Offensive and Defensive coordinators

stech81

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8,725
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Woodstock Georgia
First defensive coordinator Andrew Thacker maybe one of the youngest in D1 . The players same to like him. Seems to listen to CGC which is a smart move and has not let the job go to his head. I really like him and think he could turn out to be a top coordinator , but I do worry he may be hard to keep in 3 or 4 years.

Offensive coordinator Dave Patenaude is older with 28 years of experience . Has his work cut out moving from 3O offense to what he wants to run. I have not been too happy with him so far but it has only been 2 games and does take a little longer to get a offense going. Even when CPJ was here it seem to take 3 or 4 games to get his offense going even on good years. Not crazy about playing 3 QBs in a game but I guess I can understand why for now. But after the Citadel game I expect to see a QB named as the start and one backup. I'm not sure how the players feel about him. Maybe I just missed it but I have heard players talk about how much they like the coaches but I guess I missed it has anyone said how much they like him. I don't think he needs to be replaced we have to give him time I guess the question is how much .how but 3 years ? I'm sure he is probably one of the lowest paid offensive coordinators in D1 . Maybe its like going to Wal-Mart and buying I new computer for $150 I may be happy with it to start but for how long?

I really like this coaching staff, and looking at our defense and the youth of the players I can see this being a top defense very fast but they will need the offense to start playing better.

Just want to know how Y'all feel about our coordinators without bring up any players I know it early.
 

4shotB

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Retired Staff
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4,631
Just want to know how Y'all feel about our coordinators without bring up any players I know it early.

Obviously D has made an early favorable impression of course. I am in the very tiny majority but I like that the O coordinator is mixing things up trying to find a combo that works. In the short term I guess it looks like we are unsure of our identity and that is probably because we ARE unsure. Apparently the 3 QB's are not separating themselves in practice. In that case, I say get them all in the game and let them separate under live conditions. I like the baseball coach's strategy with pitchers - if they can't get the job done, pull 'em - even if is the top of the second inning, Playing 3 does go against conventional wisdom and I like that. It's what I liked about CPJ's system. You can't copycat what others are doing. Even worse, you certainly can't listen to the fans!

TL,DR version - not really much data to reach any conclusions. I am willing to give the whole staff 2 years (minimum) before considering staff changes.
 

iceeater1969

Helluva Engineer
Messages
8,953
First defensive coordinator Andrew Thacker maybe one of the youngest in D1 . The players same to like him. Seems to listen to CGC which is a smart move and has not let the job go to his head. I really like him and think he could turn out to be a top coordinator , but I do worry he may be hard to keep in 3 or 4 years.

Offensive coordinator Dave Patenaude is older with 28 years of experience . Has his work cut out moving from 3O offense to what he wants to run. I have not been too happy with him so far but it has only been 2 games and does take a little longer to get a offense going. Even when CPJ was here it seem to take 3 or 4 games to get his offense going even on good years. Not crazy about playing 3 QBs in a game but I guess I can understand why for now. But after the Citadel game I expect to see a QB named as the start and one backup. I'm not sure how the players feel about him. Maybe I just missed it but I have heard players talk about how much they like the coaches but I guess I missed it has anyone said how much they like him. I don't think he needs to be replaced we have to give him time I guess the question is how much .how but 3 years ? I'm sure he is probably one of the lowest paid offensive coordinators in D1 . Maybe its like going to Wal-Mart and buying I new computer for $150 I may be happy with it to start but for how long?

I really like this coaching staff, and looking at our defense and the youth of the players I can see this being a top defense very fast but they will need the offense to start playing better.

Just want to know how Y'all feel about our coordinators without bring up any players I know it early.
Thacker and cgc make the defense play as a unit.
They are innovative (at least for gt)- 3 and 10 they put in one dl, 8 db, move all over the place, rush 6 = we no longer let the qb survey the field in perfect pocket for 7 seconds , and then run for first down.
Our dl coach sure did a good job of rotating the player to keep them fresh.

The big picture is showing the TOP RECRIUTS COME TO GT AND U WILL SEE THE FIELD IF YOU ARE GOOD. At this point can anyone piint iut a STUD player that should stay in game like Parker Braun.

I agree w 81. As we go into acc play we will likely see the ATL playing time based more and more on what s done on the field.
It looks like the play at Temple will determine a lot of what we see - could be a youth movement on defense.
 

UgaBlows

Helluva Engineer
Messages
6,388
First defensive coordinator Andrew Thacker maybe one of the youngest in D1 . The players same to like him. Seems to listen to CGC which is a smart move and has not let the job go to his head. I really like him and think he could turn out to be a top coordinator , but I do worry he may be hard to keep in 3 or 4 years.

Offensive coordinator Dave Patenaude is older with 28 years of experience . Has his work cut out moving from 3O offense to what he wants to run. I have not been too happy with him so far but it has only been 2 games and does take a little longer to get a offense going. Even when CPJ was here it seem to take 3 or 4 games to get his offense going even on good years. Not crazy about playing 3 QBs in a game but I guess I can understand why for now. But after the Citadel game I expect to see a QB named as the start and one backup. I'm not sure how the players feel about him. Maybe I just missed it but I have heard players talk about how much they like the coaches but I guess I missed it has anyone said how much they like him. I don't think he needs to be replaced we have to give him time I guess the question is how much .how but 3 years ? I'm sure he is probably one of the lowest paid offensive coordinators in D1 . Maybe its like going to Wal-Mart and buying I new computer for $150 I may be happy with it to start but for how long?

I really like this coaching staff, and looking at our defense and the youth of the players I can see this being a top defense very fast but they will need the offense to start playing better.

Just want to know how Y'all feel about our coordinators without bring up any players I know it early.

It’s way too early to judge our OC, he doesn’t have the tools to run his offense (OL and QB) and they sure as hell don’t want to run our old off. because that would be terrible for recruiting. Try to be patient, look for progress and small improvements, try not to think about “WWCPJD” and enjoy the games. Or just get really, really drunk.....
 

swampsting

Helluva Engineer
Messages
1,827
Some things to like from both
Some things of concern from both

But we’ve had the two ends of the spectrum as opponents - Clemson is really, really good. South Florida is really, really bad

We’ll get truer tests against UNC, UVa, et al
 

jandrews

Jolly Good Fellow
Messages
275
It also doesn’t help to face the toughest defense on your schedule out the gate. Clemson limited us significantly to where we couldn’t get significant reps. Against USF we were trying a bunch of things to get film. We ran a ton of plays to get more tape. I thought a couple of drives the play calling was uninspired. Need to remove the swinging gate formation completely. The numbers were on the pass side and yet we still tried to run it.
 

stech81

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8,725
Location
Woodstock Georgia
Some things to like from both
Some things of concern from both

But we’ve had the two ends of the spectrum as opponents - Clemson is really, really good. South Florida is really, really bad

We’ll get truer tests against UNC, UVa, et al
I go along with Clemson being really really good, but I don't think USF is as bad as some think.
 

BleedGoldNWhite21

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Messages
1,298
There has been a lot of talk about Coach P the last two weeks in regards to our team’s biggest weakness. One side of this discussion seems to think Coach P could be calling the games better and is one of the reasons why the offense has struggled so much. The other side of this discussion seems to believe Coach P is doing the best with the hand that has been dealt to him and we can’t really judge him at this moment.

If you’re already seeing Coach P as a problem, what signs do you see that point to it being a Coach problem primarily, versus a player issue?

If you’re someone who believes it’s the jimmies and the joes not fitting the X’s and the O’s, what are some signs you’ve seen to believe Coach P may be able to be successful when we get the right personnel?

Keep in mind, I am not accusing anyone of wanting to fire Coach P after two games into a massive rebuild on the offensive side of the ball, but there are clearly fans who already seem a little worried that he may not be the guy.

Personally, I understand the offense is going to have growing pains on the offensive line especially, which in turn, will disrupt the whole offense. However, one thing that I really don’t like that feels like a possible coaching issue is the QB situation. I find it troubling we can’t commit to a guy by now and I find it troubling we can’t seem to try and establish an identity on offense, even if it has to be a different identity this year versus what we plan to do in the future. There is plenty of time to prove me wrong, but I’d expect a more savvy OC would have picked a QB by now and adjusted the offense towards their strengths.

We see Coach P calling stuff that fits TO’s strengths, but then when we change QBs, we change the whole offense to whatever is perceived as that guy’s strengths. I don’t see that being a good thing for the other 10 guys on offense or being good for our identity on offense, overall. At least decide on your starter between JG and LJ and have TO be a Wild Cat type player. We’re going to have growing pains due to the Jimmy’s and Joe’s not fixing the X’s and O’s, anyways. This QB situation is only making this worse, IMO.

Curious to hear thoughts on both sides of this!
 

GTFLETCH

Banned
Messages
2,639
All I know is that there was only 1 QB that lead the Team down on two scoring Drives.... Tobias Oliver (the first one they pulled TO and let LJ hand the ball off to JP)

I think they better decide on 1 QB before they start ACC play as it (3 headed Qb) will not work agaisnt P5 Defenses!
 

UgaBlows

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Messages
6,388
It also doesn’t help to face the toughest defense on your schedule out the gate. Clemson limited us significantly to where we couldn’t get significant reps. Against USF we were trying a bunch of things to get film. We ran a ton of plays to get more tape. I thought a couple of drives the play calling was uninspired. Need to remove the swinging gate formation completely. The numbers were on the pass side and yet we still tried to run it.
Amen, that swinging gate formation is garbage
 

Scubapro

Banned
Messages
717
IMO A good coach utilizes his players strengths. We have lots of kids with decent speed and an undersized O line. To me this means we need to hit the edge quickly, run counters, quick passes and occasional stretch the field with a vertical pass.
We cant seem to sustain blocks long enough to hand the ball off six yards deep and make positive yardage unless there is a mis direction or attempt to stretch the field.
I saw us try and run up the middle every time on first down...where we usually lost yardage. There wasn't any read in our zone read as far as I could tell.
We only threw the ball deep once that I could remember. When we did throw the ball the routs were short and in traffic. Not a good formula for a non passing QB.
I this due to lack of Jimmies and Joes? Probably in part. But it also looks like putting a square peg in a round hole.
A good coach puts players in position to best suit their skills.
 

lv20gt

Helluva Engineer
Messages
5,564
Eventually we will need to pick a starter. That being said, it's more important that we make the right pick than make a pick quick. The decision is more important for next year than this year, as likely we are going to struggle no matter who starts. My gut is that the coaching staff already is looking at Oliver switching positions and being used as an occasional wildcat QB based on him lining up in other positions this week. With the change in offense, you would think they wouldn't spend time with him practicing snaps at other spots unless they were pretty sure someone else would be QB the majority of the time. Also pure speculation, but if Graham ends up starting or playing the most next week then I think there's a good chance that the staff would have thought he was the guy all along and wanted his first extended time to be in a situation he'd have the most success in, while also getting film on others to make sure.
 

danny daniel

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Messages
2,494
I am willing to give the O coordinator some time and maybe he really needs it, but my biggest frustrations are:
Playing 3 QBs is not the reason we are not throwing many passes downfield, did not make a first down from second and one yard to go, did not score anything from the 3 yard line with four tries, missed on a third and two and on a fourth and one and started way too many drives with a 2 yard loss. It seems our new coaches are doing a great job overall but our OC is struggling with play calling on game day.
 

bobongo

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Messages
7,058
Obviously D has made an early favorable impression of course. I am in the very tiny majority but I like that the O coordinator is mixing things up trying to find a combo that works. In the short term I guess it looks like we are unsure of our identity and that is probably because we ARE unsure. Apparently the 3 QB's are not separating themselves in practice. In that case, I say get them all in the game and let them separate under live conditions. I like the baseball coach's strategy with pitchers - if they can't get the job done, pull 'em - even if is the top of the second inning, Playing 3 does go against conventional wisdom and I like that. It's what I liked about CPJ's system. You can't copycat what others are doing. Even worse, you certainly can't listen to the fans!

TL,DR version - not really much data to reach any conclusions. I am willing to give the whole staff 2 years (minimum) before considering staff changes.

Hope you're right a bout the OC. It does seem we're still very much in an experimental phase. Offense needs to get some things sorted out by the time we play Temple, and some more sorted out by the time we hit the ACC schedule. I imagine things are going to get more settled and productive.
 

GTFLETCH

Banned
Messages
2,639
First defensive coordinator Andrew Thacker maybe one of the youngest in D1 . The players same to like him. Seems to listen to CGC which is a smart move and has not let the job go to his head. I really like him and think he could turn out to be a top coordinator , but I do worry he may be hard to keep in 3 or 4 years.

Offensive coordinator Dave Patenaude is older with 28 years of experience . Has his work cut out moving from 3O offense to what he wants to run. I have not been too happy with him so far but it has only been 2 games and does take a little longer to get a offense going. Even when CPJ was here it seem to take 3 or 4 games to get his offense going even on good years. Not crazy about playing 3 QBs in a game but I guess I can understand why for now. But after the Citadel game I expect to see a QB named as the start and one backup. I'm not sure how the players feel about him. Maybe I just missed it but I have heard players talk about how much they like the coaches but I guess I missed it has anyone said how much they like him. I don't think he needs to be replaced we have to give him time I guess the question is how much .how but 3 years ? I'm sure he is probably one of the lowest paid offensive coordinators in D1 . Maybe its like going to Wal-Mart and buying I new computer for $150 I may be happy with it to start but for how long?

I really like this coaching staff, and looking at our defense and the youth of the players I can see this being a top defense very fast but they will need the offense to start playing better.

Just want to know how Y'all feel about our coordinators without bring up any players I know it early.
Just like Jeff Monken left CPJ I bet Andrew Thacker will be getting a Head Coaching job.... the question is when... I hope we can keep him as long as possible

OC DP... It will be interesting to see what he does with Tucker Gleason... Thad sad part of that is we will have to wait until next season... Playing 3 QBs suggest they are trying to change teh culture and the future QB is not on the roster... I wonder which QB transfer after the season
 
Messages
2,034
IMO A good coach utilizes his players strengths. We have lots of kids with decent speed and an undersized O line. To me this means we need to hit the edge quickly, run counters, quick passes and occasional stretch the field with a vertical pass.
We cant seem to sustain blocks long enough to hand the ball off six yards deep and make positive yardage unless there is a mis direction or attempt to stretch the field.
I saw us try and run up the middle every time on first down...where we usually lost yardage. There wasn't any read in our zone read as far as I could tell.
We only threw the ball deep once that I could remember. When we did throw the ball the routs were short and in traffic. Not a good formula for a non passing QB.
I this due to lack of Jimmies and Joes? Probably in part. But it also looks like putting a square peg in a round hole.
A good coach puts players in position to best suit their skills.


LOL.......what you have described here is Georgia Tech over the last 50 years. Rarely are we loaded with Jimmies and Joes. So to infuriate the board, it sounds like you want CPJ to be the Offensive Coordinator because you described his offense perfectly. Maybe he realized something........
 

UgaBlows

Helluva Engineer
Messages
6,388
I am willing to give the O coordinator some time and maybe he really needs it, but my biggest frustrations are:
Playing 3 QBs is not the reason we are not throwing many passes downfield, did not make a first down from second and one yard to go, did not score anything from the 3 yard line with four tries, missed on a third and two and on a fourth and one and started way too many drives with a 2 yard loss. It seems our new coaches are doing a great job overall but our OC is struggling with play calling on game day.
How are you so sure its the OC’s calls and not the players failing to execute the plays?
 
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