The Friday Five.....

It's tantalizingly close; 6 days from today the Jackets will begin Fall practice! The months of our discontent have finally passed. Until that appointed hour, the Friday Five shall have to suffice:

• we recently unveiled our 2010 uniforms. I'll leave the sartorial comments to those fashionistas so inclined; they're fine & we can win in them. That's all that matters.....
• It seems as if other teams in the ACC are beginning to understand that facing our offense isn't getting easier, no matter how many times you see it. Everyone at ACC Media Days was appropriately complimentary. I thought Coach Cutcliffe summed it up pretty well: "There’s no offense with magic,” he said. “No magic dust with a pro-style offense, or a spread or a wishbone. They are all sound. Georgia Tech will continue to have success as long as he continues to recruit good players.” Where's Kam Chancellor with his magic eight ball when you need him?
• So Vegas has released the early lines for this season. We're a 50-1 shot to win the National Title. Not bad. But for those of you inclined towards wagering, what caught my eye was the over/under on predicted wins for the Jackets is eight. I am sorely tempted to take what little money I have & play the over. The WORST case scenario is an eight win season this year. So, if you're in Vegas, lay a little $chedda$ on our boys......
• If you can't beat 'em, legislate against them. It is, after all, the American way. So Beamer whined enough to get the league to clarify the rule on crackback blocks. It really shouldn't effect us that much as rarely will an A-back have an angle like that on an arc block & it certainly won't happen if they are load blocking. CPJ gave the rule change a big meh......“It’s always been illegal to crack back below the waist. That’s been illegal forever,” Johnson said. “I don’t think anybody teaches that.” But this is a small victory for whiny ass Beamer & his pansy cohorts. Once again, our blocking is a focal point for the officials & we're on the slippery slope towards changing the rules to abolish low blocks. ACC supervisor of officials Doug Rhoads acknowledged as much:

“We’ve taken (low blocking) out of the college game except for the running game,” Rhoads said. “That’s the last vestige of below-the-waist blocking, and it depends on what coach you talk to. If they’re a running offense and an offensive-minded coach, then they say, ‘You can’t establish a running game without blocking below the waist. You can’t get the kind of blocks in there because of the size of the linebackers, the speed of the linebackers, the size of the defensive linemen.’ ”

He was quick to point out that several other teams across the country run offenses with blocking schemes similar types to Georgia Tech’s, including Navy, Johnson’s former program.

“You should see those guys. Navy and some schools have some 145-, 165-pound backs going up against 240-pound linebackers, so of course those coaches are going to say, ‘Oh, you can’t take blocking below the waist out of the game,’ ” Rhoads said. “And I appreciate that.

“By the same token, the only way you’re going to make it — and this is not a term — officiateable is to take it out. Because then the official knows. Above, below, it’s simple.”

This whole "chopgate" thing is like a Counting Crows song on endless loop: whining that never ends......Hey Beamer, grow a pair.......

• Holy Shit, Cooper Taylor is 6'12". A complete animal. Even Anthony Allen wants heart surgery! Who knew we had a bionic safety? #18 has proven to have a great sense of humor & he's letting it all hang out as a senior this year. I don't think this will be the last we hear from him......

Enjoy the weekend & the impending football. We're going to look at Football Outsiders top 100 college teams of all time tomorrow so stay tuned.....

Mr. Peabody and the Wayback Machine

When Paul Johnson says he's been running the same offense for twenty years, he's not kidding.

1992 Weed Eater Holiday Bowl vs. Illinois

A) check out the sweet rainbow helmets. Its like the bundesliga started an American Football Team. RAINBOWS ARE FOR NIHLIST!

2) Fumble-roosky at 3:14. Just something else for Butch Davis to worry about.

Next) OCPJ in the booth at 3:59

Pi) Pride of Brookwood High School Jason Elam




1990 destruction of #4 BYU

this ones s0 fun because Detmer was awarded the Heisman earlier that same day.

ridiculously strong work from Hawaii's play by play man. Seriously good. Pumps you up sitting in an office chair in July watching a team you don't care about.

Secondary has more interceptions than the offense has receptions. Balance is over rated.

Ty Detmer previewing his pro career. Hawaii receiver caps everything with a Heisman pose in the end zone.

WWE count out celebration. I forgot college football used to be fun.

good times all around Sherman.

Random Musings.....

So the new restaurant is eating into my blogging time at the moment; not that I'm bitching. So I'm going to attempt to catch up a bit on a few links & my subsequent thoughts:

• Travis Sawchik over at The Post & Courier takes a look at the ACC's most valuable offensive players. Along with Josh Nesbitt & Anthony Allen, center Sean Bedford makes the list. Nice work & Bedford is the lynchpin that holds the Tech option game together. No one should under-estimate his importance this year. Hopefully we can groom a replacement this season. I've always liked Sawchik's stuff, particularly after this article from last season.
• Seriously? Canceling classes after the mighty Elephant rolls over Georgia State? Let's just anoint them a semi-pro team & get it over with already. Watch out for those pesky Panthers......It wasn't enough that Saban got the game moved, he also wields enough power to cancel classes. At least they don't pretend their priorities lay elsewhere.......
• Jamie Newberg looks at Tech recruiting from afar. Not a bad effort. Of those mentioned, we lead for Morris, Joe, Tuitt, & Noble. There are plenty of other great players that will give us a look this Fall including two elite corners (Doran Grant & Blake Countess), linebackers McNair & Curtis Grant, and defensive linemen Darian Cooper & Tre Battle. I'll try & get a full recruiting post done this week before practices begin.....
• I don't need Mark Bradley to tell me Joshua Nesbitt is a stud. Hopefully this isn't news to him but all the same, it's nice for #9 to get the recognition he deserves. Bradley hits the nail on the head in the most important respect - it's Nesbitt's indomitable will to win & competitiveness that set him apart from others, not just his physical prowess.
• In injury news, Kansas has now lost a second starting offensive lineman while NC State's injury woes have carried over from last season with the loss of a potential starting CB. There but for the grace of George P. Burdell go we.......
• Always gratifying to see former Tech greats giving back to the community. Good on ya', fellas. We'll assume our invitation got lost in the mail.....
• Matt Hayes of The Sporting News looks at the ACC's non-conference schedules. Several games stick out to us: FSU-Oklahoma, Miami-Ohio State, & VPISU-Boise State will set the tone for the ACC season. Win those three & there's no way we don't garner some national attention. Lose them & we're not relevant as a conference. Also of note are four tilts against SEC opponents: Tech-UGA, Clemson vs. USCe & Auburn, and UNC-LSU. Sure would be nice not to hear the old "SEC speed" line this year......
• A nice piece on Al Groh & what to expect from our revamped defense this year. Once again, they will be better but patience is the mantra.....As good as we are at engineering, Bobby Dodd stadium wasn't built in a day......
• Finally, all I have to say to this asshole is:

See, the French are good for something......

The ACC Media Has Spoken......

and no one really cares. Tech was picked to finish third in the tough Coastal division behind Miami & VPISU, whom the media picked as the preseason favorite in 2010. Florida State was the overwhelming choice to win the Atlantic division & back in Tallahassee, LB Nigel Carr celebrated by going all bat-shit & engaging in a one-man crime spree. We applaud Mr. Carr's impeccable timing......

Back to the hype. My reaction to Tech being picked third? Meh, who cares. I'm taking what I imagine to be the CPJ approach to the preseason hype this year: win games and nothing else matters. If we want the "respect" of the media we 'll have to earn it, which is fine by me. That's why they play the games.....

We Know what his Son Does........

A fond farewell to a true Tech fan. Just goes to show how passionate some people who never even attended Tech can be about the Jackets. I hope his son does indeed yell, TO HELL WITH GEORGIA.....

This Should Be Fun.......

Anthony Allen's going to keep us updated throughout the season...and blow kisses to the ladies. Let the playa's play......

Bowl Games, Journalists & the Same Old Question.....

The final installment of the CPJ interview at ACC Sports Journal. Great stuff here:

On the doubters:

"The big mantra now is the bowl game. We can’t win a bowl game, because the opponent gets extra time to prepare. You’re better off not even responding. I want to say, “What about the three bowl games you lost in a row before I got here? Was that because of extra time?” And those weren’t the Orange Bowl and the Chick-fil-A Bowl. I got a news flash for you: If you’re playing in the Orange Bowl, you’re playing against a good team. You’re not getting the s**t beat out of you by Fresno in Boise." Zing.....first time CPJ has ever really taken a shot at Gailey & Co.

"It’s never going to change. I’ve realized that as I’ve gotten older, that you’re never going to convince some people."

"Iowa didn’t do anything different than anybody else in the Orange Bowl. We missed some reads, they whipped our tails up front, and they just beat us. We didn’t make any plays, and they did. And we still had a chance in the fourth quarter. And oh, by the way, Iowa didn’t lose a game last year when they had their quarterback. It wasn’t like we rolled in there and lost to New Mexico State or somebody."

On the ACC vs. SEC:

"The problem with the league is there hasn’t been a marquee team, a top-five team consistently. To me, that’s the difference between the perceptions of the ACC and the SEC.

If you look at the head-to-head records, I think the ACC is on top. But we have not had a team that was on the same level as the Alabama, Florida, LSU national championship teams. Top to bottom, there’s not a lot of difference. If you look at the NFL draft the last 10 years, the ACC has had more guys taken in the first round than the SEC. But the perception wouldn’t be that.

Until you have a national championship team or a team that is predominately top 10, that’s the way it’s going to be." All we lack is that elite team. Hell, the ACC Coastal is infinitely tougher this year than the SEC East.....

And I promise you, he was never betting on the ponies at the track.....not with his competitive nature.......

The Early Years......

Part three with CPJ. His early years coaching......

Reggie Bush Gets the Full Hogwarts

We have nothing to add to this story. We just think its funny that USC has an army of double ledger goblins pouring over record books and paint spattering snipes hunting down graven images all over campus crossing out R***** B*** and replacing it with "You-Know-Who".

To put it succinctly, they have the buyer's remorse.

On the Record.....

We're a bit bummed that UNC defensive tackle Marvin Austin has cancelled his Twitter account amidst the current NCAA investigation on whether he accepted improper benefits from agents. It seems that cupcakes may have been one such benefit......Solid work by a Wolfpack fan......

On Play Calling & Such.....

The throwing stars came out so fast we didn't get them in the photo.....

Part Two of the ACC Sports Journal's interview with Paul Johnson. Some highlights:

"The speed thing is a joke anyway. Everybody talks about SEC speed. The 27 fastest guys at the (NFL) combine, how many of them were from the SEC? Three. But if you say it enough, everybody will believe it." Preach it, Coach......

"I think another myth is that option quarterbacks are always getting hurt. Our guy played every game last year. How many dropback, pro-style teams just in our league had their quarterback play every game? North Carolina’s didn’t. Wake’s didn’t. Florida State’s didn’t. Boston College’s didn’t. Guys get hurt. It’s football. The guys I had at Georgia Southern and Navy, they didn’t miss much time. But it makes for a good story." Must be the pansy ass red jerseys other teams QB's wear in practice. It's a contact sport & nobody is immune from a good lick. Might as well learn to take one once in a while......

"If there’s a knack that maybe differentiates me from some other play-callers, it’s that I’ve always had the ability to see everybody. I could always tell you what everybody was doing: at the ball, on the periphery, everything. Some of it I don’t know that I see, but I know what happened by the result. I might have to ask in the box, “Why can’t we scoop the backside linebacker?” But I know we didn’t get him. I’m watching the quarterback or A-back or whoever, but I can catch it out of the corner of my eye. Is he coming over the top? Underneath? And a lot of times I’ll ask the kids when they come out."

"Eventually, at some point in my career, I can see giving that up. My wife says I never will. My bag on that is if I can do anything to help the team win, calling plays is probably it. That’s my contribution. I think if I gave that up I’d probably delve into more special teams. I’d have to have something to have my hand on." Poor Frank Beamer would hate CPJ even more if he took his title of "special teams guru".

Pride....

Every once in a while you stumble across something like this.

What's That You Say......

The first of a four part interview with CPJ by Adam Van Brimmer of the ACC Sports Journal. He's as honest as ever. A few highlights:

"Where coaches make big mistakes is in wanting their people to like them. But I’ve never worried about that. I’m going to be me. If they like me, fine. If they wouldn’t piss on me if I was on fire, fine. But they’re going to respect me. And that’s the one thing. If you operate that way, you usually get both eventually."

" I think it all comes down to execution anyway. I think what scheme you run is way overblown."

(h/t Senator Blutarsky @ Get the Picture)

Dr. Saturday & the ACC.....

Matt Hinton, aka Doc Saturday, spent last week taking a look at the ACC. As always, the good Doctor offered many keen insights. Some highlights:

• a look at the proliferation of offense in the conference. I'm still stunned the 2009 Big 12 championship game, that 12-10 offensive thriller, crushed our incredibly exciting ACC Championship game versus Clemson in the TV ratings. Certainly a study in contrasts. I guess my bias just can't be overcome...
• Can UNC's offense torpedo their potentially dominating defense? Why the answer is of course, yes. An emphatic yes. Butch Davis will be doing us all a favor by playing senior TJ Yates over Bryn Renner. But it's offensive coordinator John Shoop who's calling the plays. Shoop about as risk averse as, as, as......well Chan Gailey & Pat Nix in their heyday at Tech. Expect a lot of draw plays on 3rd & 12.....
• Bryan Stynespring & the Hokie offense are tired of playing second fiddle? The pieces are in place for the Hokie offense. Now it's play calling & execution. After Stynespring & the aforementioned Shoop, the rest of the conference's play callers look like a bunch of swashbuckling daring-do's a la Mike Leach. A lot rests on Tyrod Taylor this year; if I'm an opposing defensive coordinator I load the box to stop Williams & Evans & make Taylor beat me, something he's capable of doing on a good day. But Stynespring calling the plays may hinder the VPISU offense......
• There's plenty of potential down in Miami. Now it's time for performance. Will the Canes live up to the hype? For the most part, yes. But I question if they're mentally focused & tough enough to avoid the costly slip-ups that have plagued them in the past. A win at Ohio State would be HUGE for the conference as a whole. Plenty of folks drinking the orange South Florida Kool-Aid.....
• A fair look at the Jackets. Hedging one's bet seems to be the favored modus operandi of those evaluating the Jackets; tough to tell how we do after losing a lot of talent but no one wants to count us out. Hinton has always had a healthy respect for our offense & we appreciate him for that. Three of our toughest four conference games on the road, including the Thursday night affair in Blacksburg, is indeed a tough task.
• Hinton picks the Hokies in a photo finish and frankly, that's as good a pick as any. That being said, if our defense improves as Hinton suggests we'll certainly be in the thick of it. The ACC Coastal may be the toughest division in FBS football.....

Calling All Essayists......

New Virginia coach Mike London is giving away 100 season tickets to UVA football games to those who submit an essay that answers: What makes you the most loyal, passionate Virginia football fan and how do you show your Cavalier spirit? Under 1000 words please, as Coach has other pressing duties to attend to (like, say, finding something that passes as an FBS quarterback). My nomination is below, however, please submit yours in the comments section.

The World May be Ending......

I think I agree with EVERYTHING ESPN's Heather Dinich wrote in her piece on ACC media days. And yes, please leave TJ Yates alone so as not to disturb his concentration. I don't want anything to distract him from holding off Bryn Renner in the UNC QB derby. Almost nothing would make me happier than seeing Yates under center on September 18th......

Carolina on someone's mind......

Try as he might, Butch Davis just can't change.....

It was only a matter of time. Wash all you want, Butch, but the stench of Miami will hang around like the Florida humidity. Well, at least he learned at a place where cheating is an art form. It's not academic? Nice to know. I'll take recruiting for $500, Mr. NCAA Compliance Investigator.....

UPDATE: word on the street is that the NCAA is looking into players receiving improper benefits from agents including several of the highly touted defenders who chose to return for their senior season. Has Reggie Bush been sighted in Chapel Hill lately?

Can't Get Here Soon Enough.......

What a Difference A Year Makes.....

Seems Darren Myles has traded Volunteer orange for prison jumpsuit orange....come to think of it, is there a difference.......????

Last year at this time teeth were gnashing on the recruiting message boards as Carver High's Darren Myles spurned the Jackets & headed to Knoxvegas to play ball. After two arrests, including this latest melee in which he damn near killed an off-duty police officer, Myles finds himself thrown off the Vols team & in serious legal trouble. I'm not sure what to say except a) be careful what you wish for, recruiting followers, & b) whew....we dodged that bullet. Between Myles & Duke marksman John Drew (who was once a Jacket commit), it seems like last year's class gets better every day. Call it addition by absence.....

What Can We Say......

These ladies seem to have no trouble hanging on......

Except hang on tighter. Really? Here's an idea, don't climb on the outside of a moving vehicle if you're that guy.......Yes, THAT GUY......There's one in every bunch......Hopefully George P. Burdell sits on the jury & they award the plaintiff a lifetime of unintelligible Chinese calculus professors that Tech has an endless supply of......

Jabari Hunt-Days Gettin' His......

Tech commit Jabari Hunt-Days seems to be racking up the awards on the summer camp circuit. The linebacker from Hillgrove High & brother of incoming freshman QB Synjyn Days recently placed second at the Nike SPARQ Rating National Championship while garnering the MVP award at the National Underclassmen Combine U100 Southeast camp. Of course, Chip Towers of the AJC has known how good a player Hunt-Days is all along.........cough, cough, bullshit, cough cough.....I'm sure a sixth star would have come his way if he had headed to Athens......

Plaudits, Salutations & Pure Genius......

I really don't know where to begin with the arrest of UNC's All-ACC linebacker Quan Sturdivant. What's more impressive, the fact that Sturdivant got his wake-n-bake on & headed to the Bojangles at 11:15 AM????? Or the fact that some crafty Albemarle County cop set up a traffic stop at said Bojangles in order to catch those perpetrating crimes of a smoking nature?????? A battle of the Titans, fo sho......The Dude approves, particularly of Mr. Sturdivant's gustatory choice at such an early hour.....and whatever you do, don't fuck up the rotation.....

An Academic Casualty.....

It's part of being a Tech fan that we've become used to one or two academic casualties each summer. Last year it was redshirt freshman Kam Riley who struggled academically. This year it's redshirt freshman offensive tackle Antonio Foster who has left the team & headed home to Valdosta. I've known this was coming for a while & held out hope that over the summer Foster could boost his GPA. But it wasn't to be. Tech's a tough school & I've known more than a few people who at one point or another took some time off due to academic issues. We wish Foster the best. I like Doug Roberson of the AJC but it seems a bit harsh to say he's been "dismissed" from the team. My understanding is that Foster left school of his own accord. Either way, our best to Foster and we empathize; Ma Tech is no easy task......

Look out Ric Flair......

"You may not like it, but you better learn to love it, because it's the best thing going today.....WOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!" Ric Flair

Nature Boy better look out because he's got a little company on the way. Former Tech defensive lineman Joe Anoa'i has signed a developmental deal with the WWE! Can I get a HELL YES!!!! Joe's grandfather was a member of the famous tag team the Wild Samoans so wrestling is nothing new to Joe or his family. Best of luck to big Joe & we'll be throwing quite the party when he hits the big time. This, folks, is a what a family portrait should look like....

A fresh coat of paint, some new wallpaper?

Ramblinwreck.com has just the thing for you right here. Looks like this will be the theme for our 2010 campaign. Love the bling bling......

Tuesday on the Links.....

Hope everyone got their fill of the grill & tasty beverages this holiday. Did Damon Evans just make Dave Braine look good? Wonders never cease. An endless supply of links as we have some serious catching up to do:

• One Foot Down takes a look at the best running QB's in college football history. The blatant Notre Dame homerism aside (Tony Rice at #3, please......????) the list at least made me think about great running QB's of this era. Woody Dantzler as an honorable mention makes me want to hit myself in the manly parts. Repeatedly. I will NEVER forget that cursed game. I swear he ran for 234 yards all on quarterback draws. It got so bad my wife (then girlfriend), who knew little of football at the time, would look at me before every play & say, "it's the same thing again, #1 up the middle for 20 yards". I kid you not. Maybe the most infuriating afternoon of my Tech fandom. Back to the list. My first problem is that if you're not an option QB, you should be excluded. At that point you're simply a scrambler, not a runner. But the list contains some great ones, notably Jamelle Holieway, Eric Crouch, & Tommie Frazier. All were beasts running the football. Am I the only one old enough to remember Oklahoma's J.C. Watts? Dude could tote the pill.....
• Bill Kinney of the Marietta Daily Journal takes a look at Tech defensive line coach & recruiting coordinator Andy McCollum who's returned home to Marietta. McCollum's intensity is impressive & he's as genuine as they come. His impact in recruiting will be major down the line as will his contributions to our on-field staff.
• Hey, we won an Emmy for our PSA last season. It doesn't suck, so that's better than most schools efforts.....
• Georgia Tech, home of the 1st round draft pick. We had first round draft picks in football (Derrick Morgan, BayBay Thomas), basketball (Derrick Favors), & baseball (Deck McGuire) this year. Pretty damn impressive. We should also have gotten credit for football signee Jake Skole (#15 in the MLB draft) & baseball signee Chevy Clark (#30, MLB), putting us number one on the list. We demand a recount.....
• If you go by what we spend on our football program per win, we get a lot of bang for our buck. $16 million & change every year ain't to shabby. That places us 7th in the ACC, well behind the almost $21 million Miami spent last year. What the hell is Boston Cleege spending all that cash on? Oh, my bad, Frank Spaziani's mustache and its maintenance. No wonder we lost the Orange Bowl the way those damn Iowans spend. Time to end the ethanol/corn subsidies......I'm filing this one as there's more here that we need to investigate (like how many hookers $21 million buys recruits in Miami).....
• I'll be damned, somebody likes us. I'm not cool enough or wealthy enough to be an "Insider" but it's nice to know it's not Heather Dinich calling all the shots at the WorldWide Leader. I agree with their Atlantic prediction but I still say you can put the top four teams in the Coastal into a hat & draw a name for the division winner. It's that close & that unpredictable.....It will be a good race for ACC offensive player-of-the-year between Nesbitt & FSU's Christian Ponder.
• File under "we'll take all the help we can get": Kansas offensive lineman Brad Thorson has a broken foot that may sideline him for our game with the Jayhawks this year. Could be a problem for a team breaking in a new QB.......(whose name is Pick). Just sayin'.....
• Northwestern is evidently looking to remodel their on-campus stadium & Wildcat blog Lake the Posts looks at Bobby Dodd in all its glory. Say what you will, it's home & I love it. No place I'd rather be in the fall.......
• Finally, Joshua Nesbitt almost smiles......

Lots of opponent previews tomorrow

Happy 4th of July.......

Sure you were......

"I held them because I was just trying to get her home"

- UGA Athletic Director Damon Evans

A musical salute to Evans & his friend on this holiday weekend.....

Content...Provided

In a continuing game of off-field one-ups-manship, UGA AD Damon Evans received a DUI last night, and officially passed former player, Assistant Director of Personnel, and Bachelor of History, Society, and Technology degree holder Joe Hamilton.

On a more serious note, any day is a bad day to drink and drive, but Fourth of July weekend is particularly bad. Everyone stay safe and take a cab. We now direct you to Every Day Should Be Saturday.