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Well, who'd a thunk it? The Jackets win a nail-biter, 10-7, against arguably the worst team on their schedule, 1-AA Gardner-Webb. I don't have time for an in-depth breakdown, but here's what we know.
O-LINE HORRIFIC
The offensive line did not block anyone today. I'm not so sure anyone else did either. Paul Johnson basically said that after the game. Any blame on the offense starts in the trenches. These guys were terrible today.
OFFENSE IS OFFENSIVE
There's a reason Nesbitt is #1 and Shaw is #2. They can run the system. Calvin Booker, bless his heart, did his best as the starter, but he just looks slow as molasses running the triple option. Plays just develop so slowly. Combine that with a swiss cheese O-Line and it makes for a long day. Calvin had a poor day throwing the ball as well, except for a short screen pass on a scramble to Jonathan Dwyer who managed to take it to the house for a 79 yard TD. Bryce Dykes gave it a shot as well, but it just wasn't happening.
The Jackets rushed for 79 yards today. That's amazing considering what they've done to much better defenses. Amazing.
DEFENSE KEEPS US IN IT
The defense played a solid game today by holding the opposition to 7 points. Had Michael Johnson not gotten called for an illegal jump on a field goal, they would have gotten shutout #2 in a row. The front four were great today, wreaking havoc with multiple sacks and tackles-for-a-loss. Derrick Morgan saved the day with by tipping a potential game-tying field with 3 seconds on the clock. Crazy that it came to that.
INJURY REPORT
The most concerning issue was Sedric Griffin, who evidently had some type of seizure on the sideline. No report yet on this condition. However, just today the Macon Telegraph did a nice story on Sedric detailing a medical condition he's had since his youth.
Aside from that there were some guys that got banged up like Dwyer and Bowen.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
Well, there are more questions that answers right now. For me, today was less about execution and more about mental preparation. Gardner-Webb has a very respectable run defense, but their team is full of guys who would never had made our roster. They were better prepared, more focused, communicated better and executed. Those guys played their hearts out and deserved to win the game.
The Jackets clearly were not focused properly on the Bulldogs, and they almost let this one slip away. It seems to me they took these guys lightly. So what are the questions we are left contemplating?
1. Can this staff keep these kids focused on the task at hand?
2. Is the overabundance of youth on this team showing?
3. Are we truly that close to the edge of the season going the other way?
4. Is this system really THAT reliable on an effective system QB?
5. Where are we headed from here?
Bottom-line is that our expectations just got ratcheted down today. We have all been "drinking the Kool-aid" about this offense as we've watched the team rack up big plays and big numbers. If we can almost lose to a team like Gardner-Webb, then nothing's off the table. Clemson could very well run us out of Death Valley next week with their new QB change and about time for the Bowden turnaround story that repeats every year. Anything can happen.
Georgia Tech won today, but it doesn't feel like and it shouldn't. It should be treated as a loss by coaches and players. I have no doubt that nobody will be harder on the coaching staff that the coaching staff. Nobody will be harder on the players than the players.............. and maybe the coaching staff. Nobody will be as upset as Paul Johnson. Johnson apologized to the fans in his post-game press conference.
"It was a comedy of errors, really. It looked like a poorly prepared, poorly coached football team out there." - Paul Johnson
To show you how whacky the world of college football is sometimes, Mississippi State beat undefeated Vanderbilt today and mighty Michigan got beaten by 2-4 Toledo in the Big House (with their new coach). Take nothing for granted people.
The ugly stats:
| Team Statistics | ||
| Runnin' Bulldogs | Yellow Jackets | |
| First Downs | 14 | 9 |
| Passing | 11 | 3 |
| Rushing | 2 | 5 |
| Penalty | 1 | 1 |
| Third Down Efficiency | 5-18 | 5-15 |
| Fourth Down Efficiency | 0-1 | 1-2 |
| TOTAL NET YARDS | 226 | 199 |
| Total Plays | 69 | 58 |
| Average Gain Per Play | 3.3 | 3.4 |
| NET YARDS RUSHING | 72 | 79 |
| Rushes | 45 | 47 |
| Average Per Rush | 1.6 | 1.7 |
| NET YARDS PASSING | 154 | 120 |
| Completions-Attempts | 14-24 | 3-11 |
| Yards Per Pass Play | 6.4 | 10.9 |
| Times Sacked | 7 | 3 |
| Yards Lost to Sacks | 51 | 14 |
| Had Intercepted | 1 | 1 |
| PUNTS | 10 | 7 |
| Average Punt | 45.6 | 47.0 |
| PENALTIES | 6 | 6 |
| Penalty Yards | 50 | 48 |
| FUMBLES | 1 | 3 |
| Fumbles Lost | 0 | 2 |
22 comments:
GT has been playing better than expected all year, a disappointing game was bound to happen when 75% of the players are sophomores and juniors, a new system is being learned, and hype is building. It was ugly, but it was a win. We didn't risk injury to our QBs in a game that a) wasn't a conference game and b) doesn't count toward bowl eligibility. 58-0 or 10-7, it still counts the same. You could feel this one coming I think... all the hype about going into Clemson 5-1 before the Duke, GW games were in the books. I think this was a classic case of looking ahead.
I have been watching Paul Johnson coach for years and have rarely seen one of his teams play ANYONE unprepared. He could talk you into thinking Duquesne/Sacred Heart was the Super Bowl. I think the players focused more on Duke and thought this game was a gimme... you tend to tune your coach out sometimes when you're playing well, I think.
Maybe this will end up a good thing, get the heads cleared and focused before the rest of the season and the meat of the schedule come up. Or maybe we lose out.
But for now, pass me another cup of the kool-aid man. I wanna ride the bandwagon as far as it will go! If you spike it, maybe we can forget this game ever happened.
2 Bulldogs down, 1 more to go!
Go Jackets!!!
On the positive side, hats off to Scott Blair today with great punting at the right times and making the field goal that turned out to be the difference. Also let's give credit Gardner Webb for playing about as well as possible with a backup quarterback and showing up our fans with a very loud, if small group in the corner.
i think this was a blessing in disguise.
had we won big as many projected we would have been a team full of ourselves.
now we go into clemson feeling almost as bad as clemson does. there will be TWO teams with something to prove saturday.
one thing i noticed during the penn state game. they were talking about penn state losing 6 players this season. they went on to say that nobody recovers from that.
well im here to tell ya.... we are minus at least that many players due to chan-grade-gate-probation. add a few transfers and season ending injuries and i do believe we have it worse than penn state by far.
poor poor penn state.
Being humbled once in awhile is always a good thing. At least that humbling wasn't a L.
Dawgman1,
Such insightful commentary. You should post more often. In fact, you should have your own blog just for your in-depth words. In the meantime though, you should probably get back to fixing hot dogs at the Varsity. Say it with me slowly - "What da ya have?"
Hey DawgMan1,
If you want to talk about the "ripping of a new anal cavity", how does 31-0 sound at home, at night, with the "blackout", on national television. Like the announcer for that game said: "this isnt a blackout, this is a public mauling"
Ahh, leave it to the Dawg Nation to boast and brag. I won't deny that after 30 straight years of better recruiting, your team will be favored. What does your coach make again?...like 3 times what our coach makes? Yeah, you guys have all the advantages. Yet, if memory serves, we have won at least a share of a NC ten years since the last time you did. Odd...underachiever! Let's go Jackets, shock the world...we were projected to do NOTHING this year...so we are already over-achieving...let's see if we can't give the new UGA a big sting on the nose!
THWG!!
hey scott saying that calvin 'scrambled' is kind.
he is toooo slow to scramble. saying he lumbers would be more appropriate. i do believe that godsey would run circles around him.... leg brace and all.
one thing a guy on stingtalk pointed out that rings true.
calvin is so slow that he effectively eliminated 2 out of the 3 options that the triple option allows for.
And as cpj said... you need a stong d for the days that your o is not able to do the job.
well yesterday was one of them.
hey dawgman1 .... your sec is being exposed as being very top heavy.
bama fla an uga are the only decent teams you have. AND none of them are nc material.
gtpi
hey dawgman....
gay men can't get pregmant so you goats must be using that sperm for something else eh?
does richt use a glove when he milks the team or does he collect it using a different method?
speaking of goats.... shouldnt your nic really be goatman1?
go bahhhhhhhhh to your own board. go bahhhhhhhck.
The funny thing is ugag didn't exactly destroy Tennessee--who is AWFUL this year--if they had any kind of offense they would have taken it to georgia. I'm looking forward to the ugag-lsu beatdown where the tigers rip out their anal cavity and deposit a few of their own cc's.
Where's your mortgage business?-I do need a loan actually--and I'll buy you lunch--I'll lay odds 100-1 though that you are either an admin. assistant there or are a realtor--either way seriously doubt you own a business with that kind of talk--also your job BLOWS in this economy. Tell your wife she can hook up with me and I'll tip her well to help out the family.
C'mon guys don't let a Dawg sidetrack us. Neither the Dawgs nor the Jackets are worrying about 11/29 right now.
My dissapointment in the team revolves around the fact that they should have had enough tools to pick up their Sr. QB Booker. Everyone knows why he is a 3rd string QB, but they *should* have had the fire in the belly in this game just to give him a great day that he could remember forever as thanks for all he has given to the good of the program.
CPJ said afterward that they were still searching for a leader on offense, and frankly it isn't Dwyer just yet. He is clearly not yet mature enough. My brother was at the game and said that more than once he saw Dwyer walk off the field and slowly up the sideline back to the team looking dejected after having been down the field on a play that took place away from him.
This game shows the youth of the team completely.
I tell you what has me worried is that once again we will be going up against a team that was struggling and made the decision to switch to a new young running QB just for us! This Clemson game is looking like VT all over again and that is cause for concern.
Also, what does it say that Nesbitt dressed and was right there on the sideline by coach the entire game but was never put in at all? This year GT is just too thin to handle losing him.
The future looks bright though despite this dissapointment and it will either be a harbinger of a poor 2nd half or a wake-up call for a 2nd half drive to have a really good season. We will know in a few weeks looking back.
My Dear Anonymous 12:59 PM
When we see men of worth, we should think of equaling them;
when we see men of a contrary character, we should turn inwards
and examine ourselves.
The superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions.
And finally, he who speaks without modesty will find it difficult to make his words good.
Your servant,
Dr. Ming
I don't know about the rest of you, but I think DawgMan1 may have a few loose screws upstairs. Seriously!
Speaking truthfully though, he does represent about 1/2 the "Bulldog Nation" when it comes to mentality and language or lack thereof. They seem to find it hard to string a sentence together without having to interject somthing foul or lewd. I know from experience, I'm around them all the time.
Yellow Jacket in Athens
PS: Way to go Falcons and Matt Ryan!
We all knew this could be a very difficult season, with a new coach and the lack of upper classmen. BUT most of us have been pleasantly surprised with the results so far. I knew CPJ was a great coach, and this little blip is not going to change my mind. The way he immediately took responsibility was refreshing and straight-shooting.
I think this weekend our team will play with a chip on their shoulder, and that is a good thing. Unfortunately, the O-Line is really not very good, and CPJ will have to use some ingenuity to move the ball against the CU defense. If Josh and Jon are both healthy, I like our chances.
I believe the upside chances are still 11-1, but I am a realist that thinks that 9-3 maybe more likely. This is a very young team, with a very questionable O-Line. The D-Line cannot win all of the remaining games, so the offense is going to have to step it up.
Go Jackets!!
I agree with post above that 9-3 is most realistic to aim for, but wow just think of that! We only had 9 wins once with Gailey and CPJ has a real shot at equalling that in first year with a very young team with not much depth (result of previous regime) and after installing an entirely new offense and defensive schemes. Really everyone this year *could* still be just amazing.
And he is doing this with an inherited offensive line clearly ill-prepared for his offense, when he recruits into it look out!
Which brings me to my point. I want to thank Scott for this blog and all the regular commenters here for keeping this a great site. I tried reading comments left today on the AJC and they were horrible. And I am not talking about the back and forth stupidity btwn GT and UGA fans. I am talking about posts by people claiming to be Tech fans who completely were ragging on CPJ, his offense, and the team. It was unreal. You would think we were Clemson this year? That game was totally dissapointing but lord, it isn't anywhere on the magnitude of the dissapointment that a Clemson fan is feeling right now. I think that is more Gailey hangover and those fair weather fans need to get over themselves.
From ANON 1259 pm--
VERY good teachings--but please give credit to the source of them before putting your name after them. That is all.
Confucius also say that man who leap off cliff, jumps to conclusion. It take many nails to build crib but one screw to fill it.
Yes Anonymous,
But Gypsies do not have babies for Gypsies have crystal balls,
Hard to fill the crib up if a Gypsy.
Rufus
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