Let me start with an apology. I am late with this installment due to personal situations. My wife had major back surgery and I have been her primary caregiver. This is in addition to taking on her role as her father's primary caregiver (He has lived with us for over 2 years). I did not realize how much she does until I had to do what she does PLUS take care of her while she recovers. Anyway, I did watch the game. My friend that usually travels with me to all the games came over and we watched..."that" to the bitter end. The only saving grace for us was we didn't drop an exorbitant amount of money traveling to Houston (1st bowl game we have missed since the 2004 Cotton Bowl, when I was at Fort Stewart, GA waiting on a ride to take me to luxurious Iraq for a year). Due to not being able to spend a lot of time reviewing the tape, I am going to make some general comments and then talk about the way forward.
The game
1. We didn't play with a lot of fire. It was obvious to me that we wanted to look like we were there to play inspired, but football is not something that you can "fake it till you make it". You either want to be there, or you don't. The first sign of adversity usually smokes out the pretenders. After Tech hit us in the throat a couple of times, we looked like a team that wanted to "just get it over with." That started at the top (more on him in a minute). Teams normally take on the attitude of their coach. Well, you saw what I saw. We got it taken to us by a bunch of guys in red that wanted more than we did, and made us like it. It was painful to watch. I could say more, but you get the idea.
2. Losing Troy Brown and Ladarious Tennison to targeting was huge for our defense, and team. I agreed with the call on Brown, not necessarily on Tennison. On both accounts, one has to wonder what these guys were thinking. The QB was clearly sliding on Brown's ejection. I hate the targeting rule as much as I am sure you all do, but Brown's call was an open-and-shut case. The QB for Tech repeatedly hurt us with the run. Again, I am not at practice and not privy to the game plan, but we seemed to be lost when he took off. Losing two of our primary tacklers really hurt our chances of slowing them down. I do want to give a shout-out to Ashanti Sistrunk. He stepped in and played a good game at LB, recording 12 tackles. The fact that we kept going for it in some insanely bad situations (I am getting there) didn't help the defense out either.
3. Tavious Robinson played his tail off. He has steadily improved as the year has moved along. We are going to miss him. JJ played another good game. I am excited about what the future holds for him. He could really be special next year ( and make a LOT of money) if he dedicates himself in the offseason.
4. The offensive line got whipped at the point of attack regularly. Caleb Warren noticeably got beat several times. Tech employed some of the same alignment techniques as we saw in the MSU game. It looked like we failed to make any adjustments to their alignment, especially in short-yardage situations. We failed to test the edge for the most part, though Evans had some success when he was in the game. Not sure why he didn't get more touches. I wish him nothing but success in the NFL. He has the tool kit to be a big-time player.
5. Jaxson Dart looked discombobulated at times during the game. On more than one occasion, he seemed to be on a different page than the rest of the offense. He has unlimited potential,...this offseason will either catapult him into stardom or drag him down into the abyss of mediocrity. It will be his (and the coaches') decision to make. I wish Luke would have stayed and continued to work in the QB2 role. I understand his decision though. He wants to play. Best of luck to him.
6. Michael Trigg... what a waste this year was for him, and us. Looks like Tarzan... you know the rest. What I see is a player that doesn't care enough to learn what to do. When you are unsure what you are doing, you play slow. His blocking, or lack thereof, was directly the reason for our failure on 4th down on 2 occasions. Short-yardage gap blocking requires you to get your hat across the man that is in your gap. His failure to do that resulted in tackles for loss on 4th down. He has a decision to make. He can either bow up, and become the player that his body and talent indicate he can be, or bow out, and do whatever it is he might rather be doing than getting better and being more coachable.
7. Coaching...I am ALWAYS giving coaching the benefit of the doubt. I spent my career dealing with "the peanut gallery" and "armchair quarterbacks". I just don't get it. CLK looked like he was checked out. We went for it on 4th down and more than 2 yards 3 times inside our 30, twice inside our 20. That wasn't analytics, that was hubris, and we all know whose it was.
I am not necessarily calling for anyone's job, but I was not a fan of the Weis hire from before it happened. We have enough coaches' kids on the staff who were born on 3rd and think they hit a triple. CLK needs an older coach, a mentor if you will, who is known for being creative offensively, especially in the red zone, and has the courage to cool his jets when he gets a wild hair to go for it on 4th down from the 10. (I happen to know one who is currently available... if the money is right...
)
Bottom line... CLK, like several players mentioned, is going to have to make a decision . A. Continue to try and build a one-year wonder so he can get whatever gig it is that he seems so desperately searching for...or B. Reciprocate the commitment that the university and fans have made, put his head down, grind it out for a few years, build a roster with some true P5 depth, and compete for and win a championship. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result (Choice A). Maybe it is time to try something different (Choice B).
The Way Forward
We are close to being a contender. Here is what I see we need to do to get over the proverbial hump.
1. Focused, motivated leadership. It all starts at the top. Bow up or bow out, CLK and staff. Ok, the horse is dead.
2. Recruit/retain talent on the roster. We have a solid base of talent to build a good roster already here. We need to make sure we keep our base of players.
3. Hit the portal, HARD. We need depth at numerous positions. On offense, we need QB2, Interior OL (someone that can center the ball), TE (that can block), and a slot receiver, preferably with speed to burn to take the top off. On defense, we need another interior DL, another DE, a Mike LB, and a couple of hybrid safety types.
4. Forgive and move on. I know this is easier said than done. No one is/was more upset about how the season ended and the CLK drama played out than me. But it is what MUST happen if we expect to achieve what we all want. Everyone GRAB the rope and PULL IN THE SAME DIRECTION!
A. Stop making comments about CLKs salary, that poisons the well. Be proud that we are playing in the big leagues for a change.
B. Be supportive of whomever CLK determines should stay and who should go on the coaching staff, and who he brings in to join said staff (self-included).
C. Contribute as MUCH AS POSSIBLE to the GROVE COLLECTIVE! People saying they "are out" and canceling their membership, what do they think that is going to accomplish? That is what our competitors want us to do, fight each other. We have been good at that for too long. It is time to unite, circle the wagons, and PUSH THE CHIPS TO THE CENTER!
I have started and come back to this post all day long due to my personal obligations. I apologize for its length. I had a lot to say and not enough time to edit.
The game
1. We didn't play with a lot of fire. It was obvious to me that we wanted to look like we were there to play inspired, but football is not something that you can "fake it till you make it". You either want to be there, or you don't. The first sign of adversity usually smokes out the pretenders. After Tech hit us in the throat a couple of times, we looked like a team that wanted to "just get it over with." That started at the top (more on him in a minute). Teams normally take on the attitude of their coach. Well, you saw what I saw. We got it taken to us by a bunch of guys in red that wanted more than we did, and made us like it. It was painful to watch. I could say more, but you get the idea.
2. Losing Troy Brown and Ladarious Tennison to targeting was huge for our defense, and team. I agreed with the call on Brown, not necessarily on Tennison. On both accounts, one has to wonder what these guys were thinking. The QB was clearly sliding on Brown's ejection. I hate the targeting rule as much as I am sure you all do, but Brown's call was an open-and-shut case. The QB for Tech repeatedly hurt us with the run. Again, I am not at practice and not privy to the game plan, but we seemed to be lost when he took off. Losing two of our primary tacklers really hurt our chances of slowing them down. I do want to give a shout-out to Ashanti Sistrunk. He stepped in and played a good game at LB, recording 12 tackles. The fact that we kept going for it in some insanely bad situations (I am getting there) didn't help the defense out either.
3. Tavious Robinson played his tail off. He has steadily improved as the year has moved along. We are going to miss him. JJ played another good game. I am excited about what the future holds for him. He could really be special next year ( and make a LOT of money) if he dedicates himself in the offseason.
4. The offensive line got whipped at the point of attack regularly. Caleb Warren noticeably got beat several times. Tech employed some of the same alignment techniques as we saw in the MSU game. It looked like we failed to make any adjustments to their alignment, especially in short-yardage situations. We failed to test the edge for the most part, though Evans had some success when he was in the game. Not sure why he didn't get more touches. I wish him nothing but success in the NFL. He has the tool kit to be a big-time player.
5. Jaxson Dart looked discombobulated at times during the game. On more than one occasion, he seemed to be on a different page than the rest of the offense. He has unlimited potential,...this offseason will either catapult him into stardom or drag him down into the abyss of mediocrity. It will be his (and the coaches') decision to make. I wish Luke would have stayed and continued to work in the QB2 role. I understand his decision though. He wants to play. Best of luck to him.
6. Michael Trigg... what a waste this year was for him, and us. Looks like Tarzan... you know the rest. What I see is a player that doesn't care enough to learn what to do. When you are unsure what you are doing, you play slow. His blocking, or lack thereof, was directly the reason for our failure on 4th down on 2 occasions. Short-yardage gap blocking requires you to get your hat across the man that is in your gap. His failure to do that resulted in tackles for loss on 4th down. He has a decision to make. He can either bow up, and become the player that his body and talent indicate he can be, or bow out, and do whatever it is he might rather be doing than getting better and being more coachable.
7. Coaching...I am ALWAYS giving coaching the benefit of the doubt. I spent my career dealing with "the peanut gallery" and "armchair quarterbacks". I just don't get it. CLK looked like he was checked out. We went for it on 4th down and more than 2 yards 3 times inside our 30, twice inside our 20. That wasn't analytics, that was hubris, and we all know whose it was.
I am not necessarily calling for anyone's job, but I was not a fan of the Weis hire from before it happened. We have enough coaches' kids on the staff who were born on 3rd and think they hit a triple. CLK needs an older coach, a mentor if you will, who is known for being creative offensively, especially in the red zone, and has the courage to cool his jets when he gets a wild hair to go for it on 4th down from the 10. (I happen to know one who is currently available... if the money is right...
)Bottom line... CLK, like several players mentioned, is going to have to make a decision . A. Continue to try and build a one-year wonder so he can get whatever gig it is that he seems so desperately searching for...or B. Reciprocate the commitment that the university and fans have made, put his head down, grind it out for a few years, build a roster with some true P5 depth, and compete for and win a championship. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result (Choice A). Maybe it is time to try something different (Choice B).
The Way Forward
We are close to being a contender. Here is what I see we need to do to get over the proverbial hump.
1. Focused, motivated leadership. It all starts at the top. Bow up or bow out, CLK and staff. Ok, the horse is dead.
2. Recruit/retain talent on the roster. We have a solid base of talent to build a good roster already here. We need to make sure we keep our base of players.
3. Hit the portal, HARD. We need depth at numerous positions. On offense, we need QB2, Interior OL (someone that can center the ball), TE (that can block), and a slot receiver, preferably with speed to burn to take the top off. On defense, we need another interior DL, another DE, a Mike LB, and a couple of hybrid safety types.
4. Forgive and move on. I know this is easier said than done. No one is/was more upset about how the season ended and the CLK drama played out than me. But it is what MUST happen if we expect to achieve what we all want. Everyone GRAB the rope and PULL IN THE SAME DIRECTION!
A. Stop making comments about CLKs salary, that poisons the well. Be proud that we are playing in the big leagues for a change.
B. Be supportive of whomever CLK determines should stay and who should go on the coaching staff, and who he brings in to join said staff (self-included).
C. Contribute as MUCH AS POSSIBLE to the GROVE COLLECTIVE! People saying they "are out" and canceling their membership, what do they think that is going to accomplish? That is what our competitors want us to do, fight each other. We have been good at that for too long. It is time to unite, circle the wagons, and PUSH THE CHIPS TO THE CENTER!
I have started and come back to this post all day long due to my personal obligations. I apologize for its length. I had a lot to say and not enough time to edit.
Last edited:
