I Am Utterly Convinced

[TampaJacket]

In fact for every positive you give, there are a slew of negatives to combat that.

BOR, What negatives are you referring to? At least to this optimist's eyes, I see far more positives than negatives -- passing statistics being the only thing I can think of headed in the wrong direction -- but that could just be me and my gold-colored glasses. Thanks...Mike

 

[BarrelORum]

Syracuse was mediocre. Now they have completely crashed. Nebraska was winning 9 games a season, now they have completely crashed.

To me, it's very easy to see an improving situation. BC just kicked our butts and would have done the same to just about any team in the country that day. Great QB's, when they are on, can beat anybody.

Look at how mediocre or poor our recruiting class was four years ago and look at how many NFL prospects we have this year. If you can't see improvement then you just aren't looking.

Add in the whole probation thing which oh so many people just refuse to factor in and again you see well above average versus the norm (team on probation).

Look at our loss to Maryland and Virginia. Everyone's bitching about how poor they are, but they are sporting good records and have waged wars with everyone (except Wyoming). Both losses could be attributed to fluke plays, certainly the UVA loss was. The record shows a fiar 5-3 but the losses aint' woodshed types.

Look at attendance and ticket sales. Look at the representation of the I and tell me Chan isn't doing a hell of a job on getting Tech men. Look at the recruiting he's got going on. Look at the good recruiting base he's developed.

I give you that Chan is boring. I give you that Chan has a defensive grind it out style but that is just his style. It can work, but it doesn't excite people. I give you that he hasn't beaten UGA, but with flunkgate/probation who would have?

You can claim your argument but to say things aren't still improving is to put your head into the sand.

No offense, but this is a complete losers mentality. You are afraid of change for fear of failure.

To say we are having improvement is completely putting your head in the sand. Our record really doesn't show that with the exception of last year's 9-5 mark, but with a senior QB, a phenom receier, and the ALL ACC Running back, with one of the most toughest defenses in the country, and the way we lost our last 3 games of the season, was it really improvement?

Do you truly think Gailey single handedly improved recruiting? If it was up to Gailey we may still be recruiting those "diamonds in the rough". I think you guys are blinding yourself over the improvements of this team, but again, that's just my opinion.

 

[BarrelORum]

And for those of you making statements like "oh well, we are a fumbled punt and a FG away from 7-1", you need to shut up. If you're just going to say every close game we lost should have been a win why can't you say the opposite? We are a fumbled KO return, blocked punt, and dropped pass from being 3-5.

:laugher: so true!

 

[BarrelORum]

Yeah, you can pontificate on your opinion, but you better be ready to defend it if it is both stupid and potentially harmful.

Yeah, and you need to be able to do the same. You have defended your opinion no better than he has defended his.

We know recruits read message boards. They read them most when they are trying to decide where to go to school. We know parents read message boards. They want their children to go to a positive situation.

You can admit you don't care if what you post might hurt the thing you claim to root for, but have the decency not to claim it absolutely has zero effect on the program. We know of at least one recruit that went elsewhere due to bad fans loud on message boards, and can point to some others where it might have been a contributing factor.

Syracuse sucked? They canned a coach that won 9 or more games in a season for them six times, who had ONE losing season in 14 years, and who had just gone to a bowl. They did not accept mediocrity. Syracuse could be so much more.

They have gone 7-24 since.

That's what listening to fans like SyracuseKyle leads to.

If you buy this then I feel badly for you. I know all about the kid who dissed Bama for UVA or something like that 7 years ago. But if a kid chooses a school based on what a bunch of wannabe's on a message board said then he's a ****ing idiot too. And if that's the case, then the program is in a sad state anyway. Your belief in your own self importance as a fan is stifling.

 

[GTKyle]

So basically what you are saying is that you cannot see deeper than a won-loss record, and that if a recruit does not win the Heisman as a true freshman he will always be mediocre...

But you would have canned both Bobby Bowden and Frank Beamer after their terribly disappointing 6th seasons. No improvement there. Get rid of them. Don't settle for mediocrity like with Bobby Bowden and Frank Beamer.

When did I say our recruits were mediocre?

Bobby Bowden took a program with no history and 4 wins the previous 3 seasons combined to 10-2 in his second season. How is that like Chan at all? Why Frank Beamer was kept as coach, who knows...

 

[BarrelORum]

Chan is the only winning coach that wants to stay long term.

Woah Woah woah woah. This holds NO water. Chan was out the door, leaving GT in the dust if an NFL job came along and he tried to use that last year to get a pay raise. If you buy into Chan's desire to stay at GT, then I have some beach front property for you in North Dakota.

Lets not pretend for a minute that we have a coach whose loyalty to the school is unprecendented. Our loyalty to him has been as we gave him an extension without ever improving on his record and he got a bonus year anytime he took us to a bowl game. Yet, we're still stuck in the same place.

 

[BarrelORum]

BOR, What negatives are you referring to? At least to this optimist's eyes, I see far more positives than negatives -- passing statistics being the only thing I can think of headed in the wrong direction -- but that could just be me and my gold-colored glasses. Thanks...Mike

Are you saying in 6 years of the Chan Gailey regime you can only see 1 negative and that is our passing game? Are you serious?

 

[ncjacket]

First, I don't necessarily disagree with everything you are saying (and I also don't agree with everything Techbert is saying) but I think you're a little off-base here. I know there is one thing the staff probably took a little too long to act on but recruiting isn't something that many coaches will just step in and have instant success. The Dave Wilson issue aside, perhaps the staff needed the time to work and build relationships in a state where most high school administrators, coaches, teachers are graduates of the university that we're in direct competition with. Unless you meant keeping Wilson on the staff, I don't see how Gailey "broke" anything in regards to recruiting.

I think the problem with recruiting early on was simply that we hired a pro coach who had been away from the college game too long. I don't think Chan knew how to recruit. We had a good pipeline going under O'Leary (I know, some of those guys may have been reaches), that we let slip away. Was it Chan's fault? Probably only in the sense that as HC he's responsible for everything. But I do think we "broke" our recruiting and had to rebuid it. And yes, some coaches can come right in and improve/sustain recruiting. Ron Zook for one, Ted Roof as another (Duke's recruiting has been much better than before he got there).

 

[ncjacket]

Let me ask you guys an hypothetical question. If this year's team played the '99 or '00 or '01 teams, who do you think would win? Which team had the better players and most depth? When we talk about upward momentum, many people aren't comparing where we are now to 2003/4 or whatever, it's to where we were when Chan took over. I think that's a fair assessment. I've been mostly a Chan supporter since he got here. When we were sitting at 9-2 last year I though he had arrived and things were headed in the right direction. Our 5-6 record since then has made me rethink.

 

[BarrelORum]

My personal opinion of Chan Gailey is that he is poor and sometimes completely inept at being able to make a decision that helps our program. Chan gets credit for Tenuta, but he did not hire Tenuta, Braine did when Gailey's hire (Rick Smith at ECU) was not hired over resume issues.

Gailey choose to be his own OC and head coach after he admitted that was one of the bigger mistakes in his coaching of Dallas.

Gailey hired Dave Wilson.

After Dave Wilson proved to be a complete disaster, he was replaced but not by Chan's own doing. Chan was pressured to get rid of him and it was not Chan's decision.

Gailey hired Nix in response to someone elses decision that he not be his own OC.

Gailey did not fire Nix. In fact, if it was up to Gailey, Nix would still be our OC. If you believe anything else then you really don't know what is going on down at the GTAA.

I want Gailey to succeed, but after 6 years, I think we've seen the best we will see from him as Coach.

 

[ncjacket]

BTW, can we drop the VT/FSU comparison?

First, Bowden was 44-14 going into that disappointing 6th year. If Chan had just one season with a winning percentage of 76% we wouldn't be having this conversation.

As for Beamer, he took over from Bill Dooley who was the master of running the ball and scheduling. The year prior to Beamer's arrival VT won 10 games against a schedule that had a cumulative winning % of 45%. The worst record Beamer's opponents had in his first 6 years was 54%. Yes, VT struggled early with him as HC, but their schedules were much tougher than when Dooley was around as Syracuse and Miami among others came on strong with their programs. Would I have called for Beamer's head? Maybe. But the situations are totally different and have nothing to do with each other.

 

[midatlantech]

"Let me ask you guys an hypothetical question. If this year's team played the '99 or '00 or '01 teams, who do you think would win?" There is no comparison. The teams in '99, '00, and '01 did everything they could, including cheating. The teams today are paying for those mistakes.

Otherwise, one had good offenses, the other had good defenses. This year's team will possibly have more draft picks (7 rounds only) than any other in Tech history.

 

[ncjacket]

Cheating? So I assume from that you believe it was done intentionally to keep players eligible?

 

[midatlantech]

BOR, I love it when you of all people call me a loser. This season is not even over yet and you've quit already. That's a loser my friend.

Regarding the Tech program, the head coach is just one part of the whole package. Tearing it down midseason does not do anything good for the Tech program.

Regarding Chan leaving for the NFL, I think he had made it clear that he wanted to retire at Tech. I think the NFL chase was as much about us as it was him wanting to leave. But I could be wrong, it would only confirm the whole issue of it being difficult to keep winning coaches long term.

Regarding Reggie, I agree that after the fact, I was angry that we didn't try a different quarterback. After Reggie got hurt we just were not the same team. However, through 8 games this season, it is very apparent to me why Chan came to the conclusion that Reggie offered us our best chance to win last year. A healthy Reggie was clearly our best quarterback, but like any team in the country, when your starter is hurt, your team is badly hurt.

 

[BarrelORum]

BOR, I love it when you of all people call me a loser. This season is not even over yet and you've quit already. That's a loser my friend.

No I didn't call you a loser. I said what you have is a losers mentality. I also am not the one who defined it. Its why so many people in life are content and happy in their middle management position, because they are afraid to make a change for fear of failing or losing what they already have. Many of the top successful business books ever written touch on this trait in people. It's defined as an impediment to success.

 

[lonestarjacket]

I'm not saying Chan should be fired. I'm saying I think DRad will think long and hard about the future of the program when this year ends. If we're 7-5 with another loss to ugag I think Chan is gone. If we're 9-3 he'll still be here. In between likely depends on who we beat. Either way I'll continue to pull for Tech as I've always done.
.

QFT

Some here have declared they will abandon GT if Chan is fired. When DRad was hired some wailed because Curry was not hired and declared they would abandon GT on that decision.

I don't think anyone could argue that any coaching decision after the end of this season would be made capriciously. This regime has had plenty of time to show what they can do and what they are about.

Those who would consider abandoning a program because of one coach who was given a fair shot are as misguided as those who called for his head after the first year IMO. Those who want GT to lose any game because of their coaching agenda are despicable rather than misguided.

 

[lonestarjacket]

"Let me ask you guys an hypothetical question. If this year's team played the '99 or '00 or '01 teams, who do you think would win?" There is no comparison. The teams in '99, '00, and '01 did everything they could, including cheating. The teams today are paying for those mistakes.

Wow.

I think you have officially defined yourself as a fan of the current coach more than a fan of Georgia Tech.

 

[LLTW]

Georgia Tech is the premier football power in the world! These so called 5 losses are the propaganda of George Bush! Reggie Ball was an agent of Mossad! Go home to your women and children! All is well!

​

 

[TampaJacket]

Are you saying in 6 years of the Chan Gailey regime you can only see 1 negative and that is our passing game? Are you serious?

That's not what I said, BOR, and I would appreciate it if you would not put words in my mouth. Here is what I said:

BOR, What negatives are you referring to? At least to this optimist's eyes, I see far more positives than negatives -- passing statistics being the only thing I can think of headed in the wrong direction -- but that could just be me and my gold-colored glasses. Thanks...Mike

Which was in response to this post:

In fact for every positive you give, there are a slew of negatives to combat that.

Just so we're clear, I'm suggesting the current trend in the majority of measurables (and even many unmeasurables) is positive, and you suggested that for every positive you could find "a slew" of negatives. I'm simply asking for evidence of some of these negative trends, to be sure my optimistic nature isn't getting the better of me, or if, in fact, this was one of your posts that I "shouldn't take so seriously".

Thank you in advance for answering my question...Mike

 

[midatlantech]

LoneStarJacket,
You can't have it both ways in life. We complain about others cheating and then look the other way for ourselves. I love every Tech team, y'all are the ones who brought up comparing teams (something impossible to do of course).

When UGA cheats and beats our butts with players that shouldn't be on the field, we complain. Let's be fair, our star QB was extended extra benefits and that action put us into probation. In fairness you can't compare one team full of players with another that is held to less numbers and either we openly recognize that (when asked here) or keep our mouths shut when the same issues occur every 4 years at UGA.