Out-geniused

Air Force 14, Georgia Tech 7

During its customary pre-game flight, the Air Force falcon mascot desperately escaped from Independence Stadium, seemingly privy to the stinkfest which was about to ensue.

Special teams miscues, red zone blunders, a late-game meltdown. Basically everything we've come to expect from Paul Johnson football in 2010. The "genius" of option football was out-optioned by a program he used to beat regularly with service academy athletes. Of course who's to say at this point how much of Tech's roster would actually start at Johnson's former school.

I do know one thing. Chan Gailey never lost seven games.

Quick post-game notes:

• Mid 1st quarter: First special team miscue... terrible coverage on a 43 yard punt return by Reggie Rembert, leading to an Air Force FG. According to ESPN, Rembert had previously gained 8 yards total on 9 punt return attempts this year.
  
• There is NO EXCUSE for this team not to have a special teams coach, considering we do not even have to pay an offensive coordinator.
  
• Bob Davie on Paul Johnson: "He could be more diverse if he wanted to, but he is so comfortable in this system (...) He could do more. He just doesn't really feel the need to or want to do more." Sounds like the story of this season, does it not?
  
• Early 2nd quarter, GT goes for it on 4th and 6 at the AFA 32. The play? A FG by the surprisingly reliable Scott Blair? Maybe a 10 yard comeback route? Nope. A low-percentage lob to the end zone to bumbling walk-on Kevin Cone. You can make the excuse for PJ perhaps that Stephen Hill did not play in this game... but then again, Stephen Hill isn't all that good anyway, and it's PJ's responsibility to ensure that Hill makes the proper grades.
  
• Mid 2nd quarter, shades of the Duke game, as we're bamboozled by another fake punt for 28 yards, allowing AF to drive deep into GT territory. Have we hired a special teams coach yet? Seems like we're sleepwalking out there.
  
• #15 for Air Force killed his team in the first half-- dropped a wide-open deep pass to set them up in the red zone, dropped another wide-open pass to convert a 3rd down, later trips over his own feet carrying the ball on a 4th down attempt deep in Tech territory.
  
• Air Force executes a textbook 2 minute drill to end the first half, and they do it with PASSING! They get a couple good shots at the end zone before settling for a FG. When is the last time we've seen Tech execute that well in a 2 minute situation when it was forced to pass?
  
• Tech opens the 3rd quarter with a classic 18 play drive, burning over 8:30 of the clock. The only problem? A fumble in the red zone kills the drive. Of course the Kool-Aid slurpers will say something to the effect that "PJ didn't fumble the ball." Well, the truth is the coach never makes ANY of the plays on the field, good or bad... but he recruits the players and coaches them on how to play.
  
• It is no coincidence that GT is LAST in the NCAA this year in fumbles lost. Two reasons besides coaching: 1. The amount of ball handling involved. 2. Time-consuming drives with a high number of plays-- these sound gaudy and impressive, but the more plays you run, the more potential there is for something to go wrong. When we lost the juniors last year, our potential for "explosion plays" disappeared. We now much more resemble the "3 yards and a cloud of dust" offense that Johnson insists is a "misnomer" about his precious "Spread Option." Unfortunately the kind of explosive athletes we need do not appear to be on the horizon-- not unless we're planning on dropping to the Southern Conference.
  
• Mid 3rd Qtr: McKayhan muffs a punt after a fine stop of Air Force deep in its own territory. I realize Tarrant is injured, but why is McKayhan returning punts? What about Orwin Smith or Bostic? Has McKayhan even returned a punt this year before this game?
  
• Why was McKayhan allowed to continue returning punts after his first muff? This second muff is directly responsible for an AF touchdown.
  
• How ironic that Tech is suffocated late in the game by a long, emasculating drive by the Falcons. PJ getting a taste of his own medicine.
  
• Same old garbage in the passing game. If our QB doesn't overthrow it, the WR drops a wide open pass. Air Force was the #2 rushing team nationally, yet they pass the ball infinitely better than GT does. And please don't act like things would have been any better in the passing game with Nesbitt.
  
• The game was over as soon as Air Force had the ball and the clock ticked under five minutes remaining. The fact that Air Force missed what would have been a "clinching" field goal was of no relevance. As has been proven time and again, Paul Johnson's offense is unable to score when pressured by the 4th quarter clock. GT is now 1-7 under Johnson in these late game situations.
  
• Paul Johnson is now 0-3 in bowl games and 0-2 vs the worst two UGA teams in ages. Once again his offense is stymied in a bowl game, this time by a team with service academy athletes. In three bowl games under Johnson, Tech has averaged 263 yards and 8 points, and keep in mind that 7 of Tech's points versus Iowa were off a pick-six.
  
• For you young'uns, this is Tech's first losing season since 1996.
  
• I can't help but say this was one of the most boring football games I've ever watched. Not only are we not a winning team, but we're a BORING team. People don't want to see this offense, and the best players don't want to play in it.
  
• Can we fire PJ and get this Calhoun guy? He actually seems to know how to run an offense with more than one formation. He has a history of adapting his offense to the players rather than shoehorning them into a "system." His team is also able to pass when they need to, despite being a running team. They play smart and disciplined, and force you to beat them.
  
• We are a talentless, undisciplined, poorly-coached team with a boring offense that kids don't want to play in. It is very difficult for me to see anything more than 6 or 7 win seasons on the horizon, with PJ's service academy offense beating up on the Dukes and UVAs to do just enough each year to avoid his termination.
  
• Email Dan Radakovich(via mcandeto@athletics.gatech.edu) and let him know you are not happy with this season, the bowl loss, the boring offense, or with the two losses to terrible UGA teams!!! Yes, it is not realistic for PJ to be fired this second, but the groundwork must be laid as soon as possible. Do this even if you are a PJ supporter, as it might put some pressure on him to make necessary changes. His coaching this year has been noticeably passive and lackluster, and it almost seems as if he's become a little too comfortable in his job.