C’mon, SEC — three nooners in a row?
That’s actually 11AM Auburn time. Crap.
Daily Archives: September 27, 2021
Rolling out the big guns
From Smart’s presser today:
This is gonna be fun.
Filed under Georgia Football
Larry
I defy you to watch this without smiling.
It simply isn’t possible.
Filed under Georgia Football
Damn, son, I don’t think I’da tweeted that.
Matt Corral deleted this shortly after he loosed it on the world…
… but I’m sure Junior’s already informed him that social media is forever.
Severed head-Nick Saban should make a lovely souvenir for Alabama’s bulletin board this week.
Filed under Social Media Is The Devil's Playground
Scenes from a seal clubbing
Yeah, Saturday was a methodical blow out, but two plays in particular stood out to me.
First, Jalen Carter announced his presence with authority.
Vandy’s number 75 is still looking for the license plate number of the truck that shoved him aside.
Then, this pass, from delivery to reception, was astonishing.
JT saw the unblocked rusher, knew he had to get the pass off early and did so with enough air under it to allow McConkey to go up and get it. Which he proceeded to do.
If there’s anyone left who doubts Daniels’ mastery of the playbook and position at this point, I’d like to hear why.
Filed under Georgia Football
A post-manball state of mind
Honestly, I was braced for another round of 2017 Cocktail Party-like gnashing of teeth over this series Saturday.
But this was all Kirby managed to muster in the post-game presser:
Concerns about the run game…
“It always concerns you. If you don’t successfully it can create problems for you. Balance is what the defense dictates you sometimes. They were dictating to us that they were not going to let us run the ball, they were going to make it difficult and try to make us throw the ball. And we did. We hit some explosive plays because of the way they were playing the run. We’re not as big and massive. We don’t have a Ben Cleveland, a Solomon Kindley, some of those guys that are massive. We are athletic. We have guys who make good IDs and put us in the right plays. But we have not been as explosive in the run game or as consistent in the run game as I would like to be. We have some hit some explosive because of the boxes they are giving us.”
Sam Pittman will be back in Sanford Stadium Saturday, but he won’t be coaching the Dawgs’ offensive line. This year’s version isn’t about mashing. As Smart noted, it’s about pulling and being athletic. ‘Cause manball isn’t where this offense is anymore. Here’s where the offense is at:
It is admittedly a work in progress, but it’s worth mentioning that Georgia’s rushing yardage totals have steadily increased over the first four games of the season (and, yes, I’m aware of the quality of the opposition). Maybe that’s why the head coach doesn’t sound like he’s losing his shit over that series, or the ground game in general.
Besides, I’m kinda hoping he was playing a little three-dimensional chess with that manball series for the Cocktail Party — you know, show Grantham a heavy set, get him to sell out on the run and then come up with something different out of the set. Hell, save it for third down, Monken!
Filed under Georgia Football, Stats Geek!, Strategery And Mechanics
The ever-swirling strength of schedule
If there’s a common nag about Georgia’s start this season, it’s that Clemson’s preseason luster has completely worn off. Yet, if you checked yesterday’s FPI, you’d find Georgia’s strength of schedule is currently a more than respectable 28th. Sagarin gives Georgia a SOS ranking of 35th.
So if the bloom is coming off the Tigers’ rose, what’s buoying Georgia’s ranking? Believe it or not, it may be UAB, which quietly has done alright outside of its trip to Athens.
UAB beat Tulane on the road by a wider margin than Oklahoma did at home, for what that’s worth.
Sagarin ranks the Blazers at 58, which is better than four SEC East teams.
Filed under Georgia Football
SEC Power Poll, Week Four
Another week, another set of data points to fill in the conference picture.
- Alabama. Cool stat, for more than one reason: Alabama hasn’t trailed at any point in its last 53 quarters of play, which is the longest streak for any FBS team since 1950. (I’m sure you can pinpoint when that streak started.)
- Georgia. You know you’re having a good day when you cover a better than four-touchdown spread with three minutes to go in the first quarter.
- Arkansas. Sam Pittman’s the early favorite for SEC Coach of the Year, right?
- Florida. The Gators have an offensive identity, and it’s good enough against most teams to offset Grantham’s shortcomings.
- Ole Miss. Early bye week for Junior’s team, which gives them plenty of time to prepare for Alabama.
- Texas A&M. Sure, the injuries didn’t help, but that offense simply isn’t dynamic enough to overcome a hole like the one Arkansas dug for the Aggies. Hard to believe this is a serious statement, but they miss Kellen Mond.
- Auburn. Epic comeback against *** checks notes *** Georgia State and a quarterback controversy? That’s a good game, if you’re someone who doesn’t care for Auburn.
- LSU. It wasn’t pretty, but they won their conference opener, which is an improvement already over last season.
- Kentucky. Survived and advanced in a conference road game. Okay, still tied for first in the division.
- Mississippi State. For an offensive-minded coach, the Pirate sure doesn’t seem to be dialing up a lot of points so far in 2021.
- Missouri. The Tigers aren’t Vandy-level bad on defense, but they’re pretty bad.
- Tennessee. Tried to make a (meteor) game of it early, but allowed Emory Jones to get comfortable enough to turn in his best performance of the season.
- South Carolina. Played hard at home, but their offense is so, so anemic.
- Vanderbilt. Truly on a different level from every other team in the conference. Sheesh.
Filed under SEC Football
Fabris Pool results, Week 4
Back to the tiebreaker this week.
Congrats, Southern Dawg!
As far as the seasonal standings shape up, ELloyd holds a narrow, two-point lead with a sparkling 29-11 mark.
Just ’cause it’s at noon doesn’t mean it’s not a big deal.
Top-ten match up, College GameDay and this:
Kinda makes you wonder how often that particular trifecta hits…
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