Ball Security Issue: Touches per Turnover

On slightly more negative note, I've decided to turn my attention to turnovers per touch or simply: How many plays does it take before a specific player turns the ball over?

My biggest concern and a lot of fans' concerns about the option we are running revolves around the sheer volume of fumbles increasing because our number of carries is increasing and/or the pitches are dangerous. I think it's a hotly debated issue and probably shouldn't be. I personally think our fumble rate is more dependent on the backs running the offense than the offense itself. A prime example would be Joe Burns the fumbling machine versus Tashard Choice, a man who hardly ever fumbled. So do not crucify me when you notice Nesbitt, Dwyer, and Roddy at the bottom of this list. Once again, same criteria of 100 touches during the CCG/CPJ Era.

Chart includes rank in this system, position played, name, total touches (returns, pass attempts, rushes, receptions), career lost fumbles, career interceptions, percentage of touches that resulted in a turnover, and average number of plays before a turnover.

I think Nesbitt is hurt by the transition period of CCG->CPJ. The other issue is that a lot of Nesbitt's fumbles are poor QB-center exchanges. And Nesbitt haters/Jaybo lovers can't find much solace in this chart. After tabulating all of Jaybo's stats, he has a very high 5.75% turnover rate.

I will admit several flaws in the system. It only penalizes lost fumbles not total fumbles. It also penalizes QB's for tipped interceptions. So goes life. The stats are in their names so they go down in history as their turnovers.

Coach Gailey: The Movie

I was tooling around on IMDB and thought about the production of a major motion picture. A mixture of documentary, science fiction, and sports movie. I came up with Coach Gailey. Gailey (Gene Hackman) is the central figure as the story chronicles his rise to fame as a Cowboys/Phins coach, eventual Tech head coaching gig, and finally as a KC Chiefs coordinator.

The story has twists and turns including epic victories and defeats, crime, team in-fighting, and eventually aliens. It's a helluva moving picture show narrated by none other than James Earl Jones. Other superstars include Steve Buscemi as the fish out of water Patrick Nix, John Salley as the friend and confidant Paul Hewitt, and even a brief cameo by Nicolas Cage.

Here's the IMDB complete cast:


Anyone else you'd like to see portrayed in the Chan Gailey Movie? Would you pay 10 dollars to see it?

The All-Gailey Team

In an old media guide, players were designated to the All-Heisman/Alexander Era Teams, All-Dodd Era Teams, and All-Post Dodd Era Teams. I personally thought it was merely pandering to the football alum during the Dodd Era because they were the big time donors at the time (in their 50's and up).

So I came up with the idea of an All-Gailey Team. Some choices are obvious, some took a little thinking. I compiled some highlights/interviews/links of all the different players, too. Without further adieu, here's my selections for the All-2002 to 2007 Football Team:

Offense
QB - Reggie Ball (2, 3)
RB - Tashard Choice (2)
RB - PJ Daniels
FB - Mike Cox
WR - Calvin Johnson (2, 3)
WR - Freddie Smith
TE - John Paul Foschi
OL - Andrew Gardner (2)
OL - Hugh Reilly
OL - Nate McManus
OL - Mansfield Wrotto
OL - Nat Dorsey

Defense
DL - Michael Johnson (2)
DL - Eric Henderson
DL - Darrell Robertson
DL - Vance Walker
DL - Darryl Richard
LB - Daryl Smith
LB - Keyaron Fox
LB - Philip Wheeler
CB - Kenny Scott (2)
CB - Reuben Houston
FS - James Butler
SS - Dawan Landry

Special Teams
K - Travis Bell
P - Durant Brooks
KR/PR - Freddie Smith
ST - Chris Reis

Honorable Mention: LB - Gary Guyton, LB - Gerris Wilkinson (2), DL - Joe Anoai, WR - Kerry Watkins

This is up to debate especially along the lines. I'm sure some would argue for Travis Parker at DT and Kamichael at LB. Both are legit. Thoughts/suggestions are welcome.

When Johnson speaks, people listen

Very good article by Barnhart at the AJC. If you have time to read a couple minutes, read it. It's reassuring knowing that former players are solidly backing CPJ - something Gailey never really had.

And in case you haven't noticed, Mark Teixeira was booed mercilessly by his hometown Orioles fans in the Yankees' first series in Baltimore. I don't really get the anger that Northeastern fans have when it comes to baseball. I understand that he "looked" at a Baltimore deal but the Orioles weren't bringing the dough.

You'd never see Atlanta fans booing an Atlanta native that signs with Mets/Phillies. Plus, every time a former ATL great comes back to Turner Field, he usually receives an ovation for his services rendered. I think the sadder part is that Mark went 0-4 with 5 LOB meaning if he doesn't get his act together, the Yankee fans are gonna boo him, too.

Side note - that 7th inning for the Braves yesterday was terrible. Not quite as terrible as Tech's pounding received by GSU yesterday but still pretty terrible.

The Chanimal still coaches

Despite the economic downturn and nationwide layoffs, Chan Gailey still has a job as a football coach. I don't know what to say about this. Chan was in over his head as a college head coach. He wasn't dynamic enough to deal with college kids developing over 4 years. His adjustments were after a year or two rather than after the first half. I remember him having great game plans for certain opponents ('03/'05 Auburn, '05 Miami) but having a complete inability to react on the fly in game (ala '03 Duke, '04 UNC, '06 wake).

I guess the Chiefs see the grandfatherly gentleman that charmed Dave Braine. The Chiefs are looking for someone to raise Brodie Croyle as a "great kid" that can "compartmentalize."

No one's talked about Chan for two years. Thoughts are welcome.

Metric ton of debacle

Wow. We got beat down. What do we gain from this loss? Probably not very much. We didn't get to see any backup time. We regressed offensively. We played the same defensively that allowed our last 4 opponents to rack up 30 points per game. However, we didn't really lose anything. A lot of people say we lost momentum, pride, respect, and whatnot but I don't really feel too bad about the game. Bowl games, to me, mean about as much as an exhibition basketball game or spring scrimmage. I like to win and don't mind losing bowls...unless it's for an MNC.

Maybe everyone's pissed because we all shelled out a little dough to see the game. I picked up some tickets for the 'rents, myself, and little bro to the tune of 270 cold ones. I generally had a good bowl experience but we ended up leaving earlier than I've ever left a Tech game.

I left because we fired a coach who "did not "motivate his team" or "prepare his team for big opponents" yet on that GA Dome field, I saw a team that was not prepared to play LSU and lacked any real motivation. Sorry to be a negative nancy but did we win a big game this year? Or did Chan's talent win 9 games by default? VT win would've sealed coastal. Came out flat against UNC. Dropped big egg against a terrible UVA team albeit they were hot at the time. And LSU destroyed us. The only big games were losses. We won the two games that went beyond the football field (ugag/FSU) but couldn't win the ones that we needed on the field (coastal games). We'll see next year, eh?

Any thoughts on this rant? Feel free to roast me.