Don’t think this stat will surprise anyone here.
Daily Archives: September 21, 2018
It’s Georgia Tech! You can’t do that.
You gotta love this quote from the genius: “You can’t keep laying the damn ball on the ground and expect to win. It’s not rocket science.”
But, wait… isn’t Georgia Tech… supposed to be good… at science…
Ah, hell, forget about it.
Filed under Georgia Tech Football
The Hankton effect
Look at who’s first and who’s last on this chart:
It’s not simply that Georgia’s receivers are catching the ball; what they’re doing after the catch is just as remarkable.
Two-thirds of receiving yards after the catch? That’s pretty crazy.
Filed under Georgia Football, Stats Geek!
Today, in doing it for the kids
While I don’t agree with those who still support the romance of the NCAA’s amateurism stance, I understand why they do.
What I don’t get is the logic the NCAA puts out to buttress its position. Like this:
… It’s not enough for the organization to flash a knife and demand players’ wallets; it also has to tell everyone within earshot that, no, actually, empty pockets are good. That’s how the NCAA argues that its amateurism rules — which limit player compensation to tuition, room, board and small cost-of-living stipends, but do not restrict sports administrators such as Alabama football coach Nick Saban from collecting millions — are necessary and justified because they protect and enhance athletes’ educations.
There’s no connection between cash in a player’s hands — or a W-2 form in their mailbox — and their ability to open a textbook or show up to class. But that hasn’t stopped the NCAA from making this case in the court of public opinion and, more recently, in federal court…
It’s one thing to argue that paying players would upset the NCAA’s business model. (I don’t buy that, but at least I get the argument.) It’s quite another to say it’s in the student-athletes’ best interests not to get paid. But that’s what the NCAA insists is reality.
“Maintaining amateurism,” the organization says on its website, “is crucial to preserving an academic environment in which acquiring a quality education is the first priority.”
Seriously, even if you staunchly support the status quo, does that make any sense? If you’re somebody who believes it does, I’d love to read your reasoning in the comments about how it’s only student-athletes who are affected in their studies by filthy lucre.
Filed under Academics? Academics., The NCAA
Can’t anybody play this meteor game right?
You know Tony Barnhart’s head is about to explode now.
Audition time
Sports Illustrated looks at the job Drew Lock did against the nation’s 93rd ranked defense in terms of defensive passer rating to make the case that NFL scouts are taking notice of Lock’s improved performance. Part of that is because Mizzou is running a passing game that is more NFL-friendly.
For Lock’s previous two seasons at Missouri he played in Josh Heupel’s Air Raid offense, a system that, historically, hasn’t translated well to the NFL. This year, in Dooley’s blend of a pro-style scheme with elements of the spread, Lock is being asked to go through more progressions, and execute plays that are a little more complex, like ones with combo routes.
“The fact that he is going through progressions, like third, second-third, half-field, cross-field, things like that, those are things that not a lot of quarterbacks in college are doing,” the scout says. “Half the time—especially in those spread offenses—it is just pitch and catch, the defenses aren’t as complex, the quarterbacks are catching the ball and throwing right away and they don’t even have to think about it.”
Part of that requires time, which would indicate an offensive line doing a good job with pass protection. Part of that requires opponents lacking a solid pass defense. Aside from Purdue, Lock has thrown against Wyoming, which sports the 74th ranked defensive passer rating number and 0-3 UT-Martin, an FCS team which gave up 61 points to Middle Tennessee.
Lock’s not stupid, so he knows what’s at stake for him personally this week.
Through three games this season, Lock has completed 69.0% of his passes, a huge improvement, but it should be noted the tough SEC competition is still to come. Up next? No. 2 Georgia. Lock is 0-3 against the Bulldogs in his career, and has a reputation of playing well against bad teams but struggling against good teams—he’s 0-6 with a 9-to-11 TD/INT ratio against ranked teams over his career. A strong performance against Georgia could send his draft stock soaring.
The Dawgs are 38th in defensive passer rating, largely due to allowing the quarterbacks they’ve faced to hit a combined 64.6 completion percentage. In terms of defensive yards per attempt, though, they’re sixth nationally, limiting those quarterbacks to a paltry 4.8 average.
Given what may be in play for his career down the road, does Lock have the patience to take what Smart and Tucker are willing to give him?
Filed under Georgia Football, SEC Football, Stats Geek!, Strategery And Mechanics
We interrupt this blog for the following bulletin.
Sam Pittman is the shiznit.
It’s also a bigger Georgia team on the offensive front. Two years ago, the Bulldogs went to Missouri with the starting line of left tackle Tyler Catalina, left guard Isaiah Wynn, center Brandon Kublanow, right guard Lamont Gaillard and right tackle Greg Pyke.
That line averaged 304 pounds, but this year’s line averages more than 327 pounds regardless of whether sophomore Andrew Thomas or freshman Cade Mays starts at left tackle along with left guard Solomon Kindley, Gaillard at center, right guard Ben Cleveland and right tackle Isaiah Wilson.
“We had a first-round guy (Wynn) playing two years ago, and we’ve got a guy playing in the NFL right now in Catalina,” Smart said. “Both of them were playing at that time, so there were two good players on that unit. We didn’t always perform well, but they were two talented players. We have more size now, and we have more guys who have played more snaps as a whole, and they’ve played those snaps in this offense.”
Said Odom: “A lot of that starts with recruiting and with one of the best offensive line coaches in the country in Sam Pittman. I’ve got a tremendous amount of respect for him and the job that he’s done over his career. They play a physical brand of football, and you can tell that they’re very well-coached.”
Odom does see similarities from two years ago as far as what the Bulldogs do, but he was quick to add that Smart has “ramped it up and put them on fast-forward as far as getting that program to where it is today.”
Since Georgia last played at Missouri, the Bulldogs have snagged six offensive linemen ranked among the top 100 players in their respective signing classes. Based on opposing coaches who already have faced Georgia, that quality beefing-up process is having its desired effect.
“We wore down defensively,” South Carolina’s Will Muschamp said this week when asked about the 41-17 loss to Georgia on Sept. 8. “We could not get them in a negative play in the run game. Gaillard has done a really good job at center, and the right side of their line is 6-7, 340 pounds at both the guard and tackle position.
“They are just massive up front, and they do a great job of getting movement.”
I still can’t get over hearing opposing coaches sincerely describing Georgia o-line situation the way we’ve been used to describing… well, Alabama’s. Sam Pittman is a bad mother.
That is all. We now return you to our regularly scheduled programming.
Filed under Georgia Football
If you build it, we will come.
Dan Mullen does a little cart before the horse projecting:
Can’t wait for next year’s meeting with the AD. “Sorry, boss, but we finished 7-5 because the fans didn’t show up. Out of my hands…” Yeah, that ought to work.
Filed under Gators, Gators...
Get The Picture 