drinkclearwiskey
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PJ further explains option to HD...
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drinkclearwiskey
Jolly Good Fellow
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There are plenty of misconceptions still surrounding Paul Johnson's spread-option offense, despite the fact he's been using it for oh, about two decades. While there is a definite emphasis on the run, the offense is built around misdirection and has the potential to rack up yards and points in a hurry. The system is varied enough to adapt to the personnel he has. While he was offensive coordinator at Hawaii, the Warriors weren't afraid to throw the ball. At Navy, they ran it more. Georgia Tech provides the potential for more balance.
The foundation of his philosophy, though, is running the ball and stopping the run. Johnson, who is also the Jackets' offensive coordinator and calls all the plays, took the time to answer a few questions about his offensive system:
How similar is what you do to what Urban Meyer and Rich Rodriquez do?
Mike Zarrilli/Getty Images Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson has been using the spread offense for decades. PJ: I think it's very similar. How so?
PJ: We run a lot of the same plays, a lot of the same schemes. They just choose to do it out of the gun and we go through under the center.
How are the receivers' responsibilities different?
PJ: I don't know that they are. What they may call their receivers sometimes we call A-backs. Their slot receivers are like our A-backs. Most of the time we're lined up tighter, not always. We change formations, and those guys are in the same spots. We probably haven't thrown it as much, certainly as much as Florida, but I can remember a couple of years ago at Navy we threw the ball more than West Virginia did. Nobody realized that because they were in the gun.
So is the job of your quarterback easier from under center?
PJ: I just think it's different. I think it hits faster under center, there's plusses and minuses, and tradeoffs to each one. They probably each have their advantages. We're operating with the ball a lot closer to the line of scrimmage. There's probably advantages to both.
So why do you prefer to do it the way you do?
PJ: Well it's just the way we've always done it. We've always had success with it, and like I said, it hits faster, the ball is closer to the line of scrimmage and for what we want to do it makes more sense. Everybody for years knocked what we were doing [saying] 'Well you can't go to the NFL doing that, you can't do this,' and I find it interesting now the NFL is coming out and saying they're having a problem with all of the quarterbacks being in the gun. They don't know how to take a snap or drop back to pass.
Why do you think then, that most college football fans, when they think of your offense, probably don't automatically think of what Urban Meyer and Rich Rodriquez do?
PJ: Because one is under the gun and the other is under the center.
That's it?
PJ: Yeah, and most fans, quite honestly, couldn't tell you what plays they ran out of the gun. It's like anything else -- if you're successful and you have big plays, then it's great. If you're not moving the ball and you're not scoring then it's no good. If you look at last year with what Rich did at Michigan, it's the same offense they ran at West Virginia, but it was a learning process, different personnel and they didn't have near the success. In fact they had very little success. But nobody was questioning whether it would work or not. As soon as we have one game where we don't score 30 points, boy it's like, I told you this wouldn't work, everybody figured it out. That's what drives you nuts.
Because it's going to be the second year, a lot of players feel so much more comfortable in the system, would you like to pass it more?
PJ: We could pass anytime we want. The objective is to try and win the game. We're going to do whatever it takes to win the game, and hopefully we'll be a lot more efficient at running the ball. If we become more efficient at running the ball, then the passing game will open up because people will say we have to play the run.
That's usually how it works. Do you think that you guys will be more efficient running the ball because it's the second year?
PJ: We're way better right now then we were a year ago. It's not even close. If you took the first spring and this spring, it's like two different teams. Do we have a ways to go? Yeah, we're still not there yet, but we're a lot better off than we were a year ago, no question.
Have you always called all the plays?
PJ: Yeah.
Is it true you don't script it?
PJ: No, I don't script it.
Not even the first 15 plays or so?
PJ: No.
Wow. Ok. Is there anything else I didn't ask you that would help explain any misconceptions about the offense to fans?
PJ: Well it's like anything else. If you execute it properly it's going to be good, and if you don't, it won't. There are no magic ways to line up and play the offense. There's nothing magical about the offense. If we don't block people and execute right, it's not going to work. It's no different than the BYU passing or anything else. It's a system and if you do it correctly you'll be successful and if not you won't. We've done it for 26 years. It's not like it was a one-time thing. I get a kick out of people saying, 'Well they'll have another year of defending it.' Gosh, they've got 25 years, and we haven't changed much.
Anytime you do something different, people want to make more out of it than it is, but if you go back and look over the years, look at the averages and what we've done, it's been very efficient for us. If there comes a time when it's not efficient then we'll adapt and change, that's what you do. That's why we don't script plays. I want to look out and see what you're doing on defense and then I'll call the plays accordingly. It doesn't make sense to me to script 15 plays and then I look out there and you're not lined up where I thought you were going to be.
The foundation of his philosophy, though, is running the ball and stopping the run. Johnson, who is also the Jackets' offensive coordinator and calls all the plays, took the time to answer a few questions about his offensive system:
How similar is what you do to what Urban Meyer and Rich Rodriquez do?
PJ: We run a lot of the same plays, a lot of the same schemes. They just choose to do it out of the gun and we go through under the center.
How are the receivers' responsibilities different?
PJ: I don't know that they are. What they may call their receivers sometimes we call A-backs. Their slot receivers are like our A-backs. Most of the time we're lined up tighter, not always. We change formations, and those guys are in the same spots. We probably haven't thrown it as much, certainly as much as Florida, but I can remember a couple of years ago at Navy we threw the ball more than West Virginia did. Nobody realized that because they were in the gun.
So is the job of your quarterback easier from under center?
PJ: I just think it's different. I think it hits faster under center, there's plusses and minuses, and tradeoffs to each one. They probably each have their advantages. We're operating with the ball a lot closer to the line of scrimmage. There's probably advantages to both.
So why do you prefer to do it the way you do?
PJ: Well it's just the way we've always done it. We've always had success with it, and like I said, it hits faster, the ball is closer to the line of scrimmage and for what we want to do it makes more sense. Everybody for years knocked what we were doing [saying] 'Well you can't go to the NFL doing that, you can't do this,' and I find it interesting now the NFL is coming out and saying they're having a problem with all of the quarterbacks being in the gun. They don't know how to take a snap or drop back to pass.
Why do you think then, that most college football fans, when they think of your offense, probably don't automatically think of what Urban Meyer and Rich Rodriquez do?
PJ: Because one is under the gun and the other is under the center.
That's it?
PJ: Yeah, and most fans, quite honestly, couldn't tell you what plays they ran out of the gun. It's like anything else -- if you're successful and you have big plays, then it's great. If you're not moving the ball and you're not scoring then it's no good. If you look at last year with what Rich did at Michigan, it's the same offense they ran at West Virginia, but it was a learning process, different personnel and they didn't have near the success. In fact they had very little success. But nobody was questioning whether it would work or not. As soon as we have one game where we don't score 30 points, boy it's like, I told you this wouldn't work, everybody figured it out. That's what drives you nuts.
Because it's going to be the second year, a lot of players feel so much more comfortable in the system, would you like to pass it more?
PJ: We could pass anytime we want. The objective is to try and win the game. We're going to do whatever it takes to win the game, and hopefully we'll be a lot more efficient at running the ball. If we become more efficient at running the ball, then the passing game will open up because people will say we have to play the run.
That's usually how it works. Do you think that you guys will be more efficient running the ball because it's the second year?
PJ: We're way better right now then we were a year ago. It's not even close. If you took the first spring and this spring, it's like two different teams. Do we have a ways to go? Yeah, we're still not there yet, but we're a lot better off than we were a year ago, no question.
Have you always called all the plays?
PJ: Yeah.
Is it true you don't script it?
PJ: No, I don't script it.
Not even the first 15 plays or so?
PJ: No.
Wow. Ok. Is there anything else I didn't ask you that would help explain any misconceptions about the offense to fans?
PJ: Well it's like anything else. If you execute it properly it's going to be good, and if you don't, it won't. There are no magic ways to line up and play the offense. There's nothing magical about the offense. If we don't block people and execute right, it's not going to work. It's no different than the BYU passing or anything else. It's a system and if you do it correctly you'll be successful and if not you won't. We've done it for 26 years. It's not like it was a one-time thing. I get a kick out of people saying, 'Well they'll have another year of defending it.' Gosh, they've got 25 years, and we haven't changed much.
Anytime you do something different, people want to make more out of it than it is, but if you go back and look over the years, look at the averages and what we've done, it's been very efficient for us. If there comes a time when it's not efficient then we'll adapt and change, that's what you do. That's why we don't script plays. I want to look out and see what you're doing on defense and then I'll call the plays accordingly. It doesn't make sense to me to script 15 plays and then I look out there and you're not lined up where I thought you were going to be.
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Hidden within this quote is the real genius of CPJ.
Even Ralph Friedgen scripts the first 15 plays.
One thing about the article that was disappointing to me is just how little HD understands about the spread offense. Not even one question a little kid couldn't have thought up. I expect a little more depth and substance from an ESPN writer. That interview was no different than what I would expect to see from a high school newspaper.
BuzzLaw
StinGTalk destroyer
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I agree. This was funny:
Have you always called all the plays?
PJ: Yeah.
Is it true you don't script it?
PJ: No, I don't script it.
Not even the first 15 plays or so?
PJ: No.
Wow. Ok.
HD is an idiot.
WracerX
Dr. Dunkingstein
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Chris Farley: Um, hi. Welcome to The Chris Farley Show. I'm.. Chris Farley.. and, my guest tonight is.. one of the.. greatest musicians.. uh, rock musicians. I guess, [COLOR=blue! important][COLOR=blue! important]songwriter[/color][/color], ever. [ Smacks himself ] GOD! That sounds stupid! God, I'm an idiot! I never know how to start these things!
Paul McCartney: You're doing great, Chris.
Chris Farley: [ hopeful ] Really? No, I'm not. [ hyperventilating ] Anyway.. I guess.. I didn't have, have to say, who you were, because.. man, I mean.. everyone knows who you are. Mmm.. you're Paul McCartney.
Paul McCartney: Well, it's great to be here.
Chris Farley: [ uncomfortable ] You.. you.. you remember when you were with The [COLOR=blue! important][COLOR=blue! important]Beatles[/color][/color]?
Paul McCartney: Yeah, sure.
Chris Farley: That was awesome!
Paul McCartney: Yeah, it was.
Chris Farley: O-kay.. Oh! You.. you remember when you went to Japan.. and, uh, and at the airport they arrested you 'cause you had some pot, and.. it made all the papers, and everything..?
Paul McCartney: Well, to be honest, Chris, I'd kind of like to forget all of that.
Chris Farley: [ smacks himself harder ] IDIOT!! That's so stupid! What a dumb question!!
Paul McCartney: No, no, no, Chris. I get asked that all the time in interviews. Maria Shriver asked the same question last week.
Chris Farley: Really? [ pause ] Did you know that she's married to [COLOR=blue! important][COLOR=blue! important]Arnold [COLOR=blue! important]Schwartzenegger[/color][/color][/color]?
Paul McCartney: Yeah. I've heard that.
Chris Farley: Did you see "Terminator"?
Paul McCartney: No, I missed that one.
Chris Farley: That was a pretty awesome flick. [ pause ] O-kay.. remember.. you remember when you were with The Beatles, and you were supposed to be dead, and, uh, there was all these clues, that, like, uh, you played some song backwards, and it'd say, like, "Paul Is Dead", and, uh, everyone thought that you were dead? That was, um, a hoax, right?
Paul McCartney: Yeah. I wasn't really dead.
Chris Farley: Right. I think we.. I think we got time for one more question. Uh.. remember when you were in The Beatles? And, um, you did that album [COLOR=blue! important][COLOR=blue! important]Abbey [COLOR=blue! important]Road[/color][/color][/color], and at the very end of the song, it would.. the song goes, "And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make"? You.. you remember that?
Paul McCartney: Yes.
Chris Farley: Uh.. is that true?
Paul McCartney: Yes, Chris. In my experience, it is. I find, the more you give, the more you get.
Chris Farley [ ecstatic, starts to point at Paul and mouth "AWESOME!" ] Well, that's it for this week's show. Thank you, Paul McCartney, thank you, for being one of the greatest.. of rock.. I mean, a living legend. And uh, a legend of rock and roll.. and.. just thanks for being on the show, and.. [ smacks himself even harder ] GOD DANGIT! That sounded stupid! I knew I'd screw up!
Paul McCartney: You did fine, you did fine, Chris.
Chris Farley: Really? Thanks, man. Thanks. Thank you. [ Outro music comes on, Chris continues to talk to Paul ] Remember.. remember when I was talking to you about "The Terminator"? You.. you should see that [COLOR=blue! important][COLOR=blue! important]movie[/color][/color], it's pretty cool..
[ Paul nods his head ]
Paul McCartney: You're doing great, Chris.
Chris Farley: [ hopeful ] Really? No, I'm not. [ hyperventilating ] Anyway.. I guess.. I didn't have, have to say, who you were, because.. man, I mean.. everyone knows who you are. Mmm.. you're Paul McCartney.
Paul McCartney: Well, it's great to be here.
Chris Farley: [ uncomfortable ] You.. you.. you remember when you were with The [COLOR=blue! important][COLOR=blue! important]Beatles[/color][/color]?
Paul McCartney: Yeah, sure.
Chris Farley: That was awesome!
Paul McCartney: Yeah, it was.
Chris Farley: O-kay.. Oh! You.. you remember when you went to Japan.. and, uh, and at the airport they arrested you 'cause you had some pot, and.. it made all the papers, and everything..?
Paul McCartney: Well, to be honest, Chris, I'd kind of like to forget all of that.
Chris Farley: [ smacks himself harder ] IDIOT!! That's so stupid! What a dumb question!!
Paul McCartney: No, no, no, Chris. I get asked that all the time in interviews. Maria Shriver asked the same question last week.
Chris Farley: Really? [ pause ] Did you know that she's married to [COLOR=blue! important][COLOR=blue! important]Arnold [COLOR=blue! important]Schwartzenegger[/color][/color][/color]?
Paul McCartney: Yeah. I've heard that.
Chris Farley: Did you see "Terminator"?
Paul McCartney: No, I missed that one.
Chris Farley: That was a pretty awesome flick. [ pause ] O-kay.. remember.. you remember when you were with The Beatles, and you were supposed to be dead, and, uh, there was all these clues, that, like, uh, you played some song backwards, and it'd say, like, "Paul Is Dead", and, uh, everyone thought that you were dead? That was, um, a hoax, right?
Paul McCartney: Yeah. I wasn't really dead.
Chris Farley: Right. I think we.. I think we got time for one more question. Uh.. remember when you were in The Beatles? And, um, you did that album [COLOR=blue! important][COLOR=blue! important]Abbey [COLOR=blue! important]Road[/color][/color][/color], and at the very end of the song, it would.. the song goes, "And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make"? You.. you remember that?
Paul McCartney: Yes.
Chris Farley: Uh.. is that true?
Paul McCartney: Yes, Chris. In my experience, it is. I find, the more you give, the more you get.
Chris Farley [ ecstatic, starts to point at Paul and mouth "AWESOME!" ] Well, that's it for this week's show. Thank you, Paul McCartney, thank you, for being one of the greatest.. of rock.. I mean, a living legend. And uh, a legend of rock and roll.. and.. just thanks for being on the show, and.. [ smacks himself even harder ] GOD DANGIT! That sounded stupid! I knew I'd screw up!
Paul McCartney: You did fine, you did fine, Chris.
Chris Farley: Really? Thanks, man. Thanks. Thank you. [ Outro music comes on, Chris continues to talk to Paul ] Remember.. remember when I was talking to you about "The Terminator"? You.. you should see that [COLOR=blue! important][COLOR=blue! important]movie[/color][/color], it's pretty cool..
[ Paul nods his head ]
Yellow Fever
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I find that interesting, I knew he never used a playbook but I did not know that. I believe coach Sewak at GSU did script plays, I know for sure that he did call plays 2 at a time when we were hitting on all cylinders to speed up our offense.
nate
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I lol'ed when I saw this.
gth816f
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ESPN is the network that brings you gems such as "My Wish," "TitleTown," and the "Five Good Minutes" segment on PTI. Why would you expect depth or substance from them?
I thought it was pretty good. Nothing we haven't heard before, but you have to remember we're all avid GT fans and snap up every article we see. For a lot of people who read the ACC blog on ESPN, a bunch of this stuff was probably new.
TechinItEasy
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PJ: We're way better right now then we were a year ago. It's not even close. If you took the first spring and this spring, it's like two different teams. Do we have a ways to go? Yeah, we're still not there yet, but we're a lot better off than we were a year ago, no question.
:eek5:
:eek5:
GTLiebs
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Don't overreact too much. A "year" ago we were coming of a, what, 12 fumble spring game? Now if he said we are way better than last November then that'd be different.
P.S. That may have been what he meant but we can't entirely be sure with those words.
GTLiebs
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Was Nesbitt in the spring game in 2008? I know he missed most of the practices but not sure about the game itself.
About that. I might not consider that as bad of a thing depending on the answer to this question. How many other schools allow the tackling of quarterbacks and such during the Spring game? I know Georgia didn't allow it but I don't know what the norm is.
About that. I might not consider that as bad of a thing depending on the answer to this question. How many other schools allow the tackling of quarterbacks and such during the Spring game? I know Georgia didn't allow it but I don't know what the norm is.
GTRules
You’re Mamma
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But you'd still hit it.
Xihix
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Her head seems too small for her body.
Allen Koholic
Likes dick drawings.
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That is my favorite line in the whole interview. I'm amazed he didn't say "Because fans are stupid."
There's a few real good portions in the interview. I like hearing his reasons for running from under center, as opposed to running from the gun.
jacket67
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I'm amused by some of the same dumb questions that get asked in these interviews. "Do you want to pass more?" The goal is to score points and the coach does what he needs to do to score based on how the other team's defense is succeeding. The interviewers often act like the play selection is designed to provide fun and variety for the play caller. A better question would be, "do you think you need a more effective passing game to win the ACC?" or "are adjustments by other teams forcing you to work harder on the passing game?"
gth816f
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And you think you would get a straight answer on those? You'd get more fluff answers, just like you get with the fluff questions. No HC in his right mind is going to actually give you insight onto what his team is working on during the offseason or what strategies they will use to try to win the ACC.
GTLiebs
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Instinct says: "Especially this coach"