What people are saying about 6-0 Georgia Tech...
by BirdGT on Oct 9, 2011 9:14 AM EDT
in Georgia Tech Football
Email
Print
Georgia Tech's excursion through the wilderness of the ACC has turned out to be more nettlesome than expected...For the second week in a row, against a weaker league opponent, the Yellow Jackets failed to generate a full team effort and tread close to their first loss of the season...Through three quarters, Tech had given up 176 yards. Eight Maryland possessions, not including a kneel-down at the end of the first half, had produced three points and led coach Randy Edsall to pull starting quarterback Danny O'Brien for backup C.J. Brown. - Ken Sugiura, AJC
For Maryland, there was a perpetual sense Saturday of trying desperately to hang on — to Georgia Tech ball carriers, to the game, and to a season the Terps hoped would not begin to slip away...Maryland coach Randy Edsall said he was disappointed to lose, but encouraged by a defense that held the run-happy Yellow Jackets — who had been averaging 51.6 points and 378 rushing yards per game — scoreless for the final 27 minutes..."I thought they did what they were coached to do," Edsall said of his injury-plagued defense...The Terps said they were inspired by left guard Andrew Gonnella — a team captain and the offensive line’s only senior — who suffered a gruesome leg injury and was taken by ambulance to a local hospital midway through the fourth quarter. - Jeff Barker, Baltimore Sun
The Yellow Jackets are now 6-0 and the first bowl-eligible team in the country, while the Terrapins fall to 2-3 with another ranked (and undefeated) opponent on the horizon with Clemson next Saturday. But don't let the scoreline fool you: Tech looked very beatable in this game, putting up only 368 total yards (as opposed to the 600+ they normally have) and 21 points (as opposed to the 60 or so that they're averaging), and that was against the ACC's worst defense. Which, by the way, I have enormous respect for after their performance; the defense, in fact, was outstanding and deserves any number of plaudits. - Ben Broman, Testudo Times
16 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
Another good link
There was good news for the Georgia Tech faithful: The team is 6-0, something that hasn’t happened since 1966, and it became one of the first teams in the nation to become bowl eligible. But there was something unsettling about the way it shook out. Georgia Tech nearly wasted a big lead for the second straight week and had to rely on its defense in the fourth quarter to hold off the Terps. – Stan Awtrey, Macon Telegraph
I write stuff From the Rumble Seat.
My early thoughts:
The Macon quote is silly. We were on the ropes yesterday, but the NC State game was never in danger. We had subs in the game late and let State score three times, but I am convinced playing the 2nd team at that point was correct.
I have turned into a Ken Segiura fan and respect his ability to make relevant observations. There is something missing from the offense right now that was not missing early. Perhaps it’s just what Tevin said, the Maryland defense was well prepared and played a good game along with him not making good reads. Mistakes were also a huge part of the problem yesterday. Dropped passes, miscommunication on plays, and penalties at crucial times.
I agree with the guy at Testudo Times when he says we looked very beatable. I said last week that Miami no longer scares me. Well, they certainly scare me now. They put 35 points on the VPI D and I was impressed. Miller is a horse and their O-line guys are all 300+ pounds and quick. Harris and a talented group of receivers will probably ring over yards.
The 3-4 defense needs a corps of talented LBs and we are very thin when all our guys are healthy. Yesterday showed how vulnerable we are with inexperienced subs at those key positions. Hopefully Jeremiah will be healthy this week. I hear Daniel may be out for a while. We need all the bodies we can get.
Lastly, I am concerned that our team thinks it’s better than it actually is. This worries me a lot. I watched VPI play Miami in after our game and both teams played with a lot more passion than we showed yesterday or last week. There was some fire in ours guys earlier in the season that is not glowing as hot right now. I put that responsibility on the coaches and seniors. It is time to change the attitude. UVA is a weak team, but they will be as ready for us as Maryland. It is imperative that we not give them any reason for optimism. That mental preparation has to start today.
"Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity." - Seneca
"We have to distrust each other. It is our only defense against betrayal." - Tennessee Williams
That's why I don't like Tech being ranked:
They don’t play as well when they are getting attention. The fact that they jumped so much after the NC State game made it worse. The local coverage is fine, but the national coverage they’ve been getting hasn’t mentioned all that went wrong in the NC State game (and the North Carolina game, although it appears I am alone in seeing that game as the start of the problems).
I really hope they get things straightened out. I thought they would after NC State. I was wrong.
This wouldn’t bother me so much if the team didn’t have the potential to be great. They’ve shown that they are much better than this.
my question for CraigT
What is the difference between 2010’s team and 2011’s? I don’t think there is a lot of difference on offense. We’ve just beaten teams we should’ve beat in 2010. Imagine if a few plays went our way in 2010. We would’ve started at least 6-1.
I write stuff From the Rumble Seat.
That's a good point.
I think more than a few plays would have to gone our way for us to have been 6-1. It seemed the Kansas game was completely FUBAR and NC State simply whipped us. That said, substitute Maryland for Virginia and WCU for SC State, and it’s the same teams as last year at this point.
We have a chance to make things right. I don’t see any glaring flaws in the team which argue against us having a "kool-aid" kind of season, but a serious psychological disorder is affecting us. It’s the coaches job now to earn the big bucks GTAA is paying them. They need to find out what it is and fix it. Fast. Or we could be 6-1 this season. Then 6-2. Then 6-4 before Duke, who is looking better every time Wake Forest wins.
"Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity." - Seneca
"We have to distrust each other. It is our only defense against betrayal." - Tennessee Williams
The main difference
is that, this year, they’ve shown they can complete passes, which was, apparently, the element missing from last year. Last year they didn’t show us that they could execute well. This year they have. And this year they didn’t start off as a ranked team.
The offensive line is also a year older and a year better. Stephen Hill has apparently dealt with whatever personal issues he had last year and is, more often than not, making the catches he should.
About the poll ranking
That’s why I don’t like Tech being ranked: They don’t play as well when they are getting attention.
The players somehow have to learn how to handle it. If you want to win a national championship, you’re going to have learn how to play and win while being ranked in the top 10 from the preseason all the way through the last game of the year. You’re not going to get there by being unranked or very lowly ranked throughout the season and then at the last minute get ranked first or second. Part of what makes the great teams great is the ability to handle the pressure of being relentlessly hunted.
by Dive Keep and Pitch on Oct 10, 2011 10:43 AM EDT up reply actions
What's the story on the MD injury?
I can’t remember a longer injury TO.
Come worship at the Heavy Metal Altar of Molten British Steel....
Come...Smoke with the Priest
by DressHerInWhiteAndGold on Oct 9, 2011 1:12 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
I don't know the whole story,
but apparently his leg was mangled. I’m talking exposed bones and twisted to face the wrong direction. And the break was upper thigh.
/Cringe
Go Jackets, go America.
THWG.
I just read on Testudo Times, the Terrapin blog
he had a compound fracture (bone exposed). This is bad enough, but other complications can also accompany the break. Given the seriousness of his injury, 15 minutes was not much down time.
"Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity." - Seneca
"We have to distrust each other. It is our only defense against betrayal." - Tennessee Williams
Confidence is dropping precipitously
Going scoreless for the last 25 minutes of the game was terrible. GT won only only because Maryland proved themselves to be even worse at this whole throw-and-catch thing than GT. GT left probably 200 yards of offense on the field with tis inability to complete passes.
by Dive Keep and Pitch on Oct 10, 2011 10:37 AM EDT reply actions
Georgia Tech is not that good...
I am surprised the Jackets moved up one in the rankings. I guess it took some help from other teams that lost. We might be a top 25 team, but not a top 15 and definitely not top 10.
In the post game press conference, Paul Johnson said, “(Tevin) needs to learn how to pitch the ball…” This is beginning to be a problem for our QB, I think. It’s like a point guard in basketball that throws up a few nice looking three pointers and then he thinks he can sink anything. Tevin is a better passer than Nesbitt on most days, but he is overly confident about himself sometimes I think. He’s gotten lucky on a few passes this year against inferior competition, and now its like he thinks he can just throw the ball somewhere near a receiver and expects them to catch it. He has not run the option game very well. He has gotten used to being able to pass at over 60% and run through most defenses like a sieve. Nesbitt would do this alot when he was QB. It’s called being a ball-hog. Tevin is not a one-man team/show. He needs to run this offense like it’s supposed to be run, and stop making stupid decisions with the football, like he’s trying to break some sort of record for number of carriers by a quarterback in a single game. Maryland’s defense isn’t even that good. We had them guessing all over the place in the first half of the game. But when your QB carries the ball 32 times, what else would you expect the opponent D to do?
He needs to run this offense like it’s supposed to be run, and stop making stupid decisions with the football, like he’s trying to break some sort of record for number of carriers by a quarterback in a single game.
This didn’t seem to be an issue prior to Maryland. I don’t know what happened to make him keep so much. I read that he said postgame that the pressure got to him. I’m don’t know if he meant the in-game pressure brought by the defense, the pressure of being ranked and undefeated, or something else.
But when your QB carries the ball 32 times, what else would you expect the opponent D to do?
I don’t get concerned about the ball distribution because when you’re running option the defense dictates who the ultimate ball carrier is. If the defense wants to the QB to carry the ball 30 or 40 times in a game, then they can force it simply by attacking the BB and AB on the option plays.
Where I do get concerned is what it is because of poor reads. Which is what CPJ said happened against Maryland. I hope Tevin is able to refocus and pick up some confidence in his reads practice this week.
It’s possible Maryland was mixing up and disguising the read keys and that’s what caused all of the bad reads by Tevin. If so, then all Tevin needs is some more experience and he’ll become more comfortable with reading the defensive tea leaves. That said, I really don’t think that was the issue.
by Dive Keep and Pitch on Oct 10, 2011 11:49 AM EDT up reply actions
I wouldn't call his decisions stupid
I would call them mistakes, sure, but that’s all.
I think he’s getting more pressure now than he did in the early games, and it’s messing with his concentration. That can be fixed. I have no doubt that he’s capable of straightening it out. He’s good in this offense.
In general the good news is that the problems are self-generated and can be fixed. It’s not that the other teams have figured out how to stop the offense. That isn’t so easy to fix.
I still hold out hope that they’ll get down to basics and take care of business at Virginia. Then I’ll feel better about Miami, Duke, and maybe VPI. I think Clemson and Georgia may be too good defensively, but 10-2 and a return to the Peach Bowl isn’t so bad for this year.
I believe youre all overreacting
Gt is a great football team. Maryland is better than expected and nc state is solid at home…. I fully expect gt to be undefeated going into the Clemson game
by drobe86 on Oct 11, 2011 10:34 PM EDT via iPhone app reply actions
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on From The Rumble Seat
Related FanShots on From The Rumble Seat
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recent FanPosts
SHOP THE FROM THE RUMBLE SEAT STORE
