Early on, nobody had an answer for the Johnson offense. I recall the 2010 UGA game, which Playstation-like. No defense on either side. 76 total points scored. UGA's Grantham would jam the inside to force to the perimeter, and Nesbitt would just exploit the perimeter. Then you'd see Grantham scramble to stop the pitch, and the dives would go for big yardage. I remember thinking, "This will expose every defense that isn't rock solid and lightning fast."
Now it seems defenses are coming with much more specialized plans and working a little bit at a time through the year on them, then, where possible, getting a BYE the week before Tech. I think in the ACC, Johnson is the Great Satan, no matter how the games actually come out. Nobody anywhere wants to play against Tech. But last year UGA had a consistent, every-play plan to fill the inside lanes and dedicate the fastest LB (R. Smith) to just run to the perimeter without having to make any read other than run left or run right. It worked well, but of course R. Smith was a Butkus winner.
Other 3O schools are evolving their offenses to keep ahead of the counter-scheming. Still some triple option but a little bit more multi-dimensional. No news to anybody that it's nice to be able to throw. Nesbitt could throw just enough to freeze the attack for an instant, and JT, about the same. But (my take) Johnson seems a little too committed to his original design, as if it's holy writ. It's brilliant but like any scheme, it needs to grow a little. I'm curious to see if he's going to add some significant wrinkles. He can always tear up average defenses with "the playbook in his head--look, no clipboard!", but he needs more answers when the competition is higher level.
