Mad scientist time

Wrap your brain around this puppy for a second:

Coach Richt says team has a set to get both Gurley and Marshall in the backfield, but said he'd have a fullback in as the lead blocker—
Anthony Dasher (@AnthonyDasher1) May 22, 2013

Whoa.

Now I doubt they’re talking about running the wishbone because of the risk of subjecting Aaron Murray to an unnecessary pounding – although the thought of pulling that against Georgia Tech even for one play is amusing as hell – but there are still plenty of alternatives, from the Wildcat (note Richt said nothing there about leaving the QB in such a set) to some of the crazy stuff Dana Holgorsen’s known for that would be tantalizing.

If nothing else, that just gave Clemson’s defensive coordinator something else to think about.

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Nice system you got there.

Here’s a neat look at what Art Briles’ offense is up to at Baylor.

Now that’s what I call a spread formation.

Air Raid 1.0, just another boring SEC offense

Once upon a time, Heisman Pundit gave Michael Elkon a history lesson about the SEC.

Your claim that Spurrier changed offenses more than Meyer did in the league is absurd. The proof is in the offensive numbers, the titles and the Heisman winners. For instance, the Heisman is only won with superb offensive numbers. That’s a truism. So, it’s no shock that the only SEC Heisman winner between 1986 and 2007 came from Florida, the only SEC school that had outstanding offensive production. Of course, since 2007, there have been three SEC Heismans, which coincides with the league’s offensive explosion (as I demonstrated by the numbers in my post). Do you think it’s all just a cosmic coincidence?

8. I grant you that Spurrier did introduce the forward pass to the SEC. But those offenses that started passing were nowhere near as innovative as Spurrier’s and they did not keep up with some of the other leagues and that is reflected in the national offensive numbers during that time…

I always think of that when I see a piece on what Hal Mumme and Mike Leach did at Kentucky.

In 1996, as the Bill Curry era limped to a close, a ground-hugging Kentucky offense scored a combined 27 points in its first five games. In ’97, Mumme’s first UK attack scored 28 points in the season’s first three quarters.

Having inherited a team whose offense averaged 12.6 points and 217.8 yards a game, Mumme’s first fancy passing unit put up 31.6 points and 474 yards a game, broke 51 school and 15 Southeastern Conference records and featured the nation’s leading passer.

Other than that, it was just like three yards and a cloud of dust.

Enter Jarvis Jones.

Can Jarvis thrive in Pittsburgh’s 3-4 defense?  His track record at Georgia suggests he can.  (And, yes indeed, one of the reasons ‘Bama went run-heavy in the second half of the SECCG because it was having trouble handling Georgia’s pass rush.)

One minor quibble in an otherwise excellent piece – about that “the linebacker was virtually never asked to handle any responsibilities against the pass save for “get the quarterback”"?  Jarvis managed to rise to the occasion elsewhere now and then.

The spread spreads, SEC style

An alert reader passed this article on to me.  It’s about the current state of the art, from the perspective of the two Mississippi schools, in offensive scheming in the conference and how defenses are attempting to deal with that.  It’s well worth your time to read what both coordinators have to say about the spread and what they’re doing with it, as well as how successful others are at defending what they’re doing.  (And you won’t want to miss what Ole Miss QB Bo Wallace had to say about Georgia’s defense.)

What makes the piece so enjoyable is the pragmatism on display.  There’s no Gang of Six talk; it’s more about what works and what doesn’t.  And at heart these coaches are realists.  Take this quote from Dan Mullen at the end:

“The general consensus,” said Mullen, “of who the top three teams in the SEC were last season were Alabama, LSU and Georgia. Pro teams, all three of ‘em are under center, I-formation teams. Any offense can beat any defense. I can beat any zone blitz if I’ve got the right play called. And any defense can stop any given play if you have the right kind of defense called. You see that in good old Tecmo Bowl, right? Just hit the right button and Bo Jackson scores.”

Good stuff.  Make sure you read the whole thing.

Wednesday morning buffet

The buffet is sticking with the college game this morning, thank you very much.

• Mark Richt says SEC head coaches are in favor of an early signing period, explains why.
• Hey, here’s something refreshing – an article about Johnny Manziel that actually sticks to football talk.
• To answer this question, probably not.
• Mike Slive would prefer if you didn’t ask him about Auburn right now.
• Here’s another SEC quarterback rankings list, if your you’re interested.
• Does Georgia need for its offensive line to be dominant?  Its head coach doesn’t think so.  (That worked out in 2003, admittedly.)
• Is the Pac-12 considering going to an eight-game conference schedule?
• Texas A&M is about to make Kyle Field into one big ass stadium.

Wednesday morning buffet

Grab your plate and utensils.  (Napkins are optional.)

• California is on the verge of passing laws on student-athlete stipends that will run afoul of NCAA rules.
• In case you wanted a fashion review of Georgia’s new branding effort, here ’tis.
• Texas A&M wants Johnny Manziel to be treated just like any other student when he’s on campus.  Except for the full-time bodyguard, that is.
• Is there a Krispy Kreme in Johnson City, Tennessee?
• Good nuts and bolts interview with Vandy offensive line coach Herb Hand, if you’re interested in what that offense tries to do scheme-wise.
• And speaking of Vanderbilt’s offensive line, I didn’t realize the ‘Dores were able to redshirt their entire freshman class last year.  That’s how you build for the long haul in the SEC.  (Or anywhere, really.)
• Georgia’s players claim to have learned one lesson from the Boise State game.
• This post caused me to ask the musical question – when the day comes that gay marriage is legal in the South, will that bring more conflict with the unwritten rule about not having your wedding in the fall?  Hmm… maybe the religious right’s missing an argument here.

Joe Cox would like this post.

Chase Stuart, in a post about pick six rates in college, compiles this chart:

Year	Pick 6	INT	Att	INT Rate	Pick 6 Rt
2012	159	1532	54545	2.8%	10.4%
2011	159	1490	51339	2.9%	10.7%
2010	159	1589	49776	3.2%	10%
2009	158	1537	49872	3.1%	10.3%
2008	162	1606	49828	3.2%	10.1%
2007	167	1711	52993	3.2%	9.8%
2006	163	1569	46011	3.4%	10.4%

You know what’s striking there?  In an era of ever more wide open offenses, interception rates have declined.

There are some good quarterbacks and coaches out there these days.  Vince Dooley may have to revisit his mantra of what can happen when you throw the ball.

“He’ll be one of the 11.”

For my two cents, the most interesting story of the spring and summer isn’t about any of the players, like it was last year.

It’s about Todd Grantham and how he’s going to adapt to all the personnel changes on Georgia’s defense and to the offensive variety in the conference – or, more specifically, what steps he takes to design a defense that can handle smash mouth running games better than what we saw in the SECCG.

Last year was all about coping with the suspensions and the complacency that appeared to set in early in the year.  Assuming those aren’t problems now (I know, I know), this year’s job is more about being the defensive mad scientist who schemes to get the right guys in the right places at all times.  That’s Grantham’s mantra about getting the best eleven on the field at any given moment in a game.

There are already a couple of stories along those lines that we should keep close eyes on.  The first is the move of John Taylor to a 3-4 defensive end.  While he’s working there exclusively now, it sounds like it’s more about creating personnel options on the defensive line:

The 6-foot-4 Taylor said he’s in the 325-to-330-pound range. He’s working behind Garrison Smith. He said defensive coordinator Todd Grantham came to him before spring practices about wanting him to learn end. Grantham told reporters prior to spring practice that Taylor and John Atkins were “multiple guys” that could play end or nose.

“Coaches thought it was the best fit for me,” Taylor said of playing end. “We’ve got a lot of nose guards coming in. We’re going to need some people on the outside. Coach said he moved here so I can make some plays.”

That’s a big defensive end, peeps.  In fact, that’s a defensive end who outweighs the guys at the nose by 20-30 pounds.  But it’s also a clear indication that Grantham’s intent is to have some serious beef on the field in the post-Jenkins/Geathers era.  It’s just that size may be in different places than it has been.  (Along those lines, remember that if Jordan Jenkins and DeLoach are the outside linebackers, Georgia’s linebacking corps will be bigger than last year’s, too.)

The second story isn’t about getting bigger.  It’s about getting Josh Harvey-Clemons on the field as early and as often as possible.  Right  now, he’s a classic tweener, so that isn’t as easy a task as it sounds.  What to do if you believe the kid is too talented to stay off the field?  You create something that makes use of his skill set.

The dilemma with that has been Harvey-Clemons appears too rangy and raw for safety, and too small (about 215 pounds now) for linebacker. So you solve that problem by forcing him into the lineup and molding a position for him – a position that might match up well with the offense played by Georgia’s first two opponents.

Throw away for a moment the normal visions of a 3-4 defense (three defensive linemen, four linebackers and four defensive backs.) When Harvey-Clemons is on the field, Grantham could instead utilize a 3-3-5 formation: three linemen, three linebackers and five defensive backs. Harvey-Clemons will basically be a third safety on the field. Freshman Tray Matthews is very likely to be at free safety, and either Corey Moore or Connor Norman will most likely be the third safety.

The fortunate thing for Georgia, as Emerson smartly notes, is that this is a strategy that matches up neatly with the opponents on the early part of Georgia’s slate.

Clemson plays a spread offense and normally lines up at least three receivers. So Georgia figures to be playing a lot of nickel defense in that game anyway. South Carolina, the second-week opponent, will play three receivers a lot too. Not as much as Clemson, but the Gamecocks will also flex out their tight ends. And both the Tigers and Gamecocks have mobile quarterbacks, so it wouldn’t hurt to have a bigger, faster guy on defense who could spy on him, rather than a second edge-rushing linebacker.

Cornerback Damian Swann pointed out that two years ago Georgia had a package with Alec Ogletree as the nickel cornerback. The Bulldogs used that against Auburn, as well as some other isolated times.

“Josh is a guy who has the athleticism to play that nickel back. And he’s long,” Swann said.

I’ve got no idea how this plays out, of course, and neither does anybody else. But how personnel get sorted out on the defensive side of the ball between now and September bears watching.  What Grantham comes up with is likely to define Georgia’s 2013 season.

Just another day not at the beach

If you’re wondering whether Aaron Murray got anything out of his week with QB guru George Whitfield, Bruce Feldman has the story on that:

Among the things that Murray told Whitfield that he wanted to improve: his pocket protocol/pocket presence; his touch and becoming more consistent. Once in Norman, Murray realized there was something else that needed tweaking: his upper body rotation in his throwing motion.

In film study on Monday night, Whitfield showed Murray that the QB wasn’t really driving through with his left elbow. “I never realized how much my body was fighting it,” Murray said. “I just really wasn’t coming through. And when he talked to me about it, it made a lot of sense.”

To help Murray amp up his mechanics, Whitfield had the QB throwing from his knees to get him using more of his upper body. Murray said he has already noticed that he has been able to create more torque and, therefore, more velocity on his throws.

That will be something to watch this G-Day.  But it might not be enough to satisfy the part of the fan base that will remain convinced after the spring game that Mason needs to play.  (Turn on your sarcasm detectors, please.)  What will be more interesting to see is if increased velocity makes those back shoulder throws that Murray’s made a living on the past two seasons even more deadly.

As for the rest of his list, he’s done a good job of self-scouting.  And that’s the first step towards improvement.  If his receivers keep up, it should be a fun year.