Old South Stands
Jolly Good Fellow
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- 244
Coach Johnson is pretty good at tailoring his game plan to the talent he has on hand. Each year seems like something different. Even though it's a spread option offense, CPJ coached in the run-and-shoot system under June Jones, so he understands the passing game pretty well and will insert that aspect of the game if the pieces of the puzzle are all there. Both Nesbitt and Tevin could throw the ball a decent ways, though I think CPJ dialed up more passes with JN than with TW. With Nesbitt we had a good supporting cast in the backfield with Allen, Dwyer and Roddy Jones, so there was a good spread-option attack--plus we had the option to throw to Bay Bay to keep the defenses honest. As a ball carrier, JN was a bruiser and could be counted on to get some hard yardage where needed. With Tevin, there probably wasn't as much talent around him, so we ran more. He carried a lot himself and racked up a lot of yards, setting a few Tech records in the process. Someone here a few days earlier said that during the VPI game this year, our offense with Matt Jordan looked a lot like a throw-back to the Tevin Washington days. With Vad, CPJ threw more... those big throws he made in the UGA game looked a lot like what we just saw in Athens.
In 2014 I don't remember a lot of passing. JeT didn't seem to have a good arm or a good zip on the ball. But we had an excellent corps of blockers, both on the offensive line as well as among the receivers and backfield, so this helped the triple option work as well as it did. It also seemed like we had an endless supply of RB talent. We also had Smelter and Waller as safety valves... a pretty complete package on offense, which is why few teams could stop us. The problem with the 2015 season was a decimated backfield and an offensive line that couldn't block... Justin Thomas ended up trying to do too much himself and rarely got a chance to set himself and throw. But I think this was this season where JT really began improving his throwing mechanics, and that long pass on 4th down to Stewart was really an indication of what would happen this year. Don't know whether Tech's opening up of the passing attack this season was based on necessity or opportunity, or even a combination of both. But it was interesting that during the UGA game, the announcers thought it was odd that Tech's was the quick-strike, big play offense that UGA usually is, while UGA took on the role of Tech's chew-the-clock up "death march" offense. No idea what next season brings, but if Matthew Jordan is the starter, it will look a lot like the slow, deliberate marches many people outside the program are familiar with...
In 2014 I don't remember a lot of passing. JeT didn't seem to have a good arm or a good zip on the ball. But we had an excellent corps of blockers, both on the offensive line as well as among the receivers and backfield, so this helped the triple option work as well as it did. It also seemed like we had an endless supply of RB talent. We also had Smelter and Waller as safety valves... a pretty complete package on offense, which is why few teams could stop us. The problem with the 2015 season was a decimated backfield and an offensive line that couldn't block... Justin Thomas ended up trying to do too much himself and rarely got a chance to set himself and throw. But I think this was this season where JT really began improving his throwing mechanics, and that long pass on 4th down to Stewart was really an indication of what would happen this year. Don't know whether Tech's opening up of the passing attack this season was based on necessity or opportunity, or even a combination of both. But it was interesting that during the UGA game, the announcers thought it was odd that Tech's was the quick-strike, big play offense that UGA usually is, while UGA took on the role of Tech's chew-the-clock up "death march" offense. No idea what next season brings, but if Matthew Jordan is the starter, it will look a lot like the slow, deliberate marches many people outside the program are familiar with...