Where are we now?

[AlabamaBuzz]

Fresh off the brand new hire of CGC, we are like the team running out on to the field in a big game, jumping around the sideline, smacking helmets, and generally getting each other excited to play. All that over-the-top energy, however, usually lasts about a series before you just settle down and play. It is then that everybody in attendance sees how well prepared you really are to take on the opponent.

Truthfully, it is kind of nice to see GT nation getting a little excited. It hasn't been that way, among the fanbase, or the media, in a little while. With, that said , I am a person who usually sets aside distractions and looks to fundamentals a little more quickly than most. Personally, I think CGC is in for a real challenge. There are some challenges/realities facing him and huge decisions, with lasting repercussions, looming in the near term.

Let's start with the decisions. The highest priority, without question, is finding the right OC and doing so quickly, so as to settle the immediate recruiting and player transfer dust ASAP. It cannot be overstated how important this hire will be for his and our success moving forward. Whether we have appreciated it or not, we have had a clear identity on the offensive side of the ball for a while now. We knew who we were and we were good at it. That new identity must be re-established pronto. I have heard "NFL style offense", but don't really know what that means. Clemson, for example, has had a lot of success putting offensive players in the NFL, but they haven't run an NFL offense per se. I hope what is really meant by the term is simply, running a style of offense that showcases skills that are coveted in the NFL. I would be fine with that, as I believe we could keep some of our core run game principles, whether under center or pistol, while incorporating more aerial components to what we do. We have smart kids, we should be able to master a myriad of different sets and looks within a very diverse attack. CGC, by reputation, is a defensive coach, which I welcome, because defense wins championships. That fact, however, makes this hire all the more important in my eyes. We need to improve on defense and ST without question, but if we stagnate on offense, this could be a painful process. I will take coach at his word that he intends to build an offense around what his players can do. Finding the right guy to do that, without a ton of direction from the HC is paramount. CGC will be putting his stamp on the defensive side of the ball. Together with HC duties and a brand new community to engage, that will be enough on his daily plate.

Now let's move on to the challenges. I really appreciate his reputation as a recruiter and the excitement building around this hire in that regard. I fully agree that ATL, and the state of GA, is a hot bed for talent. That has been the case for a couple of generations now though, and regardless of offensive style of play, we have struggled to land our share of the catch. Maybe, he truly does have some magic potion that will make recruits see the true value of the GT experience, relative to the rest of the southeastern CFB factories. I hope so, but a reasonable mind would conclude that without a massive shift in underlying fundamentals, we might make some headway, but this is most likely to continue to be an exhausting climb. It will be the defining test of our theories surrounding style of play and coach personalities etc. My sincere hope is that, with the CGC hire, the rest of the GT admin, combined with major donors etc, will reassess how we are supporting the recruitment efforts of our program. Hopefully his enthusiasm, charisma, and energy will embolden those in position to think big, expand our scope substantially, and contribute to the effort at another level.

By my estimation, CPJ was as good a game/clock manager, play caller, and scheme developer as has been seen in the history of the game. Those attributes will not be easily replaced. One of CGC's challenges will be to replicate a similar level of mastery within the construct of his system. Some acts are tougher to follow than others. In a perfect world, we won't ever come to realize how truly spoiled we have been. I've got some news. The world ain't perfect. Young head coaches are typically subject to a learning curve. We might want to temper our expectations and keep some patience as he grows into the role.

If these issues are not resolved to the positive, we may just find that we are merely a team jumping up and down on the sidelines before the helmets collide (Oops, sorry, that would be targeting. What I meant to say was before shoulders hit areas well below the necks). Time will tell. CGC said this was his dream job. Hopefully, we will all come to consider him our dream coach who accomplishes his vision and spends a couple decades here, retiring a legend.

So well written. Everything I was thinking, but I chose not to tell these truths/facts because some on here think the truth is “negative”. Thanks, Boomer!!

 

[AlabamaBuzz]

Yep exactly but on the bright side it can’t get worse then the crowd we had for senior day this season.

In my 55 years on earth, I have learned the hard way to never utter these words:

“It can’t get worse”

Trust me - it can. I certainly hope it will not, but it can.

 

[lv20gt]

Where we stand

- On defense we've had a decade of poor play and I think it's likely we have another change of DCs. A big part of how smooth this transition is will be based on how much of an immediate benefit Collins can be on that side of the ball. If we keep Woody then that may be a positive sign that we can improve quickly on that side but I get the feeling that we'll be switching DCs and so we'll have to wait and see. Changing defenses isn't quite as big as changing offenses in terms of time to prepare, but I still expect to retain some of the issues we've had for at least the first year or two.

- On offense we're almost certainly going away from the TO. How far away will likely determine how bumpy it is. We have some pieces that could help. Between Johnson, Graham, and Yates we should have a QB that will perform well with good development. We have some good RBs to compliment them. Even our WRs I think should be servicable to transition while we hopefully recruit more that fit. That being said I think some people really underestimate how likely it is we will struggle on blocking next year and probably the year after. We were not an overly well coached OL team and that was especially true when it came to pass pro. I expect us to be run heavy for the next year or two regardless of what offense we go simply because I don't expect our pass blocking to be that much better quickly.

-Overall, a big reason for this hire was the recruiting aspect and unfortunately that, by nature, is a thing that takes time to produce. I think there is enough to avoid a complete rebuild but there is a good deal of work to be done in all aspects.

 

[MWBATL]

I have so little faith in Peterson that I think CGC may become disillusioned. *That* is my greatest fear.

I have NO doubt that we will never recruit like UGa or Clemson. To think otherwise is folly. But CGC was here when there was more room academically....and I fear Peterson will not lift a finger to help. If Peterson left, my spirits would soar. My hope would rise. But for all of his lip service, Peterson has done absolutely nothing to help any of our athletic programs.

Only time will tell.....

 

[IEEEWreck]

The OC position will be a critical hire. I am not sure what an NFL offense is either. The Panthers use some option/RPO schemes. Something like this may be a relatively easy transition. The Patriots/Steelers rely more on QB arm talent and don’t want them carrying the ball. This would be a much harder transition.

Let me help you out. That means "I don't wanna look at anything but the quarterback and the wr the camera points to, because I enjoy watching grown *** men play catch."

 

[slugboy]

I've said it before, but I wish Friedgen were 10 years younger and willing to be an OC again. I think he would enable to transition from what we have been running to a more "NFL-like" system relatively seamless.

Somewhere, there’s a coach like Fridge, but 30 years younger and who doesn’t mind recruiting. That’s who we want.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[SteamWhistle]

Let me help you out. That means "I don't wanna look at anything but the quarterback and the wr the camera points to, because I enjoy watching grown *** men play catch."

If you ever played, you know it’s more than that.

 

[takethepoints]

I've never seen so much hype and excitement for the program in my lifetime. It's an exciting time right now

This is a reason for concern. People used to get on Ross's (and CPJ's) case about the lack of "excitement" or "enthusiasm" around the program. We would run through practice like machines and there was very little rah-rah before games or at halftime. Ross addressed this one. He said 9I'm paraphrasing), "If you go into a game all fired up and nothing happens, then you loose it right away and you have a hard time getting it back. Get your mind on your assignment, buckle down, and play ball. That's all that counts."

Hype won't last long - until the first setbacks, in fact - and Coach will find all that excitement a burden, not a help. If you want to help things along, get ready to write checks, not cheer from the sidelines.

 

[stech81]

I have so little faith in Peterson that I think CGC may become disillusioned. *That* is my greatest fear.

I have NO doubt that we will never recruit like UGa or Clemson. To think otherwise is folly. But CGC was here when there was more room academically....and I fear Peterson will not lift a finger to help. If Peterson left, my spirits would soar. My hope would rise. But for all of his lip service, Peterson has done absolutely nothing to help any of our athletic programs.

Only time will tell.....

Well he is 66 maybe he will retire this year.

 

[SteamWhistle]

This is a reason for concern. People used to get on Ross's (and CPJ's) case about the lack of "excitement" or "enthusiasm" around the program. We would run through practice like machines and there was very little rah-rah before games or at halftime. Ross addressed this one. He said 9I'm paraphrasing), "If you go into a game all fired up and nothing happens, then you loose it right away and you have a hard time getting it back. Get your mind on your assignment, buckle down, and play ball. That's all that counts."

Hype won't last long - until the first setbacks, in fact - and Coach will find all that excitement a burden, not a help. If you want to help things along, get ready to write checks, not cheer from the sidelines.

Only Tech fans could find an issue with fans being excited.

 

[IEEEWreck]

If you ever played, you know it’s more than that.

I think you misunderstand me. Anyone who thinks the "NFL offense" is a coherent enough concept to express meaning doesn't know it's more than that.

 

[Skeptic]

Hype and excitement fade fast without results.

I am counting on Collins being as good as advertised on the defensive side of the ball because he is going to have to reverse 11 years of unintended consequences: having to outscore the other guy. Now he will have to keep the other guy from scoring, and his points allowed at Temple the last two years are about what GT allowed in the same period. I too wonder what "NFL based" means, since it implies chunking the ball a lot, mostly short slants, curls and drag routes mixed in with the occasional deep throw. But those 67% pass completions don't come with a vertical passing game. You get those in the NFL by dinking it quickly up the field. Quickly to keep your QB from getting maimed. I gather we do not have that QB on the roster or recruited in? (His Temple QB was big but not terribly mobile, but was a redshirt so I gather Collins had not recruited his own QB into the system. And note that his wins of 7 and 8 made a record Johnson was criticized for. So can he be better?)

That 7-year contract brought me up short. That's one of those that normally comes after a lot of success -- Swinney got an 8-year deal a couple of years ago after 6 or 7 years of winning. I hope Collins can recruit, but he has not been at one place long enough to find out, and that is not meant to be snarky. It is just a fact. When a coach leaves the motor running he is recruiting short term. I appreciate he wants to use GT's standards as a sales tool, but again, that is not new either. If I recall Johnson said the same thing the first day and had just used it at the Naval Academy ... even though he had gotten some exceptions. As has been noted, a change to a pass-based offense means giving up TOP, and I cringe at giving that up to Georgia or Clemson, or even VT and, I suspect, UNC, because Mack Brown will be sweeping down into Georgia along with all the SEC teams. So are we looking at a 2-year-window? or a 4-year window? I think that 7-year deal is Stansbury's concession of a very long and uneven haul for Collins.

I was kind of pumped up that Tech would open with Clemson on a Thursday night ACC TV network opener. Not so much now. They did Collins no favors with that scheduling, since I gather Clemson expects to be loaded again in 2019, a year in which the ACC is expected to rebound from mediocrity in 2018.

 

[SteamWhistle]

I think you misunderstand me. Anyone who thinks the "NFL offense" is a coherent enough concept to express meaning doesn't know it's more than that.

I think the term NFL Offense was used from CGC to express to recruits and fans we are moving on from Spread Option, and he put it in the most simple terms he could.

 

[MikeJackets1967]

Who knows where are we now We probably wont know until spring and summer practice in my opinion

 

[IEEEWreck]

I think the term NFL Offense was used from CGC to express to recruits and fans we are moving on from Spread Option, and he put it in the most simple terms he could.

One would rather think "not spread option" is the most simple term for that. ymmv I guess?

 

[SteamWhistle]

One would rather think "not spread option" is the most simple term for that. ymmv I guess?

To most yes, but gotta remember you’re dealing with people who call our offense the Triple Option. Hearing NFL at all had them all convinced.

 

[Deleted member 2897]

No one gets unconditional support except family. I’m rooting for Collins (though I freely admit I’m not optimistic), but unconditional support doesn’t exist in a transactional relationship.

Unconditional is kind of too strong of a word.

 

[LibertyTurns]

@Skeptic To win you ALWAYS have to outscore the opponent. This isn’t golf!

 

[TampaGT]

I think we owe it to Coach Collins to offer unwavering, unconditional, positive, relentless support...at least for a long time.

Case and point, here is who we play in 2020, along with their highest ranking in the last 2 years:
#1 Clemson
#2 Georgia
#2 Miami
#3 Notre Dame
#5 UCF
#12 Virginia Tech
#12 Syracuse
#22 Duke
#23 Virginia
#24 Pittsburgh

That is murderers row.

Not much different then any other year. Only new teams on that schedule is ND,UCF,Syracuse. Not to mention this year (going by your ranking list) we beat #2,#12,#23, should have beaten #24 but laid an egg in the 1st half and our history of beat the rotating Atlantic. I agree with you that is a hard schedule, but I think makes next year really important. If we take a step back next year and don’t make a bowl or only 6 wins, it’s going make 2020 a must 7 or 8 win season. I don’t want to see back to back seasons without a bowl cause 2021 isn’t much different. Nd, Kennesaw State instead of UCF is the big difference and BC. If we have 3 seasons of 6 or less right out of the gate I can only say one thing “I hope the buyout isn’t to large”

 

[Deleted member 2897]

Not much different then any other year. Only new teams on that schedule is ND,UCF,Syracuse.

Good points, but I have to admit I did find this part funny - (paraphrasing) - not too different than normal, other than having to play the #3, #5, and #12 teams too.

If half of our schedule ends up being in the top 15, then a 6-win season is pretty darned good.