My biggest concern about the Gurley situation is that the coaching staff finds itself in the same boat for game prep it was in during the AJ Green suspension. The will-he-or-won’t-he question that hung over the team for weeks was like Chinese water torture. It had to wear on Richt.
The good news is that the staff had all the answers in Columbia. 34-0 will shake a lot of doubts away. A win in Little Rock will shake even more.
Get The Picture 
If everyone is getting reps in practice this year, I don’t believe it should be a big issue.
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I think the fact that it is “plug and play” with the RB’s this year is a huge difference. Bobo was scheming to get the ball in AJ’s hands and we didn’t have another WR with that skill set we could plug in if he didn’t play. Chubb seems to be able to do a lot of the same things as Gurley from a schematic stand point
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+1
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another Saturday of 38 touches would be almost Spanish Inquisition territory.
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Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition.
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Really disappointed you didn’t link the Mel Brooks one instead…
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Too Jewish. 😉
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+1 one of my favorite Monty Python skits…the rack, the comfy chair – the full length version is long, but hilarious!
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We are a ground and pound team this year, that’s got to be our gameplan whether we have Gurley or not. When are we getting Michel back? Since Langley’s working out in the secondary, any chance we can send J.J. back to running back? I hate to Tripp a kid but we’re in contention and J.J. can damn sure play tailback.
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Richt specifically swore off moving JJ back to RB in his Sunday conference call with reporters.
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The difference between this season and 2010 is that we had a freshman QB and a defense that just wasn’t very good.
This year, I think we’ve got a defense that looks like it’s peaking, and our RBs are, presumably, getting healthy. You can replace a guy like Gurley, but many other teams have beat Arkansas without Gurley, too.
I’ve got a good bit of confidence in this staff and this team right now, and I’m excited to see what’s next.
That said, I’m still worried as hell about a letdown and losing to Bert Biliema.
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“losing to Bert Biliema” and being his first SEC win…ugh
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Chubb, while not as good as Gurley (no one is right now, IMO), simulates his skill set fairly well. Chubb is your starter, and plan for that. Gurley is so good you can just get him a few reps in practice to keep him in condition, then plug him in when the time comes.
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Here is another interesting fact from the last article as well: “Despite having a largely rebuilt secondary, Georgia is the only team in the country yet to allow a play of 40 yards or longer. Props to new DC Jeremy Pruitt on that. Last year, the Dawgs ranked 66th in allowing such plays, giving up 13 of ‘em on the season.”
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I’ve chosen to adopt a call-me-when-a-decisions-is-made mentality. The rumors are going to move from pessimistic to optimistic and back a few times before something is announced, and while it would be nice to have the NCAA adjudicate this quickly, I remain skeptical that happens. I hope the UGA coaches do likewise. You have to assume he’s out until told otherwise, so that’s what your preparation should be. That’s how I’m handling it as a fan, too.
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+1. This^^ is exactly the right way for everybody, coaching staff included, to approach it.
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I am more concerned about the defensive line getting ready for four quarters of pound the thingy there.
It will take a studied rotation, which we seem to be able to do.
I thought our offensive line, Theus’ bad footwork notwithstanding of course, showed definite signs of cohesion and the improvement that means.
Arkansas’ defensive staff found every area where Bama showed weakness on offense, and their defensive line is a different sort of challenge for our offensive line and coaches.
Somebody said earlier they were glad Arkansas had to play a tough, physical four-quarter game against Bama. Considering the emotional stress we were under I’d say the effect of last week on this week is a wash.
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You think losing a close game to Alabama has the same affect as winning 34-0 on the road? Couldn’t disagree more. Losing soreness feels totally different than winning soreness.
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Yep, hurts in a different place entirely.
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+1
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While I understand your conventional reasoning, it is my opinion that Georgia was on an emotional high for a lot of reasons for almost four quarters against Missouri. They may enjoy the whirlpool more than the kids at Arkansas, but at the end of the day, they are worn out emotionally.
I sure as hell hope you are right, though.
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Mark Richt said he’s hopeful to have Marshall back this week. I know he hasn’t done much production wise, but if we could get him out in space and boost his confidence a little he would be a great option alongside Douglas to give Chub a breather. Also, not sure if anyone noticed but Malcolm Mitchell quietly led the team in receptions. His yards weren’t great but you have to think he and JSW being out there opened up some of those shorter first down throws to Bennett and Conley. As Mark Richt would say, we just need to stay the course.
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I think JSW and MM’s presence did help open up throws to Bennett and others against Mizzou. Hopefully we can play action this weekend and hit one of them deep to further loosen up the Arky D for Chubb. I have a feeling they will be stacking the box to stop him even more than we saw last week. We were fortunate to have great field position all game from turnovers last game. Granted the Dogs’ D deserves some credit for that it was still fortunate because our yards per play was way down on offense. It was a grind it out type of day for sure.
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The yards per play stats are pretty meaningless…the plan was to pound it out. A couple of long passes would get that stat up really quickly, but that wasn’t the plan and the plan worked well enough. What was it? 3.8 ypp?
3.8 yards times 3 = 11.4 yards and moves the chains..
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Yes, Malcolm’s production was very quiet on Saturday; most of his passes were of the short out/screen variety. They did try to give him a long shot in the left corner of the end zone, but HM overthrew it.
It was very noticeable on replay, however, that Malcolm was treated with kid gloves by Bobo; on a toss sweep play, pre-snap, he and Bennett sprinted and switched receiver spots in formation to allow Bennett to be the blocking WR. They are likely going to continue to protect his knee for the foreseeable future.
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+1 Ginny … I’d love to see Marshall back on Saturday, even if it is only to get him some confidence reps and to help spell Chubb/Douglas.
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Game plan for no Gurley. If he comes back, it’s gravy. Keep the chemistry intact, if at all possible.
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You have to game plan for no Gurley. The NCAA will take approx. 7 to 10 weeks to hand down a 4 game suspension.
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UGA is handling the investigation. I tend to think that UGA will get the benefit of the doubt from the NCAA when it comes to punishment. I don’t think Allen will speak to the NCAA because he’d be admitting to a crime. All the national media and sports world is anti-NCAA on this issue. I think UGA gives Gurley a 1 game suspension, 2 games max and the NCAA won’t challenge it.
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I think you are right…
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Mark Richt and Todd Gurley and the UGA are reaping the sympathies and getting support from sports media and football fans far and wide. Why? Because Richt has been a man of character that has stood solidly on his principles while Auburn, FSU, FU, and others have winked at discipline and made a mockery out of moral principles. I don’t believe in “karma”, but I do believe that doing right is it’s own reward.
(But if I did believe in karma, I’d say it caught up with Auburn against MSU and slammed Florida to the turf)
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Doing right is its own reward? I thought that was Kharma, Ug.
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Semantics, Scorp. If you really want to make a case for Kharma, though, you should point to what happend to Auburn and Florida…I’m thinking your Bitches might be disguised as SEC officials.
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“I’m thinking your Bitches might be disguised as SEC officials.”
That’s a really rotten thing to say about the Sweeties. Please call and apologize soon. 1-800-Kharmic Hotline.
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I think the good news is that Chubb is a better replacement than what we had to replace green with. I certainly like our chances against Arkansas if it turns into one of those low scoring SEC slugfests that we rarely get anymore. Which I expect. I’ll take our chances with Chubb and Douglas. The off week probably couldn’t come at a better time after what I expect to be a physical game and just before another one.
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McClendon will have his RBs ready, Gurley or no Gurley – you can take that to the bank.
I owe McClendon & CMR an apology, as I criticized the hire as smelling too much like nepotism (which we had too much of in the past). But he’s developed into THE best RB coach and RB recruiter in the nation. No doubt about it.
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By the way, notice the stat and the end of the article? UGA is the only team that has not allowed a gain of more than 40 yards this year. CJP is doing a job.
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If we can go into Jacksonville with one loss after another season of BS, well, that’s one hell of a coaching job. I mean…missing our 2 best WR, backup RB, nearly the entire secondary, Gurley for a game, maybe more…dismissals til we’re down to the folks who really want it. And a jerk Gator kicking us in the balls.
We tough one out Saturday and then get reinvigorated by the off week and Gurley’s return in time for us to hit FU like they didn’t know what was coming.
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Some great lines in this UGA-Mizzou recap…
http://dudeyoucrazy.net/2014/10/12/ugifa-the-best-gifs-and-vines-from-uga-v-missouri/
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Same gameplan as Mizzou with or without TG, but if Gurley returns he becomes Chubb (but less than 38 carries), Chubb becomes Douglas, and Douglas becomes “we’re so tired from the other two and here comes this white boy to hammer us.”
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