Random Thoughts To This Point

[SidewalkJacket]

Weird start to the season, with two games in 6 days, a cancellation, and a reworked schedule going forward. Some thoughts on what I've seen:

1) We got our heartbreaker out of the way as well as our "played down to lower competition who was jacked up to play us on short rest" game.

2) OL looked dominant in game one, tired in game two. This extra week off hopefully gets AM back in the mix, and if that happens, we have our best OL under CPJ.

3) Surprised as anyone at the emergence of TM at QB. Not surprised by his running ability, but mainly at his ability to make the throws necessary and really impressed by his leadership. One caveat is that TN gave us the QB follow, and JSU gave us the pass if we wanted it. I'm still waiting to see TM run a lot of 3O plays and make third down throws against a D that can challenge every facet of our offense, like CU, VT, UGAg. As much of a lock as TM seems at QB, I'm willing to bet that CPJ still sees it as an open competition. There's a lot of football to be played. One more thing on QB (and it's pure speculation): I wonder if CPJ has reservations about the pecking order (TM, MJ, LJ, JJ). It's a little bit of a weird situation with 2 juniors at QB1 and QB2, and freshmen at QB3 and 4. College football being what it is now, I'm sure the coaches have looked ahead to potential transfers if the depth chart stays the way it is now. I've said this before, but the ideal scenario would involve LJ or JJ locking down QB2, MJ specializing in goal line or moving back to AB, and TO being groomed as the QB2 in two years. Bottom line is some class separation would be nice.

4) WR/AB play, which is so important to our overall offensive success, has been hit or miss, mostly with blocking. Those guys have so much experience, however, that they will get it nailed down. As far as catches go, however, they are making all the catches needed. Really impressed with RJ and QS so far in the passing game. NC is looking great with the ball so far, and I think rocket tosses with him will become money as the season goes on.

5) Defense is what it is. Talent is on the rise, recruiting has clearly helped, but I believe we're just going to have to be satisfied with that. I believe CTR is so important for us in recruiting and staff stability that we just need to focus on those as positives. Would a more aggressive scheme pair well with our offense? Absolutely. Would defensive recruiting suffer without CTR? Absolutely. All we really need is a D that can force a few punts and come up with one turnover per game. Maybe this year's D is that. Looks like it could be.

6) STs hurt us badly in the TN game, and may cost us a close game in the future. Everyone is focused on FGs, but KOs and the return game are hurting us, too.

7) Finally, I hate that we don't play this weekend, but it is probably best for the team. Get healthy, have some good solid practice (which hasn't happened since before TN), watch a lot of film, and consider PITT the real start to the season. No reason we shouldn't win the next two, get another important bye, and head to UM for a primetime matchup. UM will be 3-1 at the least, as will we. Winner becomes the favorite in the coastal and gets a nice top 20 ranking.

 

[takethepoints]

Good comments. I have only this to add.

I'm glad that Marshall has turned out to be such a good open field runner. He doesn't have JT's arm and it shows. He winds up like Tim Tebow back there when he has to hum it in or throw more then 10-15 yards. (Oth, he does throw accurately.) So far the pass blocking has been good enough to make this less of an issue, but that won't be the case in some games coming up. That'll be the true test.

Well, that and injury. TM has already shown that he takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin', but I fear that he'll be forced out of a game soon. I hope Jordan gets enough snaps by then to get back in the swing of things. I think our frosh QBs are good and will play, but I'd hate to see them on the field against da U or the Turkies.

One other thing: I don't think we see A. Marshall back anytime too soon. I hope speculation here is wrong, but most seem to think he'll be out awhile.

 

[alagold]

Good comments. I have only this to add.

I'm glad that Marshall has turned out to be such a good open field runner. He doesn't have JT's arm and it shows. He winds up like Tim Tebow back there when he has to hum it in or throw more then 10-15 yards. (Oth, he does throw accurately.) So far the pass blocking has been good enough to make this less of an issue, but that won't be the case in some games coming up. That'll be the true test.

Well, that and injury. TM has already shown that he takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin', but I fear that he'll be forced out of a game soon. I hope Jordan gets enough snaps by then to get back in the swing of things. I think our frosh QBs are good and will play, but I'd hate to see them on the field against da U or the Turkies.

One other thing: I don't think we see A. Marshall back anytime too soon. I hope speculation here is wrong, but most seem to think he'll be out awhile.

I'm not sure I agree with your comment on TM not being as strong a passer as JT.He certainly hit Qua long and sweet while JT had some long open passes that were not "a take in stride". Plus, he is just getting his feet wet.
also-I think that first? pass for a 12 yd first down in UT game was maybe the most important pass of the season.It established him as a threat to not to depend on the run in a HUGE pressured situation.MJ likely would not have made that throw.
(I haven't seen the jsu game ) so I can't comment on that game.

 

[tech_wreck47]

I'm not sure I agree with your comment on TM not being as strong a passer as JT.He certainly hit Qua long and sweet while JT had some long open passes that were not "a take in stride". Plus, he is just getting his feet wet.
also-I think that first? pass for a 12 yd first down in UT game was maybe the most important pass of the season.It established him as a threat to not to depend on the run in a HUGE pressured situation.MJ likely would not have made that throw.
(I haven't seen the jsu game ) so I can't comment on that game.

He there for three TD's.......

 

[takethepoints]

I'm not sure I agree with your comment on TM not being as strong a passer as JT.He certainly hit Qua long and sweet while JT had some long open passes that were not "a take in stride". Plus, he is just getting his feet wet.
also-I think that first? pass for a 12 yd first down in UT game was maybe the most important pass of the season.It established him as a threat to not to depend on the run in a HUGE pressured situation.MJ likely would not have made that throw.
(I haven't seen the jsu game ) so I can't comment on that game.

Watch the film when he throws long or hums it. Tebow was accurate too, but TM winds up back there just like he did. This isn't a criticism, of course; Tebow won the Heisman Trophy after all and TaQuaon might too. And maybe you're right; perhaps his arm strength is good and his throwing motion hides it. We'll see soon enough.

 

[MikeJackets1967]

Watch the film when he throws long or hums it. Tebow was accurate too, but TM winds up back there just like he did. This isn't a criticism, of course; Tebow won the Heisman Trophy after all and TaQuaon might too. And maybe you're right; perhaps his arm strength is good and his throwing motion hides it. We'll see soon enough.

TaQuon reminds me of former Oklahoma Quarterbacks Thomas Lott and J.C. Watts. He's just as quick and elusive as they were and he passes as well as they did.

 

[Skeptic]

Weird start to the season, with two games in 6 days, a cancellation, and a reworked schedule going forward. Some thoughts on what I've seen:

1) We got our heartbreaker out of the way as well as our "played down to lower competition who was jacked up to play us on short rest" game.

2) OL looked dominant in game one, tired in game two. This extra week off hopefully gets AM back in the mix, and if that happens, we have our best OL under CPJ.

3) Surprised as anyone at the emergence of TM at QB. Not surprised by his running ability, but mainly at his ability to make the throws necessary and really impressed by his leadership. One caveat is that TN gave us the QB follow, and JSU gave us the pass if we wanted it. I'm still waiting to see TM run a lot of 3O plays and make third down throws against a D that can challenge every facet of our offense, like CU, VT, UGAg. As much of a lock as TM seems at QB, I'm willing to bet that CPJ still sees it as an open competition. There's a lot of football to be played. One more thing on QB (and it's pure speculation): I wonder if CPJ has reservations about the pecking order (TM, MJ, LJ, JJ). It's a little bit of a weird situation with 2 juniors at QB1 and QB2, and freshmen at QB3 and 4. College football being what it is now, I'm sure the coaches have looked ahead to potential transfers if the depth chart stays the way it is now. I've said this before, but the ideal scenario would involve LJ or JJ locking down QB2, MJ specializing in goal line or moving back to AB, and TO being groomed as the QB2 in two years. Bottom line is some class separation would be nice.

4) WR/AB play, which is so important to our overall offensive success, has been hit or miss, mostly with blocking. Those guys have so much experience, however, that they will get it nailed down. As far as catches go, however, they are making all the catches needed. Really impressed with RJ and QS so far in the passing game. NC is looking great with the ball so far, and I think rocket tosses with him will become money as the season goes on.

5) Defense is what it is. Talent is on the rise, recruiting has clearly helped, but I believe we're just going to have to be satisfied with that. I believe CTR is so important for us in recruiting and staff stability that we just need to focus on those as positives. Would a more aggressive scheme pair well with our offense? Absolutely. Would defensive recruiting suffer without CTR? Absolutely. All we really need is a D that can force a few punts and come up with one turnover per game. Maybe this year's D is that. Looks like it could be.

6) STs hurt us badly in the TN game, and may cost us a close game in the future. Everyone is focused on FGs, but KOs and the return game are hurting us, too.

7) Finally, I hate that we don't play this weekend, but it is probably best for the team. Get healthy, have some good solid practice (which hasn't happened since before TN), watch a lot of film, and consider PITT the real start to the season. No reason we shouldn't win the next two, get another important bye, and head to UM for a primetime matchup. UM will be 3-1 at the least, as will we. Winner becomes the favorite in the coastal and gets a nice top 20 ranking.

Arggh. Wrong button. Sorry. But I agree with almost all of this; good post.

 

[redmule]

OL looks good. When (if) Marshall gets healthy, we will have solid depth there, too. This group of AB is as good, maybe better, than the group in 2014. BB look solid. QB is surprisingly good so far. WR catch the balls thrown to them and block very well. What is Johnson complaining about on offense? KB isn't hitting the hole quick enough is about all. If this group shows the usual improvement our offense normally does over the course of a season, it will be ACC Championship caliber.

Defense has shown flashes of developing a pass rush, and we seem to have a rotation on the DL without much drop off. The back 4-5 are experienced and solid. I see improvement in the middle lb from last year. I suspect that the Defense having to practice against the TO most of the year needs a few games playing against a traditional offense to get up to speed.

I like our punter. I like that the FG kicker came back and made two from 40 yds or so after the soul crushing he went thru 5 days earlier. I wouldn't want him to have to win us a game, but maybe he's good enough that he won't lose it for us.

That leaves penalties, turnovers, and injuries. Turnovers have cost us one game. Reversion to the mean says we going to win one because of someone else's turnover later this year. Injuries and penalties are usually random events so who knows.

With little to no improvement in all aspects of the team right now, we win 6-7 I think. Crank it up a couple of notches, and 8-9 looks very doable. Win 9 games, and I will say that proves we would have beaten UCF and are actually a 10 win team. The deciding factor in whether this is a good or a great season might unbelievably be the schedule. Suddenly, it looks great with the cancellation of UCF and more importantly Miami having to play FSU while we get an open date. I take that as an omen that events are going to conspire with us rather than against us this year.

 

[Boomergump]

Additional thoughts:

While TM does not have as quick a release as JT (beyond debate in my mind) he has been very accurate overall and seen the field very well. The only disappointing throw I can remember was the last over throw to Searcy late in regulation against the Vowels.

Skill position blocking has been very very good overall. That bodes well for the season.

 

[OldJacketFan]

Additional thoughts:

While TM does not have as quick a release as JT (beyond debate in my mind) he has been very accurate overall and seen the field very well. The only disappointing throw I can remember was the last over throw to Searcy late in regulation against the Vowels.

Skill position blocking has been very very good overall. That bodes well for the season.

In fairness about the overthrow to Qua, TN was about to get crushed by a TN DL. Half second more to set and Qua walks into the E/Z

 

[AE 87]

Additional thoughts:

While TM does not have as quick a release as JT (beyond debate in my mind) he has been very accurate overall and seen the field very well. The only disappointing throw I can remember was the last over throw to Searcy late in regulation against the Vowels.

Skill position blocking has been very very good overall. That bodes well for the season.

I agree on both points. JT had a quicker release, but TM sees the field and seems to check down to secondary receivers better than any QB we've had, though he's probably had some of the best protection as well.

 

[Skeptic]

I agree on both points. JT had a quicker release, but TM sees the field and seems to check down to secondary receivers better than any QB we've had, though he's probably had some of the best protection as well.

Thomas was out of Dodge City, the football equivalent of the baseball shortstop who comes up throwing. He could sling it.

 

[MWBATL]

I don't think we know enough yet about this team. The game against Jax State was nice but proved little to me. I want to see what this defense does against more P5 teams and how the special teams fare in more games.

Let's talk again after Pitt and UNC. By then we will have seen more (especially from the special teams) and will know better if they are OK are not.

 

[Jmonty71]

Weird start to the season, with two games in 6 days, a cancellation, and a reworked schedule going forward. Some thoughts on what I've seen:

1) We got our heartbreaker out of the way as well as our "played down to lower competition who was jacked up to play us on short rest" game.

2) OL looked dominant in game one, tired in game two. This extra week off hopefully gets AM back in the mix, and if that happens, we have our best OL under CPJ.

3) Surprised as anyone at the emergence of TM at QB. Not surprised by his running ability, but mainly at his ability to make the throws necessary and really impressed by his leadership. One caveat is that TN gave us the QB follow, and JSU gave us the pass if we wanted it. I'm still waiting to see TM run a lot of 3O plays and make third down throws against a D that can challenge every facet of our offense, like CU, VT, UGAg. As much of a lock as TM seems at QB, I'm willing to bet that CPJ still sees it as an open competition. There's a lot of football to be played. One more thing on QB (and it's pure speculation): I wonder if CPJ has reservations about the pecking order (TM, MJ, LJ, JJ). It's a little bit of a weird situation with 2 juniors at QB1 and QB2, and freshmen at QB3 and 4. College football being what it is now, I'm sure the coaches have looked ahead to potential transfers if the depth chart stays the way it is now. I've said this before, but the ideal scenario would involve LJ or JJ locking down QB2, MJ specializing in goal line or moving back to AB, and TO being groomed as the QB2 in two years. Bottom line is some class separation would be nice.

4) WR/AB play, which is so important to our overall offensive success, has been hit or miss, mostly with blocking. Those guys have so much experience, however, that they will get it nailed down. As far as catches go, however, they are making all the catches needed. Really impressed with RJ and QS so far in the passing game. NC is looking great with the ball so far, and I think rocket tosses with him will become money as the season goes on.

5) Defense is what it is. Talent is on the rise, recruiting has clearly helped, but I believe we're just going to have to be satisfied with that. I believe CTR is so important for us in recruiting and staff stability that we just need to focus on those as positives. Would a more aggressive scheme pair well with our offense? Absolutely. Would defensive recruiting suffer without CTR? Absolutely. All we really need is a D that can force a few punts and come up with one turnover per game. Maybe this year's D is that. Looks like it could be.

6) STs hurt us badly in the TN game, and may cost us a close game in the future. Everyone is focused on FGs, but KOs and the return game are hurting us, too.

7) Finally, I hate that we don't play this weekend, but it is probably best for the team. Get healthy, have some good solid practice (which hasn't happened since before TN), watch a lot of film, and consider PITT the real start to the season. No reason we shouldn't win the next two, get another important bye, and head to UM for a primetime matchup. UM will be 3-1 at the least, as will we. Winner becomes the favorite in the coastal and gets a nice top 20 ranking.

If CTR was such a great recruiter, why is our team not loaded? I agree, the talent has gotten better. But, not to the point of giving him the recruiter of the year award. Our LBs are slow and have poor tracking and tackling skills. Our DL is undersized and gets powered off the LOS regularly. I think Ted Roof is best to be just a recruiter for GT and let someone else run the D. Just my 2 pennies.

 

[SidewalkJacket]

If CTR was such a great recruiter, why is our team not loaded? I agree, the talent has gotten better. But, not to the point of giving him the recruiter of the year award. Our LBs are slow and have poor tracking and tackling skills. Our DL is undersized and gets powered off the LOS regularly. I think Ted Roof is best to be just a recruiter for GT and let someone else run the D. Just my 2 pennies.

If you can't tell that recruiting, especially the defensive side, has picked up tremendously since CTR got established here, then you haven't been following closely enough. And before you throw out names of past defensive stars, I'm talking about across the board depth of talent.

 

[Jmonty71]

If you can't tell that recruiting, especially the defensive side, has picked up tremendously since CTR got established here, then you haven't been following closely enough. And before you throw out names of past defensive stars, I'm talking about across the board depth of talent.

Sorry.. I really don't think any of LBs make the team on most P5 team. I do give credit, our DBs are pretty good. However; they get put at risk with poor pass rush. I had hopes for a couple of our D linemen, but they seemed to have completely disappeared. Not sure what's up there. I think we need to use the quickness on the DL and hit the gaps. Instead we tend to get pushed around. I would like to see more bite in those dogs.. All I see is barking... Not saying go blitz crazy.. But, geesh... mix it up. Keep the QB guessing. Stop showing your hand, before the ball snap. Run some stunts, run some delayed blitzes. Stop running up your own player's butt, when you do blitz.

 

[Augusta_Jacket]

Sorry.. I really don't think any of LBs make the team on most P5 team.

Bruce Jordan-Swilling says Hi!

 

[THWG]

Bruce Jordan-Swilling says Hi!

So does Jaquan Henderson.

 

[iceeater1969]

Imo
If we use an aggressive, shifting defense more, the speed of the lb will increase.

The time from snap to lb hitting the rb includes the reaction time and often times the reversal of direction .
In r r we often see the lb hit r b from side and get dragged for y a c. At end of play the l b s head is 2 y d s closer to goal than his feet . In second half of Jax state I noticed several times where the lb made solid hit and feet and head were same distance to goal.
I hope roof keeps d playing aggressive which, i think, will increase the speed of our lb.
"Playing r r all the time makes Jack a dull boy"

 

[SidewalkJacket]

Sorry.. I really don't think any of LBs make the team on most P5 team. I do give credit, our DBs are pretty good. However; they get put at risk with poor pass rush. I had hopes for a couple of our D linemen, but they seemed to have completely disappeared. Not sure what's up there. I think we need to use the quickness on the DL and hit the gaps. Instead we tend to get pushed around. I would like to see more bite in those dogs.. All I see is barking... Not saying go blitz crazy.. But, geesh... mix it up. Keep the QB guessing. Stop showing your hand, before the ball snap. Run some stunts, run some delayed blitzes. Stop running up your own player's butt, when you do blitz.

My point was across the board talent of recruits the past couple of years is improving in an obvious manner.

You start by dogging our LB corps, then arguing for a better defensive strategy. Seems we are making different points.