A 1-dimensional attack? Kirby Smart is expecting a whole lot more from Georgia Tech
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Of course Kirby Smart respects the pass.
It doesn’t matter if he’s facing a high-powered aerial attack like Missouri or a triple-option offense like he’ll see on Saturday from Georgia Tech. Of course Smart, the former Georgia defensive back and current Georgia coach, is well prepared to defend the pass.
The last thing on Smart’s mind this week is the fact that Georgia Tech will enter Saturday’s showdown ranked second to last in the FBS in passing offense. Smart isn’t concerned about the fact that the Yellow Jackets mustered 82 yards through the air on 3-of-14 passing in a blowout loss against Duke last week.
Listening to Smart on the SEC Coaches Teleconference on Wednesday, one would’ve thought that the Dawgs were gearing up to face Tom Brady.
“They do a tremendous job in the passing game of highlighting your mistakes. They watch closely how you’re playing your coverages,” Smart said. “They’ve been doing it a long time, and they’ve seen everything there is to see known to man. There is no perfect coverage. All there is is perfect eyes, and even when you play with perfect eyes, it comes down to 1-on-1.
“… I don’t think anybody really understands how difficult it is to play coverage on these guys.”
Smart’s take on the Georgia Tech offense might’ve come as news to those who assume stopping Paul Johnson’s offense is entirely based on gap control and setting the edge against the triple option. The Georgia coach knows that it’s about much more than that.
If the Dawgs don’t defend the pass, they’ll have an all-too-familiar feeling against the Yellow Jackets. The only difference this time would be that their Playoff hopes come to a crashing halt.
Perhaps some of Smart’s strong emphasis on the Tech passing game stems from last year’s game in Athens. As Georgia fans remember all too well, the Yellow Jackets rallied from down 13 in the fourth quarter to win it. Against a triple-option team, a 13-point lead in the final 7 minutes is supposed to be a lock.
It would’ve been a lock for the Dawgs had they not allowed 3 completions for 78 yards on consecutive touchdown drives late.
All three of the Tech players who caught those passes are back, as is leading receiver Ricky Jeune. To the surprise of many, Jeune has 507 receiving yards and 5 touchdown catches in 10 games this season. The senior averages 22 yards per catch, which certainly caught the attention of Smart.
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Even if the Georgia Tech receivers aren’t making big-time catches downfield, Smart pointed out perhaps their biggest strength.
“Where you don’t understand how good they are is those guys blocking,” Smart said. “I mean, they’re unbelievable downfield blockers on plays that spring out. They just stay with their guys. But they’re good wideouts. And obviously the play-action sets up the pass, and most of their catches a lot of the time are wide open.
“When you get on these guys and you cover them, they still can find ways to get open. They’ve got slot guys with speed. They do a good job mixing the run-pass. As we all know, the passes are potential big plays.”
What’s to say Johnson wouldn’t want to add in a few more pass plays? The Dawgs are ranked sixth in the FBS against the run. Against run-first teams like Kentucky, Mississippi State, Tennessee and Vanderbilt, Georgia surrendered just 106.8 rushing yards per contest. Against teams with quarterbacks who could stretch the field (Auburn and Missouri), Georgia allowed an average of 252 passing yards.
Tech quarterback TaQuon Marshall might not exactly fall into that latter group, but as Smart said, he’s still capable of making defenses pay.
The play above ended up being the game-winning touchdown for the Yellow Jackets against No. 17 Virginia Tech. That was the first and only ranked foe that they took down this season.
You can bet Smart is doing everything in his power to make sure his team doesn’t suffer the same fate as Virginia Tech. He doesn’t want his team thinking the Yellow Jackets can’t pass. Smart’s challenge will be making sure his team isn’t thinking it’s going to face a one-dimensional team ahead of the SEC Championship.
Based on Smart’s opinion of the Yellow Jackets’ passing game, it’s safe to say that the “Tech period” portion of practice throughout the season prepared for more than just running plays out of the triple-option.
The Dawgs will put their Playoff hopes — and most of their defense — on the line on Saturday in Atlanta. If they get caught looking ahead — or looking in the backfield — their intrastate rival wouldn’t mind hitting them where it hurts.
Deep.
Connor O'Gara is the senior national columnist for Saturday Down South. He's a member of the Football Writers Association of America. After spending his entire life living in B1G country, he moved to the South in 2015.
