitely made some good passes, more pitches/reads, and drove down the field several times. The reason we lost that game was the turnovers (not just from him). You also have to remember how bad the team was around him that year (even JT only won 3 games with that offense). However, he also seemed to have some fumble troubles in the VT game last year, but I think that will be smoothed out with more reps with the first team this offseason. You have to remember, he was not expecting to even play that Miami game, so he probably did not get any reps with the first team that week, and he still seemed very capable. For the VT game, he came in with only 1 week on first team and won a game that honestly turned our season around. I think he could turn out to be very good for us this year and next year.

I think it was raining pretty hard during most of that Miami game. Jordan has had some tough starts: VT on the road, Miami on the road in a monsoon.

 

[grandpa jacket]

I am concerned but Paul has always chosen the best person at QB for tech since he has been here. However this year, whoever he chooses wont be better than Jet. But the O as a whole may be equal or step fwd due to Ol and other positions.

Correct, a QB like Thomas doesnt show up that often.

 

[SlawDog]

Correct, a QB like Thomas doesnt show up that often.

Calm down, he ain't no Tracy Hamm

 

[Sideways]

The VT game was a bit of a mystery to me. Was VT overconfident with Jet out? Did the other 10 on our offense decide to step up without Jet or is MJ that solid and brings a different element to the O? My thought is it was a little bit of all three.

My memory of that game was that we whipped them up front for a change especially Will, Freddie, Parker, and Shamire. As I recall, they had a really quick and athletic tackle who was a bit undersized and made some plays but our guards pretty much blocked him into the middle of next week. No Luther Maddy in the backfield last year!

 

[dressedcheeseside]

My memory of that game was that we whipped them up front for a change especially Will, Freddie, Parker, and Shamire. As I recall, they had a really quick and athletic tackle who was a bit undersized and made some plays but our guards pretty much blocked him into the middle of next week. No Luther Maddy in the backfield last year!

Freddie missed the VT game.

 

[AE 87]

My memory of that game was that we whipped them up front for a change especially Will, Freddie, Parker, and Shamire. As I recall, they had a really quick and athletic tackle who was a bit undersized and made some plays but our guards pretty much blocked him into the middle of next week. No Luther Maddy in the backfield last year!

I recall it differently, fwiw. We schemed them for a couple homeruns, MJ and MM, and we got good field position from pass interference and turnovers. Their O didn't click like their game vs cuse.

 

[dressedcheeseside]

Looking at these clips (where, oh, where would we be without Longestday?) brings up something else that I mentioned in an earlier post.

Notice how MJ pitches the ball. He doesn't challenge the pitch key much at all. He runs at him and, as soon as the pitch key's shoulders turn toward him, he makes the pitch. No waiting until he's in the grasp, no juking to try to create edge openings: he makes the pitch, period. Now watch how quickly the plays develop. The AB is at the edge almost as soon as the pitch is made. This is how QBs like Jordan operate in Coach's O: they either run the ball to the hole when the pitch fails to commit (Nesbitt was great at that) or they make the pitch.

I think JT was more like Keenan Reynolds (or vice versa; your choice). He held the ball and pushed the edge to try to create opportunities for big plays. MJ seems to be more like Will Worth. He will either make the pitch on the first commitment of the pitch key or he'll head for the hole and bull his way forward for 4 - 5 yards, or, if he's lucky, more. Worth made most of his big runs on mid-line options; he wasn't fast enough to blast around the edge. I expect the same with Jordan, although he appears to be a step faster then Worth.

But this could all be off. We'll have to see how he develops to get an idea how he'll play and how the O will work. Having Mills back there will probably change things.

All I see is a proper pitch read and good execution. In both vids, I doubt holding the ball any longer gives any benefit, the pitch key doesn't come close to laying a finger on the pitch man. I don't know if JeT would have done any different at all, honestly.

 

[Longestday]

MJ fires more down the line versus a step back which makes the reads come faster? I think JT is looking to get more outside (less contact) where MJ is looking to go inside (more contact).

 

[takethepoints]

All I see is a proper pitch read and good execution. In both vids, I doubt holding the ball any longer gives any benefit, the pitch key doesn't come close to laying a finger on the pitch man. I don't know if JeT would have done any different at all, honestly.

Well, I beg to differ. Watch our 2014 game with Ugag or the Orange Bowl that year. (JT's pitch in the grasp to Deon Hill in the Ugag game comes most strongly to mind.) You'll see lots of versions of what I'm talking about. Even when JT makes the pitch after the key commits, he is usually a lot closer to the LOS and the key when he does it. He could get away with it and it often paid off. And he got caught a lot for his trouble as well.

I doubt you'll see MJ do the same thing. If he can make a read, I'm betting he'll do what he does in the clips most of the time. That has its costs too, of course; notice how, despite the quick execution, the ABs get run down from behind by outside people who were most definitely not faked out of their boots. Often JT or the AB had the field open because the outside keys had so badly overcommitted.

 

[Longestday]

Keep in mind this is VT.... one of the defences that give GT the most problems.

I do believe the pitch relationship, the pitch position, and the speed to out side will be a bit different for MJ than JT. The pitches will happen more quickly for MJ and the angles will be different as well.

I think people started to hone in on JT in 2015. The BB was not a big threat and the defenses shifted resources to contain JT. This stayed the same in 2016, but the BB became a bigger threat. 2017 will be interesting as all three positions have become a threat including the QB inside, off the tackle, and outside. I would love to be as efficient as regular 2016 season Navy who had a MJ style QB.

I love JT, would have loved to see Tim play, and think MJ will be close to Tim.

 

[Skeptic]

Well, I beg to differ. Watch our 2014 game with Ugag or the Orange Bowl that year. (JT's pitch in the grasp to Deon Hill in the Ugag game comes most strongly to mind.) You'll see lots of versions of what I'm talking about. Even when JT makes the pitch after the key commits, he is usually a lot closer to the LOS and the key when he does it. He could get away with it and it often paid off. And he got caught a lot for his trouble as well.

I doubt you'll see MJ do the same thing. If he can make a read, I'm betting he'll do what he does in the clips most of the time. That has its costs too, of course; notice how, despite the quick execution, the ABs get run down from behind by outside people who were most definitely not faked out of their boots. Often JT or the AB had the field open because the outside keys had so badly overcommitted.

My memory might fail as it often does, but just anecdotally it just seems to me that Thomas had more "forward passes" from the last-second (and maybe imprudent) option pitch than any other GT QB.

 

[dressedcheeseside]

Because of Matthew's ability and tendency to take the inside crease, defenders will not be able to slow play the pitch read thereby making the pitch read easier and the pitch itself easier. This will allow for quicker and safer pitches like we saw in the VT game.

With JT, the lesser of the evils was forcing him to keep inside. Not anymore. MJ is going to get four and five a pop if they do that.