First of all, I'll say this...10 wins is a successful season, no matter what the expectations were. We can be disappointed that this team didn't accomplish what we all hoped, and we can vent our frustrations over a defense that brought to mind the Donnan era with their consistent inconsistency, and we can bemoan the injuries and constant barrage of yellow hankies...wait, where was I? This was supposed to be the POSITIVE part. Right, 10 wins...and for the 6th time in Richt's 8 years. Nothing to sneeze at, and we are certainly miles ahead of where we were pre-Richt if we have come to the point where we can be disappointed by a year like the one we just completed.
That being said, I was strangely frustrated by the Citrus Bowl performance by the Dawgs. First of all, that first half was U-G-L-Y on the offensive side of the ball, which means at best this was going to be one of those games where we didn't play our best football for the full 4 quarters. Remind me...did we actually have a game this year where both sides of the ball clicked for the entire game?
Anyway, the offense...in the first half, NOTHING worked. Couldn't open holes for the running game, and Stafford looked awful. Not sure if he was trying to throw the Lions off his scent or what, but he was under throwing, over throwing, wide right, wide left...just awful. Then, in the second half, the light came on, at least for the passing game. Still couldn't really get anything going in the run game, but Stafford looked like an entirely different player. Almost perfect, and looking every bit the part of the #1 overall pick. Once the passing game got going, we were never really in any danger of losing the game.
As for the defense...where was THAT all year? I think it was Blutarsky who said a couple of weeks ago that he wasn't sure what would be more frustrating...if the defense came out and made the same mistakes they had made all year, or if they all of a sudden came out and looked like we all expected them to before the season started, now that the game was COMPLETELY MEANINGLESS. So, I was glad to see them play well, but it is certainly frustrating to think about what could have been.
And...I told you Willie reads the blog. I asked for Ron-Dayne-circa-98 Outback Bowl type numbers for Ringer. Well, Ron Dayne rushed for 36 yards on 14 carries against the Dawgs in the 98 Outback Bowl, and Javon Ringer had 47 yards on 20 carries...pretty close. Also, six sacks, 4 from the D-line, and pretty consistent pressure on the QB all day. Best day the defense has had since the South Carolina game.
Special teams...ugh. Blair kicked ANOTHER one out of bounds, and I still feel like EVERY SINGLE opponent's kickoff return has the chance to go the distance. Kickoff coverage HAS to improve next year. Not sure how much the injury situation hurt our kickoff coverage team, but we did have a LOT of guys out there who never see the field in any other situation. But injuries have nothing to do with the fact that Blair can't keep the ball inbounds on a regular basis.
I'm sure my somewhat negative view of the game has something to do with the fact that when the season started I did not expect the Dawgs to be in anything less than a BCS bowl. If the team had put together this same game in, say, the Sugar Bowl, I'd probably be heaping praise on them. As it is, it's another 10 win season, another bowl victory, and I'd still rather be a Dawg than anything else.
Couple of other thoughts:
- Stafford/Moreno: I still think both are gone. The only one I can even make an argument for is Stafford. I can see him POSSIBLY saying that he'll put off the millions for one more year in order to improve his game and give him a better chance at long term success in the NFL. But that seems extremely unlikely to me...it's almost impossible to turn down the chance to be the number one overall pick, and if I was advising him I'd probably tell him to go on, take the money and run (Woo-hoo-hoo).
As for Moreno, the shelf life for a running back is so short, especially for somebody like Moreno who doesn't appear to have the physical build to take an NFL pounding for many years. He almost has to go and go ahead and start making his money.
So where does that leave the Dawgs? I actually think we'll miss Moreno more than Stafford. I'm intrigued by the idea of Joe Cox and Logan Gray perhaps sharing the QB position the way David Greene and DJ Shockley did. At running back, on the other hand, I was not impressed with what we saw out of Caleb King this year. However, maybe he is one of those guys who needs to be The Man and get 20 or so carries to really reach his potential...hopefully. We also have Richard Samuel (unless he switches to LB), and Dontavious Jackson and Carlton Thomas both redshirted. Plus Washaun Ealy comes in next year as well, so at least the cupboard is not bare.
- There has been some good news this offseason...first of all, Stacey Searles rebuffed Auburn's advances in favor of staying in Athens. This was, of course, great news for the Dawgs, as I don't know very many coaches who have done as amazing a job as Searles has in patching together these O-lines the last two years.
Then, Rodney Garner turned down the big orange Brinks truck in Knoxville in order to stay on Coach Richt's staff. I, for one, feel bad...I thought for sure that the Vols offer to nearly double his salary would make a move a no-brainer for a relative nomad like Garner, but he proved that money really isn't the only thing to him by telling to keep their stinking $400K...he don't want their orange money.
By the way...what UT is doing with their coaching staff is ridonkulous. $2M for a guy in Lane Kiffin who has had exactly ZERO success as a head coach is one thing...but $1.2M for Monte Kiffin as defensive coordinator? As a comparison, we pay Coach Martinez around $350K. I understand that Kiffin the Elder has had a great deal of success as Tampa Bay's DC, but keep in mind two things:
#1 - The "Tampa 2" defense that his defenses have made famous is not his creation, not his alone anyway. Tony Dungy was extremely instrumental in devising this scheme, and Kiffin has simply continued what he and Dungy started, with the luxury of a GM who will get him whatever defensive talent he wants.
#2 - Tampa 2 is not comparable to, say, Urban Meyer's Spread, as far as innovation goes. Virtually any defense who runs a 4-3 has at least some Tampa 2 mixed in to their playbook, so it's not like he's bringing anything to the table that SEC offenses have never seen before.
UT is also paying the always entertaining Ed Orgeron in to be the recruiting coordinator (since I don't see Monte Kiffin burning up the recruiting trail) and D-line coach, and paying him $600K a year. We paid Coach Garner around $230K last year to do the same job.
The insanity didn't stop there...I think every position coach they have brought on so far makes more than we (along with most other schools) pay our coordinators (at least for now). It's their money, and they can do what they want, but what happens when they go 7-5? And what in this coaching staff's past leads you to believe that 7-5 is not a very real possibility?
Other thing it does is drive the market up for all the other major schools...thanks a lot, Vols. One more reason to hate these orange morons. Higher ticket prices.
So, the season is over...seems like we just got started. I'm no recrootin' guru, but I will probably post some recruiting stuff as we approach Signing Day. And there's only 242 days left till kickoff!
GO DAWGS!!!
Showing posts with label 2008 game reports. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2008 game reports. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Pathetic
This season is now an unmitigated disaster.
I love Coach Richt, but if Willie Martinez is still here next year then Richt deserves whatever criticism is thrown his way. We just lost to a much less talented team, and the blame falls squarely on Richt's BFF.
Stafford threw for 400 yards and 5 touchdowns, MoMass had what seemed like 30 catches (both in their last game in Sanford Stadium), and we lose because our defense can't stay disciplined and refuses to wrap up on tackles.
Embarrassing.
So, in this "dream season," we have been embarrassed by our two biggest rivals, and we don't have a signature win for the entire year.
Ugh.
I love Coach Richt, but if Willie Martinez is still here next year then Richt deserves whatever criticism is thrown his way. We just lost to a much less talented team, and the blame falls squarely on Richt's BFF.
Stafford threw for 400 yards and 5 touchdowns, MoMass had what seemed like 30 catches (both in their last game in Sanford Stadium), and we lose because our defense can't stay disciplined and refuses to wrap up on tackles.
Embarrassing.
So, in this "dream season," we have been embarrassed by our two biggest rivals, and we don't have a signature win for the entire year.
Ugh.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Observations: Auburn
You know what? I am in no mood to go into a deep discussion of what worked and what didn't on Saturday. You all saw the game, there's nothing new I can tell you. I was there, so I had a birds-eye view. I'll just say this...the last few weeks have reminded me of nothing more than the Jim Donnan era, and those are NOT good times. Great athletes, dumb as rocks. Especially on defense.
Anyway, Doug over at Hey Jenny Slater really nails it this week with his thoughts on the game. I felt EXACTLY the same way watching the guys dance over on our sideline after the game. They were a LOT happier about that win than I was.
I can't add anything to what Doug says, really...the offense played fine, the defense stood up when it had to, but utter STOOPIDITY kept Auburn in the game. Specifically, our "special" teams play (insert short bus, special ed. jokes here) and dumb, moronic penalties. I'm so sick of typing those words. I should just create a macro for "moronic penalties" to use every time I'm recapping a Dawgs game this year.
Yes, I will take an ugly win over a pretty loss any day. Yes, I would rather have Mark Richt as our head coach than ANYBODY else. Yes, we are 5-0 on opponents home field this year, 9-2 overall, hopefully heading for yet another ten win season and a New Year's Day bowl. But what this year says to me is that we are not yet an elite program. This is a good team, not a great one...not by a pretty long shot. And next year there is a 90% chance (in my opinion) that we will be without Stafford and Moreno, the best 1-2 punch we have had at this school in my lifetime. Unbelievable that we will have had both of those guys at the same time and not even PLAYED in the SEC championship, much less won one. I'm afraid that this was the window for this team, and I can't help feeling like they blew it. I'm sure that another window will come along, but when you're NOT an elite program, you're not promised the chance to compete for the MNC on a regular basis.
Sigh.
For a slightly more humorous, but just as apt, description, check out Mackie's take.
This week will probably be a little different. With the off-week, I will probably start experimenting with what this blog will look like once football season is over. I welcome any feedback or suggestions.
As always...
GO DAWGS!!!!!
Anyway, Doug over at Hey Jenny Slater really nails it this week with his thoughts on the game. I felt EXACTLY the same way watching the guys dance over on our sideline after the game. They were a LOT happier about that win than I was.
I can't add anything to what Doug says, really...the offense played fine, the defense stood up when it had to, but utter STOOPIDITY kept Auburn in the game. Specifically, our "special" teams play (insert short bus, special ed. jokes here) and dumb, moronic penalties. I'm so sick of typing those words. I should just create a macro for "moronic penalties" to use every time I'm recapping a Dawgs game this year.
Yes, I will take an ugly win over a pretty loss any day. Yes, I would rather have Mark Richt as our head coach than ANYBODY else. Yes, we are 5-0 on opponents home field this year, 9-2 overall, hopefully heading for yet another ten win season and a New Year's Day bowl. But what this year says to me is that we are not yet an elite program. This is a good team, not a great one...not by a pretty long shot. And next year there is a 90% chance (in my opinion) that we will be without Stafford and Moreno, the best 1-2 punch we have had at this school in my lifetime. Unbelievable that we will have had both of those guys at the same time and not even PLAYED in the SEC championship, much less won one. I'm afraid that this was the window for this team, and I can't help feeling like they blew it. I'm sure that another window will come along, but when you're NOT an elite program, you're not promised the chance to compete for the MNC on a regular basis.
Sigh.
For a slightly more humorous, but just as apt, description, check out Mackie's take.
This week will probably be a little different. With the off-week, I will probably start experimenting with what this blog will look like once football season is over. I welcome any feedback or suggestions.
As always...
GO DAWGS!!!!!
Monday, November 10, 2008
Thoughts on the Kentucky game
Well that was...frustrating? Nerve wracking? Nauseating? Infuriating? Exhilarating? Seriously, it was like watching two totally different teams, and that really threw me out of whack as far as how I felt about the game.
Let's break it down: (why do I feel like I should be doing a dance solo right here?)
The Offense: A
Were it not for Massaquoi's two fumbles late, this would have been an A++++++++++++++. Virtually perfect game by Stafford. He was 17-27, and would have competed an even higher percentage if we had not been taking several early shots downfield on a very windy day. When the game was on the line in the 2nd half, and the offense had to score on virtually every possession, he was 9-10 for 211 yards and the game winning touchdown. That's clutch, big-time, manly quarterback play.
The receivers played very well all day, outside of Massaquoi's uncharacteristic dropsies. We seem to be having MUCH fewer problems with drops this year. Still happens occasionally, but that's going to be the case with every team.
O-line played decent enough, considering yet ANOTHER offensive tackle was lost to injury. Justin Anderson is out for at least a couple of weeks. Unbelievable.
Knowshon continues to amaze. Both of his touchdowns were just vintage...the first one, he just kept driving his feet and pushed the defense into the endzone with him. On the second one, he twisted, turned, stiff-armed, and basically just refused to give up on the play and got a TD out of it. I'm amazed every game by his balance...it's uncanny.
Overall, the offense was a thing of beauty, a joy to watch...probably the most complete game they've played all year, with the possible exception of the LSU game.
On the other hand...
Defense: D-
Why so high, you ask? Because on three straight possessions in the 4th quarter, including 2 "quick changes" after the fumbles, the defense had to make stops and they did. Before that, I probably would have given them a Q-.
My brother put it best...outside of Rennie Curran and Asher Allen, nobody on that defense looked like they had a freaking clue as to what was going on. They looked LOST.
Our D-line was being DOMINATED at the point of attack, which meant our LB's were dealing with offensive linemen all day, and that's not a matchup our undersized linebacking corp wants.
I was watching the game on tape, thanks to the previously mentioned yard sale last Saturday, and by midway through the 3rd quarter I just started fast forwarding past UK possessions until after they kicked the extra point. It was embarassing, and too painful to watch.
I'm not going to call for Willie Martinez's head on a platter, or even for him to be fired. The man has two SEC championship rings, and enough great performances by his defenses in the past to buy him more leeway than that. I'm just a layperson, and Coach Martinez knows about a gazillion times more about defensive philosophy than I do. I will, however, say this...if we don't have the personnel (read: pass-rushing defensive ends) to run what we normally run effectively, than we have to be willing to change up. I haven't seen that flexibility from Coach Martinez.
I'm also concerned that the running QB/option attack gave us so much trouble. Ummm....what two teams do we have left on our schedule? And what type of offense do they run? Yeah. Exactly.
Special Teams: F
Let's just move on...
Some other random thoughts:
- Glad to see Chapas finally have his hard work rewarded and get a touchdown. Clint Boling's quote (h/t to David Hale's Blog): "I thought he was allergic to the end zone. I'm surprised he didn't drop it." Always nice to have the support of your teammates.
- On the heels of possibly his most complete game at UGA, the issue has to be addressed: Is this Stafford's last year as a Dawg? I would put the chance at about 98.7%. He would probably be a top 5 pick...ask Brian Brohm or Matt Leinart how smart it is to turn that down. Not to mention the fact that, in all likelihood, a new collective bargaining agreement will be in place in time for the 2010 draft, and part of that will be much tighter restrictions on rookie salaries. Which means that Stafford could come back, have a MONSTER year, and still leave millions on the table due to the new salary structure. With the average NFL career being as short as it is, it's tough to ask someone to make that kind of financial sacrifice.
Anything going in the Dawgs favor here? Maybe...if Stafford leaves after this year, he will do so having never even PLAYED in the SEC championship game, much less won it. Maybe he comes back in hopes of winning a championship? Maybe. It's not like he grew up a Dawgs fan or anything, so I don't know how important bringing a championship to UGA is to him, to be honest.
Also...I don't claim to know anything about the financial status of his family. But they do live in Highland Park, which I understand is a fairly affluent part of Texas. Since his family doesn't necessarily NEED the money (but who DOESN'T need an extra $15-20 million?), maybe he sticks around for the fun of it.
He does seem to enjoy college life:
Maybe he listens to guys like Peyton Manning and David Pollack who say that they would take nothing for their senior year now. Maybe.
The smart move, in my opinion? Take the money and run. I hope he doesn't, but there's no way I could advise him otherwise.
- Ah, Raycom...I'll sure miss you. As will AJ Bryant and Josh Anderson.
Let's break it down: (why do I feel like I should be doing a dance solo right here?)
The Offense: A
Were it not for Massaquoi's two fumbles late, this would have been an A++++++++++++++. Virtually perfect game by Stafford. He was 17-27, and would have competed an even higher percentage if we had not been taking several early shots downfield on a very windy day. When the game was on the line in the 2nd half, and the offense had to score on virtually every possession, he was 9-10 for 211 yards and the game winning touchdown. That's clutch, big-time, manly quarterback play.
The receivers played very well all day, outside of Massaquoi's uncharacteristic dropsies. We seem to be having MUCH fewer problems with drops this year. Still happens occasionally, but that's going to be the case with every team.
O-line played decent enough, considering yet ANOTHER offensive tackle was lost to injury. Justin Anderson is out for at least a couple of weeks. Unbelievable.
Knowshon continues to amaze. Both of his touchdowns were just vintage...the first one, he just kept driving his feet and pushed the defense into the endzone with him. On the second one, he twisted, turned, stiff-armed, and basically just refused to give up on the play and got a TD out of it. I'm amazed every game by his balance...it's uncanny.
Overall, the offense was a thing of beauty, a joy to watch...probably the most complete game they've played all year, with the possible exception of the LSU game.
On the other hand...
Defense: D-
Why so high, you ask? Because on three straight possessions in the 4th quarter, including 2 "quick changes" after the fumbles, the defense had to make stops and they did. Before that, I probably would have given them a Q-.
My brother put it best...outside of Rennie Curran and Asher Allen, nobody on that defense looked like they had a freaking clue as to what was going on. They looked LOST.
Our D-line was being DOMINATED at the point of attack, which meant our LB's were dealing with offensive linemen all day, and that's not a matchup our undersized linebacking corp wants.
I was watching the game on tape, thanks to the previously mentioned yard sale last Saturday, and by midway through the 3rd quarter I just started fast forwarding past UK possessions until after they kicked the extra point. It was embarassing, and too painful to watch.
I'm not going to call for Willie Martinez's head on a platter, or even for him to be fired. The man has two SEC championship rings, and enough great performances by his defenses in the past to buy him more leeway than that. I'm just a layperson, and Coach Martinez knows about a gazillion times more about defensive philosophy than I do. I will, however, say this...if we don't have the personnel (read: pass-rushing defensive ends) to run what we normally run effectively, than we have to be willing to change up. I haven't seen that flexibility from Coach Martinez.
I'm also concerned that the running QB/option attack gave us so much trouble. Ummm....what two teams do we have left on our schedule? And what type of offense do they run? Yeah. Exactly.
Special Teams: F
Let's just move on...
Some other random thoughts:
- Glad to see Chapas finally have his hard work rewarded and get a touchdown. Clint Boling's quote (h/t to David Hale's Blog): "I thought he was allergic to the end zone. I'm surprised he didn't drop it." Always nice to have the support of your teammates.
- On the heels of possibly his most complete game at UGA, the issue has to be addressed: Is this Stafford's last year as a Dawg? I would put the chance at about 98.7%. He would probably be a top 5 pick...ask Brian Brohm or Matt Leinart how smart it is to turn that down. Not to mention the fact that, in all likelihood, a new collective bargaining agreement will be in place in time for the 2010 draft, and part of that will be much tighter restrictions on rookie salaries. Which means that Stafford could come back, have a MONSTER year, and still leave millions on the table due to the new salary structure. With the average NFL career being as short as it is, it's tough to ask someone to make that kind of financial sacrifice.
Anything going in the Dawgs favor here? Maybe...if Stafford leaves after this year, he will do so having never even PLAYED in the SEC championship game, much less won it. Maybe he comes back in hopes of winning a championship? Maybe. It's not like he grew up a Dawgs fan or anything, so I don't know how important bringing a championship to UGA is to him, to be honest.
Also...I don't claim to know anything about the financial status of his family. But they do live in Highland Park, which I understand is a fairly affluent part of Texas. Since his family doesn't necessarily NEED the money (but who DOESN'T need an extra $15-20 million?), maybe he sticks around for the fun of it.
He does seem to enjoy college life:
Maybe he listens to guys like Peyton Manning and David Pollack who say that they would take nothing for their senior year now. Maybe.
The smart move, in my opinion? Take the money and run. I hope he doesn't, but there's no way I could advise him otherwise.
- Ah, Raycom...I'll sure miss you. As will AJ Bryant and Josh Anderson.
Thoughts on the Florida game
VERY delayed thoughts on the debacle in Jacksonville...
Well, here's what I was RIGHT about in my pre-game thoughts:
- Neither defense could stop the other team's offense. When the game was still in doubt (all of the first half, into the third quarter), the Dawgs moved the ball up and down the field at will. But, just like in the UT game earlier this year, our socks looked like Swiss cheese we shot ourselves in the foot so often in the red zone. Florida didn't stop us...we stopped ourselves. We should have been tied or even leading going into halftime. Then, after Stafford threw the pick early in the third that the Gayters turned into a 21-3 lead, we could no longer run our offense. Against Florida, you can't come back on them by running the ball, punting, and playing defense, because their offense is virtually unstoppable right now. So, we had to throw in situations where we normally would not, which turned into more turnovers, which turned into more points. The game was lost in the first half when we failed to convert drives into points.
The Dawgs defense played pretty well in the first half, but constant short fields against that level of talent and offensive efficiency overwhelmed them in the second half.
- Penn Wagers' officiating crew stinks. Seriously, why do they keep showing up on my TV at 3:30 every Saturday? They are AWFUL, and even when they aren't missing calls, the games they call are just a mess. Multiple LONG conferences, instant replay reviews that seem to take 10 minutes, etc. There were some crucial blown calls in this one, most notably the obvious offensive pass interference when Louis Murphy pulled the Roller Derby move on Asher and pulled himself past him for the touchdown. But, again, you know what you're going to get when this crew takes the field...blatant incompetence. Unlike a lot of Dawg fans, I don't think Penn and the Gang are out to get us...they're too stupid to be crooked.
Bottom line...Florida is better than we are, but I still don't think they are 39 points better than we are. We bumbled our way to a 21-3 deficit, and that's too much to make up against a team of this caliber.
I hate Urban Meyer.
Well, here's what I was RIGHT about in my pre-game thoughts:
- Neither defense could stop the other team's offense. When the game was still in doubt (all of the first half, into the third quarter), the Dawgs moved the ball up and down the field at will. But, just like in the UT game earlier this year, our socks looked like Swiss cheese we shot ourselves in the foot so often in the red zone. Florida didn't stop us...we stopped ourselves. We should have been tied or even leading going into halftime. Then, after Stafford threw the pick early in the third that the Gayters turned into a 21-3 lead, we could no longer run our offense. Against Florida, you can't come back on them by running the ball, punting, and playing defense, because their offense is virtually unstoppable right now. So, we had to throw in situations where we normally would not, which turned into more turnovers, which turned into more points. The game was lost in the first half when we failed to convert drives into points.
The Dawgs defense played pretty well in the first half, but constant short fields against that level of talent and offensive efficiency overwhelmed them in the second half.
- Penn Wagers' officiating crew stinks. Seriously, why do they keep showing up on my TV at 3:30 every Saturday? They are AWFUL, and even when they aren't missing calls, the games they call are just a mess. Multiple LONG conferences, instant replay reviews that seem to take 10 minutes, etc. There were some crucial blown calls in this one, most notably the obvious offensive pass interference when Louis Murphy pulled the Roller Derby move on Asher and pulled himself past him for the touchdown. But, again, you know what you're going to get when this crew takes the field...blatant incompetence. Unlike a lot of Dawg fans, I don't think Penn and the Gang are out to get us...they're too stupid to be crooked.
Bottom line...Florida is better than we are, but I still don't think they are 39 points better than we are. We bumbled our way to a 21-3 deficit, and that's too much to make up against a team of this caliber.
I hate Urban Meyer.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Observations - LSU
Well, THAT was fun...really, just an extremely fun game to watch. Big plays on both sides, both on offense and defense.
I said all week to anybody who asked that I thought our offense was on the verge of a breakout game, and I think this one certainly qualifies. Stafford really did look like a top 5 NFL draft pick, with mostly great decisions and some unbelievable throws. The throw he made to AJ on the touchdown, under pressure, was PERFECT, the throw to Demiko in the redzone was a laser, and so on and so on. He also threw ZERO interceptions, made the right decisions on audibles over and over, and just overall looked like a big-time quarterback.
Of course, he got a lot of help. First of all, whatever we are paying Stacey Searles is not enough. I've lost count of how many combinations we have started on the offensive line, we're on our 4th left tackle...and that OL just went into LSU and outplayed one of the best DL's in the country. Stafford was only sacked once, was not even pressured very often, and the Dawgs rushed for 194 yards. This from a line with three freshmen and two sophomores in the starting lineup. Unbelievable.
What's left to be said about Knowshon? Another jaw-dropping performance. Probably what impresses me the most is his amazing sense of balance. He is constantly bouncing off of defenders, keeping his feet somehow, and picking up extra yardage...about 60 yards of it on his touchdown run, where he bounced off a guy at the line of scrimmage, broke a tackle, and then outran Beckwith (despite Uncle Verne's claims that he "doesn't have great speed" - HA!). Loved the "call me" reference to the LSU student section...for those who don't know, somebody leaked Knowshon's cell phone, and the LSU students started prank calling him until he had his cell phone turned off in the middle of the week. They pulled the same stunt with Tebow last year, and he made the same gesture...those cajuns are slow learners.
Defense was kind of a mixed bag...gave up a lot of yards and points, but also made lots of big plays, including Gamble's pair of TD's. There was some poor tackling, even a couple of misses by Rennie, which you NEVER see. A lack of blitzing that would be disturbing if I hadn't been watching a Willie Martinez coached defense for the past several years. Overall, probably a C+ effort, and one that will have to be improved on next week.
Some other random thoughts...
- I would pat myself on the back for getting a couple of my predictions right (pick 6 for a touchdown, at least one big TD pass off of an LSU blitz), but I was nothing compared to Gary Danielson. Don't know if you noticed, but he called three of the touchdown plays before they happened: the screen pass LSU scored on, and both the fade and the QB draws that we scored on. Pretty impressive stuff...that is what makes a good analyst.
- Poor Shaun Chapas still hasn't scored a touchdown. Last week, he catches a pass, takes it all the way down to the 1, and then we hand it to Southerland for the cherry-pick touchdown. Then, this week, we go with three FB at the goal line...and hand it to Munzenmaier. Chapas continues to play well, and hopefully he'll be rewarded soon with a TD.
- How about the cajones of Blair Walsh? Freshman kicker, on the road in one of the loudest and most hostile environments in the country, and he nails a big 50 yard FG right before the half. Last week's struggles obviously didn't affect his confidence, which is a great sign.
- The message board negativity I've seen on the Dawgvent and Dawgrun is a little frustrating. This was a great win, against the defending national champs on the road in the SEC. Why do people want to find things to complain about in the aftermath of a win like that? I think that the message boards and sports talk radio have created an atmosphere where people think you only sound intelligent if you are being negative. Yeah, the defense could have played better, but the track record of this coaching staff speaks for itself, in my opinion.
It's great to be a Georgia Bulldawg...bring on the Gators!!!
I said all week to anybody who asked that I thought our offense was on the verge of a breakout game, and I think this one certainly qualifies. Stafford really did look like a top 5 NFL draft pick, with mostly great decisions and some unbelievable throws. The throw he made to AJ on the touchdown, under pressure, was PERFECT, the throw to Demiko in the redzone was a laser, and so on and so on. He also threw ZERO interceptions, made the right decisions on audibles over and over, and just overall looked like a big-time quarterback.
Of course, he got a lot of help. First of all, whatever we are paying Stacey Searles is not enough. I've lost count of how many combinations we have started on the offensive line, we're on our 4th left tackle...and that OL just went into LSU and outplayed one of the best DL's in the country. Stafford was only sacked once, was not even pressured very often, and the Dawgs rushed for 194 yards. This from a line with three freshmen and two sophomores in the starting lineup. Unbelievable.
What's left to be said about Knowshon? Another jaw-dropping performance. Probably what impresses me the most is his amazing sense of balance. He is constantly bouncing off of defenders, keeping his feet somehow, and picking up extra yardage...about 60 yards of it on his touchdown run, where he bounced off a guy at the line of scrimmage, broke a tackle, and then outran Beckwith (despite Uncle Verne's claims that he "doesn't have great speed" - HA!). Loved the "call me" reference to the LSU student section...for those who don't know, somebody leaked Knowshon's cell phone, and the LSU students started prank calling him until he had his cell phone turned off in the middle of the week. They pulled the same stunt with Tebow last year, and he made the same gesture...those cajuns are slow learners.
Defense was kind of a mixed bag...gave up a lot of yards and points, but also made lots of big plays, including Gamble's pair of TD's. There was some poor tackling, even a couple of misses by Rennie, which you NEVER see. A lack of blitzing that would be disturbing if I hadn't been watching a Willie Martinez coached defense for the past several years. Overall, probably a C+ effort, and one that will have to be improved on next week.
Some other random thoughts...
- I would pat myself on the back for getting a couple of my predictions right (pick 6 for a touchdown, at least one big TD pass off of an LSU blitz), but I was nothing compared to Gary Danielson. Don't know if you noticed, but he called three of the touchdown plays before they happened: the screen pass LSU scored on, and both the fade and the QB draws that we scored on. Pretty impressive stuff...that is what makes a good analyst.
- Poor Shaun Chapas still hasn't scored a touchdown. Last week, he catches a pass, takes it all the way down to the 1, and then we hand it to Southerland for the cherry-pick touchdown. Then, this week, we go with three FB at the goal line...and hand it to Munzenmaier. Chapas continues to play well, and hopefully he'll be rewarded soon with a TD.
- How about the cajones of Blair Walsh? Freshman kicker, on the road in one of the loudest and most hostile environments in the country, and he nails a big 50 yard FG right before the half. Last week's struggles obviously didn't affect his confidence, which is a great sign.
- The message board negativity I've seen on the Dawgvent and Dawgrun is a little frustrating. This was a great win, against the defending national champs on the road in the SEC. Why do people want to find things to complain about in the aftermath of a win like that? I think that the message boards and sports talk radio have created an atmosphere where people think you only sound intelligent if you are being negative. Yeah, the defense could have played better, but the track record of this coaching staff speaks for itself, in my opinion.
It's great to be a Georgia Bulldawg...bring on the Gators!!!
Friday, October 24, 2008
Catch-up thoughts on the Dawgs
OK, lots of ground to cover here, since I haven't really posted about the Dawgs since the ASU game. We'll take them a game at a time:
Alabama (aka Blackout III: The Reckoning) - I'm still mentally blocking most of this game, and I haven't really dealt with it emotionally yet. I just sometimes wake up screaming after dreams of yellow flags flying all around me and gigantic Crimson monsters laughing maniacally while dangling poor little Uga VII over the pits of hell....best we just move on.
Honestly, this was just a good old fashioned butt-whoopin'. The disturbing part is that we seem to have one of these every year. Really not sure of the answer to why that happens, but this one hurt.The Dawgs no longer have any margin for error the rest of the year if they want to accomplish their ultimate goal.
Tennessee - I only wish we could have dominated on the scoreboard the way we did on the field. This was possibly the most dominating 12 point win I've ever seen. When you hold a 42-18 minute advantage in time of possession and a 460-200 advantage in total offense, you should expect to win by more than two touchdowns. Questionable play-calling and bad decisions in the red zone cost us at least another 14-21 points, and then we wouldn't have to hear any of the crap we're hearing about "style points" (seriously, style points? Is this figure skating? Are we in Russia?). We kept going to the well on the fade route in the end zone, and we never did have any success. Since we really haven't seen much of that play before or since, I can only assume that we saw something on film that we thought we could take advantage of and then just didn't execute.
Though I wish we could have beaten them by more, it was still a satisfying win to me. Like last year, UT was circling the bowl when they met up with the Dawgs...unlike last year, we didn't allow Phat Phil to clog himself in the drain and refuse to go down.
Vanderbilt - Almost a carbon copy of the UT game. Again, this was a much more dominating performance than the scoreboard would indicate. Once again, lack of execution in the red zone, including two uncharacteristic misses from Blair Walsh, kept this one closer than it should have been.
One disturbing trend that came out of these two games was that in each of them, Stafford threw an UGLY interception that was reminiscent of some of his early career mistakes. Up to that point, he had done an EXCELLENT job in valuing the football, so here's hoping they were temporary lapses that are out of his system.
Overall, the team has bounced back pretty well after the embarrassment against Bama. Two very good performances against SEC competition, even if there were still enough coughs and stalls to keep the game closer than they should have been. Pretty happy with the offensive line, especially considering the ridiculous rash of injuries and youth. Moreno continues to add zeroes to the end of his bank account with one jaw-dropping performance after another. AJ Green is a BEAST, and may be the best receiver we've ever had by the time he leaves. Really, the team has been playing well in most facets of the game, except we still don't seem to be able to get consistent pressure on the quarterback, which is affecting all phases of our defense.
Which leads us to the LSU game...
Early in the week, I felt really confident about this game, to the point where I thought we may be looking at a 31-17 score, with maybe a defensive or special teams touchdown thrown in there. The more I look at the game, though, the more nervous I get. The matchups in this game remind me a lot of the Alabama game, which is terror-inducing for obvious reasons that I still am not ready to talk about. The matchups on both lines of scrimmage favor the Tigers, I think, especially our DL vs. their OL. If we can't shut down their run game, or if we give Hatch/Lee all day to dink and dunk their way down the field, we could be in trouble.
For some reason, though, I still think we pull this one out tomorrow. I think the OL will surprise some people in their ability to hold their own against LSU's monstrous DL. Open holes for Moreno and give Stafford just a LITTLE time, and I think we can put up points on this defense. The strength of their defense is definitely NOT in the secondary...if Stafford gets time, I think he can make them pay for blitzing by burning them deep with AJ and MoMass. A factor that is in our favor, in my opinion, is that we are VERY good at picking up blitzes, with Stafford able to identify them pre-snap and Knowshon and Southerland/Chapas doing an excellent job in picking them up. I see at least a couple of big pass plays coming off of LSU blitzes.
On defense, we need to sell out to stop the run and make them throw to beat us. Mix up coverage, but do NOT play off them all day and let them work their way down the field. Anybody can hit 6 yard curl routes, even John Parker Wilson (...shudder). If you make their QB's have to MAKE PLAYS, then we have them right where we want them. In fact, I think we may see one of our DB's with a pick-6 in this one, probably off a rushed decision due to pass rush.
Prediction: Dawgs 27, Tigers 17
Alabama (aka Blackout III: The Reckoning) - I'm still mentally blocking most of this game, and I haven't really dealt with it emotionally yet. I just sometimes wake up screaming after dreams of yellow flags flying all around me and gigantic Crimson monsters laughing maniacally while dangling poor little Uga VII over the pits of hell....best we just move on.
Honestly, this was just a good old fashioned butt-whoopin'. The disturbing part is that we seem to have one of these every year. Really not sure of the answer to why that happens, but this one hurt.The Dawgs no longer have any margin for error the rest of the year if they want to accomplish their ultimate goal.
Tennessee - I only wish we could have dominated on the scoreboard the way we did on the field. This was possibly the most dominating 12 point win I've ever seen. When you hold a 42-18 minute advantage in time of possession and a 460-200 advantage in total offense, you should expect to win by more than two touchdowns. Questionable play-calling and bad decisions in the red zone cost us at least another 14-21 points, and then we wouldn't have to hear any of the crap we're hearing about "style points" (seriously, style points? Is this figure skating? Are we in Russia?). We kept going to the well on the fade route in the end zone, and we never did have any success. Since we really haven't seen much of that play before or since, I can only assume that we saw something on film that we thought we could take advantage of and then just didn't execute.
Though I wish we could have beaten them by more, it was still a satisfying win to me. Like last year, UT was circling the bowl when they met up with the Dawgs...unlike last year, we didn't allow Phat Phil to clog himself in the drain and refuse to go down.
Vanderbilt - Almost a carbon copy of the UT game. Again, this was a much more dominating performance than the scoreboard would indicate. Once again, lack of execution in the red zone, including two uncharacteristic misses from Blair Walsh, kept this one closer than it should have been.
One disturbing trend that came out of these two games was that in each of them, Stafford threw an UGLY interception that was reminiscent of some of his early career mistakes. Up to that point, he had done an EXCELLENT job in valuing the football, so here's hoping they were temporary lapses that are out of his system.
Overall, the team has bounced back pretty well after the embarrassment against Bama. Two very good performances against SEC competition, even if there were still enough coughs and stalls to keep the game closer than they should have been. Pretty happy with the offensive line, especially considering the ridiculous rash of injuries and youth. Moreno continues to add zeroes to the end of his bank account with one jaw-dropping performance after another. AJ Green is a BEAST, and may be the best receiver we've ever had by the time he leaves. Really, the team has been playing well in most facets of the game, except we still don't seem to be able to get consistent pressure on the quarterback, which is affecting all phases of our defense.
Which leads us to the LSU game...
Early in the week, I felt really confident about this game, to the point where I thought we may be looking at a 31-17 score, with maybe a defensive or special teams touchdown thrown in there. The more I look at the game, though, the more nervous I get. The matchups in this game remind me a lot of the Alabama game, which is terror-inducing for obvious reasons that I still am not ready to talk about. The matchups on both lines of scrimmage favor the Tigers, I think, especially our DL vs. their OL. If we can't shut down their run game, or if we give Hatch/Lee all day to dink and dunk their way down the field, we could be in trouble.
For some reason, though, I still think we pull this one out tomorrow. I think the OL will surprise some people in their ability to hold their own against LSU's monstrous DL. Open holes for Moreno and give Stafford just a LITTLE time, and I think we can put up points on this defense. The strength of their defense is definitely NOT in the secondary...if Stafford gets time, I think he can make them pay for blitzing by burning them deep with AJ and MoMass. A factor that is in our favor, in my opinion, is that we are VERY good at picking up blitzes, with Stafford able to identify them pre-snap and Knowshon and Southerland/Chapas doing an excellent job in picking them up. I see at least a couple of big pass plays coming off of LSU blitzes.
On defense, we need to sell out to stop the run and make them throw to beat us. Mix up coverage, but do NOT play off them all day and let them work their way down the field. Anybody can hit 6 yard curl routes, even John Parker Wilson (...shudder). If you make their QB's have to MAKE PLAYS, then we have them right where we want them. In fact, I think we may see one of our DB's with a pick-6 in this one, probably off a rushed decision due to pass rush.
Prediction: Dawgs 27, Tigers 17
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Observations - ASU
Sorry for the infrequent posting....work has been wearing me down, and by the time I get home and work on the house (we are in the middle of a kitchen re-model), I can't seem to find the energy or brain power to knock out a post...not that you can tell that my posts normally take a lot of brain power.
Anyway...on to the ASU game recap.
First of all, it was great to see how well the Dawgs were represented in Tempe. I'd say at least 15K Dawg fans were in the stadium, and you could actually hear them on the TV coverage. When the Sun Devils were facing third down, at times it sounded like they may have been in Sanford. I think the Bulldawg Nation showed the nation Saturday night what kind of fan base we have.
As far as the game goes, I agree with Coach Richt. That was the most complete game we have played so far. Not perfect yet, but certainly our strongest showing yet.
THE GOOD:
This could be a long list...the aspects of the game that were the most satisfying and exciting to me were (in no particular order):
- The offensive line. Thought they were very solid, considering this was their first game together in their new lineup.
- AJ GREEN. The guy catches everything in his area code, speed, ups...by the time he leaves, I think he will be the best receiver we have ever had. Saturday was his coming out party.
- Stafford/Moreno. I put them together, because I think that's why they are effective (well, that plus their enormous talent). Saturday night, we came out throwing to loosen the defense up (a strategy I was in full agreement with), and then in the second half Knowshon started ripping huge gaping holes through the defense. Knowshon added another Heisman clip as well. Looked to me like he has been playing NCAA '09...that play looked exactly like it does when you get down near the goal line in the corner and press the "Y" button on Playstation.
- Defensive line. Finally provided some pressure with the four man rush, which Coach Martinez's defense desperately needs.
- Rennie Curran. The guy is like a torpedo to the football. Can't wait to see him against the Tide's running game on Saturday (more on that in the Bama preview).
THE BAD:
- Kickoffs. Some improvement this week, but we still can't seem to consistently kick it deep and cover effectively. This could really hurt us against the Brandon James and Trindon Hollidays of the world.
- Penalties. Yes, a couple of these were bogus, particularly MoMass tripping his own player, but still, you take away the questionable calls and we still have ten penalties, or close to it. This hasn't hurt us yet, but we can't continue to give up that kind of yardage every week.
Overall, this game went about as well as you could have hoped for. Went out west, took care of business, and showed the country a little better idea of what we are capable of. Now comes the fun part....'Bama, Blackout, and Gameday. GO DAWGS!!
Anyway...on to the ASU game recap.
First of all, it was great to see how well the Dawgs were represented in Tempe. I'd say at least 15K Dawg fans were in the stadium, and you could actually hear them on the TV coverage. When the Sun Devils were facing third down, at times it sounded like they may have been in Sanford. I think the Bulldawg Nation showed the nation Saturday night what kind of fan base we have.
As far as the game goes, I agree with Coach Richt. That was the most complete game we have played so far. Not perfect yet, but certainly our strongest showing yet.
THE GOOD:
This could be a long list...the aspects of the game that were the most satisfying and exciting to me were (in no particular order):
- The offensive line. Thought they were very solid, considering this was their first game together in their new lineup.
- AJ GREEN. The guy catches everything in his area code, speed, ups...by the time he leaves, I think he will be the best receiver we have ever had. Saturday was his coming out party.
- Stafford/Moreno. I put them together, because I think that's why they are effective (well, that plus their enormous talent). Saturday night, we came out throwing to loosen the defense up (a strategy I was in full agreement with), and then in the second half Knowshon started ripping huge gaping holes through the defense. Knowshon added another Heisman clip as well. Looked to me like he has been playing NCAA '09...that play looked exactly like it does when you get down near the goal line in the corner and press the "Y" button on Playstation.
- Defensive line. Finally provided some pressure with the four man rush, which Coach Martinez's defense desperately needs.
- Rennie Curran. The guy is like a torpedo to the football. Can't wait to see him against the Tide's running game on Saturday (more on that in the Bama preview).
THE BAD:
- Kickoffs. Some improvement this week, but we still can't seem to consistently kick it deep and cover effectively. This could really hurt us against the Brandon James and Trindon Hollidays of the world.
- Penalties. Yes, a couple of these were bogus, particularly MoMass tripping his own player, but still, you take away the questionable calls and we still have ten penalties, or close to it. This hasn't hurt us yet, but we can't continue to give up that kind of yardage every week.
Overall, this game went about as well as you could have hoped for. Went out west, took care of business, and showed the country a little better idea of what we are capable of. Now comes the fun part....'Bama, Blackout, and Gameday. GO DAWGS!!
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Observations - South Carolina
Well, I got one thing right in my preview...the first ten minutes did in fact give a good indication of how the game would go. The first ten minutes were ragged and disjointed, thanks in part to an officiating crew that was incompetent even by SEC standards and a play clock that reminded me of early-season Sanford Stadium games. That raggedness continued in a game that, as good ole' Jim Ross would say, was BOWLING SHOE ugly.
Once again, the collective reaction from the Bulldog Nation after the 'Cocks game....WHEW.
THE GOOD:
- Knowshon Moreno. This guy continues to bring it every week. His touchdown run was a tremendous display of balance, strength, and vision, and he ran hard all day, as usual.
- AJ Green. This guy catches EVERYTHING thrown anywhere near him. That first catch was not nearly as easy as he made it look. He's already the second-best receiver we have on the team, only three games into his career. He is going to be special.
- The rushing defense. The Gamecocks had no room to run all day (18 yards on 16 carries) and all but gave up on the running game late in the day. In the 4th quarter, the Gamecocks had 2nd and 2 at the UGA 32 and went incomplete pass, incomplete pass, incomplete pass. For the day, they threw the ball 40 times and only ran it 16. This is an area where I thought we might miss Jeff Owens the most, but we got good penetration all day against the run, and the SC coaching staff was obviously frustrated late in the game with their inability to run the ball.
- Brian Mimbs. Mimbs may have been the MVP of the game. The 78 yard punt was a BOMB, with no wind to help him, at exactly the right moment. What's not getting as much attention is that the next time he was called on, he kicked a 50-yarder that Munnerlyn had to fair catch at the 10. The way the SC offense was moving the ball late in the game, the fact that they were forced to go the length of the field on each of their last two drives may have saved the game for us.
THE BAD:
- The pass defense. The fact that we can not get pressure on the quarterback with our front four has to be a concern now. We are getting a little push up the middle, but our DE's can't seem to even get close to the quarterback. This is a huge concern as we go to Tempe next week, since one of the real advantages I thought we were going to have in that game is our ability to get to Carpenter.
I was also obviously wrong about our linebackers' ability to cover Jared Cook. That was a total mismatch all day, and I'm not sure why our coaching staff didn't realize that after the first couple of interference penalties.
- Kickoff coverage. I'm afraid that this may be a problem all year. For some reason, Walsh does not seem to be able to get the ball deep enough or high enough for the coverage to do their job. Wonder if the league will let us let Stafford to throw the ball for the kickoff, the way we used to do in the backyard?
THE JUST OK: Everything else. Stafford made big plays several times during the game, but he was also pretty inaccurate at times. Chandler is taking crap from several fan sites today for "drops," but the first two were almost certainly not his fault...the first one was high, hard, and behind him, and the second was tipped right before it got to him. Nothing like the problems he had last year, when passes were hitting him in the chest and bouncing off.
The offensive line was inconsistent...Cordy had a couple of obvious blown assignments, and in general the offense was thrown off balance a little bit by the fact that our o-line was not blowing guys off the ball. Carolina's defense is tough and physical, so it's not particularly surprising that we struggled with this young offensive line in their first SEC road game.
I was a little disappointed in the offensive play calling...I didn't think we spread them out nearly enough. Not enough screens, swing passes, etc. They were pretty effective for the most part when we did run them. I also thought we ran the QB zone-read running play too often. We hit it a couple of times, but then they started looking for it and we were still trying to run it in crucial situations....like third and goal from the 7?!?!?!?
Overall...we're 3-0. 1-0 in the SEC. I do NOT think we looked like the #2 team in the country, but the good thing about this schedule is that we don't have to look good every week. Just survive and advance. And if you could say we accomplished anything yesterday, that was it...we survived.
Once again, the collective reaction from the Bulldog Nation after the 'Cocks game....WHEW.
THE GOOD:
- Knowshon Moreno. This guy continues to bring it every week. His touchdown run was a tremendous display of balance, strength, and vision, and he ran hard all day, as usual.
- AJ Green. This guy catches EVERYTHING thrown anywhere near him. That first catch was not nearly as easy as he made it look. He's already the second-best receiver we have on the team, only three games into his career. He is going to be special.
- The rushing defense. The Gamecocks had no room to run all day (18 yards on 16 carries) and all but gave up on the running game late in the day. In the 4th quarter, the Gamecocks had 2nd and 2 at the UGA 32 and went incomplete pass, incomplete pass, incomplete pass. For the day, they threw the ball 40 times and only ran it 16. This is an area where I thought we might miss Jeff Owens the most, but we got good penetration all day against the run, and the SC coaching staff was obviously frustrated late in the game with their inability to run the ball.
- Brian Mimbs. Mimbs may have been the MVP of the game. The 78 yard punt was a BOMB, with no wind to help him, at exactly the right moment. What's not getting as much attention is that the next time he was called on, he kicked a 50-yarder that Munnerlyn had to fair catch at the 10. The way the SC offense was moving the ball late in the game, the fact that they were forced to go the length of the field on each of their last two drives may have saved the game for us.
THE BAD:
- The pass defense. The fact that we can not get pressure on the quarterback with our front four has to be a concern now. We are getting a little push up the middle, but our DE's can't seem to even get close to the quarterback. This is a huge concern as we go to Tempe next week, since one of the real advantages I thought we were going to have in that game is our ability to get to Carpenter.
I was also obviously wrong about our linebackers' ability to cover Jared Cook. That was a total mismatch all day, and I'm not sure why our coaching staff didn't realize that after the first couple of interference penalties.
- Kickoff coverage. I'm afraid that this may be a problem all year. For some reason, Walsh does not seem to be able to get the ball deep enough or high enough for the coverage to do their job. Wonder if the league will let us let Stafford to throw the ball for the kickoff, the way we used to do in the backyard?
THE JUST OK: Everything else. Stafford made big plays several times during the game, but he was also pretty inaccurate at times. Chandler is taking crap from several fan sites today for "drops," but the first two were almost certainly not his fault...the first one was high, hard, and behind him, and the second was tipped right before it got to him. Nothing like the problems he had last year, when passes were hitting him in the chest and bouncing off.
The offensive line was inconsistent...Cordy had a couple of obvious blown assignments, and in general the offense was thrown off balance a little bit by the fact that our o-line was not blowing guys off the ball. Carolina's defense is tough and physical, so it's not particularly surprising that we struggled with this young offensive line in their first SEC road game.
I was a little disappointed in the offensive play calling...I didn't think we spread them out nearly enough. Not enough screens, swing passes, etc. They were pretty effective for the most part when we did run them. I also thought we ran the QB zone-read running play too often. We hit it a couple of times, but then they started looking for it and we were still trying to run it in crucial situations....like third and goal from the 7?!?!?!?
Overall...we're 3-0. 1-0 in the SEC. I do NOT think we looked like the #2 team in the country, but the good thing about this schedule is that we don't have to look good every week. Just survive and advance. And if you could say we accomplished anything yesterday, that was it...we survived.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Observations - CMU
I was in Athens yesterday...great time as always. Great weather (though a little hotter than I thought it was going to be), great food (thanks, Holt!), great seats (thanks, Brent!). And to top it off, a fantastic performance by the Dawgs.
THE GOOD:
Still some penalty issues, but we were a little better than last week, and there were less procedural type penalties.
Overall, I thought that this team re-established themselves as one of the best of the elite...certainly had a better day than both Ohio State and the Gators. More on them tomorrow, probably.
GO DAWGS!!!!!
THE GOOD:
- The offense. Just like last week, it looked like the offense was able to do anything they wanted all day. First team, second team, running game, passing game, it didn't seem to matter. We all knew going in that CMU's defense is atrocious, but we can all remember games like this in the past where we have inexplicably struggled against defenses that couldn't seem to stop anybody else. I am not really prone to hyperbole, but I honestly don't think any team will be able to shut this offense down. Not saying we are going to put up 45-50 points every week, but you are going to have to score to beat this team. I could list every facet of the offense in the "good" this week...Stafford was efficient and mostly accurate, Knowshon was unbelievable, MoMass continues to be a playmaker, AJ looks like a veteran, Michael Moore could turn into a weapon, 9-12 on third down, perfect in the red zone, a 99-yard touchdown drive....this was about as perfect a game as our offense can play.
- The offensive line. Wanted to give them special mention. Great to see Boling back...did you see the block he made on the little pass to MoMass in the flat near the goal line? The guy he was blocking just vanished. The running backs had plenty of big holes, several opportunities to get into the second level before anybody laid a hand on them. I don't remember a sack, unless one happened late that I'm not remembering. Once again, under the leadership of Searles, what appeared to be a worry early on could very well turn into a strength by the end of the season.
- The defense. My opinion on the defense changed completely after watching the tape of the game. When I was watching it live, I was very frustrated by that stretch between the 2nd and 3rd quarters when we couldn't seem to get them off the field. However, after watching it again, I really think it was more of a case of the opposing offense really executing very well. We actually were getting pressure on Le-FEVER, but he was doing a good job of buying time with his feet and throwing the ball away before we could get to him (including a couple that absolutely should have been grounding but weren't called). In the beginning of the game, before it got out of hand, the Chippewoo's offense had NOTHING going on. Also, the defense continued their big play ability with Dobbs' interception and TD, which was just a joy to watch and really electrified the crowd, until we turned right around and gave up a TD right after that. Maybe the defense was just tired from running down the field blocking...yeah, that's it.
- Knowshon's Superman act. Enjoy this guy, folks...I don't see him sticking around much longer. The play where he jumped over the d-back yesterday is going to be one we see for years. As impressive as he is on TV, you really get a better appreciation for what he brings when you see him live...just non-stop energy, even on plays where he is not carrying the ball, and that energy is infectious. I know it's been said before, but he really is like a David Pollack on offense.
- Kickoff coverage. I have a bad feeling that this is going to cost us sometime this year. According to Richt last week, there were a couple of times where we called for Walsh to kick the ball deep, and he just didn't get it deep enough. Looks like that happened a couple of times again yesterday, plus he put one out of bounds. It's one thing against the GSU's and CMU's of the world, but when we get into the meat of our schedule we can't keep giving the opponents the ball on the 40-yard line, or worse...letting somebody break one and take it back, which maybe the first two opponents don't have the players to do.
- Dave Rowe. Hey, did you know that on 3rd down the offense really doesn't want to give the ball up, and the defense really wants to get off the field? Thanks, Dave. And also, stop comparing Knowshon to Herschel after every carry. Herschel is the greatest college football player of all time...let Knowshon be Knowshon.
Still some penalty issues, but we were a little better than last week, and there were less procedural type penalties.
Overall, I thought that this team re-established themselves as one of the best of the elite...certainly had a better day than both Ohio State and the Gators. More on them tomorrow, probably.
GO DAWGS!!!!!
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Observations - GSU
If you asked Dawg fans what they hoped the team would accomplish against Georgia Southern, I think most of them would have said, A) Look sharp, and B) Stay healthy. I would say they were about 70% effective on the first one, but the second one is not looking very likely. Here is my take on the game:
THE GOOD:
THE BAD:
OK, off to cheer on the Tide...SEC SPEEEEEEEEEEEED, BABY!
THE GOOD:
- The #1 offense looked sharp. When the #1 offense was on the field, they seemed to move the ball at will. Stafford was very accurate with the ball, made good decisions, and was generally the play maker/field general we need him to be. Knowshon was a man among boys...I don't think he was brought down by the first or possibly even second defender he encountered all day. The o-line was good enough...a lot of big holes, I don't remember a sack, and a lot of plays ended up with our o-lineman laying on top of GSU defenders. I remember particularly the screen play that Moreno took for about 40 yards, GSU defenders were being eliminated from the play all over the screen...it was a beautiful thing to see.
- We played a LOT of guys. There were a lot of guys out there in the 4th quarter that I had never even heard of, especially along both lines of scrimmage. Logan Gray flashed the athleticism that will bring an added dimension to this offense once he is the guy at QB (which I think he will be sometime in the next two years). He was even out there once to return punts, but they kicked it out of bounds...obviously scared of the white quarterback returning punts. TONS of wide receivers played, too many to even keep track of. Good to get some guys some game experience, and it was nice to see some of the 5th-6th stringers get what is probably the only action they will see on the field all year.
- The freshmen. We played a lot of freshmen, and many of them were very effective. AJ Green showed signs of the playmaking ability we get to witness for at least the next three years...the first catch he had was a pure mismatch where he just ran by his guy on a skinny post and then caught a PERFECT pass from Stafford. The TD catch was a very athletic play where he had to twist his body and leap to catch the ball...very nice. Both Caleb King and Richard Samuel got plenty of carries and they were both very effective when they got any blocking at all. Samuel is definitely more of a north-south guy, and when he sees the hole he hits it running downhill. As for Caleb, he made several right-analog stick type moves, and generally looked like the big-play tailback we were all hoping for. Marcus Dowtin made several plays, DeAngelo Tyson was able to get in a tackle or two, and Blair Walsh...well, he deserves his own bullet point.
- Blair Walsh looks like the real deal. Yes, I know it was just GSU, and it's not like the game was on the line or anything, but he stepped out there for his first game-situation kick, from a LONG 52 yards out, and promptly blasted the ball right down the middle, into the stands. Perfect on PATs, and effective on kickoff...I just wish the coaching staff would let him blast the ball through the endzone every time like he did on the opening kick.
THE BAD:
- ELEVEN penalties. Absolutely unacceptable. We HAVE to play a lot smarter than that. It would be one thing if they were penalties of aggression, but it was stupid stuff. Offsides, false starts, lining up wrong...sloppy. I like what Zeier said on the post game. You may say it's "typical first game problems," but this team should not be striving to be typical...we are looking for this year to be SPECIAL.
- The defense didn't dominate. Against a team like this, the defense should have overwhelmed them with speed, power, and numbers. That did not happen, even before we emptied our bench in the second half. The first team gave up two touchdowns, and needed an INT in the end zone and a missed field goal to keep it from being worse. The d-line, especially, disappointed against the run...they seemed to be out of position a lot, either because they over-pursued or because they got blocked out of the play. That should not have happened today, at least not against the first team.
- Jeff Owens' injury. If I was doing the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, this would have been the only item in the Ugly. We haven't heard anything definitive yet, but all the quotes from the staff and players lead me to believe that this could be a long-term thing. This one will really hurt...the depth at DT is one of the things I really loved going into this season, and it looks now like a huge cog in that depth may be gone. I know that we can plug Weston in, probably next week, but it hampers our ability to continually rotate guys in and out, which was really going to help us make it through this brutal schedule by keeping guys fresh and healthy in the middle of the line. Dawgspeed, Jeff....Dawgspeed.
OK, off to cheer on the Tide...SEC SPEEEEEEEEEEEED, BABY!
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