Big play Gates

Football Study Hall‘s Charting Project bears fruit with this post about big plays on offense in 2012-3.  There are lots of tasty statistical goodies tucked in there about calls and formations, but one thing in particular I wanted to point out is… well, if you’re going to talk about big plays, which FSH defines as plays that gained 40+ yards, you’re gonna be talking about Georgia, and sure enough, there’s a clip of Georgia’s longest gain from scrimmage of the season.

Yes, that was a great call at the perfect time, and it was fun watching Conley take it to the house.  But what really seals the deal for me on that play is Kenarious Gates hustling ten yards past the line of scrimmage to lay one helluva block on a Nebraska safety (!), leaving the middle of the field about as wide open as you’ll ever see.  I’m hard-pressed to think of a better effort from a Georgia offensive lineman last season.  Honestly, that might have been my favorite play of the year.

24 Comments

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24 responses to “Big play Gates

  1. DawgPhan

    how fast is that guy? Seemed like each stride was eating up 6-7 yards each. love seeing these guys just run free. awesome play. and the big guy with the big time block laying it all out there. Even if he whiffs, I dont think that the safety catches him.

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  2. Russ

    I wish TK had caught that last TD pass. Then maybe we wouldn’t have heard about “how close” the game was.

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    • SCDawg

      Yes you would have. At least from Nebraska and their shot-putt throwing QB. They pulled the same crap when South Carolina beat them in the same bowl game last year.

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  3. W Cobb Dawg

    Don’t want to rain on the parade, but isn’t that ineligible receiver downfield? Just asking, not trying to Dawggrade a great play. If not ineligible, I hope to see us run it plenty of times this year.

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    • HVL Dawg

      I don’t know crap, but I think the screen pass makes the lineman down field OK.

      Now about that receiver blocking a downfield defender while the ball was in the air….

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    • dawgy45

      No, the pass did not cross the neutral zone.

      That’s my understanding, at least.

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    • The984

      It appears AM let go of the ball while Gates was still behind the line of scrimmage. That alone makes me think it wouldn’t be an ineligible receiver downfield, irrespective of whether Gates hustled to throw a block or not.

      Then again, I don’t always understand the ineligible receiver downfield rule.

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    • Russ

      The line of scrimmage was highlighted on the screen. Conley caught it behind the LOS so no illegal lineman downfield (by rule).

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  4. 69Dawg

    As long as the reciever catches the ball behind the line of scrimmage everybody can be down field and be blocking. It was a bang bang pass but I guess the refs thought it was a screen.

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  5. Tom

    No flag! Totally legal play!

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  6. Uglydawg

    I’m already wondering about Clemson’s defense this year…Is this going to be a high scoring game or will one team or the other have the defense to keep it reasonable? I know this don’t belong here, but this kind of stuff gets me thinking about how awesome the Dawg Offense should be…given a reasonable, SEC calibre D and it’s pretty exciting!

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    • Uglydawg

      To answer my own question, I did some research. It scared me when I read that Bleacherreport has the Dawgs defense ranked at number 23 for 2013, just 1 better than Clemson at 24. But as I read on, I became convinced that whoever made thise rankings is….well, I’ll put it like this…they have Notre Dame ranked at number 3. Clemson’s defense should be improved, just because they were awful last year. They have hired Veneables as a DC and have done well recruting…CDS knows what he needs to do…But Georgia has the advantage of continuity with CTG and the rugged edge gained from playing in the SEC and from the experience gained in the SEC championship game. Both teams will lean heavily on the offenses to keep them winning what will probably be high scoring games.

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  7. Hogbody Spradlin

    Verry Interesting. One lineman releases while the rest fall back to make it a screen. Whoever the lineman blocked wasn’t very interested in making it a contest.

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  8. Uglydawg

    I wanted the Cap One bowl to go on for another quarter. That was some very watchable football, esp late in the game.

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  9. Agreed, Ugs.

    All the more enjoyable due to the lack of pressure, following the Tide death-match.

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  10. Jax

    2013: ✭could✭ be the best offense we’re ever had. could also be the 2008 D redux.

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