Thoughts on Reggie Ball and Coaching Staff

L

LUVarsity

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After reading the threads concerning Reggie Ball's academic hoopla, I am greatly disappointed in the coaching staff for not being on top of this. I am assuming the reports of his lack of class attendance and misbehavior during the classes he chose to attend are true (as reported by a fellow RB classmate and others). His teammates had to know of his disdain for the classroom. Consequently, they had little to no respect for him on the field. While all the while you have Tashard Choice and Calvin Johnson--class acts-- having to submit to RB's ineptitude and tolerate his lack of character. I watched him play game after game and what amazes me (and oddly enough the forthcoming statement applies to Michael Vick on the Falcons' sidelines) is how lifeless and emotionless, he is. He sits on the bench like he is in a daze--light years removed from the game. I can never remember RB acting like a leader, encouraging fellow players while on the sideline. It is no wonder he could not lead the Yellow Jackets on the field. If the coaching staff couldn't pull RB due to his horrific play then what prevented them from benching him for character issues? The Reggie Ball era is over. However, the Chan Galey look-the-other-way-and-deny-the-obvious era isn't! I am still concerned for our beloved Jackets.
 
LUVarsity said:
However, the Chan Galey look-the-other-way-and-deny-the-obvious era isn't! I am still concerned for our beloved Jackets.
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Here, here! :biggthumpup:
 
I watched him play game after game and what amazes me (and oddly enough the forthcoming statement applies to Michael Vick on the Falcons' sidelines) is how lifeless and emotionless, he is. He sits on the bench like he is in a daze--light years removed from the game. I can never remember RB acting like a leader, encouraging fellow players while on the sideline.
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My seats are on the 7th row behind the GT bench towards the south end of the stadium - directly behind where the offense sits while the defense is in the game. I rarely, if ever, saw RB "sitting in a daze". He was usually engaged in conversation with Bennett, Choice, one of the coaches or on the headphones with Nix, I assume. He always congratulated his receivers or Choice on a good play.

Certainly NOT 'lightyears removed from the game'. This description you give of RB is simply not accurate.
 
ok...now I would like to see you post about the other 103 kids in the football program that made the cut off the field....30 or so which made dean's list.

Cmon...I am waiting guys...you guys are so skilled at being "the cowardly critic"...lets see if you can do a post about the 99% going right.

cmon...you can do it...maybe some counseling and anti-depressants would help as well.
 
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The Other 103 Players that Made the Cut

Let me be the first to congratulate the 103 academicians! I sincerely applaud them. And I am certain with their erudite minds they saw what the GT coaching staff couldn't see all along--Reggie Ball was not qualified to lead our esteemed Jackets on or off the field; in or out of the classroom.
 
The facts do not support your conclusion, but don't let that stop you.

It takes a very big man to kick another when they are down, or use another man's shortcomings to show disdain for our head coach.

Why not take the high road, keep your complaints to yourself, and root for the other 95% of team rather than trying to tear it down with the faults of the few?
 
Re: The Other 103 Players that Made the Cut

LUVarsity said:
I am certain with their erudite minds they saw what the GT coaching staff couldn't see all along--Reggie Ball was not qualified to lead our esteemed Jackets on or off the field; in or out of the classroom.
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If they had felt this way we would have seen a 1994 style meltdown rather than steady team wide improvement leading to an ACCCG appearance and 1/1 bowl.
 
Here's my take on Ball, while I have seen him cheering on players like Taylor Bennett in mop up duty, I've also seen him ignore coaches on the sideline and appear out of it. It seems Reggie's personality pins on the surroundings. Things are going well, Reggie is a sportsman on the sidelines. Things are going bad, and he's distant an unresponsive. I've seen both in him.

The bigger factor to me is Reggie's constant jawing on the field of play regardless of the situation. Ive never seen a Tech athlete talk more sh*t than Reggie on the field. It makes me sick.

Regardless, I agree that he should have not been the one chosen to lead this team and the fact that he is a CAPTAIN says that Gailey has not a clue as to making the correct personnel calls.
 
BOR, I agree, to a certain extent, with your first two paragraphs, but...

BarrelORum said:
Regardless, I agree that he should have not been the one chosen to lead this team and the fact that he is a CAPTAIN says that Gailey has not a clue as to making the correct personnel calls.
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Perhaps Gailey, a professional coach for virtually all his adult life, knows what's better for the team than a fan.

Or perhaps the team chooses the captains.

But that wouldn't make for as interesting of a post or give you a chance to belittle our coach, would it?

Remember, hindsight is always 20-20, and unless you've done the job and had success, using words such as "no clue" just make you look as if you're the one without a clue but with an agenda....Mike
 
BarrelORum said:
Regardless, I agree that he should have not been the one chosen to lead this team and the fact that he is a CAPTAIN says that Gailey has not a clue as to making the correct personnel calls.
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zzzzzactly. :woot:
 
Interesting. You have no real idea what happened, what the progress reports on Ball's grades were or how his teammates looked on him. But you still feel compelled to give us your insightful analysis from what, 120 miles away? None of us knows what Reggie's classroom issues were. Perhaps he did exhibit a disdain for the classroom, but he was also in good academic standing as a sr. Seems kind of at odds with your description doesn't it?

Unless someone here knows anything pertinent about Reggie's academic issues we're all just making things up. As far as his position as captain, I'm trying to remember any comments from another player other than that Reggie is theri leader. So help me with that? You say he's not a leader but his teammates think he is.
 
the fact that he is a CAPTAIN says that Gailey has not a clue as to making the correct personnel calls.
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This is a ludicrous statement. That geetee likes it proves it.

Doesn't the team elect the captains?
 
TampaJacket said:
Perhaps Gailey, a professional coach for virtually all his adult life,
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You've hit on the problem, even if by accident. There is a huge difference between professional coaches and college coaches, and professional players and college student athletes.
 
jacketup, we don't even know what happened and you've arrived at your answer. What about the academic staff, they don't know what they're doing either? This isn't just about Gailey, rumor has it we've lost a basketball player as well. Is that one Chan's fault too?
 
I love your sig Tampa Jacket, but it's really hard for me to apply Coach Dodd's wisdom to this situation.
Maybe Bobby could have made RB man up over his 4 years. Or maybe, Dodd would have known he was overmatched and wouldn't have signed him.

I have no idea how many of Dodd's boys flunked out during their senior year, but that is not the point.
 
hiveredtech said:
ok...now I would like to see you post about the other 103 kids in the football program that made the cut off the field....30 or so which made dean's list.

Cmon...I am waiting guys...you guys are so skilled at being "the cowardly critic"...lets see if you can do a post about the 99% going right.

cmon...you can do it...maybe some counseling and anti-depressants would help as well.
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HIVEREDTECH,

I hereby give you the "ATABOY" award with an "A+" to go with it.

Excellent post!!!

Keep up the good work.
 
Sorry Tampa if you don't like it but the evidence speaks for itsef regarding Gailey and his poor personnel decisions. Uness there is total failure, do we see positive change which tells me Gailey cannot correctly evaluate personnel until its too late. This is and has been his biggest weakness. I think Gailey has a ton of leadership qualities and charisma which explains why parents, players and coaches love him so.

But lets look at his personnel decisions.
He wanted Rick Smith as DC, and Rick Smith turned in the WORST defense in all of D-1 football with LaTech. Thank God that his resume was fudged or what do you think our record would be had we had Smith instead of Tenuta?

Or we can look at Dave Wilson who was in charge of recruiting AND special teams. It was apparent to everyone at the Edge building long before we finally tossed out Wilson, that he was the laziest person in the entire Athletic Department. Yet it took 3 years of crap recruiting and sorry special teams before we replaced him. And I'm not sure had Gailey not gotten pressure from the outside whether he would have replaced him. He let this clown single handedly screw us right up the ass with his recruiting strategies. Wilson had no business being at GT.

Then you have Gailey not hiring a QB coach or OC because he wanted to do the job himself after he already admitted this same failure with the Cowboys. Which begs the question whether or not Gailey can learn from his mistakes.

More recently last year people were begging Gailey to FIRE Nix and get a real OC. What does Gailey do? He removes himself after 3 years of putrid offenses, and names Nix the full time OC. What we found out this year is what many of us already knew. Nix is in way over his head.

Not to mention Robinson who was dead weight on the staff, but now we are on to Reggie. An up and down QB who doesn't seem to possess at least to the casual oberserver to have the leadership abilities necessary to be a Team Captain. Yet there he is each week with the Big "C" on his uniform indicating that he is a team leader. A team leader who time and again has talked more smack on the field than anyone in the history of GT football. A team leader who as "eye witness" accounts have reported, rarely went to class, walked out of class early and often if he showed up at all, and was rude to classmates. On top of that this leader fails out of school.

I'm sorry Tampa, its not like I'm making unfounded accusations. Its quite simply a concern and Gailey needs to correct it.
 
To be fair to Rick Smith, LaTech sucks whoever their DC is. I don't know that's a fair assessment of what he could have done here.

BTW, who does choose the captains for the team, the coaches or the players? We may not perceive Reggie as a fit leader, but if the players viewed him as their leader, what then?
 
Unless it's changed since the mid 80's, the players always elected captains the last game of the year. I don't know when it changed to the beginning of the year though.
 
Barrel - while I wholeheartedly agree with you about some of the coaches - Wilson in particular - I don't necessarily think you can take the coaching issues you list and then wrap that into a sweeping statement that Chan has severe PLAYER personnel talent identification (or whatever you want to call it) issues.

With coaches I can point to Gailey's relationship with Tenuta has stated that Gailey is one of the few coaches he would work for at the college level.

On the field I can immediately point to Landry and Hollings as kids that got put in the right place as talent was identified and correctly exploited. I can also simply point to the fact that Chan (and his staff) have identified a ton of talent that was not recognized by others (ie. recruiting rankings) and in many (not all by any means) well developed.

Somewhere south of the sweeping statements, there is without a doubt an issue with Reggie and how he has developed or not developed over time. I personally am confused by all the contradictory things I hear about him - but would personally have covered my bases by developing (ie. given some serious playing time) to an alternative QB. I think Gailey's approach to Reggie is not what I would have done but does not warrant a sweeping "personnel" statement. Especially with regard to players.
 
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