It’s whether Georgia’s found an offensive identity.
After watching a true freshman quarterback throw the ball 55 times in his first SEC road game, I have to think Kirby Smart is migrating from his stated preference to play power football to a more practical whatever it takes to win approach. And that’s good.
The simple reality is that Georgia doesn’t have the offensive line right now to play the kind of ball Smart prefers. There’s only so many times you can run your head into that brick wall before you crack your skull.
I recognize that Eason’s a baby, an immensely talented one, but a baby nonetheless. He had his true freshman moments last night, true, but he also made some plays that make you realize greater days are coming.
I don’t envy Jim Chaney’s job right now. He’s got a lot of balls to keep in the air. The good thing is that if he and Smart are being forced into a more diverse offensive approach than they initially preferred, it gives him the chance to be more protective with the offensive line, as well as the chance to force defenses to start backing players out of the box to respect the pass, something that will no doubt be received most gratefully by Mr. Chubb.
We’ll see where this is going.
So right on…we have so much quickness in space. Can’t see how we could continue to think we can let defenses tighten up the box like that.
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Also…did we throw a screen pass last night? Kept craving a screen [ass to Chubb.
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Was thinking the same thing last night. It used to be such an effective part of our attack and Mizzou seemed primed for it. Sadly I don’t recall one all season, much less last night.
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That has been an issue for Mizzou for years. I recall a few years back when they were playing SC and were up like 17-0 late in the 3rd. Then Spurrier just started calling screens and 3 possessions later it was 17-17. They would bite so hard on them over and over again.
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Neglecting Chubb’s talent like that was criminal
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screens are most effective against teams that are blitzing. I was watching while holding a 7 day old, so I wasn’t as sharped eyed as I have been in the past, but it felt like Mizzou was rushing 4 all game(and getting pressure), so a screen against a set defense would get blown up. at least, that was my perspective. The numerous offensive coordinators reading here can assess my assessments. 🙂
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Add to that the simple fact that Eason may not have the soft touch screen pass club in his bag just yet, and I think we might have the answer to the question.
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Excellent point, especially in the first half.
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KIRBY APOLOGIST!!!
Seriously, I’m not sure I’m with your POV in your last paragraph. “Forced” into a more diverse approach? I should want/hope/expect Chaney to be forcing diversity on the opposing D’s…that’s dictating the game to them the way we used to when we could score 40 PPG. The failure to get Chubb in space was odd last night. Rather than try that, we just left him in to block. I jokingly posted that’s only because he’s probably better at that than any of our OL. I least, I think I’m joking. If the goal is to pass more to still open seams for Mr. Chubb off of right tackle…I just don’t think that’s a formula that will work against Ole Miss, TN, or FL. Getting Chubb the ball in space via screens and sweeps should help Eason more than Eason throwing deep to help Chubb IMHO.
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You would think. His best run was to the outside. On one play they had him actually on the line blocking like he was just an extra TE.
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Add deep draws as well; no not counters but true draws.
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Thank Dawg for Dish anywhere. I had to be in Chicago for a memorial so I got back to the hotel late. I just finished watching the game in Midway and it was one gutty performance!
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Even as you were “spot on” with your pre-game comment that Georgia’s talent would probably win a close one (points not covered), you are probably correct in your suggestion that the offense will have to adopt a “pass first” strategy to open things up for the run and to get things moving. The scary part is that Eason is so young..but it will pay off greatly before this year is out. There will be bumps and bruises for awhile, though.
But it WAS an very wonderful ending to a game where we were fed a constant stream of ‘Missouri’s players, coaches,mascots, etc.’ are the greatest thing since indoor plumbing.
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I can’t stand Brent Musberger and, especially, Jort Jesse Palmer.
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Funny thing is that I heard that both KS and Saban are strongly considering going to more dual threat QBs as opposed to pure pro style pocket guys. Saban pretty much already has because the Hurtz kid was just better.
Take it with all the salt in the Dead Sea bc it was our old buddy Stew Mandel on a podcast but he said that he had talked to both Saban and Smart about it. Said KS pretty much had to take what he could get already having a talent like Eason on board but he was considering a different strategy in the future.
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Far into the future with Fromm coming in
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My thoughts exactly
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I can’t wait for Fromm to get here. Let him compete with Easson, learn the college game, and then if he’s ready take the helm. Don’t know if Lawrence’s ego has been overstroked enough to keep him away from Georgia but I’m content that QB isn’t going to be our problem for a few years….unless the dual-threat trend takes over. If there’s a Lamar Jackson clone out there, I’d have to have a go with him. Just now, Pittman had better coach up what we have in the OL. What are Cleveland and McFadden doing…what we need is some serious GATA athletes…size doesn’t seem to be the issue up front.
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Fromm isn’t going to take the job away from Eason.
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How would you know that? He may very well not, after all he will have a year’s experience as an edge. I will say, he seems further along as a Senior than JE was at this point, and he will be on campus in January and have a Spring to begin learning before summer camp. As Old Dawg says, let’s get a good competition going and make both of them better for next fall. I don’t want to begin next fall where either of them currently are. I just wouldn’t take a bet on/against either one.
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Mac, my point is if Eason continues to improve as he has the first 3 weeks throughout the season, he has won the starting spot. A competition only happens if Eason falls flat on his face. I just can’t imagine two seasons in a row with a true freshman as a starter. I could see this scenario if Lambert had held off Eason throughout the season, but that’s not where we are now.
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Eason will play three years and turn pro, giving Fromm his three years. We’re right where we need to be for QB.
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Or 4 because at this point, I believe Fromm will redshirt. Why put them in back to back classes if we can create a year of separation between them? Everyone seems to be enamored with Trevor Lawrence, but I love Fromm at this point.
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I am not arguing with either you or Russ about the chance, perhaps likelihood, that Eason starts for three years. He has a jump start on that by earning the starting job this early, but I question if that is a stranglehold at this point. Odds might be 60%, perhaps as much as 80%, but the evidence is very thin at this point with many tougher tests and situations yet to come, beginning this weekend. I think the UGA fans have been starved for a replacement to Greene, Shock, Staff, and Murray and are a little ahead of the curve on giving JE the job so quickly….especially with someone so talented coming in a half step behind him with comparable/better skills. If Eason does hold on for three years, it will mean a lot of great things for UGA football.
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The point isn’t whether Fromm (or Lawrence for that matter) pushes Eason for the starting gig before 2018…the point is …with all due respect to some DGDs…that when Eason leaves we aren’t trotting out Cox, JTIII, or hoping for a grad transfer or hoping for a true freshman…etc. etc. etc. As good as Bobo and Richt were at developing Greene, Shock, Stafford, and Murray…they were just as bad at maintaining class separation on the depth chart.
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Class separation at QB is difficult at best. You need to recruit a good player almost every year. You also have to keep underclassmen from transferring for the promise of playing time elsewhere. Finally, if you miss on a QB for multiple years, you’re in a bind from a talent standpoint. That’s what happened to us – LeMay, Ramsey, and Park have been misses for various reasons. All of them were also recruited by everyone.
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Lamar Jackson’s rear end…… He probably won’t finish the season: I’ll take Eason, Fromm, and the Cartersville general any day.
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Guess there will be no more “who will be the starting QB” questions anymore.
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Yep, 3rd game in, SKINNY took over.
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It was one of those times where even the people who hadn’t been in the arena could see it. From 37F, even.
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Yeah. I kept waiting for the strangely timed “let’s put in Lambert for a few series” call last night. I don’t have anything against GL and Eason did have his share of freshman moments last night but GL doesn’t make the game winning drive.
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Yeah 55 attempts is just insane with the RB’s we have.
If we had an O line and a kicker we would be pretty good.
Easons offense now, valuable experience gained last night, great confidence builder.
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You have to think that all of that will get better as the season goes on, though. Even Ham…he can’t really be as bad as he was last night, right?
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You wouldn’t think anyone could make the team and be that bad.
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That deep sigh and shoulder slump said a lot after that last yippy shank Ham attempted. Its in his head now. He knows he’s letting his team down.
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This offensive line is not capable of finding any offensive identity. Add it the WR issues and the D can load up and key on Chubb. If a WR will step up as a deep threat the offense will open up. 16 is a good slot guy but at 5’7″ it’s going to be tough to out jump or over power CBs.
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Add in the WR issues.
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What has happened to Javon Wims, though the was the tall receiver problem solver.
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A bigger question is have we found a defensive identity?
With little to no pass rush, we are putting a ton of pressure on our DBs in single coverage and we looked bad at it in the first half.
I was surprised at how easy it was for Missouri to burn us downfield and I am confident if Missouri continued the pass-first philosophy, they would have won the game.
However, with very little running game, they gave us a good scouting experience for Ole Miss.
Let’s see how well we can adjust.
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Bulldog Joe, exactly right concerning the lack of a pass rush. Successful defenses are able to put pressure rushing 4. DB’s have no shot without a pass rush. Maybe we can get it figured out?
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Weak offensive line play. No pass rush. Half the receivers have stone fingers. Obviously very lucky to be 3-0. On plus side, Tennessee hasn’t looked great either, and Florida might be renewing their quarterback issues for more than a week or two. The East is still a question mark.
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Let’s just hope that was a really good mizzou front. The frustrating thing was that they were not bringing the house to stop the run. They just whipped us up front and keyed on 27 when he was in there. I kept thinking that it was going to break free given the TOP differential but it never happened.
Thankfully we had another option with #10. If we can get 81 and 82 to catch the damn ball we could have something.
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And that was a Missouri team that will win 6 games max.
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Not sure about that. They have one: Vandy, UK and USC makes 4. Two easy non-cconference games makes 6. Then they need one win out of UF, UT, LSU and Arkansas to get to 7. I say they win one of those.
That wasn’t a bad football team. The good news is that I don’t think we have any really good teams on the schedule.
What we saw last night is good prep for Ole miss I think. Very similar types of football teams especially on offense. I think ole miss is a little more aggressive defensively but that may actually help us.
Let’s hope at 1-2 and with a looming NCAA hammer that they lay down a little for us.
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“The good news is that I don’t think we have any really good teams on the schedule.
We’ve got one Saturday. Ole Miss is a good football team. You watch any of that Alabama game?
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Yes. I’ve said all year that Ole miss was the best team we have on the schedule. At 1-2 and with the way they’ve struggled in the second half, it’s hard to call them a “really good team.” To me that’s a playoff contender.
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This season is shaping up a good bit like Stafford’s first year. Though inexperienced and prone to mistakes, he was clearly the best option at QB, the OL was lousy, much of the team’s other talent was young, and the Dawgs struggled (to such a point at mid-season, most of us wondered in a losing season was in the cards). However, the team put things together by the end of the season and played really well down the stretch.
History may not exactly repeat, it won’t be the worst thing if it rhymes.
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That’s been my point of view all year.
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We better put Wynn at LT and bench Catalina before he gets Eason hurt. Try somebody like Kindley or Sims at LG.
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You could move Catalina inside and try him at guard, but we have to find someone who deal with speed rushers on Eason’s blind side.
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Agreed. Move Wynn to LT and put big Kindley at LG.
While Catalina recovered late in the game, it seems like he should be nothing more than depth at this point.
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Who was it running there mouth about ” the process ” and sticking to it even if we lose . Yea I’m sure “the process” calls for a freshman qb to throw 55 times on the road. Kirby and Chaney are moving the pieces on the board to win any way they can . See you play to win the game. One can tell that not many on this blog ever played ball past pop warner .
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+1,000. I read some of the armchair analysis here sometimes and I just shake my head. You don’t have to have played to understand it but you do have to have watched for a while and paid attention. I rme,bet the “Kirby is going to use the process even if it means losing” nonsense. So stupid it made my head hurt. Does anyone actually believe Kirby learned that from Saban? To stubbornly stick to a formula even if it means losing multiple games? Jeez.
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So Saban gave UAB and La. Monroe his best shot, huh? Really? Seriously?
We maximized our potential vs. Nicholls? Really? Seriously? Those were the best calls we had in the playbook? Really? Seriously?
The question for those of us with a functioning cerebral cortex was whether that same stubbornness would follow us to Columbia.
That you think it was never there is just stunning. Really. Seriously.
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You think that Kirby is more interested in proving a point to his team than winning games? Really? Seriously?
You think he cleared that with McGarity and Morehead before he took the job? “Just to let you fellas know, we’ll probably lose several head scratchers the first year or two because I’m just going to be a stubborn idiot.” Really? Seriously?
Do you think that the powers that be, who fired Richt for averaging 10 wins with several stupid losses, will happily accept those same stupid losses with Smart? Really? Seriously?
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Derek are you using a secure server or bleach bit to cover your tracks. See one can tell here by your rediculous shit that you have never even played high school ball. So why didn’t we just run it 70 times and lose ! . Because Kirby says we want to be a down hill dominant running team Bama went 7-6 first year . You see Derek you , play football to win the game. One can tell you never played. Ever
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Chaney is proving to be very bull-headed, predictable and unimaginative. To realize early that our line could not creat a hole did not require someone in the arena. To wait until the 4th quarter to stop trying to run the ball between the tackles and try running it to the edge (other than going to the well for the 15th time with a jet sweep to 16) is just pure stubbornness. To not spread out, where your qb is most comfortable, where you would force the D to stop loading the box and where you would create space for your running backs and playmakers, would not have required much imagination. If Bobo was using crayons, Chaney is using street chalk.
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We held onto the ball for nearly 35 minutes vs their t.o.p.
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Seriously? You’re not that dumb, are you? They ran a fast break offense all night, so TOP is biggest red-herring, stupid stat you could possibly bring up. Shit, even Brent fucking Mussberger knew enough to say that. You seriously need to delete yourself.
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Has anyone ever called you a gaping, festering asshole? If not, sir/madam, let me be the first.
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Comes with the territory of being right all the time. Now go fuck yourself.
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Lol. I’m right, you’re wrong cracks me up. Nobody is really that much of an argumentative shit head. It’s schtick and it’s pretty funny if you take it like that. its so over the top that its funny.
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Even shtick can be over the top rude. He made a good point about the time of possession thing, but his rudeness is what stands out. I thought in the end that Mizzou’s hurry-up was their undoing. They screwed themselves with poorly ran pass plays and saved clock for the Dawgs to get the win. Good ’nuff. You take what you’re given and KS was happy to get it.
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I agree about the game Uglydawg. I think Missouri got a little too sure of themselves and it cost them. I hope Chaney will stop trying to ram Chubb between the guards. We have one of the best backs in the country and we are wasting him. As for I’m right, I agree it’s rude. It’s just too ridiculous to take seriously.
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It’s the same thing that Ole Miss was doing. I was amazed that Ole Miss would run a 3 and out series that took a whole 55 seconds off the clock, just to get their defense right back on the field. Just dumbassery.
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Someone who gets me. Man that pisses me off. Fuck you too.
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Thanks but you’re not my type.
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So…55 pass attempts isn’t spreading it out? What are we supposed to do, never run the ball? Lighten up Francis. The lack of running production is a big concern, but let’s not dive into the shallow end of the pool and hurt ourselves 3 games into the Kirby Smart Era.
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Literally spreading the offensive formation and running out of said formation, homo.
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Nothing like capping it off with a homophobic slur, right?
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Either you drop the slurs, or find another place to dazzle folks with your wit.
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how many handles does that guy have??? 😉
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Cool video, bro. See you.
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Christ. Thank you, Senator.
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We’re right, he’s gone.
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..glydawg
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Thank you, Senator. It takes a lot to get banned here. That guy has been over the edge for a while now.
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Thank you very much. Tomorrow is my birthday and that is an awesome present.
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Happy Birthday DB.
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Thank you.
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The win over Mizzu was a nice present. My birthday is around the Auburn game…want to guess my b-day wish? 🙂
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I hope get a great birthday present. My favorite one was last year against the Gamecocks.
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you get
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Regarding the slurs, it’s just another symptom of the loss of civility that has emerged here fairly recently. I honestly can’t remember this many insults being tossed back and forth in the past. It’s easy to get drawn into it, and I would be lying if I said I haven’t. I don’t want to see this board deteriorate into a SEC Rant 2.0, so I promise to abstain and hope others will follow suit. This is too good of a site with too good of a group of posters for that to happen.
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It’s not just here, it is society in general.Lack of manners, politeness, civility, and just plain old common courtesy are rampant. The older I get, the more it bugs me. Sorry, old man rant over!
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Eason did as well managing the game in a hostile environment as we could have hoped for, no delay penalties or communication issues as often happens. He made some really good throws, a few very poor ones, and a few where more touch was needed. He seems more accurate over the middle and is really having trouble on the bombs which run the full spectrum of well short, yards long, or too wide on sideline routes. I believe he had one long TD missed because the defender knew he was beat and interfered, pass came up long but I feel he was on target without the interference. I think some of the long range accuracy is due to lack of confidence in the OL, which is justified by four sacks and several hurries. Definitely more
comfortable in the shotgun and looks to be dropping too deep when snaps
are taken under center.
Little doubt he is the hoss we are going to ride into the next critical step of the schedule. Hopefully him getting more reps with the ones will improve their timing in the next couple of weeks. We need to see more of Terry Godwin on the field, the combo of IMac and either Godwin and/or Davis at WR will make the defense stay honest. I don’t know how we can get the TEs more involved in the passing until we fix something along the front as they are needed to help with the blocking until some changes are made.
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U ain’t right they threw it 55 times . Many from 3 ,4 , and 5 receiver sets with a true freshman Qb and a receiver crew that drops too many passes and a line that can’t run or pass block. On the road also. It is punks like you that never even played high school ball , blaming the coaches even though we won . Go watch a movie that you have already seen like dumb and dumber. At least you know how that turns out before you watch it. And you could have a staring role.
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Maybe my least favorite play of the night was the wild cat formation, with godwin trying to read that #91 that had just been eating everyone’s lunch.
We lined up and decided our best bet was to run straight at their best player on defense and not block him.
That was some kind of stupid.
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Dawgphan that is why they call it the option Ohio st did it all day as did Lville , Bama, Baylor , Tennessee , Houston and even Ga tech and they run up huge yards doing it. It has been a positive play for us . Chub got his longest run of the night out of that very formation And no we did not block the last man on Los. The D is going to win sometimes
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I don’t think Chubb is100%. I have never seen poor blocking or a loaded box interrupt his productivity until the last 2 games.
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I sadly have to agree. I didn’t want to say it out loud, but Chubb’s supporting cast this year isn’t any crappier than it was last year.
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I think that’s why they are only running him North and South…I hope we’ve got some better idea of what else to do against O’Ms. They have a killer pass rushing attack. I can’t believe they are ranked ten or twelve places BEHIND Georgia. Kind of strange. We will be very lucky to get out of Oxford without getting embarrassed. Hope I’m very wrong.
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Can anybody tell me why I can’t listen to the Georgia football network on wsb Internet radio? I text messaged a friend back in Atlanta and he told me I had to subscribe. Subscribe to what? Since when is the game not on the radio?
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Forget WSB. Tunein.com or the TuneIn app should have you covered.
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WSB is blocked outside of listening area. Georgiadogs.com streams the radio broadcast free, you’ll just have about a one minute delay if also watching on tv.
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Thank you gentlemen, I’m out in the middle of nowhere out west.
Cheers
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If you have a smart phone, the Georgia Bulldogs Live app plays not only the game, but the pre- and post-game shows and press conferences during the week.
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I’m glad to see us spreading things out and throwing the ball. I’d just like to see us spread things out and get the ball to Chubb. It seems like the only time we hand Nick the ball it’s out of a two tight end set to send him straight up the middle. As was pointed out above, how about a screen pass to Chubb? How about any number of things we could do to get him the ball in space. Straight up smash mouth is not something this line is capable of. But that doesn’t mean we can’t use our most potent weapon.
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paul, see paulanddrewmartin post and replys at 4:50 above. Chubb maybe isn’t 100 percent since the North Carolina game.
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I’m a long time reader, finally joining the fray here. It seemed to me that Cheney DID adjust when it became obvious that they couldn’t run, and that’s why they threw 55 passes. I don’t disagree with y’all on the screen pass and sweep thing, but screens and sweeps do require everyone to block, and right now they aren’t blocking anybody, so I figure that’s what he was thinking. Isn’t it also harder to run outside on those over (under? Haven’t watched the replay yet) fronts Missouri was in all night? I’d assume that’s why they were trying all the multi tight end sets: more horizontal hats on hats. It looked to me like the guards just got blown up all night, and Catalina missed a ton of backside blocks. Even Chubb looks mortal when a D end can tackle him from behind before he gets going. Again I’m with y’all on the spreading it out thing, but at the same time if they were having success in the passing game, why fix what ain’t broke? Anyway, it was an ugly and frustrating win, but a W is a W, and man, that comeback felt good. To echo everyone else, if they can shore up the O line and the pass rush, we could have a good year. If not… Well, it’ll be interesting to say the least. Here’s to hopefully giving Ole Miss yet another comeback loss. Go dawgs!
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Welcome aboard! Glad to have you here.
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Nice post EAV!
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Agreed I thought he adjusted ,the wild dawg was worth a try and if I remember correctly it was run more than once and was successful. Chaney allowed his 1st year starter QB to make plays to win the game. He did set up some easy passes to get him rolling but also largely pulled the training wheels off.
All in all I am satisfied with the win but at them same time I’m not going to say that we have geniuses on the sideline. I do like that Chaney found a new weapon in the FB pass, hopefully he continues to find more. Ole Miss will be tough but the team does have a fighting chance.
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I think things will get better in the running game. How can they not? But right now there is something very odd going on. How can Chubb go for 222 against NC and then the running game disappear these last two games? That defies explanation. I don’t care how many men are in the box. That doesn’t explain it all. And I don’t buy that Chubb isn’t 100%. If that were the problem we would see Sony coming in and doing better. But he isn’t. Nobody can run. The only thing I know for sure is Catalina ain’t much of a left tackle. I don’t believe Houston and Theus were very good either so this whole issue with the run is hard to understand. I know we are a ways off from being able to pound the ball like Kirby wants to but we had better figure something out because if you can’t run you aren’t going to win many games.
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I’m hoping (although I have no real reason to suspect it) that we’ve been keeping the toss sweeps/outside of the tackles running plays to a minimum so far in order to spring them on Ole Miss and UT. I think the biggest issue with the running game is that we’re trying to run straight down the field and it isn’t working. I’m hoping that we’re also saving screens and bubble screens for later too because those would really help out.
Like I said after the UNC game, it seems like the coaches have a plan with the way they’ve handled Eason and Lambert. I’m betting (hoping) they have a plan to get the running game going too. We’ll have to see.
And Theus wasn’t the all-star I’d hoped he be but he’s on a NFL roster. At this rate Catalina won’t be. So there is some difference between the two.
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The Missouri game counts just as much as Ole Miss and UT. When we were down late, that stuff would have come out of the bag if the coaches believed it would work. No use saving candy for a party if the party is about to get cancelled by Mizzu.
I do also hope to see some screen passes and outside runs.
Maybe they are running Chubb up the gut so much to improve the effectiveness of the play fake and also to get the defense to converge on Chubb and get I Mac or Sony outside on a speed sweep. I think it’s designed to buy Eason a second or two to make his pitch/throw.
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Haven’t checked the stats but Sony did in fact seem to be getting more yds than Chubb.
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Chubb was 19/63/3.3. Sony was 9/37/4.1
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I’m curious if The Senator thinks Chubb isn’t 100% either. I’ve started thinking that last game and I’m even more convinced now. This isn’t typical Chubb work. Everyone knew last year that Chubb would be getting 30 touches a game, yet he still had 100+ every game. What has changed? Is the blocking really worse than last year? I have a hard time believing that. Are they really loading the box more this year than last year? Was anyone really that scared of Lambert last year to NOT load the box?
Last year I thought Chubb made the line look better than they actually were. This year, he doesn’t seem to have that ability.
I hope I’m wrong, Nothing would please me more to see maybe the best DGD rack up 200+ next weekend.
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Personally, I think if something was wrong with Chubb, like not being able to run laterally as speculated in a previous post, the coaches wouldn’t have him in there. They would call on Michel and Harrien. I wonder if, for all his clearly superior physical abilities, Eason isn’t quite as skilled at checking into better running plays or communicating blocking issues. Also, to beat a dead horse, the OL sucks, with the possible exception of Wynn.
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Interesting thought on Eason checking into run plays. Only the coaching staff knows for sure.
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When it was announced that Lambert was starting against UNC I jokingly remarked that he must be better at handing off to Chubb.
Now I wonder…..
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While I’d love to see Chubb get 150+ every game it’s not so bad seeing Eason and Imac step up. Our OL is a huge problem, but we were able to adjust and stay undefeated. Payne had another fine game, I’m sure we’ll see Sony contributing in a big way soon. Godwin too.
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How many times have we passed to our tight ends? How many screen passes have we used so far?
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They had five catches as a group against Missouri. I want to say they were targeted a total of nine times.
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9 out of 55. Hmmm….
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There are only so many balls and 1/6th of the time seems about right to me. The fullback plays ate up 5 of the attempts to good effect. Godwin and McKenzie were probably targeted about 20 times between them, which makes sense considering they’re the only reliable receivers at this point. Chigbu and Davis were probably targeted about 12 times to very little effect except for a couple of pass interferences, one of which wasn’t called. That accounts for roughly 46 attempts alone. I’m pulling from memory, and the numbers aren’t exact, but what would be a suitable number of passes to tight ends in your mind? Especially considering that few completions have gone for more than about 5 yards and they need to be kept in to assist in pass protection pretty often.
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Can someone tell me the last time we had a dominant offensive line?
We’ve had so many high profile misses in this area: guys that were supposed to be awesome but due to either injury (Trinton Sturdivant) or or failure to develop (John Theus), never delivered.
What’s the deal here? 😦
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1995.
Of course, because Edwards broke his foot and Bobo broke his leg, we got nothing out of it, but that was a really good OL.
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The 2002 offensive line was really good.
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Yeah, I think that might be the answer. 2002.
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CMR didn’t make recruiting O-Linemen a priority. To answer your question the last time UGA had a dominating OL was 1980-83 when Dooley was HC.
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If the last time we did something was 80-83 chances are no one has prioritized it.
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http://patrickgarbin.blogspot.com/2015/01/living-low-on-hogs.html
Smart is making OL a priority but it takes time to turn it around.
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I believe Eason is going to be awesome…but did anyone else notice that he put a little too much zing on the ball on short throws? I’m sure it is just the adrenaline he must be feeling and it will be corrected (if,indeed it is an issue..I could be wrong).
Against Old Miss, I hope we have some pass plays that get the ball out fast..or Eason could get hurt. (Also, with OMs’ pass rush, they could be burned by the screen or draws.
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The passes to the FB were about perfect. The one to McKenzie in the left flat in the fourth wasn’t so much “hot” as it was behind him.
I think his accuracy and pace has been pretty outstanding.
Wommack is going to throw the kitchen sink at Eason Saturday. Hopefully, we’ll be able to be a little more balanced so that he doesn’t have to do everything.
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Stafford took about halfway through his sophomore year before he got the touch down on the short passes and wasn’t just throwing fastballs every time. It’s definitely teachable.
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“It’s definately teachable”. Quincy Carter not considered 🙂
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Class is usually cancelled in a snow storm.
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Good point. I also recall Stafford having some accuracy issues on longer passes his freshman and early into his sophomore year.
By Florida game 07, he was pretty darn good.
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I don’t have problem running Chubb inside because that’s where he is strongest. I have a problem running him inside but nearly exclusively out of that set with 1WR, 2TE, 1 FB and the OL with tight splits. If we’re gonna run that formation a lot we have to keep throwing to the FB and get these WR and good TEs much more involved. Then it becomes dangerous and especially in play action. Right now, though, it’s obvious what we’re running 95% of the time.
Maybe I’ve been hard on Chaney and it’s a good plan that we just aren’t executing too well. A lot of it’s on the QB to make changes at the line. Not a knock on Eason but he stared his primary receiver down a lot Saturday night. The better defenses will make him pay if he doesn’t start working his progressions. Chaney’s offense really does live and die at the QB. Obviously our young but talented QB has a lot of pressure on him.
I think we found the balance to our offense Saturday night and that’ll make defenses back off the line a little if Eason can see the field. This will also help the OL. Truth be told…we probably run that multiple TE and FB set to help our LT who really struggles in pass protection. The rest of the OL isn’t too bad, IMO. It does suck that our best guard is forced to play RT because don’t have ONE good tackle.
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No sweeps. No outside runs. Run blocking is atrocious (but, but, but Pittman). Special teams are wretched. Chaney’s playcalling at the end was a joke. We are not in the midst of rebuilding. We have phenomenal athletes. I see see no improvement from CMR to CKS. The same morons that screached for a coaching change are the same morons telling people like me to “shhhhhh, you gotta support the team”. We are lucky to be 3-0. Should be 1-2.
But hey. At least our HC is animated and came from Bama! Woohoo!
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Keen insights. Good trolling.
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👍🏼
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In the last 20ish years, I can think of four coaches that had the kind of success you’re asking for in year one: Larry Coker and Gus Malzahn, who weren’t able to sustain that level of success, Urban Meyer at Ohio State (but not Florida), and Bob Stoops. I suppose you could throw Chip Kelly in there too, but he had already been the OC at Oregon and recruited for his system prior to being named head coach. Saban isn’t on that list, at any of his stops, and neither is Steve Spurrier, Tom Osbourne, Phil Fulmer, Bobby Bowden, Les Miles, Jimbo Fisher, Pete Carroll, or Jim Tressel.
If we are seeing the same things at this time next year, then maybe I’ll agree with you, but considering that there’s been all of one coach in the last two decades that’s been able to accomplish what you’re asking and maintain that level of success, I’d say maybe you should have a little patience.
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My lack of patience isn’t for CKS. It’s with the Bama-type Neanderthal fans we have that thought CKS would bring some sort of sabanesque magic juju to our program.
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Whoops, meant to type two, but with the caveat that Meyer walked into a stacked roster as well at Ohio State.
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Gotcha, and agreed.
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But hey. It takes a while to “turn a dinghy”. Or whatever.
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While statistically true, this isn’t a fair assessment of these coaches and the transitions that occurred there. Regardless of one’s thoughts on fCMR, the program that Smart inherited is vastly different than the one inherited by nearly all of the coaches on that list in the last 20 years.
While the depth isn’t what it should be, talent at certain positions isn’t what it could be, this is not a team in a rebuilding mode. This is closer to Larry Coker taking over at Miami than Saban taking over at Bama.
That is why Kirby is getting less of the benefit of the doubt than a typical new coach in a transitional year. Georgia is not a learn on the job type program. Georgia is not a team with middling talent.
The comments I’ve seen here and other messages boards about “kirby isn’t missing kicks, kirby can’t catch the ball for them, etc” about players being in position to make a play but not making it are the exact type of comments made by fCMR apologists in a bygone era.
So far, Kirby hasn’t blown me away with any minor detail that shows he’s in a class above what we had(having more staff to assist and plan doesn’t count as fCMR wasn’t allowed that), except he doesn’t have Brian Freaking Schottenheimer on the sidelines, for which he is to be commended! We’ll see how it plays out. CKS isn’t happy with it, I’m not happy with it, and yet we’re 3-0 and that is a beautiful thing indeed.
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It’s neither Alabama nor Miami. It may be closest to Florida and Meyer in 2005, which would have been an 8-4 season for him/them if not for Shockley’s injury the week before the Florida game.
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I was never on the “Fire CMR” wagon, so I have nothing to apologize for when I say, “Have a little patience…this team is a work in progress.
Just try to enjoy watching the Dawgs grow and learn. We already kenw this almost certainly wouldn’t be a championship year and now we need to accept it emotionally.
There is an excellent chance the Dawgs will win the East, though..If they do, it’s huge for the future. Old Ms, TN, FL, KY, UVdy, SC and Auburn are all beatable..I think UGA will be favored in each except Old Miss.
CMR didn’t leave the cupboard totally bare, but the offensive line almost wasn’t there.
Georgia is three and 0 ( and I think most would agree a little bit over ranked)….they will lose some games and win some.
I know when I’m real about my expectations I don’t set myself up for dissapointment.
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You know what happened the last time we won our first SEC game on the road, at night, by a point with a freshman saving our asses, right?
If 1980 proved anything its that its better to be lucky and scrappy than good any day. We’ve probably had 6 to 8 teams better than that 1980 team, but that was the team that found a way every week.
Just beat Ole Miss….
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I was not on the fire Richt bandwagon. I think it was mistake but now that it happened I want us to support our coach and our team. We are 3-0 and growing. Enjoy the team. Support Kirby. Those who are already talking about and thinking about who to replce Kirby with are fools. We will end up like Tennesse if they continue to make the calls.
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+1 Debby. The good news is…they don’t get to make that call. 🙂
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