I’ve watched the game broadcast now and I think it’s more of an affirmation of what I saw live than a revelation. What comes across strongly in the first half when the game was decided for all intents and purposes is how bloody competent Georgia’s play was. I know Auburn is wretched on both sides of the ball, but, still, it almost comes as a shock when Lynch drops that pass on Georgia’s fifth drive.
I kept repeating to myself, “this is what a good team looks like”. One example: Auburn employed a lot of Boise State-like pre-snap motion. And there are Georgia defenders moving all over the place with it. But they’re never disorganized. The communication and comfort level are light years from what we saw mid-season. And as a result, they’re playing noticeably faster. I’m back to the point I was at watching last year’s game against Mississippi State when I wanted to see the defense on the field.
Oh, and I overlooked one play in my ‘Observations’ post on Sunday that’s worth a mention. Jordan Jenkins didn’t have as big a game as he did against Florida, but that tackle for loss he made on the play when he blew up the pass option by Quan Bray was as good as it gets. First he beat the lineman, then he strung out the play, then he contained Bray, finally closed on him and shut him down for a big loss. It ended what could have been an early scoring drive. Fabulous effort from a fabulous freshman.
As far as the broadcast goes, Mark Jones still talks way too much for a play-by-play guy. Brock Huard’s quiet call on Marshall’s TD run was nice, though.
Get The Picture 
I was disappointed with the size of last year’s recruiting class (and I still don’t get how we don’t sign a WR), but the early returns are great. Among Gurley, Marshall, Theus, Jenkins, and the kickers, this class is already contributing a ton. Add in some success from guys like the Dawsons, JHC, and Taylor, and we could really have something.
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We did sign a WR in the class – Blake Tibbs (redshirting), but point taken, this class was a little short on numbers, but I haven’t seen anyone yet where I ask, “Why did we sign him?”
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Yep, brain fart by me. High quality class for sure. This year looks like much more of a numbers game, but that’s actually needed at this point. Just hope we don’t have more than a handful of guys in the future that we wish we didn’t have taking up a scholarship.
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We are signing a lot of people in this year’s class, but one thing that irks me a little is that only THREE of those kids are offensive linemen. Compared to like 6-7 DBs. Oh well though, we seem to be doing pretty decent with the OL we have now
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Still waiting on commitments from 2 top tier tackles.
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And we lose nobody of significance to graduation on the OL this year.
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Andrews had his best game. I think he has now come up to Ben’s speed and effectiveness in the center.
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Jenkins’ play on the reverse pass was absolutely beautiful. Bray had nowhere to go and probably was thinking, “I could be playing with those guys right now.” When Huard says, “See ya” on Marshall’s run, I had to go back and listen to that again. The line blocked the play beautifully, Marshall made the safety miss, and it was all over after that. Systematic dominance – this is what a good team looks like.
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One thing I’ve noticed about KM on his long TD runs- it looks to me as if he’s not running as hard as he can (kinda gliding). It seems he might have one more gear if he needs it. Anybody else get that impression?
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Yep. I’ve noticed the same thing. He can turn it up one more notch if needed.
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Good runners often look more efficient in top gear. No wasted motion.
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Oh, yeah – I think he has another gear, but everyone thinks they can take a normal angle on him in the open field. He just eats those angles up.
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Take a look at his big TD run against UT. He really kicks it in at mid-field.
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Yeah. He fast.
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Give that guy a seam and he is just gone.
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Ridiculous.
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That’s the play where KM drops the ball before crossing the goal line. No call. I hope someone told him to hold on to the ball until he hands it to the refs.
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I watched intently when he crossed the line and he dropped it immediately afterwards, not end up pitching it to the ref.
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The Auburn game, not the film on UT.
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A player (not just KM, but any player) doing that drives me insane! It doesn’t make you look cool, and you are going to end up costing your team 6 points.
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Yeah, I remember when Mikey Henderson did that on a punt return…only to score again later in the game.
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I love the windmill!
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It is nice to have a good defense to couple with those games that your offense is hitting on all cylinders. The result is a blowout instead of a 38-34 shootout type of game we became so familiar with from 06-10′.
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If there’s one frustration I have with Georgia Teams in the Richt era, it’s how long it seems to take them to gel.. whether on offense of defense. And I’m talking over the course of a season. It’s not like this team picked up where it left off last year on Defense. I’m not a great x’s and o’s analyst, so I’m talking more about mindset.. and perhaps I’m way off here, but think of the conversation we’d be having now if they had been there for South Carolina? I get the flip side, it could mean that the team gets overconfident or entitled, (perhaps like Alabama?) and we’re falling apart, so in that case, I’d rather it turn out like it has.. but we could also play well all season (as long as we’re throwing out hypotheticals).. so who knows. If you have to peak, I’d rather peak late, for sure… but the flip side of that is we seem to end up with a blemish or two away from the big prize. (2007 being the best example I can think of).
And I’m not suggesting that we make a change at coach here. If there’s one thing I’ll say about Mark Richt after the Willie Martinez debacle, he’s embraced the concept of trying to make necessary changes. That’s not to say he’s going to abandon his philosophy of building on an existing system he believes works. Competency through repetition seems to be his M.O. But he will tweak, fine tune, and on occasion, make a major change when its evident that something isn’t working (like a coach).
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“…how long it takes them to gel” is a direct result of some key players being suspended and then trying to insert them into the lineup midseason.
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Injuries too. One year, the perfect storm will present itself in Athens. Woe be it to our opponents. I just hope CMR is the one holding the reigns.
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Again, I get the reasons why and don’t dispute them. But this seems to be more of a repetitive issue than just 2012.
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Sustaining excellence in a team sport is almost impossible. Especially when that team sport is played with 11 guys at a time and not 5 (see Jordan’s Bulls), and more especially when you are playing with 18-22 year olds). There isn’t a college team in the countyry that doesn’t wax and wane over the course of a season. Alabama sure doesn’t look like the same team it did earlier and I’ll put money that Oregon won’t as well. Was the Florida team that beat the dog snot out of tOSU the same team that showed up week in and week out before that. No. For coaches it isn’t just X’s and O’s and motivation. There is the management of their emotional ups and downs, the schedule and timing of their performance peak. And these kids don’t live in a somewhat professional buble but deal with issues like family, friends, dating & classes. I like where we are and can’t find too much to complain about. Do I wish things were different when we went to Columbia? Of course.
I guess what I’m saying is I don’t think your observations are so much about “the Richt era” as it is with the reality of college football. It isn’t clinical and cannot be rationally encapsulated. I suggest that with the amount of media coverage, with social media and twitter, our access to the goings on and the thoughts of players is only heightened but doesn’t find an altogether different reality in their lives than when most of us were in college decades ago.
Someone help me out here, whats the ratio of sec bcs champions that have won it withoug a blemish and with one? A blemish isn’t insurmountable. How the blemish occurs (getting blown out / not showing up once a season concerns me) and how you respond to it reveals if you are champion caliber.
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SEC BCS Champions with a blemish vs. those who won undefeated, that’s the question I meant to ask.
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Your point about waxing and waning is true of every team in every team sport. It’s why the Giants and Cardinals of the world win titles. It’s why I don’t care one bit about losing later in the CFB season being more important than losing earlier, because it is always about who is the best right now, not who was the best halfway through.
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Yeaa! to both of you. Excellent, Hahira.
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Well, I’m talking about during the season, and that the learning curve doesn’t carry over. That the team seldom seems to pick up where it left off.
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I hope this doesn’t come across as a condescending reply.. certainly not intended.
Are you simply saying that CMR is just the victim of dumb luck? That he doesn’t get to the MNC because he gets that one loss that holds us back in a given year when it could be good enough another? I suppose I could buy into that a little bit.. but when you see the Alabamas, the LSU’s the UF’s playing at that consistent level, and in many of these cases, you see it maintained (not always) because they’ll get a couple of shots at the big game within a few years time, and with teams that have seen a fair amount of turnover in personnel. They all seem to play at a fairly consistent level throughout their respective seasons. Seems like we have to get there to really be in the hunt. We’ll see.
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When I watch the LSUs and Bamas and UFs, I don’t see them playing at that consistency either, though. Take this year. All of them were undefeated for a good portion of the season, but many of their wins were just as lackadaisical and poorly played as ours were. Even Bama allowed some lesser teams to hand around, not the least of which was Ole Miss, who we beat pretty handily. I tend to think we (myself included) are a bit harder on our Dawgs because they are OUR Dawgs and we follow every move with equal parts trepidation and delight.
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Rewatched the game, and Huard’s commentary is much more enjoyable than Bob Davie. On the first TD drive, he pretty much predicted the route and throw to Conley right before it happened. I enjoy his insights.
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I agree. I have slowly grown to like Huard’s broadcasting despite his Pac-12 biased writing.
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Me too.
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I much prefer Danielson, but Huard ain’t too bad. I did get tired of hearing him call the opponent “Obburn”, though…
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I think ol’ Gary Danielson calls a pretty good game, too. I feel like he’s showing me some of the nuances of the game that I would have missed, and he’s usually dead-on when he predicts a penalty or which way a call will go, and he seems like a judicious person in his comments.
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Agreed, I like listening to Gary. Uncle Verne, on the other hand…
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Hes a surfer boy fer sure
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And now I am “missing” those taut Mark Jones-Bob Davie broadcasts for their sheer ineptitude.
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Incidentally, Davie has those New Mexico Lobos playing hard-nosed ball, not winning many games but in most until the end. Apparently, the ole footbaw coach still has a trick or two up his blazer jacket sleeve.
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I am in the minority I know but I liked Footbaw Bob alright. He was always fair to GA which is more than I can say for most of the smucks on the wwl. (Huard’s been a pleasant surprise though I agree
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Jenkins is one of the biggest reasons I am beginning to feel better about the D next season. If Kwame comes back, along with G. Smith, and Swann, we will have the nucleus to build a pretty good defense around. We have some other talent that is in the development stage and it seems one of those always comes through to surprise (Drew is due). Add an offense with a lot of key pieces back, and we may be better prepared to take on that tougher schedule than many of us thought a few weeks ago.
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UGa 2013 on offense has the potential to look much like FSU ’93 or ’95.
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JHC is a beast.
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Especially if they all stay out of trouble.
/crosses fingers and toes
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I hope Harvey Clemons turns out to be All Everything. My sister lives in Valdosta and her kids go to Lowndes Elementary, and she told me that JHC was a really good kid as well as a good player. Hope he wrecks the SEC next year.
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There isn’t a Lowndes Elementary. However, he was a very respectful, clean cut guy but I guess “good kid” depends on how you define the term. I like Josh a lot. He also just became a dad again a few months ago. That was disappointing for me and his granddad.
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Ok, I’m a tool. If any of you could take a shot at me now, I’d probably let you. It is a different world and are different cultures that what I’m familiar with or prefer. Should’ve kept my mouth shut.
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THAN what I’m familiar with or prefer
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Ka-zingg!! Missed.
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I would define good in that case on how he fulfills his responsibilities as a father. Today’s attitudes towards sex are unfortunately much different than they used to be.
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That doesn’t deserve an apology HD, that is your opinion, and that of his grandfather. The PC crowd can KMA, the family structure is broken in this country and we are all paying for it in many ways…..and we will continue to pay for it long into the future.
I will apologize when I am wrong, not when someone else wants me to be wrong to make them feel better for their own weaknesses. Never apologize for your opinion when stated civilly. Financially, and morally bankrupt, imo.
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+1.
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I agree MacLover as far as my opinion is concerned. What I was apologizing for was airing a young man’s dirty laundry in public and doing so anonymously. That I wish I wouldn’t have done.
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Gotcha. He gotta man up. Grandpa seems to know that. Just hope he doesn’t try to break Travis Henry’s record, that is one TN can have.
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Your first initial wouldn’t be “B”, would it?
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naw
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Them Dawgs is Hairy, don’t they?!
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NRBQ, are you wild, or are ya mild?
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As long as he ain’t breastfeedin’ the sissy farm, we’ll be alright.
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Can someone with the game recorded check something that has been bothering me? I was up in the mountains half watching the game and after we went up 14-0 on the subsequent kickoff I thought I saw the kickoff land in the endzone and just sit there. I felt like no one touched it but the referees called it a touchback. Did that happen? And if so, shouldn’t that have been a live ball?
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I tried, but I was one of those whose broadcast was blacked out for the first quarter by the savants at DirecTV.
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OScar, yes it did happen and I thought the same thing. Why they didn’t let UGA jump on it I have no idea. Anyone know the rules surounding this? Thought you had to take a knee in the endzone.
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Who screwed that up? Have heard conflicting stories but none made any sense. There was no over run on that channel from a previous game, and the WWL doesn’t get blacked out on night games…evah.
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I wish I knew, Mac. All I can tell you is that I was pissed. I pay a lot of money every month their service, and UGA football games are the LAST thing I want to miss. I was scrambling around trying to get the game online. I watched it online for a few minutes before I was finally able to see it on TV.
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I just went on Direct TV this past April and have been very happy with it….this recent snafu aside. Really cool feature when it searches for a game automatically for me if a game is blacked out on the channel I selected, but available on another. Has done that twice for me this season, all I have to do is confirm I want to be switched to that channel. That didn’t work Saturday night because of a HQ screw-up, I think, but they got it back up and running. Problem was my DVR has a delayed start to it.
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