I said the game wouldn't remedy your Cocktail Party hangover, but I didn't expect to need a late fourth quarter desperation toss to A.J. Bryant Green and miracle interception to escape the Commonwealth with a win. I can't say much more than I have already. This team is oozing with talent, but just makes too many mistakes. The mistakes just seem to skip around from offense to defense to special teams. Today, it was the special teams turn to mess up by allowing a punt block, attempting to field a punt over the shoulder on our own five, and allowing a huge kickoff return. The offense, other than a couple of fumbles, was in high gear in racking up 520 total yards.
I know most of you are going to come after Willie Martinez pretty hard. I can't defend him too much since we have given up an average of almost 42 points in the last three games. That number should burn your eyes. But, Kentucky only had three sustained scoring drives for 60, 67, and 43 yards. A red zone stop would have been nice before the heart stopping, one handed Dobbs interception, but the defense was defending a short field all day. Not that our defense is without some serious flaws, obviously, but they may not be quite as bad as the scoreboard says. (Image: georgiadogs.com)By the way, Justin Anderson will miss the next two games with a foot injury. If you are a UGA student who is over six foot, two inches and weigh over 250, please report to Butts-Mehre. Searles needs warm bodies.
Now, fire away.
Quinton
47 comments:
The team is oozing with talent, but it is all at skill positions. Unfortunately we are still paying for the sins of Neil Call*way's pathetic recruiting and our various misses on the defensive line.
It is a sad thing that UGA has the best WR in our history, the most talented QB and the 2nd best RB ever, but cannot take advantage because of our line deficiencies.
I really hope that Knowshon and Staff come back next year to play with an OL that features an actual upperclassman, but I doubt we will get to see it.
We really need to bring in a new staff member or two. Our defensive philosophies and practice habits have gone wrong somewhere. We used to be an incredible sound tackling program, but have never been the same since the Saccharine Bowl disaster. We used to be one of the most feared hitting teams in the SEC, but now get manhandled by second tier programs like Uk and Vandy.
CMR is going to have to look long and hard at his staff in the offseason. Something needs to change.
"Maybe next year" is a phrase I've grown far too tired of lately.
That's it- I'VE HAD IT WITH THIS DEFENSE!
We don't hit.
We don't cover.
......OUR PETS HEADS ARE FALLING OFF!!!!
I can't buy the "short field" excuse for the D anymore.
UK fumbled, and our "high-powered" offense came away with no points (though lord knows the wind was discouraging any FG tries.)
If Kentucky can make a stop on a shortened field, why can't we?
We're giving 29.4 points a game in SEC play, and the 7 points we held SC to are the outlier thus far.
Something is very, very wrong with our play in the red zone, and our pass D has been terrible all year as well.
Again: the 1999 D, which was the worst since the nadir of the Goff years, was only giving up about 25-26 points/game in SEC play.
I started before that Sugar Bowl against WVU. AU that year ran all over us and UF ran straight up the middle the entire first half. I think our defensive philosophy really relies primarily on sound, punishing tackling. Boss Bailey, Tony Gilbert, Sean Jones, Thomas Davis, etc. fit that bill. Besides Rennie, I'm not sure that we have anyone that is a great tackler, and it shows.
Do you realize that Dobbs is now tied for 2nd on the team with 2 INTs? Reshad Jones is the only DB with a pick this year. The rest are LBs and a DL.
EJ...great line! Laughed out loud after I heard that. I little place called, Athens. Where the beer flows like win and the women instinctive flock like the salmon of Capistrano.
With the exception of Rennie and Asher, NO ONE on the defense can tackle.
The bright side of all these problems is that we can still go 10-2 if we win out, and 11-2 with a bowl win. That my friends, is a very, very good season in the SEC ANY year. Given our schedule, particularly this year.
However.......
This may be the sloppiest, least disciplined, worst fundamentally sound team of the Richt era. Having followed college football for a long time (not as a coach so what the hell do I know), sometimes teams fail to "get it" and sometimes regardless of what the coaches do, a team simply refuses to gel. Last year we jelled - this year we have not and probably will not. Senior leadership may have something to do with that. Cumulatively, a young team may be the cause. Or the coaching staff may be having an "off" year, and as the poster suggested above, the philosophies and practice routines or whatever have gotten mundane. Football teams are like any other organization - sometimes success breeds complacency. A good leader (coach) knows when to spot this and adjust/change. But didn't we do that last year?
All I know is that FL fans were saying the same sht last year and were calling for Dan Mullen's head and were saying that Charlie Strong was an idiot since his young D never jelled towards the later part of the year. We sound just like them. And they have Tebow.
But they lost 4 and we may only lose 2. I like our chances next year should you know who and you know who else return.
Anon 7:52 here again ----
I forgot to add this caveat. When a team this fundamentally unsound and young up front goes 11-2 (speculating), you get the sense that it's time for this program to "knock the lid" off this program a second time.
We seemed to have bumped up against a glass ceiling knowing that we have all the right pieces but still, for whatever reason (CWM, Bobo, whatever) can't seem to bust through. 8 years ago we KNEW we had everything needed to win 10-11 games per. Now we've mastered that feat. It's old hat.
Time to turn it up a notch Coach. Time to knock that lid off again.
At least that's what I think.
How are we oozing with talent? Other than the big 3 (maybe4) on offense exactly who are you talking about? (you cant continue to blame Willie for missed tackles by LBs)
While we cant seem to catch programs like Fla, USC, Oka, OSU, and Texas, programs like Texas Tech, Bama, PSU, are passing us by. This was a prime year to seize a share of the national respect and we aren't there. Our schedule isn't what we thought and we dont have the talent or resolve. Say what you want but its going to be hard for me to fork over thousands of $ I don't really have to continue to support this product; especially if Knowshon and/or Stafford leave.
we gave up over 200 yards on the ground to a freshman who could barely throw. Where was the pressure to force him to make mistakes early? The two drives in the first half where they scored were something like 12 and 17 play drives. Are you kidding me? What did we get with Willies halftime adjustments? They still drove down the field and scored on us with the first possession of the second half. They ran the same damn option play 4 times in the drive. Each time Dent would take out the QB and nobody was in position to take the runner who gashed us each time. We finally stopped the play in the 4th quarter. Great coaching. Just great. We didnt have the swagger on defense that we should have with our experience and going against a freshman QB. We should have been stacking the box, taking away the QB draw and looking to string out any outside action. Anyone think Tech is licking their chops to go against our defense after Turkey day. Time to Free Willy and have him take Fab and Jancek with him (the kickoff coverage team alone should have Fab shown the door).
I loved the heart the team showed today. They never quit. I felt so bad for Momass on the fumbles. It is hard to fault a kid for trying and making a mistake on the extra effort. How great was it that they went back to him and he made the big play. If you want to see a team that has quit on it's coach, check out TN.
It would be nice to see an O-line with some seniors. DG had all the time in the world to throw. Staff seems to be running for his life alot.
I hope Staff and Knowshon come back next year. A fan can dream can't they.
Fyi you all,
Fabris lost his father last weekend. Not that it had any impact on today's performance, but worth noting.
Every coach, and I mean top to bottom, should share the blame of this fundamentally UNsound team. No excuse considering we basically return 18 starters from a season ago.
Still, an 11-2 finish (hopefully) would be a great year considering just how poorly we've played.
is it just me or is it not ALL the coaches fault, our players are just not performing that well. Mistakes ALL OVER the place. I agree with some of the calls over the last few games but does everyone think that one day our coaches say, oh ok i'm not going to call good plays today like i have in the past. I mean comon. I hate to dis players but it just seems like they don't have the fire........while Vandy is getting their asses handed to them by UF.
Patindc,
No being positive please. This program is falling apart. We have lost to the #1 and #4 teams in the country obviously we will get destroyed by a team that just got beat bad by UNC.
Bama/UF is going to be a great game
We lack leadership among the defensive players
I believe losing Owens so early was much a much bigger deal than we all thought.
We'll step it up...we DO have a ton of talent and we should have a pretty darn good DL next year...I hear Toby Jackson is just a wrecking ball.
Dear Matt and 'Shon: Please stay one more year...
Peer leadership props up those fundamentals...you come back to the huddle and that big senior gets in your face and tells you to wrap your man up next time...you do it...all the coaches can do is bench you...your peers will make life REALLY suck
Our defense is an embarrasment to football, nevermind Georgia football.
atleast we aren't Tennessee, lol
Or Auburn...who let UT-Martin hang with them for 3 quarters.
But I'd still like to see more than "at least we aren't __insert once good team that sucks this season__"
Can we get a dedicated special teams coach? Surely we have the money.
"Oozing with talent"?
We haven't stunk this bad on D since Kevin Ramsey was wearing sunglasses in the coaches booth. Even if Owens was playing this year, our D-Ends would be stinkin it up. Houston looked out of position and/or lacking effort on several key plays. We get great production from Curran and Ellerbe, but nothin from the safeties and whatever third LB might be on the field. This has to be the fewest number of bonafide NFL talents on D since 98 in my memory. Think about it: Asher, Geno, Curran & Ellerbe. That's it. The rest are "program guys."
This isn't a matter of scheme. This is a lack of talent. And it's not as if the Peach State hasn't produced it. Why have we lost some of the best talent on D over the past few years? Here are 3 local studs that would all make a difference: Tray Blackmon, Morgan Burnett and Cameron Heyward. Morgan's brother played at Georgia for God's sake.
I was at the game today and sat in the student section with my brother. I was really bothered to see how awful the UK fans treated a Guy wearing a Stafford Jersey. Evidently they were giving out shirts today and I would estimate atleast two hundred of the were balled up and thrown hard at this kid. He had done nothing wrong. I know its just a t shirt but it had to be embarassing and then they all start pointing and chanting u suck. I was very dissapointed with this. I was also very dissapointed with the defencevive performance. Yes Randal Cobb is gunna be a real good player but why did we put all kind of pressure on him. Also Staff was amazing especially scrambling for the game winning throw. I am very proud of our team. This kY squad is deffinately a real top 25 team with cobb under center and they do have a great d. We slashed a d that had only given up more than 24 points to fla. Yet we still play soft d. We need a new d coordinator, someone with fire, someone who will get this team up. WE NEED TO PLAY WITH PASSION!!!!!!!! This was a great game to witness and to see all the kY fans with dissapointment on their faces. OH AND BY THE WAY IF UK HAD OF WON THE STUDENT SECTION WAS PLANNING ON STORMING THE FIELD OR ATLEAST THE ONES I COULDNT HAVE TALKED FIRST. Please stay Staff and Knowshon, we are gunna need you. If you stay and we fix the defence and execution I see crystal in our immediate future.
GO DAWGS
Warning......
1.Auburn has NO worthy wins this season.
2.Auburn knows they can't beat Bama.
3.Tuber's job is on the line.
4.Aubie coach watches film and sees our corners covering 7-9 yards off the line.
5.Fat Auburn fan/players/coaches realize that they might actually be able to move the ball for once this season.
6.Things like, "hell ya'll, we damn better beat Georgia...cause Bama's gonna whip our damn ass" are spoken at the Burger Barn and the local ponds.
7.Monday morning Tuber asks for the film of the Blackout to show his team.
8.Friday night Tuber then shows the film of Tra Battle Superman/Stafford whippin' the last time we came in.
Result...
Auburn 72
UGA 69
Willie is fired. Life is good.
War Damn Eagle.
......This message is brought to you by The Campaign for a 2009 Hunker Down/ GATA/ Junkyard/ No Bend/ No Evans/ Form Tackle/ Finish The Drill/ DAWG DEFENSE....
Wes, sorry you got shirts thrown at you...'er "some guy" did...
As I told my friend who wore a white Stafford jersey into Knoxville..."you got what was coming to you, jersey boy."
Wipe your puss Wes, this is the SEC. Don't wear a Stafford jersey into someone's house and not expect to get heckled. Maybe if you were a bit more active in Sanford, teams wouldn't come in and put up half a hundred on us in our house.
Pay Dye was right...
You're certainly not a Georgia fan. I think you've found a good fit. Go with it, and don't come back.
Good ole' soft Dan. Weren't you the guy that told me to sit down all year in Sanford?
I'm still pissin' blood from the Florida game Dan, don't tell me I'm not a Dawg fan.
War Willie
Willie needs to be gone. Our defense is awful.
I recommend the SEC bravado be left in the trunk this year...the conference is not what it was last year. You don't go having a "good " team lose to Duke at home and any team at all losing to Wyoming anywhere. Then there;s that embarrassment Auburn had at WaVa...
No, as a whole the SEC is not going to impress this year, Big 12 or otherwise. We should fear the Mountain West, even.
Georgia football......OVER RATED!!!
hmmmm Mutt? disgruntled UT or Auburn fan posting somewhere ppl are actually posting on blogs? Or are you just a jackass Alabama or Florida fan with no class. A 10 win season is not overrated, yes we lost some important players this year and still played with heart. Overrated is Arizona State ranked in the top 15 and now has a losing record.
"Searles needs warm bodies."
Well his warm body is Kiante Tripp all 6.5' 250+ lbs off him. Why? We we need some big bodies, if not just warm ones, so why is Kiante Tripp not out there?
Two bits, Four bits, Six bits, a dollar... All for Georgia stand out and hollar!
Some of you act like you wish we had lost yesterday.
Obviously, folks, Kiante Tripp is not any good at any of the positions he has played or he would be on the field.
Additionally, Searles is the one coach whose job this year has been outstanding. Imagine what our defense would look like if we had lost Curran and Allen to injury. The OL has been largely above reproach since the UT game; we've stuck with one lineup and moved the ball around really well. In the WLOCP it was the vaunted skill position players that screwed up by turning the ball over, missing blocks, and missing wide open TEs in the end zone.
I am glad we won yesterday, but I too have lost patience with WM. In this respect I would not have been too sad if we lost by giving up a large amount of yards and points; I want Richt's hand to be forced.
Yes, I've had with the defense.
Sorry...I've "had it" with the defense.
In other news, why does God obviously love Florida football? As soon as UF beat the snot out of Georgia, Texas and Penn State lose and Bama kept their unbeaten record, barely. Thus, everything's setting up nicely for the Gators. They will now beat #1 or #2 Bama, go to the National Championship and win in the same year that the Dawgs were preseason #1 in almost every poll/blog/magazine. I can't help but feel that things would've been different had UGA won against Florida...
Why do we deserve this, oh Lord? You would look much better in Red and Black!
It just wasn't our year. Like last year. Or the year before. Or the year before. Or the year before, etc. etc. all the way back to 2002. *Sigh*
You cry babies are a bunch of idiots. I know that is not constructive or nice, maybe not even very mature, but the bottom line is when you all whine and moan, you sound that way.
To anonymous 7:57 AM,
All I am saying is this: Pre-season #1 pick overall in the polls, we can't win, much less play, the "big" games, the sure win games are often too close for comfort, and our defense is suspect and too predictable.
As for your comment to me, take your jacka#@ remarks and keep drinking the kool-aid thinking that we are the "cream of the crop" in the SEC when in reality we are just above the mediocre teams.
Oh yeah, by the way, we haven't won ten games yet. Don't count your chickens before they hatch!
Disgruntled Dawg fan Mutt
To whygodwhy,
Maybe you should be at church in the mornings instead of being at home blogging on the computer!
A friend of Jesus
Our team just has too many break downs on the field....I mean come on Southerland was out of position and didn't pick up his block on Kentucky's blocked punt...this mental breakdown has to come from somewhere...
I've yet to see Evil Mark Richt once this year....not even a hint of Evil-MR.
War Willie, you definitely have me mistaken for someone else. It's been a while since I directly affected the outcome of a game (98 Peach Bowl), and anyone who pisses blood may be my kind of guy. But pulling for Auburn would definitely make you more of their breed.
I'm not whining and moaning--I'm too busy being pissed off.
Cobb is so good he just ripped up Mississippi State the week before. Passed for 56 yards and ran for 31. Uk got 274 yards and 14 points on the day.
Cobb may be good one day, but he's a true freshman.
UGA fans, we need to wake up and smell the coffee: our defense sucks. LSU, Tennessee, Vandy, and UK have BAD offenses, and we let them move the ball and stay in the game.
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