Stuff I Noticed: UAPB

Not Much Learned, But a Few Things Worth Noting

It’s been said a hundred times since kickoff, but there’s really not much you can take away from that game. UAPB might be the worst team I’ve ever seen Tech line up against, and honestly, playing them felt like a waste of time, especially when your QB ends up banged up again and you lose a key piece of the defense in the process.

Going into the week, I said the two biggest things I wanted to see were (1) dominance in the trenches and (2) Morton’s ability to process and read the field. The trenches? Mission accomplished. Morton? That one’s a mixed bag.

Normally, I’d dig into stats and analytics here, but let’s be real, there’s nothing meaningful to pull from a game at this level. So instead, let’s skip it and get straight to the film.

The Trenches

Gill-Howard‘s move on the poor UAPB left guard rightfully steals the show here, but what grabs me is the speed off the edge. Height may get blocked, but the burst he and Bailey show at the snap is exactly what you want to see.

Just as important: notice what the linebackers get to do. Since they aren’t needed to generate pressure, they can sit in zone and erase the easy underneath/slant throws. That’s how you build a complete defense.

I mean, cmon, if this doesn’t get your juices flowing you need to find a new hobby. Nothing fancy, just a zone blocking scheme, but one that happens almost exactly like it’s drawn up. The icing on the cake here is Terrance Carter‘s absolutely pornographic block on the defensive end that paves the way for Williams.

This is what perfect defense looks like: every gap filled, every responsibility covered, penetration wrecking the backfield action, and a turnover as the payoff. Beautiful.

Morton

This is a great read and an even better throw. He freezes the linebackers with his eyes, waits for Eakin to find the space, and then has the arm talent fit the throw into a tight window.

I’m often left, slightly, baffled that the powers that be went all in on a roster this season and didn’t seem to want to mess with the most important position. Then you see throw like that, and it kind of makes you forget about all the injuries and other nonsense.

Now, here’s the “mixed bag” part. Yes, it’s a touchdown. Yes, it’s another jaw-dropping throw. But it’s also the kind of decision that turns into a back-breaking turnover in a real game. Virgil is wide open on the out-and-up for an easy score, and Morton still forces a turnover-worthy ball into coverage.

Side note, I love the route combinations on this play and it’s possible because of the bunch formation, which I also love. It gives every receiver a two-way go. Really liked the formation variation Leftwich used all game.

This is why clip #2 matters. Behren has got to see the blitz, it’s not even remotely hidden. Maybe there is a protection mixup that I don’t know about, but typically a RB works in to out, protecting against the most direct threats, and the QB is responsible for out to in. Maybe you think Dickey still should have gotten over there, but that feels like a tough ask because it happened so fast.

Morton has all the arm talent in the world, it’s good enough to take us to where we want to go. Week 1 did nothing to quell my fears that his vision, decision making, and injury record may not be on the same level as his arm talent. There’s a fair argument that his lack of practice reps have stunted his development in these areas, but with another injury does that get better?

Another side note, outside of one or two glaring memories, the pass protection was really really solid. The more the offensive line unit gels, the better that will get.

Looking Forward

I’m still incredibly excited about this season, it’s just the nature of these games that you can only learn bad things. As many have said, we look the part of a championship level team. I could not believe some of the guys wearing a Tech uniform. Terrance Carter lined up in front of our seats at one point and I was so distracted that I missed the play. Same thing happened when I was watching David Bailey’s speed on the snap. We’re going to be good.