Coaches or players

Tshirt Man

Tshirt Man

Flats Noob
Joined
Aug 21, 2014
Messages
505
I have a lot of questions about this year's team, especially on offense. I'm not disappointed with the defense. They have a ways to go but they look to be trending in the right direction.

I have no clue what is going on with the offense. They looked really good last year and with us not losing much, I expected big things from them this year. In several games this year, they look less talented and the play calling has been ultra conservation and stale.

Are the coaches not putting the players in position to succeed? After a year+ of film, are the opposing teams schemes stopping us and we aren't making adjustments to be successful. I have zero X's and O's football knowledge but I can predict the next play way to often. If me and the announcers know the next play, surely any decent defensive coordinator can figure it out and call a play to stop it.

The players proved last year they have the talent to succeed. Are the injuries worse than we know. We know Haynes wasn't 100% early on and probably not now. (Really didn't think he would be back after seeing on way to locker room yesterday). Cooley is out. Alexander who has been a pleasant surprise was out yesterday. Rutherford is banged up.

Has King been hurt longer than they let on? We've been bitching about no down field throws all year. Has he been fighting a nagging injury that limits the play calling?

Injuries happen in football. I get that, but outside the factories, it is hard to call plays when your top 2 rbs, your QB, some tight ends and your best? wr are hurt or out. I've been really down on CBF this year but maybe he's just playing the hand he was dealt and we don't have all the details.

It's just been a frustrating year. I'm less confident in the coaches than I was going into the year. Are they not able to adjust? Are players regressing instead of improving? Are we only limited by injuries and lack of depth that will be fixed with time? Maybe I'm just overreacting to back to back losses but things don't look good right now

To me this year was always a see improvement and hope for the best year. Next year, there are no more excuses and time to start judging the coaches.
 
Think the injuries have impacted the win column by at least 1 win , play calling has been a little iffy at times but some of that might be the injuries contributing.
I still think we are headed in the right direction & am very confident for 2025. Think Key is the right coach in the right place at the right time.
Philo looked good yesterday in what was a lackluster offensive performance, but the injuries probably are contributing especially this late in the season when a lot of folks are beat up as the wear & tear of the season starts to take a toll.
Been a GT fan since about 1960 or so & know you have ups & downs as seasons progress.
Looking forward to a lot of effort from the players against Miami & hope we can spoil there season although we will be a huge underdog.
 
Our WR group has regressed as a unit which I wasn't expecting. Injuries and graduation have made TE a weakness for us again which is having an outsized impact. We've had maybe 2 weeks all season of a healthy Jamal Haynes with injuries affecting depth there as well. At QB, Haynes King hadn't been at 100% much all season either. This isn't quite 2015, but it's getting close to that point.

Our offense was streaky last year, unstoppable when we were clicking but never really put it together for a whole game. This year, we've produced in spurts of effectiveness, but haven't seemed to have the depth to maintain drives or had our playmakers healthy enough to really be explosive. The lack of big plays really reduces the margin of error.
 
BainbridgeJacket said:
Our WR group has regressed as a unit which I wasn't expecting. Injuries and graduation have made TE a weakness for us again which is having an outsized impact. We've had maybe 2 weeks all season of a healthy Jamal Haynes with injuries affecting depth there as well. At QB, Haynes King hadn't been at 100% much all season either. This isn't quite 2015, but it's getting close to that point.

Our offense was streaky last year, unstoppable when we were clicking but never really put it together for a whole game. This year, we've produced in spurts of effectiveness, but haven't seemed to have the depth to maintain drives or had our playmakers healthy enough to really be explosive. The lack of big plays really reduces the margin of error.
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I would add some all too frequent lousy play calling by Faulkner.
 
We don't have depth or much superstar potential on this roster. I think we have some players that can be really good but they aren't 1st rounders.

I do think some of the results are on the coaches though. I don't care what skill level the players are, you can keep them from making mental mistakes and stupid penalties. Even if a punt only goes 35 yards, the coverage can be correct. Players can be in position to make a play and not use poor tackling technique even if they are plowed over or run past by a bigger or faster back. Clock management can be spot on no matter how crappy the players. All these things are happening way too often.

A lot of this is coaches and a lot is Jimmy's as CPJ used to say. The only way to fix the player portion today is to open your wallets. It's much easier to control the coaching now. I'm not saying Key can't find it, but without some kind of edge on the coaching side, we're gonna be mediocre for a long time until we can open our wallets.
 
gambler said:
We don't have depth or much superstar potential on this roster. I think we have some players that can be really good but they aren't 1st rounders.

I do think some of the results are on the coaches though. I don't care what skill level the players are, you can keep them from making mental mistakes and stupid penalties. Even if a punt only goes 35 yards, the coverage can be correct. Players can be in position to make a play and not use poor tackling technique even if they are plowed over or run past by a bigger or faster back. Clock management can be spot on no matter how crappy the players. All these things are happening way too often.

A lot of this is coaches and a lot is Jimmy's as CPJ used to say. The only way to fix the player portion today is to open your wallets. It's much easier to control the coaching now. I'm not saying Key can't find it, but without some kind of edge on the coaching side, we're gonna be mediocre for a long time until we can open our wallets.
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Seems like as soon as we up our game, the game ups its game.

I am not ready to accept the idea that our staff isn't a Tier One staff but then again, our ST coach was basically kicked out of the program last week so what the heck do I know.

Three of our last 5 games are against Top 10 teams - that is Brutal. A lot of us figured 7 or 8 wins was at least realistic and, looking back, I don't think such an expectation was out of line. Syracuse and VT were on most people's W list. If Haynes is not injured, we have a better chance vs VT leaving Syracuse as the only "real" unexpected loss.

So, I am not of the opinion that we are going off the rails. There is only one game that I think we really effed up (Syracuse).

Key does not have the experience to make optimal calls during the heat of battle. I remember Curry saying that he would meet with Dodd after every game to discuss in-game decisions and Dodd had a lot to say. I would bet good money that Key does the same with O'Leary.

I think we all got a little too jacked after F$U. Let's try to hold onto the commits we have and get some things fixed in the off season.

It took Ross 3 years to get things on track and he had less of a mess to clean up than Key after TFC.

Not that long ago, we had a moron running GT, a dumbass running the GTAA and an Idiot running our football program.

That's a lot to recover from.
 
00Burdell said:
Seems like as soon as we up our game, the game ups its game.

I am not ready to accept the idea that our staff isn't a Tier One staff but then again, our ST coach was basically kicked out of the program last week so what the heck do I know.

Three of our last 5 games are against Top 10 teams - that is Brutal. A lot of us figured 7 or 8 wins was at least realistic and, looking back, I don't think such an expectation was out of line. Syracuse and VT were on most people's W list. If Haynes is not injured, we have a better chance vs VT leaving Syracuse as the only "real" unexpected loss.

So, I am not of the opinion that we are going off the rails. There is only one game that I think we really effed up (Syracuse).

Key does not have the experience to make optimal calls during the heat of battle. I remember Curry saying that he would meet with Dodd after every game to discuss in-game decisions and Dodd had a lot to say. I would bet good money that Key does the same with O'Leary.

I think we all got a little too jacked after F$U. Let's try to hold onto the commits we have and get some things fixed in the off season.

It took Ross 3 years to get things on track and he had less of a mess to clean up than Key after TFC.

Not that long ago, we had a moron running GT, a dumbass running the GTAA and an Idiot running our football program.

That's a lot to recover from.
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Cuse is no joke at their place.
 
gtleviathan said:
Key had "35%" written in sharpie on the side of his hat during the game. I never heard what that was about but your post would explain it. I assume he was using it as a motivational tactic or something.
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This reminds me of the film Full Metal Jacket. The Colonel asks Joker why he is wearing a peace button but has written born to kill on his helmet.
“I was trying to suggest something about the duality of man, sir”.
“The what?”
“The duality of man the Jungian thing, sir”
 
00Burdell said:
Seems like as soon as we up our game, the game ups its game.

I am not ready to accept the idea that our staff isn't a Tier One staff but then again, our ST coach was basically kicked out of the program last week so what the heck do I know.

Three of our last 5 games are against Top 10 teams - that is Brutal. A lot of us figured 7 or 8 wins was at least realistic and, looking back, I don't think such an expectation was out of line. Syracuse and VT were on most people's W list. If Haynes is not injured, we have a better chance vs VT leaving Syracuse as the only "real" unexpected loss.

So, I am not of the opinion that we are going off the rails. There is only one game that I think we really effed up (Syracuse).

Key does not have the experience to make optimal calls during the heat of battle. I remember Curry saying that he would meet with Dodd after every game to discuss in-game decisions and Dodd had a lot to say. I would bet good money that Key does the same with O'Leary.

I think we all got a little too jacked after F$U. Let's try to hold onto the commits we have and get some things fixed in the off season.

It took Ross 3 years to get things on track and he had less of a mess to clean up than Key after TFC.

Not that long ago, we had a moron running GT, a dumbass running the GTAA and an Idiot running our football program.

That's a lot to recover from.
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I think we could have, perhaps should have, beat L'ville too. Questionable play calling in both games. I keep falling back on Ross's first few years as a measure of hope for what's happening now. I said some of the same things about Ross in 1988 that I and others are saying now, and we see what happened back then.
 
georgytech said:
Think the injuries have impacted the win column by at least 1 win , play calling has been a little iffy at times but some of that might be the injuries contributing.
I still think we are headed in the right direction & am very confident for 2025. Think Key is the right coach in the right place at the right time.
Philo looked good yesterday in what was a lackluster offensive performance, but the injuries probably are contributing especially this late in the season when a lot of folks are beat up as the wear & tear of the season starts to take a toll.
Been a GT fan since about 1960 or so & know you have ups & downs as seasons progress.
Looking forward to a lot of effort from the players against Miami & hope we can spoil there season although we will be a huge underdog.
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GOOD POINT - LET THE SEASON PLAY OUT
 
The other perspective is, GT going into the year had the #10 (ACC), #46 (nationally) roster per 247 sports. GT has lost a few to the Portal since the season started as well. While this isn’t a true indicator on how good a team is on the field (Duke, Indiana, Iowa State are examples) it does provide a good perspective on the talent each program has.

ACC:

247sports.com

2024 College ACC Football Team Talent Composite

In order to create the most comprehensive Team Recruiting Ranking without any notion of bias, 247Sports Team Recruiting Ranking is solely based on the 247Sports Composite Rating.
247sports.com 247sports.com

Nationally:

247sports.com

2024 College Football Team Talent Composite

In order to create the most comprehensive Team Recruiting Ranking without any notion of bias, 247Sports Team Recruiting Ranking is solely based on the 247Sports Composite Rating.
247sports.com 247sports.com

GT has lost 2 games to teams with a lower rated roster (VT, Syracuse) and on the flip side beaten 2 (FSU, UNC) with perceived more talent. The overall depth at certain positions isn’t going to be plug & play like it is at other programs right now. Which is why, GT really needs to keep this Top 20 recruiting class together, combined with some key Portal incoming transfers.

All eyes will really be on the decision of some players (King, Singleton) who will have offers to go elsewhere.
 
The last time we were this banged up was 2015.

How’d that year end up looking for us?
 
WracerX said:
Scheduling did us no favors as usual. Having 2 of 3 bye weeks in the last 3 games is bullshit.
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I had been thinking about this, looked a little deeper into it, and now I think there is a lot to it. GT and FSU had to travel week 0 to Ireland to play. That was a pretty physical game right out of the gate. So, we have to travel overseas and back, short turnaround for another game. Essentially everybody we play has 1 week fresher bodies than us, every game. Louisville had 2 week fresher because they had an early season bye. All that wears us down even more IMO. Finally get a breather before Duke, play decent in 2 games against teams that have played as much as us, and then we start getting worn down again because other folks are getting byes too now. We are still playing teams that have played less than us at this point. Here's how many games each team had played when they played GT:

FSU - both 0
Ga State - 0 to GTs 1
Syracuse - 1 to GTs 2
VMI - 2 to GTs 3
Louisville - 2 to GTs 4
Duke - 5 to GTs 5
UNC - 6 to GTs 6
ND - 6 to GTs 7
VPISU - 7 to GTs 8

From here out, everybody we play will have played the same amount of games as us. Every game we've lost so far has been to a team that has played less than us.
 
GoGATech said:
I had been thinking about this, looked a little deeper into it, and now I think there is a lot to it. GT and FSU had to travel week 0 to Ireland to play. That was a pretty physical game right out of the gate. So, we have to travel overseas and back, short turnaround for another game. Essentially everybody we play has 1 week fresher bodies than us, every game. Louisville had 2 week fresher because they had an early season bye. All that wears us down even more IMO. Finally get a breather before Duke, play decent in 2 games against teams that have played as much as us, and then we start getting worn down again because other folks are getting byes too now. We are still playing teams that have played less than us at this point. Here's how many games each team had played when they played GT:

FSU - both 0
Ga State - 0 to GTs 1
Syracuse - 1 to GTs 2
VMI - 2 to GTs 3
Louisville - 2 to GTs 4
Duke - 5 to GTs 5
UNC - 6 to GTs 6
ND - 6 to GTs 7
VPISU - 7 to GTs 8

From here out, everybody we play will have played the same amount of games as us. Every game we've lost so far has been to a team that has played less than us.
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I think the ideal bye schedule would have been, wk3, wk8, and wk13. That would have looked like this assuming the acc games jumble up.

FSU
GaSt
bye1
vmi
acc2
acc3
acc4
bye2
ND
acc5
acc6
bye3
acc7
uga


I may be off on the ND game.
 
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