Preview 2018: Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

[a5ehren]

No, and I hope the Jackets never again throw away money on a payout. I hope he finishes out his contract, at least. That having been said, I expect a good season this year. Not saying 4-8 isn't possible, depending on breaks and injuries, but it isn't likely, IMO.

Coaches in P5 revenue sports never just "finish" their contract unless they retire. You can't go into recruiting season with 2 years left on your deal, much less 1.

 

[iceeater1969]

We have been recruiting in the 50-60 range for quite some time. I realize the argument will be...look at how we did in 2014. However we have not recruited well on the defensive side of the ball in a long time and our stats over that period have shown what results that leads to. I hope I’m VERY wrong as I’ve been a Tech fan since 1980 but I just don’t see us being any better than we were a year ago and could be worse with absolutely no real experience in the defensive backfield. We basically got torched defensively by the worst Tennessee team in a long time and by a Virginia club that was horrible offensively against everyone else. Until we get to the point where we aren’t recruiting against the likes of Furnan and Wofford last year will start becoming the norm unfortunately.

Welcome aboard.
Dont we recruit odd guys for offense that are lower starred. ??

I sit behind the defensive huddle and say i m o the quality of the defensive recruits "LOOKS" BETTER .

Also to add to your complaint about the defense, i point to the teams embarrising collapse in the last 6 quarters of duke u. g. a.

i hope i am right about the young studly looking recruits- standing on the sideline !

Go jackets

 

[iceeater1969]

I think GT wins 8-10 games myself and i was just saying what i thought would happen if they had a losing record.

Keep it going .Mike!

 

[MikeJackets1967]

Keep it going .Mike!

Bring on the Alcorn State Braves

 

[UgaBlows]

Benson and TQM will be 1000 yard rushers on their own. It would just be nice to see a healthy 2014 Clinton Lynch. We all know that Qua is a clutch beast when need be, but Lynch is straight up dangerous when he is healthy

The key to Lynch’s success is going to be if TQ will pitch and pass the damn ball to him enough?

 

[tmhunter52]

Complete passes to him enough...

 

[THWG]

Welcome aboard.
Dont we recruit odd guys for offense that are lower starred. ??

I sit behind the defensive huddle and say i m o the quality of the defensive recruits "LOOKS" BETTER .

Also to add to your complaint about the defense, i point to the teams embarrising collapse in the last 6 quarters of duke u. g. a.

i hope i am right about the young studly looking recruits- standing on the sideline !

Go jackets

Our defensive recruiting has been very, very good the last 3 years. I'm expecting big things from these guys and I expect to see improvement with the new DC. Now, I don't think that we'll be shutting out everyone this year, but a top 30-40 defense is where I believe these guys will be.

 

[slugboy]

Our defensive recruiting has been very, very good the last 3 years. I'm expecting big things from these guys and I expect to see improvement with the new DC. Now, I don't think that we'll be shutting out everyone this year, but a top 30-40 defense is where I believe these guys will be.

If Woody gets us into the 40's this year, after spending the last decade in the 60's or worse, he and his guys are miracle workers. That'd be a HUGE leap. Not just a better recruits leap, but a "what have we been doing with these guys" leap.

 

[NorthFultonJacket]

I do hope you are right. However, having seen the defenses under CPJ’s tenure you will have to forgive the “I’ll believe it when I see it”mindset. I drove down to the Miami game last year and with all the gripes about the rain our defense got shredded in the second half. I could have been the OC for the Canes that day....just one bubble screen after another. And yet we still should have won that %#!# game!!

 

[dressedcheeseside]

I do hope you are right. However, having seen the defenses under CPJ’s tenure you will have to forgive the “I’ll believe it when I see it”mindset. I drove down to the Miami game last year and with all the gripes about the rain our defense got shredded in the second half. I could have been the OC for the Canes that day....just one bubble screen after another. And yet we still should have won that %#!# game!!

From the 4:27 mark of the 1st qt, GT lead the entire game until Miami kicked the game winning field goal with 4 secs left. Miami had 2oo more yards than we did but just 1 skinny point and we scored 7 on a fluke onside kick runback. It should have been much uglier than it was scorewise. It never should have come down to the fluke catch on 4th and long.

I guess the two fluke plays cancelled each other out and the better team won.

 

[g0lftime]

I have concerns that our new DC is trying to install his D and they will be seeing PJ offense during fall preseason. They will only really practice a team with a TE against our scout team when the season starts. Our young secondary needs reps against pass attempts from shotgun formations. Could this be one of the reasons our D has never been very good under PJ.

 

[dressedcheeseside]

I have concerns that our new DC is trying to install his D and they will be seeing PJ offense during fall preseason. They will only really practice a team with a TE against our scout team when the season starts. Our young secondary needs reps against pass attempts from shotgun formations. Could this be one of the reasons our D has never been very good under PJ.

This is one of a handful of questions CPJ has had to answer 40 billion times. Here’s an idea, ask him yourself at fanday!

 

[InsideLB]

I have concerns that our new DC is trying to install his D and they will be seeing PJ offense during fall preseason. They will only really practice a team with a TE against our scout team when the season starts. Our young secondary needs reps against pass attempts from shotgun formations. Could this be one of the reasons our D has never been very good under PJ.

Can only speak from personal experience:

My D-III team ran the wing-T and was a pretty decent offensive team. First team D almost never played against it. Maybe 1 scrimmage in camp, and we shut its arse down because we were a top 20 defense. Shut most other teams down as well. Always practiced against a scout team. We had good players and a super intense DC who had an awesome system, taught it well, and prepared maniacally.....IMO that's what makes a defense good.

They have 85 or so scholly players and a bunch of walk-ons. Plenty of people to make up scout offenses and defenses. Our D won't see much of the PJ offense during fall preseason, or if they do then it's out of stupidity.

 

[g0lftime]

When is the scout team formed. I know it will be done when prep for games start but what about fall practice to establish 2 deep.

 

[slugboy]

I have concerns that our new DC is trying to install his D and they will be seeing PJ offense during fall preseason. They will only really practice a team with a TE against our scout team when the season starts. Our young secondary needs reps against pass attempts from shotgun formations. Could this be one of the reasons our D has never been very good under PJ.

If that's the case, our opponents only have A-backs on their scout teams, not their starting offense, and they shouldn't be able to prep against them.

More seriously, I haven't seen anything to make be believe we're any worse against the TE than we were when we ran a pro-set. It's a pre-CPJ problem.

 

[InsideLB]

Here are the top 5 challenges GT is facing for the season IMO:

1. As the article explains, an absolutely brutal schedule. The ACC has gotten much, much better, plus out of conference is tough.
2. Talent gap (due to limited majors, the classes kids have to take in HS to get in, and very high entry standards, plus nowhere to hid kids who don't want to or can't do the work. Also we have had trouble keeping up with facilities and all the $$$ schools are spending on recruiting staff. I do think our recruiting has improved, however I am not sure it kept pace with the league overall).
3. New defensive scheme & DC
4. Replace entire secondary
5. No clear go-to WR

I thought last year we competed really hard against a brutal schedule and continually fell a little short. I am hoping the offense's increase in experience, new DC, and infusion of new talent will be good enough to bridge that gap. We shall see. I do think we will be very competitive regardless of how the final record shakes out.

 

[g0lftime]

Duke has killed us with their TE since CutCliffe came there and we play them late in the season when we have seen that position every week. They probably use that position better than most. Other coaches spend time practicing against our O in the fall and do have problems simulating it. PJ is really good at play calling and they can't simulate that.

 

[TampaBuzz]

From the 4:27 mark of the 1st qt, GT lead the entire game until Miami kicked the game winning field goal with 4 secs left. Miami had 2oo more yards than we did but just 1 skinny point and we scored 7 on a fluke onside kick runback. It should have been much uglier than it was scorewise. It never should have come down to the fluke catch on 4th and long.

I guess the two fluke plays cancelled each other out and the better team won.

I agree with you. I was at that game also and was excited that we had a chance to steal the game. But when it came to time to make a big play and win, Miami pulled it off. We had chances to pull it off, and failed. It certainly seemed like Miami was pushing us all over the field. Neither the offense or the defense did much of anything; the 2nd half in particular.

 

[dressedcheeseside]

I agree with you. I was at that game also and was excited that we had a chance to steal the game. But when it came to time to make a big play and win, Miami pulled it off. We had chances to pull it off, and failed. It certainly seemed like Miami was pushing us all over the field. Neither the offense or the defense did much of anything; the 2nd half in particular.

I recently rewatched the entire game, don't ask me why, a glutton for punishment, I guess. We had two drives in the first half where we looked unstoppable. The defensive made several stops, too. The problem is duplicating that success over an entire game. Why can't we do it? You'd think if can can do it once or twice, we should be able to do it more?

I know we got some key guys hurt along the way that may have affected the way we played or game planned, I dunno. The rain sure didn't help. A sloppy field is worse for a team that runs east/west, turns a corner, then goes north/south. We lost Benson at some point so going north/south with the Bback was not working. We had Quaide in their for a large portion of the game.

 

[InsideLB]

When is the scout team formed. I know it will be done when prep for games start but what about fall practice to establish 2 deep.

At least on our team the 2-deep stood out pretty readily in individual and position group drills. The guys who looked good in drills, took coaching, made plays, whipped their man, were physically ready, etc. would go with the two deep when practice divided into offensive and defensive sessions. Truthfully if you have any depth at all you have a pretty good idea from last year and from off season training who is going to play.

Occasionally a guy would be tearing it up on the scout team and get promoted to the 2-deep, or get promoted off the scout team to replace an injured player in the 2-deep, or get taken from one side of the ball to the other to be given a look and make sure he was at his best position, or just to try a good athlete at a position of need.

The fun thing was that from time to time our DC would let a second team D guy play on the scout team offense! When I was a freshman I got to play tailback one day (I had been a running back up to my sophmore year in HS) and it was fun as hell. Only had one good run but still recall clearly making 1 big cut in the hole into a gap that opened like Moses parting the Red Sea. DC was PISSED. He sat up on a tower made of scaffolding behind the scout offense and chewed Redman every practice. He was funny as hell, and would kick your *** 6-ways to Sunday but was universally loved. He had flashcards with formations & plays for the offense to run and it was cool to see how he prepared us to line up, where to shade, rules for different plays (e.g. sprint out away offside backer automatically blitzes, which was devastating).

Sometimes you'd get a super energetic kid who would run all over the place on the scout offense and make the D chase him all over the place, which was hated by the D (position drills were done first and were extremely tiring). So people would amp it up a notch in terms of hitting on those kids who were making them run. Pretty funny sometimes.