FSU Recap

“Wow, what a game, huh?… I think it was a great game from both teams. Both teams fought hard and played until the end. I’m proud of our guys for finding a way to make a play. Our two freshmen at the end, that was a great play by Cooper (Taylor) and I was joking with Rashaad (Reid), I’m like ‘he needs to fall on the ball’. I saw him try to pick that ball up and I wanted to strangle him. Then when I saw him roll over with it, I wanted to kiss him. I think our guys played through a lot of adversity and a lot of guys had gotten hurt. I’m not sure people realize how banged up we are. There are some guys playing out there that are really beat up and I’m proud of them for staying out there.” — Coach Paul Johnson
I’ll let that quote serve as my opening remarks, let’s take a look at the offensive and defensive side of the ball

Offense

1.) I still think Jaybo is a good backup and will one day succeed in this offense, he was thrust into a tough spot this past Saturday. However, I don’t think you will hear anymore #11 chants from the stands. The Offense just sputtered without Josh in. He’s learning how to run this offense to perfection. He’s only going to get better. Scary.

2.) 9’s throws are improving as well. That ball to Dwyer on our opening possession was picture perfect. His comeback throws to Demaryius were also very good. His arm looks to be catching up with his legs. Scary.

3.) After reading the “Where’s the love?” article on AJC about Dwyer I started to think and agree with the article. JD is a perfect B-Back. How many times have I said that this year? When looking at Dwyer he looks like a linebacker or tight end, then you see him run. He can turn on the burners at any given moment and is big enough to break tackles. Carried 13 times for a buck-45, averaging 11.2 per. And he found the endzone twice on gamebreaking runs.

4.) Even though this doesn’t totally tie in with the FSU game, everyone is going to miss Andrew Gardner. He is a team player, works his butt off and he does whatver needed to win. That’s a tough loss

5.) Remember two games when I projected Roddy Jones was about to breakout? He rushed well against UVA and pretty well against fsu. 4 times for 39 yards. Not unbelievable numbers but pretty darn solid. His returns are also getting better. He almost broke two for six.

6.) Good to see ya Marcus Wright. Wright showed his gamebreaking speed on his 29 yard carry, taking Tech down inside the five. Expect Wright to see more pitches coming his way as he continues to grasp the offense. He’ll be a playmaker.

7.) Lucas Cox is great around the goalline. He picks a hole and hits it no matter what. Very good blocker as well.

8.) Demaryius Thomas has had a couple of down weeks statistics wise but he has made huge catches on third downs. That hitch route right past the first down marker is becoming deadly.

9.) Love the quick kick call from Blair that we downed on the one inch line. Love it even more that a lot of fans knew it was coming and Ole Bobby Bowden didn’t seem to have a clue.

10.) Speaking of Blair, it seems his field goals are getting better. Looks much more consistent.

11.) Nick Claytor is looking like the Claytor who was highly recruited out of HS. He’ll continue to see a lot of PT.

Offensive Summary: It’s getting better and better. Critics said fast defenses would shut it down. Is Florida State fast? I don’t even need to answer that.

Defense

1.) Thank you Cooper Taylor. Thank You Rashaad Reid. Cooper made a perfect hit on Sims which caused the fumble. Reid almost killed me when he tried to pick that up. After watching the replay, I’m still not sure how he came up with that ball.

2.) What’s up with the defense? I honestly don’t think they’ve played as bad as the stats have indicated. I still think they are one of the best in the ACC and nation. They bend but don’t break. They seem to either have really good or bad drives, usually no where inbetween.

3.) I’m going to give a lot of credit to, well to the person who always gets a lot of credit, UNO. Burnett was once again all over the field. He dropped two interceptions, had one ‘taken’ from him when Kyle Jackson tackled him, and deflected another one (4 total). My favorite Burnett play was when Antoine Smith ran a sweep out of shotgun, Burnett stood him up and drove him back for a five yard loss. Should have a good chance to win the Thorpe. Still leads the nation in picks.

4.) Michael Johnson seems to make plays when they are needed. Only two tackles, but one was a sack for a ten yard loss and a fumble. Still facing too many double teams to take over.

5.) Derrick Morgan always seems to recover MJ’s forced fumbled. He did so again on Saturday along with accumulating four tackles.

6.) Darryl Richard and Vance Walker again had impacts that aren’t known to the people writing down the statistics. Richard only had two tackles, however both were sacks combining for 12 yards of loss. Vance had three total, however one was for a sack and one was a TFL.

7.) Sedric Griffin continues to impress. Only had three tackles, one for a sack, but was in on many more plays than that. He’s locked himself in as a starter.

8.) A.T. Barnes is starting to regain old form. He said he felt like he was bouncing back. He still has the ability to be a game changer. Had 3 tackles vs State.

9.) Kyle Jacksons tackles aren’t always huge hits, but he seems to be a pretty sure tackler who covers up for other missed tackles.

10.) What a game by Mike Peterson. The Freshman corner stepped in a did a great job on Greg Carr. That pass interference call was very questionable as it looked like Carr pulled Peterson into him. Peterson made some great tackles and didn’t let Carr kill us.

11.) Mario Butler is turning into a very good corner. The future for this secondary looks very bright. Cooper, Morgan, Mario, Mike, Rashaad are all young.

12.) That being said, we could definitely use Dominique Reese and Jahi back in the lineup.

Defensive summary: Secondary is still making too many tackles for the defense to be great, but at least they making them. We missed a couple of big/key tackles that led to key plays but that will come with experience.

That’s it for now, UNC preview up later,

JE

UVA Recap

What a heartbreaker. Seriously. We go up 14-3 early, and look like we will absolutely dominate the entire game. Next we know, the offense is incapable of moving the ball, and the defensive line is not getting near the push we expected.

Offense

1.) Well, at least I was right about one thing on offense. I did project Roddy Jones to have his biggest game yet. Jones responded with 11 carries for 75 yards, averaging 6.8 per. His drop on the sideline is stiill getting to me though. However, it looks like he’s grasping the offense well, that should help throughout the rest of the year.

2.) Jonathan Dwyer just wasn’t himself. He didn’t have a terrible game, but he just wasn’t himself. He amassed 70 yards on the ground, but never had any runs were use to seeing him have.

3.) Overall, I thought Nesbitt played an ok game. The fumbles, of course, were killers. The main thing that irked me about Nesbitt? On the intercepting throw that sealed the game, Nesbitt didn’t move his lower body. He tried to throw it all with his arm, which rarely works out. People are all of the sudden chanting “Jaybo, Jaybo” on the sidelines. Sorry, but all those fans need to be quiet. Why, you ask?

4.) Because our offensive line was flat, and honestly just straight up bad. We jumped some, we held some, but we mainly just got our butts kicked. Nesbitt would take a three step drop and immediately would be under pressure. Offensive line was starting to play well, but after that performance, it looks like they need some serious work. Serious.

5.) So please, ignorant fans, stop calling for Nesbitts’ head, and learn his mistakes weren’t entirely his fault. Yes, those fumbles are his fault, along with the pick, but if he would have had time, he could have made plays. You’ve seen it happen before. Hopefully you’ll see it again.

6.) I usually try to not blame refs, but sorry, this was crap. When we had the ball, their was really only one bad call, but it was terrible. On the attempted game tying drive, Josh Nesbitt threw a pretty damn good ball to Bebe. Bebe without a doubt got pushed, unabling him to catch the ball. I really don’t know if he would have caught it, I was on the opposite sideline, but I can definitely tell you he had a good shot to catch it. That should definitely have been a call. Terrible.

7.) Some other receiver needs to step up. Bebe was the only receiver who caught a ball. I think Tyler Melton has it, and we missed having him vs UVA, but he still needs to take it to another level, to compliment Bebe’s production thus far.

8.) All in all, let’s go offensive line. I bet they are getting absolutely drilled right now in practices, and they should be. In his FSU preview, CPJ made mention to this, quoting “He (Nesbitt) doesn’t have time to set his feet.” In my opinion, that’s why we lost the game.

Defense

1.) What happened to the front four? Michael Johnson responded to his first half letdown with a pretty good 2nd half. A forced fumble and two tackles for a loss of 15, among two other tackles. However, he still wasn’t playing upto his talent. Credit backside tackle Eugene Monroe. Walker, Richard and Morgan really did not play too well. They combined for five, yes fine, tackles. They are much more talented than that, as we know. I think they’ll come back with a big effort vs State.

2.) If we didn’t have “Uno,” where would this defens be. In case nobody knows, Uno is Morgan Burnett. Burnett had 11 tackles, to lead the team, and his NCAA leading sixth pick of the year. He is all over the place. He is ranked as the 5th best DB in Rivals Power Rankings. He has been on the rise in those all year. He is definitely the best safety in the ACC, and in my opinion, the 2nd best in the nation behind the Vols’ Eric Berry. We’ll be lucky if he stays four.

3.) Cooper Taylor also played one helluva game. Cooper tied Morgan with eleven tackles as well. WIthout them, Peerman might have broken the ACC record.

4.) Who was behind the two safeties in tackles, yes, another defensive back. Rashaad Reid. Reid has always been a great tackler. He actually had pretty good coverage on their deep TD pass, he just mis-timed jump. He’ll be good in years to come.

5.) After crediting the defensive backs in the previous 3 posts, I’m going to say that’s embarrasing. Defensive backs should never be the top 3 tacklers for your team in a game. You won’t win much like that.

P.S. Dominique Reese tied for 4th in team tackles. Not good, again. So secondary, good job tackling, front 7, not very good. Especially the front four.

6.) Kyle Jackson was very upset last year when he was redshirted. I thought it was stupid of him. Now, I see why. Kid is a player. He makes plays. Only a freshman, will be good for years to come.

7.) Glad we have Sed Griffin as well. He wasn’t expected to get much PT at the beginning of the year. With injuries, he took the starting role. He definitely hasn’t let down. He was in UVA’s backfield all day. He missed some tackles, but allowed for his team mates to come up and make plays.

8.) All in all, the defense needs to get the swagger back. Pickup your ipod, play “Swagger like us” and give FSU absolute hell while they have the ball. They are as talented as any in the ACC, and we should be kiling teams when they have the ball. Give Cedric Peerman credit, he ran hard, and stiff armed our guys more times than I can count. He runs low to the ground, and we had trouble with him. He makes the difference for UVA.

Ill be back for an FSU preview,

JE.

Clemson Recap

Huge win for the Jackets this past Saturday. Clemson was struggling, but came out playing hard for interim coach Dabo Swinney. The Jackets almost let one slip through the fingertips, but this year we aren’t losing games we should win. That is one of the biggest differences between CPJ and CCG. It’s been a great year so far for the Jackets, standing at 6-1 and atop of the Coastal. A Look ahead to the rest of the year will be up later. For now let’s take a look at the clemson game.

Offense:

1.) Man, was it nice to have #9 back out on the field. It took him a little time to get back in the flow, but once he found it, he stayed in a groove. Made some key plays with his feet and his arm. He threw for ninety-one yards and a touchdown, not to mention Bebe’s drop that was another sure TD. He is a perfect fit for the offense, and he will only get better down the road. Think of how he would be running it if he hadn’t missed any time…

2.) Welcome back Jonathan Dwyer. The “New 21″ rushed for a Buck O’ nine, averaging 5.2 a carry. He broke off a long run of thirty one yards, and it was big one at that time. It was about 3rd and 15, and Nesbitt gave to Dwyer up the middle. After he hit the hole he found the sideline for 31 yards. This led to Nesbitt’s TD run nearing the end of the half, giving Tech the lead going into the locker room. As the years come, Dwyer has the chance to be scary good in this offense, as he already is running over many ACC opponents.

3.) Redemption. Demaryius Thomas. The two go together. After dropping a perfect 50 yards bomb from Nesbitt in the endzone, Bebe made up for it. He said he “Alligator-armed” the first one, and you could see the disappointment on his face afterwards. He defintely redeemed himself, with a key third catch to move the chains, and the go ahaead and stay ahead touchdown. Bebe is definitely showcasing his talent, while many people didn’t think possible in this offense. Don’t be surprised when he’s one of the top WR’s in the ACC come years end.

4.) As of now, the backfield is the Dwyer-Nesbitt show. Cox and Jones only combined for three carries, for 16 total yards. Give them time though, they’re still adjusting. Once they start learning how to catch the pitch and go, they will really start to break some runs, probably just in time for the Dawgs.

5.) After somewhat criticizing Roddy Jones, you have to love his catching ability out of the backfield. He only had one catch, but it was for 35 yards, and it moved us deep into Clemson territory. Both Cox and Jones have shown the ability to run “Verts” down the center of the field, come up with big time catches.

6.) I don’t think you’ll see as much of Jaybo Shaw as earlier in the year. Jaybo is definitely a dependable backup, and he will definitely be a solid starter (as we’ve already seen) when the time rolls around, but Nesbitt is finding his way in the offense, and watch out when he does.

7.) Offensive line still has some work to do. They’re getting better. Reading many articles, I finally understood how much of a difference blocking in this offense is versus a basic or spread offense. Coming off that low every single snap is not easy. Give it time though, they’re improving as we hit the stretch-run of our schedule, We’ll need it too.

8.) The Nesbitt-Dwyer connection goes beyond giving and running the QB-B-back option. Their fakes are beginning to look unreal. Two times I could have sworn Dwyer had the ball, and Nesbitt was running to the outside. On the touchdown, I froze my tivo, and watched the fake in slow motion. Nesbitt put it all the way in JD’s numbers before pulling it, which left him in a 2 v 1 going to the outside. He scampered into the endzone. Those fakes will kill defenses, and really let Nesbitt get to the outside. The only problem that they lead to are…

9.) Turnovers. We have got to quit the turnovers. If we fumble against teams like UGA and Florida State, we will have some trouble winning those ballgames. We put the ball on the ground three times, and Clemson recovered two of them. We can’t continue to afford that.

10.) All in all, the offense looked pretty good against Clemson. Clemson’s D-Line played their best game all year, and you have to give them credit for that. I can’t count the number of times I heard Ricky Sapp or Dorrel Scott mentioned. Seeing as it was Nesbitt’s first game back, you couldn’t expect every play to be flawless. Expect it to be improved this upcoming week.

Defense:

1.) Unbelievable. Again. We played much, much better than 17 points. We played like we let up 7 or maybe 10 points.

2.) I’ll probably keep praising the front four until they have a bad game, so I’ll probably praising them until the season is over. This was the first game I’ve actually seen some missed tackles. Derrick Morgan and Darryl Richard missed surefire sacks, but that’s beside the point…

3.) Darryl Richard actually wasonly credited with one tackle, but he didn’t play a bad game. They knew he was there. We knew he was there, both physically and emotionally.

4.) Derrick Morgan had a big fumble recovery. He also made CU players shift directions many times, which doesn’t make it to the book, but does effect the game.

5.) Michael Johnson had one of his lesser impressive games this past week, but he still looked like an All-ACC player. (3 tackles total)

6.) Vance Walker was named the ACC Midseason defensive player of the year by ESPN ACC beat writer, Heather Dinich. Talk about impressive.

7.) Basicall, here’s what needs to be said about our front four. Even when they don’t take up the entire stat sheet, they still are a huge part of the game. They make backs switch directions, which lead to tackles by Backers. They put pressure on QB’s, which lead to interceptions.

8.) Sedric Griffin played another great game. He tad two tackles for loss, and four tackles overall. It’s safe to say he’s pretty much locked in at a backer spot.

9.) Gotta love that secondary. Four picks, a touchdown, and 22 combined tackles from the usual five, plus Mario Edwards (Who looks like he will be getting more PT) The Secondary has got to love the way our front four pressure the QB. Reese housed one early, which set the tone for the first half. Morgan Burnett tacked two onto his total, now upto 5, and he’s leading the nation.

10.) Speaking of the secondary, I am thorughly convinced Jahi would have made a play on that fade-TD to Aaron Kelly. He was in absolute perfect position, but came up limp on his hamstring, making it so that Dabo Swinney could have caught the touchdown. Jahi was again impressive, and we need him back when he’s ready.

11.) That doesn’t mean Rashaad Reid isn’t a playmaker. Reid got his second pick of the year, and will start opposite Mario Butler for the UVA game. (Who has also been impressive as of late)

12.) What will our secondary do against UVA? When we go to nickel, as often as we do, I think Reese will take over the Nickel slot, and let Cooper Taylor play FS, along with Edwards getting a little time.

So there you have it. Defense definitely led the way, playing like usual. Don’t let the offense worry you though, with Josh back, the O should be clicking soon.

Here the video highlights courtesy of Youtube:

Check back for a Second half look ahead, and a preview of the UVA game if I have time.

JE

Gardner Webb Recap

Let’s just put it this way, I’m still not up for doing an entire recap on the Gardner Webb Game, so I’ll just give a few short points, and my thoughts on the game.

1.) We got the win. It defintely wasn’t pretty, but it was a win.

2.) You must have a mobile Quarterback to run this offense effectively. I think Calvin Booker is a great teammate, and could have been a good drop back style passer, but he’s not quick or fast enough to run the triple option.

3.) When you don’t have Nesbitt or Shaw under center, a team can focus on Dwyer, load up the box, and not worry about the QB pulling it as much.

4.) I know it was almost impossible not to do, but pulling Marcus Wright’s redshirt just made me mad. I still think he wil be very good in this offense, but I think he could have been used all four years if he had kept the redshirt.

5.) Our offensive line is probaly going through hell this week. They were firing off high, and lazy. I Bet they’re ready to go versus Clemson.

6.) Our offense will continue to haunt teams… When healthy.

7.) Our defense is the best in the ACC without question.

8.) The Leaping penalty is the worst penalty in football.

9.) Our front four is continuing to go up the national rank, and I have a hard time seeing any D-line who would be much better, if better at all.

10.) Sedric Griffin’s seizures were scary, good thing he’ll be back this week, he is a playmaker.

That’s it, I just don’t want to focus too much on the G-Webb game after how ugly it was.

Be back later for a Clemson preview,

JE

Duke Recap

So it’s been a while since I’ve had a post that’s worth anything. My last relevant article was the Heisman race, which in my opinion consists of the same people. I’m going to try to get my number of posts up. It will be tough, but I should be able to get at least one more per week. That’s it for that, now to the duke game.

What a game for the Jackets. Duke came in on a high note, and everyone thought this game would be close. Despite the score at the end of the first half, 3-0, we dominated them throughout the entire game. Let’s take a look at some notes from the game.

Offense

1.) At the beginning of the year, I thought CPJ and staff should definitely redshirt Jaybo. I thought Calvin and Bryce could definitely cover the backup roles. Not saying they can’t now, but Jaybo has been one hell of a backup. Threw for 230 yards and a Touchdown, while running for 13 yards and a touchdown. Those don’t really look like Triple Option Quarterback numbers, do they?

2.) I will reiterate what I’ve said after almost every game. Jonathan Dwyer is the absolute perfect B-Back. In my opinion, he has the best speed-power combo in the ACC, James Davis included. He is also the best back in the ACC, hands down as of now. He has rushed for 300 yards on 32 carries in the past two games, including 159 versus Duke. He didn’t find the endzone, but that really is beside the fact.

3.) The rest of the backfield has some work to do. Roddy Jones gained 39 yards, but also lost 13, for a net total of 26 yards. Although he did find the endzone. I’m not saying him, Greg Smith, Lucas or Peeples won’t fit in, just saying there is some work to do. I definitely think all four have the ability to succeed in the offense.

4.) Paul Johnson is an offensive genius. How many head coaches do you see calling the plays? I heard the stat one time, but forgot it… It wasn’t many. Not only does he call the plays, he also does it without a sheet or anything. He recalls his offense all from his head. I really think it’s going to be very hard to stop throughout the year. After everybody gets comfortable, I don’t really think it is possible to shut down.

5.) I’m not telling any secrets when I say Demaryius Thomas had an unbelievable game. But how unbelievable was it? Bebe had 230 yards, second most in a single game behind Dez White, in a ‘run-based’ offense. Even Calvin never had 230 yards in any game.

6.) Bebe, continued. When questioned about staying here under CPJ’s offense, Bebe said something like this, “Coaches tell me I will have my chances I will make plays, and that I will be in one on one coverage a decent amount.” Don’t think he directly said that, but I remember a reporter questioning him that, and he responded with something of the sort. Demaryius definitely got his chances against Duke, and turned it into a breakout game. Nobody in Duke’s secondary could come close to covering him. Covering a 6′4″, 230 pound frame is not easy, especially in a one on one situation. Receivers will have breakout games in this offense. It helps when you block your ass off in every game as well. I don’t know if I have ever seen a better blocking receiver.

8.) Turnovers will continue to haunt us. On the first drive of the game, Jaybo and Dwyer had a mishandled hand off in the redzone, which resulted in a turnover. We can’t afford that vs Clemson, Georgia, etc;.

9.) Offensive line had a couple of good games in a row, but on Saturday, they were not firing off low. CPJ assured everyone that will be addressed in practice.

7.) Offensive Summary: The offense played unbelievable. The offense definitely played better than 27 points. If you would have seen the statistics, it would look like 40 or so. Duke really couldn’t handle the offense.

Defense

1.) Dominating performance.

2.) Front four is unreal. I was arguing with UGA fans early in the year on how our defensive line was a level abouve UGA’s, and they kept making worthless arguments. Tech’s front four is undeniably better than UGA’s. It’s the best in the ACC, and might be better than anyone in the SEC. Need some proof? Here ya go:
On Mel Kiper’s latest draft board, he has Michael Johnson as the best D-End in the nation. He has Walker and Richard s #4 and 5 at Defensive Tackle. Morgan is a sophomore, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he is somewhere on that list in a couple of years. Talk about unreal…

3.) Backers are playing well. Sedric Griffin has definitely stepped in, and will look to hold down his starting spot with Brad Jefferson coming back. A.T. will continue to grow as a linebacker. He is a heck of an athlete, and is only a sophomore.

4.) Secondary is much better than expected. Morgan leads the way along with Jahi. Jahi is becoming a very good corner. Mario Butler is improving. Cooper Taylor still impresses, and Dominique Reese is playing well, also.

Defensive Summary:

Not too much to talk about here. They played dominant. I think it is the best defense in the ACC. Obviously the front four leads the way, but the Backers and Secondary are improving.

Here’s a CPJ interview from after the game, with highlights scattered throughout:

Here’s another highlight tape, with Wes Durham announcing. Best announcer I think I’ve ever heard

Mississippi State Recap

The game seems forever ago for some reason, and it’s only two days since we crushed Mississippi State 38-7 inside Bobby Dodd Stadium. The offense worked wonders, and the defense never broke. There is much to talk about, so here we go.

Offense

1.) What a day. 38 points. 500 yards of total offense, 438 yards on the ground, and 68 through the air. Nesbitt gets hurt, and Jaybo comes in and kills it. Let’s break it down.

2.) The Bread and butter of this offense, the true blue triple option, had been suspect in my opinion upto this week, but not anymore. We ran it many more times than we had in previous week, and Miss St. could not handle it. It showed as the rushing totals were very spread out.

3.) JD led the way with 141 yards, including one 88 yarder for his lone touchdown of the day. As for the math part, he carred nine times for an average of 15.7 yards per day. Greg Smith carried three times for 62 yards, and a touchdown. Jaybo Shaw, Embry Peeples and Roddy Jones rushed for 61, 56 and 33 yards respectively. Nesbitt also carried two times before getting hurt for 29 yards. A few players carried for some yards as well. Talk about balance

4.) Jaybo Shaw was impressive. He came in, didn’t miss a beat, and really took control over the offense.  I definitely don’t think he will take over the starting job, but he will be very useful when Nesbitt gets hurt, or needs a drive off.

5.) I’ll say this again, Demaryius Thomas is the perfect example of a stalk blocker. Over half the time, Bay Bay doesn’t let his man near the play. Oh yeah, he also caught 2 for 23 and a touch.

6.) Dwyer is a workhorse. He runs hard, low to the ground, and has the breakaway speed that he doesn’t look like he should have. He can bowl over you, or beat you on straight speed. A perfect B-back.

7.) Embry Peeples will be terrific in this offense. He is still on the steep learning curve, but he has speed adn knows how to run.

8.) Mississippi State let up three points to Auburn, a top ten team. We scored 35 points more, which is crazy. I know you can’t really do the “Team 1 beat team 2 by 10, and we beat the, by 30, so we would crush Team 1,” but still, you can’t ignore 35 more points.

9.) The interior line is getting a lot better, a lot quicker than expected. Don’t get me wrong, there is still work to be done, but at this rate, our line could be tops in the ACC by seasons end. No joke.

10.) Andrew Gardner should win ACC lineman of the year. I actually found myself yelling at him one play for missing a block, then realized that’s the first time I have ever seen him truly get beat. Impressive

11.) We are now #3 in the NCAA in rushing yards per game, averaging 307 per. That’s behind Oklahoma State, and Navy. Paul Johnson is probably loving it.

Defense

1.) Is there anway seven points and four hundered and seven yards go together? Seriously, that sound like a 28-7 score, with the winners gainnig 407 yards. There are definitely some negatives to take away from that, but also some definite positives.

2.) The first string defense only let up about 250 yards, and zero points. Also, about 75 yards of those given up were on one play, a long run which led to a Morgan Burnett tackle. Of those 250 yards, I would estimate 150 in the first half, so they stood up and played good D in the third quarter.

3.) How about that red zone defense. I think, and don’t hold me to this, the Bulldogs hit the red zone five times, and scored once, late, against the third stringers. That is unbelievable.

4.) Michael Johnson had the breakout game we have been waiting for. I usually take a look at the statistics, total tackles, and stuff like that, but with MJ, the stat line does not prove anything. He had one sack, a fumble recovery, and two total tackles. That does not do him any justice, at all. He blocked a field goal after that long run, he was in Wesley Carrolls face, which he(Carroll) later paid tribute to, all day, and was close to having five sacks. He just gets it done. He should be a top five pick.

5.) Morgan Burnett being mentioned once again. An interception, which, call me stupid, could have been six going the other way if he had not tripped coming down. Yeah, big ‘if’, I know. Anyway, five tackles, but was in on many more plays than that. Definitely an All-ACC performer thus far.

6.) Our “backup backers” have really stepped it up. Sed Griffin led the team in tackles this week with 8, while Clarkand Chambers combined for 5, but looked much more impressive than that.

7.)They have definitely impressed me (backup backers) but it will still be good to have gladiator, Kyle, and A.T. back.

8.) Jahi Word-Daniels is so much improved from last season. His tackles are perfect form, for a cornerback, and he seems like a leader. He deserved that interception. He strengthens our secondary a lot.

9.) Mario Butler is on his way to being a very good corner. Had a lot of impressive tackles this past game, and his coverage is improving game after game. Shifts his hips very well.

10.) Jason Peters could be key in games later this season. When MJ and Derrick Morgan need a break, he does a great job of filling in. He had 2 sacks vs Miss St.

Quick Hits / Random Notes

Fumbled the ball three times, but were lucky to recover all three. Still need to cut down on that…

Josh Is the starting QB, and he will continue to be so

UNC Blowing the VT game absolutely sucked. Seriously. If they win, and don’t let VT score 17 unaswered, we give ourselves a very good shot to win the Coastal.

We will win eight, possibly nine games this season.

Predictions for the rest of the season:

Duke – W,   G Webb – W,   Clemson – L,   UVA – W,   FSU – W,   UNC – W, Miami – W, UGA – L

When all those games come around, I’ll probably pick us to win, anyway.

Last thing: Highlight tape vs Miss St:

That’s all for now,

JE

Virginia Tech Recap

A couple of plays from 3-0, and quite possibly, one call from 3-0. Saturday was a killer.

Tech could definitely be 3-0 right now, and standing alone at the top of the ACC Coastal standings, but it just wasn’t in the cards. The Virginia Tech game was very similar to the BC game, in the sense that it was up for the taking, only we let it slip through the cracks.  Below are my thoughts on the game, why we lost, and more.

1.) Turnovers. Once we stop turning the ball, I wonder who will actually be able to beat us. Three turnovers, two led to scores, one field goal, and one touchdown. Dwyer fumbled late in the first half, and next thing we knew, Tyrod Taylor ran a draw into the endzone, and we go into the half down 14-9. Nesbitt had a fumble that didn’t lead to anything, but he did throw an interception, which led to a field goal. Take away either of the two turnovers, and we win, or go into overtime. I know teams turn the ball over, and it’s going to continue to happen, but we have to limit them. It will lead to wins.

2.) Did they honestly call that helmet to helmet call? That was seriously one of the worst calls I’ve seen. It’s 3rd down and seven, the game is basically on the line, and Tyrod Taylor is still fighting for yards. Cooper Taylor came in to finish the play, it wasn’t a hard hit, or a spear, it was just a tackle. That led to the game winning field goal. Did Paul Johnson agree? Not quite: “We pushed the quarterback out of bounds and got a helmet-to-helmet call,” Johnson said. “Wow. Wow. 17-17 game. Wow.”

3.) We just weren’t hitting the dive like we should, and that definitely isn’t all Dwyers fault. Virginia Tech packed the middle of the defense, and made Tech go outside. They took away the biggest part of the offense, and made us make plays otherwise. We made some good plays on the outside, but We just weren’t getting that usual 4-5 yards per carry up the gut, and We need to find a way to do that.

4.) Josh Nesbitt is already good, and will be unbelievable in this offense with some time. I thought his reads and pitches looked twice as good as they did against Boston College. He carried the ball TWENTY EIGHT times, for a total of 151 yards. A very solid day running the football. Just keep in mind, most running backs don’t get twenty eight carries, so hopefully he can continue it throughout the season. I thought his throws were better too, with the exception of the interception. He seems to love throwing to the A-backs out of the backfield, as he hit Roddy for a 41 yard touchdown. I didn’t think his incompletion to Roddy late in the game was a bad ball. It wasn’t great, but Roddy is also a running back. It would have led to a touchdown, and probably the win, but it still wasn’t a bad ball. 151 yards rushing, and 108 throwing is a pretty good day, and it was only his third game in the offense. Scary.

4.) Interior O line still needs some work. Once they start clicking on all cylinders, and Dwyer can run up the gut, we will have the true blue triple option going, and it will be dangerous.

5.) People criticizing Paul Johnson. Why would anyone do that right now? He’s 2-1, and it’s his first year. He looks in position to win 8 or so games, and well on his way to bringing Tech back up to a High – Caliber football program. Why would you not go for 2? You are down by 2, so an extra point doesn’t do anything. And I agree with going on it on 4th down, and I dont’ really see a good reason not to.

6.) Missing Demaryius Thomas hurt. He is a good receiver, and a great blocker. He will continue to succeed in this offense. Let’s hope he plays vs Miss St.

7.) Missing Brad Jefferson and A.T. Barnes hurt. Having them in would have helped a lot in general, but mainly it would have kept Tyrod Taylor from on broken down plays. They are both fast, and would have been a big help in the contain game. A.T. says he’s 100% for Miss St, and Brad Jefferson should be back in a few weeks.

8.) Morgan Burnett is the best safety in the ACC. He had thirteen tackles against VT, and saved many possible touchdowns throughout the game. Once again, will be the best safety to ever play on the flats.

9.) Our Defensive line has gone from possibly in the top 5 in the nation, to in the top 5. They had nineteen tackles, but were in on many more plays than that. D-Morg has exceeded expectations, and makes this group much better as a whole.

10.) Kyle Jackson was tied with Burnett for most tackles against VT with 13. He is going to be an All-ACC linebacker in the years to come, and he is showing why he was upset with his redshirt last year. He’s a player.

11.) Tony Clark has done a magnificent job filling in for A.T. Barnes. I like him at LB because he can hit, and can also cover backs out of the backfield. He came to Tech as a S/CB, and is very helpful in passing situations. He had 7 tackles on Saturday.

12.) Cooper Taylor looks to have taken over the starting role at FS. He is a freshman, and makes play after play. He is all over the place, and a very smart player. With him and Burnett in the secondary for at least two more years (this and next) and hopefully three, this will become one of the best safety tandems in the nation.

Final Thoughts: I thought VT really showed one thing, this offense will succeed against BCS schools. VT is one of the fastest teams in the nation, and historically always have a good defense, and we rushed for 278, and threw for 109 yards. I still think we will win eight games, and we could have a shot to win nine, but ten will be tough to come by. CPJ has our team ready to roll every week, so I do not htink we will ever get blown out, definitely not in the future.

That’s all for now, Miss St. preview coming soon.

JE

Boston College Recap

What a game. Seriously. This game could go a long way for the Jackets. Throughout the second quarter, we tried to give Boston College the game, but our defense was just too good. They made BC kick field goals, instead of letting them dance in the end zone, which was ultimately the difference.

I’ve decided not to recap the games in a boring fashion, such as “Then Jon Dwyer ran for four yards and a first down,” and just give my thoughts, because Ultimately I thought it would be more interesting.

1.) I think Josh Nesbitt is really getting hold of this offense. The first half had me worried, with three turnovers, and only seven points posted on the scoreboard. We really had only one good drive in the first half, and luckily for us is resulted in a touchdown. Enough for the cons. Nesbitt is a playmaker. He has the speed to scramble out of situations that result in sacks, and he has the arm to make difficult throws. His accuracy is still a little bit off, but definitely improving from the spring.

2.) Jon Dwyer is our go to guy. He carried eighteen times, and averaged six yards a pop, for 108 yards and a touchdown. He is the perfect mold for a B-Back, as he has speed and power. The 43 yard run showed the speed part, and he showed power all day.

3.) Demaryius Thomas is one hell of a blocker. He is the definition of a stalk blocker, and had defensive backs near the sideline all game. He also reeled in four catches for 56 yards, like I said before, he will get his chances to show he can make plays.

4.) Roddy Jones is more of a speed guy. Yes, he only carried three times for seven yards, but you can tell by watching him he can be good at B-back. It might only be me, but the fumbled play had potential to be a good one.

5.) Lucas Cox follows in his brothers footsteps in terms of blocking. He killed some guys yesterday, and will open holes for the run all season.

6.) Andrew Gardner looked good again. The rest of the line needs some work, but they are getting there. They should be very solid by years end.

7.) Scott Blair is a very good punter. He averaged 42.5 yards per attempt yesterday, very solid number. Blais is also a better field goal kicker than he showed yesterday. He has a strong leg. He barely missed that 48 yarder, and take it from me, that had the distance to be god from 60. He’ll be fine.

8.) We can not continue to turnover the ball like we did in the first half. A very good football team doesn’t turn the ball over, and a very good team takes advantages of when the other teams turn it over…. Which leads me to my next point.

9.) We had chances to take control of the game, with three drives starting inside of BC’s 35 yard line. We came away with three points. That can’t happen versus an elite team.

10.) Offensive summary: I give it a 7 out of 10 that game. It started to look a lot better, but it needs to improve by the second half of the season, which is when the schedule gets tough. The O definitely has potential to be very good.

Now onto the defense…

11.) Missing AT and Brad hurt, but the other backers stepped up. Kyle Jackson has a chance to be very good, and it will be fun to watch him over the next few years.

12.) Our defensive line impressed me even more this week. Vance and Darryl have motors that don’t quit. They are relentless on the pass rush, and will continue to haunt Quarterbacks all year.

13.) Morgan and Johnson also have motors that don’t quit. I saw MJ running from behind their backs plenty of times, giving it his all. He was also in Crane’s face all day, even though the statistics don’t show it. He also had a pass deflection that led to Mario Butlers INT. Morgan is a star in the making.

14.) Our secondary is MUCH better than advertised. Jahi Word-Daniels has impressed me a lot this year, and is much improved. Mario Butler, like Morgan, is also a star in the making. They are both very good on ball guys, and very good at shifting their hips. Jahi showed some great tackles vs BC.

15.) Morgan Burnett, what to say about him. 10 total tackles (9 solo, 1 ast) to lead the team, and what I thought would be his third interception in two games. Definitely one of, if not the best safety in the ACC.

16.) Cooper Taylor looked good all day. He was in there when it matters, which makes me wonder if he is going to jump up to the first string free safety. He is a very smart player, and him and Reese can both play the position.

17.) Interceptions. That’s the main difference between Wommack’s and Tenuta’s defense. Tenuta was all about the sacks, which lead to limited picks, while Wommack keeps more people in coverage, and you can definitely see what it does.

Random Notes.

Love the white on white jerseys. Thought they looked pretty good. Love CPJ and his intensity, the polar opposite form Chan Gailey. Lastly, we have a chance to be very good this year, I can’t wait for it to unfold.

Here’s what CPJ had to say about the game:

Overall Comments:
“I’m really proud of our football team the way they came out in the second half and fought. You know we
never did get any consistency going offensively. I think you have to give BC some credit; they’re awfully
good inside. Those two defensive tackles are big and they’re quick. They’re really good and they gave us
fits, we couldn’t do much with them. But you know we found a way. The neat thing about the option
offense is it don’t take but one, you know, you can hit some big plays.”

Defensive Summary: They get the game ball. They kept us in the game early, and the safety by Vance really gave us the momentum. The unit has a chance to be very good in all.

Jacksonville State Recap

First off, before i start this recap, this isn’t gonna be like most recaps I type. Most recaps will give a summary of games, broken down quarter by quarter, followed by a couple of thoughts. This one will only be my thoughts about the game, with a BC preview coming later in the week…

First off, I was very pleased with Tech’s performance. I heard people talking about how Tech would squeak out with a close win, and Paul Johnson would already be hearing it from the fans. While I didn’t believe that, I couldn’t help but think about it since it was a popular topic. Tech came out and dismissed that idea pretty quickly. It took Jax St. eighteen minutes to get a first down, and Tech took a 7-0 lead on their second drive.

Now to the quicker notes:
Demaryius Thomas is one hell of a downfield blocker. He led the way to Dwyer’s first score, with a pancake block fifteen yards downfield, and trust me, he’ll see more passes his way.

We will be passing the ball more than expected, and Nesbitt will be a better passer than most believe, he showed pretty good accuracy on his balls Thursday night.

We didn’t run too much of the Triple Option, which Dwyer said was the “bread and butter,” and that’s good, because BC can’t see too much about it, and I’m sure we’ll run it more versus them

Jon Dwyer is the perfect mold for a B-back. He’s fast, strong, and has good vision.

Embry Peeples has a chance to be very good in this offense, as does Roddy Jones. Both have breakaway speed.

Jaybo Shaw is about as good a backup as you can ask for. Knows the offense well, is a team player, and has the attributes to run it well, but don’t expect him to supplant Josh, although he should see the field a lot.

Andrew Gardner should be an all american, period.

Morgan Burnett will be the best safety EVER to come through Tech. He is a ballhawk, and a very good tackler. Watching him for (hopefully) the next three years will be fun.

Jahi Word-Daniels looks much improved, and Butler looks pretty good too. Looks like the corners will be better than we originally thought, and same with Dominique Reese.

We need Brad Jefferson and A.T. Barnes to be ok, as both of them are very good and fast. Kyle Jackson is good as well, and I think Tony Clark will have a monster year considered he was 4th backer in.

The D-line is unbelievable. MJ didn’t hit Perriloux too much, but he was close many times. Also, they used 6 O-Linemen to block, and we usually only brought 4, so don’t worry about pressure too much. D-Rich and Walker are both very fast for their size, and run the line of scrimmage well. Derrick Morgan, 2 sacks, makes this one of the best defensive lines in the nation.

Scott Blair is better than you saw, trust me. I saw him in practice, and I know it’s only practice, but he can kick the ball 50+ yards, he’ll come into form, so I don’t think that’s too big of a problem.

I like the uniforms, a lot.

Last but not least, Love Paul Johnson and his new coaching staff. He is very intense, and gets in the face of players who make a mistake. I’m sure the players don’t like it, but get over it and realize it’s for the best. Tech will be better than expected this year, and will be very good down the road