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January 3, 2012

Michigan State Review

At various times in the game, the Spartans' strength were on display, especially in the final quarter. Part of that was Michigan State's realization that one side of the field was open season for passing and one wasn't. The other part of that was Georgia's decision to simply keep running the ball into the strength of the Spartans' defense. Give credit where it is due, the Spartans' played the game to win. Georgia played to not lose, especially in the second half.
The Good:
  • Boykin. Gonna miss you playa'. 
  • Murray to King. Twice. 
  • Good to see King's emergence after a season of all most. Great reason to look forward to next season.
  • Jarvis, Smith and Ogletree's defensive performances.
  • Stopping Michigan State's inside run game.
  • Butler's punting.
  • Continuing to go to the well with down field passes...in the first half.
The Bad:
  • Halftime adjustments. What the hell? Surely they discussed the possibility of what would happen if Murray kept getting pressured. Which he did the whole game. It looked like our half time was spent watching a Designing Women marathon, again.
  • Speaking of Murray getting pressured, in what world do we have a premier offensive line? I know depth was/is an issue, but half the running game issues yesterday (and most of the season, for that matter) can be laid at the feet of the line. All of the tackles for losses and sacks, save one, are on the line. Individually, they are all good players. As a unit? Meh.
  • Second half play calling. Specifically, thinking we can't possibly keep throwing down field successfully.
  • Under utilizing the quick pass plays to TEs and RBs.
  • Dropping into a protection scheme with under two minutes to play when State had not moved quickly  against our regular defensive scheme all day.
The Ugly:
  • 3 Overtime possessions. 11 plays. -9 yards. 3 points. I get Blutarsky's point about Richt and who he is, but the safe play is to go to what is working, not what hasn't. That isn't conservative, that is stupid. I'm not laying blame at Blair's feet, either. Kid has the yips. That is just the way it is. Also, he isn't responsible for blocking the middle of the line on a place kick. 
More than any game this season, this game was lost on the side lines. Yes, we had plenty of poor plays/decisions, but if we hadn't nutted up and decided to be super safe after Michigan State made their comeback, we win. 
TD

11 comments:

SWGADAWG said...

Tyler...no arguments here except.....go look at the blocked FG from the side angle. NO penetration....just a low, bad kick that had little chance anyway. Can't figure what happened to Blair, but I hope he got his degree.

Anonymous said...

I don't know Tyler. Blair is our placekicker. That is his job on our football team. He has a full scholarship to Georgia BECAUSE he is supposed to be able to kick the ball through the uprights. I don't get the "use 2nd down to move the ball to the middle and lose 3 yards in the process" either, but Blair has to make those field goals. I'm not saying he deserves all the blame, but I don't think "Kid has the yips. That is just the way it is." cuts it when you're on full scholarship at a major division 1 school. Of course, all that is moot point now. Who is his replacement next year?

Dawgnoxious said...

Walsh is a good kicker with great skills. But Richt ruined him mentally. Field Goal Jesus went to the well too many times. Instead of playing for touchdowns, four years of playing for field goals took its toll on Walsh's confidence finally.

You hit the nail on the head. Sparty played to win, and Richt played not to lose. If Nick Saban or Les Miles had coached Georgia yesterday, the second half would have looked a lot different.

Anonymous said...

"If Nick Saban or Les Miles had coached Georgia yesterday, the second half would have looked a lot different."

Please rewatch the Bama/LSU game and tell me with a straight face that Saban played to win.

Chris said...

I cringed every time I saw Sparty blitz from the right side of our line. We couldn't block anything, and I was honestly just waiting for Murray to get killed. How can the coaches not adjust for these problems?

Tony Waller said...

Anon 1:30, either the Marshall kid from Miami or the Barber kid from Cartersville.

Roy said...

That was so frustrating. If I wasn't at my buddies house, I would have been slamming doors watching the game.

Tony Waller said...

To be fair, only one door was slammed. Twice.

Anonymous said...

@Dawgnoxious
"Instead of playing for touchdowns, four years of playing for field goals took its toll on Walsh's confidence finally"

I don't really understand your rationale considering Richt applied the same philosophy with Coutu and Billy Bennett. Didn't seem to significantly derail their college careers.

Walsh had 3 great seasons then just fell apart. I think we'd all like to know what transpired this year, but the only person who knows is Blair. The kid had the physical tools to succeed for 3 years as a dependable kicker. I guess his mental approach just completely eroded.

Bring on the next guy.

Anonymous said...

Agree with your analysis.
Several thoughts
1) Bobo must go. Will Richt make a change. He waited to late to sack Martinez. My guess is that he will not act.
2)Murray is a good qb, but not a great one. He is a turnover machine and NOT a big game qb.
3)LSU and Alabama are oversigning gurus. We do not even recruit to our limits. We awarded 7 to 8 scholarships to walk-ons this year.It appears that we will undersign again this year in a state that is 3rd in the nation in 4 & 5 star recruits. WE MUST ADDRESS DEPTH.

Anonymous said...

We gained 53 yards rushing and got little to no pressure on the QB. IOW, we got whipped on both lines. That is why we lost

 
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