Hey, We Got Recruits Over Here!

 So now that this year's recruiting class is complete, we now have a list of the new Yellow Jackets. In past recruiting years, the emphasis was on either running back or quarterback, so it is good to see that the recruiting is beginning to become more team wide. The recruiting class was small but it seems to address (or work on addressing) may needs of the team.

For instance, they added offensive and defensive linemen. This is important because those are the two areas that Tech has had some issues in shoring up. On the offensive side, injuries have plagued the Tech line so any new bodies that can be used will always help in the cause. On the defensive side, the additional tackle and ends will enable the team to either continue to use the 3/4 or shift to the 4/3 or even play more hybrid lineups. On a previous entry, I stated that because of the quality of tackles that we have, we could play a strong 4/3 system. Adding defensive ends will be critical and this class does help with that.

The class also aids in offense by adding wide receivers and running backs. As a run heavy offense this can always help. As long as the wide receivers aren't afraid to block or able to go across the middle, they will be of great usage.

So let's say hello to the new Yellow Jackets. If you want to see more about these players, check out the Georgia Tech football recruiting section on Rivals HERE.

Justin Akins - Defensive End
Harrison Butker - Kicker
Darius Commissiong - Defensive Tackle
Travis Custis - Running Back
Paul Davis - Defensive Back
Shamire DeVine - Offensive Lineman
Chris Griffin - Offensive Lineman
Ty Griffin - Quarterback
Ricky Jeune - Wide Receiver
John Marvin - Defensive Back
Antonio Messick - Wide Receiver
Kevin Robbins - Defensive End
Donovan Wilson - Running Back

I look forward to seeing you in your Tech jerseys and on the field.

Are You Ready for Some Football....Schedule?

Well the upcoming year's football schedule has been posted and we now have the chance to begin our guesstimates on how our beloved Yellow Jackets will perform. So let's take a look and let the guessing begin, shall we?

August 31, 2013 vs Elon

We all know what this game is for Tech. This is the standard college football cupcake game that Tech will use to get some game experience and Elon will use to get some cash for their athletic department. This game should not worry us but you never really know with this team. Tech could come out playing gangbusters but it could also come out really flat and play to the level of their opponent. So I will predict a win.

1 - 0

September 14, 2013 vs Duke

Duke played better last year and I think they are definitely moving in the right direction. They played hard and got the most out of a team that does not have a lot of talent. Tech has a lot of youth playing and this is the type of game that they will want to show that they can play well. I see Duke trying to run the ball on Tech due to Tech's inability to stop the run last year. It will be a close game but Tech will pull it out.

2 - 0

September 21, 2013 vs North Carolina

This is the first game where I think Tech will run into problems. It is not so much that North Carolina has a great team but with a young QB as the helm, Tech is prone to streaky play. North Carolina is a good enough team that could capitalize on a suddenly inept or anemic offense. It would also mean that Tech's defense would have to keep the game in check. We have no real idea what Roof's defense will be so it will be hard to guess if this could happen. I think I will make this one a loss.

2 - 1

September 26, 2013 vs Virginia Tech

Here we go with the annual "what will happen" game. Last year's Virginia Tech team did not have the success that we have always come to expect. The one thing we do know for certain is that Beamer teams are rarely down for long. I expect this to be a really good game with the other Tech being the winner.

2 - 2


October 5, 2013 vs Miami
There is no need to review what happened last year. The Yellow Jackets will remember this.
3 - 2

October 12, 2013 vs BYU

Last year, BYU came into Atlanta and gave the Yellow Jackets a really whipping. They played to the one thing the defense could not do well last year, stop the pass. I think this game will really hinge on how well the Tech defense can stop the pass. If they can put pressure on the QB and break up the timing, I see this being a closer game. I see Tech not winning, though. Sorry.

3 - 3

October 19, 2013 vs Syracuse
Syracuse could be down after their coach left for the NFL. I see Tech playing well in this game to get back above .500.
4 - 3

October 26, 2013 vs Virginia

Tech plays Virginia well and I see that trend continuing. Virginia is a quality team but never seems to have enough true players to be what people expect them to be. Often they have one or two on either offense or the defense to keep them in games but they fall short. I think Tech will win this game and keep intact their winning ways against Virginia.

5 - 3

November 2, 2013 vs Pittsburgh

Here is an interesting game. Last year, Pittsburgh nearly ended Notre Dame's rise to the national championship game. Unfortunately, Pittsburgh played so unevenly that they didn't make much of a dent on the national scene. They do play hard and seem to pick up their play if they think their opponent is light years better, which Tech isn't.

6 - 3

November 14, 2013 vs Clemson

Ah, the Clemson game. I think Clemson is really the team here. They have speed everywhere and have done a good job in recruiting. Tech plays them tough but Clemson is a tough atmosphere and Tech won't make it.

6 - 4

November 23, 2013 vs Alabama A&M
A rest up game after Clemson.
7 - 4

November 30, 2013 vs Georgia

I have written this section a couple of times attempting to figure out what to say about this rivalry. Last year was one or two plays away from playing for the National Championship. Georgia is the better team right now. We all understand this but we all hold out hope that Tech will play a mighty game and succeed. This game will be in Atlanta and the stadium will be hot for this game and I will be at my seat.

7 - 5

So there is my thoughts on the upcoming schedule. Anyone want to see if they can do better?

Saying Goodbye to a Friend

All of us have lost loved ones, be it a friend, family member or a beloved companion. It is never easy. We mourn their passing and not just because they are no longer with us, but also because we miss how they made us feel. Whether they made us happy or sad, or a combination of both, is something that we will miss. There is no real replacement for that void. We can make new friends, add to our family or even get a new companion, but it won't ever change the fact that they are gone.

My first thought is to be thankful that I got to know them. Had there been only a slight alternation in my life, I would have never followed the path that led me to them. I would have never had the experiences and memories that I will treasure or the great stories that I can tell others. Of course, I am sad but I am heartened knowing that I had a bond with them that I won't forget. And that is a blessing.

Daron's beloved dog, Max, who I gladly called my nephew passed away recently. Some of you may think the words above are a bit over the top in speaking about a dog but I disagree. Max was a wonderful dog and a true friend (and nephew). I have know Daron for 17+ years and he has had Max for almost 14 of them. What started out as taking care of a puppy dumped off by a roommate's girlfriend became something much greater. Max was Daron's son (although they looked nothing alike). He was as much a son as any child. Strangely enough, he was more human than a lot of kids I have met. Max was very intelligent and was not afraid to throw a tantrum if he didn't get his way. Daron will tell you that there was many an evening that he would come home late and Max would show his disapproval by trashing his office and CD's. 

Max was a loving dog and was happy playing in the backyard as he was being wrapped like a burrito on a cold night on the couch. My favorite Max story stems from years ago. I crashed at Daron's apartment (on the worst futon ever created) one night and in the morning, Daron left for work. Max saw me on the couch under a blanket and jumped quietly on me (I didn't wake up) and burrowed himself between my legs and went to sleep. I woke up and attempted to get up and he viciously growled at me. Essentially, he pinned me to the futon for another hour or so until he was ready to get up. I still smile at that to this day.

I am really going to miss Max. He made me a proud uncle. He brought a lot of joy and love to his family and we all thank him for it. 

Love you,

Uncle Johnathan

So We Got Ourselves A New DC

Georgia Tech welcomed back one of its own to join the coaching staff. Ted Roof decided to leave Penn State, where his defense and his team, had a very successful year after all the off the field distractions. The fact that he had so much success and wanted to return to Atlanta made it even more special. Why you ask? Because Ted Roof is a Georgia Tech man. He is an alumni, a football star and a member of the dreaded "Black Shirts" defense. His hiring is a big deal.

People will look at his rather awful Head Coaching resume and think that this wasn't a good decision and I think that is short sighted. All you have to do is see what he has been able to do with the defenses he has led.

A brief review, for those of you who hate to read full length columns. You know who you are:

2000 - GT: Nominated for the Broyles Award for the Nation's Top Coordinator

2000 - GT: Defense was 12th in the Nation

2002 - Duke: Defense went from 9th to 5th in ACC

*While Head Coach at Duke, Defense was Top 30 Nationally in Tackles Behind the Line of Scrimmage

2008 - Louisville: Top 25 in Tackles for Loss and Sacks

2011 - Auburn: National Champions

2012 - Penn State: Top Defense in Big Ten

At first glance, Roof has indeed bounced around a bit and that is because when you are really good at what you do, people take notice. They come to your door and offer you sweet jobs. If I was Roof, I would be doing the exact same thing. The one thing that never changed though, is Roof's love for Georgia Tech. He often made comments about returning and coaching. And now he has his chance and I think that Tech is far better for it.

A trademark of a Ted Roof defense is intensity and aggression. He has shown a pattern of taking middle of the road defensive units (Louisville) and making them good. He is not so focused on system or specific techniques. In the Al Groh era, it was all about the system and specific techniques. Players got lost, blew assignments and spent more time looking for help from the coaches than looking at the offense.

Roof is going to change that. We don't know for certain if he will shift to the 4-3 or stay with a modified 3-4. My guess is that they won't stray far from the 3-4 due to the fact that Tech is not deep with linemen. Tech has been recruiting linebackers for a while so that they can be deep at those four positions but the linemen have suffered some. If the shift is made, a focus on linemen will be critical. 

Penn State did play a good deal of 3-4 so Roof has the luxury of picking and choosing how he wants to address each situation. 

My only request is that Ted Roof do all he can to unleash the aggression that the Tech defense has been lacking. For several years now, the defense has backpedaled and ran from side to side. This year, I want to see more blitzing and more devastation. 

Ok, I know this is an Auburn video but I think it gives some good insight.

Thoughts?

New Year's Resolution

Dear Mash On The Gas readers;
I want to truly apologize to you. I have not been the type of Georgia Tech blogger that you have wanted. I have not been consistent or even remotely inspired. I have not posted cool tweets or written thoughtful columns that you are expecting. I feel that I have lost many of you and I am sorry.

When I took over MOTG, I had every intention of following D's hard work and taking this thing to a new level. I have let you down.

I stand (well, sit) before you and ask your forgiveness. I ask for your readership, your feedback, your insights and opinions. I ask for your contributions (not money, unless you really want to) and to help me make this site become a truly great one.

I will make the effort but I am asking your help.

Together, we can make MOTG a better representation of Georgia Tech.


Thank you,
J

*Wouldn't it have been cool if there was some inspirational theme music playing right now

Welcome to 2013

Well, another football season has come and gone and we are nowhere closer to determining if our beloved Yellow Jackets are on the upswing or the downward spiral. I would imagine that all of you have either seen the bowl game, read the box score or caught the highlights, so there isn't much point in going over that. I do think, however, that the bowl game was an anomaly. 

Tech wanted to win, they wanted to push USC's face in the dirt for the disrespect. They wanted to give the senior class a bowl win and break the seven year drought of bowl losses.They faced a team playing without its quarterback and starting a freshman who wasn't very good at all. USC didn't want to be there, they were still somehow thinking that they were above this mediocre bowl game. Their players tweeted insults at the city and the coach obviously didn't care.

My point is that Tech played inspired and USC played like it just woke up. We want to think that this will launch Tech to a better 2013 and it could, but I am not betting on it.

We already had our interim defensive coordinator, who shed tears at the end of the game, leave for Florida State. Nice job coaching for the job, huh? You make an impression by having your defense ready to go and then bolt for another job. Then we had Al Groh go on a tear about the lack of professionalism in the Georgia Tech coaching staff and the atmosphere surrounding the team. The initial thought is that he was mad he was fired and I can see that but the other thought is, "Well, could it be true?"

Paul Johnson is doing a decent job of coach. He can't get the elite players and there is still debate as to whether it is the college or the system that prevents Tech from recruiting the type of players that could level the field. I can see that point being made concerning the offense but what about the defense? We played a 3-4 which isn't too common but isn't an odd system. 

My point is that there are a lot of questions surrounding this Tech team. We have a new starting quarterback and a new defensive coordinator so there are some positives. I am going to enjoy finding out, aren't you?

The Deathnail of the BCS

Well, we are now at the end of the regular football season and Tech has the opportunity to do what no other team has done. They can show the world just how stupid the BCS system truly can be. Yes, friends and neighbors, Tech barreled its way to a trip in the ACC Championship and, if successful there, can be in a major bowl game. Let's just forget what happened the last time Tech played in the Orange Bowl and focus on the now, shall we?

Georgia Tech is in line for a trip to the Orange Bowl if they can be Florida State. A tall order but, hey its fun to dream. If they do get there, they will most likely play Kent State in what is now being dubbed at the "Crapfest Bowl". Because of alignments and agreements between conferences, the bowls are mandated to take the winners of certain conferences regardless of appeal or record. So a 8-6 team that got drilled by Middle Tennessee State can be on the national stage.

Kind of makes you proud, huh?

Now don't get me wrong. I would love to see Tech play in the Orange Bowl. I would cheer them winning and maybe even buy a shirt. But let's be honest, this is a terrible situation. If Tech did win the ACC Championship and the Orange Bowl, it would be the largest of all flukes. And it would prove that the bowl system is not conducive to competition. 

If all of this happens, the new Administration has a real problem on its hands. What does it do with the coaching staff that had a poorly prepared team but yet made it to a major bowl?

Now What the Heck Was That??

Now there were very few Tech fans who thought that we had an actual chance of winning this game. I thought it might be competitive with UGA pulling ahead in the fourth quarter. What none of us expected was the pure beatdown. The strange part was the numbers that came from this game. If you attempted to determine the final result of the game based on yardage, time of possession and first downs, you would think Tech has a great game against UGA. But those scores, like most Tech numbers are misleading. 

While Tech did move the ball pretty well, they were simply unable to score points. UGA, on the other hand, struck early and often. If you looked at the two teams you can tell the disparity in talent. UGA was bigger, faster at the point of attack. They made Tech look slow and ploddy. Look, we all know that Tech doesn't get the UGA level recruits, we don't get the five star players or the NFL level talent, except for the occasional wide receiver. What we do have, where it really matters, is the next level down talent. Tech isn't Alabama but it isn't too far from being Georgia Southern.

In talking with D, he said that Tech has to make some serious decision as to if they want to compete at the highest level. If not, then the fans should expect 7-6 every year and the Tech team should expect 28,000 fans in the stadium each week. However, if Tech does want to move up a level, some real decisions need to be taking place. Before long, there will be a new Athletic Director and Athletic Directors like to choose their coaches. So does Tech keep Paul Johnson? He pulls miracles and the team can be exciting. He wins the games he is supposed to win. 

So what do you think?

And Now We Wait...

Ok, so Tech has done what it needed to do. They won. They won convincingly. They completed a three game win through the remainder of their ACC schedule. And now we all wait to see what will happen with Miami and Duke. If Duke wins, and it can, then Tech is in to play Florida State in the ACC Championship game in Charlotte. 

If Miami wins, and it can, then Miami will play Florida State. Now remember that when these two teams joined the ACC, everyone was expecting this to happen. Granted, everyone expected Miami and Florida State to be much, much better, but the whole idea was that the two juggernauts would play each other in power-packed championship games. Well that hasn't quite happened, but now it could.

The other potential is that Miami humbly bows out of the game as a token of their misgivings concerning their past abuses. Nothing says, "We are Sorry" like a self-imposed exile from post season play. But let's be honest, the chances of Miami doing that are slim. And so we wait, we hope the best for the UGA game but deep down we just wait. We watch the scoreboard and root for Duke.

So let's get back to the Duke game. Tevin put up a great performance in his last home game in a Georgia Tech uniform. Tevin's career at Tech has been up and down. He has never really gotten the respect that he earns. Let's be honest, it is almost an impossible task to follow up Joshua Nesbitt. Nesbitt left some really big shoes to fille and fans seemed to want to judge Tevin as if he was Nesbitt. This was really unfair to Tevin. He isn't Nesbitt nor did he claim to be. He has been a good quarterback for Georgia Tech and I sincerely hope that the Tech nation realizes this. People were clamoring for Vlad Lee so much that they forgot how hard Tevin plays. 

I want to thank Tevin for being a great teammate and playing hard.  Now if he can just lead Tech to a victory over UGA, then he will become a legend in his own right.

Interesting Notes - North Carolina

Just in case you didn't know the significance of the North Carolina game, check out this recap from the Georgia Tech football website.

READ IT!

Well Isn't This Just an Odd Situation

Let's do a little bit of catching up, shall we? Ok, so things were going down the tubes fast for the Georgia Tech football faithful (me included). We were bemoaning the quality of the team and the coach. We were calling out for blood and CPJ was digging his heels into the dirt and being defiant.

So what happened?

Well, two odd things occurred. First, the team won at Maryland. A lot of twitter fans and message board members were stating that if Tech lost to a linebacker turned quarterback, then CPJ must be fired and we start from scratch. Even with the potential scenario pointing towards a Tech victory, fans still hung onto the idea that the team would lose. It almost felt like we were hoping they would lose so that there was a final nail in the coffin. However, the opposite happened. The team won. It wasn't a big surprise. They handled business and got a "W" for their efforts. 

It didn't really quiet critics because the thought was, "Well, he should have won that game." So next up is North Carolina and the critics, like me, started up again. North Carolina is a good team regardless of sanctions. They run the ball well which could hurt Tech because Tech doesn't play the run well. So many of us got prepared to lose to North Carolina. Even the local sports show (here in Macon) proclaimed that Tech would get crushed (and this came from the Tech fan on the show) and then lost to Georgia.

So what happened?

Well, this happened.

Tech decided it would turn into Oregon for one game and broke a ton of school records. I didn't watch the game but when I heard that the defense gave up 50 points, my thought was, "Well, I guess this season is a wash" but upon hearing that Tech won by 18 blew my mind. Tech fans seemed to be strangely quiet. I guess we are caught between the place where we want the team to succeed vs wanting the team to lose so we can get rid of CPJ.

Any now comes the news that Tech is in contention for the Coastal crown of the ACC. Now, most of the scenarios make my head hurt, so I will leave it up to the AJC to explain the potential outcomes. You can read that here. READ IT!

Here is what I gleaned from the article: Tech has a chance. Just think about that. A team that was dead in the water has the opportunity to win the Coastal crown and play for the ACC Championship (probably against either Clemson or Florida State). Now I am stretching the imagination here but would happen if they got to the game and won? What would the Tech nation think of CPJ then? He would have delivered two ACC Championships. Would that make you all feel better?

No one know what is going to happen but my (humble) opinion is that the Tech nation should just sit back and enjoy the rest of the season. I, for one, will be listening to the game on the radio as I am knee deep in dry wall and then I will keep my fingers crossed for a GSU shocker over UGA.

This Has Gone Too Far

Look, I thought the PSY song "Gangnam Style" was catchy. It's a fun song that has, surprisingly, a good message about modesty and class. The original video is pretty funny and PSY appears to be a down to earth guy who isn't getting swept up in the "I'm a Huge Star" vacuum that many pop stars fall into.

Now it appears that anyone with a freaking video camera and a MacBook is making their own parody of the song (or just a version of it). So leave it to Tech to do one as well.

 

 

Moving Forward

I have been a bad fan. I have missed two straight games. I beg your forgiveness. I promise I will do better. To show how much I will suffer to show my dedication, I will watch the Tech vs. BYU highlights on an endless loop until I weep openly. So, by my estimates, that should take about midway through the first viewing. See what I did there? Yep, showed my remorse and still made a dig at the Tech football team. I am on fire.

If you wish to share my pain, here you go:

I didn't want this entry into the Tech blogosphere to be one of pessimism and negativity. That was sort of done for me in a recent CPJ Call-in show. The fans are getting a bit more aggressive of their coach and he is standing his ground about his team. If you want to listen, check it out here. CPJ took some bold comments from fans and told him that he isn't worried and to stay the course. Of course staying the course means that he keeps his job, but something needs to be done. We have all watched this team and there seems to be something missing. For a while I couldn't put my finger on it. Maybe it was the effort or possibly the play calling but the team did well for the most part except for BYU. 

So it appears that the biggest problem is attitude. This team has no attitude. When they take the field, there seems to be no fire, no sense of urgency. There is no swagger (I hate that word but it applies) to this team. Regardless of the effort, there seems to be a real indifference coming from the players. Sure there are the common leaping chest bumps and celebrations but where is the nastiness that used to be the Jackets defense. Say what you want about Tenuta, his defense was nasty. They would hit you in the mouth and laugh. This Tech team has none of that intensity, even CPJ agreed with this.

So, moving forward. What does the team need to do? If you look at the offense, they are playing well. I think the offensive line needs to be less passive. I want to see them own the line of scrimmage. If you are going to be a running team, you need those roadgrader kind of guys. Think the Wisconsin offensive line and the Triple Option. 

As for defense, the 3-4 needs to be gone. Because of its flexibility, it is a potent scheme in the NFL but no so much for college where the focus needs to be on the fundamentals of maintaining gaps, tackling and swarming to the ball. Also, Tech just doesn't get the defensive line monsters that are necessary to make it work. Tech does have some really great defensive line players but they are not really suited for the 3-4. By shifting to the 4-3, they can better utilize these players to clog the middle and force the offense to go to the outside and let the faster linebackers chase them down. Now the transition won't be easy but I think will pay much quicker dividends than sticking with a scheme that just doesn't work, regardless of who calls the plays.

In case, you forgot how it works

I think that the offense is fine. We have been one of the most productive teams in terms of yardage and points. Where they have been lacking is in the defense. Think about it. How often has the team been ahead in the fourth quarter and the defense takes the field and you think, "We're going to lose."? Every time, right? I know I do. Any this is not an insult to the defense. I think that they are very capable but not just in the right scheme to suit their talents. 

What are your thoughts? Am I right or wrong? Close or far? Alone or not?

He Left?!?

By now everyone knows that Dan the Man has left for the hated ACC rival, Clemson. So, with time to reflect, my initial thought was, "Well, ok then". Seriously. I have no real thoughts either good or bad concerning Dan. Let's look at some pretty concrete facts:

He was always looking to leave. We all knew this. There wasn't an opening for AD at a major school that his names wasn't attached to. Either true or not, those in the know were comfortable tells the Tech nation that he was intrigued by those opportunities. So this should come to no real surprise. He wanted to be AD at a major school with great resources, a strong fan base and a community commitment to funding the athletic programs. So, when Clemson opened up, it seemed like a natural fit. He got his rabid fan base, strong boosters and a football program that is on the upswing. Anyone who has been to a Tech vs. Clemson game at Bobby Dodd knows that their fans travel in herds. The last game with Clemson, almost the entire top part of the stadium was orange. 

So Dan had the means, motive and opportunity. Would you have passed that up? Who wouldn't want to work with a guy named Dabo? 

The other hard truth is that the Dan regime at Tech was a pretty good one. Oh sure, we look at things like Paul Hewitt's later tenure or the current Tech football standings and we think "Dan stunk up the joint!". That is an easy but wrong call to make in this case. Dan did do a lot of good. I am not purvey to the inner workings of the Tech Athletic Department but from all reports, he did a lot with a little. He was constantly working the phone lines for funding, trying to upgrade the facilities to attract talent and make Tech an attractive place for athletes. He even answered emails. Really! He answered emails from fans. What kind of director does that?

As fans, we often look at only the negative and use that as the barometer of a person's tenure but we do not know what truly happens on the job. I think Dan did a really good job. I am sure my opinion is not the only one out there but as a body of work, he left Tech better off. Sure, we can say, "He hired Hewitt and Johnson", but remember what those two did. We got to an NCAA Championship game and we had an ACC title. How many other Division 1 schools out there would love to say that...think Colorado.

So, Dan, if I may call you Dan. I want to thank you for your efforts on the part of the Georgia Tech fan base. We appreciate your time and energy. I also want to let you know that I will probably be booing the crap out of you and your football team for years to come but, hey, you know that anyway. Also, don't wear the orange jacket again, it isn't your color.

Really not a good look.

MOTG Wants Writers!! Yes, This Means You!

The Mash On The Gas Nation is soliciting applications for the glorious position of unpaid writer. We only ask that you are the following:

Literate
Able to Use a Computer
Georgia Tech Fan (no trolls please)
Have a Reasonable Work Ethic
Have an Opinion and Feel Like Sharing It

We really want to beef up this site to its once majestic place in the Georgia Tech blogosphere so we welcome all entries. Just leave your name and email and we can take it from there.

 Thanks again!

The CPJ Call In Show

Normally, I don't listen to any sports related coach call in show as they tend to be very drab. Only the friendliness of callers are allowed through to ask a generic question or the host and the coach talk about every thing that no one cares about. The coach goes through his lengthy list of sports related platitudes:

"We need to play better"
"We will make adjustments"
"This is a team game"
"We are playing hard"

The listeners is left with a feeling of, "Did I just waste an hour of my life on this?" and usually the answer is yes, yes you did. 

However, I am now starting to make the CPJ Call-In Show a regular part of my week. I don't do so because his insights are amazing or that he is honest about things. Screw that! I listen because CPJ always sounds disgusted. Even his more friendly of answers come across like he is about to slap the crap out of the caller. Listen, we all know that most coaches dislike these shows because they can't really be honest or they have no interest in hearing our uninformed opinions. Well, CPJ just makes it obvious and that is pure radio gold.

Last week's show was a classic in that he ripped a caller for not knowing what he is talking about, corrected several callers for their lack of information and almost made a kid cry by being both generous and sounding really pissed at the same time. Again, pure gold. 

Well, it's half past giving a crap....

So friends, listen to the show, go to the podcast and tell me what you think.

Al Groh: A State of the Defense (Part 1)

The Georgia Tech football blogosphere was churning hard with the news of the firing of Al Groh. Plenty of platitudes and thank you's were thrown his way, and rightly so. He worked hard to install a complicated defensive system, he recruited players well and there was little of the expected headbutting between him and CPJ. But for all of that, the Georgia Tech defense showed no improvement.

Sure you can point to a couple of games where the defense played lights out. Every defense has those games where they look like world beaters and all the fans think that a corner has been turned. I, myself, thought the against Virginia was proof that the players had fully grasped the scheme and were playing with a sense of fire. But as the season has progressed, we saw that this wasn't truly the case. I saw more and more instances of the defensive players having no idea where to line up or what they were supposed to do. I saw wide open opposing wide receivers or running backs that easily broke through the defensive line. One instance really stuck out at me was in the Miami game. The entire defensive line just stood there and stared back at the sidelines. They looked at each other shrugged and, finally, just got in a three point stance and played. The result? They were out of place and the offense made a huge play.

I was a fan of the Groh hiring. I thought his tenacity and scheme could work. The 3/4 mixed with the Triple Option would mean opposing teams would have a nightmare trying to figure out what we were doing. Unfortunately that never quite materialized, though not for a lack of effort.

Upon reflection, I thought that was Tech needed was a simple defense that focused on two things: tackling and pressure on the quarterback. What the 3/4 brought was little of both.

A State of the Defense (Part 2)

So where do we go now? I know that Kelly is the interim defensive coordinator and this is his shot to see what he can do but I think this goes farther than just who calls the plays. This goes to the type of players Tech recruits and the style of play. We don't get the truly monster Defensive Tackles that the 3/4 requires. We don't get the 6'5" 320lbs Defensive Ends that run like lightning. Our linebackers are smaller and regardless of how fast they are, they take too long to get around larger offensive lines.

I think D put it well when he said that the last good defense we has was when Derrick Morgan played DE. I thin the reason for that is that we had several NFL caliber Defensive Tackles that were powerful and fast and ate up blockers. It allowed Morgan to put a ton of pressure on the quarterback and decrease the time between hiking the ball and throwing the ball.

So if CPJ asks me for my opinion, and based on his call-in shows, I know he is just dying to hear it, I will say the following. Abandon the 3/4. Get rid of it. I know it will cause a lot of pain because Groh recruited players that fit that scheme but it does not work at Georgia Tech. Take those good Defensive Tackles and stand them next to each other and clog the middle of the line. Does anyone remember when the Jacksonville Jaguars had a great defense? Anybody? Ok, maybe just me. I remember that the reason the DE's were so good on that team was that they had two huge Tackles that just collapsed the middle of the line. We could have that at Tech! Think about it!

Our current Nose Tackles can be converted to Tackles. Use the current DE players in their same role and build a run stuffing unit that forces the offensive lines backwards. Use our larger Linebackers to play the middle and allow the faster outside linebackers to play more in coverage because college football is more pass happy. We stop the run and put pressure on the quarterback.

Ok, that is my two cents on this issue. I would LOVE to hear yours.

Georgia Tech vs Clemson

I did not watch the game.

I spent all day on either a ladder or a lawn mower.

I know that Georgia Tech lost.

I know that the defense didn't play well.

This pretty well sums up this posting.

Georgia Tech: We Make MTSU Look Good

For a couple of days now, I have been trying to determine how I wanted to approach this blog entry. For a while, I thought I could approach using one of the following:

1. Stream of Consciousness
2. Genuine Reflective (Good and Bad Moments of the Game)
3. Constructive Criticism
4. Direct Approach

Well, after much consideration and one or two coin flips, I decided that it was appropriate to use the Direct Approach. I am fully aware that no one on the Georgia Tech football team or its coaching staff will read or will ever read this blog, but that's OK. I doubt they would hold my opinion up as "golden" anyway. Besides, I am just a fan. I am simply just another person who paid for season tickets, uses the facilities, pays for parking, purchases concession stand items (Bavarian Nuts and a Diet Coke please) and generally cheers my heart out at every game. I am just a fan and I am one of many who is not happy.

I get that the team was playing a lower level team. I get that it is hard to get pumped for that type of opponent. I get that there was a hangover at the way they lost last week. I get all of that. I really do. What I don't get is why, after several years of consistent coaching, recruiting specific players and building confidence in schemes and techniques, do we get a team that can't figure out how to get out of its own way.

A couple of entries ago, I had a real optimistic outlook at this team but the last two games has shown me what I really feared. The team doesn't play well. They don't play consistent. They don't handle adversity well. They clock out and revert to what they really are: sloppy.

As an example, the defense completely forgot how to tackle. I saw more "shoulder tackles" in the Miami and MTSU games that I saw all of last year. It seems the idea is to knock down the opponent instead of grabbing them and tackling them. If that first shoulder tackle didn't work? Oh well. The running back for MTSU looking like he could play for Alabama the way he looked against our defense. We just improved his draft status, so a thank you card is in order. 

Continuing on the defense. I never saw more confusion and blank stares towards the sidelines than I did at that game. They had no idea what to do, where to be or who to match up against. This is year 3 of Groh and the defense is just as overmatched and underprepared as it ever was. They could not stop MTSU. This was a coaching catastrophe. It truly was.

As far as the offense is concerned. We saw many of the same traits that were part of the Reggie Ball era. When they did throw, it was long, high arching passes that gave the MTSU defense time to get to the receiver. Where were the short passes? Where were the quick out passes? Where were the freaking WIDE RECEIVERS?!? The offensive line could not stop the pass rush. The number of times I saw Ray Beno get completely smoked by the defender was too high to count. Towards the end of the game, Beno simply pushed the defensive end a bit instead of engaging him. It was embarrassing. Tevin was getting killed and the team just quit. 

As I stated earlier, this all falls on Paul Johnson. For years now, he has stated that he can win at Tech, and for a bit he did. But since he has gotten his recruits, his system, his coaches in place, the team has regressed. The team isn't prepared. They don't play with a sense of control. They can't even dominate a game against a much inferior opponent. Coach Johnson, you are losing the fan base. Did you hear the boos from the crowd when your team quit? Did you see the team just stop playing? And the entire time, you stood there, arms crossed. 

I try not to be a fanatic here. I try to have a sense of calm and reasoned response. What I see isn't working. We are an average team and we are getting worse. Does anyone want to watch the Clemson game? Maybe the Georgia game? Do we have any confidence that Tech will be anything more than an a 5-7 team?

D put up a video of the game highlights. So I will put up the After Game Press Conference. Just as note on the press conference. It really does appear that CPJ just woke up before attending.

Georgia Tech vs. Miami

Before I get too much into this blog entry, I want to make a couple of comments regarding the Miami team. Had I written this before today with the sting (no pun intended) of the lose still fresh, I would have used a large quantity and variety of curse words. Now, however, with time to objectively reflect on the game and the opponent, I can say a couple of pretty reasonable things:

Miami is coming close to returning to its heyday, as far as attitude is concerned. This is not a good thing. I saw facemask tackles, constant holding, excessive celebrations, taunting and overall poor sportsmanship. The odd thing is that this is what they want to be. They want to be the "bad boys" of the college football world. Hey, it worked when they were a powerhouse (but wasn't that more of a coke fueled thing?), so why couldn't it work now? Even their fans seem to relish this mindset as they were just as arrogant. They even cheered for their team when a Georgia Tech player was injured on the field. Keep in mind that when the Miami player was hurt, the entire stadium was dead silent and the vast majority of the Yellow Jacket players took a knee. "Winning with dignity" is apparently not in the Miami quote book.

Georgia Tech: A Tale of Two Teams

As my best friend Daron so aptly put it in his Twitter feed, "You can't play just the 2nd and 3rd quarters of a game and expect to win." Well, this is exactly what happened. It appeared that the Georgia Tech team, fresh of their trouncing of Virginia, were completely out of the first quarter. There seemed to be no energy, no enthusiasm and no real involvement. Several three and out series and poor defense allowed Miami to quickly go up 19-0 and gave the Tech fans that sinking feeling of being blown out....again.

The tide did change during the 2nd and 3rd quarter where Tech scored an impressive 36 unanswered points. What made it seem so odd is that the minute the 2nd quarter started, the momentum completely shifted. Tech dominated both sides of the ball, the offense had its way with Miami and the defense clamped down on a strong Miami offense. It was almost absurd how the game changed. 

As I stood in line at the concession stand, Georgia Tech intercepted the ball. The tall, Atlanta Braves guy in front of me spun around and said, "Oh, we gonna ROLL now!". Two things about that statement. 1. You were really wrong. 2. Don't ever violate my territorial bubble like that...not cool. Seriously...not cool.

Regardless of his proximity to me, his thought wasn't wrong at that time. Tech was rolling and then....things.....died. It was a rather slow death that everyone kept denying was going to happen. Miami scored (It's cool, we got a big lead). Miami scored again (Still good, but let's keep them here). Another score (Oh....crap). Tech played like it had only 30 seconds left on the clock and mailed it in. Bad technique, poor play calling, lousy defense. It was unreal to watch the momentum shift. Miami had nothing and then grew stronger as Tech felt that they had it in the bag. 

I could go on and give you more details but this video should cover it. You will excuse me if I don't watch it.

Georgia Tech vs Virginia

Ok, I know I am completely skipping over the Presbyterian game and I do NOT do it to insult the team, its college or fans. They played hard the entire game and get even more karma points for calling themselves the "Blue Hose" without turning red with embarrassment. Everyone knew that the game was a throwaway game that was to get the bad taste of Virginia Tech out of our mouths.

So let's move onto Virginia shall we?

First, I came into the game fully expecting a similar outcome as last year. Virginia ran all over the defense and put a hurting on the Yellow Jackets. As I walked into the stadium (yes, I have season tickets, thank you), I got the sense that something was different. Maybe it was the big score from the previous week, maybe it was the improved defense output from VA Tech, but it just felt different and, soon, my thoughts were proved true. 

Tech, from the first snap, truly outplayed the Cavaliers. It wasn't even close. Big play after big play seemed to rule the day. The second play, the beautiful throw from Tevin to Laskey set the pattern for the rest of the game. The offensive line played great and kept opening up those nice running lanes and the defense outran, out hustled and outplayed the Cavaliers.

Enjoy the highlights!

What I am seeing in this year's Tech team is a great deal more speed. In this offense, speed kills. You can have the bigger athletes but if they can't catch the ball carriers, then it's over. In the Virginia game, this was the case. The Cavaliers could not control the line of scrimmage or seal the running lanes. If they did, a pass play or two would open them back up.

On the Tech defense side, I see one thing that was sorely missing last year. A strong defensive line. During the Virginia game, the D-Line played really well, ate up blockers and put tons of pressure on the quarterback. This allowed the linebackers to play havoc as Days and Nealy showed on multiple occasions. Great ball pursuit and a swarming attitude gave little ground except for the one or two cross plays in the middle of the soft zone that the Cavaliers were able to take advantage of. 

All in all, a great effort and a lot of momentum leading to Miami. I can't wait.

So now Tech has two back to back "Half a Hundred" games under its belt and the next opponent is Miami. What are your predictions?

Georgia Tech vs Virginia Tech

Welcome back Tech fans to the first blog update in almost a year! If you are still with us, I truly thank you. I hope to be far more frequent in my updates to make up for last year's sabbatical. Somehow the malaise that was last year's schedule just kind of got to me and sucked the writing bug right out. But now it's back and I humbly ask all the MOTG fans to come back and bask in the sun!

A new year of Georgia Tech football is in full swing and I can honestly say that I am really upbeat. This optimism was almost killed in the first quarter of the Virginia Tech game but, upon reflection, the team showed a lot of heart going into Blacksburg and played a really strong Hokie team.

So let's take a look at what the Yellow Jackets faced going into that game:

1. Down several starters on defense 
2. Replacing key players on offense (Embry, Steven and Roddy)
3. A strong Hokie defense (some analysts predicted this to be the best defense ever in Blacksburg)

Any combination of these things would doom a lot of visiting teams and for the first quarter or so, this did seem to be the case. Virginia Tech drove down the field easily and kept the defense off-balance. The Yellow Jacket offense did no favors going 3 and out on the first couple of series.

What turned the game from being one sided was a rare Special Teams mistake from the Hokies in punting that allow Tech to quickly score a touchdown. From there, CPJ seemed to find some wrinkles to his offense that allowed Tech to move the ball well. I did notice that the Wide Receivers have a ton of work to do as they did very little to help the cause. The A and B backs provided all of the catches. If the receivers can get some separation, this offense could be strong.

Some Points of Praise:

1. Tevin Washington is NOT Reggie Ball. He played well and did his best even though he got killed by VA Tech hits. He played well when it counted on Tech late touchdown drive.
2. The Tech defense played really well throughout the game. We can point to giving up some big plays but they were down people and ran out of gas late in the game. However, I see great things for them if they continue their growth.
3. CPJ coached a good game and we nearly beat a highly ranked team. He has this team going in the right direction.

Some Point of Frustration:

1. What the heck kind of call was that against #6 in the 4th quarter? A Personal Foul for bumping the receiver??? Really?
2. I am calling badly missed block. You all know what I am talking about here.

 Ok, so I now have that all out of my system. The next game is against Presbyterian so I think we all know what is to happen here. The short week won't be fun for the players but I would imagine that they want to use this game as a way to get the bad taste out of their collective mouths. It should be fun and I hope to see you there!

GT vs MTSU Highlights

GT - Starting Line Up Vid

I was sitting in the stands about 15 min before kick last Thursday... but I must have missed this. Per the YouTube description, "The song is done by Jullian Burnett's brother, and he calls it the Georgia Tech Anthem."
Opinions on the song?

Georgia Tech vs Western Carolina - Part II

I thought I'd chime in on the WCU game along with some things I took away from around the college football world from over the weekend.

Tech vs. WCU

• Overall I was very happy with our performance on O and D. Special Teams is a different story. I now we have at least one kicker on scholarship and still can't kick it into the end-zone on kickoffs. I watched the Auburn kicker actually put it through the up rights on kickoff. Also, the coverage was awful. We got to shore this up or it will come back to haunt us, specially in the VaTech and UGA games, both of which have great return men.

• CPJ might have finally succumbed to the idea that a passing game is required, or at least the threat of one. It was obvious that without the feeling from opposing D's that BayBay could take it to the house at anytime, they would just stack the box and force us to throw. The VaTech game last year showed that when forced to come from behind in a 2 min drill fashion... we were ill-equipped. I doubt we'll drop the bread and butter rushing to take on more passing, but I think CPJ saw the opportunity to get more live game experience passing the ball Thursday night and he took it.

• I think the A-backs might finally be what I always hoped they could be. The pitch and short passing threat. Loaded here. B-back I think will be productive, I just don't have a real feel for them yet... although the fact that Sims went from 4th string to starter says something.

• D was aggressive and we have some young players who I'm really excited about. Julian Burnett, Isiah Johnson, oh my.

• Best line of the night? "False Start, entire offensive line" WCU of course. Sounded like something out of a movie.

• Most points ever scored by a Tech team in an opener.

• Much larger test this weekend. MTSU is not a team to overlook. They barely lost to Purdue, 24-27. With a 7pm kick it should be a fun game. It's about a 4 hour drive from Atlanta if you can make it.

• Gold on White. Could you read the numbers? For the record I really like the all white and gold look, up close or on TV. But for the most part it seems few could read the players numbers from the stands. Rumor is the home jerseys this year are Gold on White and the away jerseys were Blue on White. I expect to see us wear the away jerseys from here on. If you want to only use 2 colors you have to take a cue from the Texas playbook and go dark gold.


Rest of College Football

• Maryland is the real deal. For some reason I've had a feeling all off season that Maryland would be a team to watch. The game here in Atlanta will be a battle, and I will not be surprised to see them leave with a W. If I had to guess, I'm saying they end up in the Chick-Fil-A bowl.

• USF beat ND, BYU beat OleMiss. Always happy to see any SEC team or ND lose. Also have to tip my hat to the Baylor Bears!

• Auburn is in for a long year. Utah State had that game. Also proud of the way ECU played.

• LSU was the most impressive I saw... maybe Les isn't an idiot after all. If he is an idiot... he's still the luckiest SOB I've ever seen. I usually find myself saying that at the end of every LSU game.

• The ACC looked pretty good. We'll ignore Duke and BC. NC, Maryland, Miami, FSU and VaTech are not teams to overlook. If this league can finally start to win out of conference and bowl games we might be able to turn this ship around in terms of public perception.

• The Dogs and The Broncos. I said on Twitter that UGA looked like a bunch of Ketchup Popsicles. I stand by that. Although, the helmets were not bad. Overall I was surprised by the game as I really thought UGA would win. We'll know more Sat... if you care.

• Conference realignment? Texas to the ACC? Most of it is rumor, but it could get crazy very fast, smoke = fire. More thoughts later.

Georgia Tech vs Western Carolina

The first game of the year is now in the books and the book just got a bit thicker if you add the stats from the game. It was about at successful an offensive game as Tech has had and we can chalk that up to a good passing game. I actually think that this was the first game where the passing actually was better than the running game, and that's saying something.

If I remember my stats, Tech passed the ball for 363 yards and rant the ball for roughly 250. They were actually efficient in passing the ball with Washington doing a better job than expected. The one glaring issue with the passing game was his accuracy. Washington isn't the "throw it up in the air and see who catches it" type of passer **coughReggieBallcough** but he does need to work on leader the receiver. Some of his throws made the receiver wait a bit too long for the ball to get there which can kill things against a better defense.

One positive was that Washington gets the ball out faster than Nesbitt. I didn't stopwatch it or anything but it appears his throwing motion is quicker with helped generate a lot of yards on those quick outs.

Number 13, I don't know if you read this blog, but I was really impressed with your play. Keep it up!

Onto the Defense! The defense played with a TON of speed and aggression for the first quarter and in the second half. From what I can tell, the offense was scoring so fast, the defense got tired fast which can happen. The expelled a lot of energy running to the ball and knocking people down. It was a thing of beauty. I want to say that Julian Burnett (#40) played fantastic! He has 12 tackles, 8 solo with one being a great leaping tackle from behind. Just tremendous.

I decided not to be hard on the team because they are young and will get better. If they can continue the energy, that will go a long way to having a successful season.

Oh and Georgia lost. Good weekend.

Georgia Tech in the News (for a Good Reason!)

I thought about covering the NCAA sanctions against Georgia Tech but although there appears to be an appeal going through, the football community itself seems to have moved on. I guess we are all taking a page from the CPJ Book of "Acknowledge and Move On". I will admit that I am very ignorant about the violations but it appears that the NCAA is doing all it can to show how tough of an institution it is. Personally, I think the Ohio State case made them look foolish and now they want to flash their badge and rain down heckfire on any program, regardless of the level or severity of the violation.

Oh well. Acknowledge and Move On.

So instead of focusing on that topic, I want to move forward and write about the upcoming season. And really, isn't that all that matters to fans? D received the season tickets in the mail not too long ago and it just made everything seem better. I haven't gotten to see them yet as he is hoarding them. I will just imagine the shiny surface and cool design as it takes me to my happy place.

I seem to have gotten off track. My apologizes.

Tech has been in the news a bit as we move closer to the first game of the season. I have read some nice comments about the physicality of the practices and how the team is coming along nicely. I wanted to share these with you because I am a giver.

Al Groh shares his thoughts on the State of the Defense Report. READ IT!
CBS Sports Rapid Reports page is a nice, quick way to learn more about the team, READ IT!
The Macon Telegraph gives a mixed review from the last scrimmage, READ IT!
And lastly, my favorite article about the work on a true passing game, READ IT!

I think there is many a Tech fan that is looking forward to see what kind of team we will have this season. Is it a young team with a lot of speed and potential but will that talent be successful? If I could break out the crystal ball and tell what I hope will happen, it would be to see a team that plays with intensity and focus.

Georgia Tech and the APR

Ok, I wasn't sure what to make of this article from CBS Sports but it appears that someone took the time to crunch numbers to identify the top and bottom academic progress schools for college football. Normally, this kind of stuff does little for me. If you read my last post (and you better have!), I was more jacked up about incoming freshmen being the size of Herman Munster than the idea of them being even halfway intelligent.

So after reading the article (READ IT!), I realized that I should appreciate Georgia Tech on more than just one front. Oh sure, football games are a blast, but there are far more important things!

For example, in the CBS Sports articles, Georgia Tech ranks as 4th in Academic Progress Rankings. Now these rankings are from 2003 - 2010 so we can thank both Paul Johnson AND Chan Gailey for getting their players to be good scholars as well as good athletes.

I also want to throw out a congrats to Clemson's Dabo Swinney. He is the top coach in the APR rankings. We all know that Clemson and Tech are not the closest of friends but I think we should extend a high five over the aisle and congratulate Clemson on being a quality academic program.

The ACC also wins for the conference with the best APR ranking. I would imagine having the number 1 and 4 coaches would help with that but it is impressive nonetheless.

Oh sure, there are a lot of people who think the APR is meaningless, kind of like preseason rankings, but who cares. If schools are doing their job and producing good scholars who happen to be good football players, then they are to be celebrated. Chances are if you don't like the APR, your team didn't get a good score.

God I Love College Football

If this doesn't get you stoked for the season, nothing will.

I especially like the 1:30 second mark and major props on the music choice!

2012 Recruiting News

Well, it has been a while since a post was made to this site and I think the lack of news has something to do with this. I don't think either Daron or I have any interest in covering the NCAA, Ohio State, USC, Tennessee or Auburn. Besides, all that news seems to show the negative aspects of college football and we want to simply bask in the glow of Saturdays.

So let's focus on some recruiting news. Georgia Tech has been on fire recently, picking up several commitments for the 2012 season. I visited the Rivals site to check out the players who have committed to the Flats.

1. Pat Gamble (DT)
2. Francis Kallon (DE)
3. Chase Roberts (OL)
4. Tyler Stargel (LB)
5. Junion Gnonkonde (DE)

You can check out the page on the Rivals site if you like (READ IT!). What I am impressed with is the attention to the Offensive and Defensive lines. In recent years, Tech has not seemed to address these lines with as much depth as fans would like. Chances are, the coaching staff know a lot more about the quality of players they have and the depth behind them, but it is good to see them attack these areas with the new class.

Another thing I like is the sizes of the players coming into the fold. The average height of these players is 6'5" with a starting weight of 250lbs. We are new drafting some good strong players and these are FRESHMEN!! I hope that these players enjoy their time at the Flats and that we enjoy watching them play.

More later!

Anyone Else Seeing a Pattern?

A couple of years ago, a relatively little known football coach was brought in to take over for Chan Gailey. Oh, sure he was a winner at a small football school in Georgia but on the national scene, he was a blip. A coach that uses and "trick" or "old" offense and that coached at a military institution. He wasn't sexy or young/hot up and coming coach. What he was was a consistent winner that maximized the potential of his players. Tech fans were a mixture of outrage and confusion. "Who is this guy?" or "Why didn't we hire X coach (generally some huge name that Tech couldn't afford)" or "Well, D Rad has let us down" were common posts on message boards.

I will admit that I fell into the first category. I had no idea who CPJ was. I didn't even know he coached at Georgia Southern. Sorry, Georgia Southern fans, I had no idea who he was. All I did know after a Google search or two was that he was a solid winner.

So now the Tech basketball program has a new coach that fits the same mold. What do we see on AJC posts and other website message boards? The exact same comments and criticisms. I am not surprised but then again I fell into the first category again. I have no idea who Brian Gregory is or what he has done. Had it not been for an article on the AJC, I would still not know who he was. From their website, all I know is this:

He was a winning basketball coach at Dayton

He learned under Tom Izzo

The AJC seems to enjoy showing pictures of this guy with his mouth open.

Seriously, check out the article. READ IT! I am going to give this guy the benefit of the doubt. He has the credibility and pedigree to be a strong and solid basketball coach. What Tech fans WANT is often way over what can be produced. What Tech fans SHOULD WANT is a strong program that posts winning seasons, challenges for an ACC crown and represents itself well in March Madness. I think this guy could get us closer to those goals. In the era of short time college players, solid built programs will always be competitive. So a guy who has a winning background and is a solid coach has been hired. I see a pattern and that is a good pattern to follow.

Letting go of the hate

It's been ages since I've posted and when I finally have something to say in a moment I come out and post something that in the end will likely be controversial among Tech fans. Some Tech fans will agree with me, some might not agree but they will at least understand where I'm coming from and then some will hate me and call me a turncoat. But after awhile you have to look around and decide if something is benefiting you, or worse is it dragging you down? Maybe it's time to let it go, in this case, my hate.

I've had a good amount of "Clean Old Fashioned Hate" for UGA for awhile. It's part of being a Tech fan. It's in the fight song and part of our chant. I had been witness and recipient to the verbal bashing that comes from wearing Tech apparel in the wrong company, or just simply having a Tech hat on while buying milk at the store. We all know UGA fans are the best at always having something to say. I'd wrinkle my nose as if something smells bad everytime a car would drive by with a big G on their tag. I'd pull as hard for a UGA loss on Sat as I would for GT win. And here is our problem.

Background.
I had no reason to hate UGA aside from being a Tech fan. I have no historical or current link to either school. I attended neither, graduated from neither. I do have friends and family that have attended and/or graduated from both. And if it matters, I do not necessarily work in technology, meaning I'm not an engineer or computer guru. My largest investment in Tech is as a season ticket holder. That's it. So, for those of you who are alums and put in the blood sweat and tears to graduate you will likely have a different opinion based on your experience. But I thought some background might help for some perspective.

Several years ago, days after Tech took the 51 point beat down to UGA I was walking into Publix and had a chance encounter with a man that I didn't understand the significance of until years later. As I was strolling in, I ran into a semi-elderly gentlemen wearing a Tech hat. Upon seeing my Tech sweatshirt he threw me a quick "Go Jackets!" and I responded in kind. After walking into the store we parted ways to do our shopping. A bit later we ran into each other once again at checkout. We chatted a bit more. The cashier was a young kid and a UGA fan so a little good natured jabbing was expected. Both the man and I gave the kid a hard time for being a UGA fan, he gave us a hard time for losing again, this time with 51 points on the scoreboard.

As we walked out we struck up a conversation that continued out into the parking lot. This man was an alum, still wearing his class ring. Retired engineer and long time season ticket holder. He was battle worn, years and years of the emotional ride that is college football had taken it's toll. He had witnessed many Tech/UGA games over his life including ones with Bobby Dodd on the sidelines. He had seen The Institute, the fanbase, and the teams change as the years went by. He had friends and family grow up and attend both schools, pull for both schools and watch games in both stadiums. He was wise, I was young. All of 20 something and full of piss and vinegar. As we talked I was bent out of shape over the loss, expressing my rage against all things UGA and my disappointment over another year of being reminded. Before we parted ways I was struck by something he said. "I learned long ago that eventually you just have to let go of the hate." No never, how could he. You must hate UGA. Little did I know, he was right.

I've found this to be the case with the Tech Nation in some ways. Older Tech fans seem to have let it go, they have either developed an indifference or even a small level of fandom as they have followed UGA over the years. Sons, daughters and friends have grown up to attend UGA, so they lose the hate and learn to accept the differences between the schools as an unchanging reality. Younger Tech fans drive forward, refueling the rivalry year in and out with renewed hate. All of which is healthy of a saga that has been continuous for close to 120 years. I find myself now somewhere in the middle. I've grown weary of the angry little brother syndrome that seems to infect many Tech fans. It's odd to me that so many posts on a Tech message board relate to UGA and UGA only, that some Tech fans say we can lose 11 games a year as long as the 12th game is a win over UGA, that we chant "To Hell with Georgia" in the stands while playing North Carolina.


Things are what they are. As a Tech fan I will continue to purchase season tickets and cheer loud and proud for the Jackets. As for UGA, I simply don't care anymore. I'm indifferent and have decided to not waste anymore energy on hate for them. It's as simple as that. As far as the Tech Nation goes, I'd like to see many of us move past this little brother syndrome. It's really time to move on and stop constantly linking our fate to UGA.

Paul Hewitt's Tenure at Tech is Done

I am sure that there are plenty of other websites and forums where many a Tech fan is busily typing away talking about how great news this is or about how Tech can now return to being a Top 10 program. I respect all Tech fans' opinions and I do believe that it was time for Hewitt to go. While he had done a lot of good for Tech basketball, there never seemed to be any real fire about the program. Even when we had good recruiting classes or high quality players, Tech rarely was in the sports news. It has become an afterthought.

I think that is what Tech fans were truly upset about. You never heard bad things said about Hewitt with regards to recruiting, shouting matches with boosters or his players doing tons of stupid things. All you got was the sense that there was a huge chunk missing from the program. Say what you want about Hewitt, he did things the right way. He recruited well, his players liked him, there were no reports of wrong-doings or NCAA violations. Barely a ripple.

I got my one close encounter with Hewitt outside of the basketball court on a flight to Memphis from Atlanta. I was sitting in coach and there was Mr. Hewitt, sitting by himself, just a few rows in front of me. He had a window seat and sat there reading a book. Here was a head coach from a major university, getting paid great money and he sat in coach. For some reason, that resonated with me. Would Jon Calipari or Bruce Pearl sit in coach? Doubt it.

So Paul Hewitt is now gone and Tech faces a decision to make. Should we go and try to land a big name or go after a great but unknown coach. I will say this for UGA, they found a gem in Fox. He is building something strong there. My opinion is that Tech follows the same path, hire a young coach with tons of energy and provide them with a solid coaching staff and build. Georgia has a ton of quality high school players so there is no doubt that a turnaround can be done.

I want to thank Paul Hewitt for his efforts and hard work. Even though it got bad at the end, he showed class till the end. I wish him and his family the best.

Tech Releases Its 2011 Schedule

Just to make sure that I don't step on anyone's toes, I got this from the Atlanta Journal Constitution and if you want to check out their column, go here. READ IT!

Sept. 1: WESTERN CAROLINA
Sept. 10: Middle Tennessee State
Sept. 17: KANSAS
Sept. 24: NORTH CAROLINA
Oct. 1: NC State
Oct. 8: MARYLAND
Oct. 15: Virginia
Oct. 22: Miami
Oct. 29: CLEMSON
Nov. 5: OPEN
Nov. 10: VIRGINIA TECH (Thursday), ESPN, 8 pm
Nov. 19: Duke
Nov. 26: GEORGIA

Daron pointed out to me (well, cuz he is the smart one here) that the increase in pricing for season tickets might have gone up due to the additional home game. Tech had only 6 home games last season (none of them world beaters) so the better home schedule could account for the increase.

There are some really good games this season and I am looking forward to Clemson, VT and (of course) Georgia. Do I have any idea or predictions of how good the Tech season will be? None. I am going to hold off doing my predictions things until I hear how the new recruits and current players are doing in practice and the spring scrimmages.

So, what do you guys think of the schedule?

Basketball Fever - Catch It! or Don't! It's Up to You.

Over the weekend, the MOTG Crew (well, there are only two of us but the word "crew" sounds cooler) went to the Georgia Tech vs. Clemson basketball game. This was especially important to me in that I had never been to a GT basketball game. I wanted to see the court, the players, the building and get a feel for the program. I can't say that I was impressed. Did I have fun? Sure! Did I enjoy the product on the court? Not particularly, but I do have some observations:

1. We paid $40 each for good tickets, not GREAT tickets but GOOD tickets. With all the discussion about renovations and the future of the program, the one thing that really struck me was the cost of seats. No wonder the place was nowhere near capacity. It is hard to justify paying that amount when the product on the court is not good.

2. Where are the students??? Here it was on a lovely Saturday afternoon and there where barely enough students to fill the stands behind the hoops. I compare it to the Cameron Crazies where there is a monster section just pumped with energy regardless of opponent. The Tech students that were there seemed more interested in hanging out than anything else.

3. Could they switch the mascot game for the real game? This halftime spectacle was far more enjoyable and, hard to believe, better quality basketball. Ok, I am kidding a bit. The audience was really into watching the mascots go at it. What started out a just something fun got competitive and even slightly hostile. Buzz's tackle of the Aaron Rent to Own Dog was classic! The crowd cheered each time Buzz made a basket as well.

4. Now to the Team: They should be called "Iman and the Imanettes". There was no flow to the offense and they made so few shots. Their big lead in the first half was simply due to Clemson constantly turning the ball over. Once Clemson got cleaned up and played better, Tech couldn't do squat. Our Center never goes near the basket and the rest of the team just waits around and looks to Iman to do something. I can see why this team is 10-13 and falling fast.

More soon!

Tech's Class Complete - Vad the Impaler

As of now Tech's pulling in 22. Lost a few in the last few days but still pulled in a good class.

Vad the Impaler
Yep, that's what I'm calling him. Feasts on the blood of opposing defenses. Impales line backers by the stake. Defense coordinators beware. Chicks dig vampires. Gonna go get my t-shirt made now. This kid was born to run the TO.

Concerns
Did we sign one single DL? Let's hope we can fill this void, it all doesn't end today.

Here's your rundown.
Zach Laskey, RB 6-2, 210
Darren Waller, S 6-5, 204
Kyle Travis, LB 6-3, 225
Jabari Hunt-Days, LB 6-3, 226
Vad Lee, QB 6-2, 200
Sean Tobin, SN/LB 6-3, 220
Errin Joe, OL 6-4, 285
Demontevious Smith, Athlete 6-2, 187
Nick Menocal, OLB 6-3, 235
Anthony Harrell, LB 6-2, 220
Chris Milton, Athlete 6-0, 175
Trey Braun, OL 6-5, 275
Chaz Cheeks, LB 6-3, 220
Broderick Snoddy, RB 5-9, 190
Jeff Greene, WR 6-6, 200
Tremayne McNair, LB 6-2, 225
Bryan Chamberlain, OL 6-4, 280
Jamal Golden, Athlete 6-0, 180
Tyler Marcordes, LB 6-4, 231
Shaquille Mason, OL 6-2, 305
Corey Dennis, Athlete 6-2, 205
Domonique Noble, DB 6-2, 187

LINK - AJC
LINK - MACON.com
LINK - RAMBLINWRECK.com with highlight Video of each player!

Don't forget to follow the MOTG Twitter feed.

MOTG - Twitter

What we can't post here, ends up there!

Hello. My Name is Johnathan and I am a Slacker

I can't believe it has been over two months since I last posted an entry on MOTG. If Daron was my boss, he would have fired me and I would have deserved it! I don't think that there is anything more frustrating that going to your favorite blog and not seeing updates. I apologize profusely for my lack of initiative and diligence and I intend to start making up for it.

Look for a blitzkrieg of blog entries from me within the week as I have a lot to say about the year that was and the year to come.

MOTG - now on Twitter

OK, I'll admit I've been a lousy blogger this year. Honestly without Johnathan picking up the blogging slack we may as well have dropped off the interweb. I will say that between working full time, being in school nearly full time and trying to renovate a house. Finding the time to post well researched and at least half decently written posts just hasn't been in the cards for me. Not that I'm making excuses. I do remember Jeff from the old Ramblin' Racket before hanging up his keyboard said that, "Blogging is basically a non-paying part-time job." Or something like that. Let me say, to do this right, never have truer words been spoken.

So... In an effort to try and push out info MOTG will now be bringing you nuggets of useless info 140 characters at the time. This coming from a guy who fought social media/networking for a long time. Didn't ever want a MySpace page, then I caved. Said I'd never get a Facebook page, then I gave in. Swore I never could see why people would bother with Twitter, and here we are.

I will say that I have become fond of Twitter personally. I use it a lot of school and work. It's a great way to get information. And unlike Facebook it's largely noise free. Meaning no Farmville.

So, follow us, join in the discussion and let's see where this experiment takes us. It might crash and burn, or it might breathe new life into MOTG, we shall see.

MOTG - Twitter

You can also find mine and Steve's personal Twitters on the right side bar.