Georgia Tech

Over 20 years ago, I came to the realization that I had made the awesome 5-9 hour drive to South Florida seven times to watch my boys play. Every single time was an equally awful experience. From parking in a lawn where the sign proclaimed "We speak Anglish", to missing a quarter waiting in line for the little boys room to buying water from refugees through the fence at halftime because the dung trailer that was the Orange Bowl had run out of anything wet by the end of the first quarter. But, most of all, I was a terrific 0-7 on these trips. I arrived on this brainstorm while attending a Bobby Bowden dinner in Lake City, and brought it up to the legend after the meal. In classic Bobby style, he quips "Well buddy, I don't want to see you in Miami no more!"  Done. Paul ain't ever been back to Spanish speaking Florida to see us play Miami. The Noles are 7-3 without me in the building. This was a weekend that made me think similar thoughts about traveling to the self proclaimed jewel of the South.

Imagine a beehive meant to hold 100 bees, and somehow the beekeeper decided to put 1,000 bees in there. This is Atlanta. Every trip - at any time of day or night no matter how far - could be a two hour excursion. I know this because I had 3 two hour trips in 2 days this weekend and never went more than 20 miles. People that live in this hellhive are like residents on the Island of Misfit Toys trying to spin to every listener the merits of their metropolis. Hey, I'm not Hermie or Rudolph...and your city blows. Losing to a 2-5 squad does not help my Trip Advisor review.

System failure. This offense was a complete system meltdown. Let's start at the edges where Travis Rudolph picked this game to imitate Horseshack, repeatedly putting his hands in the air but not really contributing. If he actually grabs any of the three balls that hit him in the hands in this game, we probably win going away. Two touchdowns and a much shorter game winning FG were the flip side of his gaffes. Moving to the beef, the inability of our center to know the snapcount continues to baffle, but the line has more false starts than 100 meter starter training school.  Yes, we are stupidly young, but by game 7, the fundamentals of getting set up and starting a play need to be done without referee interruption. Next is our rental. Jimbo has dumbed down the offense to suit EG's abilities, but when he is not accurate enough to execute even these calls, you saw the result. GT was crowding the box with all 11 guys within 6 yards of the line and leaving every single receiver in single coverage with no safety help. They were determined with their undersized unit to not get beat by Dalvin (who still averaged 5 yards a carry). We called combo routes, where Everett has only 2 receivers in a tree and he only has to read one defender. He threw it behind, at their feet and just generally uncatchable. Guys running open deep like they were the first one out to practice and he misses em. Tough to be a play caller when the other team flat out allows you to win, and you can't. 

This paragraph will never happen, but now that the reality of a non National Championship has descended, I would love for us to focus on the program and not the immediate. If Jimbo did not believe that Everett gave this team the best chance to win, he would not be out there, but we are playing for a longer term now. Bring back the Kentucky Derby. Get your second team offense on the field for a series that matters every game in the second period. Give crucial reps to your potential 2016 QB's, tailbacks and wideouts. The dividends this would pay next season would be huge. Not to mention that if Jimbo can find a signal caller that can execute a downfield passing game, the blueprint that Tech established to beat us can be torn up. The head coach took the blame post game for the multiple breakdowns, and he was right to do so. Repeated presnap issues are on him, but he is at practice and sees the potential solutions. Let's see what happens and hope that the program is bigger than the moment.

This game was not lost on a missed Roberto kick, it was lost in the first 20 minutes of the contest with our offensive failure to put away a bad team waiting badly to quit if given the excuse. In other words, if you hold this ridiculous morally illegal (just seems to this neutral observer that asking athletically challenged kids to leap forward trying to cut knees for 3 hours of superior players is an issue - but I may be hanging with Tonto on this one) offense to just 16 points, the defense was not the issue. Yes, Derwin gave up a backbreaking play on the 4th down conversion, but he and Josh Sweat are just ridiculous talents. I was disappointed in Jalen's ability to get off blocks on the pitch. For the first time all year, he looked like a guy trying more to avoid injury than a dude playing with reckless abandon.  I also question on possibly the most important play of the game with a one man route from the end zone, we had Elliot in coverage. Hmmm, had to be a better option here. Yes, for the umpteenth time, we missed the guts of our defense watching in street clothes, but this side of the ball played well enough to win. 

When the offense abandons us, that apparently is when Cason is at his best, and he was terrific this week. I am still mystified as to why we can not return a punt…at all. We are not coming close to a blocked kick and yet we are not even a threat to break a return. Too many athletes on the bench to let this phase be a waste. I was probably in the vast majority that would have bet a large sum of money that the last kick was a foregone conclusion. I anticipate our field goal unit agreed, as they went into full statue shock mode after the block, with only Cason and Roberto giving a realistic attempt at a game saving tackle. Not our best options.

So, we all go through our 9 stages of grief this week for the first time in more than three regular seasons. I do not feel very good for the chances of Syracuse sneaking up on us this week. Orange might be the new Black, but these boys are getting a highly motivated, pissed off parents weekend welcome at noon next Saturday. No more ACC win streak pressure. No more turnover streak pressure. No more National Championship pressure. Just angry, talented youngsters and a need to take out some frustration. Good luck to the visitors from my old stomping grounds...