Pre Season Thoughts

[GTonTop88]

Shock the world, beat GA and Fsu back to back and end up ranked 4th beat Auburn since we gotta good track record against them. Take on Alabama #3 and who knows

 

[cuttysark]

For reasons that cannot be explained other than medically, GT has had more o-linemen depart early than any other program in college football. Chase Roberts took a tremendous hit at Clemson and I'm glad to see that he will stay at Tech and get his degree. However, last season when the team reported in August our backup center Caitlan Alford lost his desire to play football and left the program. That was compounded by an injury to the third team center Freddie Burden shortly thereafter. Morgan Bailey finally called it a career and is also unable to play due to injuries, and those are just the recent players.

All of which has thwarted any continuity in the offensive line play year after year. Hopefully this group can stay healthy and hungry to play football as all of these departures impact the depth and development which in turn causes disruptions in the continuity of the play in the trenches. Not to mention huge holes in recruiting classes. Tech does have a transfer from Maryland and another from SMU to help lessen those losses, but this trend needs to end if the offense is going to have consistent success regardless of who lines up at the skill positions.

My $.02.

 

[cuttysark]

One huge thing you omitted about both our qb's, they make the pitch read commit. Vad couldn't or wouldn't.

Toss in that he didn't like being hit which is going to happen in the sport of football, and therein created a huge hole in the offense.

 

[iceeater1969]

OL positives
2013Players banged up, many starters did not play or played injured, or played out of practiced position due to others injuries.

2014 everyone is healthy, everyone is set to play the position they practice in camp.

Chamberlain showed improvement in the spring game. My hope is that he can use the fall camp to turn on his game.

There is a chance that a freshman could really show out.

DeVine may decided he wants the starting spot.

Last year was solid because experience that was ready to go... This taught me to do a George Constanza and do the opposite of what you think.

Thanks for film reviews, great job.
If you get time
Please look at JTs footwork and quick release when passing. He seems much quicker than VAD from time deciding to throw to release? Does he have overtop (high) release point? I think he and smelter or aback on quick pass over middle could be special
I Will follow your posts. Thanks again

 

[forensicbuzz]

For reasons that cannot be explained other than medically, GT has had more o-linemen depart early than any other program in college football. Chase Roberts took a tremendous hit at Clemson and I'm glad to see that he will stay at Tech and get his degree. However, last season when the team reported in August our backup center Caitlan Alford lost his desire to play football and left the program. That was compounded by an injury to the third team center Freddie Burden shortly thereafter. Morgan Bailey finally called it a career and is also unable to play due to injuries, and those are just the recent players.

Is this certifiable or hyperbole? It does seem that we're snake bitten when it comes to OL and health.

 

[Boomergump]

Well, I want to throw in my .02 about the OL of last year. The physicality of the group was not the problem. In fact, at the point of attack I would say that they were very good. From what I have seen in this year's group, we have the chance to be at least as good in this regard. I have every expectation that Devine wins the LG spot. The only thing that stands in his way is his own endurance level. If he makes progress over the summer, in terms of cardio improvement, you can write it down. He will elevate the physicality of that position by quite a bit, without question. Mason won't be worse than he has been. He doesn't get nearly enough credit for the quality of his play. He was already quite good. The center position won't suffer despite the loss of Finch. Burden and O'Reilly bring very different packages to the position, but both are pretty good in their own way. I am worried about the experience drop off at C, but not the ability levels. LT will be totally different, but in a good way. Beno was a pretty physical run blocker, but against the pass rush..... RT remains a big question. We need somebody to step up and be a player.

The debacle of the OL in 2013 was more about the perimeter and second level assignments. We have talked about the injuries, and I agree, but whiffing or letting guys by, outside the box, was the issue. Can that be improved? I say yes. It sure as heck needs to. Perhaps this was the coaching issue that many have fretted over. We also had games where we couldn't hold our water and jumped a lot. That stuff has nothing to do with ability to block the opponent. It was embarrassing, but wasn't an indicator of ability so much as poise and coaching.

Bottom line: we were far from bad in 2013, as some suggest. Some people look at a play and see a QB in immediate distress and make a knee jerk reaction that the OL was at fault. What they don't see is that the OL had wide splits and were actually outnumbered by the defense along the line. If the individual battles were won by our OL and the QB is still under duress, is it the OL's fault? Some of this stuff falls at the feet of the QB. We spread the OL out to make lanes. The guy with the ball in his hands is the one who needs to read the space and make the right moves/decisions.

 

[dressedcheeseside]

Bottom line: we were far from bad in 2013, as some suggest. Some people look at a play and see a QB in immediate distress and make a knee jerk reaction that the OL was at fault. What they don't see is that the OL had wide splits and were actually outnumbered by the defense along the line. If the individual battles were won by our OL and the QB is still under duress, is it the OL's fault? Some of this stuff falls at the feet of the QB. We spread the OL out to make lanes. The guy with the ball in his hands is the one who needs to read the space and make the right moves/decisions.

And this is where I think our new qb(s) will make our OL look better instead of worse.

 

[GTNavyNuke]

..........Some people look at a play and see a QB in immediate distress and make a knee jerk reaction that the OL was at fault. What they don't see is that the OL had wide splits and were actually outnumbered by the defense along the line. If the individual battles were won by our OL and the QB is still under duress, is it the OL's fault? Some of this stuff falls at the feet of the QB. We spread the OL out to make lanes. The guy with the ball in his hands is the one who needs to read the space and make the right moves/decisions.

Someone said that we had the largest splits of any team. Given that a lot of team run the spread option like us on most plays, why do you think we have the largest splits?

Obviously when the D outnumbers our OL, there are passing / pitching opportunities elsewhere. That's why it seems the short pass is what we need to burn the D and make them honest . It's so easy to say sitting here on a computer ......

 

[mqpayne]

Seawack or Johnson did not make adjustments for VT and others jumping the C to G gap. If new OL coach puts pressure on Seawack to be better then we could be like 08 and 09. Roof will have have Defense better. Top to bottom best talent in years. Falls on OL coaching.

 

[Ben Jones]

I wish I was as optimistic as most of y'all. PJ is consistent, so I don't see more than 7 wins again.

 

[Boomergump]

Someone said that we had the largest splits of any team. Given that a lot of team run the spread option like us on most plays, why do you think we have the largest splits?

Obviously when the D outnumbers our OL, there are passing / pitching opportunities elsewhere. That's why it seems the short pass is what we need to burn the D and make them honest . It's so easy to say sitting here on a computer ......

I don't know if we actually do have the widest splits or not. I watch a lot of football but I don't study film on other teams. I probably see NAVY play about three games a year and maybe AF or ARMY one each. We normally have the widest splits that I can think of. I like the wider splits because they spread the defense and stretch them from sideline to sideline. Back side players have further to go in order to chase plays. Plus, you get more one on one match ups for the guy with the ball in his hand and less gang tackling. There is a down side and we have seen it. But I think the positives outweigh the negatives. When you have the defense spread slightly more, it forces them to cheat a little to get to their assignments. I think CPJ likes it because a cheating D with space between players is easier to read than having a closely stuffed box full of humanity. In general, as an option team, we want to force defensive players to commit. That is easier to do when they have ground to cover. Just think of an unblocked DE on a standard TO play. If the OL is bunched together it will be way easier for him to disguise his intentions and he can hedge his bets a little. A DE who is hanging around in tight spaces is harder to read. If he is spread out with the OT in a wide split, he will have to move if he wants the BB. He won't be able to fake his intentions as easy.

Anyway, that is how I see it.

 

[Jean-Baptiste Rochambeau]

I wish I was as optimistic as most of y'all. PJ is consistent, so I don't see more than 7 wins again.

You folks act as if you have never witnessed a season of Georgia Tech football. It will be exciting. It will be aggravating. It will be frustrating. It will be disappointing. There will be a few surprises and a few WTF moments. Maybe an upset win and an unexplainable loss. Just enough wins to have us all dreaming of 2015!

 

[Treb1982]

You folks act as if you have never witnessed a season of Georgia Tech football. It will be exciting. It will be aggravating. It will be frustrating. It will be disappointing. There will be a few surprises and a few WTF moments. Maybe an upset win and an unexplainable loss. Just enough wins to have us all dreaming of 2015!

 

[Ash]

Maybe an upset win and an unexplainable loss.

Last year had neither of those. Maybe that's why I felt unfulfilled.

 

[Ben Jones]

Jean, I love tech more than just about anyone but seeing will be beelieving. I will support the team but not get any hopes up. Anything above 8 wins will be gravy. I want to see PJ earn that money this year

 

[alaguy]

Last year had neither of those. Maybe that's why I felt unfulfilled.

yep, I was going to say the same.Somehow beating Syr by 50 is not the same as beating vt or uga.

 

[gtrower]

I see 2 glaring issues...

1) DL. We lost 3 starters including one of the best pass-rushers in the country. Attaochu made our defense look A LOT better. With the loss of Hunt-Days for the season, we are essentially putting all our eggs into Whitehead's and Freeman's basket - neither of which have played a down for us. That is a scary thought. I'm optimistic the Whitehead can come in and cause havoc in the backfield, but we are in trouble if he can't. Miami, UGA, and Clemson will have a field day.

2) QB experience. The thought of JT breaking long runs is obviously exciting. But can he run the offense? This offense is built aroung never having negative plays. Can he make the reads? Can he hold onto the ball? Can he take a hit without fumbling and get up to play the next down?

IMHO those two concerns will decide the season. If both are bad we could miss a bowl for the first time in decades. If both are good we could win 10 games. I'm confident in basically all other position groups on the field. Also excited to think that our ST might win us a few games this year with Butker and Golden making plays.

 

[wingsrlevel]

remember JHD was benched for Harrell during the season due to lack of performance. JHD moving to the DL was a big unknown already so I'm not sure we are worse off with Whitehead/Freeman playing there now. Losing JHD hurts us from a experience standpoint only for now. Hopefully they will be able to produce quickly. BTW, do we know how JHD was performing at his new position? I don't recall hearing any glowing reviews during the spring on him.

 

[Longestday]

JeThomas and Sneezy don't look to be "reloadable" in 2014. I look for a grown "replacement" to be confirmed by the end of 2014.

Freeman and Whitehead will work, but need time to prove replacement. I even read Harrell is looking at playing some DE.

Who can grow into JeThomas. On of the Griffina? White? Step? The twins? Who hits like a truck and is fast? Who is the guy we would have covering an "Ebron" in 2014/2015?

 

[augustabuzz]

JeThomas and Sneezy don't look to be "reloadable" in 2014. I look for a grown "replacement" to be confirmed by the end of 2014.

Freeman and Whitehead will work, but need time to prove replacement. I even read Harrell is looking at playing some DE.

Who can grow into JeThomas. On of the Griffina? White? Step? The twins? Who hits like a truck and is fast? Who is the guy we would have covering an "Ebron" in 2014/2015?

I agree. That being said, I see Lynn Griffin and Chris Milton as having the ability to fill the void left by Jemea.