Sunday, October 25, 2009
One Writer's Take
This really shouldn't surprise anyone. After all, anybody that paid attention to what Paul Johnson's offenses did at Georgia Southern and Navy should have seen this coming. Nevertheless, a sportswriter from the Roanoke Times weighs in with an interesting take after witnessing CPJs juggernaut wreak havoc on Virginia, up close and personal yesterday.
"This offense is not a gimmick. It's not a freak show. It's a legitimate, effective beast that gobbles up first downs, swallows the game clock and then belches all over a tired defense."
"This offense is not a gimmick. It's not a freak show. It's a legitimate, effective beast that gobbles up first downs, swallows the game clock and then belches all over a tired defense."
Naysayers
First they doubted that Paul Johnson's "gimmicky" service academy offense would work in a BCS conference against all those elite athletes. The "option" was dead and it wouldn't work against the speed of teams like Miami and Georgia.
Now the popular line among the insanely stupid seems to be that Paul Johnson just inherited all this talent and once Dwyer, Nesbitt, Morgan, Bebe and all the other Chan Gailey recruits either graduate or move to the NFL, that Georgia Tech will gravitate back towards being a five win team.
Let me tell you what Paul Johnson inherited:
-A group of Chan Gailey softer than Charmin West Coast Offense recruits
-A program with about 70 scholarship players (80 now) because of NCAA probation from the previous staff
-A roster almost entirely comprised of freshmen and sophomores.
-Yeah that was a talented group of DL last year but look at what is leftover this year. Ben Anderson, Logan Walls, Jason Peters are surviving on heart and guts because it sure isn't elite skill.
FYI, Georgia Tech's starting OL right now consists of a converted DL who was a former walkon; A 6'2 257 lb starting tackle; a sophomore (Gilbert); and a converted TE (Barrick). The top backups are Phil Smith and Omoregie Uzzi-both redshirt freshmen.
When the redshirt OL hit the field next year, this offense will ascend to another level and it won't matter who is running the ball behind them. If you don't believe me, go watch Vince Murray of Navy chew through the Wake Forest yesterday. And Vince Murray couldn't start for most D-II programs. It's not that Paul Johnson can't recruit or doesn't need talented players to run his offense-it's that most of you don't think he can get another Dwyer. How do you know Dwyer is what the ideal RB in this offense? Maybe he doesn't need another Dwyer-maybe he needs a Daniel Drummond? It may surprise you that as tough as Nesbitt is, he is probably not the ideal QB for this system. He misses a lot of reads and misses even more wide open receivers because he doesn't see them or his throws are off the mark.
Bebe is a great receiver. But Paul Johnson has Stephen Hill and Chris Jackson in the wings. Having a receiver like Bebe is a great luxury but don't assume it's necessary or that CPJ can't bring in those kinds of players. Ever seen Charles Perkins play? Looks like a pretty talented group of recruits being brought in for next year.
If you don't believe me, stick around. With 6 scholarship seniors on the roster, GT will be right in the national title mix next year. For now, I'll be satisfied with the BCS. And shutting up the morons that know nothing of what they speak. At some point, people will stop trying to make excuses for why GT and Paul Johnson are having success. And realize that Paul Johnson is a winner and has won everywhere he's been a coach. That won't be changing anytime soon.
Now the popular line among the insanely stupid seems to be that Paul Johnson just inherited all this talent and once Dwyer, Nesbitt, Morgan, Bebe and all the other Chan Gailey recruits either graduate or move to the NFL, that Georgia Tech will gravitate back towards being a five win team.
Let me tell you what Paul Johnson inherited:
-A group of Chan Gailey softer than Charmin West Coast Offense recruits
-A program with about 70 scholarship players (80 now) because of NCAA probation from the previous staff
-A roster almost entirely comprised of freshmen and sophomores.
-Yeah that was a talented group of DL last year but look at what is leftover this year. Ben Anderson, Logan Walls, Jason Peters are surviving on heart and guts because it sure isn't elite skill.
FYI, Georgia Tech's starting OL right now consists of a converted DL who was a former walkon; A 6'2 257 lb starting tackle; a sophomore (Gilbert); and a converted TE (Barrick). The top backups are Phil Smith and Omoregie Uzzi-both redshirt freshmen.
When the redshirt OL hit the field next year, this offense will ascend to another level and it won't matter who is running the ball behind them. If you don't believe me, go watch Vince Murray of Navy chew through the Wake Forest yesterday. And Vince Murray couldn't start for most D-II programs. It's not that Paul Johnson can't recruit or doesn't need talented players to run his offense-it's that most of you don't think he can get another Dwyer. How do you know Dwyer is what the ideal RB in this offense? Maybe he doesn't need another Dwyer-maybe he needs a Daniel Drummond? It may surprise you that as tough as Nesbitt is, he is probably not the ideal QB for this system. He misses a lot of reads and misses even more wide open receivers because he doesn't see them or his throws are off the mark.
Bebe is a great receiver. But Paul Johnson has Stephen Hill and Chris Jackson in the wings. Having a receiver like Bebe is a great luxury but don't assume it's necessary or that CPJ can't bring in those kinds of players. Ever seen Charles Perkins play? Looks like a pretty talented group of recruits being brought in for next year.
If you don't believe me, stick around. With 6 scholarship seniors on the roster, GT will be right in the national title mix next year. For now, I'll be satisfied with the BCS. And shutting up the morons that know nothing of what they speak. At some point, people will stop trying to make excuses for why GT and Paul Johnson are having success. And realize that Paul Johnson is a winner and has won everywhere he's been a coach. That won't be changing anytime soon.
Rambling & Rolling
The 7-1 Jackets are officially on a roll after running roughshod over Virginia yesterday. Combined with Clemson's last minute victory over Miami, GT now controls its own destiny in the ACC Coastal Division. Simple-win the remaining conference games against struggling Wake and a tricky Duke team on the road and Tech will be playing in the ACC Championship on Dec 5th in Tampa.
First up will be an out of conference road game on Halloween night at Vanderbilt. Normally this type of game spells upset alert but Vandy is not what they've been (despite a close score against South Carolina) and GT is definitely not what they've been. There is an aura among this team that is willing them not only to win but to dominate opponents. A "Refuse to Lose" mentality led by Josh Nesbitt, Jonathan Dwyer and Derrick Morgan.
Coach Paul Johnson is taking this program to where it hasn't been in decades. The 18 play, 82 yard, 11 minute drive to open the 2nd half was an absolute thing of beauty if you're an old school football purist. It was like watching a vintage Tom Osborne team beat a helpless opponent into submission. The defense is playing much better now after getting several injured starters back.
The Jackets now rank 2nd in the country in rushing yards per game.
Meanwhile, Steve DeShazo sums it up pretty well: The rest of the ACC is shuddering.
And Paul Woody of the Richmond Times Dispatch is a believer.
First up will be an out of conference road game on Halloween night at Vanderbilt. Normally this type of game spells upset alert but Vandy is not what they've been (despite a close score against South Carolina) and GT is definitely not what they've been. There is an aura among this team that is willing them not only to win but to dominate opponents. A "Refuse to Lose" mentality led by Josh Nesbitt, Jonathan Dwyer and Derrick Morgan.
Coach Paul Johnson is taking this program to where it hasn't been in decades. The 18 play, 82 yard, 11 minute drive to open the 2nd half was an absolute thing of beauty if you're an old school football purist. It was like watching a vintage Tom Osborne team beat a helpless opponent into submission. The defense is playing much better now after getting several injured starters back.
The Jackets now rank 2nd in the country in rushing yards per game.
Meanwhile, Steve DeShazo sums it up pretty well: The rest of the ACC is shuddering.
And Paul Woody of the Richmond Times Dispatch is a believer.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Defining Win
No other way to put it. GT has officially turned the corner in the Paul Johnson era with the win over top 5 Va Tech. Postgame articles:
http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/story/12379191
http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/2009/10/18/mic_552403.shtml
http://www.modbee.com/opinion/world/story/897539.html
http://www.ajc.com/sports/georgia-tech/tech-powers-up-in-165598.html
http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/story/12379191
http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/2009/10/18/mic_552403.shtml
http://www.modbee.com/opinion/world/story/897539.html
http://www.ajc.com/sports/georgia-tech/tech-powers-up-in-165598.html
Before I get to Va Tech...
In the wake of Nebraska's loss to Texas Tech on Saturday, many fans have simply had it with Shawn Watson and his West Coast Offense. I told a friend of mine yesterday that as long as Watson is here, there is always going to be a remnant of Bill Callahan surrounding the program. Pelini is the head man as he'll stay for a long time. He's got the defense going in the right direction but he's got Callahan's imprint all over the offense. There was some thought in the wake of Pelini's hiring that Tom Osborne wanted to fix the defense first and then perhaps switch to some type of spread (we know he's a fan of Urban Meyer's offense). Maybe that will still happen-who knows? It won't be with Shawn Watson as coordinator because Watson knows one thing and that's the dink and dunk West Coast Offense. I do know this much-Tom Osborne watches Paul Johnson's offense. He commented on it at the end of last season in an Omaha World Herald article.
Those questioning the Nebraska offense have inevitably brought up the question about what should be done about it? Some have suggested and brought up the idea that Nebraska run Paul Johnson's offense. Just as the stupidity of certain Nebraska fans was on display when PJ's name was brought up during the coaching search, there are the handful of asshats who equate the flexbone with Frank Solich and the three yards and a cloud of dust. Peruse the message boards and you're sure to find the one clown of a fan who thinks he knows far more about Paul Johnson's system than he really does-vehemently opposed to that dreaded old option because it won't work against a fast Miami team. So for the regular readers of this blog, I apologize in advance for the "Pre-School" lesson I'm about to put you through. Consider it a basic review to clear up the misnomers that foolish Nebraska fans say about the "option" of Navy and Georgia Tech.
1.) Paul Johnson's offense is called the flexbone, not the triple option. It is, contrary to popular belief, a spread offense, much like Urban Meyer, Rich Rodriguez and Mike Leach run. PJ simply lines the QB under center instead of out of the shot gun. And he runs the ball, while Texas Tech passes the ball.
Dan Mullen, former assistant at Utah and Florida under Meyer and now head coach at Miss State, used to exchange ideas with PJ. There's a lot more similarities between what Florida and Georgia Tech do than most casual observers would ever understand.
2.) As stated, the flexbone system that Paul Johnson has developed is predicated on creating running lanes and getting players in space. That's why it's called a spread offense.
3.) The "triple option" is simply a a set of plays that Georgia Tech runs from their base offense. Sometimes they run triple option. Sometimes they run midline option. Sometimes they use the pitch game. Sometimes they line up in trips WR formations. Despite what Bob Davie and every other nonsensical television commentator says, calling it a triple option is highly inaccurate.
4.) It doesn't matter what offense you run-there are going to be highs and lows. Anyone can stop Paul Johnson's offense if GT doesn't execute and the other team dominates the line of scrimmage or GT turns the ball over. Florida's offense has been slowed down significantly in the last two weeks against LSU and Arkansas. The bottom line is, Paul Johnson's offense is an offense that works more often than it doesn't. It's not inconsistent and you know pretty much what you're going to get every week-in other words the offense at GT now knows exactly who they are. I even saw a moronic post yesterday on a Nebraska board that referred to Georgia Tech's loss to Miami earlier this year as proof that it doesn't work (seriously). Nevermind that the year before, Georgia Tech rushed for 472 yards on that same Miami defense or that they just ran for 309 yards on a pretty good Va Tech defense. Paul Johnson is running his offense with spare parts on the offensive line and he's barely scratching the surface on the final product. Don't believe me? Wait until next year when his redshirt offensive linemen hit the field.
In the meantime, those idiot NU fans that say "oh noes those 4 and 5 star wide receivers will never come here with that type of offense" will continue to rant and rave about why we should never run Paul Johnson's offense here. They bought into the recruiting garbage that Callahan sold them and they never looked back. They would have been the same jacklegs that would have criticized Tom Osborne offering a scholarship to Matt Davison. They're probably the same mouth breathers that said Paul Johnson's offense would never work in big time college football. And by the way-you don't have to hire Paul Johnson. But you could hire someone off his coaching tree and cure the ills.
Here's an article from ESPN from a few months ago that helps clear up some of the misconceptions:
http://espn.go.com/blog/ncfnation/post/_/id/4896/georgia-tech-s-johnson-explains-spread-option-offense
And Birddog explains it better than I ever could in this blog post from a few years ago. Enjoy!
http://thebirddog.wordpress.com/2007/07/30/five-myths-of-paul-johnsons-offense/
Those questioning the Nebraska offense have inevitably brought up the question about what should be done about it? Some have suggested and brought up the idea that Nebraska run Paul Johnson's offense. Just as the stupidity of certain Nebraska fans was on display when PJ's name was brought up during the coaching search, there are the handful of asshats who equate the flexbone with Frank Solich and the three yards and a cloud of dust. Peruse the message boards and you're sure to find the one clown of a fan who thinks he knows far more about Paul Johnson's system than he really does-vehemently opposed to that dreaded old option because it won't work against a fast Miami team. So for the regular readers of this blog, I apologize in advance for the "Pre-School" lesson I'm about to put you through. Consider it a basic review to clear up the misnomers that foolish Nebraska fans say about the "option" of Navy and Georgia Tech.
1.) Paul Johnson's offense is called the flexbone, not the triple option. It is, contrary to popular belief, a spread offense, much like Urban Meyer, Rich Rodriguez and Mike Leach run. PJ simply lines the QB under center instead of out of the shot gun. And he runs the ball, while Texas Tech passes the ball.
Dan Mullen, former assistant at Utah and Florida under Meyer and now head coach at Miss State, used to exchange ideas with PJ. There's a lot more similarities between what Florida and Georgia Tech do than most casual observers would ever understand.
2.) As stated, the flexbone system that Paul Johnson has developed is predicated on creating running lanes and getting players in space. That's why it's called a spread offense.
3.) The "triple option" is simply a a set of plays that Georgia Tech runs from their base offense. Sometimes they run triple option. Sometimes they run midline option. Sometimes they use the pitch game. Sometimes they line up in trips WR formations. Despite what Bob Davie and every other nonsensical television commentator says, calling it a triple option is highly inaccurate.
4.) It doesn't matter what offense you run-there are going to be highs and lows. Anyone can stop Paul Johnson's offense if GT doesn't execute and the other team dominates the line of scrimmage or GT turns the ball over. Florida's offense has been slowed down significantly in the last two weeks against LSU and Arkansas. The bottom line is, Paul Johnson's offense is an offense that works more often than it doesn't. It's not inconsistent and you know pretty much what you're going to get every week-in other words the offense at GT now knows exactly who they are. I even saw a moronic post yesterday on a Nebraska board that referred to Georgia Tech's loss to Miami earlier this year as proof that it doesn't work (seriously). Nevermind that the year before, Georgia Tech rushed for 472 yards on that same Miami defense or that they just ran for 309 yards on a pretty good Va Tech defense. Paul Johnson is running his offense with spare parts on the offensive line and he's barely scratching the surface on the final product. Don't believe me? Wait until next year when his redshirt offensive linemen hit the field.
In the meantime, those idiot NU fans that say "oh noes those 4 and 5 star wide receivers will never come here with that type of offense" will continue to rant and rave about why we should never run Paul Johnson's offense here. They bought into the recruiting garbage that Callahan sold them and they never looked back. They would have been the same jacklegs that would have criticized Tom Osborne offering a scholarship to Matt Davison. They're probably the same mouth breathers that said Paul Johnson's offense would never work in big time college football. And by the way-you don't have to hire Paul Johnson. But you could hire someone off his coaching tree and cure the ills.
Here's an article from ESPN from a few months ago that helps clear up some of the misconceptions:
http://espn.go.com/blog/ncfnation/post/_/id/4896/georgia-tech-s-johnson-explains-spread-option-offense
And Birddog explains it better than I ever could in this blog post from a few years ago. Enjoy!
http://thebirddog.wordpress.com/2007/07/30/five-myths-of-paul-johnsons-offense/
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Paul Johnson: Chess Master Extraordinare
The man is simply one of the greatest offensive minds in college football-EVER. Not only did he design this offense, incorporate spread elements with it but I am amazed at how he consistently makes veteran coordinators like Mickey Andrews look absolutely silly.
Sure there are games where the offense gets bogged down but you can say that about any type of offense. If the players execute CPJ's offense it's next to impossible to defend.
Last night, PJ's new wrinkle involved sending the A-back in pre-snap motion coming from a trips formation. Hat tip to Steebu from BBuzzoff for his analysis:
The trips formation makes the D play man coverage, and FSU obliged by putting a man on the "Trip" A-Back and the WR.
Watch the first drive where the "Trip" A-Back goes in motion. Never once does he go in "normal" tail motion (where he continues his arc path through the heels of the B-Back). In every case he shows "twirl" motion (where he reverses his arc) or he immediately pivots and becomes a blocker on the midline.
The man covering the motioning A-Back takes a few steps inside, and releases him to someone else. Never once does he completely follow the A-Back.
BINGO.
They did exactly what PJ figured they would, and watch what happens on the first play of our second possession:
Sure there are games where the offense gets bogged down but you can say that about any type of offense. If the players execute CPJ's offense it's next to impossible to defend.
Last night, PJ's new wrinkle involved sending the A-back in pre-snap motion coming from a trips formation. Hat tip to Steebu from BBuzzoff for his analysis:
The trips formation makes the D play man coverage, and FSU obliged by putting a man on the "Trip" A-Back and the WR.
Watch the first drive where the "Trip" A-Back goes in motion. Never once does he go in "normal" tail motion (where he continues his arc path through the heels of the B-Back). In every case he shows "twirl" motion (where he reverses his arc) or he immediately pivots and becomes a blocker on the midline.
The man covering the motioning A-Back takes a few steps inside, and releases him to someone else. Never once does he completely follow the A-Back.
BINGO.
They did exactly what PJ figured they would, and watch what happens on the first play of our second possession:
- 1st and 10, ball on the right hash mark.
- Same trips formation (trips left). Roddy at left A-Back. AA in the slot and starts that "weird" A-Back motion to the right
- The safety covering AA, #20, merely takes a few steps to his left and releases him to somebody (there is no "somebody", btw). He doesn't follow AA's path. When the ball is snapped he is on the far left hash (from the offense's point of view)
- Uh-Oh! AA doesn't twirl or lead block for the midline! CRAP - IT'S SPEED OPTION AND NOW AA IS AT FULL SPEED ON THE FAR CORNER!
- CW's three-back proof comes back to bite FSU in the butt big time. If all goes well it's a 2-on-1, and that's assuming that the D is manned up. In this case, there's one less defender on that side so it makes AA's 69-yard romp even easier.
Bowden Quotes
It was great to listen to Bob Davie commentary last night, even though he is still missing some specifics on the offense and it's particulars.
But it was incredible to watch CPJ completely run roughshod over Mickey Andrews. First off, I don't know what kind of offensive scheme Tech used last night but I have never seen it before. Whatever it was, FSU did not expect it and could not figure it out. You got the feeling from Bowden's quotes throughout the game (during lightning delay) and after the game that they were just powerless to stop what Tech was doing and they'd rather not ever play Tech again (sorry Bobby and Davie but it's not the Wishbone). They haven't seen anything yet.
What do you think are the main problems on the defense?
But it was incredible to watch CPJ completely run roughshod over Mickey Andrews. First off, I don't know what kind of offensive scheme Tech used last night but I have never seen it before. Whatever it was, FSU did not expect it and could not figure it out. You got the feeling from Bowden's quotes throughout the game (during lightning delay) and after the game that they were just powerless to stop what Tech was doing and they'd rather not ever play Tech again (sorry Bobby and Davie but it's not the Wishbone). They haven't seen anything yet.
What do you think are the main problems on the defense?
Bowden: “I think the main problem was the wishbone. We simply could not figure it out. We couldn’t get a hold of them to tackle. Paul (Johnson) does a great job. He takes the base wishbone and executes about as good as you see. Then he adds four or five things to it. He added something to us we haven’t seen all year. And we never could get it solved.”
How do you make sure things don’t kind of downward spiral from here?Bowden: “Don’t play the wishbone anymore. That’s really the best thing we can do. Don’t play the wishbone because we simply cannot stop it. I’ll give that win to the wishbone. Forty-four points should have won that game.”
Incredibly Proud
Not only did the Huskers gut one out on Thursday night in Columbia, but GT capped off a perfect weekend with one of the grittiest performances you'll ever see on a football field.
First off, I won't complain about any win or loss as long as the effort is there. And this Jackets team showed more heart and fight despite all the adversity in Tallahassee. You knew FSU would give their best effort because of all the circumstances regarding embattled coach Bobby Bowden. You knew they had talent (see Miami and BYU games). GT had never won at FSU and they were going into one of the toughest places to play in the country. Despite the defensive woes (will get to that later), 1 hour lightning delay and adversity of playing a night game at Doak Campbell, it was the heart of Josh Nesbitt and Co. that won in the end.
Make no mistake, this GT team is full of fighters and warriors and Nesbitt is the biggest warrior of them all. He willed this team to win last night. The team's fighting personality is a direct reflection of CPJ's tougher than nails mentality that he's brought with him from Navy.
Now about the defense-let's be clear about what is happening here. First off, FSU is not chopped liver. Ponder is a good and experienced QB and he has some good talent around him. That being said, I'm going to borrow an old phrase from former Husker coach Bill Callahan: "It is what it is."
CPJ is dealing with some major personnel issues up front on the DL (and on the OL). Izaan Cross and Tongo forced to play because of injuries to Robert Hall and Egwubine. Peters, Anderson and Walls will battle you but nobody is going to mistake them for
TJ Barnes is going to be a good one but he's young and inexperienced and still learning to play the position.
Bottom line, you could have the '85 Bears linebackers and secondary and they'd get torched the same way with the GT line in front of them. Luckily, help is on the way. JC Lanier would definitely be playing as a true freshman this year if not for shoulder surgery. Cross is getting valuable time now. And these issues are only going to be addressed through recruiting with players like Denzel McCoy, Shawn Green and Anthony Williams on the way.
Games are won in the trenches and there are some major talent and depth issues on both sides of the ball in that department. Despite it all, this team continues to will itself to win.
A huge game now sets up next week on the Flats against VT and you couldn't ask for a better stage. ESPN, night game and payback on the minds of a sky high GT team. I would rather be any other coach in the country right now than Frank Beamer and Bud Foster.
First off, I won't complain about any win or loss as long as the effort is there. And this Jackets team showed more heart and fight despite all the adversity in Tallahassee. You knew FSU would give their best effort because of all the circumstances regarding embattled coach Bobby Bowden. You knew they had talent (see Miami and BYU games). GT had never won at FSU and they were going into one of the toughest places to play in the country. Despite the defensive woes (will get to that later), 1 hour lightning delay and adversity of playing a night game at Doak Campbell, it was the heart of Josh Nesbitt and Co. that won in the end.
Make no mistake, this GT team is full of fighters and warriors and Nesbitt is the biggest warrior of them all. He willed this team to win last night. The team's fighting personality is a direct reflection of CPJ's tougher than nails mentality that he's brought with him from Navy.
Now about the defense-let's be clear about what is happening here. First off, FSU is not chopped liver. Ponder is a good and experienced QB and he has some good talent around him. That being said, I'm going to borrow an old phrase from former Husker coach Bill Callahan: "It is what it is."
CPJ is dealing with some major personnel issues up front on the DL (and on the OL). Izaan Cross and Tongo forced to play because of injuries to Robert Hall and Egwubine. Peters, Anderson and Walls will battle you but nobody is going to mistake them for
TJ Barnes is going to be a good one but he's young and inexperienced and still learning to play the position.
Bottom line, you could have the '85 Bears linebackers and secondary and they'd get torched the same way with the GT line in front of them. Luckily, help is on the way. JC Lanier would definitely be playing as a true freshman this year if not for shoulder surgery. Cross is getting valuable time now. And these issues are only going to be addressed through recruiting with players like Denzel McCoy, Shawn Green and Anthony Williams on the way.
Games are won in the trenches and there are some major talent and depth issues on both sides of the ball in that department. Despite it all, this team continues to will itself to win.
A huge game now sets up next week on the Flats against VT and you couldn't ask for a better stage. ESPN, night game and payback on the minds of a sky high GT team. I would rather be any other coach in the country right now than Frank Beamer and Bud Foster.
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