So what accounts for this season?

InsideLB

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Consider we were picked to finish at the bottom of the coastal. On paper the team had serious ?s:

--New center which is key in our O
--New QB which is also key
--Several new OL starters/few combined OL starts
--Loss of playmaker Godhigh w/ no premier AB to take place

Basically guys stepped up and then some at every position. Vety impressive.

On D it looked even more dire:
--Lost only good pass rusher
--Massive offseason desrtoyed DL depth almost completely.

And yeah the defense has been porous at times, particularly vs UNC. And yeah it still isnt a great D. But these guys have been pretty constant in forcing turnovers. Coverage is tightening and we are finally affecting the passer some with a rush.

The other thing is the team as a whole has just been focused, discilined, and worked harder each week to get better. They never quit and get down and they find a way.
 

Oldgoldandwhite

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Good responses all, but QB play is the most important. All good teams must have good QB play. Look at Clemson, Florida, and LSU. Now look at FSU, Mississippi St., Oregon, and Ohio State.
 
BainbridgeJacket

BainbridgeJacket

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I don't buy luck. Not because we haven't had some lucky bounces, but because I think it's been pretty balanced. The fumble to VTs qb as one example. The difference is this team finishes. We've generally been in games previous years and lost the close ones. This year we have the mental fortitude to finish and win. You haven't heard coach complain about bad attitude in practice which is a sign of the build of the team.
 
Ggee87

Ggee87

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#1 is a very talented QB who also has great leadership qualities.

#1B is the closeness of this team. We have a bunch of unselfish individuals who are relentless when its their turn to make a play.

#2 O-line play has been OUTSTANDING so far. Clemson gave us a fight... but other than that... they have dominated the opposition.

#3 Deandre Smelter.... What a blessing it is to have this guy on our team. I cannot say that enough. Will be an Anquan Boldin type.NFL receiver.

#4 Last but not least.... Turnover Margin. We have one.of the best in the country. Our O very rarely coughs up possession. Our D has played their tails off and made some HUGE HUGE HUGE momentum changing plays.
 
GTpdm

GTpdm

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GTech63 said:
Big item on the list not mentioned is "not shooting ourselves in the foot with penalties".
Click to expand...

Goodness gracious, this is spot-on (not to say a lot of the other points made in this thread are not equally valid). This season, penalties-per-game and penalty-yards-per-game seem way lower than last year. (Note to self: look this up.)
 

bigtechfan67

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a5ehren said:
It's a combination of factors -
  1. JT is a much better QB for the offense CPJ wants to run.
  2. Smelter started catching the dang ball
  3. Experience at AB and BB, plus much better O-line play
  4. Defense made plays against Miami when they had to.
  5. VT is awful this year
  6. Turnover luck on fumble recoveries (GaSo is the big one, plus running out to that huge lead on Pitt)
Click to expand...
Smelter or waller, didn't know that was a problem for him last year. Pretty sure he was first or second on the team in rec and yards
 

takethepoints

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The one thing everybody has left out is the schedulers for the ACC. At the start of the year there was a thread here that was breathing a collective sigh of relief that we hadn't been shafted – again – by our schedule. This year everything has fallen into place at least in part because we weren't playing Thursday night games, we had only had one killer early in the year (who knew then it would be Southern, not VT?), and there was only one really rough stretch, the UNC, Pitt, UVA, NCSt part with three away games in four weeks. And, of course, we got to play Clemson in Atlanta (cue weird Vincent Price laugh on sound track).

True, we couldn't have done it without the players (duh), but the schedule, unlike other recent years, gave us a chance for once.
 
GTpdm

GTpdm

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Animal02 said:
Interesting that penalties have been more or less consistent the last few years......down a lot from '09 & '10
Click to expand...

Yeah--it seems to me that this season we've have significantly less penalties than in the prior two years, but the stats don't really back up that point of view. Could it be that this season penalties have been less of a factor in killing our drives and/or keeping opponents' drives alive?
 
iceeater1969

iceeater1969

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alaguy said:
This has been close to a magical season in many respects,but how/why did it happen?.On paper,we had lots of concerns going in--fairly new QB,mostly new OL, loss of 6 starters on a Def that statistically were much better than previous yrs.We had some known strengths but sometimes even they can fall apartl with injuries,attitude,etc
Here is my guess.
1.By far most important -the play of JT.This is probably 1 and 2.He is a guy that finally runs this Offense with all the skills needed--he can handle the ball,he offers a terrific run threat and can pass effectively (esp with 2 giant WRs.)
The other unknown was his leadership ability.Now he is Capt as a SOPH! The guys play for him.

2.Comparatively few early injuries.Some teams have been decimated with injuries(dook lost 2 all-conf guys before season). Take out Smelter, Gotsis ,Shaq, Nealy, or White early would have been very rough.
This may have been due to better training/development.It seemed like even our thin DL didn't seem to wear out in the deadly heat of Sept.

3.The importance on having a bevy of very skilled AND experienced guys at skill positions--WR and running backs.It takes a while to learn how block in this OFf and we now do it usually well..Experience also gives the timing necessary in this run Off esp. (Next yr we may see the difference)

4.The fast development of the OL esp Burden. If they had not been as good the skills of the backs would have been greatly negated. The hidden aspect might have been the ST coach helping on the OL.

5.The work of the DEF coaches to cover obvious weaknesses as well as possible.The clem game without Green was a perfect example.

6.Luck- sometimes things just break your way. I remember Gotsis could have easily been called for a QB hit on the key VT interception.Having the clem QB hurt HIMSELF,sure was fortuitous. It usually balances out but not necessarily in 1 season.

7. Few major screw-ups on STs.Having the KO go into EZ a lot.Solid punting .Sometimes this is a given until something bad happens. The extra pt missed vs clem made no difference after all.
We won the ST game almost always.A nice change from 4 yrs ago or so.
Click to expand...

In reverse order of importance
3.We had a very favorable schedule as compared to last year - 2014 starting with 3 forgiving games, byes in good times, and finishing with two tough games.
2. Call it proper conditioning or luck - we have had a remarkably injury free season. Wood knock wood knock.
1 Coach has his swag back - started at end of year and keeps building. Identify problem and fix it NOW

Vad leaving - "sounds good sorry you are leaving, will be fine.

Malcontents in locker room - ditto - looks like we need a larger class of recruits in 2015.

Important players grades not in order - we get a new player development lead

Best man up - no more seniority gets preference. - we are trying to win today but are building -welcome to college ball Austin twins. JT u got to earn it..

No more "aim low and hope for diamond in rough recruiting" - add staff familiar w ga and all coaches recruit full tilt coming out of gate fast - thus creating a buzz. Ratliff injured - announce he is a Jacket.

Defense giving too much cushion - fixed before a " MTSU scores again" moment.

Snoddy seriously injured - as trainers rush to Snoddy coach walks out to offensive unit and calms them, then walks over to Snoddy and leans down to speak to him. Then whole team comes on field and circles Snoddy.

We are winning because we are following a coach with swag.
 

croberts

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869
GTpdm said:
Yeah--it seems to me that this season we've have significantly less penalties than in the prior two years, but the stats don't really back up that point of view. Could it be that this season penalties have been less of a factor in killing our drives and/or keeping opponents' drives alive?
Click to expand...
I believe the difference has been the ability of our qb to convert on 3rd and long (8 yards or longer) after penalties. Would love to see someone investigate .
 

Jean-Baptiste Rochambeau

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alaguy said:
This has been close to a magical season in many respects,but how/why did it happen?.On paper,we had lots of concerns going in--fairly new QB,mostly new OL, loss of 6 starters on a Def that statistically were much better than previous yrs.We had some known strengths but sometimes even they can fall apartl with injuries,attitude,etc
Here is my guess.
1.By far most important -the play of JT.This is probably 1 and 2.He is a guy that finally runs this Offense with all the skills needed--he can handle the ball,he offers a terrific run threat and can pass effectively (esp with 2 giant WRs.)
The other unknown was his leadership ability.Now he is Capt as a SOPH! The guys play for him.

2.Comparatively few early injuries.Some teams have been decimated with injuries(dook lost 2 all-conf guys before season). Take out Smelter, Gotsis ,Shaq, Nealy, or White early would have been very rough.
This may have been due to better training/development.It seemed like even our thin DL didn't seem to wear out in the deadly heat of Sept.

3.The importance on having a bevy of very skilled AND experienced guys at skill positions--WR and running backs.It takes a while to learn how block in this OFf and we now do it usually well..Experience also gives the timing necessary in this run Off esp. (Next yr we may see the difference)

4.The fast development of the OL esp Burden. If they had not been as good the skills of the backs would have been greatly negated. The hidden aspect might have been the ST coach helping on the OL.

5.The work of the DEF coaches to cover obvious weaknesses as well as possible.The clem game without Green was a perfect example.

6.Luck- sometimes things just break your way. I remember Gotsis could have easily been called for a QB hit on the key VT interception.Having the clem QB hurt HIMSELF,sure was fortuitous. It usually balances out but not necessarily in 1 season.

7. Few major screw-ups on STs.Having the KO go into EZ a lot.Solid punting .Sometimes this is a given until something bad happens. The extra pt missed vs clem made no difference after all.
We won the ST game almost always.A nice change from 4 yrs ago or so.
Click to expand...
It has been a good season thus far. We were exceedingly fortunate to get to 4-0 when we were on the verge of losing two of those first games. I say a good season. I think a team having a "magical" season would have beaten Duke and Carolina. Just my opinion.
 

alaguy

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Jean-Baptiste Rochambeau said:
It has been a good season thus far. We were exceedingly fortunate to get to 4-0 when we were on the verge of losing two of those first games. I say a good season. I think a team having a "magical" season would have beaten Duke and Carolina. Just my opinion.
Click to expand...
JBR,
Wow, you are a tough grader.Beat vt,uM and clem with rollovers with Pitt,uva and clem ,in a yr that could have been blah.
Wait til next yr, even with a possibly better team we could get stung.I'm enjoying it while I can.I remember what can happen.
 
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