Can they keep him?
posted by LW, Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Caution: The following blog contains some nice things said about Paul Johnson. If you aren't a fan of Johnson and/or still think his system is fatally flawed, we suggest you stop reading.
So at this point it's safe to say Paul Johnson has obliterated criticism and skepticism that were flowing freely a) Before his first season at Georgia Tech; b) After he won nine games his first year; and c) after his offense struggled in a blowout loss at Miami earlier this season.
The Jackets haven't lost since, and a win at Duke on Saturday wraps up the Coastal Division title.
Johnson's triple-option offense, target of the aforementioned criticism and skepticism, is producing 34.7 points per game this year after producing 24 points per game last year.
Having produced 372 yards per game last year, the Jackets are averaging 442 per game this year.
That includes 314 rushing yards per game (up from 273 last year) and -- gasp! -- even better passing production (127 per game, up from 99 per game).
Johnson drew some snickers when he said his offense would be better, but he's been proved correct against defenses that were supposed to figure out his offense after having seen it once.
Here's an amazing stat: Earlier this season, Tech went four games (Florida State, Virginia Tech, Virginia, Vandy) without punting in the second half.
So now, in the midst of yet another season that has made his critics (not to mention the opposition) look silly, the question becomes how long Georgia Tech can keep him.
I tend to think he's there for the long haul unless something truly big-time opens up. By truly big-time, I'm talking schools you can count on one hand. And Notre Dame is one of those schools.
Charlie Weis isn't exactly flourishing in South Bend. And he's coming off a home loss to Navy, which runs the same offense that guided the Midshipmen to a win two years ago in South Bend.
If they opt to part with Weis, the Irish will need a sure thing after their last three coaches (Davie, Willingham, Weis). The closest thing to a sure thing is Paul Johnson.
If it did happen, the other 11 coaches in the ACC would throw a party.
Johnson is getting a lot of props for that gutsy fourth-down call in overtime against Wake, but I was actually surprised when it looked as if he was going to settle for a field goal to force a second overtime.
Man, is it really basketball season yet? North Carolina showed some growing pains in last night's 88-72 win over Florida International.
They also showed some interesting uniforms:
Back to football ... This tells you all you need to know about the ACC's Atlantic Division: Florida State goes from contending for a division title to seeing its bowl hopes hanging by a thread.
FSU must win two of its next three games. Does Bobby Bowden believe a bowl will motivate his team?
"You hope so as the season goes and you lose more, and you get behind the eight ball, all of a sudden those opportunities begin to escape you," Bowden said.
"Of course, to play in a bowl is an exciting thing. You hope it's motivation."
Not a good day for former Clemson coach Tommy West, who was given his walking papers at Memphis yesterday.
West couldn't resist some parting shots.
"I'm the seventh straight guy who has stood here, and history will continue to repeat itself, folks, if they don't do something about it," West said. "They'll hire a good guy and I'll pull for him, but you have to give him an equal stick to fight with and an equal playing field to compete in this conference."
At N.C. State, Saturday's win over Maryland was refreshing for the Wolfpack.
Boston College is well-rested for its stretch run.
In The State, a piece on Xavier Dye's ascent from rock bottom.
DeAndre McDaniel tells the Greenville News he's definitely coming back next year and hasn't thought about leaving.
He tells The Post and Courier he's "leaning hard" toward coming back.
The discrepancy in those answers, however slight, coupled with the fact that it's early November, leaves me with the following reaction.
In other words, call me in January.
LW
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Caution: The following blog contains some nice things said about Paul Johnson. If you aren't a fan of Johnson and/or still think his system is fatally flawed, we suggest you stop reading.
So at this point it's safe to say Paul Johnson has obliterated criticism and skepticism that were flowing freely a) Before his first season at Georgia Tech; b) After he won nine games his first year; and c) after his offense struggled in a blowout loss at Miami earlier this season.
The Jackets haven't lost since, and a win at Duke on Saturday wraps up the Coastal Division title.
Johnson's triple-option offense, target of the aforementioned criticism and skepticism, is producing 34.7 points per game this year after producing 24 points per game last year.
Having produced 372 yards per game last year, the Jackets are averaging 442 per game this year.
That includes 314 rushing yards per game (up from 273 last year) and -- gasp! -- even better passing production (127 per game, up from 99 per game).
Johnson drew some snickers when he said his offense would be better, but he's been proved correct against defenses that were supposed to figure out his offense after having seen it once.
Here's an amazing stat: Earlier this season, Tech went four games (Florida State, Virginia Tech, Virginia, Vandy) without punting in the second half.
So now, in the midst of yet another season that has made his critics (not to mention the opposition) look silly, the question becomes how long Georgia Tech can keep him.
I tend to think he's there for the long haul unless something truly big-time opens up. By truly big-time, I'm talking schools you can count on one hand. And Notre Dame is one of those schools.
Charlie Weis isn't exactly flourishing in South Bend. And he's coming off a home loss to Navy, which runs the same offense that guided the Midshipmen to a win two years ago in South Bend.
If they opt to part with Weis, the Irish will need a sure thing after their last three coaches (Davie, Willingham, Weis). The closest thing to a sure thing is Paul Johnson.
If it did happen, the other 11 coaches in the ACC would throw a party.
Johnson is getting a lot of props for that gutsy fourth-down call in overtime against Wake, but I was actually surprised when it looked as if he was going to settle for a field goal to force a second overtime.
Man, is it really basketball season yet? North Carolina showed some growing pains in last night's 88-72 win over Florida International.
They also showed some interesting uniforms:
Back to football ... This tells you all you need to know about the ACC's Atlantic Division: Florida State goes from contending for a division title to seeing its bowl hopes hanging by a thread.
FSU must win two of its next three games. Does Bobby Bowden believe a bowl will motivate his team?
"You hope so as the season goes and you lose more, and you get behind the eight ball, all of a sudden those opportunities begin to escape you," Bowden said.
"Of course, to play in a bowl is an exciting thing. You hope it's motivation."
Not a good day for former Clemson coach Tommy West, who was given his walking papers at Memphis yesterday.
West couldn't resist some parting shots.
"I'm the seventh straight guy who has stood here, and history will continue to repeat itself, folks, if they don't do something about it," West said. "They'll hire a good guy and I'll pull for him, but you have to give him an equal stick to fight with and an equal playing field to compete in this conference."
At N.C. State, Saturday's win over Maryland was refreshing for the Wolfpack.
Boston College is well-rested for its stretch run.
In The State, a piece on Xavier Dye's ascent from rock bottom.
DeAndre McDaniel tells the Greenville News he's definitely coming back next year and hasn't thought about leaving.
He tells The Post and Courier he's "leaning hard" toward coming back.
The discrepancy in those answers, however slight, coupled with the fact that it's early November, leaves me with the following reaction.
In other words, call me in January.
LW
For questions or comments on this blog entry, please visit The West Zone message board.
Link to this entry - Discuss this entry - Return to Blog Home
Donnie Patterson. Donnie Patterson is the founder of Patterson Tax Service, located in Easley, S.C. He has been active in tax preparation since 1970, and offers a full range of tax and bookkeeping services.
Larry Williams. Larry has covered the daily beat at Clemson since 2004. Williams, who worked for the Charleston Post & Courier from 2004-08, joined Tigerillustrated.com in November of 2008. He may be reached by email at ldubya08(at)gmail.com. Replace (at) with @.