Paul Johnson's Punch-Out
posted by LW, Wednesday, December 02, 2009
If there's chaos on the streets of Atlanta today, you can blame Paul Johnson.
Johnson is never afraid to speak his mind, and he did precisely that yesterday on a radio show in the ATL.
"Why would the University of Georgia define Georgia Tech?" Johnson said during an apperance on 790 The Zone's Brandon and Woolvey program. "What have they done to be the mark for Georgia Tech football? What's the last thing they won? 1980?"
And then...
When asked about the psyche of Jackets fans in the wake of Saturday's loss, Johnson didn't skip a beat.
"Get a thick skin. Guy giving you a hard time and you get tired of it, punch him in the face," he said, tongue-in-cheek.
That qualifies as a "Wow" answer, even with the tongue-in-cheek part.
And this is coming from a coach who just lost to the team and fan base he's ripping.
I'm trying to imagine the reaction in this state if Dabo Swinney or Steve Spurrier said something like that about their rivals.
We can dream, can't we?
Johnson also defended his staggering decision to call four straight passes at the end of Saturday's loss to Georgia.
“If I had it to do over again, I’m not going to tell you I’d do anything different,” he said.
The Gator Bowl is hot and heavy after Florida State and Bobby Bowden, and some Clemson fans are whipped into a lather at the prospect of the Gator taking the Noles (4-4 ACC) over the Tigers (6-2 ACC).
Why should we be surprised? And since when has the bowl system actually been about merit?
Just ask Boston College, which won its division in 2007 and 2008 only to get shipped to Orlando and Nashville, respectively.
If it were about merit, Clemson would've never ended up in the Gator Bowl last year. Nor the Chick-fil-A Bowl in 2007.
The bowl system has been pretty good to Clemson for a while. Now the bowl system could give the Tigers the shaft if they lose Saturday. One shafting in five years isn't a bad ratio.
Beat the Jackets, and none of it matters.
Did any of you catch the lineup on ESPN Classic yesterday?
Pretty sweet. Can't wait to kick back and watch all this on the DVR the next chance I get (in April, probably).
The ironic thing about those games? Watching them underscores the gaping chasm between then and now ... and highlights exactly why Bowden won't be on the sidelines next fall.
Randy Shannon says he's sad Papa Bowden is calling it quits.
Why wouldn't he be? Now Shannon and the rest of Florida State's competition have lost their biggest recruiting weapon against the Seminoles: Bowden's age.
Despite all the nice things you hear coaches say about Bowden, don't think for a minute that these same coaches haven't been absolutely hammering him for years on the recruiting trail.
In the AJC, Doug Roberson polls some coaches on rematches.
"There's probably some advantage that you lost the game and you want to come back and prove that you can win," Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer said. His Hokies lost to Boston College in 2007 and 2008 but rebounded to defeat the Eagles for the title both seasons. "But if you won the game, you want to come back and win again."
And later...
Twice last season Wake Forest played Navy, which is still running the spread-option offense Johnson installed when he coached there from 2002-07.
The Middies defeated the Deacons 24-17 during the regular season, but Wake bounced back to win their bowl matchup 29-19. Navy rushed for 343 yards in their first game and 253 in the second.
But Deacons coach Jim Grobe cautions against reading too much into their success against Navy's running game.
"The biggest problem facing a wishbone is you only get four practices," Grobe said. "When you face them twice, there's some recall. The disadvantage is they've seen how you've defended it."
Bart Wright says championships and rivalries don't always go hand-in-hand.
Same theme from The Post and Courier's Gene Sapakoff.
Travis Sawchik goes inside the mind of Paul Johnson.
The 52-year-old, who never played college football, might be the best in the game at winning chess matches.
Johnson -- named the ACC Coach of the Year for a second straight season Tuesday -- might be the best at analyzing and attacking defensive substitutions and formations in real time.
According to Clemson defensive coordinator Kevin Steele, Johnson calculates and hypothesizes as quickly and as correctly as Alabama's Nick Saban does in regard to defensive calls.
"He stays kind of a step ahead," Steele said. "Studying and talking to people who know coach Johnson very well, he's kind of like 'OK the safety just made the tackle on a 4-yard gain. We'll run the exact same playaction and run a post behind the safety, because the corner is going to be one-on-one.'
"He has a knack for that stuff. He looks for things a little different than other people."
Dabo Swinney says the South Carolina loss won't mean much if the Tigers bring home their first ACC title since 1991.
Oliver Purnell's bunch returns to the court tonight against Illinois after their jaunt to California.
Here's a look at Illinois, which needs to steal a game or two after having two stolen from it by Utah and Bradley.
The Illini are struggling at point guard, and that's never a good thing heading into Littlejohn Coliseum against OP's pressure.
Heels looked good last night in a win over Michigan State.
So did defensive-minded Duke in last week's win over UConn in Noo-Yawk.
By my count, the ACC is 3-3 in this year's version of the ACC-Big Ten challenge.
So in the same year, Clemson's football team could win an ACC title and the Big Ten can actually win this thing?
LW
Click here for the "Eye On The Tigers" blog archive.
Link to this entry - Discuss this entry - Return to Blog Home
If there's chaos on the streets of Atlanta today, you can blame Paul Johnson.
Johnson is never afraid to speak his mind, and he did precisely that yesterday on a radio show in the ATL.
"Why would the University of Georgia define Georgia Tech?" Johnson said during an apperance on 790 The Zone's Brandon and Woolvey program. "What have they done to be the mark for Georgia Tech football? What's the last thing they won? 1980?"
And then...
When asked about the psyche of Jackets fans in the wake of Saturday's loss, Johnson didn't skip a beat.
"Get a thick skin. Guy giving you a hard time and you get tired of it, punch him in the face," he said, tongue-in-cheek.
That qualifies as a "Wow" answer, even with the tongue-in-cheek part.
And this is coming from a coach who just lost to the team and fan base he's ripping.
I'm trying to imagine the reaction in this state if Dabo Swinney or Steve Spurrier said something like that about their rivals.
We can dream, can't we?
Johnson also defended his staggering decision to call four straight passes at the end of Saturday's loss to Georgia.
“If I had it to do over again, I’m not going to tell you I’d do anything different,” he said.
The Gator Bowl is hot and heavy after Florida State and Bobby Bowden, and some Clemson fans are whipped into a lather at the prospect of the Gator taking the Noles (4-4 ACC) over the Tigers (6-2 ACC).
Why should we be surprised? And since when has the bowl system actually been about merit?
Just ask Boston College, which won its division in 2007 and 2008 only to get shipped to Orlando and Nashville, respectively.
If it were about merit, Clemson would've never ended up in the Gator Bowl last year. Nor the Chick-fil-A Bowl in 2007.
The bowl system has been pretty good to Clemson for a while. Now the bowl system could give the Tigers the shaft if they lose Saturday. One shafting in five years isn't a bad ratio.
Beat the Jackets, and none of it matters.
Did any of you catch the lineup on ESPN Classic yesterday?
Pretty sweet. Can't wait to kick back and watch all this on the DVR the next chance I get (in April, probably).
The ironic thing about those games? Watching them underscores the gaping chasm between then and now ... and highlights exactly why Bowden won't be on the sidelines next fall.
Randy Shannon says he's sad Papa Bowden is calling it quits.
Why wouldn't he be? Now Shannon and the rest of Florida State's competition have lost their biggest recruiting weapon against the Seminoles: Bowden's age.
Despite all the nice things you hear coaches say about Bowden, don't think for a minute that these same coaches haven't been absolutely hammering him for years on the recruiting trail.
In the AJC, Doug Roberson polls some coaches on rematches.
"There's probably some advantage that you lost the game and you want to come back and prove that you can win," Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer said. His Hokies lost to Boston College in 2007 and 2008 but rebounded to defeat the Eagles for the title both seasons. "But if you won the game, you want to come back and win again."
And later...
Twice last season Wake Forest played Navy, which is still running the spread-option offense Johnson installed when he coached there from 2002-07.
The Middies defeated the Deacons 24-17 during the regular season, but Wake bounced back to win their bowl matchup 29-19. Navy rushed for 343 yards in their first game and 253 in the second.
But Deacons coach Jim Grobe cautions against reading too much into their success against Navy's running game.
"The biggest problem facing a wishbone is you only get four practices," Grobe said. "When you face them twice, there's some recall. The disadvantage is they've seen how you've defended it."
Bart Wright says championships and rivalries don't always go hand-in-hand.
Same theme from The Post and Courier's Gene Sapakoff.
Travis Sawchik goes inside the mind of Paul Johnson.
The 52-year-old, who never played college football, might be the best in the game at winning chess matches.
Johnson -- named the ACC Coach of the Year for a second straight season Tuesday -- might be the best at analyzing and attacking defensive substitutions and formations in real time.
According to Clemson defensive coordinator Kevin Steele, Johnson calculates and hypothesizes as quickly and as correctly as Alabama's Nick Saban does in regard to defensive calls.
"He stays kind of a step ahead," Steele said. "Studying and talking to people who know coach Johnson very well, he's kind of like 'OK the safety just made the tackle on a 4-yard gain. We'll run the exact same playaction and run a post behind the safety, because the corner is going to be one-on-one.'
"He has a knack for that stuff. He looks for things a little different than other people."
Dabo Swinney says the South Carolina loss won't mean much if the Tigers bring home their first ACC title since 1991.
Oliver Purnell's bunch returns to the court tonight against Illinois after their jaunt to California.
Here's a look at Illinois, which needs to steal a game or two after having two stolen from it by Utah and Bradley.
The Illini are struggling at point guard, and that's never a good thing heading into Littlejohn Coliseum against OP's pressure.
Heels looked good last night in a win over Michigan State.
So did defensive-minded Duke in last week's win over UConn in Noo-Yawk.
By my count, the ACC is 3-3 in this year's version of the ACC-Big Ten challenge.
So in the same year, Clemson's football team could win an ACC title and the Big Ten can actually win this thing?
LW
Click here for the "Eye On The Tigers" blog archive.
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 @.