If you were to tell me that the SEC’s top team in yards before contact per rushing attempt in 2020 was Georgia, I wouldn’t believe you. But here we are.
That, in a transitional year for the position coach, both starting tackles from the prior season gone to the NFL and no spring practice. Honestly, Matt Luke may be better at his job than I thought, and I thought he was pretty good.
Get The Picture 
The fact that if truly never felt like that is a testament to how unreal the 2017-19 OL was.
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Gotta think wide open receivers downfield on most plays helps with that, regardless of which QB’s in the game.
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Exactly this. Having a competent OC really helps. And now that we have a QB that can get the ball to the wide open receivers it will only get better.
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Think how gaudy that number would be if Kirby and Monkin would listen to Corch and stop running into stacked boxes.
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Absolutely….seems like they never listen. Maybe if they hear it enough???
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Did Mathis running for his life every down help that stat?
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Our backs weren’t taking as much advantage of that as they should have IMHO.
They need to watch how Milton does it and do likewise. Nothing I hate more than hesitation/stutter steps. If you’re going to hesitate than you’d better be damn good at it like a Leveon Bell or Kerryon Johnson. Most aren’t and shouldn’t try. Eyes up, run to daylight, FAST!, hurt whatever gets in the way. Rinse and repeat. Hell one time vs. Arky Cook did a qb slide instead of taking on a safety. Unacceptable.
Someone needs to show these guys some old Walter Payton film. Not a thing special about that guy except his guts and determination. Not the fastest, biggest or quickest but he was coming downhill and you were going to pay a price if you wished to engage.
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I felt similar. They just didn’t seem to shoot through a hole with the vigor I expected to see a lot of the time. I also frequently felt that a back would be indecisive and/or hit the wrong lane option.
Still, that’s definitely a surprising accomplishment that kind of came out of nowhere, especially our QB situation for the majority of the games. I wonder if the numbers took a sharp incline at the end of the season. Although, the end of the season featured more passing explosiveness and not the strongest opponents. Too many variables, as usual.
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Like the 8 ysrds vs MSU? 😁
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In spite of.
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For the most part true. But then you have a Barry Sanders (I haven’t seen another) which would just make you miss…..make you look silly.
All kinds of running backs, but the Dawgs have NO Barry.
“Sweetness” was one of the best, if not the best….he could make you miss too. But more often than not, he would make you pay. Strong as hell for his size, could bench almost 400 & leg press 700 lbs.
Played the game the way it should be, with heart.
Kinda old school, would rather see it that way. Give me the Payton’s, Riggin’s and Csonka’s &!etc. all day.
But it wouldn’t hurt my feelings to see a Barry Sanders every now and then….he was magic!
Remember the play with Cook you spoke of….didn’t like it either. Maybe he’s bulked up more this year and is a little less tentative. He can make you miss too, but not like Sanders.
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Schemes were a hell of a lot simpler back then, so watching Peyton has limited benefit. We run so much inside and outside zone where there are choices to make based on both how the defense plays and how successful multiple blocks end up being, that RBs have to be a little patient now before turning on the burners. That said, I’m in agreement that Zeus is too indecisive, Cook drops on first contact and Milton has both terrific vision/decisiveness and can truck you.
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#40 from the big urnge cuntry engaged # 34 in those Red britches…engagement broken “with those big thighs”…
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“You broke my heart, so I busted your jaw!”
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Wouldn’t have believed it either. But thinking back, we did have a few long runs. Plus, I guess defenses were loosened up after Daniels started behind center.
Didn’t see as man 8 man fronts…..or ‘D’s selling out.
Future is so bright, gotta wear…..
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What about that key at the bottom ?
Is this 2020 only or since 2016 ?
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Read the language at the top of the tweet. Rankings are 2020 only.
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That’s specifically referring to the “Ranking” column (where we are 4th). That is, the 2020 UGA team had the 4th best YBC of any SEC team since 2016 (out of the 70 teams — 14 teams x 5 years — that have taken the field in that time).
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I think they were probably less consistent on a per-game basis than say, Bama, which fuels some of our skepticism. The Dawgs absolutely mauled Auburn and Mizzou, but games like that get forgotten when we remember (particularly the first half) vs Arkansas, or any rushing attempts from the MissSt game.
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Honestly, if Bama is 6th below UT, Ark, SoCar, & UK, YBC might just not be very important to offensive or team success. Anything in which 2020 South Carolina & Tennessee are in the cream of the SEC can’t be that indicative. Weird, though, because rushing yards before contact seems like something that would correlate pretty strongly with success.
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I dont care what a stat says here when I see Najee Harris. I think its good news, and maybe helps shade our manball take, but still. Najee Harris.
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That untouched TD run off tackle for 80 yards in the Cocktail party probably tipped our average.
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Yeah, but not getting to play Vandy and GT smashed our average. Had we played them, the stats (all stats) would look even better for the Dawgs!
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I’m surprised too by this stat. Maybe the bad rushing games just stand out, like Mississippi State. I remember being real upset that it seemed we couldn’t run past the line of scrimmage in that game.
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Remember, Leach made a pretty good move. Knowing we had a fresh but possibly half-lame QB, he decided to sell out to stop the run and make us beat him with the passing game. It was a calculated risk and a gamble, but probably the best angle he had to play.
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Mullens (CTG?) had SB taken out..leaving us with …SB with a bruised shoulder. Leach didn’t do that, but he was gambling JTD wouldn’t be able to play well. He lost.
I wish that I could ask Kirby (in private) what he thought of the hit on SB. If he told me it was OK..I’d be satisfied and let it go.
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True. The Senator’s next level is to get exclusive insider Q/A sessions. Somehow I don’t think the wordpress ad revenue would compensate, but who knows. The only way to get the real truth is if it’s not on the internet.
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Matt Luke + a couple of years + UGA’s recruiting resources = good things on OL
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