2018 Offensive Unit Projections

[GTRules]

Great analysis, as usual. Thanks, Jerry.

 

[helluvaparamedic]

How will a marginal at best passer like Marshall bring his completion numbers up when the bulk of practice will be spent on the run game? Wouldn't it be better to have a better passer in the game to start off with (if that someone can make the plays in the run game) ?

Come on LJ...we need you to step up in a big way.

 

[Van hayes]

How will a marginal at best passer like Marshall bring his completion numbers up when the bulk of practice will be spent on the run game? Wouldn't it be better to have a better passer in the game to start off with (if that someone can make the plays in the run game) ?

Come on LJ...we need you to step up in a big way.

No matter who the QB is if we keep throwing bombs all day. Johnson is one stubborn dude! With all the AB's on the field he could easily have a short passing game.

 

[Van hayes]

The potential Offensive depth chart for 2018 looks pretty good. I thought I would share my prospective on this to give us something to discuss during this slow period for GT football.

Of course the main position for any football team is the QB position. We have some experience there but we really need to develop some semblance of a passing game and refine our operation of the Paul Johnson offense. I think the writing is on the wall that CPJ is going to stay with T. Marshall and hope to develop some depth behind him.

Here is how I see the depth there:

1) T. Marshall
2) Lucas Johnson
3) Tobias Oliver

I really don’t see the freshman Graham playing unless he is Superman and we just don’t know it.

The next most important position is the B Back position. We have some talent there but again we need to really advance the performance there to develop a winning program. Here is how I see things shaking out there:

1) Benson
2) Howard
3) Jordan Mason

I hope Howard really comes on this year, we need him to so we can rotate the personnel more and keep the position fresh to close out games. I don’t see the freshman Malloy breaking into the rotation.

As usual we have a slew of A Backs. I really feel like this group underperformed in 2017 and I expect much improved performance in 2018. Here is how I see the depth:

1) Clinton Lynch
2) Qua Searcy
3) Cottrell
4) O. Jarrett
5) Dontae Smith
6) Xavier Gantt

At the center position, we are pretty set but again we need a higher level of performance in 2018. Hopefully, as with all of the line positions, another year of experience and growth will elevate that group to the status we had hoped for in 2017 but did not see materialize. Here is the depth I see at Center:

1) Cooper
2) Conner Hansen
3) Scott Morgan

The Guards were thought to be the strength of our offensive line last year but to me they also came up short of expectations. I think they have strong motivation to excel this coming season. Here is how I see the top 6 at that position:

1) Will Bryan
2) P. Braun
3) Minihan
4) Morgan
5) Tufele
6) Maye
7) Lagood

The tackle position was a train wreck last season. We have to make major improvement here in 2018 and hopefully we will. I am concerned that A. Marshall can hold up but hopeful that he will. I think he is key to getting things going in the right direction at this position.

1) A. Marshall
2) J. Lee
3) Stickler
4) Clark
5) Ivemeye
6) Quinney

Finally the receiver position is another place we need improved performance. This group has to step up in helping develop a more potent passing game and do a much better job of blocking the perimeter. Here is how I see the depth at the 2 receiver positions:

1) Brad Stewart
2) Jalen Camp
3) A. Sanders
4) Dolphus
5) Jair Anderson
6) Charlie Thomas

So in summary, we have a lot of potential for improvement on the offensive side of the ball. I think the real key is TaQuon Marshall. We will only go as far as he takes us. Hopefully his ability to read the option and throw the football will take a big leap and we will have the kind of football team we all want.

Go Jackets!

The potential Offensive depth chart for 2018 looks pretty good. I thought I would share my prospective on this to give us something to discuss during this slow period for GT football.

Of course the main position for any football team is the QB position. We have some experience there but we really need to develop some semblance of a passing game and refine our operation of the Paul Johnson offense. I think the writing is on the wall that CPJ is going to stay with T. Marshall and hope to develop some depth behind him.

Here is how I see the depth there:

1) T. Marshall
2) Lucas Johnson
3) Tobias Oliver

I really don’t see the freshman Graham playing unless he is Superman and we just don’t know it.

The next most important position is the B Back position. We have some talent there but again we need to really advance the performance there to develop a winning program. Here is how I see things shaking out there:

1) Benson
2) Howard
3) Jordan Mason

I hope Howard really comes on this year, we need him to so we can rotate the personnel more and keep the position fresh to close out games. I don’t see the freshman Malloy breaking into the rotation.

As usual we have a slew of A Backs. I really feel like this group underperformed in 2017 and I expect much improved performance in 2018. Here is how I see the depth:

1) Clinton Lynch
2) Qua Searcy
3) Cottrell
4) O. Jarrett
5) Dontae Smith
6) Xavier Gantt

At the center position, we are pretty set but again we need a higher level of performance in 2018. Hopefully, as with all of the line positions, another year of experience and growth will elevate that group to the status we had hoped for in 2017 but did not see materialize. Here is the depth I see at Center:

1) Cooper
2) Conner Hansen
3) Scott Morgan

The Guards were thought to be the strength of our offensive line last year but to me they also came up short of expectations. I think they have strong motivation to excel this coming season. Here is how I see the top 6 at that position:

1) Will Bryan
2) P. Braun
3) Minihan
4) Morgan
5) Tufele
6) Maye
7) Lagood

The tackle position was a train wreck last season. We have to make major improvement here in 2018 and hopefully we will. I am concerned that A. Marshall can hold up but hopeful that he will. I think he is key to getting things going in the right direction at this position.

1) A. Marshall
2) J. Lee
3) Stickler
4) Clark
5) Ivemeye
6) Quinney

Finally the receiver position is another place we need improved performance. This group has to step up in helping develop a more potent passing game and do a much better job of blocking the perimeter. Here is how I see the depth at the 2 receiver positions:

1) Brad Stewart
2) Jalen Camp
3) A. Sanders
4) Dolphus
5) Jair Anderson
6) Charlie Thomas

So in summary, we have a lot of potential for improvement on the offensive side of the ball. I think the real key is TaQuon Marshall. We will only go as far as he takes us. Hopefully his ability to read the option and throw the football will take a big leap and we will have the kind of football team we all want.

Go Jackets!

Conner Hansen is our next star at guard. He is a white Shaq, he crushes people!

 

[QuadF]

No matter who the QB is if we keep throwing bombs all day. Johnson is one stubborn dude! With all the AB's on the field he could easily have a short passing game.

I think cpj is going to avoid the short passes with the ab as it doesnt force safeties out of the box or dbs to back off the line. There's something to be said for medium routes to spread the mlbs side to side, but I think that wont discourage the safeties to play back.

It might be the only option if we can't seal the edges in runs though

 

[RamblinWreck92]

I just don’t think we do what we want to do as well as we once did. The option is what makes this hard to defend. If the OL does not allow penetration into the QB’s path and he is adept at reading defenses and a good ball handler and runs the TO quickly - then watch out. It seems to me we have evolved into running the true triple option less and less. Nesbitt learned to run it really well. Vad could not run option well at all. Tevin was good at it, not great. Justin was a good runner, but not great at the pitch and we seemed to run the true TO less in his tenure. TaQuon is even more a QB who is a good runner but not good at all at running the TO. I think the OL has made progress. Get a great triple option QB under center and we will do well. It is when the defense is struggling to defend the option that the other stuff opens up - rocket toss, mid-line, counters, passes. But if those plays become your main calls, our formation and personnel will scare no one.

If the OL and if QB is adept and if he's good ball handler and if he runs it quickly....we'll still get stuffed if we don't pass it well. Which we won't if TQ is under center again.

 

[Yukonwreck]

If the OL and if QB is adept and if he's good ball handler and if he runs it quickly....we'll still get stuffed if we don't pass it well. Which we won't if TQ is under center again.

We really do WANT to be a run-first, almost a run-only offense. CPJ wants that, and actually, I want that, too. When we are clicking and running for 400 to 500 yards a game, everything falls into place. Clock control, takes the pressure off the defense, never kicking field goals, passing when we want to and not when we have to. But, we play against a few teams that have some of the best defenses in the country every year. When they can take away a certain percentage of the running game, we have had nothing to counter that. Run two yards, run 1 yard, attempt a high risk pass, punt. When even Cutcliffe is completely shutting our offense down, it is time for some introspection.

 

[Akinji07]

We really do WANT to be a run-first, almost a run-only offense. CPJ wants that, and actually, I want that, too. When we are clicking and running for 400 to 500 yards a game, everything falls into place. Clock control, takes the pressure off the defense, never kicking field goals, passing when we want to and not when we have to. But, we play against a few teams that have some of the best defenses in the country every year. When they can take away a certain percentage of the running game, we have had nothing to counter that. Run two yards, run 1 yard, attempt a high risk pass, punt. When even Cutcliffe is completely shutting our offense down, it is time for some introspection.

This is by far your best post.

 

[gogt5]

We really do WANT to be a run-first, almost a run-only offense. CPJ wants that, and actually, I want that, too. When we are clicking and running for 400 to 500 yards a game, everything falls into place. Clock control, takes the pressure off the defense, never kicking field goals, passing when we want to and not when we have to. But, we play against a few teams that have some of the best defenses in the country every year. When they can take away a certain percentage of the running game, we have had nothing to counter that. Run two yards, run 1 yard, attempt a high risk pass, punt. When even Cutcliffe is completely shutting our offense down, it is time for some introspection.

How could anyone disagree with this? Spot on

 

[ramblinwise1]

I do believe that with now a decade of going against Coach Johnson's offense, that several ACC teams and UGA have become very adept at defending against it. I know the old adage of, "if you block and execute properly, no defense can stop any offense", but I think teams do glean knowledge over time in how to defend certain offenses. They take queues from formation, motion, personnel and anticipate what is coming. They become more adept at defending our blocking techniques. So I think it has become more difficult for our offense to be successful as a result of this factor. I would love to see us develop some change of pace or against our tendency plays and incorporate more of that sort of thing into our offense. It seems we run a very similar sort of play on first down 90 plus percent of the time. Here I think we should throw the ball more often with some sort of safe, short pass rather than throwing the long ball. I also would like for us to introduce some different formations with more frequency to confuse our opponents and force them to rethink their defensive strategy. I just think our offense has grown a bit stale and needs some infusion of something new.

Go Jackets!

Yup. This is why the option comes and goes. In 1969, the top 2 teams at least were wishbone teams. If people haven't seen it they think they can out athlete it in their base defense. After getting beat a couple of times they take it seriously and figure out ways to blow it up.

 

[Killick]

We really do WANT to be a run-first, almost a run-only offense. CPJ wants that, and actually, I want that, too. When we are clicking and running for 400 to 500 yards a game, everything falls into place. Clock control, takes the pressure off the defense, never kicking field goals, passing when we want to and not when we have to. But, we play against a few teams that have some of the best defenses in the country every year. When they can take away a certain percentage of the running game, we have had nothing to counter that. Run two yards, run 1 yard, attempt a high risk pass, punt. When even Cutcliffe is completely shutting our offense down, it is time for some introspection.

Just wondering why Cutcliffe happened to figure out how to stop the TO in the week between their loss to Army and their win over us. One hell of an "Aha!" moment.

 

[beej67]

The offense will be better next year.

If I had time, I would plot (# returning starters on offense) vs (points per possession on offense), show how strongly that's correlated for CPJ-GT offenses, and give a prediction based on that. But I have a real job. One of you guys can do it. I expect this year's offense to be somewhere in the top 4 of all GT offenses under CPJ, intuitively speaking.

The question is what the defense does. And I don't think there's any real applicable data for that - it's going to come down to coaching.

 

[stingmeyall]

Just wondering why Cutcliffe happened to figure out how to stop the TO in the week between their loss to Army and their win over us. One hell of an "Aha!" moment.

Actually Cutcliffe didn't. GT rushed for 288 yds with a 5.9 YPC against Duke. Now the passing attack was nothing to write home about. 3-14 with a pick and 82 yds. What was a constant was how woeful our defense played. UGA had one of their best defenses in the past decade. We didn't exactly tear it up but did rush for 188 yds and a 4.1 YPC. Again little to no success through the air. 2-9 with a pick. Again the D was far from formidable. I think we have to have a huge turnaround on D and PJ has to script some plays that TM can execute and get opposing DC's off balance.

 

[beej67]

Actually Cutcliffe didn't. GT rushed for 288 yds with a 5.9 YPC against Duke. Now the passing attack was nothing to write home about. 3-14 with a pick and 82 yds. What was a constant was how woeful our defense played. UGA had one of their best defenses in the past decade. We didn't exactly tear it up but did rush for 188 yds and a 4.1 YPC. Again little to no success through the air. 2-9 with a pick. Again the D was far from formidable. I think we have to have a huge turnaround on D and PJ has to script some plays that TM can execute and get opposing DC's off balance.

If we only get 188 yds on the ground at 4.1 ypc, then that has to be compensated by a 250 yd or better passing game. If they can hold us to those rushing numbers without completely selling out on the run, then the system has failed. The point of the system is to force teams to sell out, in order to hold us to those numbers, and then collect free touchdowns over the top.

tl;dr, teams should have to commit both safeties to run support to hold us to that low a rushing total.

 

[ThisIsAtlanta]

If we only get 188 yds on the ground at 4.1 ypc, then that has to be compensated by a 250 yd or better passing game. If they can hold us to those rushing numbers without completely selling out on the run, then the system has failed. The point of the system is to force teams to sell out, in order to hold us to those numbers, and then collect free touchdowns over the top.

tl;dr, teams should have to commit both safeties to run support to hold us to that low a rushing total.

They did, just like all teams in the second half of our schedule. There was nobody they needed to cover because our QB, for whatever reason, was having the worst 6 game passing performance in the history of CPJ QBs, without a single exception.

 

[stingmeyall]

They did, just like all teams in the second half of our schedule. There was nobody they needed to cover because our QB, for whatever reason, was having the worst 6 game passing performance in the history of CPJ QBs, without a single exception.

By TM's own admission he has to improve, but no QB has a higher % comp rate heaving 30-40 yd passes vs. 10-20 yd passes. We have to come up with a better passing scheme IMHO.

 

[ThisIsAtlanta]

By TM's own admission he has to improve, but no QB has a higher % comp rate heaving 30-40 yd passes vs. 10-20 yd passes. We have to come up with a better passing scheme IMHO.

Every CPJ QB ever has a higher completion rate in this scheme than TM did in his last 6 games. That's what I'm trying to say. He ended up at 37% completion on the season or something like that, and he was over 50% in his first five. His season mark was a QB low for CPJ at GT, but his last six you really can't undersell.

 

[stingmeyall]

Every CPJ QB ever has a higher completion rate in this scheme than TM did in his last 6 games. That's what I'm trying to say. He ended up at 37% completion on the season or something like that, and he was over 50% in his first five. His season mark was a QB low for CPJ at GT, but his last six you really can't undersell.

Can’t dispute this but I do think Marshall’s passing numbers will improve. Would be hard to improve on his rushing numbers though.

 

[ThisIsAtlanta]

Can’t dispute this but I do think Marshall’s passing numbers will improve. Would be hard to improve on his rushing numbers though.

I'm with you that I think his passing numbers will improve. It's kind of sink or swim, for him, because there's no way the backups are so unprepared that he could start having 25% completion games with tons of missed reads and still keep his spot this year. He's a baller, though, and I think he'll get it done. He was clicking just fine in his first five, so it clearly isn't beyond him. His rushing numbers, excitingly, do have a lot of room to grow. He's a phenomenally talented runner, and produced his numbers last year despite playing against a lot of defenses that were keyed in on him with no inclination towards being honest whatsoever. If he gets better on his reads and throws and can force defenses to stop calling rock on every play, his rushing efficiency at the very least is going to be eyeball-exploding. Should we be gifted with the highlight reel that'd produce, I think we'd all cherish it until the end of our days.

In my honest opinion, TM has what it takes to go out on top. He might need to go to A-back to do it, worst case, but he could definitely end his career on the all-CPJ team, or better, from anywhere on the field.

 

[wesleyd21]

I do believe that with now a decade of going against Coach Johnson's offense, that several ACC teams and UGA have become very adept at defending against it. I know the old adage of, "if you block and execute properly, no defense can stop any offense", but I think teams do glean knowledge over time in how to defend certain offenses.

Did not realize the college players we go up against have TEN years of experience defending our option attack!