The sun is rising...

Randy Carson

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The very vast majority of Tech fans and alums that I've spoken to are all thrilled with the change, happy to see Key as interim and fully supportive going forward. I'd suggest we don't take The Swarm as even a reasonably representative sample of GT Fans. There are some on here who would gripe if we won 12 games a year, saying that if only we had done it their way, we'd win 13+.
Rush used to talk about "low information voters".

Is it possible that many of the vast majority are "low engagement fans"?

[That's a rhetorical question, of course.]
 

85Escape

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Rush used to talk about "low information voters".

Is it possible that many of the vast majority are "low engagement fans"?

[That's a rhetorical question, of course.]
100% possible, even very very likely. Still, my statement stands since I was responding to someone saying that they didn't get the griping of GT Fans. If they'd said "GT Swarm" then I'd be right with them! ;)
 

Augusta_Jacket

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Since players only get 4 years of eligibility, the time line stated seems excessive.

That's exactly why it takes so long. If you started with all freshman by year 3 1/2 to year 4 you'd be awesome but have to start all over again the next year. The trick is to develop 1-2 guys a year and rotate them in. Takes 4-6 years to get enough players into the system for that to work.

But that's what football coaches told me, not internet fans, so maybe they don't know what they are talking about.
 

Augusta_Jacket

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Everyone acknowledges that the lines are the hardest to recruit and get going. I’ve posted this before - then why do our coaches continue to sign way more DB‘s and WR’s than OLinemen? It seems like every year we talk about this and every year I check the roster (under both CPJ and the last guy) and we have 15-20 DB’s, WR’s, and previously ABacks who never see the field. Why don’t our coaches over recruit and bring in 5-10 more OLinemen every year and hope the statistical game shows up and we find 5-8 we can use? Look at our current roster- we have about a dozen WR’s who never play, many of who may leave due to lack of playing time. I’d much rather have 12 more big bodies so if we have a couple of OLinemen go down we aren’t scrambling around like we see every year.

This is the point I was trying to bring up earlier. I always gave CPJ a pass because his lines at least functioned the way they were intended for run blocking, but CGC was NOT recruiting HS OL very well at all, and instead leaning heavily on the portal for "immediate" help. IMO, we would have been better off developing more raw HS than becoming heavily reliant on portal guys.
 

iceeater1969

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This is the point I was trying to bring up earlier. I always gave CPJ a pass because his lines at least functioned the way they were intended for run blocking, but CGC was NOT recruiting HS OL very well at all, and instead leaning heavily on the portal for "immediate" help. IMO, we would have been better off developing more raw HS than becoming heavily reliant on portal guys.
At the tail gate - i talked to one of the cgc 6'4" ol guys that was injured and put on medical - playing weight 300 current weight 225.

At Montgomery gas station on way to game a big man with a working truck said hi and asked me if we are going ot game. Said yes. I saw his TIDE sticker and said do you root for BAMA - he said he sure did and his son plays for Alabama. His son 6'6 330 is a freshman ol and was always called Big man" but when he met the alabama ol he said "i aint big , they are big" .
 

bobongo

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1664455588866.png
 

FlatsLander

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the line play should be better. the transition was always gonna take 4 or more years. both things can be true.

it even took kirby several years to get their o line where it is today. retooling a group in college football is hard since you always have guys coming and going. by now we should be serviceable but to get to the point we have a GOOD line, like one you genuinely have to acknowledge when playing us, will take a while
Kirby was playing for the National Championship in year 2
 

bobongo

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That's exactly why it takes so long. If you started with all freshman by year 3 1/2 to year 4 you'd be awesome but have to start all over again the next year. The trick is to develop 1-2 guys a year and rotate them in. Takes 4-6 years to get enough players into the system for that to work.

But that's what football coaches told me, not internet fans, so maybe they don't know what they are talking about.
I'll wager those same coaches would say it shouldn't take 4 years to see an IMPROVEMENT.
 

bobongo

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You're picking nits at this point. We look better than we did in 2019 on OL. We've not improved enough, however. No one disputes that. Doesn't change a single thing I've been saying.
Picking nits? The OL is the biggest single reason we're in the doldrums. It's completely ineffective in year 4 of the "transition". I'd say you're the one "picking nits".
 

Augusta_Jacket

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Picking nits? The OL is the biggest single reason we're in the doldrums. It's completely ineffective in year 4 of the "transition". I'd say you're the one "picking nits".

OK. I mean, I've literally been saying on every thread that the OL is our biggest issue. Our OL is causing us no end of heartbreak. So that part we agree on.

Where we differ is in how long it takes to develop an OL from scratch, which is what we were doing. I am trusting the word of football coaches. You seem to be basing it off your opinion that we should somehow have been magically better faster than we are.

Fact: Our OL is better today than it was in 2019. The very fact that we can execute any kind of downfield passing attack attests to that.
Fact: Our OL is not good, and still needs work in developing players to fit the scheme.

These two facts can be true simultaneously.

Opinion: We are still not winning enough games and our OL is the biggest problem so there is no improvement on the OL.

You pointing to a "mythical" improvement metric after having it pointed out that most actual experts projected our OL woes is picking nits.
 

Augusta_Jacket

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They projected virtually zero progress in four years? Really? They really said that?

You're just being argumentative at this point. There has been substantial progress. There has not been a substantial change in results.

Hence this statement:

Fact: Our OL is better today than it was in 2019. The very fact that we can execute any kind of downfield passing attack attests to that.
Fact: Our OL is not good, and still needs work in developing players to fit the scheme.
 
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