Was Vad Injured?

[Techster]

I'm not sure on this. JT is about the same size as Tracy Ham was at GSU and he survived two seasons of pounding successfully.

I think the key here is speed and creating enough uncertainty about what you are going to do. One of Vad's problems this year is that, since he couldn't run the TO efficiently, it was a lot easier for teams to square up on him and land a lick. Their D puzzle, iow, was simplified greatly and made setting up less of a problem. If JT (or whoever) can run the O correctly and we continue to get the passing game into the O (I hope, I hope) I won't be that disturbed about our QBs being hit out of the games.

For all that, it would be nice for JT to put on 10 lbs or so, just to be on the safe side.

You should look at old GSU film with Tracy Ham. Ham wasn't the tallest guy, probably a true 5'11, but he was a solidly built guy around 190-200lbs. JT is listed at 5'11, but I've stood next to him on field level and he's more 5'9 than 5'11. On top of that, he's not that well built. The good thing is, if a QB is smart about the hits he takes, think Tevin's career, then he won't take those knockout shots that Vad and Nesbitt took.

The one thing JT does have is elite speed and quickness for a QB. I'm not sure that means too much against upper tier teams on our schedule like UGA/Miami/VT/FSU because they have defenders every bit as fast as him, but against the other teams we should be fine. I'm more worried about getting those 2-3 yards through a defender that we'll need every now and again to keep the chains moving.

We'll see in 2014.

 

[Techster]

JT got hit pretty good against Miami.

Yup. It knocked him out of the game as well. I remember CPJ trying to get him back in the game and Bryan Cook saying JT was done. Byerly then went in. That's my worry for JT as a starter.

 

[Matt E]

I'm not sure on this. JT is about the same size as Tracy Ham was at GSU and he survived two seasons of pounding successfully.

I think the key here is speed and creating enough uncertainty about what you are going to do. One of Vad's problems this year is that, since he couldn't run the TO efficiently, it was a lot easier for teams to square up on him and land a lick. Their D puzzle, iow, was simplified greatly and made setting up less of a problem. If JT (or whoever) can run the O correctly and we continue to get the passing game into the O (I hope, I hope) I won't be that disturbed about our QBs being hit out of the games.

For all that, it would be nice for JT to put on 10 lbs or so, just to be on the safe side.

Isn't Hamm in his 40's? The size and speed at all positions is significantly different today than it was at that point in time. I am certainly not saying that he is too small, but comparing a QB from 1-AA school from 20 years ago isn't an apples to apples comparison.

 

[gtg936g]

Are you suggesting that his play was an indication that he had decided to leave Tech and he wasn't giving it his all? I would rather believe he was giving it everything he had, then, reflecting after the season ended decided : " I have played my hardest, given this all I had. Clearly this is not fun for me, and I will not be successful in this system or in this conference. I should do Georgia Tech and myself a great big favor and go somewhere where my college experience will be more meaningful for me, closer to home, and less of a fishbowl existence."

He did not fight for every yard by mid season. I can say that based on my film review. The reason why is not something my film review tells me. I was posing the injury question to see if that was the reason for the timid play. He may not have given his all, he may have been hurt, he may have been scared. I don't know. The only thing I can say for sure is there were yards for the taking left on the field.

 

[DvilleJacket]

It would drive me crazy because every game he could have gotten a lot more yards here and there but decided to go out of bounds or slide down. A few more yards is the difference in keeping a drive alive. He played soft for this offense. The play in the bowl game where he throwed the ball 3 yards over the line of scrimmage, he should have ran then.

 

[Minawreck]

In my opinion this is what angers me about the situation. No doubt mom and pop have bigger dollar signs in their eyes than Vad and they don't want to see their retirement fund take abuse in an option offense to hurt his NFL potential. All conjecture on my part but when a player says a transfer is a decision made for his family...it makes me wonder just who he's playing for himself or his parents...

 

[Rodney Kent]

Personally, I don't like to see any QB or back go out of bounds, unless it is to conserve time in 2-minute types of drills. I would like for the coaches to tell all of them to cut inside when they came close to the sidelines and try to get as many extra yards as possible. I also hate to see a QB slide after a run to keep from getting hit. A coach needs to have at least 3 quarterbacks ready at all times. Give me a QB thats tough and does not mind bulling his way when necessary. That type of QB also gets the respect of his team-mates. He becomes the leader of the team in toughness as well as in being the QB.

 

[gtdrew]

Personally, I don't like to see any QB or back go out of bounds, unless it is to conserve time in 2-minute types of drills. I would like for the coaches to tell all of them to cut inside when they came close to the sidelines and try to get as many extra yards as possible. I also hate to see a QB slide after a run to keep from getting hit. A coach needs to have at least 3 quarterbacks ready at all times. Give me a QB thats tough and does not mind bulling his way when necessary. That type of QB also gets the respect of his team-mates. He becomes the leader of the team in toughness as well as in being the QB.

This kind of nonsense is exactly why I'm glad the mindset is changing around football regarding hits. Yeah, let's have our qb lower his shoulder, take a blast from a lb who only wants to murder him and his entire family, get hurt, miss three weeks, all in the name of "toughness." As someone who played a lot of football, I'd much rather a qb send the message that he understands that his health is far more important to our success than an extra rushing yard here or there. Those kind of guys are idiots, and if the game isn't on the line, it's completely unnecessary. Thank the fates I never played for a coach with your mindset, or I would've ended up paying for my own college...

 

[Rodney Kent]

Nesbitt was that type of quarterback, so is the QB from Northern Illinois, who just came in 3rd on the Heisman vote. I still like that kind of QB.

 

[gtdrew]

Nesbitt never took unnecessary risks. He did what he had to.

Telling your qb NOT to go out of bounds to avoid contact is the height of idiocy. You will do far more harm than good to your program in the long run.

As for Lee, he looked all year like a tentative, mentally absent kid. I hope next year's qb buys in more than he did.

 

[dressedcheeseside]

I agree. I think Justin is a tough, talented kid, but to last in our current O, he will have to be very lucky or put 15-20 lbs of muscle, in my opinion.

He's not gonna add that kind of weight and we all know it. Frankly, I'd hope he wouldn't and he doesn't need to. He's quick and instinctive and he avoids direct contact very well. Tevin was very good at this, but Joe Ham, another small guy, was the master. I think JT will be fine in this department. My biggest worry is smart decision making with the ball.

 

[gtdrew]

Thank you, Andy Dalton, for demonstrating why a qb should slide rather than try to run for more yards. He just coughed it up and gave it to the Chargers. But according to Rodney Kent, that's how football is supposed to be played...

 

[Animal02]

Thank you, Andy Dalton, for demonstrating why a qb should slide rather than try to run for more yards. He just coughed it up and gave it to the Chargers. But according to Rodney Kent, that's how football is supposed to be played...

NFL rules are different. He would have been down in the NCAA

 

[gtdrew]

Either way, it's not a smart thing to do.

 

[GTJackets]

Thank you, Andy Dalton, for demonstrating why a qb should slide rather than try to run for more yards. He just coughed it up and gave it to the Chargers. But according to Rodney Kent, that's how football is supposed to be played...

Way to pick a single play over the course of the weekend to support your argument. Should Luck also have just fallen on the fumble at the 5 on second and goal?

 

[gtdrew]

I picked it because it was happening as I was having this conversation. It's very sweet that you showed up here to defend your grandfather, but it is very rarely a good thing for a quarterback to try to dive headfirst or keep running inbounds when running out of bounds is available.

 

[gtg936g]

So, back to the original topic, can anyone confirm if Vad was in fact dealing with an injury during the season?

 

[GTJackets]

Way to get overly defensive and make things personal. One of my grandfathers died years ago. And the other is a big UGA fan in a retirement home in Lawrenceville. Don't think he's frequenting this site. I wasn't defending anyone or even arguing with you.

I just logged in and saw your post. Happened to be one of my favorite things that people do on message boards. "Hey something just happened that supports my argument. I must post about it. See, I told you."

I don't disagree with you. Just thought it was a funny post. I think there's a time for a QB to put his head down and fight for extra yards (especially on an option team) and a time when it's acceptable to slide or step out of bounds to avoid contact.

 

[gtdrew]

That's fine. Given the events of the last few days, i may have been a little defensive. My bad. I agree that there are times when it's time to fight for an extra yard. Rodney Kent was advocating for quarterbacks and running backs to do it whenever possible. That's the idea I find asinine.

 

[gtpi]

On more than one occasion, I thought, "Man, Nesbitt would have run over that guy and gotten the first down." I think Vad decided that he was leaving a lot earlier than anyone realized, and he wasn't willing to take the hits for a program he was departing.

that has been my thought for awhile now. i just didnt see vad as being emotionally involved with the team.

while i was not expecting vad to be johnny football... i did not see a leader in vad. i watched jf spark his team mates during the duke game. he was picking up his teammates and chastising them through out the game. vad was the antithesis of this imo. i never saw any of that with vad. matter of fact i didnt see many of vad's team mates encourage him on the sidelines either. of course i could be wrong. maybe i saw what i wanted to see?????

the qb is supposed to be the vocal leader of the team. vad did not appear to do that imo.