Rating the Thrillerdome

SI.com did a nice article on the Thrillerdome and the atmosphere as part of an ongoing series looking at various campus venues.

Gator Bowl Media Guide

Check out the media guide here.

More on Jamal Lewis

More details from last night's crash that hospitalized Jamal Lewis

- Jamal Lewis released from hospital
- Still undecided if he will play. He is physically ok. Not sure if he is ready mentally. Lewis will make the decision
- The driver of the car Lewis was in was Corey L. Russ, an off-duty police officer, cousin of Lewis and family friend of the Lewis's.
- Happened around 5:00pm last night.
- Happened at the intersection of West Forsyth and North Broad Street.
- Russ was driving west down Forsyth (the wrong way), a one-way downtown street. He ran a red light and hit another car. They were in Russ' patrol car
- The driver of the other car (a Jeep Cherokee), Roger Phillips, 26 years old, was not injured. He was at the Forsyth / Broad Street red light, when his light turned green. He started through the intersection and was hit by Russ on the passenger side.
- They do not know why they were driving on the wrong side of the road or how fast they were driving
- Everyone involved was wearing seatbelts.
- Evidently Officer Russ died later from injuries sustained.


Here are some pictures of the patrol car.

Football Pre-Game Bites

So the ACC is now 2-1 this bowl season as Maryland played a strong game against Purdue (along with an FSU win and Clemson loss). Tonight should be an entertaining game as Jacket nation mostly roots for the Hokies to neuter the mutts in the ATL. Mostly though, we're gearing up for our showdown with West Virginia. Here are some random thoughts:


PICKING BOWL WINNERS
There is a lot of truth to the adage of picking bowl winners based on how disappointed a team is to be in that particular bowl. Take the Nut Bowl (Emerald) last season. The Jackets clearly didn't want to be there, the fans thought we got jobbed by the bowls - and voila - crushing defeat in SanFran...................... So what does that say about the Jackets this season? Is the team disappointed in going back to Jax? Are they recovered from the ACCCG loss? Honestly, I get the genuine feel that the team is happy to be back in Jax and excited to be there. In my opinion there's an overlooked aspect of the "is the team disappointed" line of reasoning. I believe it has as much to do with the opponent they are playing. Do they respect their opponent? Against Utah, I think the Jackets lacked respect for them. I believe that played in to as much of the disappointment as dropping in the bowl pecking order................................. However, as disappointed as the team is in not playing in the Orange Bowl, they respect WV. They know they got a quality opponent in the Mountaineers. They know this team is nationally legit. In addition, they know they finally get a chance to stay on the east coast................................ I think this Tech is coming prepared, and with the right mental attitude. I hope I'm right, as it will take nothing less to beat this team.


CALVIN JOHNSON'S GOING AWAY PARTY
Will this be the parting shot of CJ's career? The swan song? the farewell tour? Odds are certainly yes, but as usual, he's not saying much.

SANDBAGGERS?
The saga of Pat White and Steve Slaton.............. will they play or won't they?................ are they 100%........................ Look, #1 - they will play - count on it....................... #2 - nobody is 100% at this point in the season. Everyone is dinged up, banged up. They will play - bet on it, and the'll be ready. True, Slaton hasn't practiced much - and that could add a little rust, but let's just prepare for the duo at 100% and if we get anything less - great.

BENNETT ON C.JOHNSON
Taylor on the first pass of his collegiate career, a TD to CJ:

“Yeah, that was pretty exciting,’’ Bennett said. “To tell you the truth, the whole play was messed up. But I knew where I was throwing it and that’s who I was throwing it to, no matter what. I only threw it 12 yards and he took it the other [30]. He did most of the work on that one.’’

BENNETT ON REGGIE
Taylor comments on how he heard about Reeggie's academic issues - straight from the horses mouth:

“He called me the night everything happened. I think I was the first person he called because he just wanted to tell me what happened and give me some support,’’ Bennett said. “I still don’t know the details, but it’s just something we have to deal with.’’

NOT LOOKING AHEAD, BUT....
...... when you look at the depth chart, things look awful encouraging for next season as well. Think about this -



GERALD FORD - THE TECH CONNECTION
Did you know that Gerald Ford played center for Michigan? Yes, you did. Did you know that Michigan played Georgia Tech in 1934, his senior season? Did you also know that Georgia Tech refused to take the field that day because Michigan had a black player? How about the fact that Michigan gave in and said they would play Willis Ward - said black player. Did you know that Gerald Ford was so ticked that he quit the team on the spot? Did you know that the black player, Willis Ward, convinced Ford not to quit, and play the game. In a case of sweet justice, Michigan would beat Tech that day........... It would be Michigan's only victory in 1934.


Rather ironic story considering Tech ended up on the other side of another famous civil rights battle years later when the governor of Georgia tried to pressure Tech into not playing a game because the opponent had a black player. Tech students marched against the gov and the game went on.......................


THE DIFFERENCE IN FANS AND COACHES
Coaches have relationships with players. Fans don't (or shouldn't). I certainly appreciate what how Coach Gailey treats his players. Check out this quote:

“I’m disappointed for him, not in him,’’ Gailey said. “If you start becoming disappointed in players or kids or sons or daughters, you start to lose relationships. And there’s too much relationship there you don’t want to lose. And you don’t want to discourage him from fighting back and getting his degree and things like that. Somebody’s got to be his ally. That’s what we’re trying to be is his ally.’’

COACH WAS PROBABLY GOING TO PLAY BENNETT
Coach Gailey told the media that he and his staff talked about playing Taylor in the 3rd series of the game:

“We had planned on playing him anyway,’’ Gailey said. “We’d talked about maybe putting him in there the third series and then seeing how it went from there.’’

WILL REGGIE GO TO THE GAME?
From Coach Gailey:

“He probably knows it wouldn’t accomplish anything to be here,’’ Gailey said, referring to the distraction Ball might create. “But if he comes, that’s great, too.’’

From Taylor Bennett::

"I'd love to have him here," said Bennett, who converses or sends text messages to Ball daily. "It'd be great. He was going to try to make it down, come down with his mother or something."

CURFEWS:
In case you're curious, the Jacket curfews in Jax:
Tuesday................ midnight
Wednesday............midnight
Thursday...............1:00 am
Friday.....................midnight
Saturday................ midnight (one hour more than WV)
Sunday...................11:00 pm (New Year's Eve, 30 minues more than WV)

Breaking News - Jamal Lewis in Car Accident

Really bad and good news tonight. Jamal Lewis was in a car accident. The really bad news - the driver of the car - Jamal's friend - was killed in the accident. The good news - Lewis was released from a hospital and looks like he's going to be ok physically.


Our prayers go out to the family of the man who died and Jamal as he will eventually have all this sink in. This really once again puts a game in perspective.....................

Hoops Bites

So, Tech knocked off Troy the other night by 30 points in a strong showing. Here were some takeaways from that game and some other random thoughts.

DON'T OVER-ANALYZE
Don't make a ton of judgments based on the stat sheet from playing a super-cupcake. This was a team severely overmatched, particularly on the inside. Make sure to filter any judgments through that lens. Having said that, there were some good points

IS JAVARIS GETTING IT?
I would say that Javaris Crittenton had his best game of the season with 10 assists and 0 turnovers. Certainly the best PG type numbers he's had to-date. That's what I'm talking about. More of that and the wins will be easier to come by.

CONSISTENT DEFENSIVE EFFORT
The team almost played a solid 40 minute defensive effort. There was a short stretch lacking in intensity, but for the most part the team had the desire to prove that they could keep up the pressure for an entire ballgame. That is three games in a row with a real step up in defensive play. Even more important than effort.......... the chemistry, the communication, the help-side D has improved. Defensive progress. It's what we'd all like to believe is a building block - a stepping stone if you will. Unfortunately we won't know until ACC season hits if it's for real.

OFFENSIVE REBOUNDING MACHINE
If you looked at the offensive rebounding stats released by the ACC, you might not be overly impressed. Tech is #4 in the league in offensive boards per game. However, if you look at offensive rebound percentage, which is a measure of possible offensive rebounds gathered by a team, Tech is actually #5 in the nation at 43.6%. That is certainly impressive but it will be interesting to see how this changes once ACC play starts.

OFFENSIVE EFFICIENCY
While we focus on our team defense, it is worth pointing out that Ken Pomeroy (hoops stat emaven) currently has the Jackets as the 14th most offensively efficient team in the nation. What does that mean? Well, OE% = Points Scored / (100 possesions). He then adjusts this for "tempo", which equals possesions / 40 minutes. So on an adjusted basis the Jackets are an incredibly efficient offensive team.


So which player is our most efficient offensively? Well, it's not even close - Lewis Clinch by a landslide. He is one of the top 20 players in the nation - in terms of offensive efficiency (taking into account a bunch of stats in a complicated formula). Of course unless he starts playing some D, we all know where that's headed. Interesting delimma for Coach Hewitt, because no matter how hard he talks about the importance of defense - the #1 strength you must have is the ability to score. That's fundamental to the game. So the question is - can Coach have a net positive by inserting a better defensive player? Will the minutes played by those other players improve the defense (a given at this point) and provide enough offense for a net positive? Certainly seems like a yes the past few games - but of course this has been against lower competition. Stay tuned.

D'ANDRE BELL, WELCOME BACK
I am personally glad to see D'Andre Bell back in the rotation. It was going to start getting hypocritical for Coach Hewitt to continue spouting off about playing the guys who #1 - defend, and #2 - hustle in practice. Why hypocritical? Well, Coach said Bell is possibly our best on-ball defender and never slacks off in practice. So if you're going to preach those things, why does a guy like that fall out of the rotation? Well, there's only one answer - offense. Bell is an interesting guy - a 6'5" wing guard who doesn't really have a strong 3-point shot nor a very strong inside game nor a slashing shot-creation game - or at least he hasn't shown one yet to Tech fans. Last season he showed a nice mid-range jump shot and that was clearly his offensive strength. In high school, he was the go-to guy on his team and scored from all over, but the collegiate game is a different level.


There's another factor. Bell plays within Coach's boundaries. He seems like a guy really willing to follow his role. Coach wanted him as a back-up PG when the 2/3 spots got crowded with Clinch / Morrow / Faye / Young / Diaw / West. But in the end that was not a successful experiment and Coach Hewitt took the blame for Bell's slow start and falling out of the rotation. So he's back at the 2/3 and back in the rotation. Personally, I'm glad. I've always like Bell for some reason. Maybe I'm just a huge fan of the mid-range jump shot. Not sure. I know I like guys that play hard and he falls into that category.


Now I'm just waiting for Alade Aminu to state his case to get back in the rotation...............

WHERE ARE THE BLOCKS?
One pre-season physicality of note was the incredible wingspan of so many of our players - Faye, Young, Peacock, Dickey, Aminu. Yet with all those arms, the Jackets are 2nd to last in the league in blocks with 3.36 / game. Maryland leads the league with 7.23......

ACC NOTES
Some random tidbits on the ACC..................... That UGAg team we just beat WITHOUT their best player (and PG) was beat handily by Clemson WITH said best player. Could Clemson be the real deal? Weeeeeeeelllllllll, let's just wait until mid-way through the ACC slate ................................. Guess who has the league's best defense? Duke........................ Guess who has the league's worst offense? Duke... Certainly an interesting case study in the importance of O vs D. Ah, but not so quick. Those stats are based on points / game. If you look at offensive efficiency again, you'll see that Duke is actually 3rd in the ACC and still #1 defensively. So what it means is that Duke has more of a slow down offense that has fewer possessions per game. But they take nice advantage of those possesions. So don't judge a teams offense or defense by points scored or points allowed per game. Points per possession is key........................

Quotables - Tommy Bowden

Tommy Bowden on watching the ACCCG:

How much did it hurt to see two teams you beat, Wake Forest and Georgia Tech, playing in the ACC title game?

"That's where you say 'Golly, we beat them.' But you also say 'Gosh, we're really close.' You're doing enough things to get close. I look at it more where we say we don't have to reinvent the wheel. Let's just get that one point. I think two years of being one point away, we're consistently close instead of being up and down like we've been in the past. We've had two years back-to-back where we're right there. Beating those teams kind of signifies you're close."

Well gosh, gee willikers, you weren't that close to Kentucky in your little bowl game in Nashville today. In fact, you were downright ugly..... four turnovers, 3 missed field goals, 1 missed extra point. It once again shows you that bowl results are largely driven by a team's desire to be there. In this case, most of Clemson nation was disappointed at their season, and they were disappointed to be playing Kentucky................... and they got whooped. Not a great showing for the ACC.

Oh year, it's no wonder Bill Parcels hates kickers.................


By the way, did you hear about the bizarre off-season rumbles with James Davis and CJ Spiller last week? First Davis goes on a media rampage about not getting playing time, not understanding what the coaching staff is trying to do. He said he didn't understand how the ACC ROY (himself) didn't get more carries in the final games of the season. Remember that Davis is the same guy who skipped out on spring practice and went back to ATL homesick his freshman year as well................................ In the meantime, CJ Spiller was back in his hometown in Florida and was quoted by some local papers there saying he should have committed to U of Florida and that he made a mistake.............................. Guess Superman and Flash need some new head gear to contain their bulging ego's................................. Actually, James Davis met with Bowden and reportedly everything is kosher now - which I'm sure means that Davis was told he's still #1.................... Throw in Duane Coleman getting arrested for marajuana possesion and you've got a little three ring circuis over here in the upstate of SC.........................

Merry Christmas

I just wanted to take a little time out to wish all Jacket fans, alums and students a joyous holiday and a Merry Christmas. I wish each and every one of you the best....

Merry Christmas and God Bless.......

Hoops - Jackets Muzzle Dawgs

Tonight the Jackets beat UGAg 78-69. Tonight the Jackets beat the Dawgs for the 100th time in the long series between these teams. Tonight this team took a step in proving to themselves that defense really does win games. Tonight was a good win and a good lesson.


GAME FLOW
Well, the first play of tonight's game had me up going - OOOOHHH YEEEAAAHHHH..... The next 7 minutes had me saying - OOOOHHHH NNOOOOOO................ here we go again................The Jackets started with a beautiful backcut pass from Jeremis Smith to Thaddeus Young for a rousing dunk. Then UGAg proceeded to hit every single shot they hoisted in the air. They could not miss. This hit everything. I think they were about 8-8 at one point.................. and once again, we're talking about some really open good looks.


However, just when it looked like another one of those frustrating nights as the Jackets trailed 18-8, the Jackets flipped the switch and started playing defense. Not just good defense - great defense. The key - Mario West. He comes into the game at the 14:45 mark, proceeds to IMMEDIATELY get a steal that leads to a Smith dunk. Then a few seconds later, HE DOES IT AGAIN with a steal. From that point, it just seemed like the team geared it up another notch.


They closed the gap and took a 39-35 lead to the half. Then it seemed like the frustration was going to start again to open the 2nd half. Javaris Crittenton turns the ball over 3 consecutive possesions and before you know it, we're tied again.


We traded buckets and leads until the key stretch in the game, starting at the 16:33 mark in the 2nd half. The Jackets were down by 45-43 and they went on a 14-0 run and never really looked back. The key to run was clearly defense. They forced UGAg to take some really tough inside shots - which they missed. Yes, the mutts had at least 2 wide open 3 pt shots in that run which they missed, but overall the defense was very good, very active and very effective. Also, the start of that run the Jackets utilized their full-court pressure. While it didn't result in turnovers it did get the mutts out of synch. I was impressed.



DEFENSE
UGAg's team was 2nd in the nation in field goal percentage this season. Tonight they were held to a season low 38% overall and 33% from long range. To be fair, UGAg was missing their best player and their point guard. Don't we know how tough it is to play without one of those? The Jackets had 11 steals, which is solid and was a result of getting into passing lanes, getting their hands up and keeping their feet moving.


Mike Mercer had 9 points tonight - all from the free throw line. He was 0-9 from the floor. That's a nice night holding him in check.


Tonight was one of those nights that has the potential to sink in with some of these kids. It's the kind of night where a few have a chance to say - I GET IT - Coach is right, this defensive thing works.


OFFENSE
The offense was fun to watch tonight. Javaris didn't have a great night, but he did a pretty good job with dribble penetration and dishing. Interior passing was pretty darn impressive all around. The guy that stood out in that regard was Mouhammad Faye. He did a nice job threading needles and finding guys open down low.


The Jackets had 13 assists on 21 buckets. However, the real eye-opener was 41 trips to the foul line............. and they hit 30 of them. Many of those trips were the result of really good interior passing - finding the open guy. UGAg just decided they didn't want any easy hoops.


WHERE WAS LEWIS CLINCH
The great disappearing act. Lewis Clinch started the game................. his first shot was an airball................ then he proceeded to commit 2 consecutive fouls................. then..................... we barely saw him again. He played a total of 7 minutes, went 0-1 and committed 2 fouls. That's it................ So, are the rumors true? Will he have to sit out some games after the new year? My gut says yes. Something's up. He wasn't himself tonight, and Coach Hewitt was more eager to give D'Andre Bell a chance to show his stuff at the 2- spot. Is it just that Coach Hewitt is living his message - play defense or else? If this is all to the story then I applaud Coach Hewitt. However, there's more to this story it seems, and I hope I'm wrong.


THADDEUS YOUNG WAS BAD-THAD
Thaddeus Young was everywhere tonight. He had a career high 24 points, and all but one 3pt shot were either dunks, lay-ups or putbacks. He was active with 24 pts (7-14, 1-3), 10 boards (4 off), 2 assists, 3 steals, 2 to's. He was very aggressive tonight, but didn't force things. Tonight you could see the promise in his game. This was not a quiet night for Thad.


Having said that, Coach Hewitt after the game said that Thad has only scratched the surface of his talent - that once he learns to move without the ball his game will go to a new level.


MARIO IS SUPER
Have I mentioned that Mario West is our game-changer? He is just that


SUMMARY
Nice overall game tonight. Not quite 40 total minutes of effort, but close. Defense was the difference and this was probably their best effort tonight considering the competition. Way to go team.


GO JACKETS!!!!!

Reggie Speaks

Watch Reggie Ball and hear his comments about his academic ineligibility. He thinks he should have gotten credit for a database management class in a group project that he didn't get credit for. He ended up with a "D" and he should have gotten a "B". Reggie is dropped as a student for at least a semester, like any other student, but he will re-enroll for the following semester. He said his first priority was getting his degree and he's not worried about missing the Gator Bowl - he has confidence in his teammates. His is appealing but it will not be heard until after the bowl game.


Overall, he seemed poised and said the right things. He didn't think it was that fair, but it's done and now he's dealing with it the best he can. He said his biggest regret was that he could have tried harder, could have done things differently than he did.


Interesting, he was making his statement to channel 2 at the home of "one of his advisors", a local lawyer. His girlfriend was with him............

Football - Reggie Ball

The AJC just came out with a story about Reggie's family issuing a statement later today detailing what happened. It says that Reggie's mother did not provide any further details. Actually, I believe she did, and a later story is probably going to contain details about an academic paper that was emailed by Reggie from the site of one of their away games - some kind of "mishap". Don't ask me why I think that. Just some internet magic.


Stay tuned.................. there are also some bad rumors about the possibility of an ineligible hoops player (and not necessarily the one you've read about on the discussion boards). If that's true, we're not going to like it.


More info - it looks like Lewis Clinch MIGHT be "ineligible" starting the next semester. However, there is no confirmation if this is an academic progress issue, or some type of internal discipline issue. The difference could be the difference between missing a few games and missing basically the rest of the season.......................... Could it be coincidence that D'Andre Bell has been moved back to the SG spot?............................. more later

Quotables

From Calvin Johnson, prior to Reggie Ball being ruled ineligible:

"We just need to hit the plays," Johnson said. "If we don't hit the big plays, our chances of winning are slim."

From Chan Gailey the same day:

"You don't want to go out there and take too many shots, because one of the keys to winning the game is keeping their offense off the field, controlling the ball a little bit," Tech coach Chan Gailey said. "You've got to take your shots, but at the same time you've got to think about ball control. You need to try to keep their offensive firepower sitting over there on the sideline."

Football Factoid

Interesting factoid:


West Virginia has played in the Gator Bowl 5 times, and lost all 5 times by an average score of 30-11. Guess who they lost to:


FSU twice
Clemson
North Carolina
Maryland


Are you seeing a pattern here? Let's not be the first ACC team that they conquer in Jax.

Quotables on CJ

From WV DC:

"They utilize their skill people on offense as well as anyone we've seen," WVU Defensive Coordinator Jeff Casteel said. "Choice averages almost 5 yards per carry. They do a nice job of mixing things up, moving people around.

"Johnson and the other Johnson are great receivers. Calvin is as good as his reviews. He's the best in the country.

"Since we've been here, we haven't played anybody who can do what he does. (Former Pitt star) Larry Fitzgerald was the closest, but Calvin is bigger, stronger, faster than Fitzgerald."

Chan Gailey - Mr. Nice Guy

Ran across this nice article about a reporter's interaction with Coach Gailey.

Gailey's accessibility also reflects poorly on coaches who often don't show that common courtesy. Included in that group is Gailey's Gator Bowl counterpart, West Virginia's Rich Rodriguez.

Some could say the next time Rodriguez returns a call will be the first time.

In that regard, Rodriguez could stand to learn a lesson from Gailey, apparently a humble man who takes the time and makes an effort to cooperate with media members even during one of his busiest times.

Football Recruiting

Scout.com is reporting that the Jackets have landed their first recruit from the class of 2008 - Wide Receiver Chris Jackson, from Henry County. He's a 6'1" 190lb junior with offers from Florida, Florida State, Notre Dame, South Carolina, Tennessee and Mississippi among others. He has speed in the 4.4 - 4.5 range, is a very good student and known as a high character kid. He started on his high school since his freshman year and played both sides of the ball as well as returning kicks and punts. For the season, he caught about 45 passes in 9 games, and had 7 INT's on defense. He's a hoops player as well by the way................... By the way, in case you are curious, he knows Kyle Jackson - as does everyone it seems. That guy is a maven.


One of his teammates, 6'5" sophomore QB Drew Little, is also interested in Tech, and is gaining interest in the south from some big name schools as well. He threw for about 1900 yards, setting a new Henry County mark - and he's only a sophomore. Keep that name in the back of your mind in future years.


Welcome aboard Chris!!!!

Football - Late to the Party

I know. I'm late in "reporting" that Reggie Ball and Kenny Scott have been ruled academically ineligible. I'm been working my fanny off since I have a REAL job, and this little site is just a little hobby of mine.


So with that, you want to know where my head is at on this? It is with Reggie Ball and Kenny Scott......... particularly Reggie. I really feel for that guy and I hope his head is in the right place. Let's remember what HE is going through - he just had the two worst games of his career at the most important time.................. He has the media and every website imaginable calling him the worst QB in college history.......................... He took his team to the ACC Championship game, yet nobody wants to give him an ounce of credit. They want to say we won despite Reggie ..................... Now he is ruled academically inelegible..................... Try and convince me that this isn't possibly the lowest point for Reggie Ball since arriving on campus in what is supposed to be our best season in awhile............. I can only hope and pray that his head is in the right place - that he is truly learning a life lesson, and not spiraling into some kind of depression.


This ending to Reggie and Kenny's careers is nothing short of tragic. Absolutely a sad footnote in these young men's lives and for all they have given to this school. So while 95% of you are either publicly or secretly jumping for joy that Reggie won't play, just remember the spirit of the STUDENT-Athlete. Just remember what that kid went through for 4 years in the public spotlight, all while trying to go to class at Tech. Anyone who's been there know's how tough it is if you're ONLY a student. Throw in public bashing and spotlight for 4 years. Wow. How many of you could handle that real well?............................... You know, after January 1, not hardly one of you will look back or ask about Reggie Ball - is he getting his degree, where will he go in life? You'll just focus on who next year's QB will be and the "next big thing".


Life lessons really stink. Tragic. Just tragic..........................

Football - Flip Flops

In case you haven't heard, Martin Frierson has moved from wide receiver to db and Brad Sellers from DE to TE. Remember Frierson is the guy who originally committed to Notre Dame but switched his verbal to the Jackets and came in the same time with Greg Smith. Interesting what it says about depth. We're likely to lose CJ, will lose X.McGuire and Chris Dunlap. Word is that Demaryius Thomas, who redshirted this season, has looked VERY impressive. Look for him to bring his 6'3" athleticism to the starting line-up next season along with James Johnson and Greg Smith.......................... For Sellers, there's just a stronger need at TE, as Colin Peek will be the only returning guy with game experience.

Football - WV Coach on 790

Haven't listened but here is Rich Rodriguez on 790thezone - click here.

Football - Kenny Scott out for bowl?

Some discussion board scuttlebut that Kenny Scott has been ruled academically ineligible for the Gator Bowl. Could there be a more disappointing ending to someone's collegiate career? Not sure we'll see any "official" word about this, but this is a head scratcher. Look, I know how difficult i was to get motivated to go to class when I could count the number of months left on one or two hands............ but come on.


Anyhow, this is an unconfirmed report, and even if true, we certainly don't know the whole story. More later........... maybe.........

Hoops - Jackets back to winning ways

.......... even if it is against cupcake city in Centenary. Jackets win by about 40 points (I think 92-52). Sorry about the sparse posting. Been a hectic week. I didn't listen to the game, but did look at the stat sheet. Good shooting offensively. Solid rebounding. Held opponent to a low shooting percentage. WAY too many turnovers again (20+).


For those of you who listened or attended the game, what are your thoughts? Is it possible to actually make any type of real judgement against a team like this? Hard to imagine, but at least they took care of business.

Football

Hoops - One-and-Done Article

A Washington Post article on the one year of college rule for elite hoops talent and the potential impact on the game. There are a bunch of Paul Hewitt quotes:

After Georgia Tech lost to Miami on Dec. 3, Hewitt watched a tape of the game and charted the number of times the Yellow Jackets passed the ball after Miami scored compared with the number after a Miami miss. The results shocked Javaris Crittenton, Hewitt's freshman point guard who also starts and averages 13.9 points. When the Hurricanes missed, Crittenton executed the offense with poise. When they scored, he rushed the ball back down court.

"He had this mentality of, 'I got to get back down the court and score as quickly as I can,' " Hewitt said. "If we're in a deficit for a longer period of time, it's like we get penalized or something."

Football - Attend Practice

If you want to check out the Jackets 1st bowl practice, you can - check it out.

Football - CJ and DB are AP All-Americans

Calvin Johnson was named AP 1st team all-american, and Durant Brooks was named 2nd team. Outstanding for both guys. They keep racking in honors and they are well deserved.


Here are all the Tech players that have been honored so far this season:

Calvin Johnson, WR
• Biletnikoff Award winner
• Consensus first-team All-America (AP, AFCA, WCF, FWAA)
• ACC Player of the Year, All-ACC first team
• Walter Camp Top 10 Player to Watch
• Semifinalist for Maxwell Award
• Mid-Season All-America (1st team) - SI.com
• Mid-Season All-America (1st team) - CFN
• No. 1, Mid-Season Hot 100 - ESPN.com

Philip Wheeler, LB
• All-America (2nd team, Rivals)
• All-ACC (2nd)
• Mid-Season All-America (1st team) - SI.com
• Mid-Season All-America (2nd team) - CFN
• No. 18, Mid-Season Hot 100 - ESPN.com
• Two-time ACC Defensive Lineman of the Week
• Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of Week

Durant Brooks, P
• Finalist for Ray Guy Award
• All-America (Walter Camp, 2nd team; AP, 2nd team)
• All-ACC (1st)
• Two-time ACC Specialist of the Week

Joe Anoai, DT
• All-ACC (1st)

Jamal Lewis, S
• All-ACC (1st)
• ACC Defensive Back of the Week

Tashard Choice, RB
• All-ACC (2nd)

Adamm Oliver, DE
• All-ACC (2nd)

KaMichael Hall, LB
• All-ACC (honorable mention)
• ACC Defensive Back of the Week

Andrew Gardner, T
• All-ACC (honorable mention)

Reggie Ball, QB
• All-ACC (honorable mention)  

Football - Wheeler Declaring for Draft?

Philip Wheeler is exploring his NFL draft options per Scout.com. He has sent in paperwork that allows underclassmen to get a 3rd party evaluation of where they would be drafted. He will probably get his answer back next week....................

Where are they now - Jarrett Jack

In case you missed it, Jarrett Jack is turning into a bonafied leader and a legit NBA point guard. Not that we didn't know it was going to happen. We all know. All you had to do was ask us. But now, with a healthy ankle for the first time in 2 years, Jarrett is showing why the Trailblazers made the right choice in making him their floor leader. While he's had some up-and-down games, check out some of his signature games in the past week (click for larger version)

He's still struggling with his 3pt shot, but he almost had a triple-double in the victory over Toronto, and they were without Zach Randolph (check out a nice Jarrett video on that game here). Check out the line on Dec 6 with 30pts, 10 assists and only 2 to's. He is really starting to exert himself and we all love to see it.


Let's remind some people as they watch Javaris Crittenton - Jarrett struggled running the Tech team. He turned the ball over............................ and so it shall be with JC.................... Coach Hewitt says that Javaris is the most talented PG he's had a GT. He's further ahead offensively than Jarrett at the same point in their careers and has the potential to be a defensive stopper as well. It's going to take time. Techies have been spoiled over the years with great PG's.


Great to see Jarrett having an impact:

Hoops - Great.....

Yyyeeaaaahhhhh................ooooooooooo....kkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk................ Sooooooo you're saying that you play for Miami U, you didn't even know the play, but you still spanked the Jackets. Nothing but slight eye-rolling going on in my living room as I read this:

Coral Gables · Miami freshman Dwayne Collins looked lost.


His team was trying to hold a lead against No. 21 Georgia Tech in its Atlantic Coast Conference opener on Dec. 3, but he didn't know the play. Collins wasn't at practice when the team installed a new offense the day before, so he improvised.

"I didn't know what I was doing. All I heard was they called `spread,' so obviously spread is going to be open. So I just ran to a corner," Collins said. "I just heard [UM coach Frank] Haith and them yelling, `Do something! Do something!' And I was like, `What do I do?'"

Collins, a 6-foot-8 power forward, may have been confused, but he still corralled an offensive rebound and dunked to put his team up 79-75 with 2:21 left. On the ensuing possession, he grabbed a defensive rebound, ran the floor and was fed by Anthony Harris for another dunk to seal the upset.

I guess at the end of the day, you either make plays or you don't. He did, even though he had no clue what he was supposed to do in the offense. I don't know if I should feel embarrassed or hopeful that our "lose" defenses and offenses can continue to succeed based on players making plays. After all, our 2004 national championship finalist team struggled during the ACC season at times, and got criticised for the lack of offensive production at times. Ultimately it was their defensive efforts and enough guys who could make plays when they were needed.......

Football - Tulane has a coach

Tulane has a new head coach, and it ain't Patrick Nix. Rejoice or jump off the bridge, whichever extreme you chose.

Calvin Johnson Accepts Award as Nation's #1 WR

Hooked on Football - Get the Patch

Trying to kick the smoking habit? Try the patch.............. Headed to Jacksonville for the Gator Bowl? You might want to consider the patch as well.

Hoops - Another Head Scratcher

So they Jackets continue their long losing streak on opponent's home floors by losing to Vandy today. I'm frustrated like you, and much of this is quite baffling. There is a lot of talent on this team, a lot of athleticism, but honestly, there is not a lot of cohesion and chemistry quite yet. The problems are primarily on defense.


Once again, winning or losing hinged on one thing - our opponent's ability to hit open shots. Make no mistake - our opponents are getting plenty of them. It's only a matter of if they are hitting. Vandy went on a hot streak early, building a lead. How? They hit a bunch of wide open shots. Then the Jackets battled back to actually take a small lead before the half. How? Primarily because Vandy started missing a bunch of wide open shots. In the 2nd half Vandy took the lead again for good. How? They started hitting their wide open shots again.


So what's happening here? Why the struggles? Here are my thoughts:


#1 - Inexperienced freshman.
Part of the problem is trying to get 3 guys fresh out of high school to play big-time collegiate level defense. There were something like 25 (not sure exactly) turnovers by the Jackets tonight, and the frosh had their fair share. This is always going to be an issue, particularly when one of those guys is running the point. But honestly this cannot be put at the feet of the frosh. They have a long way to go, but plenty of the upperclassmen share guilt here. However, note that Javaris Crittenton did not start tonight.


Now, to drive the point about experience home, take this recent quote from Jeremis Smith:

Jarrett Jack "could talk you into the right spot on defense," Isma'il Muhammad was "someone who could cover a man-and-a-half, two men," and 7-foot center Luke Schenscher could "block plenty of shots."

"I was in the middle of a lot of veterans, and all I had to do was guard a half-man and they'd guard everybody else," Smith said.

#2 - Communication
This team does not seem to do a great job at times talking to one another. They don't always communicate well. Two guys will pick up the same man, leaving a wide open guy who inevitably gets a wide open shot. Help defense is often late. A lot of guys running into one another or scrambling to pick up a man streaking free. Part of this comes with chemistry and work together and will take time.


#3 - Fundamentals
Hate to say it, but the defensive play seems to lack basic fundamentals. Move your feet. Careful on the overplay. Keep yourself between the defender and the basket. Help defense. Switch man with high picks. Hands up and out in the passing lanes. A lot of these types things come with coaching and repetition and they are not happening. Our guys get beat off the dribble a lot.


#4 - Protect the Ball
We give up a lot of possesions. A lot. tonight we had a ton of turnovers. A ton. A lot of them were not even forced by the defense. Just mishandling the ball on the dribble, poor passing. and lack of offensive half-court cohesion.


Coach Hewitt certainly has a task on his hands. He was correct in telling the media that they were wrong to put this team in the top 25. However, he has incredible talent on this team. He has athleticism. He has depth. He has a healthy rotation. He has a lot of things that have allowed him a pass on losing, but the deck seems to be in his favor this time. It's still incredibly early and too soon to start panicking at all. But honestly, I did not realize that we had not won a road game on an opponents home floor in two seasons (Feb 2005). That's amazing actually.


Coach Hewitt has shown his ability to have his teams ready to play in the post-season. However, he never got that chance last season, and believe it or not, fans are getting almost as uneasy with Coach Hewitt as they have with Coach Gailey. You can hear the cracks in the armor for some people. However, once again, let's not jump off the bridges quite yet. Have patience. Coach Hewitt is definitely the right guy for Georgia Tech. Just don't freak out. Coach preaches defense and most of that is focus, desire and intensity. If we can add communication and stronger fundamentals to the mix, we can put this thing together.


At the end of the day, elite teams win on the road. Coach Hewitt teams have always seemed to struggle with that (as most do in the ACC), but let's enjoy this ride and see where it takes us. Things are just getting started. There's a lot of ball to be played.


GO JACKETS!!!!

Football - Calvin Video

Calvin Johnson accepts his award as the nation's best wide receiver.

Hoops - Coach Hewitt Quotables

From Coach Hewitt on the Jacket offense:

"We went over this the other day," Hewitt said of his post-Miami review with the team. "When we made two passes or less (against Miami), we shoot 32 percent. When we make three passes or more, we shot 54 percent."

So how many passes does it take our opponents to score consistently?

Humor

Ok, this is serious - you can have your own Rashad McCants spoken word ringtones. Check it out......... That is just plain creepy if you ask me.


Now, having said that, if you could chose a spoken word ringtone, what would it be? Movie lines? TV shows.


Maybe from "Office Space"............ "uuuuummmm.............. yeeeeeaaaaaaaahhhhhh .............."
Or from"the Shining".............. "Heeerrreee's Johnny!!"
Or maybe "it's just a phone call dawg" (ok, not nice I know)


Thoughts?

Football Coaching Changes

Well, reports are the DC Randy Shannon has accepted the Miami head coaching job and that Tom O'Brien has accepted the NCST head job and that Rich Rodriguez of WV has been offered a big dollar deal to take over at Alabama. Interestingly, there's a report out there that Coach Rodriguez will NOT be in Jacksonville to coach his WV team against GT in the Gator Bowl..................... of course Tech fans have plenty of history that shows that it doesn't really matter if your coach.......... heck, it doesn't matter if half your team is missing (a la Fresno St).......... we better come to play. I seem to remember a certain Tech team winning a bowl game with a certain Coach McWhorter at the helm for his only head coaching stint and finished 1-0.

Hoops - Recruiting

Lance Storrs had a nice night in a nationally televised game (well as national as ESPNU can be). He scored a game high 20 points and led his team to victory on his future home floor, including a handful long range bombs.

Football - The Truth is Told

Calvin Johnson won the Biletnikoff Award tonight on ESPN, given to the best receiver in college football. Congrats CJ. When asked about getting the ball enough, he said he got it a lot more this season. He also corrected Chris Fowler, who commented on his 47" vertical, and he corrected that to 45".


CONGRATS!!!!!

Hoops Tonight

Forgot to mention - the games on ESPN tonight will be played at AMC, so get down there if you can. You will be watching the 3 best teams in the state along with the highest profile school in the nation (Oak Hill). Here's a little story from the USA Today and a pic of Gani Lawal:

Hoops - Thursday Night ESPN

Well worth tuning in to ESPN Thursday night for some high school hoops with some future Jackets and potential future Jackets:


6:30 p.m. – No. 24 Wheeler (0-0) vs. No. 15 Columbia (3-0) ESPNU (Lance Storrs commit)
9:00 p.m. – No. 1 Oak Hill (9-0) vs. No. 4 Norcross (3-0) ESPN2 (Howard Thompkins vs Gani Lawal & Al Farouq Aminu)


Storrs and Lawal will be coming in as frosh next season, and Aminu / Thompkins are top targets for the following season. Well worth checking out our possible future.

Football Recruiting

In case you are interested, Scout.com just released their updated team recruiting rankings. GT comes in at #4 in the nation..................... if you believe in that kind of stuff................ That ranking won't hold, because it takes into consideration the # of kids, but we will definitely have a top 15029 class by the time it's over - WAY better than we've seen. So if Coach Gailey and staff can turn some of the "worst" recruiting classes into the #1 in the ACC by their senior season (Per accsports.com), then imagine what they can do with a top ACC class from the beginning. The possibilities are nice to think about .................. With 18 verbals, there are 1 to 3 more potential spots left to fill. Stay tuned.

Football - Don't Jump................. please

Well, the lunatic fringe has been out in force the last two weeks. Somehow in the midst of a 9-win season and a trip to the best bowl game in the Gailey era - the Gator Bowl, the lunatic fringe is out there with an "I told you so" rap on why we should can Chan Gailey. Somehow this season has been dumped in "file 13" along with every other Gailey season. Somehow it is now hard for people to see the great progress that has been made. It never ceases to amaze me how the lunatic fringe can throw the baby out with the bathwater. This time it is also spurred on by the rags, as Mark Bradley of the AJC castrates our Coach in print, calling him "weak", among other things. Mark Bradley is paid to sell newspapers and somewhere along the way, dead-beat-writers realized that negative journalism is very good at feeding the fringe. It creates heat. Even if most people disagree with the opinions, it gets viewers. It sells papers. Oh, he knows he better do some puff pieces that also cater to the pro-Tech crowd, but he makes sure there are plenty of zingers in there as well.


Folks, this is definitely a tragedy. It is heart-breaking. However, the tragedy of this season is that it has ended like this - FOR THE PLAYERS!! They are the ones that worked their tails off for a title match. They are the ones who sweated in the weight rooms while the lunatic fringe was off on beach vacations and sitting on their veranda's. They are the ones who did the two-a-days, battled and studied and were good student-athletes, while the rest of the fringe was tearing people down on the internet.


If you have come to the conclusion that this was a terrible season and that you are pulling your support for the team, then YOU need to re-evaluate your priorities. YOU need to re-evaluate what gives you your personal identity. Bee frustrated at the past two weeks. Bee upset that we lost. Heck, question why we don't put in another QB. I agree with that thought. But don't EVER waiver in your support of Georgia Tech, the school, the team and the student-athletes that give EVERYTHING. Don't waiver. You either support Tech or you don't.......... And you know what - it's easy to support teams when they are winning. What's hard about that? Everybody loves a winner. You were puffing out your chests to your UGAg buds about their stuggles during the season in your workplaces and family reunions while Tech was winning a Coastal Division title. That was easy..............


............... then the adversity came.............. the tragic loss to UGAg in a season where fate says we should have won.... HAD to win............. then the loss to Wake in the ACCCG...........so where are you now?.......... were you embarrassed?............. did you lash out as a protection mechanism? ................. Have you waivered in your support of Georgia Tech?............ are you still a fan? Is your identity wrapped up in rooting for what Georgia Tech stands for as an institution or is your identity wrapped up in only winning football games?........


Personally, I'm heart-broken for the coaches and players how the season ended. They worked so hard, overcame so much adversity that it is truly remarkable what they accomplished. The Gator Bowl is an OUTSTANDING reward for an excellent season. Was it what they wanted? Was it what I wanted? No way........... but it was sure better than I expected in August. Here's the thing. The level of my heart-break was incredibly high at the end of the season, but only because the coaches and players allowed me to dream higher than I have been able to the past few seasons. They won games. They stopped losing games they shouldn't. That's why UGAg and WF hurt so much. We were so close. They took us further and that made us more vulnerable to heart-break.


So which way would you rather have it - struggling to accept another 7 win season, but not being so heart-broken about another loss to UGAg to end the season and going to another average bowl game................. or being INCREDIBLY heart-broken about losing to UGAg and losing the ACCCG because the promise had been built upon the blood, sweat and tears of every one of those guys wearing a Tech uniform? I'll take the promise. I'll take the chance at a greater fall. I'll take the risk. I think most would............... but if the fall comes, what is your reaction? Do you hold up YOUR team and say - you made us proud - now go out and whoop WV on New Year's Day............... or do you say, well, another crummy season and another waste......


There's an saying I've heard from some coaches -

"Football does not build character, it exposes it".

That goes for fans too. How you react to adversity as fans speaks volumes to coaches, players, player's families, recriuts and the general public. I was most proud of the display of the 5-fingers during the WF game as a tribute to J.Abbatte's little bro, even though big-bro was tearing us up on the field. It spoke volumes about Georgia Tech. It spoke volumes about what we stand for. Don't bee part of the lunatic fringe. Speak your mind. Have open and honest and clean debate. But please, oh please, don't let us become what Alabama has become. The fringe has taken over and they are a laughing stock. Luckily, the vast majority of Tech fans are what they should be........... but the lunatic fringe is like the squeeky wheel. We begin to believe that most people are like that because they dominate the message boards and get catered to by the rags.


I hate the way this season ended, but I love Georgia Tech, and that will never change.


Coach Gailey, you've done some very nice things with this team and with recruiting, and you've done some things that haven't quite worked like you thought. I suspect that you will continue to learn from the past, just like you have clearly shown, by changing your staff, changing your recruiting strategies and changing your offensive playcalling. It showed promise early in the season but didn't sustain. However, I am convinced, based on your past, that you will learn and adjust - JUST LIKE YOU SEEM TO KEEP DOING.................

Keep up the good work and get those boy's heads out of the dirt. For crying out loud, we're going to the Gator Bowl on New Year's Day to play one of the best offensive teams in the nation. What's not to love about that?


GO JACKETS!!!!!

Hoops - Jackets Drop ACC Opener

Well, I watched the game, but it was one of those decorate the X-mas tree while watching out of the corner of my eye - kind of things. The Jackets lose their ACC opener on the road to Miami 90-82. No time for a detailed write-up so I'll offer a couple of notes.


Two series of plays stood out for me - both at crunch time at the end of the half then at the end of the game. The first - a fast break towards the end of the half. Javaris is streaking out and gets a long pass to him. His eyes get wide as he goes to grab the ball, mis-handles it and the ball squirts towards OB. He runs for the ball, jumps in mid-air, looks for someone to pass to, but passes it to a Miami player who runs up court and they his a transition 3-pointer at the buzzer. That's a 5 point turnaround to end the half. That gave Miami a 39-37 lead.


The second series went like this - 2:32 on the clock. The Jackets down by 2 pts. Lewis Clinch drives right and dribbles the ball off his foot OB. It would be his only turnover of the night, but a critical one. Miami takes the ball down misses a layup but get a 2nd chance dunk. Javaris takes the ball down, meanders in the lane then throws up a brick mid-range shot that barely draws iron. Miami takes the miss goes downcourt and gets another dunk on a nice pass in the lane.


Game............... Set............... Match..


I have to give Miami credit. They hit tons of tough shots. They also hit tons of open shots. The D has a lot of work to do. this is not going to be an easy season for Jacket fans to watch. However, remember, the goal is to win enough games to make the dance and be playing our best ball in Feb / March.


GO JACKETS!!!

Football - GT to play West Virginia

Ok, if we thought we were in trouble against a strong running attack in Wake Forest, things just moved up another notch. We will be facing West Virginia in the Gator Bowl.


Sounds good.......... I guess............. if our guys can get their heads screwed on straight and come into the thing with the right attitude..................... oh yeah, that goes for the fans too.

It's Official - Gator Bowl Invites GT

It's official - Tech is invited to the Gator Bowl -

The Gator Bowl has invited Georgia Tech to play in the Jan. 1 game at Alltel Stadium against Texas, West Virginia or Louisville.

Gator Bowl chairman Scott Keith issued the invitation to Georgia Tech athletic director Dave Radakovich on the field moments after the Yellow Jackets lost the ACC championship game to Wake Forest 9-6 on Saturday.

Though ACC commissiomer John Swofford said the Gator Bowl was not obligated to invite Georgia Tech, bowl officials elected to bring the ACC title game loser back for the second consecutive year.

“Based on Georgia Tech’s strong support of the championship game, and the fact they were divisional champions, we felt they had earned a sport in our game,’’ said Gator Bowl chairman Scott Keith.

What's Buzzin'

Well, just got back from a party............................ . You know, I am still disappointed in today's performance, but got over today's loss a lot easier than last week. Why? Well, I didn't put my heart out there quite as far. I didn't let myself get too vulnerable after last week. So more than anything I'm just disappointed for the team. Honestly, I think the coaches mostly let them down this week. I'm still a Chan Gailey fan, but the offensive game-plan today was not a good one. That's two weeks in a row. You know, today, I don't even blame Reggie Ball that much. He didn't have a great day, but when he's constantly getting called to throw deep balls, what do you expect? The offense had no rythm today. None. It would be one thing if the run game was not working.................... but it was.................... it was................. Tashard Choice only carried the ball 21 times and he rushed for 100 yards. Instead of letting him be the base on the offense, we let our QB throw on 1st down. The offensive play-calling lacked diversity, lacked imagination and of course lacked execution. It was an all-or-nothing effort time after time after time after time. Personally, I put most of that on Patrick Nix and Chan Gailey. I was continually scratching my head on the play calling after the 1st quarter.


There's an AJC article that quotes Joe Anaoi after the game:

“I don’t forget anything,” said defensive tackle Joe Anoai. “Someday I’ll look back on this, and … it’s a lack of offensive production. The defense can’t do everything.”

I really HATE to see that type of quote. Why? Well, you know that that this has to have been a frustration of the defense on many occasions the last few seasons, and it certainly had to be last week in Athens. For your team captain to actually say that................. I think the team is at a new low right now in spirit, frustration, sadness and disappointment. They have to be lower than low.


I'll tell you this - Chan Gailey has a GIANT task at hand.............. the kids now have to go into finals, focus on school, then they have to get their heads back into football and in a positive direction. We all know that attitude going into your bowl game makes all the difference. It did last year in San Fran. It will again this year if Chan Gailey doesn't push the right buttons. He's got to play psychologist, motivational speaker, arbitrater, mind-reader, daddy and leader in the coming weeks.


It's going to be interesting to see how many Tech fans go to the bowl game. Reports are that the Gator Bowl will in fact re-invite Tech back again. However ACC commish John Swofford at halftime essentially said that the Gator Bowl would be allowed to pick someone else than GT. Guess we'll have to see............. Will fans support the team? Based on the internet boards, comments and stories, the early answer is questionable. I suspect once cooler heads prevail everything will be a little better.


I'll tell you this though - if Tech loses their bowl game it's going to be a LONG off-season................ really long............... excrutiatingly long.................


Again, for my moment of perspective, let's look at the big picture for a second. This team has won 9 games. We will be going to a New Year's Day bowl game. January 1............. If we were talking in August and we knew that we could have a 9 win season and a Jan 1 bowl, even the hardest cynics of the group would probably have said - at least it's in the right direction - I'll take it. The 9 wins are a step up. The team was on a mission this season - to win the ACC Championship, and they came darn close. They are the coastal division champions and the ACC runner-ups. That is nothing to be ashamed of and in no way can you say this has been a terrible season.


The way the season is ending is what really hurts the most. These last two weeks have just put a wet blanket on the whole thing and are hard to take. But let me tell you this - these weeks hurt more because they mattered more. Because this team did what they did all season, we were in a position to have our heart ripped out. That's a good thing. But when your heart does get ripped out........... it's the fans turn to show how THEY handle adversity. From what I see so far, I'm not too impressed. Buck up folks...................................

In Game Comments

Some in-game blogging for your pleasure:


1ST QUARTER
- Slight drizzle - raining. no problem
- 1st drive looked solid. Reggie playing with confidence
- Tashard and the O-Line either very good or very bad. Some BIG holes and some BIG walls. Wake will occcasionally shift their entire line prior to the snap and it seemed to confuse our guys a bit
- Obviously planning on getting CJ involved early. Catches 2 slot passes and gets a pass interference on a bomb
- James Johnson WIDE open on a bomb and Reggie overthrew him. Nice speed from JJ
- Can't punch it in from the redzone - settled for a FG
- Nice work from the D on WF's 1st drive - forced a punt
- Michael Johnson forces a fumble, although WF recovers
- Jackets force another punt.
- The WF line shift on D causes a false start on the Jackets. Still struggling with that
- Wow, we're not going to be shy about tossing it downfield - deep miss for CJ again, then a deep toss to James Johnson for another pass interference call.
- 2nd reverse for Calvin Johnson, this time on 3rd-and-1, for a loss of 10 yards. Folks - why do we keep doing this? CJ is so long he can't turn a corner. NOT a good play. But when you constantly get criticized for not getting the ball to 21, these are the type things that happen.
- End of the quarter - Wake had -6 yards rushing. That's a nice number


2ND QUARTER...... 3-0 Jackets
- Nice defensive stand again. We'll get the ball back on our own 31
- Tech's running game slowing down a bit. It looks like Wake has decided that they will try and stop the run. That means lots of passes for Reggie. Probably not a bad strategy from Grobe.
- You know, Reggie is shifty quick. He runs for a 1st down. He's got more speed than people (including myself) give him credit for.
- James Johnson drops another catch-able ball from Reggie.
- Going for it on 4th - whoops - INT from Reggie with a 31 yard return. Reggie follows his receiver with his eyes the entire time. Didn't read the coverage at all.
- You can see why Riley Skinner will be a QB............. well, he's already there.
- Kenncy Scott makes two GREAT plays on that drive.................... K-Hall got cold-cocked on a wicked block. Something tells me he's going to want some payback for that one.
- Wake misses the field goal............ still 3-0 Jackets
- Ok, do we actually know how to complete a pass from 5-20 yards out? Don't think so. It's either quick hit to a guy on the line or deep. Nothing in between. Come on.
- You know Reggie's not really looking that great. He knows how to toss it up and let someone else make a play. Time for #1 to start making a play.
- Michael Johnson forces a fumble after getting blocked but some reason Vance Walker couldn't drop on it. Ahhhhhh. Still Wake's ball
- Wakes goes for it on 4th and 1............... makes it by a nose
- Wakes 3 best running plays are with Moore in at QB on the sneak and Skinner out. Time for an adjustment JT.
- Terrible personal foul call on Kenny Scott. Result - now they're 1st and goal
- Nice stand by the Jackets - nice play by K-Scott to prevent the TD.
- Wake settles for a FG. We're even 3-3 folks.
- One minute in the half, we have the ball, and we're going to run the clock out. Frustrating. Why - well, when your QB ain't throwing a good ball you DON'T want to give it back to them. However, I have to tell you, I don't like it. That's playing NOT to lose, not playing TO WIN.
- Now Reggie Ball is hurt from the QB draw. Great............. or maybe GREAT!!! Maybe we'll see another QB? No way - you know Reggie will be back. Count on it.


3RD QUARTER 3-3
- Well, the little things are going to win this game, and Adamm Oliver just made a BIG one. Personal foul and instead of 4th and long, it's 1st down Wake. That hurts. That hurts. That hurts.............. well the defense holds anyhow.
- Well, Jackets go for it at the 10 yard line but come up short. Have to give them some props for trying, but honestly, it didn't look like a well organized play. A bit of choas in the huddle............. easy to look back now and say we should have taken 3 but oh well. But not a bad gamble. Bad Wake field position.
- NOTE to Patrick Nix - not exactly making a name for yourself calling plays today.
- I think it's about time to start letting Choice do his thing. Let's grand out a couple of TD's PN.
- 3rd and 3 - another deep ball - another pass interference - 3rd one of the game. 1st down.
- Did I just see what I saw? CJ dropped a ball? An easy one? He did. Not a good omen.
- Reggie continuing to look beat up
- Reggie has completed 7 passes - 6 to CJ. Of course CJ has had one drop and JJ one drop.
- Another abberation - a 3rd and long pass over the middle for Reggie Ball. See something new every week
- Going for it on 4th AGAIN. Had all day to throw and thres to the wrong guy. Going for it all again. Looks like Chan stopped playing to lose.
- ok, starting to get frustrated. The defense is absolutely keeping us in this thing and the offense cannot punch it through. We're gaining yardage, but it's haphazard and penalty aided. But nothing in the redzone. Let's go guys!!
- James Johnson gets led deep over the middle and gets crushed. Hanging throw. Poor JJ has taken some abuse the last two weeks............. and he looks hurt now.......... clock............... cleaned.
- Holy cow. We completed a deep pass to CJ


4TH QUARTER 3-3
- Ok, here's my hope - it's Choice time. It's time to let Tashard Choice ground out a victory. Reggie hasn't done it, but Tashard seems to be gaining consistent yardage. The guy has 20 carries for 100 yards - let's ride that horse.
- Ok - we got the FG - 6-3 Jackets. Smart move this time. HOWEVER, it's time for the defense to KEEP doing what they've done all game. DON'T LET UP!!!!!
- NICE STAND D!!!! They hold firm and force a Wake punt.
- Well another INT - a great adjustment in mid-air from CJ, but deflected and Wake INT. WHY DO WE KEEP GOING LONG!!!!! DO WE HAVE NO FAITH IN OUR ABILITY TO MOVE THE CHAINS!!!! COME ON!!!!
- Big 3rd and 10 and the D gives up a long pass for a 1st down. The D-Line even with the blitz couldn't get pressure - 39 yards later.............
- The defense holds, but Wake does get a field goal

Jackets 6 Wake Forest 6 - 9 minutes to go

- Please oh please give Tashard Choice a chance to win this thing. Please........... pretty.
- Nice pass to CJ, 1st down
- CJ now has 117 yards................ of course it's not over
- We just WON'T give the ball to Choice on 2nd down. Come on!!!!
- Man, there has been more psas interference in this game than I've seen in a long time - mostly by Wake.
- Jackets forced to punt. Great punt but goes into the endzone
- Oh man, the secondardy just gives up a HUGE play downfield. Guy was double covered but still beat both guys.
- Field Goal - Wake now leads 9-6.
- Here's the problem. We won't let Tashard win it, we'll let Reggie try not to lose it. I'm not feeling good about right now.
- Gee what a surprise - a long bomb to nobody
- What the heck kind of playcalling is this?
- Well, punting with 2:13 on the clock. Will we see the ball again?
- Does it matter?


Nope, it doesn't matter. The Jackets make it all the way to their goal and the offense just cannot do anything to win the game. It's going to be a tough month until bowl time.......................


TRY TO BE KIND IN YOUR FRUSTRATION. Don't put trash on the site. Show class please.


CONGRATS TO A GREAT TEAM in Wake Forest - Cinderella has arrived................ Congrats to Georgia Tech for another valliant that fell short. We know you'll be hurting more than any fan will be.


GO JACKETS!!!!!!!!

Wes Durham Interview

Click here to listen to an interview with Wes Durham on Rivals Radio......

Football Coaching Changes

Ok, something interesting rumblings on the coaching staff..


CHAN GAILEY TO 'BAMA?
Not going to happen per Chan Gailey


PATRICK NIX TO TULANE?
AJC confirmed the note I posted yesterday - he might be interested in the Tulane job, they might be interested in him, but nobody has contacted anyone.............. yet


CURTIS MODKINS TO NORTH TEXAS?
Footballscoop.com has him listed as a possible candidate for the head coaching job at North Texas.


JON TENUTA TO TEXAS?
Well, we dodged a bullet with the Michigan State head coaching job, but now there are rumors that Texas wants him as their new DC and are willing to pony up big bucks. I'll break out my thoughts on that later, but bottom-line - it's a higher profile job, but does it get him closer to that head coaching job he wants? Debatable. Very iffy. You can argue either way. I don't think it happens, as he's already one of the highest paid assistants in the nation (highest in the ACC), but Texas can go much deeper if they want.....


So what does all this mean? Well, you start winning and people think there must be a reason, and that usually starts with the coaching staff. If you're winning these things happen.


Now let's tie this in to a recent article................. Bill Curry is one of the most philosophical writers you will find in the sports media market. His articles on ESPN.com are just a joy to read. His latest is an article about how football programs are rewarded for making rational decisions around hiring and particularly firing coachings. As usual, much of the article is well-written, offers excellent perspective and makes many solid points.


Here's how it starts:

John Heisman was the head football coach at Georgia Tech from 1904 until 1919. He moved on to other coaching jobs, eventually landing at the Downtown Athletic Club in New York, where the Heisman Trophy was originated, then named after him upon his death. On Heisman's departure from Tech, Bill Alexander assumed command, and remained until 1944. Bobby Dodd, an Alexander assistant, became head coach in 1945. He remained head football coach until 1966, retiring after his last team played in the Orange Bowl.

Three head coaches in 63 years … three that established a program in which each won national titles, produced outstanding graduation rates, and during which all three earned membership in the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame.

CLICK HERE TO READ


Now, on this article I am a tad bit disappointed. He talks a lot about the Alabama job, but he doesn't relate any personal experience he had while he was there. It would have added to the text.


Lastly, he doesn't talk about the other side of the coin - coaches who taste a little success, but jump at the first chance at the "bigger" limelight. In fact, here's a perfect chance for him to talk about leaving FOR Alabama instead of trying to become one of the legacy of Heisman, Alexander and Dodd at Tech. Don't get me wrong. I don't hold any grudge for him leaving. He did what he thought was best. But he passed up a chance when nobody was running him out of town, and he didn't talk about it in the article. So where is the loyalty? Are all the situations above "rational". Should coaches have a responsibility to stay if the program wants them? Welcome to corporate America, where the "what have you done for me lately" crowd thrives.


I don't really have the right answers. I agree that the sports culture today is too impatient. We live in a world of open 24 /7, instant gratification, round-the-clock, overnight delivery, to-your-door convenience. We want it now, and too many of us aren't willing to invest in the "buy and hold" strategy. But the stock market proves a new generation of day-traders wrong all the time.


The fact is that a head coaching change sets a program back, particularly if it wasn't doing too badly. If Chan had not been given a contract extension and run off, I don't think we're playing for the ACC title. Just an opinion. Stability is of critical importance to success. Do you think it's any coincidence that the Tech recruiting efforts skyrocketed after Coach Gailey got his contract extension? It absolutely played a role! It is important to the kids. Stability is critical.


Now there is a balance. Another 3 years of Bill Lewis would not have benefitted Georgia Tech - and on that we can all agree. There's a reason that his name is typed as B***L**** on the bulletin boards. The answer lies in the direction of the program - which is NOT solely judged by wins and losses.


- Are you bringing in talented kids?
- Are you bringing in high character kids?
- Are you bringing in kids that can do the school work?
- Are you graduating those players?
- Are you developing the kids in football AND if life?
- Are you representing the program with honor?
- Are you a good spokesman for the program and school?
- Are you a leader?
- Are you team builder?
- Are you helping build a better infrastructure at your school?
- How do you deal with adversity?
- Do your teams have a heartbeat?
- Are your teams consistenty competitive?
- Oh yeah............. are you winning?


If a head coach is doing most of these things, then as an Athletic Director, I think you have to sometimes say - hey, the wins and losses will come. We are headed in the right direction, and we will not pander to the instant gratification crowd - the Taz's of the world. We will stay the course. Dave Braine did that with Coach Gailey and Coach has proven that it was the right choice. Oh, there are people on the fringe once again ready to jump off a bridge after a 6th consecutive loss to the mutts. There are people who NEVER liked Chan Gailey as our coach from day 1, and those people's minds won't be swayed no matter what. They are the stubborn few and usually the squeeky wheels.


Stability is important to a program. It's proven. It works............ well, unless you're Chuck Amato, but then there's an exception to every rule.

Stewart Mandel Makes Good?

"Varsity and 790 the Zone are hosting an event onFriday morning from 10am to 11am. They are giving away 600 hot dogs to the first 600 students who come by Varsity. 790 and Varsity are creating thisevent around a Sports Illustrated reporter who picked Chan Gailey as one ofthe worst coaches in the country for the past two years. The reporter is showing up and buying hotdogs to make good on a bet that Coach would not win the division. They plan to dress the reporter up in Tech gear and a wig and get photos of him eating his words, literally. First and foremost though, we'd like the student's support at the team sendoff Friday at 1:30pm. Just wanted to let you know!


This from Jennifer Pierce, Director of Promotions and Events for Georgia Tech athletics.


UPDATE: This the exact wording from D-Rad's latest issue of "The Sting"

On June 28, 2006, Stewart Mandel, a writer for , listed Georgia Tech's Head Football Chan Gailey, for the second year in a row, as one of the top three worst coaches in the NCAA, stating "If Tech wins its division, he's off the list and a round of hot dogs are on me."


This Friday, December 1 at 11:00 AM, Mandel will be on site at The Varsity's downtown location off of North Avenue, where the first 600 Tech Fans will receive a ticket for a free hot dog, courtesy of SI.com. Make sure to come and be a party of this celebration!

Football Notes

Calvin Johnson is your ACC Player of the Year (and offensive player of the year)............... Patrick Nix is being rumored for the Tulane job if you can believe that, and I'm hearing he might just be interested...............

Hoops - Jackets Win Their ACC / Big 10 Challenge

Well, they finally had one. They finally had their first test to see if this year's edition could finish a game with a lead. Tonight the answer was................... yes................ barely...................... but barely counts. The Jackets beats Penn State 77-73. They never actually trailed in the 2nd half, but it got within a point a couple of times. They held tough and converted down the stretch, even as Penn State kept making shot after shot. Nice effort, but still a lot to work on.............


DEFENSE........... D
What is this defense you speak of? Is this some kind of new concept? ............... Honestly, you can't really know how good the defense was without watching the film, but we know this much. Penn State shot 57% overall and 50% from long range. They had a ton of easy layups and a bunch of open 3pt shots............ and they didn't miss them. On the flip side, the Jackets had 15 steals. That's a lot, and Penn State turned the ball over 20 times. That's a lot........... and they converted those turnovers into 33 points. That was the game right there folks. The rest doesn't matter much. However, we better get better guarding guys off the dribble.


REBOUNDING.........C
Here are the rebounding efficiency stats for the night:


Rebounding Efficiency
Penn State.....OR 30.4%...... DR 56.5%...... Win
UCLA............. OR 40.6%..... DR 81.8%..... Loss
Memphis....... OR 67.6%..... DR 76.7%...... Win
Purdue...........OR 58.6%...... DR 79.5%..... Win
Ga St..............OR 37.5%....... DR 79.3%..... Win
Jackson St.....OR 52.4%....... DR 70.3%..... Win
Elon................OR 54.8%....... DR 73.7%...... Win



Remember OR% is the percent of the time the Jackets grabbed their own miss.............. DR% is the percent of the time the Jackets grabbed a Penn State miss. Not a super night overall. They were outrebounded overall, both on the offensive and defensive glass. The rebounding efficiency stats don't look great. Work to be done here folks.


OFFENSE.............. B+
Folks, offense is not a problem on this team. We can score inside. We can score outside. Is A-Mo cold? No problem - give it to Clinch. Clinch cold? No problem - give it to Thad. Thad cold? No problem, let Javaris do his thing. Shall I go on? The team shoots 55% tonight, including 42% from long range. We had 15 assists on 28 buckets, which is ok, and only turned the ball over 13 times. That's not too bad. Lewis Clinch led the way with 20 on 8-13 shooting. A-Mo is starting to get his stroke back, as he scored 15, including 4-8 from long range. All-in-all, 4 guys in double figures (JC / JS the others)


I take it back. There is a problem on offense - free throw shooting. That is why I couldn't give an "A" rating. 11-19 from the stripe tonight. Broken record......................


COACH HEWITT COMMENTS
Notes from Coach Hewitt's post-game comments
- Offensively we handled their zone fine (90% of the defense they played)
- Defensively we didn't play well, particularly off the dribble. They had a couple of pet plays they like to run, and we let them happen anyway and that gave them some early confidence.
- We were off track guarding the ball. We were getting lost off screens
- Lewis (Clinch) was great offensively tonight, but he'll be the first to tell you that he was one of the guys missing assignments, particularly a key one down the stretch that gave them a wide open 3.
- Mario West, if he's not on the team, we don't win against Memphis, and probably not again tonight. We don't need guys to do what he does, but we need to play within ourselves better.
- Zach Peacock did a great job all night guarding off the ball. (Coach has said that Zach might be our best off-the-ball defender recently)
- Coach also thought Javaris did a nice job off the ball defensively and he also like how JC talked to his teammates tonight.
- We have time to work on the defense for the opening ACC game Sunday against Miami, but we will get it back.
- Thaddeus Young should play Sunday. He sat tonight mostly for precautionary reasons. Coach felt the season was long enough that the extra rest to Sunday would do some good (code - this is going to possibly be a nagging thing all year). Said Thad was already feeling better today.


LEWIS CLINCH COMMENTS
Lewis was interviewed by Wes right after the Coach. Here were his comments
- Defensively, a few of us had breakdowns, starting with me
- We have plenty of guys who can score 20 any night. Defense is the key.
- He has no problem with all the subbing that Coach does because everyone on the team is confident in each person's skills and what they bring. Not a problem at all.
- 'Rio is a tremendous leader for the team. Said - "truthfully, most of us are probably on the team based on our offensive skills", but Rio sets the example defensively. He's going to dig deep to play D, dive under the scoring table, etc. He gets us going because we don't want him to show us up being the only guy making things happen.


SUMMARY
So there you have it. Coach Hewitt's keys to successful basketball are defense and rebounding, and we probably had our worst effort of the season with both (or close to it)............. and we still won................ Go figure...... A quality win that represents the ACC well as part of our continued dominance in the ACC/Big10 challenge. The team moves to 6-1 with some real quality games so far. You can see the potential. I keep saying that, because it's still potential. But it's there and it's exciting.....................


GO JACKETS!!!!!

Hoops - Don't Worry About the Polls

There seem to be a decent number of people upset over the fact that the Jackets went to Maui, made it to the championship game and dropped in the polls. We beat a good Purdue team, a top 15 Memphis team and lost to the new #1 team in the nation. In fact, the teams we played had a record of 6-0 against teams that WERE NOT Georgia Tech.


So how do we drop? I'll tell you how. Our team went to Maui, played three games, but only played two good halves. We played 2 terrible halves, two good ones and one mediocre one. We fell behind early in every game and were playing catch-up the whole time. There wasn't a complete game in the bunch. What does that tell the "experts" who vote?.......... inconsistency........... What does starting 3 freshman tell the experts?............... Inconsistency................. What happens when your head coach tells the media that your team is ranked too high to be in the top 20 (he did)? They start believing him.................. So it all makes sense to me, even though our team can hold our heads WAY high after that performance in Maui.


Now here's part II....................... the polls are meaningless.................... especially now................ I mean, really, are you telling me that this group of people really knows who the top 25 teams are right now? No way. The polls don't mean anything right now and they don't represent anything other than a media gimmick to generate discussion and interest and get people to watch TV and listen to the radio.


What matters is winning as many of these early games as possible before hitting the ACC schedule. What matters is our freshman learning the collegiate game. What matters is this squad developing that chemistry that will matter so much in the post-season.


Don't sweat the polls right now. In February maybe. In November...................... forget about it.


On a separate note, Thad Young will not play tonight as he battles tendonitis in his knee. Not good, as this is probably one of those things he'll battle all year........................ Also, Mouhammad Faye re-injured his wrist early in the game tonight. He's on the bench with ice on it now.

Football - All ACC Teams Announced

Congrats to the Jackets as they had a strong showing for the ALL ACC teams. There were a couple of surprises as well. Let's take a look at the list.

2006 ACSMA/AP All-ACC Football Team
(Total Points) -- 80 Total Ballots / Maximum 160 Points

OFFENSE	First Team	Second Team
Quarterback	Matt Ryan, Jr., Boston College (142)	Riley Skinner, Fr., Wake Forest (33)
Running Back	James Davis, So., Clemson (149)	Tashard Choice, Jr., Georgia Tech (103)
	Branden Ore, So., Virginia Tech (134)	C.J. Spiller, Fr., Clemson (58)
Wide Receiver	Calvin Johnson, Jr., Georgia Tech (160) #	Darrius Heyward-Bey, Fr., Maryland (46)
	Chansi Stuckey, Sr., Clemson (94)	Greg Carr, So., Florida State (38)
Tight End	Greg Olsen, Jr., Miami (112)	Anthony Hill, Jr., NC State (65)
Tackle	Steve Vallos, Sr., Wake Forest (150)	Duane Brown, Jr., Virginia Tech (58)
	Barry Richardson, Jr., Clemson (85)	Jim Marten, Sr., Boston College (49)
Guard	Josh Beekman, Sr., Boston College (142)	Leroy Harris, Sr., NC State (57)
	Nathan Bennett, Sr., Clemson (114)	Andrew Crummey, Jr., Maryland (42)
Center	Steve Justice, Jr., Wake Forest (113)	Dustin Fry, Sr., Clemson (96)
Honorable Mention (25 points or more)
QB - Reggie Ball, Sr., Georgia Tech (31); Sam Hollenbach, Sr., Maryland (29)
WR - Chris Davis, Sr., Florida State (36); Kevin Challenger, Jr., Boston College (35); Kevin Ogletree, So., Virginia (27)
TE - Joey Haynos, Jr., Maryland (31); Thomas Hunter, Sr., Clemson (26)
OT - Andrew Gardner, So., Georgia Tech (48); Stephon Heyer, Sr., Maryland (33)
OG - Branden Albert, So., Virginia (34); Cory Niblock, Sr., Florida State (34); Derrick Morse, Jr., Miami (31)
DEFENSE	First Team	Second Team
Defensive End	Gaines Adams, Sr., Clemson (157)	Chris Long, Jr., Virginia (55)
	Calais Campbell, So., Miami (105)	Adamm Oliver, Jr., Georgia Tech (34)
Defensive Tackle	Joe Anoai, Sr., Georgia Tech (108)	Kareem Brown, Sr., Miami (81)
	DeMarcus Tyler, Sr., NC State (98)	Andre Fluellen, Jr., Florida State (40) tie
		B.J. Raji, Jr., Boston College (40) tie
Linebacker	Vince Hall, Jr., Virginia Tech (113)	Philip Wheeler, Jr., Georgia Tech (86)
	Buster Davis, Sr., Florida State (102)	Erin Henderson, So., Maryland (64)
	Jon Abbate, Jr., Wake Forest (97)	Xavier Adibi, Jr., Virginia Tech (55)
Cornerback	John Talley, Sr., Duke (140)	Marcus Hamilton, Sr., Virginia (61)
	Brandon Flowers, So., Virginia Tech (88)	DeJuan Tribble, Jr., Boston College (59)
Safety	Josh Gattis, Sr., Wake Forest (149)	Kenny Phillips, So., Miami (49)
	Jamal Lewis, Jr., Georgia Tech (61)	Brandon Meriweather, Sr., Miami (48)
Honorable Mention (25 points or more)
DE - Baraka Atkins, Sr., Miami (27); Jyles Tucker, Sr., Wake Forest (26)
LB - Lawrence Timmons, Jr., Florida State (44); KaMichael Hall, Sr., Georgia Tech (27); Patrick Lowery, Sr., NC State (25)
CB - Josh Wilson, Sr., Maryland (35); Duane Coleman, Sr., Clemson (34)
S - Ryan Glasper, Sr., Boston College (38); Myron Rolle, Fr., Florida State (38); Patrick Ghee, Sr., Wake Forest (28)
SPECIAL TEAMS	First Team	Second Team
Placekicker	Sam Swank, So., Wake Forest (103)	Brandon Pace, Sr., Virginia Tech (87)
Punter	Durant Brooks, Jr., Georgia Tech (132)	Adam Podlesh, Sr., Maryland (60)
Specialist	Darrell Blackman, Jr., NC State (97)	Eddie Royal, Jr., Virginia Tech (57)
Honorable Mention (25 points or more)
PK - Dan Ennis, Sr., Maryland (34)
P - Sam Swank, So., Wake Forest (37)
# - Unanimous Selection

THE GOOD
-Calvin Johnson the only unanymous choice
-Andrew Gardner honorable mention - could have easily gotten 2nd team, but will certainly be there barring injury next season if he keep it up.
- Joe Anaoi 1st team. Well earned.
- Adamm Oliver - the "machine" - Great for him!
- Philip Wheeler - 2nd team - well deserved.......... but could have been 1st team easily.


THE BAD
-The ACC's leading rusher was relagated to 2nd team (Tashard Choice), while the early season favorite (James Davis) and VT's Brandon Ore rode early season performances but both faded down the stretch. Bottom-line - Tashard was cash-money when it was time to cash-in. He deserves 1st team flat out. I guess "what have you done for me lately" really doesn't apply for sportswriters. I also guess it doesn't matter that he is leading the league in total yards, yards/game, yards/game ACC, you name it. Terrible "Choice".
- Kenny Scott - NOT ON THE LIST!! Are you kidding me? Tell me there is some kind of paperwork mix-up here? That is a complete joke. I guess the fact that when nobody throws the ball your way there are not a lot of stats to look at.
- KaMichael Hall honorable mention. Sorry, he's no worse than 2nd team.


THE SURPRISES
- Jamal Lewis 1st team!!!! WOW! Didn't quite see that coming. Note sure he was the best safety this season, but kudos to JL............. However, is it just me, or does it seem like they might have gotten Lewis and Kenny Scott mixed up on the ballot?
- Reggie Ball honorable mention. I guess this is the "we have to pick someone" slot. Just not a lot of good QB's in this league. But hey, he's been at the healm for a 9-win season. He deserves some measure of credit for that.
- I'm happy for WF's Riley Skinner getting 2nd team. Think about this - his school didn't even submit his name for consideration. He got 2nd team based on write-in votes. Good for him. It should be a close race for ROY with him and Spiller.


Look for Calvin Johnson to win ACC Offensive Player of the Year and the front-runner to win overall POY................. Look for Jim Grobe as COY............................ Look for Gaines Adams as Defensive POY........................ Looks for Rookie to go to Spiller or Skinner. I'm going to guess Spiller gets the nod.