I know what he was trying to say here, but this is unintentionally amusing.
… So it would seem starting off the season by missing tackles and giving up more than 200 yards rushing to Clemson would be a cause for concern.
Not so, says linebacker Amarlo Herrera.
“Everybody misses tackles. You just see more than some,” said Herrera, who had eight tackles at Clemson. “There’s games where we missed more tackles than that since I’ve been here.”
That’s a relief.
Get The Picture 
That may be true, but you would think that after all the grief Reshad Jones got for shoulder bumping Roddy Jones, these guys would understand that wrapping up is necessary to get guys on the ground. I have a bigger concern about the middle of the defensive line being pushed 4-5 yards downfield before someone touches the ball carrier.
LikeLike
Dear Lord….these guys seem to be letting the Clemson game roll off like it’s no big deal.
I guess I like the confidence (?), but I would like a little more seriousness and dedication to the cause to shine through. I wouldn’t think a Saban coached team would have comments like this. Nor would the GPOOE respond without a tear and speech.
LikeLike
“I wouldn’t think a Saban coached team would have comments like this.”
Funny you should mention that. After Alabama’s offense – primarily their OL – stank up the Georgia Dome opening weekend..
“You can’t put all this stuff on the offensive line,” Saban said. “It’s really all about the offensive team all doing things the way they need to, to execute together, trust and believe in one another so we can make this work. It’s going to take leadership, it’s going to take people recommitting themselves to a standard that’s going to help us improve and get better. I’m sure we will do that.”
In other words, pointless working-hard-to-get-butter coachspeak. The same stuff we throw Bobo into a woodchipper over.
LikeLike
But they won. Big difference.
LikeLike
They also played a shitty team. Big difference.
LikeLike
We would’ve beaten VT, too.
LikeLike
I think you missed my point D.N.
I would prefer the “we’ll work harder to get better” line than the “don’t worry about it, we’ve played worse” line.
LikeLike
They’re both meaningless.
Inferring anything from someone talking to the media off the cuff was your first mistake.
LikeLike
A man walks down the street
He says, “Why am I soft in the middle now?
Why am I soft in the middle?
The rest of my life is so hard
I need a photo opportunity
I want a shot at redemption
Don’t want to end up a cartoon
In a cartoon graveyard
Bonedigger, bonedigger
Dawgs in the moonlight
Far away my well-lit door
Mr. Beerbelly, Beerbelly
Get these mutts away from me
You know I don’t find this stuff
Amusing anymore
LikeLike
All along there were incidents and accidents
LikeLike
One game into the year, and it looks like the team is already in need of another Shawn Williams “Step the F&CK up!” speech. The kind of “Hey, we’re good…no big deal….actually, we played well….no problem” attitude that seems to be shining through this week has rarely served us well in big games.
I can only hope that behind closed doors, someone is reminded about how South Carolina (and not just Clowney) served us our asses last year and NOW is the time to get a little angry and do something about it.
LikeLike
Lawd have mercy the drama queens on this blog. These kids aren’t media trained.
LikeLike
Really, these kids, who bleed on the UGA practice fields, almost all of whom wouldn’t have qualified for UGA admission without their wonderful physical gifts, who come from tough, tough backgrounds, don’t speak Shakesphere after practice.
I think the Lexicon needs a new entry. Blutoed: A UGA player who gets ridiculed on GTP for talking.
LikeLike
And I think you need to recognize the difference between taking amusement from somebody’s random comment and mocking a person.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve been teased more times that I can count for saying something stupid without assuming it amounted to a direct personal attack.
LikeLike
Get off your high horse. This didn’t have anything to do with class warfare, it was a lighthearted way of pointing out how revealing Herrera’s comments are as to the mindset of the team following a game where the defense played horribly. The real point – and subtext of the post – is not to laugh at Herrera’s lack of media savvy, but his revealing a breezy attitude about the thing we DO expect football players to be good at – not spelling bees, but tackling.
LikeLike
Exactly right, CD.
LikeLike
Not just this blog. The UGA fan base is showing its true colors, sadly. I think much of it has to do with the fans believing Clemson is some second rate team no better than 10th in the SEC. People feel UGA was embarrassed in Clemson, which for the life of me I’ll never understand.
LikeLike
I think you’re right. I saw a Facebook comment the other day that read “We lost to an ACC team! We should be kicked out of the SEC!!!” I’ve actually seen more reasoned opinions on this blog than many others. I just can’t for the life of me understand why people are so down on this team after one close loss to a great team that could have really gone either way. A lot of “experts” predicted we would lose and it’s not hard to see why they were right. Just seems like folks are ready to give up the season already and that’s the last thing this team needs.
LikeLike
+1. You would think we lost to Elin by a huge margin the way some people are responding. I wonder if they watched the sane game I did.
LikeLike
I really don’t know why the hyena chorus has come out in such full force after *this* loss. The reaction to losing to freaking Colorado was more easy-going than this. I don’t get it.
LikeLike
It makes no sense. At all. That game was back and forth and UGA had chances to open it up and shot themselves in the foot. As I told a friend (who is in full meltdown mode), panic after South Carolina. If they lose to SoCar again, panic away. Doing so after Clemson is just silly.
LikeLike
Expectations. Oddly, everything we set out to do is still very much in play, with the exception of going undefeated. We come out of September 3-1, we’re right where we need to be. Go Dawgs! Fans, let’s get behind these guys. The deserve it.
LikeLike
Exactly…nothing has changed…just get better everyday. Win this weekend. Even a loss to USC leaves the door open. I would never want to be in the situation that Auburn was in last season, but it is like some people actually want it.
LikeLike
Wrong, a loss to SC shuts us down. If Carolina beats us in Athens, they aint gonna lose 2 more SEC games with their schedule. The game this weekend is beyond HUGE. We HAVE to beat them. The sense of urgency must be upon us, NOW. The loss to Clemson means nothing, AS LONG AS WE BEAT SC. If not, then we have no chance of SEC champ, national champ and we go 10-2 at best and go to Outback. Woohoo.
LikeLike
I don’t think it was simply getting beat, it’s the feeling of unpreparedness and shooting ourselves in the foot that is bothering everyone. We lost a close one to Alabama last where we acquitted ourselves pretty well and nobody complained. That was my favorite game in recent memory, and it was a loss!
But we saw a defense that didn’t live up to its potential last year followed by the results of a lack of planning / recruiting as we field a bunch of true freshmen and other green players this year at Clemson, and a lot of excuse-making as to why it’s okay to give up 38 points. Our FG unit couldn’t get it together. Our players heckled the other team coming onto the field – totally classless. Our OC seemed paralyzed for six series in the middle of the game and couldn’t snap out of it. Our QB says our OL couldn’t hear because people were yelling in the stands…smh…:)
There’s just this overall feeling that we don’t really have our act together, and the comments coming out of BM suggest a lack of urgency, I think. Expectations are high because the program has great potential.
I am actually okay with CMR winning 8, 9, 10 games a season for as long as he wants to stay here. But it’s frustrating to watch things that you sort of feel might have been preventable.
LikeLike
“I don’t think it was simply getting beat, it’s the feeling of unpreparedness and shooting ourselves in the foot that is bothering everyone.”
Again- We lost to Colorado, one of the worst programs in college football, when Caleb King fumbled while we were setting up a FG. After we basically allowed the Buffs’ “offense” to march all over the field the entire game.
THAT’s rock bottom. (Central Florida too.) This was some jitters at an elite opponent. And yet some are treating it like we just got our doors blown off against Vandy or something. I’m OK to be pissed off at the loss- I am, too- but to turn losing 38-35 on the road against a top 10 team into something worth completely abandoning the program, something worth subjecting our coaches and players to endless snark and mockery…I don’t get it. You’d really be a lousy fan of anyone.
LikeLike
(I don’t mean you personally. I don’t know you.)
LikeLike
I agree that a very small minority is going overboard. But I think you’re taking some of the criticism and turning up the volume in your mind. Are you really seeing a lot of this?
“…but to turn losing 38-35 on the road against a top 10 team into something worth COMPLETELY ABANDONING THE PROGRAM, something worth subjecting our coaches and players to ENDLESS snark and mockery…I don’t get it. ”
Part of the frustration is kind of compounded by the last few years, I think. Yes, Clemson is a top ten team, but so was UGA! We just can’t seem to get over the top in these marquee games lately. Grouse or debate about that “can’t win the big one” meme all you like, but it’s there for a reason. When’s the last time we beat a team we weren’t supposed to beat? Maybe Florida last year, but otherwise it’s been a long drought…and the self-destructing meme has some legs, too. In last year’s SECCG we DIDN’T really self destruct – we just got beat…that’s why I didn’t mind losing quite so much.
I’ve reconciled myself to enjoying the heck out of an 8 – 9 – 10 win season at this point and if we do better than that, awesome. I like the way CMR does business enough that I’ll be happy with him in Athens even if we were to regress a little bit…it is just football, after all.
LikeLike
Here’s a hijack question.
Will all the recruits standing on the sidelines hear boos raining down on the first UGA punt?
LikeLike
No.
But don’t ask me to answer that question if Georgia gets down by ten and then goes three-and-out on two straight series.
LikeLike
If that happens, Saturday could be 1999 Auburn level ugly. Sanford went to a very ugly place that night.
LikeLike
You don’t need to go that far back for a comparison – and besides, that game rose to the level of epic incompetence.
Just think back to the last minute or so of the first half in last year’s Ole Miss game. It’s a good thing Murray and King bailed the o-line out then.
LikeLike
It’s not so much the incompetence of that night I’m referring to: fights everywhere, stadium and downtown, horribly turning in their own team. It was just a horrible scene in the stands that night
LikeLike
But why do you think there was such a fan reaction?
LikeLike
Sad that you would even have to ask that.
LikeLike
I am really starting to hate certain sections of our fanbase.
Some of the things I have read on blogs and message boards this week is downright embarrassing. Maybe it’s the Xbox generation who seems to think that every game should be flawless and the Dawgs win 84-0. It’s a game, there is a winner and a loser each time, we just came up a little short last week.
LikeLike
Amen.
Go Dawgs!
Saturday, I will be enjoying the company of friends, good food, booze, the weather, the spirit of Athens, a belonging if you will, and if you are next to me Saturday and are hollering about Bobo or Murray or the tackling for that matter…
You are going to wish all you did was post about it on a blog.
It’s time we Dawg fans stand up for our team regardless of our teams shortcomings. We need to remind those that are ready to throw in the towel by means of destructive criticism of our team, that they simply don’t belong.
LikeLike
And life is like that. Sometimes you come up a little short. Maybe more often than you would like sometimes. This is by no means an original thought but good people focus on the next challenge, not dwell on the last one.
LikeLike
A lot of idiots are heard after a Georgia loss – they aren’t really true fans – on a talk show Sunday – it may have been Kevin Butler’s show – an irate fan called in to complain about the team team and coaches, and then wanted to know why Aaron Murray had to play both offense and defense Sat night – (Connor Norman wears #11 on Defense) – this is example of the mentality of some of the callers and bloggers – they don’t have a clue.
LikeLike
I’d be lying if I said Herrera’s comments didn’t disturb me. Nevertheless, I’m trying to give him the benefit of the doubt, that his comments are not representative of our mindset (if they are, Lord help us .. we were hoping most of those issues left the team in January). He’s not the most articulate guy, and we can’t be sure exactly what he meant.
Another thing that should not be made light of is the necessity of the Herrera and Wilson, the ILB’s, firing downhill into the running lanes. We haven’t had that since Grantham arrived, and it’s one of the primary causes of our poor run defense.
In the 3-4, those ILB’s have to fire into those lanes and crash into the OL, FB, or whoever’s there. Last year, Gilliard couldn’t do it, and Ogletree WOULDN’T do it. They generally just sat back and absorbed the blocks, and because of it, our opponents gained hundreds of yards that shouldn’t have been surrendered.
Herrera and Ramik were better in Clemson than we have been, but it’s still not good enough. So, in addition to tackling, let’s be man enough to crash into those running lanes this week. If the ILB’s are not willing to go downhill and smash the run, we’re never going to be a good run defense.
Saturday would be a good time to establish that. If we’re man enough.
~~~
LikeLike
I am blown away by the post I have seen elsewhere of people calling for a new head coach after the 3 point loss. There is a portion of the fan base that will not be happy until we win a national championship again and they are willing to do anything to get there. They need to look hard at Auburn and see what selling their soul got them. I feel for the players having very word inspected. We need to build them up not tear them down. I hope we do our job Saturday. They have let us know what they need. Be there early, Be loud and stay the entire game. GO DAWGS!!!!
LikeLike
It’s not about losing to a Clemson team, with whatever perceptions that people have of them. For me it’s about losing to ANOTHER top 20 team. Any of you bother to go get out your media guides and look up our records to ranked teams under Richt? How about in the last 5 years? I’ll save you the work. Richt is 21-46 against top 20 teams (ranking based on what they were ranked at the time we played). Not very good? But, I’ll say you have to realize those games were many times played against people we were ranked much lower than at the time. So I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt on “building his program”.
The troubling issue is when you look at the 2008-current stats. We are a whopping 4-19 against top 20 teams, with the only wins being Florida, GaTech, Mich St. , and LSU. Don’t believe me, look it up! We are going in reverse. The further troubling issue is that in those 19 losses, we gave up a total of 33.5 average points per game. How can you depend on an SEC offencse to overcome that. Is our problem Bobo as many say? Looks to me it is a lack of Defense.
LikeLike
CTG is an NFL coach and he has managed to make our defense too damn complex for college students. I wish I could compare the Alabama technique for running a 3-4 or 4-2-5 and ours. Just on paper it looks like Alabama has LBs that are almost as big as their lineman and they do attack the LOS to stop the run. We just seem to be too slow to react and that is usually a function of knowledge of you job. I get it we have too many freshman that don’t know there jobs. We also have Damian Swan a junior that gets to be on Sports Center all week as the highlights run after catch of Watkins. I’m just tired of seeing Georgia on the wrong end of the highlights. Poor Gurley was absolutely a monster and got no love from the powers that be because we lose another big game. It doesn’t take a genius to see Saban can merely point out that you can come to Alabama and play for the first round or you can go to Georgia and play for the 4th round.
LikeLike
I’m pretty sure Saban’s defense is widely regarded as the most complex in CFB, so that’s not it. S&C and the over signing is probably the culprit. To me, unless your coach is Nick Saban, the 3-4 is a bad fit for college ball.
LikeLike
“We are going in reverse.”
We’re 2-1 in our last 3.
LikeLike
“We’re 2-1 in our last 3.”
That’s a pithy comeback–but how do you figure 2-1 in our last 3?
In our last three games overall, we’re 1-2. In our last three games against Top 10 teams, we’re 1-2. In our last three games against Top 20 teams, we’re 1-2. And that’s about as good a stretch as we’ve had for awhile. 4-19 is not good, and the perception that Georgia loses the “big games” is based on this reality, this actuality. Among other things, that’s one of the basis for fan concern heading into this weekend.
LikeLike
Amen Minnesota, I was thinking the same thing. The media guide pretty much has the facts, not sure how he figures we were 2-1 against top 20 teams in the last 3 games. My media guide shows the following against top 20:
#8 Clemson L 38-35
#2 Alabama 32-28
#3 Florida W 17-9
Then previously
#3 S.C. L 35-7
#12 Mich st (bowl) L 33-30
#1 LSU L 42-10
#12 S.C. L 45-42
#5 BOISE ST L 34-21
#2 Auburn L 49-31
#12 Arkansas L 31-24
#7 GA TECH (2009) W 30-24
not exactly what I call moving forward guys. Pretty sobering actually. With all this talent, we’ve won 4 games against the top 20 in 5 seasons.
LikeLike
I’ve been a UGA DAWG fan for 60 years, an I am not ok to just win 8,9, or maybe 10 games with CMR! CMR can sure recruit, but he can’t coachem up, nor does he have a talent for hiring OC or DC. With the talent we have at UGA, surely we can do better than 10 wins per year?
LikeLike
We won 12 games last year, so yea, I think we can win more than 10.
LikeLike