Paul Johnson and His Players

[Body Massage Machine]

After the 2009 season, I was pretty confident in the future amd thought we could be even better after Paul Johnson and his recruits. Then, 2010-2013, while not terrible, definitely put a damper on hopes for a high ceiling with Paul Johnson. I don't know about you guys, but this year definitely rejuvenated my hopes going foward for this team. I feel our recruiting is trending up and we are getting more support from the athletic department.

What I hope, and wonder, is can we capitalize on the success we had this year and reap the recruiting benefits to make Georgia tech a consistent double digit win team? I think(could be wrong) that if we can maintain success (bowl win and start off hot next year) we can really reap the benefits of a strong 2016 class to set the groundwork for the future.

Sorry for the ramblings, but I'm just excited for the future of GT football.

 

[Whatllyahave]

What this season showed in spades is that you must have the right QB to run this offense. That and an improved OL were the difference IMO.

 

[takethepoints]

I am too, but we have to be realistic here. Consistently winning 10 games a year is hellishly difficult to do and requires institutional commitments that we know Tech will never make and shouldn't. But Whatllya is right; with the right QB the O can be deadly. All we have to do to have consistent success (8 or so wins a year) is keep what we've got and build up the D.

And I think Coach has 2016 pencilled in for a championship run. Hope he's right.

 

[AE 87]

I also thought we had turned a page in 2009, and I attributed our step back in 2010 primarily to team chemistry issues.

However, our biggest problem from 2009-2014 has been our D. In 2009 & 2014, we had an O which was top 2 in efficiency and a below average but opportunistic D.

We won't really have turned the page, imo, until we can reliably field an above average D with our consistently top 20 O.

 

[B Lifsey]

Definitely feeling that things are on the upswing again. As you said, that feeling didn't last long after 2008/2009...hope this one is sustainable.

 

[mqpayne]

We need to use the recruiting resources provided by AD to search far and wide for intelligent DTs. Our offense has never been the big problem especially with JT and 3 deep at OL We need LBs also. We can then remain on top.

 

[GTech63]

I also thought we had turned a page in 2009, and I attributed our step back in 2010 primarily to team chemistry issues.
However, our biggest problem from 2009-2014 has been our D. In 2009 & 2014, we had an O which was top 2 in efficiency and a below average but opportunistic D.
We won't really have turned the page, imo, until we can reliably field an above average D with our consistently top 20 O.

Coaches say championships are made with good D. If we can get a good D we have the best of both worlds. Time consuming O and a good stop them a few times D. We are getting there. The OB will give us a glimpse into the future and 2015 will tell us if we are indeed moving forward .

 

[GlennW]

Coaches say championships are made with good D. If we can get a good D we have the best of both worlds. Time consuming O and a good stop them a few times D. We are getting there. The OB will give us a glimpse into the future and 2015 will tell us if we are indeed moving forward .

This is what I've been saying for a while, and what I think PJ has been looking for since he won the ACCC (that was stripped from us) and then he promptly fired his Defensive Coordinator because he wasn't satisfied with how our defense was playing. He then turned the reigns over to a supposed defensive "guru" (Groh) which, obviously, didn't work out, and then PJ did something I can't recall ever happening before, REMOVED a coordinator in mid-season because he, once again, wasn't happy with how our defense was playing.

Next up is Ted Roof. First year had mixed results, as did the beginning of this season, but after Carolina, things had a serious "uptick," until the ACCC. Was it because we played against an "All-World" Offensive Line, a Heisman Trophy QB who was playing unconscious, and on a wet field, and we wanted to try to hold them to FG (which we ended up doing the 2nd half? Let's see how things play out against another prolific offense in the Orange Bowl. I recall when Roof was DC at Auburn and had time to prep his defense for Oregon in their National Championship game, they looked pretty good, so I'm hoping our defense will be prepared, too.

 

[GTech63]

This is what I've been saying for a while, and what I think PJ has been looking for since he won the ACCC (that was stripped from us) and then he promptly fired his Defensive Coordinator because he wasn't satisfied with how our defense was playing. He then turned the reigns over to a supposed defensive "guru" (Groh) which, obviously, didn't work out, and then PJ did something I can't recall ever happening before, REMOVED a coordinator in mid-season because he, once again, wasn't happy with how our defense was playing.

Next up is Ted Roof. First year had mixed results, as did the beginning of this season, but after Carolina, things had a serious "uptick," until the ACCC. Was it because we played against an "All-World" Offensive Line, a Heisman Trophy QB who was playing unconscious, and on a wet field, and we wanted to try to hold them to FG (which we ended up doing the 2nd half? Let's see how things play out against another prolific offense in the Orange Bowl. I recall when Roof was DC at Auburn and had time to prep his defense for Oregon in their National Championship game, they looked pretty good, so I'm hoping our defense will be prepared, too.

The 50 -60 pound average differential of their O line certainly helped them a lot. But their speed in catching up to our AB from the backside also seemed big.
I had forgotten about Roof's role in the Oregon champ game.. That knowledge is encouraging.

 

[TechnicalPossum]

I think 2016 will be the year to watch for. I think next year we will take a step back (8-4 or so) due to all the skill position players that are graduating. But, unlike after 2009, the talent pipe is full with strong recruiting classes in 2014 and 2015. All the O-linemen from last year that redshirted will be around for 2016-2018. The two big DT's from this year will be around for 2016-2018. There are good times ahead as long as we can keep the talent coming in.

 

[GTonTop88]

Us going toe to toe with FSU made me feel alot better going forward. I thought that they was gonna have to turn the ball over, or play sloppy for us to have a chance. They did neither and we were in it til the end. Now we do have to find away to create pressure against a huge Oline and good QB.

 

[PBR549]

Roof did a remarkable job with what he had this year. he is a great recruiter also. I believe he is our man that can get it done on defense.

 

[Madison Grant]

I'm optimistic too. But we will have up and down seasons. Yes, QB and OL were important. But think about this- Perkins, Hill, Zenon, Bostic, Smelter, Waller, Laskey and Days were all seniors at the skill positions. Most of our A-backs took 3 or more years in this system to finally be successful blocking on the edge. Don't be surprised if we have edge blocking issues next year with A-backs and WRs, and mesh fumbling problems with B-backs.

Just now starting to think about what might have been. How truly loaded were we offensively? What would the outcomes of the UGAg and FSU games have been WITH Snoddy and Smelter? Between Snoddy, Smelter, Thomas, Waller, Zenon, Days, Laskey, Hill, Perkins- we had some serious weapons on offense this year. I like where our recruiting is going if we can keep this class together, but I expect it to be 2-3 years before serious offensive contribution comes from anyone based on past history.

 

[Stonewall]

What this season showed in spades is that you must have the right QB to run this offense. That and an improved OL were the difference IMO.

now, if we had a BB who's a second level threat ala JD. that's not a knock on synjyn or zach, just an honest assessment of what's needed to get this O clicking like it did in the greg hill/adrian peterson days of the option like CPJ fielded while he was at southern.

 

[Jerry the Jacket]

Each season and each team is different. You can establish certain strengths that can be carried forward to some extent. A lot of success is based on the intangible of team chemistry. We had good team chemistry this year. Not sure we will have the same next year. It may be better or it may be worse. The only thing for sure is that it will not be the same. I feel Coach Johnson has players that buy in to his system and he is getting results on the defensive side as well with additon to Coach Roof to run the D. Most of these games are decided by one or two plays, a penalty, a turnover, a bad call, a key injury. Results are unpredictable. One thing I think our Coach has established now is a personality trait common to his teams in that they will fight to the end and do not quit. That will insure we are always competititve with him at the helm. Realistically, for me, that is the most important trait you could want in any team.

Go Jackets!

 

[GTNavyNuke]

I'm going to enjoy the last game of the season first. Great seasons don't come along that often for us. No one knows about next year and we won as well as lost a couple of close ones this year.

But it has been very hard for GT to stay at the level we are at. Here's the graph of power rankings over the last 70 years ... this year we are at 79% before the bowl game. "Past performance is no guarantee of future results."

 

[Eli]

I think it's amazing how hard some of us are (including myself) on CPJ. TCU went 7-6 and 4-8 these last two years. Could you imagine our fan base if pj went 4-8? Haha I think he's a top 5 coach and I have confidence he will win a nc

 

[Buzztheirazz]

I think 2016 will be the year to watch for. I think next year we will take a step back (8-4 or so) due to all the skill position players that are graduating. But, unlike after 2009, the talent pipe is full with strong recruiting classes in 2014 and 2015. All the O-linemen from last year that redshirted will be around for 2016-2018. The two big DT's from this year will be around for 2016-2018. There are good times ahead as long as we can keep the talent coming in.

I expect our defense will be even better next year and our O-line as well so I think that we should hopefully see the same results as this year. Schedule looks tougher but most of those teams are replacing their qb's or have a scrub anyway. The only big question mark is Clemson with deshaun Watson and they're losing their OC!

 

[awbuzz]

Staying relatively healthy and team chemistry made a difference this year. Let's carry it into the years to come.
Next may be a better team, but we may have a worse record. Sometimes that is just the way that it is.
Here's to the D being better next year and a 10 win or better season in 2015 (and of course beating UGA at BDS@HGF!)

 

[swampsting]

now, if we had a BB who's a second level threat ala JD. that's not a knock on synjyn or zach, just an honest assessment of what's needed to get this O clicking like it did in the greg hill/adrian peterson days of the option like CPJ fielded while he was at southern.

Indeed. A true home run threat at B back is such an unbelievable weapon. Watch those 98-01 Southern teams and see how defenses were petrified of AP on every play. Then you get a Greg Hill on the corner, and it's over. JT is PJ's Tech version of Greg Hill. Dwyer and AA were about as close to the Tech version of AP as PJ has gotten so far.