At least he’s honest about it.
Daily Archives: September 25, 2014
Bummer, dudes.
This strong sense of pessimism many of you are giving about Georgia’s chances Saturday makes me feel weird, like there’s some big secret news you know about that I’m not privy to. (Gurley’s not hurt, is he?) Because on paper, it’s hard for me to see what’s the basis for all the gloom and doom.
For instance, take the advanced stats appraisal of the game.
The F/+ and S&P+ View of Tennessee-Georgia
OVERALL
When UT Has the ball…
When UGA has the ball…
Category UT
UGA
UT Off.
UGA Def.
UT Def.
UGA Off.
F/+ Rk (Overall) 62 (0.4%)
14 (18.2%)
F/+ Change From Last Week 64 (+2)
13 (-1)
S&P+ Overall 46 (210.0)
16 (235.8)
FEI Overall 74 (-0.038)
13 (0.206)
S&P+ Rk (Overall) 210.0
235.8
85 (92.9)
40 (108.6)
29 (117.1)
7 (127.2)
Rushing S&P+ Rk 101 (0.418)
46 (0.417)
30 (0.402)
2 (0.636)
Passing S&P+ Rk 99 (0.467)
83 (0.523)
31 (0.458)
14 (0.638)
It’s not close. Where Georgia is weak, Tennessee is even weaker. And where UT is at its best, the Dawgs are dominant.
You guys gesture at a shaky Georgia secondary and fret. I look at Tennessee’s offensive line and understand why Leonard Floyd can barely contain his glee.
Georgia beat Clemson at home by 24 points. Tennessee’s defense isn’t as good as Clemson’s. Georgia lost on the road to South Carolina by a mere three points. Tennessee’s offense isn’t as good as South Carolina’s.
Believe me, I get the any given Saturday aspect of this game as much as the next guy. But it’s Tennessee that hemorrhages turnovers on the road to ranked teams.
What am I missing here, guys?
The Butts-Mehre way
It seems Frank Crumley succeeded Damon Evans in more than one way.
Frank Crumley, who served as executive associate athletic director for finance and business, stepped down on Sept. 16 while UGA’s Equal Opportunity Office was looking into a relationship he had with a female athletic association employee who reported to him, according to documents obtained Thursday by the Athens Banner-Herald under an open records request.
Crumley, 50, is divorced. The married female who emails indicate Crumley was having an affair with worked in a department in athletics since September 2012.
She received a promotion March 24, 2013, and a raise from $53,000 annually to $60,950. She received a 4 percent raise to $63,388 on July 1, 2014.
The EOO investigator told Crumley the university was concerned the woman got a promotion “because others had more experience than her,” and there was no search for the position. A person in human resources raised questions about the appointment because she did not meet minimum qualifications, according to notes.
The affair isn’t the telling tale here. It’s Crumley believing he could get away with giving her a promotion she wasn’t qualified for and the raise associated with it. When you hear people speak dismissively about how Butts-Mehre operates, that’s the mindset they’re talking about.
Filed under Georgia Football
Just throw the ball, Vols.
I think the general consensus is that Tennessee’s green offensive line is going to have its hands full with pass protection Saturday. The big question is how the Vol coaches scheme to help Worley stay upright in the pocket.
One obvious way would be to run the ball. The problem with that is that to date the running game been a weakness for Tennessee’s offense and stopping the run is one thing Georgia’s defense does at least competently.
Another possibility would be to throw a lot of quick, short passes to keep Georgia’s pass rush from having the time to get to the quarterback. If you listen to the last episode of the Seth and Gentry Show (it starts at about the 20:30 mark), that’s what a media observer of the Tennessee program suggests for the Vols. And, statistically speaking, that appears to be the nature of UT’s passing game, anyway, as the Vols are averaging 240 passing yards a game, but only averaging 5.9 yards per attempt.
The problem I see with that approach is that it appears to play into another area Georgia’s been competent in, at least after the first half of the Clemson game. Georgia’s pass defense has done alright defending the underneath stuff, even against South Carolina. Where the secondary has continued to look vulnerable has been with the intermediary and deeper pass plays, where receivers have had enough time to find the holes in Pruitt’s zone defense, or to exploit breakdowns in man-to-man coverage. But having enough time brings Tennessee back to the issue of pass protection.
To me, it looks like a classic damned if you do, damned if you don’t choice. I suspect UT tries a little of everything to see what sticks to the wall, but that’s pure guesswork on my part.
Tennessee trends
I believe in trends when it comes to analyzing matchups in college football. The problem with the Georgia-Tennessee game is that most of the betting line trends are mixed.
The 17-point spread is the largest in the history of the Tennessee-Georgia series. … The Vols haven’t beaten the Bulldogs since 2009, back when Lane Kiffin was head coach. … In 2013, the first year under Butch Jones, Tennessee lost to Georgia 34-31, but covered as a 13.5-point dog. That game was played in Tennessee. … The Vols are 6-9 against the spread and 9-6 to the UNDER under Butch Jones. … Georgia is 2-1 ATS and 3-0 to the OVER this season.
Low scoring game? Maybe. Georgia covers? Maybe again.
Still, there are a couple of things worth noting. For one, the Vols haven’t won an SEC opener in ten seasons. And for another,
In their five road games against ranked teams the past two seasons, the Volunteers were doomed by 15 turnovers, including three against the Sooners, and carry a minus-9 turnover margin into Saturday’s trip to No. 12 Georgia.
Old habits tend to be hard to break. Let’s hope that continues to be the case on Saturday.
Filed under Because Nothing Sucks Like A Big Orange
#sirwalterscottandtangledwebs
I’m a lawyer. I take a lot of crap from folks about my profession, but the reality is that most of the time I’m proud of the way attorneys conduct themselves according to professional standards.
This, however, isn’t one of those times. Sheesh.
Filed under ACC Football
Standard preparation for Tennessee Week
Richt’s not taking anything for granted.
Rocky Top, Tennessee!
Yes, Saturday’s game is in Athens. But the Bulldogs were still blasting “Rocky Top” at practice this week.
“I’m sure they’ll bring their band,” Richt. “I hope our players are getting sick of it.”
If they haven’t, you’re not doing your job well enough, Coach.
A shoe we’ve been expecting to drop.
First casualty of the season: Shattle Fenteng. And of course it comes at the position group with the least amount of depth.
Filed under Georgia Football
Get The Picture 