How About Some Baseball Wisdom For The Yellow Jacket Footballers?
Sometimes cliches from the world of sport have an actual basis in fact, as in,' You've gotta play 'em one game at a time'.
But occasionally, references from an entirely different sport can add valuable insight. With respect to Georgia Tech's suddenly leaky defense, a couple of tidbits of wisdom from the game of baseball may shed some helpful light.
Casey Stengel managed the New York Yankees from 1949- 1960. In his twelve years at the helm, his team's won an astounding ten league pennants and seven World Series titles. Stengel was known for his tortured syntax that often sounded nonsensical, but in fact contained some hidden nuggets of knowledge. Sometimes, though, he came forth with a concise , clear principle.
He once said of a prospective outfielder ," I never did like those fellas who knocked in two, and then let in three".
Thus he was willing to forego a bit of run production if it meant having tighter defense. The idea of a productive offense coupled with a porous defense is suddenly a familiar phenomenon at Georgia Tech. Of course, baseball is an inherently one- platoon game. The offensive players are also the defensive players. Even so, Stengel's notion is that a tighter defense has its own value , beyond a potent offense.
Another Yankee, not as well known and not nearly as accomplished as Stengel, was outfielder Mickey Rivers who played in the Bronx from 1976 to 1979.
Like Stengel, Rivers could mangle the language, but he still made sense– most of the time .
Try this quote from Rivers:
" I try not to worry about things I can't control, because if I can't control it, why worry about it? I also try not to worry about something I can control, because if I can, I should just control it, and then not worry about it."
Where are the football lessons here?
There are two of them.
1) a hyper- productive offenses is a wonderful thing, in any sport, including college football. But if you have to depend on that high productivity, game after game, in order to simply have a chance to win --because your defense is unreliable --well, that's a tough way to live– not just mathematically, but psychologically as well. In their two most recent games, Tech was able to pull out only one win, over a 1-9 Boston College. Tech was a double digit loser to a ,500 team in NC State.
2) Yes, you should forget the things you can't control. But embrace, with zeal and focus, any aspect of your performance that you can control. For Tech's defenders, that means maintaining balance , keeping vigilance, and following keys. And then, wrap up and finish your tackles.
And for the coaches-be they position groups, coordinators or the head man himself, re-assume control of defensive alignment, of stunts and blitzes. Make the offense react to you and your approach.
What Tech's done for the most recent eight quarters has not worked. Not even close. The base 4-2-5 alignment has not been a problem for the last two offenses they faced.
There have been huge yardage totals. Multiple explosive plays surrendered. All leading to more points tallied by the bad guys.
So do something different. Radically different. Make Pittsburgh wonder --and worry.
Brent Key likes to point out that Tech people are different folks. Special, he says. Analytical thinkers. Problem solvers. That rings true.
This Yellow Jacket defense has become a problem that needs solving. So address it– in a bold and confident way. Higher risk in order to get a higher reward. It may not work, but at this point, a fresh approach is a must. Make Pittsburgh's freshman QB wonder and worry.
And when Tech gets the ball back, emphasize the run. Hammer the defense, run the ball and eat the clock. Pound the Pitt D, creating a growing physical burden on the Panthers while keeping the ball away from Narduzzi's offense.
It sounds easy. It won't actually be easy. But it is possible. And it's different. Substantive change from the plan used on the most recent two games is vital.
The defense has been found lacking two games in a row. Take the Georgia Tech approach- try something different.
Patrick Conarro RamblinSports