Paul Johnson wants players to think less and react more Saturday

As Paul Johnson pointed earlier this month after letting defensive coordinator Al Groh go, part of the reason for the move was due to players having a hard time implementing Groh's schemes, which seemed complex at times.

And as coaches, we all know how hesitation can be a recipe for disaster on the defensive side of the ball.

Coming off of their bye week, Johnson wants to see less emphasis on the play call and more focus put on the effort with secondary coach Charles Kelly in charge of the defense on Saturday.

“We don’t need 80 calls. You don’t need a buzzword on everything. We need guys to learn how to play and play hard.” Johnson explained during his press conference yesterday.

Another area that Johnson said that they need to improve in is their scheme when the offense shifts or goes in motion, stating that their communication needs to get better, and that they need to think less and just react more.

“There’s got to be some communication, but when one guy goes in motion, it doesn’t have to change seven people. I’m not saying that the other way was that complicated, but the way it was, it wasn’t working. I got tired of hearing, ‘Well, I didn’t get a call.’ ‘Well, yeah, you did.’ ‘Well, no, I didn’t.’”

“I think you’ve got to learn how to play defense and you put your eyes on a guy and they’ll tell you where the ball’s going, as opposed to trying to recognize 82 different plays. That’s just me.” Johnson explained.

This weekend Georgia Tech (2-4, 1-3) will take on Boston College (1-5, 0-3) at 3pm ET.