Buzzing with excuses

Since the humiliation of Monday evening, the insults and excuses from limp-wristed Tech fans have been flying like greasy tater tots in a middle school lunchroom. We here at FPJ believe that there are no excuses for this year's substandard play, and that it is merely a portent of similar seasons to come. Or to put it another way, as Coach Johnson would so glibly mutter, "It is what it is." Here we review some of the more remarkable cop-outs which have emerged in the last 48 hours, and refute them easily with our typical wit and dexterity.


1. At least he's not Bill Lewis!

Are you kidding me? The webmaster of Stingtalk actually endeavored to start a thread dedicated to this ludicrous point.

Is that how threadbare your argument has become, Mr. Beestorm, that you would dredge up the pain inflicted by a coach who in three years turned a national championship program into a 1-10 disaster, merely as a flimsy device to mitigate Johnson's not-quite-as-dismal season? If Bill Lewis is indeed your baseline, then the same excuse could be used for nearly every coach in America. In fact going by your criterion it's a wonder any coach is ever fired! Should Notre Dame not have fired Charlie Weis because he "wasn't as bad as Bill Lewis?" Should Alabama have retained Mike Dubose because he "wasn't as bad as Bill Lewis?" If being better than Bill Lewis is the gold standard for Tech's program, then why did it fire Chan Gailey to begin with?

2. Nesbitt was hurt

Any time the starting QB goes down, it's a handy excuse for friends of the head coach. Nonetheless it's not like this team was a bunch of world-beaters before Nesbitt's injury. Tech entered the Virginia Tech game already with three losses: listless defeats at the hands of a decent NC State and a thoroughly average Clemson, and another loss to Kansas, one of the worst teams in the FBS-- all with a healthy Nesbitt.

"Nesbitt4Heisman" was one of the biggest jokes of the college football season

And one can hardly say that Tevin Washington didn't play well enough against both VT and UGA to win-- in fact the offense gained over 500 yards at UGA alone. The VT game was frankly squandered because of atrocious special teams play and the late-game impotence characteristic of Johnson's system-- the latter of which also being a death knell for the Jackets in Athens. To hear some fans speak however, Nesbitt would have transformed into Captain Comeback in the final moments of both losses, slinging completions all over the field. As a matter of fact the irony is that Nesbitt actually injured himself attempting to tackle a Hokie player to which he threw a critical red zone interception! If anything, the resultant shift in momentum from that single play, entirely precipitated by Nesbitt, was the sequence most responsible for the eventual loss at Virginia Tech.

Perhaps Nesbitt would have made a difference in the Air Force game... but again, that's hard to say. As noted by Johnson, the problems in Shreveport were hardly limited to the QB position-- they were more a microcosm of the team's season-long performance.

The truth is that Johnson's system, via its unusual distribution of offensive responsibility and deterrence of improvisation, maximizes the effectiveness of marginal FBS quarterbacks like Washington and Jaybo Shaw, while minimizing the potential of a prime talent like Nesbitt. Either way, you get an unremarkable, standardized product at the QB position-- a robotic cog designed to read defensive ends, distribute pitches, and loft the occasional jump ball. It was no coincidence then when true freshman Shaw stepped in during the 2008 season and deftly operated the offense in two easy wins while Nesbitt was injured, and it was further no surprise when the offense suffered little dropoff once Washington replaced the "Heisman candidate" in 2010. But surely after this year's embarrassment, the concept of a "Heisman" is something we'll never need worry about again while under the auspices of Paul Johnson.

3. Gailey didn't leave enough good players

The funny thing about this excuse is that earlier this year on one of his radio shows, before things turned sour, Paul Johnson made a point to let everyone know how so many of his players were now making significant contributions and that "Gailey's guys" wouldn't be responsible for this year's assuredly improved play(though they might not win as many games of course).

Once the losses began to accumulate however, the refrain suddenly became that Gailey didn't leave Johnson with enough "senior leadership." Well whose responsibility is it to develop those kinds of players? Just because Gailey recruited a guy doesn't mean he's refractory to being taught leadership or effective play. It seems like Tech had enough "Gailey-bred" players the last two years to win a bunch of games. Now suddenly the remaining Gailey players are responsible for Tech's downfall? To me it appears that the further these players get from Gailey, and the more Johnson puts his stamp on this team, the less disciplined, motivated, and effective they become.

Chan Gailey has been gone three years and is now coaching 900 miles away

Furthermore, it's not Gailey's fault that he recruited four players so talented they skipped their senior seasons, and Johnson had developed NOTHING in three years to replace their production and leadership.

When will Tech fans stop blaming a guy coaching for the Buffalo Bills and start blaming the guy wearing the navy and gold golf shirt?

4. If you don't like losing seasons, you're being like a "UGAYer"

You know what? Since I am demanding excellence from my team's coach, I probably am acting like a UGA fan! Because that is precisely the kind of fan attitude which is developed at programs with a winning culture, where they expect to win championships every year. It is only at loser programs like Tech that the fans preach their uppity brand of "patience" and unconditional love of a drifting and passionless head coach.

Yes, UGA has many natural advantages over Tech, but a major part of its relative success is the constant pressure from its fans and alumni for something more. Many Tech fans like to act as if they are somehow "better" than fans of schools such as UGA which inexorably demand the best on a consistent basis from its coaches. And for that reason Tech will continue to lose most every year to UGA, will continue to sift for scraps on the recruiting trail, and will continue to be third-world in the college football landscape

No, mediocre seasons are not just a "Tech thing" that should be "put in perspective." They are a mediocre coach "thing." And Tech fans should demand better.

5. Johnson is a great coach who proved himself when he won the ACC last year. Where were you then?

First of all, we've already covered the reasons why we think Gailey may have had similar success if he had been coach in 2009. The cupboard was most certainly not empty for Johnson. Those who simply want to focus on Johnson's two successful seasons in a down ACC with Gailey's outstanding players fail to see the bigger picture.

And as a brief aside, I would like to regale you with two names: Charlie Weis and Ralph Friedgen. Early success with the other guy's players is not always an indicator of future consistency, particularly when your offense is as stylistic in nature as Johnson's.

Regardless, I was as pleased as anyone with last year's success-- that is, until Tech lost the two most important games of the season. Then the delirium cleared and I began to see. Johnson had been performing a sleight of hand with smoke and mirrors in a down ACC, and was not hauling in the caliber of playmaker to perpetuate that foundation of success into the future. I preached to my fellow fans all off-season of the disappointmentss to come in 2010, what with the loss of the only playmakers on the team, but was largely ignored and ridiculed by fanatics who predicted ten or more wins and a run at a national title.

This season's collapse and loss to an even worse UGA team, along with the worst recruiting class of Johnson's tenure, solidified my convictions. I had been critical of Johnson's hire from the beginning, because of the same potential failings which have now begun to emerge-- poor recruiting, a boring offense, and Johnson's inexperience in handling BCS athletes, among other concerns. And to think, Tech could have had the only man Jeremy Foley called to fill the head coaching position at the University of Florida. The possibilities torture the mind.

The path on which Tech finds itself is now clear-- Johnson will continue to recruit below-par athletes and use his system to whip up on the Dukes and Wake Forests of the world, always winning just enough to hold on to his job. Unless there is a drastic change in Johnson's acumen and philosophy, it will soon begin to seem as if Chan Gailey never left.

6. I'm sort of disappointed in this season, but I love PJ and want him to do well!

To this I would ask, what is there to love about this slovenly, cantankerous, and arrogant ogre of a coach? Johnson viciously berates his players, condescends to the fans on his radio show and in the media, and refuses to make necessary changes in his philosophies on offense and special teams. It is obvious that he has not embraced the Institute, always referring to it and its past as "they" and speaking of he and his coaching staff as if they were some separate, unrelated entity. Not to mention the fact that he exhibits an appalling lack of fire in winning the game most important to all who love Georgia Tech.

Johnson is as callous and mercenary a coach as they come, plain and simple. The way some Tech fans ravenously defend his honor, however, you would think the critics were speaking of a spouse or girlfriend. At some point in the next few years, many Tech fans will unfortunately find themselves at a painful crossroads: Are they fans of Paul Johnson or are they fans of Georgia Tech?

7. We've been "snakebit" this season - Johnson does not fumble the ball or commit false starts, he can only put players in position to win-- they have to execute, yada yada yada.

The coach never makes ANY of the plays on the field. EVER. But he is responsible for the players he puts out there, for coaching them to avoid negative plays, and for helping them to overcome the mistakes they do make. Perhaps Johnson should likewise not be credited for his ACC Championship season since he didn't catch any of Nesbitt's jump balls or corral Kyle Parker from behind on 4th down in the ACC title game.

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And there you have it Kool-Aid Brigade. There are no viable excuses. It is what it is, Coach Johnson, and it's time for you to start putting some exciting and winning play on the field. Otherwise pack your bags and head for something more your style, like the Sun Belt or FCS. There are some Tech fans who do expect more from this program, and we see through your hollow claims of Gailey's negligence, of forthcoming stars in recruiting, and of future championships beyond that of the ACC. Continue to engage in your pig-headed and bush-league maneuvers, and we will continue to expose your empty bravado every step of the way.