Deleted Scenes: Stopping Tech's Triple Option

I have a story in today's Telegraph on how Georgia will be approaching Tech's triple option this week. But, of course, fitting that much material into one story was no easy task. So, for a detailed account from Georgia's players and coaches on how to slow Paul Johnson's option, read on...

Pre-snap reads

Gamble on Tech’s simplistic approach…
“Going against other teams, you have to know when they line up in this or when they line up in that. With Tech, they line up in one thing and they run it to the right or the left. It’s about having guys that are more disciplined. It only takes one person to mess up for it to go 80. It’s been said we aren’t a disciplined team, and I think this will be a good way to show the nation how disciplined we are.”

Rennie Curran on the importance of preparations…
“The biggest thing is just taking what they do into account, which is to try to confuse you. There’s a lot more emphasis on the guys just to know their assignments. This is an offense where you can’t make mistakes against them. You have to be executing on every single play, be disciplined on every single play. The biggest thing for us is to keep our assignments and do it to perfection and remember all the things we were taught at the beginning of year.”

Curran on what players look for before the ball is snapped…
“You’re looking at, of course Dwyer, at their A backs, at the linemen keys – which way they’re having their movements to – you’re looking at field position, down and distance, all those things come into effect.”

Curran on learning keys…
“They don’t have a lot of plays, but it’s not about knowing what’s coming. It’s about stopping it. It’s about being disciplined enough to cover every single base in their offense.”

Rodney Garner on getting players prepared for Tech…
“I definitely think the guys that played in the game last year know a little bit more about what to expect. People like Jeff did not play, and I don’t think he knows as much. We’ve watched last year’s film. We’ve watched this year’s film on Tech. I think they’re getting a good idea of what they’re doing. Our biggest thing is we have to be disciplined and focused on doing our job.”

Willie Martinez on knowing what to expect…
“It’s not that difficult from a standpoint of what you have to accomplish, but what they do, they stress you out. You feel like you’ve got a beat on a certain play, and then it’s a misdirection.”

Handling cut blocks

Clint Boling on the difference between a cut and a chop block…
“Cut blocks are legal as long as you’re in front of them. A chop block would be when somebody else is engaged with them and a guy cut blocks, that’s not legal.”

Boling on the risks of chop blocking…
“Sometimes you might just miss and they end up going unblocked and you never want that to happen. But the advantage to the cut blocking is you get them on the ground, and when they’re on the ground, they’re not able to make plays.”

Justin Houston on how to beat cut blocks…
“You have to kind of lighten up. You can’t be as aggressive as a normal team you would play against this offense. You just have to be patient and do your assignment. Our defensive ends with Coach Fab, we practice the cut block all season long, so hopefully those drills will help us this week.”

Demarcus Dobbs on how to approach cut blocks…
“A lot of teams don’t cut block as much as Tech does, so we’re getting away from the whole pounding the football. We have to learn to face chop blocks and get into your right assignments and have good eyes. It’s a different approach. Against this team, penetration will kill you. You don’t want to be on the ground for anything. It’s about having a balanced stance, working hard to defeat a chop block and make a play. It’s a different approach, technically, from any other team.”

Playing with patience

Gamble on avoiding over-aggressiveness…
“It’s pretty much fundamental ball. You have one objective and you have to do that every play. Your keys are your only keys. You can’t try to do anybody else’s job. You have to stick to what the coaches have told you to do.”

Houston on Tech’s ability to capitalize on mistakes…
“You have to be very disciplined. Every guy has an assignment on the field, and everybody has to do their assignment every play. If not, that’s their success. As soon as you make a mistake, they’re going to gash you.”

Dobbs on keeping consistent in your fundamentals…
“Last year, I think we played the option very well. We came out and were sound in what we were doing. But it’s a team you play where they’re not going to get away from the option. It’s just going to be the same play, same play, and they’re just going to look for you to make a mistake. The minute you make a mistake is when it busts out for 60 yards. You just have to play sound football for 60 minutes.”

Martinez on sticking to assignments…
“Any time you face an option football team, you can’t do too many things. That’s part of the game. Their thing is that there’s a threat of an option on every single play. You’ve got to be really disciplined. That’s an oiled machine they’ve got going there. You have to play assignment football, get off blocks, tackle really well. The teams that have been successful, it’s been a combined team effort – winning the field position, doing our part in the kicking game, on offense, and obviously doing our part on defense.”

Curran on the importance of discipline against Tech…
“I would say discipline is the biggest thing against this offense. You don’t want to be too aggressive, but at the same time you have to wrap up and make those hits and tackle them to get those losses. You have to get those blocks and get them to make mistakes themselves, too.”

Executing the defense

Kade Weston on playing your role…
“You have to have be disciplined. Everybody had to focus on their own assignment, don’t try to be a hero or anything. … The key is to have everybody responsible for his own assignment, whatever your matchup is. The coaches did a good job getting that in our head. As a defense you have to go to the ball and make the tackle but against this offense you can’t do that. You have to have discipline. One little mistake can hurt you. The key is to be precise, have everybody handle their assignment and you’ll be OK.”

Martinez on the approach to Tech…
“You’ve just got to do the same thing they do. They execute, they’re disciplined, they’re reading keys. You’ve got to do a good job with your eyes, and when you get there, if you’ve stayed disciplined in your assignment, just make the tackle.”

Reshad Jones on the lessons he learned last season…
“That was the game-winning touchdown, so when we play them, I’m going to remember that and go out and play with my all, and make sure I wrap up the ball carrier on every play and every chance I get.”

Role of the secondary

Brandon Boykin on the threat of the passing game…
“We know they’re going to run the ball. That’s what they do, and the corner has got to be big in the run game this week. But we have to be aware of the passing game because they’re going to run that ball and then try to sneak a pass in on us. We’ve got to be able to read our keys, and our eyes have to be real big in this game.”

Boykin on the role of the corners in the running game…
“Every team as a corner you have to get off the blocks and make a play, but it’s just more of a thing to do against Georgia Tech. We’ve been doing that all year, so I feel like we’re pretty prepared. The corner has got to be key because when they get around that end, the safety should be over the top, but the corner has be key in defending them.”

Boykin on the keys for success for Georgia’s corners…
“Play fast and get off the blocks and tackle well. And you’ve got to play for the whole game. Georgia Tech is going to continue to play in that offense the whole game, so you’ve got to continue to play the whole game.”

Martinez on the importance of fundamental tackling…
“In the second half, we missed tackles. We gave up a lot of big plays. We can’t do that. You’ve got to make them work for it. That’s the biggest key for us.”

The mental aspect

Boling on how cut blocks begin to frustrate defenders…
“When you start cutting a guy, they get aggravated when you’re all over their knees and things like that. It’s frustrating, and you don’t want the offensive linemen doing that to you. So they start easing off a little bit and you can tell they’re not rushing as hard.”

Curran on the dangers of loosing up as the game progresses…
“Going into the game, we thought we had a good grasp on it, and if you look at the start of the game, we were doing fine. But once guys started to relax and weren’t wrapping up or a guy forgets the pitch or forgets the dive, that’s when they get those big yardage gains off of your mistakes. So it’s not even really necessarily what they’re doing. It could be you shooting yourself in the foot.”

Martinez on maintaining perspective…
“You can’t get frustrated. You can’t. A 5-yard-gain play could be a really great play for us. If you tackle them and you did everything right, you get up and do it again. You can’t get frustrated.”

Garner on avoiding frustration against the option…
“That’s what you’ve got to guard against. You guard against frustration, and you’ve got to play football. Obviously in their scheme, that’s what they do, they cut block. We’ve spent a lot of time this week working on cut blocks, keeping our feet back, and just focus on playing football. We can’t get so consumed with that that you’re not attacking, you’re not getting off the ball, you’re sitting there waiting and playing cautious. That’s what you don’t want to do. You want to go out there and play your game.”

Dobbs on Georgia’s mentality this week…
“It’s been the emphasis all year. We’ve looked to this game and tried to prepare for it mentally. We know we had a lot of scrutiny come down on us last year after we lost to Tech, and the only way to redeem ourselves is after this win.”