Depth, defined

Shot.

Was interested when I had coaching staff say Jermaine Johnson as FSU's best player, since he was a backup at UGA.

But 1) after seeing UGA's defensive line last night and 2) seeing Johnson do it against a not-FSU OL so far tonight, I'm buying.

— Bud Elliott (@BudElliott3) September 6, 2021

Chaser.

Jermaine Johnson was the best player on the field tonight.

I don’t mean for FSU. I don’t mean just on defense.

He was the best football player in Doak Campbell Stadium.

— dustin. (@DMFrank_) September 6, 2021

Leave the bottle on the bar.

Jermaine Johnson could not crack the starting lineup at Georgia and is immediately the most impactful player on the Florida State defense. shows how absurd the talent is at UGA

— Sam Cooper (@SamDCooper) September 6, 2021

Advertisement

There’s two kinds of fast.

Physically fast and football fast.  Allow Channing Tindall to demonstrate both on the same play.

Channing Tindall’s closing speed 🔥 pic.twitter.com/8jfsXgMKbJ

— AXtreme Dawg Fan (@AxReloaded) September 5, 2021

When preparation and talent come together, it’s a beautiful thing.

Monday Ticket Exchange

Rob’s comment in the previous post reminds me that I’ve got to open the ticket kiosk for this week’s home opener against UAB.

To keep things easy and simple, please follow a few rules in posting your comment:

1. Identify your purpose up front.  Start your comment with LOOKING TO BUY, LOOKING TO SELL or LOOKING TO TRADE to save the readers time.
2. Next, tell us what you’re looking for or offering, location-wise.
3. Don’t forget to talk money.
4. Provide contact logistics.

All of this is to keep everyone’s dealings straightforward and to keep things as easy to follow as we can.  The blog is here merely as an accommodation; I haven’t vetted offers and have no intention of doing so.  Please remember you’re dealing with your fellow Dawgs and behave accordingly.  Thanks and happy dealings!

The friends we make along the way

Say what you will about Jacksonville, at least it’s a city that knows it has to make an effort to accommodate large fan bases that want to tailgate before a neutral site college football game.  I had no illusions about Charlotte in that regard, so I was happy when I saw this invite from bigjohnson1992 in the comments last week.

Hey All. Not sure why I haven’t posted this earlier. I’ve mentioned in the past that I own a few bars and restaurants in the Charlotte area. One of my locations, named ‘The Bulldog’ is about a 10 min walk to the stadium for the game on Saturday. It’s located on Winnifred st. Google bulldog beer winnifred or go to our Instagram page, @bulldogbeerandwine. I bring it up because I wanted to invite anyone going to the game to drop in sat afternoon for a meet and greet. I’ve often wondered when and/or if the guys on this blog would ever be able to put a face with a username. You also have the ability to park there free of charge for the game. I have one of the bigger parking lots in the southend area. ‘Earlier the better’. I’ll be there sat afternoon before the game and would love to meet whoever is in town. I also have 4 extra tickets for sale. 2 – 519 row 1 13-14 $200 each 2- 109 row wc 13-1 $400 each (solo back row) rj28203@yahoo.com Thx. Go Dawgs! -Rob

You can probably guess where that led to.

If you can’t tailgate, free parking, huge selection of draft beers and college football on the tube is pretty much as good as it gets on a game day.  Add in a friendly staff that hustled as the pre-game crowd grew and you’ve got a great time.  (Kudos to our bartender who couldn’t hold back her amusement watching a bunch of tyros gun down their first Irish Car bombs.  So I don’t get out much, you guys — shoot me.)

Rob, whom I met there, is a great guy who is clearly doing what he wants for a living.  That’s a hard thing to beat.  If you’re in the area, BB&W comes with a strong recommendation from a bunch of Dawgs who enjoyed themselves immensely.  Thanks, sir!

Bill Connelly begs to differ with Dabo.

I don’t think he’s handing out a C-minus to Clemson here ($$).

Georgia has finished each of the past two seasons first in defensive SP+, so it says something that we just witnessed the best defensive performance of the Kirby Smart era in Athens.

Even when you take Clemson’s own issues into account — new starting quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei was facing an elite defense (that had eight months to prepare) for the first time, star receiver Justyn Ross was shaking off rust after missing 2020 — this was staggering. The Tigers hadn’t been held under 5.4 yards per play or 21 points in 42 games, and they managed just 3.0 and three, respectively, in Charlotte. Clemson receiver Joe Ngata caught six passes for 110 yards, but 54 other Clemson snaps gained just 70. Uiagalelei was sacked seven times. The Dawg defense even scored the game’s only touchdown, a 74-yard pick-six from Christopher Smith.

Georgia’s defense was so dominant that it’s hard to know what else to take away from the game.

Unless he’s grading on a curve, of course.

Your Daily Gator isn’t impressed.

And really, why should he be?

Gotta git buttah

Most of the post-game concern I’ve seen regarding the offense was over Monken’s playcalling and JT’s game, but for my money, there was a bigger issue than either of those — the perimeter blocking by the receivers was wildly inconsistent all game.

Here are a couple of clips illustrating that.

Film Don't Lie teaser for @UGASportscom. Become a member now for the most comprehensive UGA football content.

The main difference in a chunk play or a small gain for Georgia was edge and WR blocking. Here, AD Mitchell runs out of a blocking lane. Modest gain (1/2) pic.twitter.com/jJZgusBfbN

— Dayne Young (@dayneyoung) September 5, 2021

By comparison, watch Justin Robinson (9) establish and maintain his block (against Clemson's 22) for nearly ten yards. He had him on skates. First down run.

This is the kind of stuff @BrentRollinsPhD and me will have in our THREE PART Film Don't Lie on @UGASportscom (2/2) pic.twitter.com/lhAzvzUmhL

— Dayne Young (@dayneyoung) September 5, 2021

Overall, it seemed like the downfield/perimeter blocking was better on running plays than it was on pass plays.  Burton was a good example of that.  He laid down a couple of good blocks in the fourth quarter that opened up White runs, but badly whiffed on a couple of outside screens where if he had blocked his man, the play would have gained good yardage.

This really felt like an area that suffered because of all the injuries.  The offense was missing the help from a few experienced hands and I have the feeling that Burton’s up and down night was a good indication that he wasn’t 100%, either.

The good news is that Georgia’s offense, like nature, is healing.  I expect this to improve in the coming weeks.

Giving credit where credit is due.

It’s not easy talking out of both sides of your mouth at the same time, but Dabo gives it a shot.

Soooo… Georgia played hard.  Georgia’s a great team.  And Clemson played a C-minus game.

I think that qualifies as Georgia’s first Dawgraded game of the season, folks.

Signs of normalcy, part two

Trash talking is back, with a vengeance.

Geaux Bruins. pic.twitter.com/xDZNpNN0Dc

— UCLA Football Recruiting (@UCLAFBRecruit) September 5, 2021

That one left a mark.  And deservedly so.

Signs of normalcy, part one

Nothing says college football is back, baby, like Twitter losing its collective mind over Brian Kelly botching a famous John McKay joke about execution.  That makes him a man who lacks a sense of humor (like we didn’t know that), not history’s greatest monster.  (And for making me defend Kelly, thanks a lot, Twitter).

Now this, on the other hand, is funny.

This is not technically against the NCAA rules, unless he pays a recruit to do it. https://t.co/BpmSZXEcAw

— 💫🅰️♈️🆔 (@ADavidHaleJoint) September 6, 2021

David will be here all week, folks.  Try the veal!