Way too early analysis - GT v. Alcorn

[Wrecking Ball]

True but why us?

In most years, even the best teams in America have a loss or two. We may be one of the best teams in the land at 9-3, and there's no shame in that.

If you want more details: I've been following Tech football for 15 years, and even in years in which we have the better team, we seem snakebit against the Dwags. Color me nervous of that game just because of what seems like a curse.

Then, there's VT. Bud Foster is probably the best in the business, pound for pound. It always seems to be a brawl.

Duke is no slouch, and as last year showed, we can't be sluggish against them. I have no reason to think that we will be, but the Tech alums on the board constantly assure all of us that Tech is mentally grueling.

Miami has a boatload of talent and we seem to have a thing about them mentally as well. Maybe that curse is over, too, but streaks are funny things in sports.

FSU and Notre Dame are talented teams. I think we can hold our own, but if we go down in a valiant effort like last year's ACC championship, it will not surprise or disappoint me.

 

[Carober18]

Cant wait for @Longestday vines, especially the 2nd drive with Shamire looking really good

I would love to defensive one also. Rewatching the game, even though Jabari was "quiet" he quite impactful even tho he played a little high. He either caused a double team each play or held the LOS. Also, great unselfish D by Jabari on the 3rd & 3 play where PJ gets the QB hurry on the blitz. Jabari pretty much rag-dolled the Guard out of the gap so PJ can come thru clean

I saw that and was curious if it was by design.

 

[DC Bee]

On how many of GT's recent past dismantlings of FCS opponents have we seen some or all of the following:

1) Excessive stupid penalties
2) Excessive missed defensive assignments
3) Excessive missed/poor offensive blocking
4) Loose pass coverage
5) Sloppy play

Now tell me how much of that we saw last night against a team that is the best at their level, had some meat on the OL, returning starters, and a proven competent QB. GT played very focused IMO. Ask me why I am very optimistic after game one. It sure looks like the bar has been raised to me.

 

[Wrecking Ball]

On how many of GT's recent past dismantlings of FCS opponents have we seen some or all of the following:

1) Excessive stupid penalties
2) Excessive missed defensive assignments
3) Excessive missed/poor offensive blocking
4) Loose pass coverage
5) Sloppy play

Now tell me how much of that we saw last night against a team that is the best at their level, had some meat on the OL, returning starters, and a proven competent QB. GT played very focused IMO. Ask me why I am very optimistic after game one.

In 2013, we dismantled Elon 70-0. We had just three penalties for 25 yards. We were 8-9 on third downs; we only saw third down 9 times and fourth down never. We held Elon to 3.67 yards per play. We did not turn the ball over. We looked about as impressive as you can be.

 

[DC Bee]

In 2013, we dismantled Elon 70-0. We had just three penalties for 25 yards. We were 8-9 on third downs; we only saw third down 9 times and fourth down never. We held Elon to 3.67 yards per play. We did not turn the ball over. We looked about as impressive as you can be.

And then the guy who didn't really want to run a spread option offense showed up.

 

[Wrecking Ball]

Ok fair enough. 2013 had 2014 potential, IMO, with a sold-out QB. We really should have been a 9 win team in 2013, and that's just with how it happened.

If Vad had really bought in, coulda been 10 or 11 wins.

 

[danny daniel]

There was a play down on the second drive, 2nd and 6 from the 13. It at ~18:45 of the WatchESPN replay.

We ran a toss sweep to Lynch on the left (short) side of the field. The play was defended pretty well and had no business going anywhere, but Summers took his man, turned him, and blocked him 8 yards backwards and through the sideline, letting Lynch get 10 yards and end up with First and Goal.

That's what gets and keeps you on the field. He deserved that TD.

That was a great effort block by Summers (even my wife noticed it) and Lynch made a good move himself to turn a 5 yarder into the 10.

 

[lv20gt]

Ok fair enough. 2013 had 2014 potential, IMO, with a sold-out QB. We really should have been a 9 win team in 2013.

Had little to do with QB. The problem that year was OL, in particular OL injury bug.

 

[DC Bee]

Had little to do with QB. The problem that year was OL, in particular OL injury bug.

You're probably right, but the QB situation didn't help.

 

[Carober18]

I have not watched the replay and my FoxSportsGo was terrible with intermittent break-ups in reception. But here is what I saw, positives and negatives (only types of things that can carry over to games against better competition):

Positive:
- Searcy's move on the toss was as impressive as any previous AB has shown in terms of quick/slippery to add 20 yards to a run
- MM's move on the LB for his second touchdown was a quick, one-step move that I think, of the previous BBs, only Dwyer had the ability to make
- Thomas' pass to Summers for the TD was as good as any pass, in terms of crispness and location, than any pass I recall last year
- I thought Milton's interception was very good, regardless of opponent
- Jabari's side-step opening up the lane for PJ was great, because it meant that the OL was really having to focus on Jabari. The context/opponent really matters here, so we'll see...
- Gray's interception on the botched PAT showed excellent athleticism/reaction
- Skov ran hard and protected the ball very well
- Kickoffs by Butker
- Shamire was left in for what appeared to be a lot longer than others. I liked that the coaches apparently used this as conditioning for him, because they did not have to.

Negative:
- The first play of the game, which PJ referred to as a "safe" play, likely would have gone for a loss against at least half of our remaining opponents. Can't miss assignments, especially on the first play of the game
- The fumble(s) was the result, but the problem was that I did not see Marshall properly protect the ball on any of his 8 runs. Can he learn to protect the ball and run the same way with both arms on the ball through the hole?
- Special teams, other than kickoffs. The two juggled punts (I do not think either were by Golden) and the botched snap need not occur again.

General: Regardless of the opponent, there has not been a GT team in the last 5 years that I feel like could hold a team to less than 25 yards in a quarter, assuming the same number of possessions Alcorn had in the first quarter. First team D had some positives but they were just more talented so it's hard to tell much. Not to take away anything from the players, but it is very difficult to take much away from this game, other than a few negatives that need and can be worked on.

 

[lv20gt]

You're probably right, but the QB situation didn't help.

The biggest problem at QB in 2013 was Lee clearly lost confidence as the year went along. He became tentative both in making reads and making runs, and looked like he always expected to be taking a shot from someone who should be blocked. That was a result of the poor OL play we had which led to him taking hard shots from guys that should have been blocked. And when that happened, it just compounded the issue because even when the blocks were made, the hesitation would cost us. Ideally you want your QB to not be affected like that, but Lee wasn't the first, and won't be the last, young starter to get rattled as a result of poor OL play. Going back to losing confidence, it was also a big mistake for the coaching staff to convey the message that the Duke game was won the wrong way. Nothing to be gained by that.

Last year was the polar opposite. The OL, and the emergence of Days, really took pressure off Thomas, and allowed him to ease off trying to make the spectacular plays, and just let the offense work. The lesson from the last two years is the importance of a healthy OL, and the importance of good OL play for introducing a young QB.

 

[Yaller Jacket]

I am not sure that all of my points haven't already been covered, but here they are.

-- Loved the overall sharpness and focus. I have seen many a GT team under many a coach sleep walk through an early game against a little team. Not last night. Nothing about it looked like a first game, except maybe the botched point after.

-- This has got to be fastest and most athletic set of backs we've had. Qua, Marshall, Snoddy, Lynch and on and on.

-- Loved seeing the A - Back pass back in the plan. And the As looked good as receivers.

-- Wide receivers looked very capable. Maybe this year Justin will spread it around more. I don't know that there is a great receiver in the group, but several good ones is fine.

-- Skov looked pretty much like I expected. A huge, bruiser of a back but with little quickness. At times he negated his size by running straight up. I know it isn't easy to run low, but if you have his skill set, you need to stay low. His main attribute is yards after contact, and if he runs high, he'll lose some of that.

--- I couldn't fault Thomas for the play where he took the huge loss. The same move has kept many plays alive, but this time there was an extra free rusher and he stepped right into it.

 

[Foxyg]

Truthfully, we didn't have to scheme our way to any of those scores. I was impressed with how big and fast we were and the fact that, gasp, we have depth.

I think we're still a little thin at lb, but hankins will be back and I'm picking nits.

That was about as efficient as I've ever seen us. With the ones and twos in there, I don't recall being put into an unmanagable third down.

Context matters, but what you look for in games like these is how crisp the team plays. They went out there and did exactly what they had to do. By the middle of the 1st quarter, that thing was over. Contrast that to the Wofford game last year.

Really impressed with the athleticism of the new skill guys and the one drive where we threw the ball.

This is a good base line to start from. Hopefully the D will continue to get better.

 

[danny daniel]

Truthfully, we didn't have to scheme our way to any of those scores. I was impressed with how big and fast we were and the fact that, gasp, we have depth.

I think we're still a little thin at lb, but hankins will be back and I'm picking nits.

That was about as efficient as I've ever seen us. With the ones and twos in there, I don't recall being put into an unmanagable third down.

Context matters, but what you look for in games like these is how crisp the team plays. They went out there and did exactly what they had to do. By the middle of the 1st quarter, that thing was over. Contrast that to the Wofford game last year.

Really impressed with the athleticism of the new skill guys and the one drive where we threw the ball.

This is a good base line to start from. Hopefully the D will continue to get better.

Agree with the comments on the O.
I was a little disappointed with some of the D play. Still too much soft coverage. Best real pass rush still came from PJ on the blitz. The Alcorn QB choked on several short throws that were easy throws to open receivers, and his receivers dropped some key passes. This made a difference in how our D stats look. Good to see Milton not playing so soft. C Griffin IMO made a lot of good plays against the run but he allowed the long pass reception behind him. There were some missed tackles by our starters, White, Smith, and Marcordes. But overall a pretty good D performance and we saw continuation of the opportunistic attitude and hustle. Looking to get better.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

In 2013, we dismantled Elon 70-0. We had just three penalties for 25 yards. We were 8-9 on third downs; we only saw third down 9 times and fourth down never. We held Elon to 3.67 yards per play. We did not turn the ball over. We looked about as impressive as you can be.

Somebody may have responded to this already but we did not score 34 offensive points against Elon in the first quarter. I believe that was a modern day record. We did not hold Elon without a first down while the first defense was on the field. We did not dismiss our starting quarterback after the first quarter against Elon. We did not play the entire second half against Elon with 2nd and 3d stringers. We did not go the entire game against Elon without a penalty.

CPJ and company had this game so firmly in hand that they were looking for ways to hold the score down by the second quarter. This was different from anything I have ever seen following Tech. And it was about way more than the score.

 

[Declinometer]

Somebody may have responded to this already but we did not score 34 offensive points against Elon in the first quarter. I believe that was a modern day record. We did not hold Elon without a first down while the first defense was on the field. We did not dismiss our starting quarterback after the first quarter against Elon. We did not play the entire second half against Elon with 2nd and 3d stringers. We did not go the entire game against Elon without a penalty.

CPJ and company had this game so firmly in hand that they were looking for ways to hold the score down by the second quarter. This was different from anything I have ever seen following Tech. And it was about way more than the score.

I agree. They were Orange Bowl sharp!

 

[lv20gt]

Somebody may have responded to this already but we did not score 34 offensive points against Elon in the first quarter. I believe that was a modern day record. We did not hold Elon without a first down while the first defense was on the field. We did not dismiss our starting quarterback after the first quarter against Elon. We did not play the entire second half against Elon with 2nd and 3d stringers. We did not go the entire game against Elon without a penalty.

CPJ and company had this game so firmly in hand that they were looking for ways to hold the score down by the second quarter. This was different from anything I have ever seen following Tech. And it was about way more than the score.

We scored our 35th point on the first play of the second quarter, and GT started that game by kicking off, instead of getting the ball. We held Elon scoreless for the entire game. We didn't sit Lee sooner because he was a first year starter who needed reps instead of a second year starter who didn't. Elon invoked the mercy rule and we played the fourth quarter with a running clock. Both games were thorough dominations.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

We scored our 35th point on the first play of the second quarter, and GT started that game by kicking off, instead of getting the ball. We held Elon scoreless for the entire game. We didn't sit Lee sooner because he was a first year starter who needed reps instead of a second year starter who didn't. Elon invoked the mercy rule and we played the fourth quarter with a running clock. Both games were thorough dominations.

Yes, different games entirely. For different reasons.

 

[Ggee87]

Not only did the team look focused, there was a crispness there I've rarely seen in a team the first game of the season and it was on both sides of the ball. If you didn't see that you weren't watching the same game as I.

I agree... I was expecting a few more blunders in the 1st game. I was very shocked when I heard we committed no penalties.

 

[Wrecking Ball]

Yes, different games entirely. For different reasons.

But equally dominant. The point is that FCS games don't tell us much either way. Did a dominant Elon performance in 2013 foretell that season any more than a subpar Wofford fame did last?