Vad Lee Interview on 790 the Zone

[Techster]

What exactly was Vad's skillset that demanded that we change the offense for him?

He threw a really pretty spiral that went really far!

 

[DallasBuzzFan]

Can we all agree that JT is more suited for the Flexbone than Vad? If so then if an implosion occurs with JT at the helm what to do say then? Just asking the question not picking a side here.

It doesn't matter who the QB is. If we don't block better against physical teams, our BB's can't make people miss and our WR and AB don't block on the edge.... WE WILL NOT WIN AGAINST GOOD PHYSICAL TEAMS. If we have a QB that can make proper reads and not be scared to run the ball, it will be better IF he doesn't turn the ball over.

 

[Eric]

Like I said last time I'm glad it's over with...was the right move for both sides.

Honestly I'm tired of hearing about Vad.

You can say Vad didn't know what he was singing up for when he came here but that isn't true at all...I was close with Vad the whole time and we never told him anything that we haven't done. What he thought the offense was going to develop into was something that he decided on in his mind.

Thinking about transferring all the way back to the Duke game isn't good...he wasn't 100% into it like he should have been...and that showed on the field.

Just glad it's over.

 

[southernhive]

I wish Vad would stay and continue to work on CPJ's offense, but if he really didn't come here to run the base offense, then it is better that he moves on. Great young man by all accounts.

He does throw a pretty spiral Techster, but if he wants to pass more in a more pass oriented system, then he needs to learn how to step up in the pocket and not throw the ball falling down or off his back foot.

 

[Ggee87]

I didn't get to listen to the interview but I catch the drift of what was said. Vad is a stand up guy, but he wasn't a great QB at GT. Maybe he will be successful elsewhere and in life. We are better off without him. He showed me absolutely nothing this season. He didn't get worse since last year... He just was playing scared and to not get hurt. Anybody with half a brain could have ran the offense more effective than Vad (2013). CPJ tried to accommodate Vad by running more shotgun for him, But he couldn't even make a read in the base offense so all we could run were toss sweeps and BBack dives which weren't successful due to Sims not being a playmaker. I guarantee y'all we look 10X better on O next season. The D is what I am worried about. All of our backup QBs are competent. Bback position will have an upgrade. WR get stronger, Oline gets bigger, Abacks are pretty interchangeable for the most part. Get back to the misdirections and counter options and stuff that made us unpredictable .

 

[jeagt]

Vad's longest run in 2012 was against Presbyterian on a draw from the pistol. His next longest was a speed option from under center. After that, I think it was the draw from the pistol v BC, and several counter options against Maryland, UNC, USC, etc, all from under center.

I don't think the percentage of his snaps from UC/pistol was drastically different between 2012 and 2013. Certainly not enough to account for running for 2.8 yards per carry this season.

He didn't run particularly well from the pistol this year. His long run this year was 21 yards! His YPC v Duke, where we ran the inverted veer/Power read/whatever from the pistol the most was 3.5. Aaron Murray *averaged* 3.5 this year.

Vad ran the ball poorly this year, both from the pistol and from under center. Vad ran the ball well in 2012, both from the pistol and from under center.

Glad you posted this. I was going to mention that either you or boomer had done a breakdown of Va'ds big plays showing that he was doing just as well under center as in the pistol. Seems everyone only wants to remember the pistol runs as it fits the common opinion that Vad needs to be in the pistol to be successful.

 

[Essobee]

Yeah, there is little question that the interviewers had one single agenda and that was to trash CPJ as much as Vad would let them. IMHO, young Vad did a good job of deflecting most of their crap, which speaks well of his maturity level.

On the matter of passing vs. running, I believe CPJ is of the majority school that you cannot win consistently without first establishing the running game. It is easy for naysayers to misconstrue that belief in order to trash the 3-0, especially to a pass-happy generation. I believe CPJ when he says that if passing 30 times a game would establish consistent winning strategy at GT, he would do it. But obviously CPJ doesn't believe that and neither do I. IMHO, you still need to establish the run first in order to set up the pass.

On the matter of having a Dwyer, a Nesbitt, and a Thomas, YES...we have already seen what that does for this offense. As Vad said, it can really get "crazy". Year in and year out, we have seen satisfactory overall point production. Yet we trash ourselves by bemoaning our blocking schemes, no tight end, and the "meh" appeal of the 3-0 to superstar players that envision themselves knocking down many million$ in the pros after a brief but obligatory three years enjoying college ball, parties, co-eds, and fan adoration.

All I have to do is think back a couple of years when we beat a much heralded Clemson team simply through spit, fire, and an offense they simply could not stop even though there was no Dwyer, Nesbitt, or Thomas providing Tech with a superior skill set. I also think about the years when we produced next to nothing on defense, yet still had enough point production to win. And I think about how proud I am of our student athletes that not only get into Georgia Tech, but they also get out with a solid education and skill set.

So if I had any rank amateur advice for our accomplished head coach, it would only be to get a few more great players and go kick some more butt. However, CPJ most likely already knows that. And he certainly wouldn't be the first Tech coach to wish he could consistently get just a few of the great players that UGA has gotten each year since the beginning of time, but without all the arrests and trouble.

 

[Techster]

I wish Vad would stay and continue to work on CPJ's offense, but if he really didn't come here to run the base offense, then it is better that he moves on. Great young man by all accounts.

He does throw a pretty spiral Techster, but if he wants to pass more in a more pass oriented system, then he needs to learn how to step up in the pocket and not throw the ball falling down or off his back foot.

Yup...he also needs to learn how to read coverages better, and where to go with the ball after diagnosing the defense.

 

[GTRX7]

Yup...he also needs to learn how to read coverages better, and where to go with the ball after diagnosing the defense.

We missed a lot of open receivers this year by throwing to the wrong guy, including a big one in the UGA game that could have turned out to be the difference maker.

 

[33jacket]

We can spend days slicing this all we want. Convincing ourselves this or that or whatever.

The bottom line is, and to me this proves it, this offense is very difficult to attract talent to. Vad leaving is a simple example of this now imagine how many it puts off that we have no chance at recruiting.

And fundamentally is a big reason our overall talent on O has erroded.

It also shows me the paul is and will live and die with his base. He isnt dedicated enough to changing it to give the new system reps for it to matter and execute. He knows what he knows and that is it. Its not that we cant pass. Its just the system isnt set up to pass and we certainly dont rep it much. And in his mind there is no need to. So we are where we are. And he probably told vad as much.

So philisophically u either like the paul system and hope we can recruit to it and win. Or you dont but there is no in between. Paul aint chaning at this point boys. 10-12 passes a game at the most 50 percent completion is about it.

Just my opinion on what all this means.

 

[Jean-Baptiste Rochambeau]

We can spend days slicing this all we want. Convincing ourselves this or that or whatever.

The bottom line is, and to me this proves it, this offense is very difficult to attract talent to. Vad leaving is a simple example of this now imagine how many it puts off that we have no chance at recruiting.

And fundamentally is a big reason our overall talent on O has erroded.

It also shows me the paul is and will live and die with his base. He isnt dedicated enough to changing it to give the new system reps for it to matter and execute. He knows what he knows and that is it. Its not that we cant pass. Its just the system isnt set up to pass and we certainly dont rep it much. And in his mind there is no need to. So we are where we are. And he probably told vad as much.

So philisophically u either like the paul system and hope we can recruit to it and win. Or you dont but there is no in between. Paul aint chaning at this point boys. 10-12 passes a game at the most 50 percent completion is about it.

Just my opinion on what all this means.

This was pointed out repeatedly in December of 2007. R-E-P-E-A-T-E-D-L-Y.

 

[DallasBuzzFan]

We can spend days slicing this all we want. Convincing ourselves this or that or whatever.

The bottom line is, and to me this proves it, this offense is very difficult to attract talent to. Vad leaving is a simple example of this now imagine how many it puts off that we have no chance at recruiting.

And fundamentally is a big reason our overall talent on O has erroded.

It also shows me the paul is and will live and die with his base. He isnt dedicated enough to changing it to give the new system reps for it to matter and execute. He knows what he knows and that is it. Its not that we cant pass. Its just the system isnt set up to pass and we certainly dont rep it much. And in his mind there is no need to. So we are where we are. And he probably told vad as much.

So philisophically u either like the paul system and hope we can recruit to it and win. Or you dont but there is no in between. Paul aint chaning at this point boys. 10-12 passes a game at the most 50 percent completion is about it.

Just my opinion on what all this means.

I agree with this for the most part. But, our recruiting isn't much different than is has been for the past 15-20 years. We always average right around 3 stars per kid per class. The last coach averaged around 20 points per game while he was here with the most gifted wide receiver to ever play here. We averaged 35ppg this year and to hear everyone tell it... It's a sucky offense. If we had the defense we did with the last coach and scored 35ppg we would be undefeated. The offense can win if everything else works just as well.

 

[33jacket]

I agree with this for the most part. But, our recruiting isn't much different than is has been for the past 15-20 years. We always average right around 3 stars per kid per class. The last coach averaged around 20 points per game while he was here with the most gifted wide receiver to ever play here. We averaged 35ppg this year and to hear everyone tell it... It's a sucky offense. If we had the defense we did with the last coach and scored 35ppg we would be undefeated. The offense can win if everything else works just as well.

Thats where u and i differ. You trust some recruiting website to evaluate recruiting (which admits they hand out more 3 stars now than ever before). I look on the field. Its not close hoss. Call it poor evaluation. Poor development poor whatever. But it isnt close

Secondly dont put words in my mouth. Never said our offense wasnt productive padded by fcs. Chan got fired due to his pathetic O as one reason. That is like comparing a speeding ticket violator to bin laden. No point in doing it. Paul is not getting it done. And paul has nothing to do with chan. Yet ironically paul and chan share the same record and chan better vs fbs. Point here. Its a total coach issue.

 

[vamosjackets]

Yeah, I really disliked the interviewers. They were trying VERY hard to make trouble for GT and CPJ, but Vad successfully navigated it, so good on him.

Lots of talk on other sites complaining about CPJ's response after the Duke game, STTE "We won, but I didn't like how we won." I completely agreed with CPJ after that game. Duke shut us down until we went to stuff they hadn't seen before. We were terrible at the base offense stuff in the Duke game and it showed when we played other teams. And, once other teams saw the other stuff we ran, we couldn't just rely on that to score. The TO system is of a nature that even if people know what you're doing and have practiced to defend it, they shouldn't be able to stop it. They should be able to keep from getting torched with the offense scoring in 3 plays, but the worst we should do is have time consuming drives averaging 4-5 yards per play, and still scoring 28. The other stuff we do isn't of that same nature. You can stop that stuff. That stuff is great at complementing our offense, but it can't BE our offense. So, CPJ did exactly what he should've done when we sucked at OUR offense: He went back to the fundamentals and kept at it because without that we weren't going to be successful anyway. Now, with Vad's outlook, it's no wonder we never got as good as we had in previous years at the base stuff. Vad's problem (and thus our problem) is that he didn't see or believe in the big picture and long term potential. He just wanted the offense to be what he wanted and wanted it sooner than was possible.

 

[GTJackets]

These guys seem to be pushing an anti-CPJ agenda hard from the outset.

Did they ever do an interview with Vad when he was starting at Tech? Living out of state, I don't listen but I don't recall hearing anything about it if they did. Could have just been that it was regular and uninformative.

 

[DallasBuzzFan]

uote="33jacket, post: 27285, member: 628"]Thats where u and i differ. You trust some recruiting website to evaluate recruiting (which admits they hand out more 3 stars now than ever before). I look on the field. Its not close hoss. Call it poor evaluation. Poor development poor whatever. But it isnt close

Secondly dont put words in my mouth. Never said our offense wasnt productive padded by fcs. Chan got fired due to his pathetic O as one reason. That is like comparing a speeding ticket violator to bin laden. No point in doing it. Paul is not getting it done. And paul has nothing to do with chan. Yet ironically paul and chan share the same record and chan better vs fbs. Point here. Its a total coach issue.[/quote]
But Little Joe the recruiting misses are just as bad on defense as they are on offense. We don't run the triple option on defense. I'm not saying CPJ is getting it done. I'm saying we will be just as good if not better now that Vad has left.

 

[GT Man]

I've heard coach say more than once that if he thought he could win by throwing it 30 times a game, he'd do that. I just don't believe that he would. I have always thought that while he is a fierce competitor who hates to lose, he hates being wrong a little bit more. He will never open up the offense past adding some plays here and there as it takes too many reps to get the Flexbone/3O perfected and there just aren't enough reps remaining to do anything else.

I've often wondered if one of the failings of CPJ's offense at this level isn't that people figure it out, but that the margin for error in running it where it is effective is simply too small. It is just so difficult to learn and is dependent on all players doing their job perfectly. One missed block on the O-Line of a missed read basically end the play unless you have extreme talent at your ball-handling positions. Having a Dwyer or Nesbit makes the execution more fault-tolerant.

I think a way around this is to NOT expand the playbook too much. Just get really really efficient at the base offense.

 

[GT Man]

I absolutely believe Vad is a great kid, and I do believe that PJ is a very stubborn coach, one who wants to win mind you, but VERY stubborn.

I still believe that our talent level has dropped to a level that when we play against "grown men" on the D side of the ball, we are in trouble, no matter WHO the QB is we use. IMO, until the O-line talent and RB talent improve significantly, we will be a 7-9 win team at the most, depending on how the schedule plays out and how the ball bounces in close games. The thing that really concerns me about going into next year is the D dropping off with the loss of JA and Jemea......

Anyway, I wish nothing but success for VL. He represented the Institute with class and dignity.....

Where's the evidence of his stubbornness? I've seen changes in coaching staff, play-calling and recruiting--in other words, he's made adjustments/changes across the board.

 

[Techster]

Where's the evidence of his stubbornness? I've seen changes in coaching staff, play-calling and recruiting--in other words, he's made adjustments/changes across the board.

Agree here. CPJ and his staff have made changes...recruiting philosophy, bring in other offensive concepts, etc.

The issue isn't whether CPJ and his staff are willing to make changes. The issue to me is whether they are knowledgeable enough to implement those changes to be effective both on the field (Pistol/Diamond/Passing game, etc.) and off the field (recruiting).

 

[GTrob21]

So.... if you have a company and have ran it a certain way for 20-30 years and all of your people that YOU hired operate the company the way you recruited them to do it, and then you hired a superstar in your field of work and he just couldn't grasp how your company operated, you would change your whole company to compromise the ONE SUPERSTAR? I don't think so.

this is not even close to being what I was referring too. Coach Johnson was the one who recruited Lee, and it didn't work out. It falls on him. Also our BEST win of the year was against DUKE, doing what... Running out of the diamond and throwing for touchdowns using the skill set of Vad Lee.

It's like Vad said, when you throw 4 touchdowns and we win and we didn't do it our way... that is a horrible statement to make against a coach. and yet here you are defending CPJ.