Ramblin' Wreck Roundtable - Round 2

Time for another installment of the RamblinWreck Roundtable. Here are this week's questions with my thoughts, along with links to the thoughts of other GT bloggers:

Ramblin' Racket

GT Sports Blog

What's the Good Word?

YellowBlazer's World

1. A group of playoff proponents have a questionable theory on how to break out of the bowl system and get a D-1A playoff: http://www.boycotttherosebowl.com/">Boycott the Rose Bowl. What's your take on the never-ending playoff vs. bowls debate?

Follow the money. Don't believe anyone who says that there will be less money with a playoff. The issue is not how much money - just who gets to pocket it. The redistribution of income that comes from moving to a playoff system is the core issue that prevents it from happening. The fact that Notre Dame has a special clause that gets them into the BCS every year when they have yet to deserve it just re-affirms - follow the money.

From a pure viewpoint of the good of the game, here's what a playoff does - it makes it very clear who the champion really is. However, it also works to lessen every other team's perceived notion of how their season ended. In the hoops tourney, there is only 1 team that truly walks away elated. There are probably another 5-10 that walk away satisfied and many of the others head into the off-season disappointed. With a bowl system the general rule is - you're pretty happy to be invited to one, and you win your bowl, you go into the off-season with good feelings and hope. Getting an invite to the field of 64 in hoops is never enough for most teams, and a first round win is still incredibly disappointing with a 2nd round loss.

So what would I do? I'd have a playoff in football with the best 8 teams. If Notre Dame is one of them - fine. But kill their special contract. They don't deserve it

2. What change to our football personnel makes you happier this year: Taylor Bennett at quarterback, or John Bond as offensive coordinator?

I'm excited about both, but I have to give the nod to John Bond. I tend to be more critical of people who work ON the system as opposed to those who work IN the system. In my mind, John Bond is an upgrade in leadership, experience and hopefully playcalling. This is to take nothing away from Patrick Nix. It was clear that our offense was better with him running it than with Coach Gailey calling the plays........... but it still had so much more potential. I like the fact that Bond is a bit more in your face with his players....... that he's a hands on guy who gets on the field and works extra with our guys on technique. I enjoyed his recent appearance on "Georgia Tech Sports Today". He was humble, well spoken, and highly positive about his joining the program. Let's hope everything we have seen so far translates to results on Saturdays.

In terms of Taylor, I am thrilled that he's getting his chance this season. He's been a great guy to have in the program and I truly want to see him blossom. The abilities he brings to the field will result in a completely restructured passing game, including the use of the entire field and a wider array of players. I can't wait.

3. Last weekend, Steve Spurrier http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2837735">spoke out against South Carolina's practice of flying the Confederate flag over the state capitol. Should football coaches get political like that, or just stick to coaching?

Personally, I would stick to what you do best, which also means if I were Steve Spurrier I would also avoid talking about pro football.........................

4. There are always rumors at Georgia Tech of expanding our varsity athletics programs. What programs would you like to see added next? One for men, one for women.

I think I'd vote for a ladies golf team and a men's lacrosse team.


5. The matchups were just announced for the 9th annual ACC/Big Ten Challenge in basketball, and GT plays at Indiana (the teams' first meeting since 1969). In the history of the challenge, the ACC has won 48 out of 75 games, and has "won" every year. Is this a tradition you care about, or would you rather see something started with another conference, e.g. an ACC/SEC Challenge or ACC/Big East Challenge?

I care about it primarily because it tends to result in nice recruiting exposure for the ACC and it allows us to play a quality team early in the season. In terms of consumer interest, I think an ACC/SEC Challenge would garner a LOT more attention and interest, particularly in the southeast. The Big East could become the expansion grudge match, but then we'd have to bring in 52 more teams to match up with the number of teams in that conference..

6. Lightning Round!! Other Conferences Edition!! (Cue "The Matrix" fight music) Name the first thing that comes to mind:

Big East: Potential hoops powerhouse......... some serious contemplation about what they are going to do about football.

SEC: Fat, dumb and happy about it.

Big Ten: uuuuuhhhhh, you mean eleven?

Pac-10: (Cue the Beach Boys)....I wish they all could be...... California girls........

Big XII: At least they can count.

Sun Belt: .... uuuhhhh........................ crickets...................... chirping........................

Ramblin Wreck Roundtable - Round 1

The GT Blogger's "network" has banded together to bring you a new feature - the Roundtable. Fellow blogger over at Ramblin Racket came up with the idea after seeing some other college bloggers do it.


Basically, we develop a list of questions that each of us answers on our Blog at the same time. You get to go around and check out everyone's answers to the same questions. Once all the Blogs have posted their answers, I will post the links here.




Round 1 - Other Opinions (more to be linked as the are posted)
What's the Good Word
YellowBlazer's World
Ramblin Racket
Plez's World


So without further wait, here are my thoughts on round 1


1. (Single obligatory basketball question) What do you make of the ACC's postseason in basketball? Was the conference overrated, or did the teams just get unlucky draws in the tourney?
Unlucky draws - no way......... To be the best you must beat the best. That's how it is when you play with the big boys. The ACC just flat flopped in the big dance. But the disease spread to the women's side where UNC did a double/double on choke jobs with big leads, Duke ladies disappeared and even Maryland, the defending NC, bowed out. But hey, how can you criticize the only ACC team (UNC) that made a decent showing. The bottom line is that the ACC men's side was a league full of very good teams from top-to-bottom. Great? Not really. Just really good teams. Tons of youth came to haunt teams like Duke, GT and ultimately UNC. If there is no mass exodus of underage talent to the NBA (Young, Crittenton, Wright, Hansbrough, McRoberts - gone, Ellington, Costner, etc) then you're looking at a stronger league next season................... Hey, thank goodness for Clemson. They came oh so close to winning the NIT and being declared the 66th best team in the country.


2. On to football! Where will Georgia Tech be ranked in the preseason polls, and where do you think the Jackets should be ranked?
My guess is that the Jackets will be all over the board in terms of pre-season expectations. I think most polls will have us in the 20-40 range, and honestly, we probably belong somewhere around 25-30 in my mind. The defending Coastal Champs. Returning boatloads of starters. We'll get some decent consideration as we should. But let's earn it on the field.


3. All due credit to Tech's 2006 squad, but we benefited from Miami and other teams' lackluster seasons. Will the big-reputation programs like FSU and Miami be back in 2007?
Hey - the big boys don't stay down for long. I fully expect those teams to rebound. However, don't assume that their fall-off in recent seasons is ALL due to their own issues. Bottom-line is that other teams are just better. The Jackets were at their best last season with Coach Gailey's first real roster of his own guys. BC was good. Clemson is good. VT is good. Maryland will be stronger. UVA will be better. NCST will be better without the Chest. UNC will improve eventually with their new coach. Heck, Duke is like a live grenade rolling around on the floor - it's gonna go off on someone and you just hope it's not you. Hot potato folks.................. So yes, the big boys will be stronger, but so will a lot of other teams. It's just who's getting better faster.


4. Our out-of-conference schedule is exciting, with Notre Dame and Georgia bookending the season, and while Army is a cupcake, playing a military academy is kinda cool in my book. Which game are you more stoked about between ND and UGA? Also, what ACC games are you most excited about?
Tell you what - these are probably the two teams I hate the most in the entire country. So getting "stoked" for them is a weird emotion for me. My enjoyment of beating of them is far exceeded by my hatred for losing to them. Losing umpteen years in a row to UGAg is beyond frustrating at this point. Let's put it this way. I would enjoy beating Notre Dame more.......... and I would hate losing to UGAg more. Make sense?..................... In terms of ACC games. I attended the Clemson game last season and I want some serious revenge. Considering I live in Clemson territory, I think you can understand.


5. Lighting Round! (Cue "Eye of the Tiger") Name the first thing that comes to mind, as fast as you can:

Calvin Johnson: Leapard-gazelle-mutant-nobel-prize-winning, robotic, humanitarian, bionic, freakazoid..................... and a nice guy.

Tailgate Food: Ribs. Large, drippy, saucy racks of ribs.

Beesball: Hot dogs, CrackerJacks (ok, so my mind didn't get off the food thing)

Taylor Bennett: Southpaw Howdy-Doody. (Sorry TB, it said the first thing)


6. How do you deal with the football offseason? Prayer? Hibernation? Blogging?
I completely absorb myself in my kids, my wife, my work and my oh yes - the Blog.