Against the number one pass defense in college football and missing three of his top four receivers, Aaron Murray still managed to throw for 427 yards and five touchdowns.
Not too shabby.
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“We remember the Sugar Bowl, I think it my junior year of high school, we let Alabama beat us twice,” Brinson said of a team that also lost to the Crimson Tide in the SEC Championship game. “We’re not letting Alabama beat us twice. In the Sugar Bowl in 2018, they… thought they should have been in the playoffs and lost to Texas.” -- AB-H, 12/27/23
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Get The Picture · Bloviation for the Dawgnation
Get The Picture 
How sweet was the just-shy-of-late-hit on Martinez by Shawn Williams on 3rd down of Nebraska’s last drive?
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And the way Williams got into his ear while laying on him post-sack.
There’s your last word, bitch.
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He almost got stuck under the players bench, and yes NRBQ, Sean gave him an ear-hole full on the next one didn’t he?
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I’d like it even more if Williams could stop trash talking on every down. I hope he leaves his issues on the field.
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Ordinarily, I’d agree with you. But Mr. Martinez started that exchange early in the game right in front of a zebra with no flag, obviously. He got what he had coming. I realize my attitude isn’t the most mature one I could have. So be it.
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I have to heartily agree. He’s done enough for me, and I was pretty down on him for his big-game/best defenses after the SC game. He’s a DGD and I hope he comes back to kick some national championship arse next year.
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Williams is a senior.
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Pretty sure gastr1 is referring to Murray.
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Yeah.
On ESPN highlights: “Aaron Murray: He’s good. he’s bad…you never know what you’re going to get.” What???!!!
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Gastr1: serious question. You really think we will compete for a national championship next year? We will lose what, 7, 8, 9 defensive starters, plus the schedule gets a major upgrade. I think this was our year, which is the main reason I feel so unfulfilled by this season.
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I don’t see the defense being worse than this year despite the losses. Do you?
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I can’t imagine that we can lose that much talent and be as good. Especially if Geathers leaves.
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I think the talent underperformed significantly. I agree, though, that Geathers leaving would be a problem. Nonetheless, if Murray returns I have a hard time seeing a defense that stops us much.
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I don’t know about Geathers leaving. I was surprised to see a 270lb center consistently driving Geathers backwards. I bet some NFL scouts spotted that, too. It seems like he could use another year to work on his technique.
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I’ll second gastr1. Yes, we lose a ton of talent. But that NFL-caliber defense has given up almost 600 rushing yards in its last two games. Overall, I think they were significantly worse this season than they were in 2011. So I’m just not sure it’s a *given* that our defense will be worse in 2013 than it was this season. Maybe less talented, but if they simply execute, and do so consistently, … who knows. Might be an improvement.
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I hope you guys are right.
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We hope so too.
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I think we’re likely going to have a considerably worse defense next season. You just can’t lose that much talent w/o feeling the effects of it. However, that is not necessarily a given. It’ll depend on this year’s recruiting class and the development of a few different players.
Johnathan Taylor (I think that’s his name) will be a great nose tackle. He’ll be a redshirt fresh next season. Regardless of who leaves, the effectiveness of our D-line depends on the development of Ray Drew. I think he’s growing into the dominant player we hoped he’d be. He’s been a ‘tweener up to this point, but he quietly had a good game today. Once he learns the position more and puts on another 10-15 lbs in the off-season, he’ll be have all the tools to be great.
Honestly, I think we’re going to have a great linebacking corps next season, but obviously, you can’t replace Jarvis Jones. Still, Jordan Jenkins is a beast, and he may end up being better than J.Jones. Amarlo Herrera will be solid. W/ the great linebacking class we’re bringing in w/ this recruiting class, we’re going to have tremendous depth at inside linebacker. The biggest question mark is going to be the strongside outside linebacker. Josh Dawson? Chase Vasser? Perhaps we’ll be able to sign Reuben Foster; he projects as an ILB, but he’s talented (and big) enough to play any of the LB positions in our scheme.
Secondary is a greater concern. Losing Rambo and Williams will hurt. Damian Swann has one corner spot locked down; all reports indicate that Sheldon Dawson will be awesome at the opposite corner spot. However, who steps up at safety? Josh Harvey-Clemmons at SS? I like the idea of it, but nothing I saw out of him this season inspires much confidence. More likely, I think the coaching staff is expecting our junior college safety recruits to be the answer. There is no way to predict how they’ll turn out at this point.
If we can’t field credible safeties, we’re in big trouble. At D-line, we’re going to be fine. At linebacker, we’ll end up being great, but b/c of the youth and inexperience, we’re going to go through some serious growing pains. All in all, expect our defense to be more of a liability than this season . . . at least in the first few games (which, incidentally, are the hardest); it’s going to be a baptism in fire.
The great thing is that our offense should be even better. I’ll be content w/ winning shootouts until our defensive personnel matures and develops.
Projected Starters:
DE — Garrison Smith
DE — Ray Drew
NT — Jonathan Taylor (assuming Kwame declares)
WOLB — Jordan Jenkins
ILB — Amarlo Herrera
ILB — Ramik Wilson? Or a freshman?
SOLB — Josh Dawson? Chase Vasser? Or a freshman?
CB — Damian Swann
CB — Sheldon Dawson
(Nickel — ?)
FS — JUCO transfer?
SS — JHC or a JUCO transfer?
There are a LOT of question marks, but I think we’ll field a good unit. If we sign Reuben Foster or Montravius Adams, I wouldn’t be surprised if either of those guys wins a starting spot.
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We lost that much or more talent off the offense last year (3 drafted O-Linemen, our best receiver and our top tailback) and this year’s offense was significantly better. Credit Murray and Bobo. If Grantham puts together a coaching effort as good as Bobo’s this year and Bobo doesn’t fall off himself, it could still be a pretty good team. Maybe even a great one.
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You are expecting 2 non-early enrolling freshmen LB / DT (Foster / Adams) to win a starting job in an NFL style 3-4 defense. If this is true, we will be hurting next year.
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Assuming Murray comes back, I think we’re going see a lot of games next year similar to this one. Lots of offense, not much defense.
The defense gave up more yards per play this year than they did the year Martinez got fired.
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They didn’t give up nearly as many points, though, because they got a lot of turnovers and played well in the red zone.
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Yep. They were the epitome of the bend-but-don’t-break philosophy in most games. Our quick-strike (or 3-and-out) offense hurt them quite a few times as well, especially against Bama.
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Hope that ends the “can’t win a big game” meme. No way Dawgs win without a sharp Murray. Wish King had held on. Best of luck in the future Aaron, whatever that is.
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Where was Wooten?? No catches???
And can we make sure Jesse doesn’t broadcast another one of our games? Nothing but bad-mouthing AM until the end, then he acts like an NFL expert. What a gater!
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I don’t think Wooten is very good. He doesn’t catch well and isn’t big enough to start with. At least McGowan can catch the ball.
I’m pretty impressed with our depth at receiver and TE…any word on MM’s injury?
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Concussion
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Wooten’s been at UGA for 12 years. He’s like 36 years old. Not as fast as he once was.
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Way to go Aaron.
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Aaron broke his own school record for TDs in a season, with 36.
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Was that 4th down pass Murray’s final attempt as a Dawg? It was certainly out of character for Bobo and Richt. Reading the tea leaves, sure appears to have been a “here’s your last shot kid” kind of play.
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Maybe. Or maybe they figured the field goal was slightly more risky and said, “What the hell? Maybe he’ll get the single game TD record by himself.”
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It was an attempt at the UGA single game record. IMO
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I got the impression that it was a “here’s your last shot kid” play … for Tavarres King.
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I thought it was a “higher percent chance than a fieldgoal” thing, but either way, the throw was perfect…should have been seven….By the way, the Dawgs beat the spread.
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Ye$$$$, I know.
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STAY AARON YOU ARE A DGD!!!
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Congratulations Dawgs!! A great win!!
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After a great victory, it’s easy to look back wistfully, but UGA lefts a lot of points on the field.
Five points on the safety, dropped TD by King, missed FG, RB trips before pick-6, terrible game management to end the 1st half, etc.
Not complaining, mind you, but 60+ would have been really sweet.
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Hell with 60. We should have had 100.
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You’re complaining. It’s a meaningless bowl game. We won by two tds. Life is good. 🙂
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Honestly, I’m not a bit disappointed.
Speaking of Aaron: his avg. per attempt was 12.9. Martinez’s avg. per CATCH was 12.8. Murray’s avg. per catch? 23.7 yards!
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I look at the safety as +2.
If we get the 7 there, then we don’t get the ball right back and score the Lynch TD.
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my thought as well.
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wow, people would bitch about ANYTHING! Go Dawgs.
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Hopefully, this will put an end to the “Murray can’t win against good teams” meme. That was the #1 pass defense in the nation that he carved up.
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And for a half they had him pretty confused. The second half he looked very comfortable.
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Fantastic game Murray.
Now..how’s recruiting going finding big interior d lineman that can play the run?
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Twisty – couldn’t agree more. Montravious Adams would start right away !
Murray needs to come back and work on his in stride back in the flats and over the middle don’t force it throws.
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Montravious liked Garner. Hope we don’t have a problem there. And Clemson has been in town a lot here lately. Saban had his jet in Cordele the week Dooly went to the Dome. C’mon Mark! Go get him! Guys a beast and a good kid.
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I’m already stoked about next season. Almost all the starters on offense come back. Even if Murray leaves (and I hope he stays) we will have a QB that is well versed in the system and should play well. The running game will be awesome. The D–even though we lose a number of starters if you look at the roster there are several players coming back with significant playing time. Plus, we have over 30 scholarships to give and can sign some players that will help immediately. The D will be fine. The schedule is harder with Clemson as an OOC game and LSU but that also gets the computer schedule difficulty factor up, too. Going to the SECCG again IMHO. Next time we win it. The future’s so bright we all are gonna have to wear shades.
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I agree Mayor. Some think that Taylor has improved significantly over the season at Nose, even going as far as saying that he and Kwame (if he returns) may be better than Kwame and Motel 6. This remains to be seen of course but it certainly makes me feel better about the NG position.
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Way to go Aaron and the entire team. Good job getting some monkeys off your back.
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Thank you Aaron. You are a DGD . Whatever you decide to do I am ok with. You will be somewhere between Eric Zaire and Drew Bres.
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Meaning he’ll be Aaron Merry?
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+1
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Murray has had an amazing year.
As far as the D’s performance goes, I thought they got it together in the fourth pretty good. Nebraska has a good offense.
It is a very, very good win.
And..this….Murray didn’t say “sheeeeeiiiiitt” when he was told he was the MVP!
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“I don’t know what it’s like to head into an offseason with a win,” Murray said. “It’s a great feeling to get a win. It’s great for the seniors, who have meant so much to this team.” Sounds like a guy who’s coming back to me!
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Murray DID throw that 6th TD. King just dropped it.
Great 2nd half by the Dawgs.
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I’ve never thought of myself as a glass-half-empty kind of guy, but I must say the one TD Aaron threw to them is not fully mitigated by the 5 he threw to us (should have been 6). He’s too far along to continue to make those mistakes. When the Good Aaron is very good, it works out. But the Bad Aaron is also going to show up every important game as well, and that’s what would scare the crap out of me if I was an NFL talent evaluator.
If he’s back as our QB next year, that’s OK with me. But I’m never going to totally trust him.
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Chuck, Murray threw that pass right where the running back would have been if he didn’t get knocked to the ground. Don’t remember which of Gurshall it was, but you’ll see it on the replay.
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It was Marshall, and I think it was just a bad block where Marshall went to the ground instead of staying with it. Least that’s what I thought I saw. Could be wrong.
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So are you saying there is a certain point at which a QB should no longer make mistakes? I’m pretty sure I remember Drew Brees throwing 5 or 6 INTs against the Falcons earlier this year. I’ll agree that Murray is our own worst enemy sometimes for a quarter (or maybe two), but he is able to overcome those mistakes more often than not, and MANY times this season he has been THE reason we won the game.
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Will, nobody’s perfect, mistakes are inevitable, I know that. Peyton looked awful and threw three picks early in the loss to the Falcons and he’s gonna be the MVP in The League.
I just said I can’t fully trust Murray, and I can’t. You just have to hope he’s more on than off.
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Just curious, so who do you fully trust as QB? Please don’t say Mason…
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Aaron Murray finished the year with the second-highest passer rating in all of college football.
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Murray is a DGD and I hope he makes the best decision for himself, whatever that is. If he decides to go pro, I think we’ll still be okay on offense with Mason next year, since he’s had so much time in the system, and we’ll have a veteran line and great running game.
I think the defense will be okay as well. I know it will lose a lot of talent, but there’s still a lot of talent there. Plus, they have plenty of room for improvement along the DL. The schedule will be tough next year, but if we survive the first month, we should have a good shot at returning to Atlanta.
BTW, I loved the shot by Williams on Martinez at the end of the game. I’d love to know what he whispered in Martinez’s ear as he was peeling him off the turf.
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Time to go home and shuck the corn?
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I wondered if the jawing back and forth was related to Martinez’s comments about our D a few days ago. I figured Shawn was just whispering in his ear something along the lines of “How’s this ‘Big 10 defense’ looking now, bitch?”
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Oh, You mean like forcing it in over the middle into traffic?
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AM is still unpredictable…2 INT. He pissed me off just like he all ways does. I didn’t think he deserved the Bowl MVP.
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And matter of fact I hope he leaves and enters the NFL draft if you want to know the truth how I feel about it
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Who did?
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+1
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+1 more. What a ridiculous comment.
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Society of the miserable?
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+1
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Yes. Appropriately invoked.
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Yay.
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I agree. His passer rating against the best pass defense in the nation was 201. It was the highest passing yards, yards per attempt, touchdowns, and passer rating that they gave up all year. As Shania Twain said, “That don’t impress me much.”
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Aaron Murray = Tony Romo
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I like AM and think he’s a damn good dawg no matter what he does but I won’t be heartbroken if he goes pro. I’m not trying to say that I agree with the Senator’s trolling headline, but I wouldn’t mind seeing what Mason can do. As far as Mettenberger goes, I think he’s showed himself to be mediocre at best this year at LSU: with that running game they have he still is unimpressive.
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+1. I think this about sums up how I feel. I’ve never been quit sold on Murray, but if you put a gun to my head and made me decide, I would have him come back; however, if he does decide to go pro, I’m not going to worry about it at all. I think Hudson is going to be a great QB; even if he’s merely a solid game manager, he’s going to have a great offensive line, amazing running backs, great tight ends, and a solid receiving corps w/ lots of depth (don’t forget that we’re signing about 4 talented WRs this season).
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On another note: I knew Chris Conley was talented, but he looked damned fast on that tunnel screen for a TD. Even losing Tavarres King and Marlon Brown, our receiving corps is going to be deep next season. Our guys were making BIG plays, even though we were w/o the benefit of 3 of our top WRs. I can’t say enough about how impressed I’ve been this season w/ our receiving corps.
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So some of you think that the most statistically accomplished QB in school history leaving won’t negatively affect the offense? Really? You are a lot more sure about Mason than I am.
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BR: I agree with you. I think that we will be able to look back at the Richt, Bobo, Murray, Years and wish for them again.
Man i wish TK had held on to that last pass for a TD.
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I was pleased to see Justin Scott-Wesley make some plays yesterday.
I have a sneaky feeling that kid will step up and play an important role next season.
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