This Was A Totally Different Ball Game Than Last Year…

[RamblinWreck92]

We'll have to agree to disagree on this point. Blame the coaches for giving the opposition an opportunity offensively, but most any dipshit has to realize that Kiffin offenses arent laying down....they are in it to score points. Any DB has to know that. The fact that Ole Miss ran a post pattern and waltzed into the end zone untouched to break the game wide open ain't coaching imo.

Coaches need to see that and yank the kid(s) out of the game rather than continuing to trot players who've quit out there. Additionally, the culture of quitting shouldn't be there in the first place. For all the flack I gave PJ, his players never quit on him and that's 100% due to PJ's coaching.

 

[savbandjacket]

I think the offense has new coaches and a different approach to practice. Even when there’s a bad or a busted play, it’s not for lack of effort. And you can also see the offense progressing and getting better.

I think defense is still infected by clown and is out there with the good time gang in practice. I know they are still using the tackling hoops that everyone questioned when Gef first got here. I saw it in one of the GT practice videos. They need to be running Oklahoma drills and learning how to nut up rather than playing with pool floats.

 

[Vespidie]

I think the offense has new coaches and a different approach to practice. Even when there’s a bad or a busted play, it’s not for lack of effort. And you can also see the offense progressing and getting better.

I think defense is still infected by clown and is out there with the good time gang in practice. I know they are still using the tackling hoops that everyone questioned when Gef first got here. I saw it in one of the GT practice videos. They need to be running Oklahoma drills and learning how to nut up rather than playing with pool floats.

And/or make an example out of some guys and get rid of those that don’t want to embrace a culture of toughness because we don’t have it right now.

 

[GTFLETCH]

This is right on. We were in the game till midway through the 4th last night when they scored a TD to make it 34-17 with 6 minutes left. The O drove the ball well (26 1st downs), controlled the clock (39:17 TOP), and put up 474 yards (307 passing and 167 rushing). We committed no TO's and no penalties. The O is not even faintly reminiscent of last year. It is much better, and that includes the OL, which still has a good bit of room to improve.

The difference in the game was the D. That GA Tech D is really bad. However, heading into the game, the Ole Miss O was ranked #13 total offense at 511 YPG. It is no shame giving up a lot of yards and points to Ole Miss at their place, but the D seemed to quit after the score to make it 34-17, allowing 2 more quick TD's. We saw the D fall apart in the 4th in the Louisville game, too, and considered it fatigue. However, last night the O moved the ball all night, and the TOP was 2:1 in our favor, so last night was not fatigue. If so, we have a conditioning issue, too. The simple truth is we graduated our 3 top playmakers off last year's D (Thomas - LB, Eley - LB, and White - DE), plus 3 next-level players transferred - to Ole Miss (Stone - DT, Walton - DB, and Ivey - DE). That's 3 DL, 2 LB, and 1 DB, all of which had shots at NFL rosters or are starting in the SEC.

Louisville was a game that we had less than 50% chance of winning, and Ole Miss was never a game that we considered a winnable one. We ought not get bent out of shape that we lost either one, especially last night. Instead, we ought to use the team's performance last night against last year's Ole Miss benchmark game to measure significant improvement in some areas. In case anyone needs reminding, we lost 42-0 in a game where Kiffin essentially stopped his team from scoring in the 4th quarter. In that game, we put up only 13 1st downs and 214 total yards on O, and the D gave up 42 points in 3 quarters.

We are 1-2 now, with @Wake and Bowling Green next two weeks. We can be 3-2 heading into Miami on 10/7. I can still see 6 wins and a bowl for this team: WFU, BGSU, BC, UVA, Syracuse. Maybe we can knock off a Miami or UNC and win 7.

6 and a bowl is doable!

 

[Supersize that order mutt]

I think the offense has new coaches and a different approach to practice. Even when there’s a bad or a busted play, it’s not for lack of effort. And you can also see the offense progressing and getting better.

I think defense is still infected by clown and is out there with the good time gang in practice. I know they are still using the tackling hoops that everyone questioned when Gef first got here. I saw it in one of the GT practice videos. They need to be running Oklahoma drills and learning how to nut up rather than playing with pool floats.

I definitely agree about the different approach to practice, as well as player effort on offense, but I continue to question some of Buster's play calling. He has possibly one of the best QBs in the country, and he doesn't play to his strengths consistently. Last night we found out, if we didn't already know, that we have two "Dodd-like" small RBs who can definitely get it done, so I have no problem with going to them, but otherwise, I personally think we should be airing the ball out every chance we get. We defintiely have the receivers to catch those balls, in spite of the two dropped TD passes that made a big difference in the flow of the game.

 

[wesleyd21]

We are better by miles at QB. King has exceeded expectations. He makes a bad thrown every now and then, but so does everyone else. But he seems poised and he makes throws that our QBs generally have not made. A-

WRs are good and deep. Dropped balls are frustrating and we had a few. Not worried about this unit. B

TE. We have them. And they are catching the ball. Seither seems to be a solid team addition. B

RB is a step back from our standard. We lack a bruiser and it is a huge gap on our team. Haynes and Cooley are ok at what they do, but neither is capable of taking over a game. Dontae seems to have disappeared. C. Some of us probably related to …..

OL is inconsistent but seems to be getting better. King is getting time to pass (most of the time). We aren’t pushing people around though and run lanes don’t last long. C

Faulkner gets a B+. I like the idea he has. Some of the play calls are head scratching though. Red zone offense needs to drastically improve.

Defense is a D- (or probably an F)
D line gets no pressure on the qb
Entire defense gets pushed around on run plays
Tackling is hit garbage
Secondary is slow and frequently breaks coverage
We can’t tackle for öööö
Defense kills any momentum that the O may start. We give up big plays when it matters most.

Thacker gets an F. He needs to go.

Special teams remain special. FG unit has and is going to cost us more games. As much as I hate to say it, it may be time to see if Frank Beamer wants a part time job as an analyst.

We don’t have a special teams coach for field goals. Just stating the facts.

 

[WracerX]

Coaches need to see that and yank the kid(s) out of the game rather than continuing to trot players who've quit out there. Additionally, the culture of quitting shouldn't be there in the first place. For all the flack I gave PJ, his players never quit on him and that's 100% due to PJ's coaching.

They quit on him in that last bowl, but that was it.