Game Thread: Georgia Tech vs Virginia Tech

[Ironbreaker]

Was a good game. I knew the rumor of VTs demise was premature. They look good to me!

...the only thing wrong with VT is their hokie stone helmets...

 

[geneh_33]

Was a good game. I knew the rumor of VTs demise was premature. They look good to me!

...the only thing wrong with VT is their hokie stone helmets...

Agree. It is wrong to judge them on the Bama game, I think. Bama will most likely steamroll everybody this year. Next year will be telling for Bama when they lose McCarron.

 

[757Hokie83]

VT rush defense making me feel a little better about Alabama rushing.

like I told you (or maybe another gump), at least you guys can breath a little knowing you've already played against the toughest D you'll see all season

 

[OregonDucks]

Johnson is horrible. He is playing a style of offense that is so ancient, im surprised they even can get commits. Really. GT needs an entire overhaul, is their outfitter really Russell!?!??!?

team up with a real company, get new uniforms that actually have matching same colors on them, get a new coach that is up with the times. GT is located in Atlanta and plays in the ACC.............Should be a GOLD MINE of a program.

 

[757Hokie83]

Johnson is horrible. He is playing a style of offense that is so ancient, im surprised they even can get commits. Really. GT needs an entire overhaul, is their outfitter really Russell!?!??!?

team up with a real company, get new uniforms that actually have matching same colors on them, get a new coach that is up with the times. GT is located in Atlanta and plays in the ACC.............Should be a GOLD MINE of a program.

the main question I always have re: their recruiting is how in the world they ever get QB's or WR's to come there in this system

 

[OregonDucks]

the main question I always have re: their recruiting is how in the world they ever get QB's or WR's to come there in this system

it's a good question. what purpose does that system give to a WR or QB? The system is so ancient. Unless they recruit WR and convert them to QB? since there is no reason to throw the football?

Again, what about this system is appealing to an AD? Did anyone see the stadium 5 minutes before kickoff? Seats empty everywhere! If you get down by 2 scores with this style of play, you're toast. It only works if you get the stud players needed, and stud players aren't playing 90s football anymore.

 

[Sox33OSU]

That QB that plays for GT blows. Just saw the replay right now on ESPNU. That kid should not be allowed to pass or take snaps.

 

[amszete]

Noticed a lot of helmet talk so here's a link that explains the hokie stone helmets:

Here?s Why Virginia Tech?s ?Hokie Stone? Helmets Have The Number 430 On The Back | College Spun ? Social. Local. Consumable. College Sports.


Summary for those too lazy to click:

-Hokie Stone is local rock used in just about every building on campus

-The logo on the side of the helmets represents our War Memorial (we have cadets if you didn't know), which is located on the drill field of our campus

-The 430 on the back of the helmet is to honor alumni who have been killed while in service to this country.

That's a good write up. I missed the first few minutes of the game - did the announcers even go over those points before the game started or something. With all of the questions, it doesn't look like it.

 

[Jakology]

That was hard to watch...I've always been on the option bandwagon and loved the offense, but things really do need to change. If you have to wonder how much your offense can really do when you're behind, something's wrong.

 

[rolltide14_0]

Don't feel as bad about our offense performing poorly against that defense. New OL vs that front...I say we did good to grab 14..lol.

 

[xpuctaqpGT]

the main question I always have re: their recruiting is how in the world they ever get QB's or WR's to come there in this system

Quarterback is tough. We have to look for guys playing option quarterback in high school that don't want to switch to another position in college. Often times other schools will recruit those quarterbacks to play wide receiver or running back or something else....and maybe doing that would be their best chance of playing in the NFL in the future....but they don't want to give up being QB. So we recruit that kind of person. This definitely limits our talent pool.

Wide Receiver is actually not too difficult. In our system WRs quite often face single man-to-man coverage. If the opposing defense is double covering our WR, then we will have a man advantage on the running game, so they don't tend to do that. And we only need one good WR. So a promising WR in our system will can get quite a few deep passes thrown to them and make highlight reels.

 

[xpuctaqpGT]

Really. GT needs an entire overhaul, is their outfitter really Russell!?!??!?

team up with a real company, get new uniforms that actually have matching same colors on them, get a new coach that is up with the times. GT is located in Atlanta and plays in the ACC.............Should be a GOLD MINE of a program.

Where exactly would Oregon be if Phil Knight had gone to a different school? You guys are in the same situation as Oklahoma State with T. Boone Pickens....you won the alumni lottery. Congratulations on having a billionaire alumnus throw money at your program....

 

[757Hokie83]

Quarterback is tough. We have to look for guys playing option quarterback in high school that don't want to switch to another position in college. Often times other schools will recruit those quarterbacks to play wide receiver or running back or something else....and maybe doing that would be their best chance of playing in the NFL in the future....but they don't want to give up being QB. So we recruit that kind of person. This definitely limits our talent pool.

Wide Receiver is actually not too difficult. In our system WRs quite often face single man-to-man coverage. If the opposing defense is double covering our WR, then we will have a man advantage on the running game, so they don't tend to do that. And we only need one good WR. So a promising WR in our system will can get quite a few deep passes thrown to them and make highlight reels.

true, but it seems that even then it's really not showcasing the WR's level of talent, it's lulling the D to sleep with run, then catching them off guard with a pass...it seems like good WR's would want to go to a school where they know they are going to get lots of targets in a game, rather than a team that throws the ball as minimally as possible

 

[xpuctaqpGT]

true, but it seems that even then it's really not showcasing the WR's level of talent, it's lulling the D to sleep with run, then catching them off guard with a pass...it seems like good WR's would want to go to a school where they know they are going to get lots of targets in a game, rather than a team that throws the ball as minimally as possible

Demaryius Thomas actually put up some very good numbers/stats under our current system. Drafted 22nd pick in the first round. So at least with WR we can point to him and say, "Hey, you can make it as an NFL receiver under our system".

 

[757Hokie83]

yeah, i'm not saying it hasn't worked or GT doesn't have or hasn't had good receivers....i'm just saying if I was a hs WR, i'd be looking for a scholly from somewhere that toss me the rock a little more often

 

[rolltide14_0]

yeah, i'm not saying it hasn't worked or GT doesn't have or hasn't had good receivers....i'm just saying if I was a hs WR, i'd be looking for a scholly from somewhere that toss me the rock a little more often

Agreed. No way in hell am I going to GT as a WR, or a top QB for that matter.

 

[Camfantasy]

Don't feel as bad about our offense performing poorly against that defense. New OL vs that front...I say we did good to grab 14..lol.

No, no, no! Bama just played "vanilla" and didn't try! They would have put 60 on them if they had wanted!

 

[geneh_33]

Nesbitt was a great option QB, the man was a horse, hard to catch, hard to knock down. But there are not many Nesbitts in the world, unfortunately. Time for a serious change in tactics and PJ needs to go.

The poster above who said that GT should be rocking in the ACC is right on. They can recruit better than most of the ACC schools, have in the past. Getting rid of the option is a must in Techland.

 

[xpuctaqpGT]

Nesbitt was a great option QB, the man was a horse, hard to catch, hard to knock down. But there are not many Nesbitts in the world, unfortunately. Time for a serious change in tactics and PJ needs to go.

The poster above who said that GT should be rocking in the ACC is right on. They can recruit better than most of the ACC schools, have in the past. Getting rid of the option is a must in Techland.

Wanna see how GT's recruiting classes have been? (using Rivals data)
2002 #63 Chan Gailey as Head Coach
2003 #50 ditto
2004 #79 ditto
2005 #62 ditto
2006 #57 ditto
2007 #18 Chan Gailey's one and only good class
2008 #49 Chan Gailey was fired in Dec 2007, Johnson had 2 months to work on this class
2009 #49 Paul Johnson
2010 #43 ditto
2011 #41 ditto
2012 #56 ditto
2013 #84 ditto
2014 #29 (as of today)

When is this magical time when you believe that GT was getting the great recruits? On the whole, Paul Johnson has recruited BETTER under his system than Gailey did with his more traditional system. You'll also notice that the best recruiting class we had during that whole time span was ranked 18th. During that same time span, UGA's worst recruiting class was ranked 15th. This large difference in talent is why we haven't been competitive with them in quite some time.

Now, am I happy with the current direction the program is going? Hell no. Paul Johnson did NOT do enough to capitalize on his early win against UGA and his early ACC Championship/BCS bowl game. (which later was removed from the official records...but still....at the time it happened Johnson should have been able to use that to lure in much better recruits).

I am not happy with 5+ loss seasons.
I am not happy with chalking up the UGA game as a loss every year baring some minor miracle.

But unless some rich GT alumnus takes an interest in the football team Phil Knight style....I am not sure how this will ever really change. We don't have the $$$ to pay an Urban Meyer, or a Nick Saban. Or to pay for the caliber of assistant coaches to surround them either.

We have to do things on a budget. It's like being a small market baseball team. Sometimes a well managed team like the Tampa Bay Rays can get a little lucky and sneak into the playoffs sometimes. But most small market teams in baseball suck.