Georgia vs. Auburn Rewind

I just sat through the game on DVR. Brutal. Some things jumped out at me.

Linebacker Play:
I honestly try really hard not to "bash" players. I don't use this site to tell the world that a Georgia player "sucks." I've tried to keep a civil tone when I criticize players. And I'll try and maintain that here.

[Photos of Pope make me feel better. So I'm posting those instead of pics of guys who played poorly.]

What I will say is that some of my criticism aimed at Willie Martinez, could better be aimed at player execution at the linebacker position. Execution which is severely inhibited by injuries.

For instance, is Danny Verdun Wheeler injured? Because if he's not, he needs to take dramatically more minutes from Brandon Miller at the SLB position until Miller heals.

Miller was a complete non-factor in there. He has little lateral movement and he is just too slow in space. In fairness to him, what's a dude going to do? He's got a bad wheel. But it just begs the question..."Were our best 3 out there for enough minutes?"

[Photo: If I had my own cable access show, it would be called "Pope is Dope." We would just run highlights of him.]

But the more pressing is the issue at MLB. I like Tony Taylor. I respect him trying to play with a busted elbow. I want him to do well, but there is no way that he should've been playing that many snaps vs. Auburn. I didn't see a play where he wasn't in there.

Despite the constant gushing praise from Bob Davie, Taylor was out of position to make tackles, couldn't shed blockers and had to tackle with one arm which resulted in a parade of broken tackles. He simply couldn't wrap up well enough, and he was a step slow most of the night.

Do you remember the 1997 UGA vs. UT game in which Kirby Smart was trying to tackle Jamal Lewis with a bad shoulder? The result -- Lewis had 230+ yards rushing and Smart looked ridiculous. The first half was like that with Irons vs. Taylor. He is too banged up right now to be a factor. We've got to find a way to get some more speed at that position, and we've got to find a guy healthy enough to wrap up the tackle. At least until Taylor gets healthy. If that means moving Jackson back to MLB and playing Ellerbe at WLB, then so be it.

[Photo: Some guys show pics of kittens to sooth their nerves after a loss. Not me. I'm all about The Pope]

And BTW -- Josh Johnson runs a 4.8+ 40. So even if he comes back -- and he was suspended for a game at GMC recently so he's likely not coming back -- he's not going to upgrade the speed there. Just the physicality.

If the defense had tackled better and had taken better angles, we might be talking about a different game.


The Pass Interference Call on Pope:
The worst call in a long time. If you were at the game and wondering "was it that blatant a penalty?" Or "How did it look on TV?" The answer is "OH. MY. GOSH. WHAT A TERRIBLE CALL." Bob Davie and Ron Franklin were in shock over what an absurd flag.

[Photo: You don't tackle Jesus. And you don't call offensive pass interference on the Pope]

The 2 Point Conversion Play:
That ultimately falls on Richt, but based on watching the game again, and reading some comments in the paper. I'd say that the coach of the kicking team (is that Callaway?) bears the brunt of the blame. Even so, DJ should've called a Timeout to avoid the first delay. He just wasn't watching the clock.

Our WRs:
We have to find WRs that catch the ball without falling down. Mo Mass and Pope are the only guys who consistently catch the ball and keep moving after the catch. Very frustrating.


All of that said....we came inches away from winning this game. If the bomb to Nix that he fumbled forward on the 6 yard line in the first half had bounced 1 more foot forward, we get a touchback there. That was a huge break for them.

If the ball bounces another 2 feet further on the long run on 4th and 10, we win. We were so close in this game. Everything that's wrong with the team can be improved quickly. Everything except being banged up at LB.

pwd

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