New in '15: Cottrell brings threatening speed

[OldJacketFan]

?
We do wide splits a lot already.

I predict Cottrell plays this year.

I've been saying that for a while now He and Marshall are the 2 most ready, physically, to step in with meaningful reps.

 

[Wrecking Ball]

Are you sure about that? It's only GT's football future you are tossing out there. I am just guessing that if Johnson figured wider splits would help he would be figuring a way to do it and still hold blocks for the option. The space would probably just be more room for headhunters to fly through.

Exactly, we already DO wide splits. It helps create space for the option to operate. I was saying that this speed makes our wide splits even better, not implying that we need to switch to wide splits.

 

[iceeater1969]

At end orange bowl game when we went strong line right with wide splits,
it created many zone mismatches and allowed our line to exploit the rookie DC..

 

[dressedcheeseside]

At end orange bowl game when we went strong line right with wide splits,
it created many zone mismatches and allowed our line to exploit the rookie DC..

We did strong left on at least one occasion, also.

 

[Skeptic]

At end orange bowl game when we went strong line right with wide splits,
it created many zone mismatches and allowed our line to exploit the rookie DC..

I prefer to think our line exploited that powerful SEC West front seven. A lot of those plays could have gashed 'em even with the acting DC filling in as an 8th man.

 

[Eli]

Broderick might have something to say about that, like he did the last time a GT freshman with sub 4.4 speed walked on to the flats. That said, Cottrell is an elite athlete & i'm glad we got him.

Jonathan Dwyer is the fastest back I've seen in my life time at Tech with the ball in his hands

 

[tech_wreck47]

Jonathan Dwyer is the fastest back I've seen in my life time at Tech with the ball in his hands

.....?

 

[Blumpkin Souffle]

.....?

JONATHAN DWYER IS THE FASTEST BACK I'VE SEEN IN MY LIFE TIME AT TECH WITH THE BALL IN HIS HANDS

 

[Skeptic]

JONATHAN DWYER IS THE FASTEST BACK I'VE SEEN IN MY LIFE TIME AT TECH WITH THE BALL IN HIS HANDS

Well, in fairness, he did not say he was the fastest. Just the fastest he's seen. Leaves questions unanswered, but ...

 

[dressedcheeseside]

JONATHAN DWYER IS THE FASTEST BACK I'VE SEEN IN MY LIFE TIME AT TECH WITH THE BALL IN HIS HANDS

Most guys don't lose a step going from their soph to jr year w/o an injury, especially with NFL early rounds firmly insight.

 

[Eli]

Most guys don't lose a step going from their soph to jr year w/o an injury, especially with NFL early rounds firmly insight.

Players like Dwyer come along once ever 10-15 years at Tech. So he may have "Lost a step." but no one was still catching him after the second level. Also his ability to cut then accelerate. He never lost speed.

 

[dressedcheeseside]

Players like Dwyer come along once ever 10-15 years at Tech. So he may have "Lost a step." but no one was still catching him after the second level. Also his ability to cut then accelerate. He never lost speed.

He was great, could have been even better. I'll always appreciate what Jon did for GT, but I'll always wonder what could have been. Kinda like Hollings except Hollings wasn't self inflicted.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

I don't believe you...I want video proof.

You're trying to get something started, aren't you?

 

[Northeast Stinger]

watch a guy acknowledged as a good blocker, Laskey, whiff one completely on the play against Georgia that Thomas wound up fumbling it away late. He allowed a linebacker to immediately get into his Thomas's grill.

Had missed that. Good observation.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

I didn't see the vaunted eSECpn speed in the Orange Bowl

Time for the Musburger quote again while watching JT work in the Orange Bowl, "He's a hundred meters champion, folks!" And later, "And the SEC is reeling!"

 

[Northeast Stinger]

?
We do wide splits a lot already.

I predict Cottrell plays this year.

Yes. By my observation we run wider splits than Navy and wider splits than a lot of the teams we play against.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

Back to Cottrell.

When I first saw this thread I had one of those nano-second streams of consciousness that takes 10 times longer to explain than it takes to experience when your thoughts are flowing. I pictured CPJ running a play in a game that looked just like a play he had run 5 or 6 previous times in the game. But this time, having studied what the defense was doing and noticing the linebackers were starting to "lean a certain way," he switches the blocking assignments, creates a huge whole and Cottrell, who has been kind of quiet in the game up to this point, has nothing but green grass in front of him. He puts on the afterburners and he is past the safeties before they can even wrap their heads around what has happened. And he is gone. Put six on the board.

 

[Skeptic]

Most guys don't lose a step going from their soph to jr year w/o an injury, especially with NFL early rounds firmly insight.

Good observation. Dwyer, unfortunately, is an example of a guy kind of self destructing piece by piece, year by year, until he finally slides down the draft board and then for reasons unrelated to physical skills, is out of the NFL for good. Too bad.

 

[dressedcheeseside]

Back to Cottrell.

When I first saw this thread I had one of those nano-second streams of consciousness that takes 10 times longer to explain than it takes to experience when your thoughts are flowing. I pictured CPJ running a play in a game that looked just like a play he had run 5 or 6 previous times in the game. But this time, having studied what the defense was doing and noticing the linebackers were starting to "lean a certain way," he switches the blocking assignments, creates a huge whole and Cottrell, who has been kind of quiet in the game up to this point, has nothing but green grass in front of him. He puts on the afterburners and he is past the safeties before they can even wrap their heads around what has happened. And he is gone. Put six on the board.

Actually, it'd be more impressive it NC blows past defenders who guess right but just can't get there in time.

 

[forensicbuzz]

...and for one in particular, watch a guy acknowledged as a good blocker, Laskey, whiff one completely on the play against Georgia that Thomas wound up fumbling it away late. He allowed a linebacker to immediately get into his Thomas's grill...

Laskey was never acknowledged as a good blocker. Actually blocking was something that Zach had to work on continuously. His blocking is what kept Sims ahead of him his sophomore and junior years.