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Well, at the beginning of the 4th quarter I started thinking of all these funny and clever things to post. Now I am just dejected. Virginia Tech takes advantage of a complete collapse by Georgia Tech and wins by scoring 25 points in the 4th quarter. Here are some points of my own:
1. VT did NOT win this game. GT lost it. That is a cliche you hear often, but it was true tonight.
2. Players make plays. And every game is decided by 5-7 plays that are made by one team or the other. All the rest of the battle of field position. Daniels' 2 fumbles in the 1st half in VT territory, Ball's careless safety, Butler's two blown coverages for TD's, a VT 2-point conversion that tied the game and 2 costly GT INT's in the 4th quarter. There it is - game....set....match. Players make plays, and tonight we didn't make them.
3. Our offense is still incredibly inconsistent. They looked great in the 1st half, and did nothing in the 2nd half. So why? Three things: 1) PJ Daniels played in the 1st half and did NOT in the 2nd with a bruised knee. Coincidence? I think not. It's ironic because Chris Woods ran well, but it just wasn't the same. The offensive confidence just was not there. No matter how good people think Chris Woods or R.Grant are, this team just plays different with PJ. 2)Reggie Ball got raked across the face and had a twisted ankle. He was not the same guy after that. 3) This team ALWAYS seems to have a long stretch of not moving the ball during every game. Just happened to be the whole 2nd half.
Let's look at the drives in the 2nd half - only one drive more than 5 plays.
Plays...Yards...Result
4........28......punt
3........8.......punt
3........9.......punt
1........0.......safety
3........-6......punt
11.......53......FG
3........4.......punt
1........-2......INT
5........13......INT
4........12......game over.
One last point on the offense. We scored 14 points off VT turnovers deep in their territory. That means we only scored 6 points when we had to go down the long-field. That's the entire game. Frustrating.
4. Our defense has a clear weakness - the secondary. But it's not lack of athletes. It's not bad coverage throughout the game. In fact, it's a good group and they generally play well. However, anywhere from 1-5 times a game, somebody misses an assignment and the opponent caplitalizes. Miami did it twice. Tonight has to be a frustrating night for the senior James Butler. He had a critical INT but it only took two blown coverages for VT to put up 14 points in the 4th quarter. Remember, games are typically decided by 5-7 plays every game. So you can play great for 60 snaps and not so good on 5 and....... game over.
Having said all that - go back up and look at the offense drives in the 2nd half. Our D was on the field a LOT in the 2nd half. They just didn't get a break. THEY WERE TIRED. Arm tackling and the VT O-line really exerted themselves.
5. I am pleased with our linebacker play. Chris Reis continues to impress me. He is everywhere and he just never stops. Wilkinson had an outstanding game with 13 tackles, 3 for a loss and 1 sack. He was the ESPN GT Player of the Game. K.Hall also had a nice game. There were a couple of plays where I swear he knew the snap count and was in the backfield before the O-Line could even react. Good job by the LB core.
6. Playcalling - this will be the usual topic for debate for the fans that don't like Gailey. But folks, don't bark up this tree too much. Playcalling was NOT the big issue tonight. Generally I thought Gailey did a good job here. Yeah, there were a couple of series late where I didn't understand why Calvin Johnson was not getting the ball thrown his way. I also didn't like the first series after PJ left, when we go three-and-out with Reggie in the shotgun, 5 WR's and NO backs in the backfield. But other than that I thought Gailey called a good game. If you want to use this as an excuse to bash Coach Gailey, you're barking up the wrong tree. Play-calling did not cause the loss tonight.
Tentuta called another strong D-game..... for 3 quarters. Obviously things broke down the 4th quarter. So should J.Tenuta go too? I didn't think so.
7. This is a young team and we continue to struggle with depth. One senior starter on the defense. Daryl Richard looks like he is the real deal - of course we already knew that. The D-Line is young but talented and I like how they are developing. On offense, we still have an inconsistent sophomore QB and a #2 guy that we are desparate to red-shirt. We have a star-in-the-making WR that's a true freshman but we just cannot seem to get him the ball enough.
8. I have to mention Gary Guyton. This kid laid the wood on a VT kid on a GT punt return that was amazing. He is going to be a good one - mark my words. After that play I have nicknamed him - "Bam Bam". And that VT defender "Pebbles".
9. Special teams played well tonight and we heard all week about how VT is known for their special teams.
9. I don't like Virginia Tech. Their players are flambouyant and vocal and arrogant. I have never seen so much holding on the O-Line in all my life. This is not bitterness talking - I lost some respect for VT tonight and what they're about.
BIG PICTURE
Let's be real. This is a hard loss to swallow. National TV. The game was in hand and the team proceeded to make goof after goof after goof and VT took advantage. The problem was execution tonight. The gameplan was a good one, but critical plays were NOT made. We broke-down at the most critical moments of the game. Players make plays.
Do not let your post-game emotions get the best of you. Keep the big-picture perspective. Virginia Tech is a top 25 team with a load of talent and we played with them tonight. It hurts because we all want success NOW. We don't want to put off our expectations of success because of youth or depth problems. We don't want to hear it - I know. But folks - that's the way it is. The rest of the ACC is getting better and so is GT.
I am still a fan of Chan Gailey. Yes, he is conservative on offense, but with the type of mistakes our players make at times, I am not convinced it would be wise to open the offense up much more. The only exception is throwing to CJ. It just seems that he catches everything within the area code. FIND A WAY TO GET THAT KID THE BALL MORE!!!! PLEASE!!!
Keep your heads up. Keep the faith. Support the team. Be positive. I will again post words from the legend Bobby Dodd:
"Football is one of our great American games. It is the duty and responsibility of each of us to see that it is kept in its proper perspective, and that it is protected. We should see that it is used to attain the objectives that mean so much to our way of life.
We feel that the spectator can be most influential and instrumental in helping to achieve these objectives, if he will develop the right attitudes. May we suggest a few?
First, and foremost among these attitudes that must be developed, is the realization that in football there must be a winner and a loser (excepting the occasional tie). The fan who recognizes this principle gets a great deal more enjoyment from the game than one who becomes irritated, aggravated, and rambunctious when "his" team loses. We would never minimize the importance of winning, but it is very unfair to the coach, the player, and the school when the fan forgets it is impossible to "repudiate the law of mathematics"--i.e., there must be a winner and a loser.
It is important that each of us develop the art of appreciating great plays made by the opposition. We should always give our opponents credit, rather than criticize our team when the opposition makes a great play. We believe perfection in the execution of a great play in football is to be admired and appreciated, just as we appreciate and admire the work of a great artist in any field.
The spectator should remember the football players are just human beings. They perform at times under great pressure, and they, as all other earthly inhabitants, are likely to make mistakes. It behooves all of us to remember, "To err is human, to forgive, divine."
Finally, we should always keep uppermost in mind that football, with all its glamour, glitter, thrills and chills, plus everything that makes it great, has one thing more important than all of these combined--that is, the boy who plays it."
Robert L. "Bobby" Dodd
Head Coach and Athletic Director
Georgia Institute of Technology
1954