Wes Walker

[4shotB]

That should be everyone’s takeaway here

I agree that your opinions are well thought out. But, frankly, the dogma in this post is to be appluaded at some level. I have often wondered how people decide that their opinions are more worthy than others. Apologies to the staff/mods/other readers for going off topic here. But this comment was/is astonshing (to me).

 

[GT33]

Sorry if this brutal assessment of the state of our program has ruffled some feathers. The premise I was responding to was the fans, old fans in particular are responsible for this mess. Bull, some fans are much more tolerant of the demise of our program & that's fine, but to blame Collins bad culture on fans who've been around the program for 3, 4, 5, 6 decades because they're grumpy old men is farcical. His bad culture is 100% his own doing.

I watched replay after replay of guys taking plays off the last 3 years, only to continue to start and never getting pulled off the field. They're some sort of protected species apparently. Why is that? That's just one type of example. Show me evidence of a bunch of benched loafers and I'll change my mind. After the game Collins has a press conference and lauds their performance, calls it high effort or whatever, talks about their fight. Giving up is not fighting to win? It's called quitting, surrendering, etc and examples should be made and in a fashion everyone gets it. He & the coaches watch game tape and don't see any of the loafing? They missed it all? That's what many think on here it seems, they're just bad game tape and live play watchers? Nobody ever gets benched, just a pat on the head, all because the coaches are oblivious.

We're getting our butts handed to us week in and week out & we break out weights on the sideline and other assorted antics. Some think this is great as are the dance routines, as is acting the fool on the field after 1 good play when we're down multiple TDs and the other team is just whipping our butts, etc. The repetitive personal fouls are all excusable it seems. If discipline is strictly enforced 100% of the time and we're a well oiled highly professional outfit, but somehow we forget it all come the time when we run out of the tunnel, I'm not sure how you even rationalize that. We act undisciplined, we play undisciplined, but somehow we're a highly disciplined team? I'm the one needing to provide evidence. It's plain as day.

I'm not sure how anyone concludes anything other than what is my opinion on such type occurrences, but clearly there's a large segment of the fanbase that thinks Collins is fantastic and the old fans should just disappear. GT's football team is getting openly mocked on the occasion anyone even has any cause to discuss GT football. There is a category of folks that just flat out feel sorry for us & hate to see us in the ditch, but non-GT fans have disgustingly poor opinions of our team and it's going to take years to reverse that, restore the program back to respectability. It's damaging to our program. Just a few years ago, other teams hated to play us and discussions revolved around whether or not our odd scheme would be able to knock off the heavy favorite in any given week. Not any more. GT doesn't need option football, just a well run program.

I hope we show them all wrong Saturday and come out looking like a P5 football team with some fight in them. I has been over 3 long years since we resembled a competitive football team and why that has happened is staring everyone in the face, if they want to see it. What's the Dirty Harry line- when a naked man is running through an alley with a butchers knife and a .... he's probably not out collecting for the Red Cross.

Flame away, this old guy can take it.

 

[4shotB]

Sorry if this brutal assessment of the state of our program has ruffled some feathers. The premise I was responding to was the fans, old fans in particular are responsible for this mess. Bull, some fans are much more tolerant of the demise of our program & that's fine, but to blame Collins bad culture on fans who've been around the program for 3, 4, 5, 6 decades because they're grumpy old men is farcical. His bad culture is 100% his own doing.

I'm not sure how anyone concludes anything other than what is my opinion on such type occurrences, but clearly there's a large segment of the fanbase that thinks Collins is fantastic and the old fans should just disappear.

Flame away, this old guy can take it.

I'm not going to flame away as your post is well written and it is obvious that you are passionate. Where I will push back though is this - you must run in different circles than I do. As an older fan (class of '81) myself, I don't hear anyone wanting the older fans gone. I don't get that vibe here on this site either - most folks seem to get that this is where most of the donations come from and that we are starved for cash. Most people also understand that we are starved for fans as well, young or old, So, I don't know where you are coming from.

Secondly, either on here or amongst my circle of Tech buddies, no one I know thinks Collins is doing a "fantastic" (your word, not mine) job. In fact, most think the opposite and know that he is on a very short leash (and rightfully so). In the most optomistic case he garners support bc he is the coach and it is in our own selfish best interests for him to be successful this year.It is probably not likely but I would love to see Tech win 9 games this year. I don't have to like him personally and I certainly understand the criticisms - but I want the program to succeed. Now, starting this weekend. Not bc I am a fan of him but rather a fan of our players and program first and foremost.

Who are these supporters who you say think he is doing a fantastic job? I call BS and say don't exist, or if they do, they must be amongst your group of friends exclusively. If you think those of us, like myself, who want him to be succesful bc he is the coach, are pleased with the job done to date that is far from the truth. IMO I hasten to add.

I am not flaming away. I admire your passion. But remain laughing at the dogma.

 

[GoldZ]

I'm not going to flame away as your post is well written and it is obvious that you are passionate. Where I will push back though is this - you must run in different circles than I do. As an older fan (class of '81) myself, I don't hear anyone wanting the older fans gone. I don't get that vibe here on this site either - most folks seem to get that this is where most of the donations come from and that we are starved for cash. Most people also understand that we are starved for fans as well, young or old, So, I don't know where you are coming from.

Secondly, either on here or amongst my circle of Tech buddies, no one I know thinks Collins is doing a "fantastic" (your word, not mine) job. In fact, most think the opposite and know that he is on a very short leash (and rightfully so). In the most optomistic case he garners support bc he is the coach and it is in our own selfish best interests for him to be successful this year.It is probably not likely but I would love to see Tech win 9 games this year. I don't have to like him personally and I certainly understand the criticisms - but I want the program to succeed. Now, starting this weekend. Not bc I am a fan of him but rather a fan of our players and program first and foremost.

Who are these supporters who you say think he is doing a fantastic job? I call BS and say don't exist, or if they do, they must be amongst your group of friends exclusively. If you think those of us, like myself, who want him to be succesful bc he is the coach, are pleased with the job done to date that is far from the truth. IMO I hasten to add.

I am not flaming away. I admire your passion. But remain laughing at the dogma.

Alsowell

 

[Augusta_Jacket]

I'm not sure how anyone concludes anything other than what is my opinion on such type occurrences, but clearly there's a large segment of the fanbase that thinks Collins is fantastic and the old fans should just disappear.

This is the crux of the issue. You are projecting that anyone who disagrees with you has the polar opposite view, and that is patently false. There are a lot of us unhappy with the programs direction, and not fans of some of the cultural changes that were made, yet support CGC because of various reasons. I loathed "money Down" and the "Juice Crew" but I also realized I wasn't the target audience for that. I am also smart enough to realize that some announcer saying some different words and some guys actually having fun playing a sport, even when they are losing, is NOT the reason we are losing. We have been losing for the last three years because we don't have an OL capable of keeping a pocket for our QB to throw in. We have ben losing because our offensive depth at skill positions other than RB was critically low due to the scheme change. We are losing because our defense is on the field too much. We are losing because for whatever reason, a top DC as a HC didn't fix our defense. We are losing because we haven't established a healthy and capable DL. If you want to gripe about the REAL reasons we are losing, that is understandable. As it is, you sound like yet another old timer determined that your way is the absolute only way to do something.

Personally, I find your diatribe tiring, as it does absolutely nothing to fix the problems, and only serves to project your misery on others, which I think is the real motive. You are miserable so everyone else should be miserable or they aren't "real" GT fans, right? Well, I am not miserable. I am not pleased with CGC, and am on record from the very beginning saying I wasn't a fan of the hire, but he is the HC at GT, so he has my full unwavering support until he either is let go or turns into a complete moral failure ala George O'Leary. I don't wish for you, or any other GT fans, regardless of age, to disappear. We have too few fans as it is. What I wish is for our fans to quit acting like a three year old who isn't getting their way.

 

[Vespidae]

Back to the topic of Wes Walker ...

I once did a project with the US Army where they were evaluating all sorts of non-military organizations for leadership principles and ways to improve their own effectiveness. One of the organizations was the Kansas City Chiefs and I have been to Chiefs HQ, so I asked them ... "Hey, what did you think?" expecting them to describe a well-run operation. I mean, as part of the NFL ... this is the best of the best, right? (Note the period in question is prior to 2010. Coach was Herm Edwards.)

Just the opposite. They described the Chiefs as one of the WORST examples of managerial effectiveness. No agendas, no metrics, no accountability. They described the whole organization as just "sloppy". Their record reflected that and Edwards was later fired.

That's the takeaway I took from Walker's comments. Some organizations are very tightly run ships. Gene Stallings coached that way. Mack Brown (when he's not cheating) coaches that way. Butch Jones did not coach that way. He lost the locker room first, and then the fanbase.

If Collins truly sold TStan on the vision of GT greatness by preparing SA's for a possible life in the NFL, he needs to run an NFL-lite kind of operation. I just think there is a huge disconnect between what Geoff described, what he's actually doing, and the expectations of what fans and players think is necessary.

You can't sell BS to a fanbase that is technically trained. We ask too many questions about Approach, Deployment and Results.

 

[MidtownJacket]

I don't like the soundbite for GT, but take no issue with the quote from Wes here. That is part of what impressed me about JG @ Al staying on the high road, when you're repeatedly asked for a bit of a soundbite can be hard. A difference IMHO here, is that everyone is going to be talking about JG no matter what quotes he gives. Not sure WW is going to get the same level of publicity.

I am NOT suggesting he intentionally drug us to get his name in the paper, but more that JG understands everything he says is going to be magnified and seems to have been raised/taught/developed/been born with the sensibility to know kindness is often reciprocated.

I can't imagine what it must be like for these guys to get trotted out in front of the press after practice (or even worse game day losses) and not saying something boneheaded. Heck I am a 37 year old professional who has made a living consulting for and with fortune 50 SLT and Boards and I still get flustered from time to time when asked personal questions in the context of my performance. Throw in if every armchair expert could and did post 24/7 about how they were trained in pop warner not to.. it would get to be a lot to handle. Treating these young people with some grace when they're quoted is a good strategy for your own happiness and theirs.

 

[Ibeeballin]

He did not play any downs at all. Not to mention he was the one who prevented the touch down on the blocked punt. Gave the defense an opportunity to keep them from scoring on offense..which clearly didn’t happen

If we’re also honest he’s the reason the block punt occurred and the miscommunication he and the DE is also why Shipley was able run for the 1st down on that flukey play

 

[takethepoints]

You can't sell BS to a fanbase that is technically trained.

I'd say that depends on the kind of BS you are selling.

 

[SteamWhistle]

Kaleb Oliver is the only DB transfer we lost that wasn’t easily replaced and it’s funny cause Wes was Kaleb’s replacement.