Myths busted

[dressedcheeseside]

Yes, it was a "trend," but not one that indicated some truth that this offense cannot succeed against our "biggest rivals" unless you ignore 33% of CPJ's seasons prior to this year. If you don't ignore 2008 and 2009, you would conclude, as I said, that we experienced a dip in the middle against our "biggest rivals" (UGA, Clem, Miami, VT, FSU) not that we just now reversed some trend that otherwise indicated a truth:

2008-2009: 8-3 vs
2010-2013: 1-16
2014: 4-1

I am probably not the first person to say this, but having a good QB is kind of a big deal in college football, regardless of the offensive scheme. : )

I never said any type of conclusions were to be drawn. I was merely stating that certain situations were trends and we did some things this year against those trends.

 

[GTRX7]

I never said any type of conclusions were to be drawn. I was merely stating that certain situations were trends and we did some things this year against those trends.

Fair enough. I guess I just didn't understand your post in the context of this thread then. I do think it had become a myth with certain people, either inside or outside of our fan base, that this offense could not beat our biggest rivals (either because their Ds were just too good or because they had caught on). My point is that I do believe that myth has in fact been busted if you look at CPJ's whole body of work here. I agree with you though, that there was a dip and a temporary trend in the data in the middle.

 

[dressedcheeseside]

Fair enough. I guess I just didn't understand your post in the context of this thread then. I do think it had become a myth with certain people, either inside or outside of our fan base, that this offense could not beat our biggest rivals (either because their Ds were just too good or because they had caught on). My point is that I do believe that myth has in fact been busted if you look at CPJ's whole body of work here. I agree with you though, that there was a dip and a temporary trend in the data in the middle.

One thing this data points out is the correlation between very good talent in key positions and success. When we've had rare talent at qb and wr, we've been very good. The question remains can we consistently haul in that kind of talent at these positions.

One interesting observation is the Bback spot. In '09 we had outstanding talent, this year just good/real good. I'd also say our OL is better now than then, too. I guess those two factors mitigate each other to some extent.

 

[Eastman]

This post reflects my complaint against some of my fellow GT fans. They reduce assessment of the head coach and program--and strangely of the offense in particular--to simply win-loss record. Yes, W-L contextualized to strength of schedule is the ultimate measure of a team. However, assessing the performance of a coach and the state of the program has to look at more than just wins and losses, in my opinion.

In order to assess a coach and the state of the program, imo, you need to look at issues of competitiveness, performance in each phase of the game individually, and how the coach has responded to improve problem areas. In 2012, we lost to VPI and Miami in OT. Last year, we lost to georgie in double overtime. This year, we beat GS and vpi by the skin of our teeth. Even if you look at W-L, we've only finished 4-4 in conference once under CPJ and never worse. From 2002-2007, we also never finished worse than 4-4 in conference, but we only finished better than that twice.

Now, let go bust another Myth, the Myth-assippiStateAss.

Totally agree. In multiple years, we have been "an inch" away from having seasons that mirror this one, but were a step (e.g. slightly better defense) away from pulling it off. Now I believe we are at a point on offense where the odds favor us having 8-10 wins instead of 6-8. With a bit better defense and recruiting (both are looking up) the fan based will start expected 9-10 and realistically hoping about Championships.

 

[DawgCatcher]

Disagree. Look at the UGA game. The only thing that allowed us to win that game is that we got away from passing. Yes, we would like a passing game and having a passing game would make us better, but it is not necessary. I think the myth that has been busted is that we "need a passing game with the TO offense to have success." Again, I say this over and over and some folks just don't seem to listen. Go and look at some of our biggest wins in the CPJ era, and I think you will find that we tend to pass less in some of our biggest wins.

Simple Question: It's 3rd or 4th and long (7-15+ yards) and the game is on the line, do you pass it or keep it on the ground and go for broke? Yes, it was our saving grace in the UGA game, but that was quite an exception. There were many times I can recall in other games when the passing game bailed us out in critical 3rd or 4th and long situations, some of which even kept us from losing the game. Smelter was our insurance policy in most of those incidents. This year has been magical for us in part because we actually had a somewhat consistently reliable passing game to complement our very effective TO arsenal backed by a mighty powerful O-line, providing a true dual-threat to keep defenses guessing. A potential victory in the FSU game may have come down to the passing game not quite being up to snuff. For as long as I've been watching CPJ's TO, it has been my conclusion all along that we must have a complementary passing game to make the TO a lethal and deadly offense, especially when it has the occasional 3rd or 4th and long stalls and when it's time to catch the Defense asleep with a deadly morale-killing blindside strike. We had all of that this year, and it made one hell of a difference.

 

[TheGridironGeek]

Absolutely agree with the consensus here. Option QB's face a certain prejudice on all levels of football, because nobody stops to think that their on-field intelligence and acumen has to be just as finely tuned to the running game as Tom Brady's mind is attuned to the passing game. You might have a pocket passer who has a 3000 yard season, but he makes crucial mistakes in big games. The Flexbone equivalent is having a QB like Tevin Washington. It's not that he's a bad player but if you have special talent at QB you have championship upside, as CPJ likes to say "it's like anything else."

 

[TheGridironGeek]

Simple Question: It's 3rd or 4th and long (7-15+ yards) and the game is on the line, do you pass it or keep it on the ground and go for broke?

Depends on who my QB is. Justin Thomas plays faster in the pocket than any Tech QB I've seen in the CPJ era. He can convert through the air so you let him throw or scramble for yards. If you have an ordinary option QB then yes a fancy running play can be your best bet to make the line to gain. Navy often runs on 3rd and long despite having a wunderkind of their own at QB right now.

One thing that has hurt the Jackets over the years is giving to the B back up the middle on 3rd and long. I don't know enough about tactics to prove it, but I feel like the majority of the time an opposing DC is trying to bait the QB into a give read, knowing that our slowest runner going up the middle is the least likely to make 10 yards.

Yes, it was our saving grace in the UGA game, but that was quite an exception. There were many times I can recall in other games when the passing game bailed us out in critical 3rd or 4th and long situations, some of which even kept us from losing the game. Smelter was our insurance policy in most of those incidents. This year has been magical for us in part because we actually had a somewhat consistently reliable passing game to complement our very effective TO arsenal backed by a mighty powerful O-line, providing a true dual-threat to keep defenses guessing. A potential victory in the FSU game may have come down to the passing game not quite being up to snuff. For as long as I've been watching CPJ's TO, it has been my conclusion all along that we must have a complementary passing game to make the TO a lethal and deadly offense, especially when it has the occasional 3rd or 4th and long stalls and when it's time to catch the Defense asleep with a deadly morale-killing blindside strike. We had all of that this year, and it made one hell of a difference.

Couldn't agree more. The fallacy of the "terrible in passing situations" myth is that most teams, statistically, are terrible in 3rd-and-forever or with a few seconds on the clock. That's why teams try to force their opponents into those situations. What team isn't at a disadvantage when it's 3rd and 20?

A weak defense will make every punt feel like a turnover. It puts added pressure on the offense to convert-or-else, which is a bad frame of mind. If you look at the most recent old-school dynasty at Nebraska under Tom Osbourne, they were never scared to punt. Osbourne would run off-tackle on 3rd and forever. The defense would get the ball back for them, and they'd pop a 75 yard option play for a touchdown.

As glad as I am to see a top-20 recruiting class, I'd be satisfied going forward if Tech could manage annual top-20 classes on just the defensive front 7.