Hitting the Ground Running

The 2011 season for Georgia Tech should be interesting. The offense returns 8 players, the defense 6. The defense is in year two of Al Groh's system and will be better. How much better? That will be a key, but it's all about the triple option. The "highschool" offense that wouldn't work at the 1-A level (even though it already had at Navy). There are some out there who think defenses have caught up to Paul Johnson's offense. It's really silly if you consider the average rushing yards per game have gone up each season since he's been there. That's with little to no threat of a passing game.

Here are what I see as the three keys to 2011. The first is attitude. Coming into 2010 it wasn't right. It wasn't bad. It just wasn't right. Overconfident may be the word. The offense is about execution. That takes attention to detail. You can't be caught up in how good you think you might be. When the team left Lawrenceville, Kansas everyone knew there was a problem.

The second is finding one quarterback. Two will compete. A freshman may challenge, but one must stand out. Do you remember the second half in Blacksburg last year? The GT offense was trying to salsa while Tevin Washington was waltzing. The guy under center must orchastrate a lot of moving parts and he has to be smooth. A completion here or there wouldn't hurt, but the main thing is getting the option to click. It's not all the team runs, but it is vitaly important to what they do.

The third and most important in my opinion is the B-Back spot. There's a number of hopefuls at that spot. Maybe one stands out or maybe a couple guys start the year carrying the load. Whatever the case may be, there can't be any hesitation from whomever is lined up there. It's the first option. It's really that simple. It keeps guys in the middle of the field so the QB and A-Backs can hit the edge. It keeps the defense honest. If the team struggles to find someone to take the reigns from Anthony Allen, this team could be in some serious trouble.

I don't really have a prediction. The schedule lines up as a "good" year. Clemson, Virginia Tech, and Georgia are all home games. This team has a long way to go before they can worry about that. Miami and Virgina could be really good with an emphasis on could. Duke is, and always will be, Duke. North Carolina did the entire Costal Division a solid and sent Butch Davis packing. I think the Hokies run away with it, but don't be surprised to see PJ's team second in a weakend division.