Spring game 2016

tech_wreck47

Helluva Engineer
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8,670
@flea77 what was the word on the o line play for the spring game? Has Will said anything?

I know the line didn't look great, but I just rewatched the game and the QB's didn't help with their reads, I saw holes not being ran through, and pitches not being made when the A back clearly could have gotten a good gain.
 

Boomergump

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Get this: I watched the game on ESPN3 last night in my room at the Days Inn in the cesspool. That entire town reeks and is full of less than intelligent people. Every place you go has red an black everywhere. I vomited in my mouth about six times. In any case, it was an important event for me, but it was a sacrifice, make no mistake.

For those who are drawing any conclusions about the offense after that game, please don't. I compare what I saw last night to spring training games in MLB. Winning games is not the priority in spring baseball, working on stuff is. It was pretty much the same at BDS. We didn't run a lot of our base stuff and we weren't scheming to try and win a game against our defense. We were just running some plays while trying to expand our vocabulary on offense and evaluate a couple kids, nothing more than that. During the season CPJ will sequence plays and try to set up a defense by exploiting weaknesses or overplays. NONE of that was going on yesterday. We merely tried to rep some stuff that was being installed over the last few days. We had kids at new positions, especially along the lines, running new plays and they needed to be stretched in terms of assignments etc. I am not worried at all.

Having said all that, I think it is fun to see guys play for the first time and then prognosticate after extremely small sample sizes. Two guys that impressed me (along with some others from the board) were Jarret and Mills. Jarret has some speed we were lacking last year and he is very shifty. If you project him into AB plays last year that went for 4 yard gains and an ankle tackle, they would turn into good gains. He can find space with speed, vision, agility and moves. He is not a bruiser but will burn people. He will play. Mills is a solid back. He is a RB all the way. I really like him and think he will find holes and make tough yards and generally get everything that is to be gotten on most plays. JJ green and Lynn Griffin will add a lot to.

Taquon shows potential to be a good option QB. He is not ready right now, but could be really good if we work with him and keep him getting quality reps through his RS year coming up. To me, he has that "it" factor. We haven't beaten the high school out of him yet, but he has ability and aptitude.

I want to watch again and focus on line play, which I didn't do on the first viewing.
 

OldJacketFan

Helluva Engineer
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8,348
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Nashville, TN
Get this: I watched the game on ESPN3 last night in my room at the Days Inn in the cesspool. That entire town reeks and is full of less than intelligent people. Every place you go has red an black everywhere. I vomited in my mouth about six times. In any case, it was an important event for me, but it was a sacrifice, make no mistake.

For those who are drawing any conclusions about the offense after that game, please don't. I compare what I saw last night to spring training games in MLB. Winning games is not the priority in spring baseball, working on stuff is. It was pretty much the same at BDS. We didn't run a lot of our base stuff and we weren't scheming to try and win a game against our defense. We were just running some plays while trying to expand our vocabulary on offense and evaluate a couple kids, nothing more than that. During the season CPJ will sequence plays and try to set up a defense by exploiting weaknesses or overplays. NONE of that was going on yesterday. We merely tried to rep some stuff that was being installed over the last few days. We had kids at new positions, especially along the lines, running new plays and they needed to be stretched in terms of assignments etc. I am not worried at all.

Having said all that, I think it is fun to see guys play for the first time and then prognosticate after extremely small sample sizes. Two guys that impressed me (along with some others from the board) were Jarret and Mills. Jarret has some speed we were lacking last year and he is very shifty. If you project him into AB plays last year that went for 4 yard gains and an ankle tackle, they would turn into good gains. He can find space with speed, vision, agility and moves. He is not a bruiser but will burn people. He will play. Mills is a solid back. He is a RB all the way. I really like him and think he will find holes and make tough yards and generally get everything that is to be gotten on most plays. JJ green and Lynn Griffin will add a lot to.

Taquon shows potential to be a good option QB. He is not ready right now, but could be really good if we work with him and keep him getting quality reps through his RS year coming up. To me, he has that "it" factor. We haven't beaten the high school out of him yet, but he has ability and aptitude.

I want to watch again and focus on line play, which I didn't do on the first viewing.

Boomer thank you, this is spot on what I said yesterday after I got back from the scrimmage. Maybe now some folks will come back in off the ledge. OTOH maybe they will take a forward step :D
 

Buzz776g

Jolly Good Fellow
Messages
466
I apologize if this is a deeply stupid question, but I have never played nor coached ball.

Does the O-line train as a team? That is, do the 5 starters practice together, training for what each will do, separately and together, when they see a particular D alignment, or shift? Do they work together to coordinate their reads, reactions, and responses to what they see, so that they are nailing their assignments not just against an opposing D but also in support of each other?
 

tech_wreck47

Helluva Engineer
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8,670
I apologize if this is a deeply stupid question, but I have never played nor coached ball.

Does the O-line train as a team? That is, do the 5 starters practice together, training for what each will do, separately and together, when they see a particular D alignment, or shift? Do they work together to coordinate their reads, reactions, and responses to what they see, so that they are nailing their assignments not just against an opposing D but also in support of each other?
Yes they do, there are so many blocking schemes you can get from just one play depending on the alignment of the D with guys in different gaps and guys blitzing. So it is very important for the guys to work together and to be on the same page, most of the time your center is the QB of the line and will point things out a lot, that's why you will see linemen pointing at the D when someone shows a blitz, they are communicating because now the blocking scheme might be different from the original alignment the D showed. So to answer your question in a shorter way, yes they practice together to get in a flow together and to be on the same page when game day comes.
 

vamosjackets

GT Athlete
Featured Member
Messages
2,156
Our offense struggled yesterday ... like it was playing against VaTech or Clemson or somebody ... If that means that our defense is getting up to the level of a VT (Foster) or Clemson (Venables) then I am the happiest GT fan on the planet. It's the most I've seen "us" struggle against "us". But, if our D is the same as it has been, then it just means we have a crappy O (right now). I was encouraged by the way our guys on D seemed to play fast, sound, tackled well (mostly), and got after the offense in general. Pass rush looked good, LB's flowed fast, DB's came up and tackled but also didn't let anything get behind them. It was a dominating performance. So, I'm good with the D. Can they do it against offenses they won't have been practicing against for months? If so, we can be a good team. Wouldn't it be nice if what we witnessed was our offense actually having trouble moving the ball against an actual top-25 FBS defense? Man, that would be a shot in the arm, wouldn't it. Having a top-25 offense AND defense is something I've never witnessed since becoming a Tech man 17 years ago. My primary source of doubt is still our OL. I fear that we're a good man or two short there. Some very bad luck involved and extremely painful recruiting misses. But, we've still got a chance to find a combination that can develop into something decent. Others have already mentioned Mills, Jarrett, Marshall. I'll say I thought Stewart looked good out there. He made a very athletic play look very natural going up the ladder to snatch one down. I'd like to see him targeted more. Jeune looks good too. We don't have a 10 out there (Bay Bay, Smelter), and maybe not even a 9 (Waller, Hill), but I think we've got a chance to have a couple of 8's, maybe more. I thought all 3 QB's made some mistakes that cost us some big plays. Need Tevin to coach 'em, I guess. He didn't rely on talent at all and relied on the system to make the big plays - that made him the most effective he could be. I have hardly any memories of him missing a big play due to missing a give or pitch read. Sometimes that may have made him look less athletic than he actually was because he was focusing so hard on making the decision rather than making the play with his ability. I wouldn't mind seeing that some with our QB's. JT and Taquon both are exciting players. Taquon really reminds me of JT - just as quick, maybe a hair slower in the top end speed. Definitely has an elusive, athletic presence out there. Not sure about Jordan. I think he'll get passed up if I had to make a prediction today. But, who knows, with a poor OL, which would be better a QB who is more elusive or one that can get more tough yards? Maybe our OL can find itself this season and that can become a meaningless question.
 

Buzz776g

Jolly Good Fellow
Messages
466
Yes they do, there are so many blocking schemes you can get from just one play depending on the alignment of the D with guys in different gaps and guys blitzing. So it is very important for the guys to work together and to be on the same page, most of the time your center is the QB of the line and will point things out a lot, that's why you will see linemen pointing at the D when someone shows a blitz, they are communicating because now the blocking scheme might be different from the original alignment the D showed. So to answer your question in a shorter way, yes they practice together to get in a flow together and to be on the same page when game day comes.
Thanks! (y)
 

flea77

Ramblin' Wreck
Messages
934
@flea77 what was the word on the o line play for the spring game? Has Will said anything?

I know the line didn't look great, but I just rewatched the game and the QB's didn't help with their reads, I saw holes not being ran through, and pitches not being made when the A back clearly could have gotten a good gain.
Watching a live scrimmage I only really get to see what one player is doing because I watch my son.Its hard to gauge the performance of a unit when your QB is playing touch football. I thought there were several times that the drives would have continued it we were live. The week before if we did not drop some passes the first O would have prob scored on every series except 1 when they got a 15 yard penalty. My take is that the O is going against a D that is improved and the D knows the OL's calls and QB checks. So thats prob why counters do not slow the backers or the ability to check into something to take advantage of numbers. The OL will be fine. You can go back a few days and watch Andrew Marshall's interview. Thats is the type of players we have. Team guys, bring your lunch pail to work everyday.
 
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THWG72

Georgia Tech Fan
Messages
67
If I was a gambling man, I'd bet that our offense line is terrible.......again! And that JT won't be able to hit the side of a barn. Recruiting does matter.... and the lack of is showing. Stars don't matter? Tell that to Nick Saban!
 

iceeater1969

Helluva Engineer
Messages
9,796
Watching a live scrimmage I only really get to see what one player is doing because I watch my son.Its hard to gauge the performance of a unit when your QB is playing touch football. I thought there were several times that the drives would have continued it we were live. The week before if we did not drop some passes the first O would have prob scored on every series except 1 when they got a 15 yard penalty. My take is that the O is going against a D that is improved and the D knows the OL's calls and QB checks. So thats prob why counters do not slow the backers or the ability to check into something to take advantage of numbers. The OL will be fine. You can go back a few days and watch Andrew Marshall's interview. Thats is the type of players we have. Team guys, bring your lunch pail to work everyday.

Right on - the defense knows the reads and add to this the ol is without TWO important players -burden and griffin. Offense was not crisp but its still spring.

By fall camp some players will be getting way fewers reps and starters will look crisp. At nd one of the coaches told me before the game, it all depends on how the freshman react when we get punched in the mouth by a fifth year senior.
I think we have had enough of that last year and this year we will beat them to the punch.
Just have to find a way to make them pay for bringing pressure. Going to be very fun year watching gt grow as a team.
 
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