VT's TechSideline re: GT Offense

[AE 87]

I think Ugag had their signals. Remember Pruitt had 6 or 7 weeks to prepare for Auburn last year when he was at FSU. I agree though, Auburn is not fun to watch if the running game is stopped.

Yeah, I don't know if it was ripping their signals or just familiarity with the O, but I think Pruitt v. Auburn was part of the story.

Here's an interesting fact. U[sic]Ga lost four regular season games last year: Clemson, Vandy, Mizzou, and Auburn. This year, these four teams averaged 11 pts/game. Besides these four teams, U[sic]Ga's other 5 FBS opponents have averaged 34 pts/game.

Of course, Auburn was the only surprise. In Offensive efficiency (OFEI), CU is #57, Vandy #120, Mizzou #78. So holding Auburn, #4 to 7 probably had a lot to do with Pruitt's knowledge.

I think GT will score on georgie this year, hopefully mercilessly.

 

[gtg936g]

Well they won't have our signals

 

[Essobee]

When our offense is hitting on all cylinders it is a thing of beauty and watching it this year has me so spoiled that I now have difficulty even watching the pros. Last night I watched some, but not all of the NC vs. Duke game. Why didn't I watch all of it? Frankly, I thought both of their offenses were terribly boring so I watched only the first and last quarters.

 

[Declinometer]

When our offense is hitting on all cylinders it is a thing of beauty and watching it this year has me so spoiled that I now have difficulty even watching the pros. Last night I watched some, but not all of the NC vs. Duke game. Why didn't I watch all of it? Frankly, I thought both of their offenses were terribly boring so I watched only the first and last quarters.

I drank Two Hearted Ale and watch every snap til the very end and that led to joyous drunk texting into the night

 

[worthco jacket]

I actually thought a poster on TigerNet captured it well last week, in their weeping following their beatdown on the Flats.

"The problem," he wrote, "is that their offense doesn't depend on a superstar at any one position."

And that's why the talking heads and casual fans say it's boring. Because it depends on timing and execution, and not individual athletic performance, it's hard to anticipate who the "star" is going to be. For Tech fans, of course, this is not a bug, but a feature...

'This is true up to a point. This offense absolutely HAS to have a quarterback that is quick to the edge and can make good reads and is able to pass well enough to keep those safeties back. If we need a super star it is at Bback and/or wide receiver. The tiger fan's observation is very telling when talking about linemen. We do not have to have or really need the prototype giant offensive linemen to make this offense work but we need centers that are athletic enough to get to the second level and big enough to take on nose tackles. Probably the area that we seem to have the most difficulty recruiting is tackles. They have to be big, athletic, and fast. Hard combination to find. It is interesting that virtually every year we have an all conference guard or center but no tackles. Others may disagree with this obsevation but that is how I see it.

 

[biggtfan]

To me, it's like watching NASCAR. You have to understand the strategies of pit stops, restarts, drafting, etc. otherwise it's just cars going round and round making left hand turns.

Sorry, you lose me with that analogy. Nascar is really just turning left, no matter how many times they stop for gas.

 

[TheGridironGeek]

So weird. One guy, in a post written yesterday, said this was the worst GT team in a while and won't win more than 6 games.

I think Elwood nails it on the head. Most football fans are really just there to watch a QB throw hard or a RB run fast etc. It sort of boggles the mind because you're talking about the most complex game ever invented. It's like if people watched chess and ignored the moves and the tactics, in favor of "Damn that bishop is big, look what a great paint job on that plastic."

There is nothing more boring to me than watching two teams run the same plays that everyone else does. When CPJ refers to an opponent running the "NCAA offense," that's what he means. Look at all the also-ran teams in the MAC or the Sun Belt who run the same shotgun-spread as everyone else in the FBS. Why wouldn't someone step up and do anything different? I understand why Alabama et al run the offenses they do, because they're recruiting NFL prospects. Akron isn't.

There's also a perception that passing = entertainment and running = boring. I'm not sure if it always reflects reality, but it's an unwritten rule of hype.

 

[texasjacket]

There are only so many schemes in the game of football. I never truly understand this complaint about the spread under center vs out of the shotgun/pistol. Hell 10-15 years ago, the run and gun was all the rage and now it has all but died. I am sure it will make a resurgence again.

 

[slugboy]

There are only so many schemes in the game of football. I never truly understand this complaint about the spread under center vs out of the shotgun/pistol. Hell 10-15 years ago, the run and gun was all the rage and now it has all but died. I am sure it will make a resurgence again.

Check out this from 538. It shows how some trends come in (in the NFL), make a dent, and change everything for everybody.

You see a run-and-gun offshoots at Auburn, Ohio State, South Carolina, and with Mike Leach over at WSU. It's changed a lot of teams (like UNC and Clemson, but not UGA or Alabama). Air Raid has had a big influence, and I don't think the 49'ers would look the same without it.

 

[Towaliga]

Well they won't have our signals

I'm pretty sure they will understand my hand signals. I just won't be standing on the sidelines.

 

[Bigb]

watching this VT/Wake game, they should get on their knees and pray to have an offense like ours

 

[GPD]

I can't help but laugh at the cats in that thread (not all of them) making goofy comments about our offense....
Much more effective to get shut out for 60 minutes by Wake with your offense...

 

[96Jacket]

I can't help but laugh at the cats in that thread (not all of them) making goofy comments about our offense....
Much more effective to get shut out for 60 minutes by Wake with your offense...

No doubt.

I don't post on other teams' sites but I'd love to see someone bump that thread with a words to the effect of: "Look on the bright side Hokies, you may have been completely shut out by Wake Forest in regulation and lost the game, but at least you weren't running Paul Johnson's boring option-based offense! You guys were multi-dimensional and exciting!"

 

[GPD]

We really need VT to be strong... it's difficult to pull for them though... they're so condescending towards us with absolutely ZERO legitimacy to back their attitude.

Really do need the traditional football schools in conference to be solid... In my view, Tech, Clemson, VT, and FSU are the schools that should carry the football banner for the conference.. I think NC St wants to be serious about football too, and they can help.

Newcomer Louisville is definitely serious about it, and of course Notre Dame if we want to count them.

Not saying others don't care, but their focus seems more towards hoops.

 

[AE 87]

Maybe you should respect their integrity ...

They would rather have no offense at all.

 

[worthco jacket]

Maybe you should respect their integrity ...

They would rather have no offense at all.

I guess since they have beaten us so many times and in so many ways I should not complain but I would like to see them operate under our academic restraints and going head to head with UGA, Auburn, Tennessee, and Christ alone who knows how many other schools poaching instate talent knowing we can't recruit half of them because of the Hill. True Virginia Tech is not the flagship university like Virginia but they can get considerably more talent than we can. Which begs the question? How can we shorten the odds? By running that boring high school offense. It minimizes our deficiencies and places a premium on quicker linemen and backs while shortening the game and limiting possessions. Seems like the smart thing to do when you are competing with people with no restraints and even less integrity.

 

[Oldgoldandwhite]

There are only so many schemes in the game of football. .

Agree. We ran some components of the "modern" offenses years ago when I was in High School out of the "old" single wing.
Good QB = Good offense. Bad QB = Bad offense. Football is still blocking and tackling.

 

[Papa Doc]

Any offense is in vogue if winning is the result. If JT and the offense produce similar results for CPJ over the next couple of years, e.g., leading the conference in nearly all offensive categories, others will attempt to copy portions of it not all of it. However, most offensive coordinators are former quarterbacks who just can't help themselves, they want to throw the ball even when it doesn't make sense. You just don't hear talking heads condemn impatient OCs the way they critique patient ones.

 

[up state jacket]

We just need a Dez White at WR to run 9's all day.

I think Kelly Campbell would be nice to have.

 

[TechPhi97]

"The problem," he wrote, "is that their offense doesn't depend on a superstar at any one position."
Personally I think this is Overstating, well just not true. This offense needs players just like any other.

To my friends of other teams (even some GT fans/alum) they find the offense plodding especially Death March mode. I'd like to see more passing and gun plays but more importantly win.

The whole "more passing or gun plays" is a misnomer; I watched Tennessee run out of the gun on third and goal last night with a read option and I thought "what are they doing?". You run a system so you get reps to execute as flawlessly as possible, and you add wrinkles when your players can handle it. It doesn't matter the system, it s the execution of that system.

Look at Clemson or UNC. UNC can put up points, yes, but I wouldn't trade places with them. Chad Morris' offense is crap when Stout runs it. UNCs quarterback is big and athletic, but he holds the ball like he's trying to sell it not protect it.

That Tennessee game last night.....their offense was boring, boring. Read option middle (stuffed) read option outside (gain of 2), dropped pass, punt. Rinse and repeat.

The read option offense gets stuffed more times during a typical Saturday than I can count. We do sometimes. But I would take this coach, regardless of system, because he can baffle the other team and play with blocking schemes and formations on the fly to take advantage of weakness or game planning. He's proven it. As we like to say, he can take ours and beat yours, or take yours and beat ours. His coaching (regardless of system) is what makes us good, so all the naysayers and nitpickers can suck it.