The half-full part of the glass is that they brought their C-game on the road, never trailed and beat a conference opponent by two touchdowns.
I’m sure Kirby will have much to say about the half-empty part.
Daily Archives: September 22, 2018
I got ‘yer Mizzou game day post right here.
First, moar stats.
Check out the last one in each column. You think Georgia’s running the ball today? I think Georgia’s running the ball today.
Brooks Tilley believes Georgia needs a pass rush today.
We have to force Lock to be uncomfortable. If he gets uncomfortable he will give us the ball multiple times. I’m nervous about our pass rush but also think we’ve been very vanilla with defensive pressures thus far. I’m hoping for pressure inside from Tyler Clark and Ledbetter. Walter Grant needs to show more in this game specifically. Adam Anderson may be able to be used on 3rd and long.
I think Georgia needs to start generating pressure, not just because it would be good to make Lock uncomfortable in the pocket today, but simply as a general principle, any defense is better when the opposing quarterback can’t sit in the pocket. Sooner or later, Georgia’s defense has to be able to do that. Sooner would be fine by me.
But I don’t think that’s Job One for Mel Tucker in Columbia. His game plan starts and ends with shutting down Missouri’s running game. That makes the Tigers offense one-dimensional and easier to defend and it also means that his safeties can sit back and stay on top of the deep passing game. If the Dawgs can succeed with that, they’ll win comfortably.
Bottom line for me is simple — do I think Missouri is a better team than South Carolina? Mizzou’s offense is better, but I don’t think you can say the same for a defense that got torched by a winless Purdue offense. It may take a while, but it hard to see how Georgia’s running game isn’t the big difference in the end, leading to another Georgia cover.
Free free to hit us with your game day wisdom in the comments.
Filed under Georgia Football
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
I can remember the quaint old days when it was Georgia doing stuff like that to prepare for an opponent.
Filed under SEC Football, Stylin'
Where has all the pass rush gone?
From the Macon Telegraph: “It’s not about sacks, because sacks don’t win games,” Rice said. “We have to make sure the quarterback isn’t comfortable and get him moving on his feet.”
With the nation’s lowest sack total, I know this has been the mantra for Georgia’s coaches and players this week, and I get the defense there. There’s only one problem with that.
They’re not exactly overwhelming opponents with pressure.
Georgia is also 110th in tackles for loss, good for last in the SEC.
Yes, they’ve been vanilla through the first three games. Yes, they’ve faced offenses either dialed around a running attack, like Austin Peay, or passing schemes that don’t require the quarterback to keep the ball very long. Again, I get all that.
Here’s my question, though: assuming Missouri’s pass game is better suited to the kind of pressure Monty Rice talks about, is Georgia’s defense simply able to flip a switch and do something we haven’t seen much of after three games?
The answer would seem to be they’d better.
Filed under Georgia Football, Stats Geek!
Under pressure
A couple of stats from the good folks at CFB Film Room:
Now, I don’t want to go too crazy here. For one thing, it’s a small sample size. As Mike Griffith notes, Fromm’s only been sacked three times in 2018 and one of those came as a result of a protection breakdown by Cade Mays.
For another, Fromm is completing about 80% of his pass attempts, so, while this may be somewhat noteworthy, it’s not exactly dragging his season down to the depths of despair.
But it’s worth keeping an eye on today, if only because Mays is again the likely starter at left tackle. I would expect Mizzou to dial up a few exotic stunts and blitzes on his side to see what he’s capable of handling at this early stage of his career.
One other odd stat that Griffith cites is how Fromm’s done throwing the ball in third-and-long situations. To date, it hasn’t been pretty.
Fromm is 0-for-6 converting on third-and-10 or longer this season. The results on those six plays: an interception, three sacks, a 5-yard completion and an incomplete pass.
Four of those plays came against South Carolina, and two against Middle Tennessee (both sacks, one with a fumble recovered by teammate Ben Cleveland).
Again, one of those sacks was the result of a protection bust, but the other was due to Fromm holding the ball too long. I can’t say I’m overly worked up about it — last season, Fromm’s passer rating in those situations was a respectable 153.33 — but I do wonder if Thomas’ absence and Wims’ departure have had an early effect.
As I said, it’s certainly something to keep an eye on today, although reality suggests that we’ll be seeing another heavy dose of the run game.
Filed under Georgia Football, Stats Geek!
Get The Picture 