Is Bobo willing to take the blame for packaged plays?

Michael Elkon says straight out what I hinted at in a comment a week ago:

So, the question becomes “who in the SEC is going to take the first plunge into packaged plays?”…

From a local perspective, do any of us have faith that Mark Richt and Mike Bobo are going to start using packaged plays? The easy answer is to say “no” and then to break out laughing. However, there are a couple reasons why packaged plays would make sense for the Dawgs. First, Brown points out that the concept works best with a no-huddle approach:

The rise of “packaged plays” is important on its own, but it becomes essential when combined with the other trend in football – the up-tempo no-huddle. The no-huddle, especially when operated by quarterbacks like Rodgers or Tom Brady, is an invaluable weapon when combating modern defenses that rely on constant movement to maximize confusion. “In the no-huddle context, the advantage of packaged plays becomes particularly acute,” says Grabowski, adding, “An offense that can run these packaged plays at the fastest tempos can get a vanilla look that further simplifies the read on a key defender.” If you’re going to go fast-paced no-huddle to prevent defenses from substituting or setting up in something exotic, you have to do it, well, fast, and slow audibles with lots of words and gyrations at the line are not that.

Georgia is the best-equipped team in the conference to implement this part of the strategy. Second, Richt and Bobo have an experienced quarterback this year. If anyone in the league can be trusted to be a point guard on grass, it ought to be Aaron Murray. The logic will be even stronger next year when Georgia has the benefit of a four-year starter under center. Richt and Bobo managed to stick to their guns during the spread craze. Now, offensive innovation has come around in a form that jibes with their preferred style. Will they take advantage?

There is a lot to that, the only caveat being that Bobo tends to run the version of the no-huddle that Grabowski says is incompatible with a packaged plays concept.  But there’s a caveat to my caveat:

Well, Murray is entering his third year as a starter now, so we shall see. Richt has said that Murray will have the freedom to change plays on his own this year.

“Murray’s to the point in his career where he can change just about any play or protection if he wants to,” Richt said in June.

If Richt really means that – and if somebody should know when his quarterback is ready for the responsibility, it’s Richt – there’s no reason this couldn’t work.  I wouldn’t trot it out against Buffalo, though.  Save that surprise for our new conference brothers in Columbia.

(By the way, reading the first part of Michael’s piece will drive you crazy thinking back to the Outback Bowl.  Georgia had the perfect answer to Michigan State’s aggressive defense – deep passes out of a max-protect formation – and used it effectively to help build a 16-0 first half lead.  Then it was abandoned until late in regulation, when it worked again.  You know who I blame for that.)

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Wednesday morning buffet

More nourishing items than you can shake a stick at:

• ESPN is high on Georgia prospects for the 2013 draft:  “No other team had more than three prospects on the list. Georgia had four off its defense alone, led by senior nose guard John Jenkins, the No. 5 overall prospect on the list.”
• This year’s Georgia motto – “Our team. Our time. No regrets.” – is team driven.
• Is there going to be a struggle naming selection committee members?  If so, I’d be glad to help.
• When you’re facing an NCAA investigation, the news that you’ve had to disassociate your program from a booster ain’t the kind of news you want to be making.
• Run Lindsay Run asks the musical question “Does UGA under-recruit or under-develop offensive linemen?”
• Win projections for every team at College Football by the Numbers.
• Georgia and Florida try not to look ahead to their second-week matchups.
• Brian Cook thinks the SEC is allowing in-stadium replays of controversial plays from the TV network feed “to prevent biased home-field folks from ramping up outrage by selectively picking favorable angles”.  No doubt Marc Curles agrees.
• Here’s the list of ESPN’s top 25 markets over the last decade or so.  I wonder if the guy who thought the ACC needed to break into the Boston TV market still has a job.

You were serious about that?

“In fact, I wouldn’t be shocked if Dooley were named SEC coach of the year at the end of the season.”

I swear to God, I kept waiting for the punchline to drop in this John Adams piece about SOD.  Only it never did.

Musical palate cleanser: Anticipation

John Lennon knows what you’re feelin’ today, peeps.

As a bonus, here’s some non-lip synched early Fab Four stuff that’s… well, fab.

You want that Dawg porn. You NEED that Dawg porn.

Okay, here you go.

Linebacker Christian Robinson’s enthusiastic account of a play in a recent practice probably will heighten Georgia fans’ anticipation of freshman tailback Keith Marshall’s debut Saturday.

“Keith put a move on somebody the other day that I hadn’t seen in a while,” Robinson said Tuesday. “He shook two people, and they both fell down. That’s pretty special to me because I haven’t seen somebody just blatantly fall down because someone did a move on them.

“Literally, he was untouched. He was running in the middle of the field and made two guys fall and then outran somebody to the pylon. That type of talent, I haven’t seen that in a while. … I’d like to see that in a real game. I think that’d get people excited.”

Robinson said the last Georgia player with “that type of juking ability” was probably wide receiver A.J. Green.

You should probably take a cold shower now.

System? We ain’t got no system.

If they’re looking for a catchy name for the Gator offense, “flying by the seat of their pants” should do nicely.

Offensive coordinator Brent Pease says he’s not sure the team’s two-quarterback system is sustainable beyond Saturday’s game against Bowling Green, meaning the Gators likely will choose between Jacoby Brissett and Jeff Driskel before traveling to Texas A&M for the Southeastern Conference opener.

Pease says, ”It depends how they play, I guess, and what they create.”

Sounds like a plan, man.

You know, at this point I’m really curious about how Pease’s job interview with Muschamp went.  They had to talk about the quarterback situation, which was a mess last year.  What did Pease tell him he’d do about it?  Somehow I doubt he promised things would unfold like this.

“If football games were 15 minutes long, Georgia would have been the best team in the country.”

That’s how Paul Myerberg’s preview of his #6 team starts out.  It’s generally favorable, which you might expect with any team rated that highly.  In fact, in some places, like his praise of Aaron Murray, it’s more than you might expect.  However, he’s got the potential Achilles heel of this Georgia team nailed:  “You hate to say it, but seeing that Georgia is ready to roll at every other position, this offensive line might end up being the difference between a B.C.S. bowl and the Outback Bowl.”

Lots of good stuff there, so read it.

Ah, but the brownies! That’s where I had them.

Bacarri Rambo’s high school coach is sticking with his story about what happened on his former player’s spring break.

Opening day depth chart

Weiszer has the details.

If you’ve been following fall camp, there aren’t too many shockers there.  Mitchell beating Swann out to be named a starter at cornerback is a little surprise, maybe.

Three true freshman are listed as starters – Theus and the two special teamers.  And there are several others scattered across the two/three-deep roster.  I don’t see Georgia redshirting a lot of players from this year’s class.

Being responsible: a first look at Georgia’s opener

Hey, a blogger’s gotta do what a blogger’s gotta do.

I’m outsourcing the details on Buffalo to Paul Myerberg, who ranks the Bulls at #110.  In a nutshell, Georgia’s first 2012 opponent is a MAC squad coming off a 3-9 season (one of those nine losses being a 31-point blowout to Tennessee).

Buffalo does have some experience and a talented running back in Branden Oliver.  As the passing attack sounds less than impressive, expect the Bulls to rely heavily on Oliver.  It’ll be up to Jenkins and Geathers to control the line of scrimmage so that Buffalo’s running game never gets untracked.

Oliver is not the only Bulls player of note.  They’ve also got a very good linebacker:

… Any discussion of Buffalo’s defense must devote extensive space to junior outside linebacker Khalil Mack, a reigning first-team all-MAC pick and, as he heads into his third season, a borderline all-American candidate.

Mack is, in short, a menace. He has 35.0 tackles for loss over his first two years, 20.5 a season ago, not to mention another litany of impressive defensive statistics: 21 quarterback hurries, 7 forced fumbles and 12 pass breakups, for starters. The word gets tossed around — in this space as well — but Mack is a true game-changer, a rush end who can sack the quarterback, run in space and make the one play that can turn a game around. He’s a special player.

That’s impressive.  It would be even more so if Mack were suiting up this Saturday.  Unfortunately for Buffalo, he’s not, due to a one-game suspension for the dreaded “violation of team rules”.  You have to think that’s probably not going to help the Bulls’ chances.

The most interesting note I found in the Myerberg piece is that Buffalo runs some version of the 3-4 on defense.  I assume that means Georgia’s offense will find some familiar looks from preseason practice when it lines up against the Bulls.

On paper, this obviously shouldn’t be a close game (the spread at the Fabris Invitational is 37.5).  The question would seem to be how seriously the Dawgs approach it.