Question on Player Smarts?

[Oldgoldandwhite]

Our players are some of the brightest students in the country, but do we have football smarts?
Cases in point
- Jaybo mastered our offense in a few months, but some QB's can not get it in 3 years.
- Our OL whiffs on guys that are 3 feet wide or block the wrong guy.
- Our A backs and receivers run right by the only guy on the outside to not block anyone.
- Our return guys return KO's and punts that are not returnable.
- Our DB's let guys run around all over the place and act like there is no one there.
- We seem to get the dumbest penalties at the most inopportune times.
- Can we not go on a long snap count without jumping?

Did I miss anything?

 

[ybeenormal]

I've wondered about this too. Having to scale back on the playbook or simplify the defense (haven't heard that one in a while but used to hear it all the time). These are some smart kids that come here, why would anything have to be simplified?

 

[Techster]

My favorite one was the whole "it takes 2 years to fully learn the 3-4 defense", then in year 3 our defense was the worst it has ever been. On top of that, comments were made every week that thing were going to get more "simplified" so our players didn't have to think too much.

Of course, Groh being the DC was probably a big reason.

 

[Animal02]

I've wondered about this too. Having to scale back on the playbook or simplify the defense (haven't heard that one in a while but used to hear it all the time). These are some smart kids that come here, why would anything have to be simplified?

Things need to be simplified if you are coming from a NFL mindset. There are no restrictions on time in the NFL like there is in NCAA, and I would guess that Tech players have to spend more time studying for classes rather than game film than they do at the factory schools.

 

[Animal02]

Our players are some of the brightest students in the country, but do we have football smarts?
Cases in point
- Jaybo mastered our offense in a few months, but some QB's can not get it in 3 years.
- Our OL whiffs on guys that are 3 feet wide or block the wrong guy.
- Our A backs and receivers run right by the only guy on the outside to not block anyone.
- Our return guys return KO's and punts that are not returnable.
- Our DB's let guys run around all over the place and act like there is no one there.
- We seem to get the dumbest penalties at the most inopportune times.
- Can we not go on a long snap count without jumping?

Did I miss anything?

It happens everywhere.....they are kids. You just notice it more. Look at the Clemson unsportsman penalty last night. Change a 4th and a mile to an automatic first down.

 

[Ibeeballin]

Our players are some of the brightest students in the country, but do we have football smarts?
Cases in point
- Jaybo mastered our offense in a few months, but some QB's can not get it in 3 years.
- Our OL whiffs on guys that are 3 feet wide or block the wrong guy.
- Our A backs and receivers run right by the only guy on the outside to not block anyone.
- Our return guys return KO's and punts that are not returnable.
- Our DB's let guys run around all over the place and act like there is no one there.
- We seem to get the dumbest penalties at the most inopportune times.
- Can we not go on a long snap count without jumping?

Did I miss anything?

I'm pretty sure this goes on at every school, BUT I will say we may be lacking in football attitude and instincts department. As I've said before, there are too many people who are just happy to have a jersey. Forget naming "the big 4" give me 22 Julian Burnetts, Jemeas, Paul Davis, Orwin Smiths, Godhighs or Attaochus and promise you our record would be different.

 

[foggy]

You can not tell me a guy who is smart enough to get into Tech and has the smarts to take the academics and succeed does not have the smarts to learn pj's so called schemes. It comes down to coaching and teaching the schemes and that comes back to pj and his so called assistants.

 

[Rodney Kent]

Most of the time, all problems are due to lack of good coaching. The teams which keep all mistakes down to a small percentage, the results are most always due to the coaching and the mindset of certain members of the team. Fundamental tackling, blocking, etal, is also due to good coaching. Regardless of those who think these things don't happen, they do happen. Many times when a team is unhappy with certain segments of the process, linemen will sometimes let tacklers through on purpose, backs will run lackluster, receivers will miss easy passes, etal. A fan can bury his head in the sand, but these things do happen every season at some schools. I have seen it happen many times over the years, and I have no doubt that it happened at USC this past year until Kiffin was fired. I have seen teams make all these little mistakes and purposeful omissions to get a coach fired. The next year, a new coach comes in and miraculously all of these items disappear and everyone is doing well again. Regardless of the naysayers on this issue, it absolutely does happen every year at some schools.

Will these problems disappear next year, when the team is not divided on the choice of quarterbacks, remains to be seen. I am sure there will less division over this issue next year, but if the team is unhappy in other areas, the same type of problems may exist. For instance, if there is no free substitution and few players get all the playing time in the games, I can assure you there will not be blissfulness on the team (unless the team is winning most of the games), because the less players that get in a game, the less each feels part of the team, and this creates more disharmony. Although, I detest the idea of players not giving their best because they do not like the choices or coach, the fans can see the same things of which the players are aware. It was no secret to the fans that Vad Lee was not the answer as an option QB. It was indisputable about the reasoning that the other QB's should have been given playing time to provide an alternative and ready the other QB's for game service. If the QB was performing at high efficiency, there would have been no division among the players regarding this issue, nor would the fans have been unhappy with the choices made.

Personally, I think the ineptness of the team this past year was a shared role of both the coaches and the players. I think the players became upset at some of the poor choices and game plans by the coaches, and I believe some of the players did not try to do their best.

 

[BainbridgeJacket]

You can not tell me a guy who is smart enough to get into Tech and has the smarts to take the academics and succeed does not have the smarts to learn pj's so called schemes. It comes down to coaching and teaching the schemes and that comes back to pj and his so called assistants.

It's different kinds of "smart". Quick vs. Intelligent. They aren't mutually exclusive, but just because you're good in the classroom doesn't mean you'll be able to process what you're seeing on the field quickly enough to react (aka Football Instincts).

 

[Ibeeballin]

@foggy flawed argument. How many Tech students or the fans can tell you what is Cov 3? What is a stunt? What is the difference between a slant or an angle? (BTW I think a Football 101 would be good for the off season mods)

Also, coaching is a 2-way street. Yeah I've seen shotty techniques being taught, but I also seen bad habits not being broken either by the players on things I know that are being taught everyday (Vad throwing off his back foot, DBs constantly keeping their eyes in the backfield, LBs not reading their keys and letting pocket QBs run the ball like they are Manziel)

 

[foggy]

IB so Bama/LSU/ugag etc and other good teams can teach those techniques but a smart Tech man can't learn it. Somehow I find that hard to believe.

 

[Ibeeballin]

Talking about that Bama having a hard time trusting their eyes and technique vs. spread teams, or LSUs terrible clock management, or how about that ugag D that has been undisciplined and haven't tackled anybody all season? Oh look a another pass over an UGA DB head!!!

 

[gtdrew]

Foggy, uga struggles with the exact same things, & lsu is year in and year out one of the worst fundamental teams in college football. Try again...

 

[Ibeeballin]

Nm

 

[Eric]

IB so Bama/LSU/ugag etc and other good teams can teach those techniques but a smart Tech man can't learn it. Somehow I find that hard to believe.

Did you see the end of the UGA and Auburn game?

 

[Essobee]

Most of the time, all problems are due to lack of good coaching. The teams which keep all mistakes down to a small percentage, the results are most always due to the coaching and the mindset of certain members of the team. Fundamental tackling, blocking, etal, is also due to good coaching. Regardless of those who think these things don't happen, they do happen. Many times when a team is unhappy with certain segments of the process, linemen will sometimes let tacklers through on purpose, backs will run lackluster, receivers will miss easy passes, etal. A fan can bury his head in the sand, but these things do happen every season at some schools. I have seen it happen many times over the years, and I have no doubt that it happened at USC this past year until Kiffin was fired. I have seen teams make all these little mistakes and purposeful omissions to get a coach fired. The next year, a new coach comes in and miraculously all of these items disappear and everyone is doing well again. Regardless of the naysayers on this issue, it absolutely does happen every year at some schools.

Will these problems disappear next year, when the team is not divided on the choice of quarterbacks, remains to be seen. I am sure there will less division over this issue next year, but if the team is unhappy in other areas, the same type of problems may exist. For instance, if there is no free substitution and few players get all the playing time in the games, I can assure you there will not be blissfulness on the team (unless the team is winning most of the games), because the less players that get in a game, the less each feels part of the team, and this creates more disharmony. Although, I detest the idea of players not giving their best because they do not like the choices or coach, the fans can see the same things of which the players are aware. It was no secret to the fans that Vad Lee was not the answer as an option QB. It was indisputable about the reasoning that the other QB's should have been given playing time to provide an alternative and ready the other QB's for game service. If the QB was performing at high efficiency, there would have been no division among the players regarding this issue, nor would the fans have been unhappy with the choices made.

Personally, I think the ineptness of the team this past year was a shared role of both the coaches and the players. I think the players became upset at some of the poor choices and game plans by the coaches, and I believe some of the players did not try to do their best.

Rodney's post ^ makes good sense and would explain a lot. Recall when Bobby Ross was very close to hanging it up at Tech and move on. The players called a private meeting and aired out their laundry. Next thing you know, we don't lose anymore games that season and finish as national champs the next year. Call it team chemistry or whatever, you don't win consistently without it (e.g., compare Bobby Cremins vs. B*** L****), regardless of the quality of the players.

 

[Mack]

@foggy flawed argument. How many Tech students or the fans can tell you what is Cov 3? What is a stunt? What is the difference between a slant or an angle? (BTW I think a Football 101 would be good for the off season mods)

Also, coaching is a 2-way street. Yeah I've seen shotty techniques being taught, but I also seen bad habits not being broken either by the players on things I know that are being taught everyday (Vad throwing off his back foot, DBs constantly keeping their eyes in the backfield, LBs not reading their keys and letting pocket QBs run the ball like they are Manziel)

Dont forget the arm tackling in secondary and the jumping off sides..........yes we have some problems but I think some of it to a large part goes back to the hs coaches who in many cases let the athlete do his thing rather than drilll them on fundamentas.Yeah fourty years ago when some were young we made sure that no matter who we had they knew the basics cause we dealt with them every day for a hour and a half with drills and scrimmages etc.Look when a guy gets to Tech or Georgie etc he has had about eight or nine years of fundamental football yet.......we still see some lapses that bythis time should have long ago gone away.

 

[takethepoints]

One comment here:

Jaybo had run an offense like ours for 3 years in high school. His dad switched over to a shotgun spread in his senior year because he didn't have anyone to play BB and has stuck with it since. It isn't a coinky-dink that Shaw turned out to be the best QB for our O we've ever had in terms of sheer technique. Too bad he didn't pair that with the necessary physical talent.

 

[Mack]

Did you see the end of the UGA and Auburn game?

Agree with you but bet both of those guys did as they pleased in high school since it is a canon (listen up youngsters) you never let the man get behind you and both were involved in the mishap.Other things that irk me as old guy or geezer is folks fielding punts inside the ten yd line or returning kickoffs form insidie the goal line.If you are percentage guy bet you would find out that most harmful plays occurr when the punt is fair caught on the ten or the five etc.Also wonder how the tight end gets loose so often in our defense.Yes years ago in another world the DE on passing downs in a fifty would check the TE yet now they are all ways or so it seems open on third and long.Of course we were ancient but we knew that on a close down nobody would or could jump...if they did it was hell to pay on Monday...Some things never change and unless you know the past you dont do that much good in the future.

 

[Mack]

Foggy, uga struggles with the exact same things, & lsu is year in and year out one of the worst fundamental teams in college football. Try again...

They do some strange things but LSU will tackle you and rush the passer.Mental mistakes are the norm but should they be ? Dont think so !Of course in the past we didnt do this much fundamental mistakes...Hell if I had LSU athletes I could coach them up and you could too.Something dont change but one thing for sure you dont want to be hit by a LSU def back...they will stick you.