Well, that was.....

Before I delve into my opinions and analysis of the game against NCSU, I am going to offer a couple of observations:

1. The "White-Out" really only looks good at a night game. People seem to forget that we are in Georgia and that 95 degrees is not uncommon at the end of September, so wearing white while sitting in the sun is considered smart. So instead of looking like a stadium of Tech supporters, we just looked like people trying not to pass out due to heat exhaustion.

2. A noon game is just not fun. I know games are scheduled based on rankings, popularity, etc. but to have a game where you can get, maybe, 2-3 decent hours of tailgating is hardly worth the effort. Add in the normal traffic delays and other Atlanta events, you got a half-full stadium at kickoff.

3. Tailgating spot claims are just not respected any more. The MOTG team has had the same spot for four years and there is always some group that keeps inching its way into our space. I know we don't own the spot nor do we have a legal claim but, come on, this spot was chosen for a reason. Just respect the space people.

4. Dear Event Staff,

I know that you are following rules but we wanted to make sure that you are aware that some things are fine the way they were. Case in point, let people lean on the walkway facing the field. They aren't blocking anyone and the same people have been there as long as we have had our seats. Getting a representative to yell at them and make them move and then not follow us sends a bad message. Also, after the initial distribution, don't just walk away and forget about the other part of your job in keeping people from leaning over railings and blocking paths to seats. In other words, you did the reverse of what you needed to do. Just work on that, Ok?

Thanks!

Now onto the game.

By now, if you have read the recaps and watched the highlights of the game, there isn't much I can tell you. You saw what we saw. However, if you are totally in the dark outside of the box score, let me help you out.

First, the offense was completely inept except for one or two drives. It seems like the systematic marching down the field of the past two years is gone. This team lives and dies by the big play. they seem to be waiting for Nesbit or Allen to make a huge play to save the game. The strategy seemed to be: run, run, deep pass, run. Yet, the most successful play of the game was a short pass to Allen that he turned into a huge gain. I could see why most of the pass plays failed, they want to go the deep route (which takes time) and the offensive line cannot protect that long. The remedy? A couple of more short passes.

The backs didn't make that option too workable because of dropped passes and lack of focus. The team seemed to do its best to remove two of the three options each play. We are now simple "The Option".

The defense did come out on fire, getting a fumble recovery and two sacks. You had the feeling that they would be the catalyst for a win, if they didn't start to stink halfway through the game. Like the offense, there is no sense of urgency or aggression that makes a defense scary. In many of the passing plays, the defensive backs would almost stop to wait for the receiver to catch the ball and turn before they attempted to stop them. The defensive line, which put some good pressure on the quarterback, just stalled and got pushed around. The linebackers seemed to be out of place or just plain confused on a lot of their assignments.

Some fans will tell you that Tech had the same 1-1 record last year and then went on a winning streak that secured them an ACC Championship berth. Could any of us say that we expect the same thing this year?

It's that time again...

I finally feel like the season is really starting. Time to get pumped.
Be there tomorrow. Wear White.



Notice the Death March drive in the video below from the NC game. I'll take one a quarter please with a side of Russell Wilson on his ass for the remainder.

And now a prayer to the Defense gods. Please shine upon our men in white tomorrow.



And now I leave you with moments (good and bad) from GT - NCST history. Enjoy.

The Universe Was Put Right

Like some of you out there, I didn't have my hopes high for Saturday. Tech was playing North Carolina a team that almost beat LSU even while missing a lot of starters. Tech was on the road, again, and there was the thought that they would not have recovered from the Kansas game. All signs pointed to a close loss and going 0-1 in the ACC.

So let me set up for you my view of the game. Sitting at my local Hooters, I was surrounded by UGA fans, eight TV's showing the UGA game and the UGA game being broadcast over the restaurant's sound system. The two TV's that were showing the Tech game had signal problems where I could catch a glimpse of the game every five minutes made the realize that something bad was going to happen. Had it not been for a surprisingly good grilled cheese sandwich and the fact that my waitress was really into me (What? She was! Seriously! They don't treat every guy like that, do they?), I would have stormed out and spent the rest of the game trying to get it on the radio.

Luckily, I was able to watch a decent percentage of the game and I was impressed by what I saw. Not overwhelmed or brought to tears, but impressed. Tech did several things that they neglected to do in the first two games:

1. Get Anthony Allen the ball! He has a monster game and showed why he was an important piece of the offense. He may not have breakaway speed but he always gets positive yardage.

2. Nesbit did not run the ball a 1000 times. He kept his options open (get it?) and ran only when necessary. He trusted Allen and the other backs more and this made it harder to stop the offense.

3. The defense is getting better, slowly, but it is getting better. There weren't a ton of blown coverages and they played pretty darn fast. I always try to remember that this is a new season and these are young players. My guess is that by mid-season, they will be an improved unit.

So Tech is now 1-0 in the ACC and that is what counts. The fact that UGA got beat and is not 0-2 didn't exactly hurt my feelings. There is nothing like the sound of 100 UGA fans deflating at the same time.

So what were your opinions of the game? Is Tech headed in the right direction?

Well, That Was...

Now I want to say that I did not watch the Georgia Tech vs Kansas game for one good reason - I had something else to do. I know, that sounds terrible but it was true. I did not even realize that the game was over and done until I got a text message from Daron that put his point of view forth quite clearly. His take? "If we continue to play like that, we won't win another game." Sort of sums it up, huh?

Again, I did not see the game but read several reviews and one thing came across very clear to me. The team seems to be resting on its laurels. They went into Kansas thinking they had it in the bag. They had Nesbit, they had the Triple Option, the 3-4 would be amazing with no effort involved and they got beat by a team that was nearly blanked by North Dakota State. The players even told reporters that the coaching staff told them not to take the Jayhawks lightly. What happened? They read the box score from the last Kansas game and went, "No problem".

And the team's reward for its effort? A drop from the polls. From 16 to nothing, just like that.

I do not want to jump on top of the dogpile that others are putting on the team. I have faith in the coaching staff and the players that they will fix things. I keep one thought in my mind is that this was an out of conference game. This hurt in the polls, sure, but it does not affect the goal of winning the ACC Championship for a 2nd straight time.

*Opinion*
There seems to be a sort of hangover from last year. I can't quite put my finger on it but it seems that the team is still somehow thinking about how last year ended and how they lost those games. There is no real feeling of optimism or swagger with this team and I think that it what it costing it. They don't play defense with a sense of anger or determination. On offense, they seem to think that Joshua will carry the day because, well, that is what he does.

What do you think?

Your 2010 Ramblin' Wreck

This is for those of us who were stuck in line at gate 3 and then gate 4 at the player intro. Enjoy.

Oh How Do I Rate Thee?

The first game of the season has come and gone, so this makes it the perfect time to use what little we saw during that game and make a prognostication about the whole season! Yes, from the South Carolina State game, we can correctly predict the remainder of the Georgia Tech football season.

Here is a brief example:

Joshua Nesbit will be a Heisman candidate because he will rush for 1800 yards, score 36 touchdowns and throw for only 100 yards at the end of the season.

Easy, right? Well, you would think that would be the case based on the team's performance.

Of course I am joking a bit. No one could look at that game and decide how the season will play out, but here are some things that I did take away from the game and the gameday experience.

1. There was a bit of a subdued feeling about the stadium. this was a bit expected because of the first game, the relative cupcake opponent (no offense) and the fact that it started at 1:00pm. The place just felt a bit dead. There was no sense of "Are You Ready for Some Football?!?!?" but more of a "Oh, Hey. It's Football" type of vibe.

2. Nebit can truly dominate a team. He played really well if you don't count passing. I think that is the one thing that you can say for the Spread Option, if you can't throw it well, you can still run them into the ground. Nesbit did just that.

3. I was happy that they took Nesbit out of the game to give Washington some reps. You could tell that he was pumped and made some miscues but he settled down really well and played better than I expected. I think he could be a great player with more experience and time behind center.

4. Passing game? Hello? Are you there??

5. The defense was not good against the run at all but did well where it really counted and prevented points. After all, CPJ's motto is to score and keep the other guys from scoring, so on that mantra, the defense did well. I think everyone in the stadium held its breath every time the other team did a running play. There was some energy from the defense but they seemed to be moving kind of slow. My guess is that the first game in a new system will do that to you. Let's see how well they play in three weeks (when they are back home).

6. CPJ has mastered the "we will talk about how bad you screwed up later" look. How do I know this? Because I saw it after Nesbit's interception when the wide receiver had the ball bounce off his chest into the hands of the cornerback. The WR walked off the field and you just saw CPJ's head turn and his face said it all. I turned to someone and said, "He is going to kill that kid."

7. The South Carolina State band was tremendous. I was sick to death of Michael Jackson medleys but they did a fantastic job. The dancers on the field were awesome and even did the famous Jackson Smooth Criminal "lean". Very cool! Hey, could we borrow your band sometime?

All in all, it was a good outing. One thing stuck out in my head was that both Groh and Johnson were patrolling the sidelines which just seemed a bit weird. Not bad, just weird.

Where you at the game or did you end up watching it on ESPN 8 (The Ocho!). What did you think about the game?

Why I Love Football

It's as simple as this. Welcome to the season.