September 2, 2004

But enough about doing it in the Greek fashion. Lets move on to the greatest sport of all (and one that is still not part of the modern-day Olympics, for some reason), college football.

Since last season we have seen the ACC upgraded considerably through the addition of Miami and Virginia Tech (and for those who think the Hokies are slipping, I suggest they look at a tape of last weekends game against the defending national champs, who were only 18-point favorites). The SEC diehards on talk radio still cling desperately to the illusion that their conference will never be overtaken by "another crappy conference" like the ACC but it has. >From this point on, any knowledgeable fan whos honest about it will have to concede that the SEC and ACC are now evenly matched, top to bottom. (And the ACC is still stronger in basketball!)

I see lots of good football ahead with the revamped ACC lineup, and dont forget that even without Miami and Virginia Tech, the ACC was winning its share of head-to-heads with SEC schools. In fact, I could swear that Tennessee has now been spanked two years in a row in the Peach Bowl by "inferior" ACC teams, to name just one example.

Now, let's get to some of your questions...

17. It has been a year since Carol Moore attempted to destroy the football program. What do you see as the lingering effects this year? Depth on OL, DL or both?

1. Chan Gailey has spent his two-plus years at the Flats fighting one fire after another and doing a credible job, for the most part. In his first season, one of the greatest running backs in Tech history (Tony Hollings) was gone for the year after just four games with a torn-up knee. Gailey held the team together, at least until the meltdowns against Georgia and Fresno State, and still squeezed out a winning record.

   Last year at this time, everyone was convinced that the flunkout of 10 players would lead to the teams collapse (and possibly cost Gailey his job). Honestly, did anyone on this board really, truly believe that Tech would win more than three or four games? Gailey kept the program together somehow, made the gutsy call to go with a true freshman at quarterback, and damned if he didn't crank out another winning record (and a minor bowl victory).

   This year's problem areas start with a yawning vacuum at linebacker, where Tech lost three very good ones in Daryl Smith, Key Fox and Ather Brown. We are thin in the middle, and Im not sure that even Jon Tenuta can scheme his way around that shortcoming. On the other side of the ball, there seems to be a black hole into which injured offensive linemen keep disappearing, never to be seen again. It looks like Tech will be shifting and moving linemen to new positions every week, never being able to develop a consistent unit that has the time to play and develop together. Calvin Johnson could be the most gifted wide receiver ever to play at Georgia Tech but what will it matter if the blocking is so ragged that Reggie Ball never has time to get a pass to him?

   It would be great to see what Gailey could accomplish in a season where he has a full roster and isnt fighting fires every week. It would be nice if he had the luxury to put a complete lineup on the field and develop game plans that fully utilize the talents of his best players at each position. This wont be the year, unfortunately. If Gailey can keep putting out the fires as effectively as he did the first two seasons, he might be able to ring up another six wins or so.

1. A. Ball's style of play an athletic quarterback who runs well, can scramble away from a pass rush, and throws adequately but not great is very similar to the style of Shawn Jones and Joe Hamilton. It should be no surprise that his first-year numbers were similar to those of Jones and even a little more productive than Hamiltons. Jones threw for 1,748 yards in his freshman season, ran for 330, connected for 12 TD's and had 13 interceptions. Hamilton threw for 1,342 yards, ran for 248, and had seven TDs to offset 13 interceptions. Ball threw for 1,996 yards (he played two more games than Jones or Hamilton), ran for 384, and had 10 TDs compared to 11 picks. All three had roughly comparable numbers in their first years (and Ball didnt have the luxury of redshirting a year to learn the offense). All three had more interceptions than touchdown passes. The question we can't answer yet: will Ball continue to improve as Jones and Hamilton did after their freshman years?

1. If you break down Daniels season, it would seem that maybe he did load up on the teams with underachieving defenses. Against three of the teams with the worst defenses North Carolina, Wake Forest and Tulsa Daniels gained 722 total yards on 100 carries for a 7.2-yard average. Dont get me wrong it's impressive when you gain 307 yards against anybody. But doing it against Tulsa doesn't necessarily win you a Heisman Trophy. Against three of the better teams on the schedule Auburn, Clemson and Georgia Daniels gained a total of 104 yards on 40 carries, a less than spectacular average of 2.6 yards per carry. If you stopped there, then the verdict would have to be that he plays best against the lightest opposition. But go one step further and look at Daniels numbers against three decent teams: FSU, N. C. State and Virginia. He gained 288 yards combined in those games on 60 carries for a 4.8-yard average. That includes a 47-yard touchdown against the speedsters of FSU. It may not be that P. J. is going to get you a hundred yards every week, but he is capable of rising to the occasion.

1. Two words: It sucks. Bad enough that Techs games are broadcast on a dinky AM station whose signal is so weak you can't pick it up after 5:30 p.m. if you're more than 50 feet away from their transmitting tower. Bad enough that this station, 790 The Zone, is supposedly the TECH flagship station, yet the on-air talent spends most of its time sucking up to Mark Richt and doing interviews with David Greene. Now they go and give a weekly show to the biggest douchebag to ever leak its stinking contents on the rotting carcass of SEC football. By the hammer of Grapthar, how could Dave Braine allow something like this to happen? Yeah, I know, 790 The Zone is a private business and has the right to pursue whatever bucks it can. Tech also has the right to find another station whose night-time signal can actually be heard outside the Atlanta city limits and who wont go sucking up to the schools biggest (and most corrupt) rival. Dave Braine had sense enough to hire Paul Hewitt I know he's got enough sense to work out a better radio deal than this.

1. I must say, that was one of the biggest shocks of my life. Who EVER would have thought that Quincy Carter would do something stupid that would get him booted off the team? That's so out of character for someone who always seemed to be such a fine young man. How could anyone ever get the idea that hes a head case? Even when he threw those five interceptions against South Carolina, I never for a moment suspected there was anything suspicious or out-of-the-ordinary about his performance. Even when he broke his thumb against Florida in that same season, it never would have occurred to me that he might be hiding behind a bogus injury. Hey, as a Tech fan, I loved Quincy Carter. The Jackets beat Georgia all three seasons that he played in Athens. I wish he was still in the starting lineup over there.