Bruce Wayne
Helluva Engineer
- Messages
- 1,870
I will second the mental factor for UGA being tougher.
Over the years I have strongly suspected at times that Tech players just don't have the maniacal a-hole toughness and plumb dog mean in them regularly enough to fare well in this huge rivalry game. Look at how Duke played so dirty this year and profited from it and won? UGA always intentionally injures or attempts to injure our QB and I am sure they will try to do the same to at least Smelter this year along with Thomas. Now, I am not actually saying I want Tech to ever match these schools in terms of promoting or encouraging dirty play after whistles, especially intentionally dirty like with gouging or rolling ankles. There is a difference between "mean" and dirty. The former is something I always wish to see more of in this game from Tech. I want them to really play angry and mean. I see this in Will Bryan's tape where he goes after his assigned man and gets him to the ground even if it is 10-12 yards down the field and 20 yards away from the play at that point. He has no idea where the ball is and wouldn't care even if he did. He plays tough and "mean" to and through the whistle but is not therefore playing "dirty."
I hate thinking after GT-UGA games that our players didn't play "mean" enough. Now, last year I did think I saw some more fire than in most years from Tech players to shove back, to finish getting a player down through the whistle and be a bit "meaner" than other years. You especially have to do this against dirty teams like UGA and (now) Duke.
I know that Tech football players are not the "softer" ones because of a) the talent differential that always will favor UGA and b) the fact they are real students at a tough school. Tech players are so much smarter, have so much going for them in life beyond their athletic ability, and actually have to study and go to class during game weeks (and have finals, projects and papers coming due around this game every year) that they do not have that incentive to be thugs on the playing field. A UGA player (God bless their souls) can't afford to have perspective like that because this game is "their livelihood" as wassisname admitted a couple years back.
Every year the UGA fans amuse themselves over ranking their "rivalries" and pretend to not care much about the Tech game since the results are lopsided in their favor. But no matter what their fans say the UGA players always play this game as mean and dirty as they can because it truly means the world to them. There future in making a living employed in some capacity depends on the appeal of the UGA football program in the state of Georgia.
I want Tech players to be play the smarter game (so not dirty) but to be as fierce and mean as UGA every year. Here's hoping for that this Saturday!
Over the years I have strongly suspected at times that Tech players just don't have the maniacal a-hole toughness and plumb dog mean in them regularly enough to fare well in this huge rivalry game. Look at how Duke played so dirty this year and profited from it and won? UGA always intentionally injures or attempts to injure our QB and I am sure they will try to do the same to at least Smelter this year along with Thomas. Now, I am not actually saying I want Tech to ever match these schools in terms of promoting or encouraging dirty play after whistles, especially intentionally dirty like with gouging or rolling ankles. There is a difference between "mean" and dirty. The former is something I always wish to see more of in this game from Tech. I want them to really play angry and mean. I see this in Will Bryan's tape where he goes after his assigned man and gets him to the ground even if it is 10-12 yards down the field and 20 yards away from the play at that point. He has no idea where the ball is and wouldn't care even if he did. He plays tough and "mean" to and through the whistle but is not therefore playing "dirty."
I hate thinking after GT-UGA games that our players didn't play "mean" enough. Now, last year I did think I saw some more fire than in most years from Tech players to shove back, to finish getting a player down through the whistle and be a bit "meaner" than other years. You especially have to do this against dirty teams like UGA and (now) Duke.
I know that Tech football players are not the "softer" ones because of a) the talent differential that always will favor UGA and b) the fact they are real students at a tough school. Tech players are so much smarter, have so much going for them in life beyond their athletic ability, and actually have to study and go to class during game weeks (and have finals, projects and papers coming due around this game every year) that they do not have that incentive to be thugs on the playing field. A UGA player (God bless their souls) can't afford to have perspective like that because this game is "their livelihood" as wassisname admitted a couple years back.
Every year the UGA fans amuse themselves over ranking their "rivalries" and pretend to not care much about the Tech game since the results are lopsided in their favor. But no matter what their fans say the UGA players always play this game as mean and dirty as they can because it truly means the world to them. There future in making a living employed in some capacity depends on the appeal of the UGA football program in the state of Georgia.
I want Tech players to be play the smarter game (so not dirty) but to be as fierce and mean as UGA every year. Here's hoping for that this Saturday!