I saw a fair amount of mockery in the Dawgosphere about Michigan’s Heisman finalist. Like most of his teammates, he was rendered pretty ineffective. But he also did this:
As the tweet notes, the main takeaway from the game is that Salyer played his ass off. Let’s hope he can stone Will Anderson equally well if he gets the chance.
Filed under Georgia Football
Somebody was ready for the media’s questions today.
Monken worked wonders with Stetson’s execution when he had three weeks to prepare for Michigan. Will ten days be enough time for Alabama?
Filed under Georgia Football
Disappointing season? Me, I’d call it business as usual for the Pac-12, George.
Though if playoff expansion is what you mean when you say you have a lot of work to do, I can see why you’re excited about it.
Filed under Pac-12 Football
There’s a lot of the usual blah-blah-blah from Saban’s first pre-natty presser, but there’s also this:
Q. I’m curious about the semifinal games, they were both blowouts. Do you feel like going to an expansion with 12 teams would maybe help that and create more competitive games, or do you think that would diminish the regular season too much?
COACH SABAN: Well, I don’t necessarily agree with your assessment of our game. I can’t speak to the other game. But it was a really hard-fought game for us, I think. And we have a tremendous amount of respect for the team that we played.
I don’t know that expanding — if this is the best four teams and they played each other, I don’t see the logic in it if we had more teams there would be better games. I don’t know how that adds up.
It’s not supposed to!
But the more we expand the playoffs, the more we minimize bowl games, the importance of bowl games, which I said when we went to four. So I don’t think that’s changed. And I think it’s also come to fruition.
You’d almost think the man understands why some players opt-out.
Filed under BCS/Playoffs, Nick Saban Rules
Thought this to be kind of interesting…
The over is just 5-7-1 in Bama games this year, but it’s 3-2 when the Tide run the ball less than 38 percent of the time, as I think they will against Georgia. It is 6-8 in Georgia games, but 2-0 (by a combined 21 points) in the games when Dawgs QBs have thrown most often. With both teams slated to throw plenty, the over is the widest side to take.
I think all the talk about the great game Brian Robinson had against Cinci means little in a week. ‘Bama didn’t waste much time attacking Georgia’s defensive front with the run in the SECCG and I don’t know why they’d change that in the rematch. Georgia’s defensive liabilities lie elsewhere and Saban’s gonna probe that until Smart proves that strategy wrong.
Injury situations: Both teams are a little more banged up in certain areas and healthy in others. We’ll start with Alabama, which lost star wideout John Metchie at the end of the first half in the SEC Championship game. He suffered a heart-breaking ACL injury after catching six passes for 97 yards and a touchdown.
The Bulldogs gave up 24 points in the first half and Metchie was a huge part of that. It’s no coincidence that UGA’s defense held Alabama to 10 second half points (17 overall due to a Bama pick-six) with Metchie no longer in the fold. The Crimson Tide are also dealing with a number of other ailments.
“Outside of the obvious, like John Metchie (ACL), Alabama’s biggest injury concerns are at cornerback and on the offensive line,” BamaOnline’s Charlie Potter tells Dawgs247. “Josh Jobe could miss another game because of a terf toe injury, and Jalyn Armour-Davis is dealing with a nagging hip issue. The latter started the Cotton Bowl but only played a couple of series. If neither player can go, The Crimson Tide will turn to true freshman Kool-Aid McKinstry and junior college transfer Khyree Jackson. As for the offensive line, two starters exited the Cincinnati game and didn’t return — right guard Emil Ekiyor and right tackle Chris Owens. At this moment I would lean towards both guys being able to go, but we will see how the week progresses.”
It’s also worth noting that Alabama running back Brian Robinson is a lot healthier than he was in the SEC Championship game. He didn’t practice much at all leading up to that game but he certainly looks good now. He lit Cincinnati up for 204 yards on 26 carries in the Cotton Bowl on Friday.
Georgia, overall, is much healthier. Senior left tackle Jamaree Salyer entered the Orange Bowl in better physical shape than he has been all season. He played a huge part in thwarting Michigan’s vaunted pass rush in the Bulldogs 34-11 win. Senior safety Chris Smith is also in a much better spot after sustaining a bone bruise in his knee late in the regular season. He was nowhere near 100 percent in the SEC Championship game and didn’t get the start. It showed, too, as Smith was laboring at times in coverage.
The Bulldogs leading receiver on the season and in the SEC Championship game, Brock Bowers, is a little dinged up. He sustained a shoulder injury in the Bama game but played quite well against Michigan.
Metchie’s absence is critical, no doubt. He’s still fourth in the conference in receiving yards per game and third in receptions. It’s worth noting that ‘Bama got a good game out of freshman Ja’Corey Brooks in his absence, though. That’s what teams loaded with talent tend to do when a key injury occurs.
I am more interested in tracking the status of the two ‘Bama linemen who had to leave the semifinal game early. I assume they’ll play in a week, but how close they’ll be to 100% is something I doubt we’ll know until the game starts.
Of course, left unsaid is what havoc COVID might wreak between now and then. I assume both coaches have their teams in virtual bubbles this week. One good thing is that the weather in Indianapolis isn’t conducive to public events.
Filed under Alabama, Georgia Football, The Body Is A Temple
Okay, it’s on to Indy. Got tickets to sell? Ready to make the trip and need a ticket to get into the game? Whatever it is, lay it out in the comments and, as always, please be specific about it.
Filed under GTP Stuff
LMAO.
Running back James Cook, himself the recipient of a beautifully placed 53-yard reception, confirmed as much in his own postgame comments, saying, “Like said, he ain’t got no social media, he carries a flip phone around, and he lets the noise go over his head and play football. That’s what I love about him. I tell him during the game, stay in there, don’t make bad decisions, use your feet, do all the little things that will help you get out of situations you can’t fix.”
The Mailman uses a flip phone? Of course he does. He probably drives an old Plymouth Duster that gets twelve miles to the gallon, too.
Filed under Georgia Football
There are a lot of D-1 head coaches who would kill to be third on this list:
Saban would be six for six, if not for a unicorn offense at LSU in 2019 — and even then, with a banged up Tua, ‘Bama only lost by five. It’s Kirby Smart’s bad luck to be coaching during the Nick Saban era.
Which isn’t to say I’m not ready to see Georgia get over the proverbial hump…
Filed under Georgia Football
Get The Picture 