A few things I noticed after watching the broadcast replay yesterday:
- I take back what I said about no embarrassing moments for Theus. He got manhandled on the play that turned into the Marshall fumble. This week’s match up with Devin Taylor? Yikes.
- That Aaron Murray fourth-quarter slant pass that went through Wooten’s hands was an even more impressive throw than I thought.
- As a decision-maker, Murray played a near flawless game. There were very few throws where he didn’t seem to be on the same page as his targets.
- Biggest mistake Grantham made in his second half adjustments was not going more balls out on the pass rush. Bray had trouble handling pressure all game.
- I grow more impressed by the week with the job Will Friend is doing.
- I can say the same thing about Merritt Hall’s blocking.
- There’s something amusing about hearing Danielson’s derision of the offenses in the Baylor-West Virginia score-a-thon while he’s calling a game that results in 95 points and over 1,000 yards of offense.
- Speaking of Danielson, I’ll have to go back and watch again, but if he was right about the Vol formations tipping running plays, did Grantham pick up on that, too? (If not, he should have.)
- Outside of the first throw of the game, Georgia didn’t test the Vol secondary with deep passes. I’m not sure why. As the Bennett TD showed, it’s not like UT has a bunch of blazers back there.
- If Georgia’s special teams are merely competent, this game isn’t close. Why do I have to keep saying that?
- Yeah, there were plenty of missed assignments on defense. But, my Gawd, Alec Ogletree is impressive.
Get The Picture 
On the lack of deep passes, does anyone think that’s a key part of our strategy against USC to exploit their secondary? Perhaps we were holding back yo not tip our hat on next week? ( I think it’s a stretch, but hey, it’s all I got.
LikeLike
They tried to go deep a couple of times but the corner was running step for step with the receiver. Murray made the correct read and through it back shoulder instead of going over the top. If the receiver had a step on the corner he would have thrown it deep. But I didn’t see any deep post routes, just the sideline deep routes.
LikeLike
I haven’t watched the replay, but it seemed to me that we were bringing pressure, but only from the outside. UT’s tackles and tight ends did a great job of widening our defender’s paths. It seemed to me that we needed to pressure Bray right up the gut, and we never did. Of course, we were getting gashed up the middle, so maybe we were just too scared of getting burned with a draw.
LikeLike
Oh yeah, and I’d bitch about the holding, but I think that’s going both ways this year.
LikeLike
I just got tired of Verne butchering up everyones name…”There goes Keith Mitchell!!!”
I hate the ultra-conservative can’t get a damm 1st down play calling at the end of the game. We got 3 TO’s and convert not one 1st down….ala end of Mich St game.
LikeLike
The lack of a killer instinct on O bothers me also. Make a first down and the game is over period. Why we resort to what is essentially the same as taking a knee on first and second down in those situations blows my mind.
LikeLike
Sometimes you have to execute. The pass to Wooten over the middle that he dropped would have done exactly what you wanted. Of course it may have unintentionally turned into a Paul Johnson let them score so we can get the ball back moment.
LikeLike
I think run, run, pass on 3rd and 5+ is similarly formulaic and predictable. That’s pretty standard “try to burn some clock” UGA offense. Murray is much better passing on 1st and 2nd down.
LikeLike
Bothers me too! During the early part of the uSC vs. Missouri game the Cocks got a TO near midfield. The announcer said ” Now watch Spurrier go for the jugular here. Sure enough, long pass caught and run in for a TD. It was then that Zuu began to unravel.
LikeLike
If Wooten catches the pass the game is over. Can’t be dropping those against the Cocks.
LikeLike
Don’t forget the first minute of the broadcast “Welcome to Stanford Stadium…”
The good news is I can see Gurley and Marshall being the new Greene and Pollack for the CBS crew.
LikeLike
did you know that as youths, they ran track together in North Carolina!!!! 😉
LikeLike
…..still are.
LikeLike
Agree with Timphd — we tried to throw in the 4th, but we dropped the ball. Nothing Bobo can do about that. Also, it’s not like Marshall or Gurley were bad options throughout the rest of the game. Still, Coach Richt wasn’t happy about our inability to make 1st downs. Said we had a plan, but not a good enough plan. I assume that means we’ll work on this.
LikeLike
Will Friend- How many times in the last three weeks have you seen a running back deep into the linebackers before he’s touched for the first time. We haven’t seen these kind of holes at UGA in quite a few years. Something is going on- either the line is coached up with great new technique, Murray is getting us into a perfect play, backs are reading better, schemes are better, or all of the above.
LikeLike
Right, and that, all of the above, is what we are going to need to choke the cocks.
LikeLike
Choking cocks? Will Dicks be out again?
LikeLike
Did someone mention choking their chicken? Maybe I could raffle off my wifes chickens-you know- the ones without tailfeathers.
LikeLike
The UT center seemed to be able to handle both Jenkins & Kwame one on one. Not a very impressive showing by either IMO…
LikeLike
Agreed, we’ve got to get a better push from the interior line. I’m generally worried about the defense, didn’t UT run 85 plays? We gave up far too many 5-yard runs, right up the middle, all game long.
LikeLike
My hope is we allowed for some running room in the middle in a bid to take away deep passes to Hunter/Patterson.
LikeLike
Senator, love your comments. I agree with most everything you say. It looked like we didn’t need to go for the long ball most of the game. We needed to sustain some drives. If those darn RB’s would slow down a little and just give the D a rest. 😉
Maybe we can try a bubble screen or toss sweep or something else when we get a lead. Even my daughter knows they are going to run it up the middle in those situations.
LikeLike
Why don’t we run a play action with Murray bootlegging the opposite direction and drag the TE in front of him? He has the option to pass if it’s there or run to ensure the clock keeps winding if it’s not.
LikeLike
One of the things many UT fans feared the most was Murray’s ability to use his legs. They have been hurt by other QBs this year but I don’t recall a single run by Murray. Not that he needed to, and I don’t want him at risk anymore than necessary as a passer.
LikeLike
When he runs he fumbles. I want him to be mobile but to get rid of the ball before getting hit.
LikeLike
I’m not smart enough to understand scheme, so can someone explain what we were doing/not doing (or perhaps UT was doing) with Chase Vasser and Jarvis Jones?
I saw Jarvis sliding down the line making a ton of plays on run D but never saw him in the backfield on pass plays. Vasser, by contrast, was living in the backfield, but his size made the impact negligible.
LikeLike
Most of the time, UT had the tight end stay in to double team Jones.
LikeLike
He was being doubled, but on one of UT’s touchdowns it looked like Jarvis was having trouble going full speed pursuing in the open field. I sure hope he doesn’t have a continuing groin injury problem.
LikeLike
Watching Jarvis, there is no doubt he is not able to attack full speed…which was especially obvious when he was trying to chase Patterson on that broken play TD. Those long strides necessary to run full speed will really irritate you if you have a sore groin. I conclude that the groin is still a problem.
LikeLike
Yep. And it appears that several of us have noticed it and remembered. I agree with you both.
LikeLike
It’s just beyond me how after, what, three years now, we keep saying that THIS year we’re going to get focused on special teams and every year we actually get WORSE. How can that be? We can’t even remember the simple things players start doing in pee wee football like don’t field punts inside the ten.
LikeLike
The problem is, it’s different things. In the past, Logan Gray was fair-catching punts. I don’t know if we even had a punt return play drawn up. This year, we’ve got an explosive player back there, but he can’t fair catch it even when he should.
LikeLike
And you have kickers who can land it there and put you on the 1ft line as they did when we let it land at the 8 and Tenn was there to cover it inside the one. Pee wee doesn’t apply. The better choice should have been fair catch, but who has a glass sphere to know until after the play? Not me and I fear not anyone else.
LikeLike
We have to have somebody back there who knows how to field those short punts…when to run up & catch the ball, & when to let it go & get out of the way. Let somebody other than Mitchell do it, Logan Gray would’ve been a big improvement.
LikeLike
If Tennessee’s special teams are merely competent, this game is a loss.
LikeLike
No, it would have just played out differently. UGA was able to throw and score when we needed to We scored zero points in the 4th but that was driven by how we chose to play the offense. We would have won this game, we just allowed it to get unnecessarily close. Had TN hit a pass at the end and gone for two we could have been in jeopardy but we could have scores over 60 if we had continued to run the offense. I never felt anxious, but I was disappointed in how the offense and defense played the 2nd half. Glad to get a W, but that will not get it done against SC or UF.
LikeLike
Tennessee’s placekicker kicker missed two short kicks, punter had one blocked, and two kickoffs were kicked short, giving Georgia a short field, one cost the Vols their halftime lead.
LikeLike
kickoffs were not lack of skill, but a coaching decision by UT. After NTheus fair caught the one, we switched up and put Samuel at that spot.
LikeLike
Agreed. good coaching move on our part.
LikeLike
Yeah, that was an awesome move by the coaches. Very smart. Hope to see Samuel as an upback more often.
LikeLike
Glad YOU never felt anxious…some people in the stands near me couldn’t watch vbg
LikeLike
And if we were merely competent at special teams this game is a blowout at half time. What’s your point? Anything new to add?
LikeLike
If Georgia’s special teams were, the game is a blowout.
LikeLike
Verne does need to retire. He and CBS should be able to see that. And I was also frustrated by the lack of pressure on Bray because when you pressure Bray he comes completely unglued.
LikeLike
Verne did show his age. Do the facts matter when your pipes are still good and you can say “Oh my!” after a long play?
LikeLike
The Tenn Oline played lights out… Made their team look very good.
LikeLike
“Outside of the first throw of the game, Georgia didn’t test the Vol secondary with deep passes. I’m not sure why. As the Bennett TD showed, it’s not like UT has a bunch of blazers back there.”
Shades of the 2010 Auburn game. If it’s there, take it. I don’t get it. I think that a defense could play us pretty well by loading the box and blitzing the entire game. They may get burned once or twice, but they wouldn’t give Murray much time in the pocket, wouldn’t give much running room, etc. We’re not likely to test them deep that often and we have a lot of trouble running any screens that aren’t WR screens. I could be imagining that, but I really do wonder what kind of success an opposing defense would have if they took that approach the whole game.
LikeLike
As a multi-year starter, Murray does a pretty good job at making hot reads. We would likely go into a 4 or 5 WR set and let Murray make the read based on who was blitzing on the play. I personally think this would work out pretty poorly for the defense given Murray’s improved accuracy and the talent we have at WR.
LikeLike
Isn’t that basically what we wound up doing in the 2nd half vs. Mizzou?
LikeLike
Usually I’d agree and make the same complaint. This year we’ve adjusted. The load-the-box-and-blitz strategy was exactly what Vandy tried to do to start the 3rd quarter, and Murray destroyed them. No clue why we didn’t do it more here (presumably we watched the UT-UF film & saw how vulnerable UT was to big runs), but we were still throwing until our last drive. And had we executed, we would’ve converted. I just don’t see last year’s OT offense from the MSU game anymore.
LikeLike
While Theus did have some struggles, I worry about the entire O-line against SC in a loud Columbia. SC has a far better pass rush than anyone we’ve played thus far.
In the CBS post-game report, Tony Barnhart had gushing praise and respect for TN, yet managed to not mention the word “Georgia” once.
What a wanker.
LikeLike
That’s how you remain objective. Or irrelevant, sometimes I get confused.
LikeLike
It could be that Tenn deserved the praise when an unranked team makes the #5 team in the nation sweat.
LikeLike
Not that it matters now, but if you eliminate our mistakes (including Woot’s drop) we are never in a close game. What’s the point of throwing deep when you got running plays that go 75 yards?
I am not sure anything we saw against UT is applicable for South Carolina.
Frankly, there is so much to worry about this week, I suspect I will have plenty of company in the Worry Room.
Ace Sanders….you guys remember Yaquez Green and how he was used?
LikeLike
Yes, I’d like my usual front row seat in the Worry Room.
LikeLike
Hey, those of us who were worried this past week were indeed vindicated were we not? If I am Spurrier I’m telling Lattimore to be prepared to carry the rock 35 times. Based on the way Tennessee gashed us up the middle all night, this has me very worried.
LikeLike
See below….yeah, but…….
LikeLike
Paul, I got yer bad newz here….for the true worrier (some would say realist) there is no peace until the fat lady have sang….in January.
LikeLike
Chu guyz will be happy to note I have brought portable bleachers into the worry room, there is an expanded front row.
Here’s today’s worry: For every positive you can come up with on either team, seems to me there is a big “yeah, But”.
Looks to me like Saturday is the first real game either team has played.
LikeLike
Personally, I’ll be ordering my Bulldog seat backs for the Worry Bleachers. I need all the support I can get.
LikeLike
No sweat Paul….worry room bleachers come with them.
LikeLike
“I grow more impressed by the week with the job Will Friend is doing.”
I agree with this, and it’s making a huge difference. Friend may not have tremendous size and strength on his o-line, but they play hard and know their assignments. I think that’s one reason why our outside runs work so well.
That said, Will Friend’s job is about to get a whole lot harder with Taylor and Clowney coming off the edge.
LikeLike
Just amazing that we can’t field a kick in special teams. MM should never ever ever be back there to field a kick. never. it is always a mistake. Everything that went wrong, was setup by really really bad special teams blunders that just are inexcusable.
LikeLike
He shouldn’t be back there simply because we can’t afford an injury to a two-way player.
LikeLike
And I ask again, why hasn’t Brandon Smith been used to return punts? He seemed to do a decent job last year.
LikeLike
They basically have the same worries with BSmith as they do with MM.. don’t trust him to make the right decision. And maybe I’m the only one, but everytime BSmith was back there, I got nervous.. he bobbled the ball a lot.
LikeLike
How about Christian Lemay? He should be a natural with good hands and a good head.
LikeLike
But, my Gawd, Alec Ogletree is impressive.
He was and he wasn’t even at his best. It looked to me that instead of filling the gap and stoning the RB at the line he was waiting for him to come through – but when he did it generaly ended violently … 🙂
LikeLike
Yeah, he definitely wasn’t stoning the RB in the backfield like he did against LSU in the SECCG, Hopefully he will be back up to his normal self for the game this weekend.
LikeLike
Yep, better catch Lattimore before he build up any momentum. I noticed we got driven back by the UT running back on several occasions that led to extra yards. We didn’t get penetration off our front downlinemen or our LBs. I hope it is a case of TN’s line being that good. I do know that SC’s line has been having their problems this year. I can hope that continues, if so, we win.
LikeLike
I worry about Lattimore…I have night mares about Connor Shaw.
But, hey, they gotta be a little worried about our backs and QB also.
LikeLike
Well, I guess we all will find out. Ut utilized the rush and opened their offense up. That may have been a surprise for us, who amongsts us knows? I bet CTG is thinking run this week so let us see what happens.
LikeLike
As always I have to agree with the Senator’s analysis for the most part…but I’m one of the non haters of Bobo/Richt that wishes they wouldn’t put the leashes on the offense so early…especially when the Defense/ST weren’t exactly inspiring confidence.
They can say its a matter of execution on not being able to get first downs in the 4th quarter and yes Wooten should have caught that one ball. But execution doesn’t really matter when the defense knows you’re going to run on first and second down and stacks the box. The 3rd and 6 where Wooten dropped the pass was probably the shortest 3rd down yardage of those ultra conservative drives…there’s a reason that defenses want to get you into third and long….so any DC will be happy when they know from tendencies that you’ll probably make it easy on them to get you there.
And yes I’m just a Monday morning QB…just stating my opinion that if your defense hasn’t previously shown the ability to stop the other team, basically giving them three chances to score and tie or win the game may not always be the best strategy…though luckily the D finally stepped up and did.
I also get scared at how UT was able to run up the middle reasonably well when that was supposed to be their weakness…and they don’t have anyone resembling Lattimore.
I’m happy for the win and putting up that many points…I’m just saying that if you give the offense that had basically only been stopping themselves a chance for a long drive or another score in the 4th quarter…it might not have had to be such a nail biter.
LikeLike
I believe they will be looking to avenge last year. They now have a game where the entire first string played together under their belts. I now live in SC so this is a big game for me. I see a game where both teams are focused. I hope Spurrier is throwing his visor a lot.
LikeLike
Debby this is a big game for all of us. Five or six throwdowns would be a good thing….but you better dust off yer worry beads, cause this is gonna be Old Man Football at its very best.
LikeLike
First time all season you have been right on this. Should have saved yourself for the REAL games. You are probably spent now, we may need to sub with someone that still has their fingernails, and hasn’t used up all their “just one more time Dawgs” amdonitions. 🙂
LikeLike
Oh ye of little faith….dude I got plenty left for the meat on the schedule, but see I don’t have to work near as hard this week cause I am most assuredly not alone here in the Worry Room.
I have been concerned for five weeks now that we would win these games, get a lot of ink and really not know much about our football team.
I would say that is the situation. I sho do hope Sheldon Richardson gets to watch this game. Old Man Football, indeed. Darth Cock vs. Evil Richt, Mr. Jones vs. Mr. Lattimore and others.
About midnight Saddy night we will sure as hell know something…I do worry we won’t like it.
LikeLike
Think last year. SC only scored two TDs with their O, one by a D interception, one by ST and a couple of convenient fumbles. We left that game, after suffering our second loss of the 0-2 start, with the knowledge that we were the better team and it remains so to this day. We were better by a way bunch, went out and won 10 straight and were E SEC Champs.
We are headed out this weekend to play as last year’s defending Champs and to avenge the blasphemy of the wrong end of that score. What has changed so much for us not to have confidence in the guys who returned this year to make things right and to play with “No Regrets”? That means they intend to leave everything in their power on the field except for the celebration energy that follows. Where did this hanging head attitude come from? Where is that attitude following last year’s game? We have unfinished business in Columbia. Let’s just get to it.
Scorp? Scorp, get those worry beads from around the beam over your neck and get yourself out here in the light. You got some splainin’ to do. Hell, some people haven’t even sobered up from Sat. And you have a friggin ashram goin’ on like we are not worthy of 5-0. Awright, go ahead , start your sweat beads and fill yer lungs with that peyote button stuf…….uuhh…wait up there , bud…..uuhh..you don’t have an extra set of deer antlers you could spare a new member ., do you?
LikeLike
Can’t believe the problems college coaches are having with the new kick-off rule. If they are giving you the ball on the 25, why not take it? That’s reasonably good field position. For some reason KO returners (not just ours) feel compelled to bring it out even when the odds are greatly stacked against getting to the 15.
These KO’s are similar to punts. Put your feet on the 5. If the ball is kicked over your head just make sure it’s a touchback. Don’t try to bring it out.
LikeLike
Especially since the kickoff coverage teams are starting 5 yards closer than they were last year. I agree, and it isn’t as big a problem at UGA as I see around the country. Seems easy enough to coach.
LikeLike
I think Bobo thought that in the 4th quarter against TENN, UGA was still playing Vandy and ahead by 45. OOPS.
LikeLike
That, or I really didn’t want to get SOD fired via dropping 65 on him.
LikeLike
The USC game will be decided by our ILBs. Lattimore didn’t have Tree hitting him last year and Washington couldn’t keep contain. Vasser HAS to set the edge for the bounce out and the ILBs have to stop them cold.
LikeLike
SC’s DEs vs. UGA’s OTs – this matchup will be the key to the game.
LikeLike
Once again, Senator, your “Upon Further Review” has become a great one to look forward to. Not too much is missed by you and this bunch and it’s a fan’s delight. Thanks..
LikeLike