Let me try to draw a parallel here.

N

ncjacket

Dodd-Like
Joined
Jun 17, 2002
Messages
14,639
Anybody remember when Pitino first went to Kentucky? They were on probation for something or other and had a very thin, not particularly talented team. I remember an article from that year where one of the old time KY fans, a woman, talked about that team. I'll never forget the gist of what she said. WTTE "those kids fought and scapped every minute of every game. They didn't win many, but you could see them leaving everything they had on the floor every night." She went on to talk about how the fans would almost be in tears from pulling for the team and dying with them when the outcome wasn't a win. But they also fell in love with that team and believe it set the stage for Pitino's later success.

That's what I was hoping for when this year got started. Make no mistake, I want to win EVERY game we play. But if the kids give it everything they have and the coaches get them in position to win, I'll be right there with them the whole way. That's why I really don't feel too bad about the FSU game. I had a bad Saturday night and Sunday morning. But with the heart and fight I saw on the field, with the potential and progress Reggie is making at QB (he's doing a little more each week - I can't wait to see what the coaches add for Clemson), and the number of guys stepping up and making plays I don't know how you can feel anything but pride in this team.

We still control our destiny. There isn't any game on our schedule that's not winnable. With the right concentration and effort this can be a special year. And if the results don't go our way, as long as I see the fight I've seen so far, this will still be a special year in Tech history as we look back on it.

All those inclinded to whine, please take it elsewhere.
 
I feel this week is more important than the past 2. This is a game more "winable" than those 2, as far as beefore the season started. Can we play lights out as an underjacket and then come back home and win a game we should against a quality opponent? This is the test.
 
stinger,
I think we could beat a quality opponent this week. The problem is: we play Clemson this week...not a quality opponent!
smile.gif
Just kidding kind of...but if the truth is told, Clemson hasn't played very well against anyone this year.

But you are correct. We must come back this week from a gut-wrenching loss and put it to the Tigers. If we see the kids play with the same intensity they played with in Tallahassee, then this year will truly be a special year. Because I saw kids giving absolutely everything they had Saturday night.
 
Originally posted by texstinger:
I feel this week is more important than the past 2. This is a game more "winable" than those 2, as far as beefore the season started. Can we play lights out as an underjacket and then come back home and win a game we should against a quality opponent? This is the test.
Click to expand...
<font size="2" face="Arial, Verdana, Sans-Serif">Like I said last week, this is the season. I agree with you. That loss was tough but it should give our young guys enough of a bitter taste to prove they are winners, and should go out and prove it against a so-so Clemson team, who has also gotten better since the UGA game. They havent played the caliber teams we have so we should be more than ready for a solid win for the first time in 3 years over Clemson. That could set the stage for a solid year and win 5-6 games rather than the 3 I predicted. But it is time to open up the offense if Gailey has it in the playbook. Now with 3 games under our belt, we can not continue to rely on our Defense or each game they will be dead in the 4th quarter. We have got to start scoring points and this weekend is the time to open it up. We need to be less predictable and have more misdirection since we dont have the horses or numbers in the playmaker area. We have got to see that this weekend.
 
Gnome, I think the question with the offense is how much has Ball absorbed. We've added stuff every week and would expect us to do the same this week. He is getting better at picking out his receivers and his arm certainly is good enough to air it out some. There's no way we will run the entire package this week, probably not this year. But if you go back and look at JoeHam's progression under Ralph you'll see the same thing. We added all the time for basically 4 years.
 
Why are we second-guessing our coaches afterthese three games?

I'm pleased as punch with the last 2, and have no doubt that we'd beat BYU on a second go-round. Maybe the coaches over-estimated RBall's need to go slow in his first start, but not knowing all, I'll defer to their judgement.
 
I like your parallel to UK hoops. However, I will add one thing. UK fans do not expect or even accept the notion that competing hard is the criteria to a successful program. They demand conference and national titles. Same as Georgia. Unfotunately, that can not be said of Tech fans, some of which were measuring success this year as 4 or 5 wins and trying hard. We even had some making the laughable excuse before the season that O'Leary had left the program with no talent. Now two "successful" outings into the season, suddenly all games are winnable. They were winnable before the season started. I just don't understand why fans did not see that. Tech's program is past the "play hard" stage. We have top 25 talent that played their hearts out against a better team Saturday night. I hope the loss was painful for the team, they get pissed, and beat the snot out of Clemson.
 
Originally posted by ncjacket:
Gnome, I think the question with the offense is how much has Ball absorbed. We've added stuff every week and would expect us to do the same this week. He is getting better at picking out his receivers and his arm certainly is good enough to air it out some. There's no way we will run the entire package this week, probably not this year. But if you go back and look at JoeHam's progression under Ralph you'll see the same thing. We added all the time for basically 4 years.
Click to expand...
<font size="2" face="Arial, Verdana, Sans-Serif">I agree with you and I never said the entire package. And I am not second-guessing anything. The game plan versus Clemson should include more misdirection and should benefit Ball where he is not having to make a play everytime he goes back. After 3 games, Ball has proven to be a leader and now is the time to win. That's what I see as something to help now that everything is on tape. We may have had 10 plays in against FSU and that's fine, but we are going to need a little more diversity on O to help our D in the 2nd half of these games. What a remearkable job by those guys!
 
Originally posted by Wrecked:
I like your parallel to UK hoops. However, I will add one thing. UK fans do not expect or even accept the notion that competing hard is the criteria to a successful program. They demand conference and national titles. Same as Georgia. Unfotunately, that can not be said of Tech fans, some of which were measuring success this year as 4 or 5 wins and trying hard. We even had some making the laughable excuse before the season that O'Leary had left the program with no talent. Now two "successful" outings into the season, suddenly all games are winnable. They were winnable before the season started. I just don't understand why fans did not see that. Tech's program is past the "play hard" stage. We have top 25 talent that played their hearts out against a better team Saturday night. I hope the loss was painful for the team, they get pissed, and beat the snot out of Clemson.
Click to expand...
<font size="2" face="Arial, Verdana, Sans-Serif">Wrecked: BEST POST THIS WEEKEND... THIS NEEDS MORE THEN ONE BUMP!

PS: Talent wasn't the issue last season nor this it's been - coaching.
frown.gif
 
Originally posted by bellyseries:
Why are we second-guessing our coaches afterthese three games?

I'm pleased as punch with the last 2, and have no doubt that we'd beat BYU on a second go-round. Maybe the coaches over-estimated RBall's need to go slow in his first start, but not knowing all, I'll defer to their judgement.
Click to expand...
<font size="2" face="Arial, Verdana, Sans-Serif">I am not second guessing in my post. Who are you refering to?
 
Wrecked I agree with your main point. I thought we COULD win every game this year if we played and coached well. Now that doesn't mean I really expect to go undefeated, at least not this year, something happens to most teams so that doesn't happen. What I can't believe is the number of fans who give up before we even kicked off.

Now my comparison to KY is simply that we have to overcome some unusual adversity this year IMO. The Carol Moore fiasco, injury losses, low recuiting numbers (at least last year) have left us a little short handed. And with Reggie at QB we're limited in what we can do offensively although he's picking things up pretty quickly. Also I felt some of our upperclassmen tanked on us last year. Maybe that isn't correct but it sure looked like it and it made me wonder about that sr leadership. Add all that up and the very low expectations the media and most observors have of this team and my main focus has become how we play, not so much the result.

I said in a thread back in July or August that if we got the emotion and intensity back we'd be okay in the w-l department. I still believe that. But the most important thing to me is getting that fire back. And so far, we seem to be doing that.
 
Originally posted by Wrecked:
I like your parallel to UK hoops. However, I will add one thing. UK fans do not expect or even accept the notion that competing hard is the criteria to a successful program. They demand conference and national titles. Same as Georgia. Unfotunately, that can not be said of Tech fans, some of which were measuring success this year as 4 or 5 wins and trying hard. We even had some making the laughable excuse before the season that O'Leary had left the program with no talent. Now two "successful" outings into the season, suddenly all games are winnable. They were winnable before the season started. I just don't understand why fans did not see that. Tech's program is past the "play hard" stage. We have top 25 talent that played their hearts out against a better team Saturday night. I hope the loss was painful for the team, they get pissed, and beat the snot out of Clemson.
Click to expand...
<font size="2" face="Arial, Verdana, Sans-Serif">EXACTLY! But we still need to put it in the end zone to beat the snot out of em.
 
Gnome, I understood your point, just observing that when people wonder about why we didn't run a particular play or package they should understand that we might not have put it in yet. I agree on Clemson, we need to continue to add wrinkles as Reggie can handle them.
 
Originally posted by ncjacket:
Gnome, I understood your point, just observing that when people wonder about why we didn't run a particular play or package they should understand that we might not have put it in yet. I agree on Clemson, we need to continue to add wrinkles as Reggie can handle them.
Click to expand...
<font size="2" face="Arial, Verdana, Sans-Serif">I agree again yet I really didnt see a whole lot different in this game than the Auburn game. Now, that doesnt mean it has to be fancy, b/c if the run up the middle is effective then I say do it or anything until they stop it. But NC, the Gailey offense isnt too complicated and it doesnt have to be. Even if its just adding some different sets and different motions on the plays we have would be good for this weekend. I dont care about last weekend. I am talking about what I feel is the most important game for the rest of the year.
 
It doesn't matter how pissed the team gets Wrecked, they can't play any harder than they did at FSU. I am not a loser and losing just eats me up but no reasonable person can expect more than 100% which is what we got from our team Saturday night. It bothers me too, when I read some fonts as saying that Gailey coached well in the first half but they imply he packed it in the second half. What happened to the defense also happened to the offense, they simply ran out of gas. Reggie had a little time to set up in the first half but FSU had players in our offensive backfield in the second half. I wonder how many of the critics of this team have played the game of football. It is not a complicated game but generally when a team wins the war at the line of scrimmage they also win the game. FSU dominated the line of scrimmage for whatever reason in the second half. Our young qb didn't choke as evidenced by the fact that if Jonathan Smith had caught that last pass to him we would have been in FG range to win the game. I am extremely proud of the team and COACHING STAFF.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top