Mailbag 11/24

When does getting rid of Geoff Collins become financially viable? And how much could a drop in ticket sales and contributions move that timeline significantly? - jabsterjacket

Ben: Depends on if anyone is willing to foot the bill. I mean, if the big money donors really wanted to dump Collins, they would figure it out. Realistically, next year or the year after.

Carter: It becomes viable as soon as enough rich donors are willing and able to pony up the needed amount of cash to cover the buyout. There are a couple of variables involved there, and multiple-variable calculus was never my forte, so I’ll leave the exact math to someone better qualified.

Logan: Whenever his contract runs out I guess. Either that or some of our rich millionaire alumni start caring about our football program.

Chris: Not this year. Probably not next year. Maybe the year after that.

Stephen: the tickets thing really scares me.

Did you get the feeling the team was just going through the motions? From what I watched last Saturday, I felt the team was merely going through the motions as opposed to ND being a perfectly executing juggernaut. Has CGC lost the team/players given up and what are the chances Tech gets embarrassed by getting shut out at home? - gtbadcarma

Ben: I don’t think they’re going through the motions. I just don’t think a lot of the fundamentals are there. A lot of players are just reacting to what’s happening on the field instead of playing their assignments.

Logan: No. This might be the more frustrating answer... I don’t think they were going through the motions, they were just that outmatched in every aspect. As my friend would say when I miss a short putt on the green to go from double bogey to triple bogey, “It sucks to suck”

Chris: I don’t think CGC has lost the team. Chances we get shut out? Pretty high.

History never repeats but it does rhyme. When we finally are able to financially rid ourselves of Brian Gregory Geoff Collins, who is the next Josh Pastner as that seems to have worked out fairly well so far? - chilidogringsFO

Ben: If you’re going to look for another Josh Pastner, that means it has to be someone you would never think of. I spun this wheel of college football teams and it landed on Virginia, so Bronco Mendenhall to Georgia Tech confirmed!

Logan: Strange thought, isn’t Nell Fortner the next Josh Pastner? She is doing a great job from what I can tell. She got hired after Pastner right? She deserves some credit, she might be the best coach we have at the Institute right now.

Jake: I would agree with Logan, actually. Nell also did it faster and out of a destabilizing off-court situation. For how fast they turned and retooled - would have been a tournament team in 2020, if not for the pandemic, too - that really is remarkable. But, for the record, when I spun the wheel, I landed on Texas A&M, so, uh, guess we’ll take Jimbo.

Chris: Jamey Chadwell.

Stephen: All I know is I’m glad I’m not Todd. As much as we claim to have solutions and ideas to right various ships, it’s a whole other thing to actually do it.

Puzzling game...

Back in late September when Tech beat North Carolina, it is really puzzling for me as to what happened to THIS team? I know that NC is not as good as originally thought, but they beat Miami and Wake Forest. They lost in OT to Pitt and they lost to NDame at ND by only a 44-34 score. Was it a match-up thing?? Tech played a good game on both sides of the ball that day. They only gave up 63 yards rushing, but they did give up over 300 yards in passing.

I was saddened when Paul Johnson left, but I liked the revitalization and excitement that came with the Collins hire. I am sad and frustrated because I like Collins’ excitement, but the mostly defensive and some offensive woes over the last few games have been sickening.

Frustrated GT lifer and second generation GT alum…. THWG - R2 Bee2

Ben: I think people need to stop looking at North Carolina as the rule. The rest of the season has more than proven that game is the exception. Sure it was nice when it happened, but this team has given us no reason to think it can be replicated. I think UNC just had a really bad game, and Tech was able to take advantage.

Carter: Look, man, the 2015 team suffered approximately 69 injuries and lost a ton of close games, but they did beat FSU. Sometimes it just is what it is.

Logan: I dunno man... I don’t know. It’s the beauty and the horror of sports that you never know what you’re gonna end up with.

Jake: I was also very excited with the hire, though I liked Paul a lot. I think when the season is over, we will find that the concept we thought was proven this year wasn’t in the UNC game, but rather against NIU.

Chris: Agree with Ben - it’s becoming clear that UNC was the exception, not the rule. It represented us at our absolute best against an overrated team.

What is your predicted ACC SEC matchup record going into rivalry week? - YellowJacketHeritage

Ben: I’ll say the ACC goes 2-2.

• Georgia/Georgia Tech - Georgia by a lot
• Florida/Florida State - It’s close, but I’ll take FSU to put the final nail in the Dan Mullen coffin
• Kentucky/Louisville - I don’t know anything about either of these teams, so I’ll say Kentucky
• Clemson/South Carolina - Clemson isn’t great, but they’re still going to win this game

Carter: I think Ben has it pretty covered. I’m reasonably confident in Kentucky over ‘Ville this year.

Logan: 3-1 ACC. All the ACC teams except us will win their games.

Jake: I agree with Logan, I think Louisville could pull it off. Also, this “not great” Clemson has 8 wins.

Chris: 2-2. Winners being Georgia, FSU, Kentucky, and Clemson.

Stephen: Agreed with Chris.

I was wondering why no one on the defensive staff had been cut loose yet, but Joey’s podcast brought up a point that could explain this. Do you think the ENTIRE defensive staff is let go following uga? - YellowJacketHeritage

Ben: I think if you’re going to keep anyone, you could make arguments for Marco Coleman and Larry Knight (the defensive line coaches). But if you’re going to hire a new coordinator, I think you need to give them the option to clean house if they want their own guys.

Chris: I think we’re gonna see at least someone go at the conclusion of the season. If it is Thacker then what Ben said: I think it becomes a situation where the new guy gets to do what he wants.

Stephen: Somebody will have to go, and as long as the fanbase gets somebody, I think that will be sufficient. We aren’t so broke we can’t get rid of coordinators / position coaches after 3 years of evidence.

Do think there’s anyone in the offensive staff that deserves consideration? The improvement is visibly there, and I’m not calling coach Key a dud, but that o line just needs to take a step up next year. - YellowJacketHeritage

Ben: I would like to see Tech upgrade the TE and QB coaching.

Chris: A strong, dedicated QB coach would be outstanding.

Jake: I think the RB and WR rooms have been very good. Don’t touch those. I think the main thing to change would be the QB.

Stephen: OL recruiting is hard, but I think we could still be better. Your TE coach is also making a good bit of money compared to positional output.

What do you want for Xmas, or Hanukkah , or Kwanzaa? - YellowJacketHeritage

Ben: Someone to pay for my wedding and honeymoon.

Carter: If I tell y’all..... is someone gonna get it for me?

Logan: I want to spend plenty of time with the people I care about.

Jake: I have reached the adult life stage where a nice button down shirt or a couple books would satisfy me for a long time.

Chris: More apparel from Homefield Apparel dot com.

Stephen: I’m in need of a coffee maker not named Mr. Coffee, so if y’all have any recommendations, I’m all ears.

Can people stop blaming Coach Johnson for this dumpster fire? It has been three years since the dawning of the age of Coach Meathead. What linemen has he recruited? They should be sophomores or juniors by now. What linemen have transferred, quit or graduated early? Please give a rundown of who has left and who remains on the offensive line. Thanks - YankeeJacket

Ben: I’ll defer to Stephen, because I know he has put together a lot of information on this very thing.

Carter: Oh yeah, Stephen has a full rundown on this already written out. As for Paul Johnson, I blame him for all of that and the fact the sun keeps setting earlier as the year winds down. Damn you, Paul! Damn you to hell!

Jake: The Greatest Transformation in the History of Football sounded hyperbolic at the time, and anyone who does still blame CPJ for any of what’s currently going on is super disingenuous. It really grinds my gears, so I’ll stop there, but I agree with you.

Logan: (sarcastically) I actually blame Paul for everything but I can’t admit it openly. I mean how can you be mad at this face?

Chris: Buddy,,, you’ve hit my biggest pet peeve of the last few months. If I see someone arguing that what is happening right now has anything to do with CPJ then I automatically dismiss it; its usually a bad faith argument with zero actual grounding. As far as a rundown, Stephen definitely has you covered.

Stephen:

Hahahahahaha I hate being me. Here’s the OL no longer with the team who would have eligibility:

Class of 2016:

Jahaziel Lee – 6’3” 308. Transferred to ULM.

Class of 2017:

Austin Smith – 6’4” 308 – has not played since 2019, where he appeared in 5 games. Was recruited as a DT. Is still with the team in 2021.

Zach Quinney – 6’6” 315 – started in 2020. Would be RS SR in 2021 I believe. Not with team this year.

Connor Hansen – 6’2” 314 – not with team as of 2020.

Boe Tufele – 6’3” 320 – not with team as of 2019.

Charlie Clark – 6’4” 305 – not with team as of 2021.

Class of 2018

Jamal Camp – 6’2” 289 – appeared in the UVA game as OL. Recruited as a DT. Is still with the team in 2021.

Harrison Jump – 6’5” 275 – not with team as of 2020.

Zakk McKeehan – 6’4” 285 – not with team as of 2019.

Jack DeFoor – 6’5” 302 – graduated in Fall 2020, would have been Super Senior eligible.

Class of 2019:

No players. Jared Southers had one year of eligibility on arrival at Tech.

Class of 2020:

Michael Rankins – 6’5” 295 – not with team as of 2021.

—

That’s 8 OL that are no longer with the team as of this season from Johnson’s recruiting classes. There were 11 total OL recruits in those 3 classes. Some graduated, some transferred, but the thread here is that they weren’t GC guys.

—

Here’s how GC’s guys are doing so far:

Class of 2020:

Jordan Williams – started 7 games, has appeared in 8 games in 2021.

Paula Vaipulu – started 5 games, has appeared in 7 games in 2021. First was against UNC.

Ryan Johnson (T) – started 10 games.

Devin Cochran (T) – started 10 games.

Have not played yet: Wing Green, Ryan Spiers, Cade Kootsouradis

Class of 2021:

Weston Franklin – appeared in 4 games.

Kenneth Kirby (T) – appeared in 2 games, has not played since UNC.

Nick Pendley (T) – started 1 game, appeared in 4 games total. Has not played since UVA.

Have not played yet: Jakiah Leftwich

—

So, instead of complaining about OL that aren’t with the program any longer (it’s taking every fiber in my being to not call out the thing with those players), let’s figure out why the GC guys that all average a higher recruiting ranking than even your highest rated remaining Johnson OL recruit can’t beat out your 1 walk-on that’s actually getting playing time.

—

All told in the OL room, there’s:

3 CPJ OL consistently playing

2 CPJ DTs combining for 1 appearance at OL

1 CPJ Walk-on OL with 9 appearances

and

3 GC OL consistently playing

2 GC transfer OL consistently playing

2 GC transfer OL that haven’t played since UVA

4 GC OL with zero appearances

1 GC Walk-on OL with 1 appearance

and 4 other walk-ons to round out the group.

—

Quit using this excuse. You aren’t getting production from the majority of the OL that have been brought in since 2019 (6 GC OL not playing over your CPJ Walk-on currently), and there’s 9 (nine) OL who should still be on the roster at this point all have moved on from Tech, for one sockless reason or another.

Is Lebron dirty? Using the punch in the face to Isaiah Stewart as impetus, is there enough historical data to say that Lebron is a dirty player? If he is a dirty player can we use Lebron as an excuse for why Georgia Tech is bad at football? I dunno, I just need to hear a different excuse for why we aren’t doing well. - Logan Sandor

Ben: People still watch the NBA?

Carter: That’s an interesting question, Logan. I think I’m going to have to defer to my colleague Logan on this.

Logan: So... I regret asking this question. I was mad about the GT performance, I needed someone to blame it on, and then I saw Lebron punch a guy. I shouldn’t have put us being bad on Lebron, he has nothing to do with us being bad and Lebron is not a dirty player (as much as I want him to be so I can hate how good he is at basketball). I do want to give a shoutout to DressHerInWhiteAndGold because he asked the question I should have asked. Can we credit Iman Shumpert’s fantastic dancing as the reason our basketball team is doin so well? I say yes, good on Iman and good on DressHerInWhiteAndGold for taking negativity out of the world and replacing it with positivity.

Chris: what.

Jake: I get the LeBron part — that was really reckless on his part, and I can’t believe he got a shorter suspension than Stewart — but, you know, I really just am unimpressed with the NBA the last few years. All manufactured drama, not that interesting. As for the football part, uh, yes? Or no? Whatever the right answer is, let’s go with that.

What handicap would UGA have to suffer for the Jackets to make a game of it. Two dozen arrests? I figure we already know they’re focusing on ‘Bama this week. - Bill Brockman

Ben: UGA would have to miss the bus.

Carter: I’ve already laid out what I believe needs to happen.

Logan: Can we grease down the interstate so the bus misses the exit?

Jake: They staged a coal strike to keep us from getting on our train to Athens one year. Would the modern equivalent be to cause a gas shortage, or something? I think our safest bet would be if they never made it in the stadium. Perhaps stage a 5K around campus on the Pi Mile and encircle the stadium, or something.

Chris: no starters allowed to play and all play calls for the entire game have to be written down beforehand and executed as written - no dynamic coaching.

Ben (again): Chris, I still don’t think that would be enough.

I would like to nominate Dan Mullen for OC 2022. Why does this make sense? Why doesn’t it? - Nononsense92

Ben: I would love for that to happen. Mullen is a really good offensive coordinator that could do a lot of good here. However, I think he’ll get another HC gig somewhere else, and I also don’t know that he likes Collins too much. I remember him criticizing Collins for making a “lateral move” to Florida a few years before he made the exact same move.

Carter: I know we’ve hired former head coaches as coordinators before, but doing that with a former Florida coach seems like a bit of a stretch. Also, you’ll likely recall those former coaches turned coordinator hires did not turn out very well.

Logan: I’m gonna say no. Mullen is another one of those coaches who will make excuses if games don’t go the way he wants. We already have too many of those on staff.

Chris: I’m kinda torn on this. He could make a great OC, but his tenure at Florida has basically ended in flames. I also doubt he would go for such a demotion - he’ll be able to secure a full HC gig somewhere.

Just for fun, if Geoff somehow pulled off a win against Georgie this weekend, would you forgive him of all of his sins for the last 3 years? - Jacket4Life

Ben: Nope.

Carter:

Logan: No... but it would be a start I guess.

Jake: There’s a lot of things it might answer, but it wouldn’t address all of the things that have left a poor impression. I think, though, we are in no position to not appreciate a good rivalry upset win.

Chris: Some, not all.

Stephen: yes, but only if we beat UCF next year too to get to 2-2 in OOC in 2022.

How can you have significantly better recruiting classes than CPJ and yet still not win at least a third of your games? - Neal Royal

Ben: Just means you might be good at recruiting and not-so-good at player development or scheming.

Carter: It’s like I’ve said many times: recruiting is only half the equation. The other half? Well, it ain’t knowing.

Logan: College football coaching is multifaceted. you can be a great X and O guy but not a good recruiter. Can be a good recruiter but not good at keeping your kids eligible with their good grades. can be good at getting kids to graduate but not at politicking with alumni... My point is maybe Geoff is just more focused on one facet of the job instead of the others. Not trying to save his ass for all the poor seasons, just saying.

On the other hand, maybe PJ was better on the field than he was at recruiting and playing politics. Just how it goes.

Jake: You need Xs and Os along with your Jimmys and Joes, to modify a Pastnerism. I think our alphabet must have limited stock of those letters.

Chris: There’s cruitin’ and there’s coachin’, and if the problem ain’t cruitin’...

Stephen: In-game adjustments, timeout cognizance, playcalling ability, team discipline with respect to penalties, etc etc etc.

Looking ahead to Festivus, I figure we’ve got Airing of Grievances pretty much locked down! Which of your Feats of Strength would amaze us? Recommendations on Pole materials ? (AL is SO late 90’s) What’s on the dinner table? Seen any miracles lately? - DressHerInWhiteAndGold

Ben: You want something yummy and heartwarming in this cold Festivus season? Well, might I recommend a warm and soothing Dublin Coddle?

I made some back around St. Patrick’s Day, and it was absolutely delightful!

Logan: What? I gave you a shout out above, but I don’t have a clue what you’re saying here.

Jake: Carbon fiber, but it’s got to be made with some sort of cutting-edge manufacturing method. Only the best for my Festivus. I thought I’d see a miracle in South Bend last weekend, but the only miracle that happened there was that the clock hit :00 before the score hit 100.

Why is it that our AJC beat writers always throw shade? Even when we win games like beating Georgia and Charleston southern In basketball it’s that we “escaped” (won by 10) and “had some struggles” (won by 15). Are they severely dwag fans? - Neal Royal

Ben: Don’t mix up beat writers and columnists. Ken is the beat writer. Anyone else isn’t.

Carter: I have to assume people mad about Ken calling the uga game an “escape” only saw the final score and didn’t watch the game or even see the game flow, where you can see Tech blew a 10 point second half lead to let the dwags take the lead with less than five minutes remaining. Sure, Tech finished on a 17-5 run to close out the game, but it was still dicey prior to that. That’s why Ken qualified the game the way he did.

Logan: The stuff from Ben and Carter are good answers, but there is a bias where most of their readers trend uga. Look at the stands in Athens on gameday versus the ones at Bobby Dodd for a simple comparison. uga fans spend more to see and hear about their team. That might change over time, if we win and get more fans invested in the GT football program, but right now its reality.

Jake: No, there is no way anyone can be upset for Ken calling that an escape. The game was tied with three minutes to play, and the momentum was absolutely not in Tech’s favor, with our starting big, Rodney Howard, fouling out with 8 minutes to play, and the Athenians eating into a double-digit lead all too quickly. Tech got two quick buckets and a stop to put them ahead for good, but without that critical stop, the home team isn’t fouling to end the game, they’re playing open basketball. I agree that the columnists may be that way sometimes, but I’ll defend Ken on this one. With the Charleston Southern game, too, the Buccaneers were able to get within two possessions extremely late in the game, and, by Pastner’s own admission in the postgame presser, Tech was able to bend but not break there due to having already amassed a sizable lead. They did indeed struggle. I found both recaps matched my impression of the game, and in the case of the game in Athens, as the fellow who wrote the recap for that game for this site, with the sentiment I was intending to convey in my own work. I love Tech basketball and was elated to win, but I found that portrayal honest and fair. I also think that giving all that detail provides a very accurate picture of the gameplay outside of the final score. I also disagree that they’re writing to serve the Athenian fans, either. They’re writing about Tech sports in an objective manner, if beat writers, or if they’re columnists, in an opinionated matter, in a way that either is provocative or biased to draw some sort of debate or commentary. That’s their job. I really do apologize, I’m not trying to be harsh here. I was very taken aback to see the discourse around Tech’s longtime beat writer on Friday after the game, so I wanted to be clear in my reply.

What is our QB and PK situation heading into COFH? - jabsterjacket

Ben: College teams never publish any kind of injury reports, so you likely won’t hear anything until maaaaaybe the day before. And even then, the morning of is more likely to hear something.

Carter: Be afraid. Be very, very afraid.

Logan: Every play, we give the ball to Gibbs. no QB, no kicking, only Gibbs.

Chris: Let Gibbs throw.

Stephen: Do you think it’ll make a difference?

Is the current 35 point spread for COFH too conservative? - GT Alum

Ben: Well considering Georgia Tech just lost to a worse Notre Dame team by 55 points and UGA has made a habit of scoring a lot of points while allowing very few points, then yeah, I’d say bet your mortgage on UGA to cover.

Logan: they always give an extra field goal to the home team, so on a neutral field vegas says the spread is 38 points... Still too conservative.

Hey guys!

I always enjoy reading, thanks! Have a bunch of late night meanderings below. Good luck:

I always wanted to buy hundreds of dog whistles and give them to a section in the stands (think student section) during a uga game to drive the pooch crazy! Whatcha think?

I haven’t heard about the status of Jeff Sims, do you guys know?

I agree that Sims has a higher ceiling but I do like Yates too (minus the interceptions). It seems like the playbook is restricted when he’s on the field. Is he handcuffed, any insight there?

Is there going to be any gold in the stands on Saturday?

How do you coach the offense to avoid a false start penalty?:

1st time: watch the ball, don’t move till the center hikes it.”

2nd time: “Ok guys, this time watch the ball and don’t move till the center hikes it.”

Why can’t the OL block? I’ve never played football but is it really that hard to keep another fat guy who works out from getting by you? How much coaching can you do (I realize this may sound sarcastic but I genuinely don’t know)? Basically, is our O-line struggling due to coaching or player weaknesses? I do realize that we’ve still been able to put some points on the board - so is our whole “win21” year a disappointment due to poor defensive play/coaching (a unit that is supposed to be the most experienced on the field)?

Looking back at this season’s competition it feels realistic that this team could have finished 8-4 (losses to uva, Pitt, ND, and uga).

But as has been said numerous times: No one understands why the performance in most games resembled the NIU game and not the UNC game. We left 5 wins on the table... I can’t believe we’re that bad. Tell me we aren’t that bad!

Where were you when a 3-8 GT took down an undefeated #1 uga?

Do uga fans lift 1 leg to pee or is that just the mascot?

Happy Thanksgiving (submitted via email)

Ben: In order: Good luck with that. See my answer above. You’re not going to see as many deep passes whenever Yates is in the game; he doesn’t have the arm for it. I’ll say at least 10 percent gold. Practice your snap counts. OL seems to be a combination of coaching and talent and injuries, and honestly, I don’t know the solution. This team should have been a bowl team, but coaching dictates otherwise. In the alternate universe where that happened. Yes.

Carter: Gonna try to knock these out in order:

• Uga is barely able to lift his head, blowing that many dog whistles at once might make him keel over
• nope!
• at this point either Yates can’t or isn’t trusted to make deep passes
• yeah, those club seats on the east side are gold and they’ll be empty as always
• I don’t know, which means I know as much as the current coaching staff, evidently
• little A, little B
• as someone on Twitter @’ed me: we won two conference and one non-con game. #win21
• we are that bad and had no business keeping the close losses close
• face down on my couch getting some much needed Zs
• yes

Logan: First, thanks for reading. Second, holy crap that’s a lot of questions... ok here we go.

• I kind of love that idea... I don’t know if they can stop you from blowing dog whistles. But think of how many strays that will drive in if all those people start whistling at once (or away, I don’t know how dog whistles are supposed to work).
• nah bro, no idea
• I too like Yates. I don’t expect much of him at this point in the season though. not a knock on him, but watching what ND did to our O-line I don’t expect Saturday to be pretty. that might be the other reason they want Yates making short passes, he just won’t have time in the pocket for long plays.
• there will be a sprinkling of gold. Unfortunately there will be a lot more red and black I suspect.
• It’s harder on the road. If you sit and do nothing while you watch the ball get snapped you’re gonna get run over. Being on the O-line is harder than it sounds when it comes to you having the timing down for the silent count. So basically they start their count once they hear an initial cue or by a count on the game clock. If they get the wrong cue, or miss the count on the play, or perceive some background noise as the cue then things go wrong. I’m simplifying for time, but that helps give an idea of what they are looking for. It’s not just “Oh there goes the ball, now I can move”
• O-line is difficult to describe if you’re not familiar with it. It’s not something you can necessarily just follow on a white board (like a wide receiver route). I also don’t have enough experience to analyze everything with the O-line, but I’ll try to give a few insights. On pass blocks the O-line can’t go down field (its the ineligible receiver penalty if they go past 5 yards) when the defense sends extra rushers or uses a delayed rush (where the D-player pretends to be in coverage before rushing the QB) it seems that the O-line struggles to determine where there assignments for blocking should be. They also struggle with technique with maintaining balance, which is probably the hardest part of being on the O-line. when the blocker comes at your you gotta put your weight against them to block but not fall over because then your opponent will blow by you. The O-line often struggles to maintain their blocks downfield or in the backfield. Don’t know how to correct it, just know I see it. They can throw a block, but struggle to stay on their player past the initial block. Hopefully someone with more O-line insight than me can give better explanations but that’s the best information I can provide. Short answer, its more complicated than it looks.
• Look, we could have been a lot of things, I’m not gonna speculate on all the possibilities. I will say this: we could’ve been at 4-8, which still would’ve been an improvement on last year, and all we had to do was beat NIU. That’s what’s gonna bother me this offseason, not that we lost close games against good opponents but that we lost a game that we should have won by a ridiculous amount.
• Probably gonna be at home shuffling between watching the TV and walking out of the room frustrated that the game is close and I feel the need to watch this game... but of course I’m gonna watch the game, I’m not gonna not watch the game. ugh, the paradox of a sports fan.
• You mean like this:

I would expect uga does something similar.

Chris: oh god this is a lot.

• Eh, Uga has done nothing wrong but be born to the wrong family. Let the dog sleep in his AC/heated house.
• I do not.
• He doesn’t have the same arm strength, but other than that I think he can run most of the same stuff.
• 8%.
• I’m sure there are several ways that paid professional coaches know of.
• OL is hard to play. My uneducated impression is that we’re not doing the right coaching and player development. When I played tennis the goal of coaching and practice was to make it so that I never had to do anything in a match I hadn’t done 1000 times before - you work on things until they become second-nature, until you do them instinctively. I don’t get the impression that we do that; I get the impression the OL is out there thinking extremely hard about what they’re supposed to be doing at all times because they aren’t being prepared well enough.
• Can I sell you a waterfront timeshare in Nebraska?
• Probably not.

Stephen: I’m so happy for you, or my condolences, I’m not reading all that. One anecdote about peeing. uga game in probably 2011 (?), Upper west urinal line, uga fan turns after finishing the drill and walks over to the sink. Guy next to him in Tech gear kinda gives him a friendly elbow and says “What? They didn’t teach you not to piss on your hands in college?”

What do you think the chances are that Gibbs gets tired of losing all the time and transfers? I could see him just sticking it out one more year just to be done and move on to the NFL but I could also see him wanting to raise his draft stock with more exposure. Thoughts? (submitted via email)

Ben: I’m not gonna lie. I’m kind of tired of this speculation. This has been going on since he was a commit and was getting interest from schools like Florida and Ohio State. And now, there has been no actual rumor or report that Gibbs is even thinking of transferring. You don’t know what’s going on in these kids’ heads. Stop trying to figure it out. It’s just doomposting.

Carter: He’s far and away the best player on this team, so it would be nice if he stayed.

Logan: We did answer an oddly similar question a few weeks back. The short answer is I don’t see it happening at this point in time. I will not speculate further without actual evidence.

Jake: I think all this speculation has been counterproductive and doesn’t help anything if he does decide to make a move. No sense in giving it thought.

Chris: I also don’t see it happening. He seems bought into the vision and he has an opportunity to touch the ball a zillion times per game.

Hey guys,

I’m kind of bummed this week so I’ll keep it short. I don’t have high hopes going into the game on Saturday. If you had a way to make the upcoming game more watchable what would you do?

Personally I could use some cartoony sound effects. Maybe the Dr Zoidberg “woo woo woo woo” noise when our QB is on the run or the “My Leg” guy from spongebob when we get tackled in the back field. I guess I just want a sound board added to the game for some extra levity. Also whenever someone wants to drink water they have to drink from a high pressure fire hose which launches them across the field. And maybe have Golf commentators trying to do the color commentary and talk about the landscape of the next 10 yards the team needs to cover in a soothing voice.

Yeah... I just need a little something extra. All of that sounds better to me than the money down. What would you like added to the game to make it more interesting? Let me know. Have a happy Thanksgiving guys!!!

- Lurky the Turkey

Ben: If I had to do something to make it more watchable, the easy answer is to simply not watch it. But if you’re going to watch it, don’t watch it alone, and maybe do something else while you’re watching it.

Carter: I would simply watch something else. Or go get a beer. Or watch something else while getting a beer. Or go to a brewery that doesn’t have TVs. I like that last one.

Logan: Have some Disney sing along music playing in the background, maybe that will bring back good memories of childhood.

Jake: Watch from far enough away you can’t see it, but can hear the action. Then all the cheering will just be pleasant ambiance and you’ll be independent of context.

Chris: turn the sound off. have a secondary task that takes attention. snacks. drinks.

Stephen: distract yourself just enough so you can’t be bothered by the heat death of the universe.