Something for Collins and co. to consider

[Buzztheirazz]

So in your opinion with guys as terrible as Graham, Mason, Brown, Griffin, Oliver, Howard, Carter, Sanders, etc. there was simply no possible way we could have scored against Temple, or VT or finished in the top 125 in offense? That’s nonsense. Our offense was a complete train wreck this year. It should have been better than it was no matter how much patch work we had on the line.

If we are going to pretend that we are we are playing elite football now then maybe we shouldn’t hire a journeyman OC with no P5 experience, and fairly lackluster limited D1 experience that probably no other D1 program would hire and then make excuses when he produces one of the worst offenses in the history of the program.

Did you see the PFF for our O-line or whatever it is called? Worst in the country. FACT

You can’t argue that he’s a bad O-coordinator when our O-line is literally the absolute worst in the entire country. I’m not going to dig it up but how can you justify judging a guy when that’s what he has to work with in his first year.

 

[herb]

Did you see the PFF for our O-line or whatever it is called? Worst in the country. FACT

You can’t argue that he’s a bad O-coordinator when our O-line is literally the absolute worst in the entire country. I’m not going to dig it up but how can you justify judging a guy when that’s what he has to work with in his first year.

And part of the reason it was the worst is they made a conscious, I hope, decision not to do the things they were capable of because it wasn’t deemed an attractive recruiting look

 

[Buzztheirazz]

https://gtswarm.com/threads/pff-college-offensive-line-ranking.20850/

Here’s the thread with a link.

 

[LibertyTurns]

True, i didn’t expect our run offense to be bad but it was understandable why it was. Let’s understand that this transition was just mental with scheme, but physical as well changing physique and structure of our players. Quinney gained 30lbs in the off-season and still considered undersized. Think about that for second

That’s a good point about the weight. You lump the pounds on & you lose speed and flexibility. Perhaps adding weight, but trying to optimize for strength, speed & flexibility would have been in order? This is where GT should lead in analytics. There’s an optimum playing size for a guys natural frame & we should be experts at know what that is. We should also be experts in diet, weight training, etc with all our Engineering expertise. We don’t leverage our capabilities well at all & I hope GT’s leadership wakes up some day and gives a crap.

 

[Ibeeballin]

 

[takethepoints]

I've said it before, I'll say it again.

We have plenty of talent on the OL, even without transfers. We didn't do well last year because:

• We had a lot of nagging injuries that kept our scholarship OLs from developing any continuity. If you play together as a unit for multiple games, you get better. Once we got most everybody back and playing together, OL play improved. It'll improve next year.

• We were in the first year of a new O and our OC couldn't seem to figure out what he wanted us to do. Musical chairs is good fun, but it won't help with consistency in offensive performance. This is the case all around, but especially in the OL. Game experience will help with this next year.

• Our QB play wasn't consistent. People don't realize how much consistent QB performance (not great, just consistent) helps an OL. If your QB knows what he is doing and what you (i.e. the OL) can do, then everybody's job gets easier.

So, in short, we were doing something new and it was hard for the team (and the fans) to figure out what it was. The transfers we have coming in will help next year, provided we get all of them. The frosh OLs might get a chance as well, but I can only think of one who looks ready for it.

 

[SOWEGA Jacket]

Regarding the Citadel game - we were simply not going to win. It was one of those games where the football gods took control. Our QB play by everyone was horrible. We lost Lee on the OLine. We couldn’t stop the option on 3rd down and they kept converting. Their starting QB got hurt in the 2nd half and their backup QB didn’t miss a beat. They wanted it more and they took it. We’ve seen it when it’s happened on our side. Last year was a dumpster fire on offense for all the reasons stated but I haven’t lost one minute sleep over losing to the Citadel. They played well and our players played lousy.

 

[WreckinGT]

Did you see the PFF for our O-line or whatever it is called? Worst in the country. FACT

You can’t argue that he’s a bad O-coordinator when our O-line is literally the absolute worst in the entire country. I’m not going to dig it up but how can you justify judging a guy when that’s what he has to work with in his first year.

The team that finished second worst in those rankings finished far ahead of us in total offense and scoring offense and they made a bowl game. How did they overcome such terrible offensive line play?

 

[LibertyTurns]

Regarding the Citadel game - we were simply not going to win. It was one of those games where the football gods took control. Our QB play by everyone was horrible. We lost Lee on the OLine. We couldn’t stop the option on 3rd down and they kept converting. Their starting QB got hurt in the 2nd half and their backup QB didn’t miss a beat. They wanted it more and they took it. We’ve seen it when it’s happened on our side. Last year was a dumpster fire on offense for all the reasons stated but I haven’t lost one minute sleep over losing to the Citadel. They played well and our players played lousy.

The football “Gods” took over because Pnut & CGC refused to make in game adjustments, most acutely with the offense. They appeared to be so sure they were going to win & appeared to think they could keep experimenting even when the game was still in the balance. They should have got the game out of reach first, then started tinkering not the other way around. Rookie mistake. Let’s hope it’s not a defining moment is a regime change.

 

[Ibeeballin]

The team that finished second worst in those rankings finished far ahead of us in total offense and scoring offense and they made a bowl game. How did they overcome such terrible offensive line play?

Swap Temple for Alabama St and UVA/ UNC for BC & Syracuse and you have your answer

 

[JacketOff]

The team that finished second worst in those rankings finished far ahead of us in total offense and scoring offense and they made a bowl game. How did they overcome such terrible offensive line play?

15 of the teams ranked in the bottom 30 in offensive line play also finished in the bottom 30 in total offense. 22 of the bottom 30 in OLine play finished in the bottom half of the country in total offense. Only 4 of the bottom 30 OLine teams finished in the top 50 of total offense, with the highest being Ole Miss at #26.

On the other side, 10 of the top 30 OLines finished in the top 30 of total offense. 15 of the top 30 lines were top 50 offenses. Only 2 of the top 30 OLines were in the bottom 30 in total offense.

So, in conclusion, while not perfect, looking at how well an offensive line plays gives a great barometer for how successful an offense will be. Bad offensive lines give an offense very little opportunity to be successful. While good OLines provide better opportunities, but they can’t throw, run, and catch the ball themselves.

I’m not sure what you expect when a team is littered with injuries to the limited experience it has. I agree with @takethepoints in that there was talent on the OLine last year, but I think saying “plenty” of talent is stretching it some. The older and more talented guys were hardly ever on the field together, and there was no chemistry built up between the new guys throughout the year due to the shuffling around. A young and inexperienced offense playing behind 3 walk-ons on the line is a recipe for a disastrous offensive year, and that’s what we saw. The offensive line will have the most noticeable improvement next year, and if the staff lands Cochran as a transfer it could transform into a top 50 performance next year with some injury luck. I expect the rest of the offense to follow suit.

 

[Lotta Booze]

The team that finished second worst in those rankings finished far ahead of us in total offense and scoring offense and they made a bowl game. How did they overcome such terrible offensive line play?

Cam Akers for 1. Better QB play as well.

Yeah, they made a Bowl game. They also got blown out at home by Miami, a team we beat....in Miami. I wouldn’t build them up too much

 

[stech81]

Cam Akers for 1. Better QB play as well.

Yeah, they made a Bowl game. They also got blown out at home by Miami, a team we beat....in Miami. I wouldn’t build them up too much

I know people will dispute me here but I really think Miami lost the game more than we won it. But a win is a win and you still need games that others play bad.

 

[CuseJacket]

See:

http://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com...-about-lamar-jackson-and-the-baltimore-ravens

Yep. The future of the NFL is tied up with people like Lamar Jackson and, though the article doesn't mention him, Derrick Henry.

Well, we don't have a QB as talented as Lamar (Paul wanted him soooooo bad, but no luck). What we do have is three nationally ranked 4 star duel-threat QBs in classes where we will probably have them back-to-back in years to come. If the staff develops them effectively and uses them correctly, then we can kill two birds with one stone: win football games and place QBs in the NFL.

I hope this will happen, but that'll depend on coaching decisions and, to a large extent, on the young men themselves.

One correction - Graham was a 4* Athlete, not QB, out of High School. Georgia Tech was the only school to offer him at QB, and that was in part due to the system we ran. Perhaps we can make him the QB that no other P5 thought he could be, but I think the premise should start with 2 4* dual-threat QBs.

Also, for me, Graham still needs to prove that he's a dual-threat. I can think of one run (4th down vs. NC State) where he really made a guy miss. Otherwise, TBD. Above average, but not elite, speed. There were a few head-scratching times when he pulled the ball down and ran this year, but I didn't see a ton of open-field instinct. Opportunity for improvement includes getting to the sticks, following the proper hip/shoulder of his blocker, and generally being elusive. My hope is that a lot of this had to do with too much for him to learn in a short period of time (spring practice truncated, very few reps as QB1, etc.) that it led to info-overload. I certainly expect him to improve next year with tons more reps and a better OL.

 

[4shotB]

I have a 5 year old grandson. If he says or does anything to make you laugh, he will keep repeating it over and over until it is no longer amusing. In fact, what was once funny becomes annoying and irritating. I am reminded of this everytime I see the Pnut reference here. It was kinda funny at first. Now it seems rather childish.

 

[SOWEGA Jacket]

The football “Gods” took over because Pnut & CGC refused to make in game adjustments, most acutely with the offense. They appeared to be so sure they were going to win & appeared to think they could keep experimenting even when the game was still in the balance. They should have got the game out of reach first, then started tinkering not the other way around. Rookie mistake. Let’s hope it’s not a defining moment is a regime change.

I hear you, but sometimes in sports it doesn’t matter what the losing team could have done they were still going to lose. To me, as I sat in Bobby Dodd, I had an inkling the Citadel was destined to win about midway 2nd quarter. I sat behind their bench and they had that “it” factor. Their QB play was nails. I just don’t think it’s that big a deal since we finished 3-8. If we would have been 8-3 that loss would haunt me, but at the end of the day it’s just another marker along the rebuild process. The Virginia game upsets me way more than Citadel.

 

[LibertyTurns]

I have a 5 year old grandson. If he says or does anything to make you laugh, he will keep repeating it over and over until it is no longer amusing. In fact, what was once funny becomes annoying and irritating. I am reminded of this everytime I see the Pnut reference here. It was kinda funny at first. Now it seems rather childish.

Sorry, come up with another abbreviation for his name. I’m going to take as much time typing his name as he apparently does thinking about what he should do before each game.

On a side note I’m not really sure how this board got so thin skinned all of a sudden. A full decade of high school offense comments didn’t seem to engender a comparable level of concern here.

 

[danny daniel]

Did you see the PFF for our O-line or whatever it is called? Worst in the country. FACT

You can’t argue that he’s a bad O-coordinator when our O-line is literally the absolute worst in the entire country. I’m not going to dig it up but how can you justify judging a guy when that’s what he has to work with in his first year.

Maybe the O scheme, choice of personnel on the field, QB rotation, and the questionable playcalling had something to do with how poorly our Oline was judged?

 

[LargeFO]

Sorry, come up with another abbreviation for his name. I’m going to take as much time typing his name as he apparently does thinking about what he should do before each game.

On a side note I’m not really sure how this board got so thin skinned all of a sudden. A full decade of high school offense comments didn’t seem to engender a comparable level of concern here.

It’s not thin skinned, it just was never clever from the drop but to each their own.

 

[takethepoints]

One correction - Graham was a 4* Athlete, not QB, out of High School. Georgia Tech was the only school to offer him at QB, and that was in part due to the system we ran. Perhaps we can make him the QB that no other P5 thought he could be, but I think the premise should start with 2 4* dual-threat QBs.

Also, for me, Graham still needs to prove that he's a dual-threat. I can think of one run (4th down vs. NC State) where he really made a guy miss. Otherwise, TBD. Above average, but not elite, speed. There were a few head-scratching times when he pulled the ball down and ran this year, but I didn't see a ton of open-field instinct. Opportunity for improvement includes getting to the sticks, following the proper hip/shoulder of his blocker, and generally being elusive. My hope is that a lot of this had to do with too much for him to learn in a short period of time (spring practice truncated, very few reps as QB1, etc.) that it led to info-overload. I certainly expect him to improve next year with tons more reps and a better OL.

True, but the real reason he didn't get as much attention as a QB recruit was that he only played 7 games his senior year and people were put off by his injury. However, in those seven games he:

Passed for 947 yards, rushed for 330, and accounted for 20 TDs. And was first team all-region at QB.

His junior year is, perhaps, what attracted Tech to him. As a junior, he:

Passed for 1725 yards, rushed for 956, and accounted for 39 (!) TDs. And was state and region offensive player of the year.

So, yeah, he's a dual threat QB ok. I think what you saw is, as you say, the result of being inexperienced and, perhaps, having a bit too much trust in his abilities. He could do pretty much what he wanted at QB in high school and nobody could stop him. Now, all of a sudden, there are people who can. It was bound to be a rude awakening. I think he could be our starter next year and he definitely has the inside track. He also has a lot of competition - if talent alone is the gage - to face. It's up to him and the staff to work all that out. I expect him to start. And, given our schedule, I sure do hope that our expectations about the OL pan out.