Tech Misery

Skimming GT message boards gives us gems like these:

• Let's cancel the series - The Hive
  
• It's just a game dog. - Stingtalk
  
• GT's "savior" at QB regrets going to GT? - Stingtalk
  
• Sweet bitter tears - Get the Picture

I'm definitely looking forward to tomorrow.

PWD

Why the AJC is such a joke

A UGA player not getting arrested for receiving a relatively minor citation makes the paper. While a two year long NCAA investigation into Georgia Tech resulting in sanctions goes unreported until the final day of the process.

That's not a shot at Chip Towers. It's a huge shot at the gross incompetence and/or negligence of the former Tech beat writer and the AJC's Sports Editor. Every time I think I'm done commenting on the GT thing...I get dragged back into it.

PWD

Tech Customer Service Skills

Georgia Tech can't afford to lose anymore season ticket holders, but they just did.  Over a strip search. 

The punch lines just write themselves. 

Actually, there is nothing lurid and extraterrestrially sexy about what happened.  A season ticket holder tried to take a Chick-Fil-A into a game, was told she couldn't, then things got weird.  The ticket season holder said she threw it away and then was given a through search by a female officer anyway.  The female officer said the lady just started shucking clothes.  She said, she said.

Either way, the plaintiff didn't renew her tickets, which just means more for you and me the last Saturday in November.

TD

(h/t Amy at Dawgtoons)

I'm Going to Have to Disagree with You There

Fifth Level Warlocks don't give back rings

Jeff Shultz talked to Paul Johnson about the sanctions handed down to Georgia Tech by the NCAA.  Apparently CPJ doesn't like being told that trying to hide a possible violation is a big no-no.  His retort:

"At the very least, Johnson wants it known that the Yellow Jackets gained no competitive advantage before the conference title win over Clemson. Also, he’s not giving his ring back."

I guess that is one way to look at it.  As PWD pointed out, there is an alternative view. Thomas caught a 70 yard TD pass on a 1 play drive in a game decided by five points in which he should've been sitting down pending the outcome of his investigation. Anyone think AJ Green would have given Georgia a competive advantage in the first four games last season?

Tech rolled the 12 sided dice and came up with whatever the worse possible roll in Dungeons and Dragons is. I didn't bother to look it up on the Intertubes.  I understand Johnson's frustration with the Monsters in Indy (ok, I did a little research), but trying to alibi after the fact only serves to make them look even more smarmy.  It makes Johnson look like an bigger jackass, to boot.

TD

GT goes down over $312

I remember UGA basketball fans saying, "I can't believe we got in all of this trouble over a $300 payment to Tony Cole and a bogus PE class."

My retort to all of those Harrick apologists at the time was pretty simple. It wasn't the violation that killed us. It was the moment where Jim Harrick allegedly told Chris Daniels and Reshad Wright to lie to the investigators about the PE class that got us slaughtered.

There's nothing worse than a cover up to the NCAA. That's why Bruce Pearl was fired at UT. It's why Jim Harrick was fired at UCLA. It's why Jim Tressel isn't at Ohio State, and it's why Georgia Tech is no longer the ACC Champion from the 2009 season.

As for GT fans who think the punishment is too harsh....Thomas caught a 70 yard TD pass on a 1 play drive in a game decided by five points in which he should've been sitting down pending the outcome of his investigation. Even UNC had the good sense to sit their guys when the NCAA started snooping around.

Read the report sometime. It's amazing how inept their cover up attempt was.

That said...all those who think DRad is a bad AD because this happened on his watch, I present an alternate theory. Any AD who can keep an NCAA investigation a secret for over 20 months is running a tighter ship than most. It also helps to have a hometown newspaper completely and totally asleep at the wheel.

Georgia fans get three days of articles on the transfer of Brent Benedict and a full article on the assistant recruiting coordinator (a guy I had never heard of) leaving while GT is going through an investigation in two sports without a peep.

Amazing.

PWD

Tech and the NCAA

What does it say about the status of Tech's football program that the AJC spent three days on Brent Benedict transferring to Virginia Tech, but never picked up on an NCAA investigation (apparently a big one) at the North Avenue Trade School?

Or does that say more about the AJC?

Looks like Tech might get to vacate the Orange Bowl debacle against Iowa, though.

--------------
More response:
-Bud Peterson: "We didn't mean to do anything wrong and we aren't sorry we did," AJC
-Dan, you ignorant slut, Bradley
-It was UGA's fault!, Stingtalk
-We thought Georgia Southern was already on probation, ESPN

There Has to Be a Good Punch Line Here, Right?

New turf for Grant Field at Bobby Dodd Stadium

Do your best in the comments. All I have is something snarky about the number of sellouts, but my coffee hasn't kicked in, so I keep fumbling it.

Source of Concern: UGA's Toughness

When you rock the "I Run This State" body paint and eye patches, the other team typically doesn't forget it. Much like celebrating in an end zone...you don't just have to back that up for one year. It's something you have to back up year after year after year.

I loved the confidence last year...I just hope the team realizes they have to live up to that swagger this year, too. Because I can assure you Tech hasn't forgotten.

PWD

Source of Concern: UGA's Defense

Georgia's 2010 defense has issues stopping misdirection, playing assignment football and consistently tackling well. Unfortunately, Paul Johnson's entire career is built on preying upon teams that have those faults.

It's no secret that one of the biggest problems in defending the Triple Option (T.O.) is having enough practice time to install the offense with your scout team in a competent enough manner to properly simulate what you'll face on game day. Teams who've had more than a week to prepare for GT's T.O. have obviously fared dramatically better than those that haven't. However, there are exceptions.

In 2008, Coach Martinez had a bye week to prepare, and it didn't help at all. The Yellow Jackets ran for a bazillion yards.

To his credit, Martinez wised up in 2009. He realized that he didn't have a bye week to get ready so he and Richt quietly came up with another plan to prepare the Dawg defense. They devoted a practice session everyday from Fall Camp to Thanksgiving to learning/defending the Tech offense. The result was a well prepared UGA defense holding Tech 109 yards below its season rushing average.

So...how will Grantham prepare the Dawgs to stop Tech? How will he overcome our fundamental problems in managing misdirection?

Well..they don't exactly run Johnson's offense in the NFL so it's hard to say what he'll do. Based on his resume, I don't think Grantham has coached against any true belly option teams since the 1996 Michigan State at Nebraska game, which ended about like every game against a mid-90s Husker team ended.

Coach Belin saw the T.O. several times at Vandy including two losses to Johnson's Navy squad and several other match-ups with military academies and other smaller programs. He probably has the deepest breadth of experience on the staff outside of Garner...and the graduate assistants.

Coach Lakatos appears to have last faced the triple option in 2006 as Paul Johnson's Navy team beat UConn 41 to 17 in Storres, CT. He has some other military school encounters vs terrible Army teams with better results, and he was at Div I-AA Maine from '95-'00 where he probably saw the T.O. quite a bit. Although, the next piece of information I have about Maine football will be the first.

Basically -- I'm saying I have concerns with our ability to stop them. GT operating without Nesbitt *should* mean a massive UGA victory, but you still have to play smart, physical football and tackle well. And UGA hasn't done much of that this season.

GT isn't going to roll over and play dead for us just because their "Heisman candidate" is out with a busted arm.

See Also:
-- Grantham braces for Option - DawgPost.com

PWD

Source of Confidence: UGA's Offense

I'll make this pretty brief. Georgia Tech has positively no one on their roster who can cover AJ Green. Not in single coverage and likely not in double coverage. Al Groh's only hope of
stopping Georgia on Saturday is:

A. Clog the running lanes on 1st and 2nd downs. Pummel Murray on 3rd and long and knock him out of the game.

B. Hope that Bobo stops calling plays that work.

I don't think Tech can stop UGA's offense if Murray stays upright. Only Mike Bobo and Mark Richt can stop it. If they go into this game with some pursuit of balance for balance's sake as often happens, we'll predictably run into issues. Or if Bobo stops calling plays that work, we'll predictably run into issues.

Last year, Bobo ignored his demons until the last 3rd down call of the game and pounded GT with run after run after run after run. Why? Because it was working. I personally think the answer this year will be throw it deep, then deeper still and then deeper again.

Statistically, GT has a better pass defense than run defense, but that's partially because they haven't faced very many competent passing offenses. The NC State group was probably the best unit they've seen, and NCSU went for 368 yards through the air.

If we don't try and outsmart ourselves and don't turn it over, we should win.

The next posts are the flip side of this post....My 2 concerns.

PWD

Hate Under the Lights

This should be fun.  The Tech game is at 7:45 on ESPN.  We've been complaining about the lack of night games and its injurious effect on recruiting.  Well, here comes a big one against a hated rival with bowl eligibility on the line. It should be the best atmosphere in Athens the Dawgs have seen all year.

Quinton

Nesbitt for Heisman Watch

Some stats to consider as part of the Joshua Nesbitt for Heisman Campaign. For the season, Nesbitt is completing 36% of his passes. That's 8.3 attempts per game and exactly 3.0 completions per game.

On 3rd down:

• 3rd and 1-3 yards -- 0 for 1
  
• 3rd and 4-6 yards -- 1 for 2
  
• 3rd and 7-9 yards -- 0 for 1
  
• 3rd and 10+ yards -- 2 for 4

For the season, Tech has faced third down 38 times, and they've converted 50% of them. Therefore, no one can completely dismiss what Coach Johnson wants to do in the short term. He's going to run the ball on anything shorter than 3rd and 8. Everyone knows it, and folks are really struggling to stop the very large Nesbitt.

But again, it's the long term that's interesting. It always comes back to the issue of why would any kid in their right mind ever want to play QB or WR for Johnson? Same for offensive tackles and defensive backs (who don't see a competent passing scheme in practice). So what happens when Nesbitt...their Heisman Candidate leaves?

But back to Johnson and Nesbitt. Consider these red zones

• Inside their own 20 yard line (regardless of down) Nesbitt is 1 for 1 passing.
  
• Inside the opponent's 20 yard line regardless of down, Nesbitt is 0-2 passing

All that said...5 of the guy's 9 completions have gone for 25+ yards.

Against UNC, he was 3 of 4 passing for the game for 76 yards and a TD. Outside of the UNC game, he's 6 of 21 for 124 yards with 1 TD and 1 INT against Kansas and SC State.

GT passing nationally rankings....

• 119th in attempts
  
• 120th in completions
  
• 120th in percentage
  
• 119th in yards
• 93rd in passing TDs

Only Army passes the ball less effectively. Source: CFBstats

The stats are simply amazing. Where's my Heisman ballot?

PWD

Tech's Talent and the UNC Game

One of the amazing events of the weekend really was Tech's loss to a depleted Kansas squad.  I'm not ready to throw dirt on the reigning ACC Champs nor am I ready to ignore Saturday as Mark Bradley did and say...well the ACC sucks so bad Tech can still win the league.

The problem at Tech ... talent matters.  You have to replace talent with talent to maintain your program.  You can only out scheme, out hustle, or out cheat the other guy so much.  At some point, you need play makers. 

Tech's 2007 recruiting class was Gailey's finest with a Scout.com ranking of 15th in the Nation.  The class had 9 players ranked at four stars or better according to Scout. Tech's problem...only three of those players remain on the roster -- Nesbitt (Heisman Candidate*), Nick Claytor (OT) and Jason Peters (DE).  And two of those players have made minimal impact on the GT program.

After Gailey's best class, Paul Johnson's subsequent recruiting classes were ranked 37th ('08), 32nd ('09), and 41st ('10).  Granted Gailey needs a few non-traditional pieces for his system, but it's not like getting "his players" into his system will necessarily make things better.  There's not a dramatically better back for Tech's offense than Dwyer. Nor is there a better WR than the super freak D. Thomas.  Nor is there a better DE fit than D. Morgan. Plus, Morgan Burnette was the best GT defensive back since...well...Swilling in '91?

The UNC game will be an interesting one because the Heels have had an extra week to prepare for the triple option.  Four of Johnson's seven losses at Tech have come to teams with more than seven days to prepare for his team.  The extra time isn't a magic cure all as Willie Martinez found out in 2008, but it's an enormous help.

I'm expecting the Tarheels to win this one in a squeaker in Chapel Hill.  If that happens, what become of Tech this season as they still have four more losable games on the schedule?

Our game with Arkansas is bigger for our program than their game with UNC.  Of that there's no question.  But both games represent an excellent opportunity to judge where both programs are going.

PWD


*Kidding.

Dispatch from the Dept. of Irony

Yesterday morning a Total Tithead Person driving a truck emblazoned with GTU football propaganda crashed into a building at the intersection of Peachtree and Roswell roads in Buckhead. Ironically, the truck sign says "Brace for Impact," which one can only hope will serve as a harbinger/metaphor for GTU's 2010 season.

[Photo: John Spink/AJC]

Apparently the no-texting-while-driving law doesn't go far enough. If you want to keep Georgians safe from nerd-guided truck missiles, what we really need is a no-twelve-sided-dice-rolling-while-driving law.
[Insert Rambling Wreckage joke here]

HT: edsbs

Like shooting fish in a barrel

This comment thread is too good to pass up.

PWD

Update on Marcus Thornton's recruitment

Chip Towers goes deep in debunking rumors about the potential eligibility of Marcus Thornton at Georgia Tech. Per the AJC:

Marcus Thornton told the AJC he was extremely impressed with Georgia Tech after his visit this past week. But the Westlake basketball star might have to be willing to sit out a year if he wants to go there. Shane Lyons, associate commissioner for compliance for the Atlantic Coast Conference, confirmed to the AJC Monday afternoon that the league’s stringent intraconference transfer policy would apply in a case such as Thornton’s. That is, he would have to sit out his first season and have only three years of eligibility remaining if he opted to sign with Tech or another ACC school.

“There are waiver opportunities,” said Lyons, who would speak only in generalities. But, he said there is “no precedent” where the league ruled in favor of the transferring player. In fact, he said, a player that was released from Virginia Tech after the 2007 on-campus shootings was denied his first year of eligibility at Maryland even after two appeals. “It’s written pretty tightly,” Lyons said of the rule.

Predictably, Hewitt and Company have told the Thornton's that there's nothing to be worried about.

[Thornton] has been assured by coaches recruiting him he “has a chance of winning” a hardship appeal.

A separate article that I saw referenced the other day said that 16 kids have appealed this rule, and the ACC has denied all 16 requests. But of course, GT tells him don't worry. You'll be fine. Typical.

By the way, the brutality of the rule according to Towers' article is that he would only have three years to complete his eligibility. It's not like a typical transfer situation where you sit for a year as a redshirt, but you still get 4 to play 4. This is a 3 to play 3 after sitting out. (ht - ball-u-dawg)

Update: Thornton could become the first Mr. Basketball in Georgia (as awarded by the Atlanta Tip Off Club) to sign and enroll in Athens since Wayne Arnold in 2002. Arnold's tenure was cut short by academics, injury and arrest. The only other Mr. Basketball to sign with UGA since 1982 was Louis Williams who elected to go pro instead of enrolling. (Source: Wikipedia) ht - ShinerBockDrinkingDawg

PWD
Georgia Sports Blog

Paul Hewitt turns down St. Johns

Paul Hewitt is staying in Atlanta. If Gani Lawal joins Derrick Favors in declaring to go pro as expected, you have to love our chances of winning at the McNerd Dome next season.

PWD

Paul Hewitt to St. John's?

The AJC now reports that St. John's University has formally asked for permission to speak with Georgia Tech's Paul Hewitt. The New York Daily News quotes Hewitt gushing about the St. John's job opening saying:

"Do you remember what it was like in New York when the Yankees finally won the World Series again in 1996, the way it electrified the city? St. John's could definitely do the same thing," said Hewitt, who grew up in Queens and Long Island. "I remember going to the building they call Carnesecca (Arena) and seeing huge crowds embrace the team. I remember going to the Garden and seeing it full. And I remember the winning.

"The right coach could do all that again and it would be a sight."

For those who struggle with nuance, let me translate..."Get me the hell out of Atlanta." (ht - Mark Bradley)

If SJU were to hire Tech, it would be the equivalent of a $7 million bailout for the future of their basketball program. The upside for Georgia...if Tech were to hire poorly or at least a weaker recruiter than Hewitt (who is exceptional in that area), it could help us in state for 2011 recruits and beyond.

The downside...many high quality candidates will see the Tech job for what it is...a program with the potential to be Top 3 in the ACC almost every year on the court due to the recruiting base. However, it lacks the financial clout to invest in the facilities or coaching salaries to match that potentially elite status. In other words, an enigma of a job. But one with tremendous upside. It's also unlikely that Tech will hire a worse floor coach than Hewitt.

If I were ranking recruiters and UGA and Tech over the past 30 years, it would go something like this:

1. Paul Hewitt
2. Bobby Cremins
3. Hugh Durham
4. Ron Jirsa (Ezra, DA and Jumanie were big timers)
5. Tubby Smith (inherited great talent. Recruited average at best)
6. Dennis Felton (maybe higher than Tubby. Just couldn't retain his best)
7. Jim Harrick (worst recruiter I've ever seen unless you count transfers)
TBD Mark Fox

If I were to rank floor coaches over that period, I'd go:

1. Jim Harrick (and it's not even close)
2. Tubby Smith
3. Bobby Cremins
4. Hugh Durham (early in his career he was great, but not the end)
5. Dennis Felton
6. Paul Hewitt (Yes. Hewitt is a worse floor coach than Felton)
7. Ron Jirsa (Totally inept)
TBD Mark Fox

It would be difficult for a competent Athletic Director like Tech's DRad to do worse than Hewitt on the court. But surpassing him on the recruiting trail will be very, very tough. This is an interesting development to watch for UGA fans. Tech could be losing a coach that had a losing record (4-6) against UGA despite us spending 7 of those 10 years navigating some of the worst seasons in UGA basketball since the late 1970s.

See Also:
-- Please don't go! - DawgSports

PWD

Baseball in Atlanta Tonight

Perno's boys visit Russ Chandler tonight to play Tech.  The fortunes of the two teams involved are divergent.  Tech is 12-1 and No. 3 in the country while we're 8-8 after last weekend's series win.  Sunday's game saw Siena hold on for a 10-9 win.

The Dawgs will have freshman Blake Dieterich on the hill in his first career start.  Blake's had a few relief appearances with some mixed success (7.1 IP, 8H, 4BB, 8Ks).  Tech will counter with sophomore Mark Pope who has some impressive stats in six innings pitched (0.00 ERA, 4H, 7Ks).  The pitching match up looks to favor the insects.  

The baseball team hasn't looked good so far this season and those performances make sense in light of our youth and injuries.  But, the pitching, long thought to be a great asset in the preseason, hasn't shown up.  The offense, long thought to be a liability in the preseason, has lived up to its billing.  There are a few signs of hope at the plate, the biggest of which is fresh faced freshman Robert Shipman who has been filling in for injured Chase Davidson at first.  In four games last week, Shipman went 7-for-13 with 3HRs and six RBIs. 

A big game against a highly ranked rival might reveal the latent talent on this team.  If we can somehow find a way to pull it out, it could be the spark to better play this season.  If you're in Atlanta tonight, get out and cheer on the team.

Quinton

Georgia Tech Departures for the NFL

When you get past the frustration of yesterday's Kirby Smart news, you do get to enjoy the pain of our rivals who saw quite a bit of high end talent walk out the door.

Georgia Tech lost:

• Jonathan Dwyer- The best GT running back since at least Dorsey Levins. His replacement looks to be Anthony Allen...the only obviously projectable NFL player I can find on their roster.
  
  
• Derrick Morgan - The best GT defensive lineman since Marco Coleman. He accounted for 12 of Tech's 25 sacks last season.
  
  
• Demaryious Thomas - The most physical and most ideally suited receiver for this offense imaginable. He accounted for over 65% of the team's total receiving yards, and 59% of the catches. When it was third and long, he was Tech's get out of jail free card. Well...except for Thanksgiving Weekend with the game on the line.
  
  
• Morgan Burnett - Tech's #2 leading tackler leaves with 14 career interceptions. He's arguably their best defensive back since Ken Swilling. Although, that's not saying much. Tech's defensive backfield the past 10 years hasn't set the world on fire.

So how does Tech replace these guys? I just don't see the NFL talent on the roster to replace such high-end playmakers.

Don't get me wrong...Josh Nesbitt is an exceptional college QB for what Tech wants to run. But how much more can they squeeze out of Nesibtt? Last year, he ran for over 1,000 yards and 18 TDs. Does anyone seriously think he's going to emerge as a legitimate passing threat at this point in his career?

New defensive coordinator or not...I struggle to see how they have the talent to stop people.

PWD