Photo: DawgPost.com
Granted, I'm comparing Saturday to one of the worst games I've seen UGA play in my lifetime (UT) so everything by comparison looks better. But still...there was some improvement in this one.
Things that Improved from the prior week:
-- Pass Blocking: It's still not where it needs to be, it seemed that Stafford had adequate time to pass for much of the game. With two weeks more weeks to get healthy, Haverkamp will hopefully be playing near full speed when we hit Jacksonville. That could also help with pass and run blocking.
-- Run Blocking: Again, they didn't exactly blow people off the ball in either half. However, things settled down as Moreno went for 123 of his 157 in the second half. Granted much of that was after first contact, but there was some daylight. The Gators have a suffocating run defense that is ranked #15 in the nation. Georgia must continue to improve here.
-- Tackling: The Dawgs still had numerous whiffs on this front, but it was still a large improvement over the prior week. Especially the second half.
-- Intensity: I personally don't think the Dawgs played the way they played because of a lack of effort or hustle. They missed some assignments on defense and a few tackles that resulted in drive saving/touchdown creating plays for Vandy. And they dropped/whiffed on some enormous plays in the passing game on offense. But it wasn't (in my opinion) a lack of intensity.
Wildly Inconsistent with Flashes of Improvement:
-- Passing Game: Stafford and the WRs participated in a bizarre three act play in which they went from looking good to horrific to good again. (Pretty sure these stats are correct)...Stafford started 5-8 (62.5%), then went 2 of 9 (22.2%) to finish the first half. In the second half, he rebounded to go 9 of 14 (64.2%). During that middle stretch nothing went right.
It looked like "throwing off his back foot" was less of a problem in this one vs. simply deciding/throwing to WRs late. When you throw the ball late, you make the easy catch tougher and the defense has time to recover. In Stafford's defense, he made two exceptionally difficult throws under pressure that should have been caught. Both Bailey and Massaquoi dropped long (30-40 yard) passes along the sideline when Stafford was under duress. Both were difficult plays, but they are the kind of play that you need to make to win on the road in the SEC. If they haul in those passes, Stafford's line goes from 16 of 31 for 201 to around 18 of 31 for 270 yards. We also punt two fewer times and likely walk away with at least two more field goals...at a minimum.
College sports in general are about confidence and momentum. When you make plays, you gain the confidence to make more plays. Conversely, the little negative things often pile up to create big things, limiting your ability to build momentum. That's why our offense continues to look like Amateur Hour.
Yes, we have a rookie play caller, three rookie offensive linemen and a young QB. Our WRs aren't young, but that's another topic entirely. At this point in the season, we should be past a lot of this discombobulated stuff. But we aren't. That said...we're not that far off. A catch here, a faster decision there, one more block here, etc and we're putting up 10+ more points a game.
If I Gave out Helmet Stickers:
-- Knowshon Moreno. The first freshman captain under Richt goes for 157 in his starting debut. He's on pace to rush for 1,100+ yards, and he's actually averaging slightly more yards per game in SEC play than overall.
-- Tripp Chandler. When he's on, he reminds me of a thinner, better blocking version of Larry Brown. Or, maybe a slower, less handsy, better blocking version of Randy McMichael. Regardless, on those two big second half catches he damn near looked like Mark Bavaro. He has played his nuts off the past two games.
-- Dannell Ellerbe. He's this year's Tony Taylor. Even when the rest of the LB corp is playing like poo, you can still depend on Ellerbe. Saying he's our best linebacker right now, is like saying that he's the prettiest girl in the cabbage patch. But still...if the other two played at his level, it would be a much better defense.
The problem heading into the Cocktail Party:
We should've gotten the offensive kinks worked out against lesser foes. AllTel Stadium is an awfully high pressure venue to try and work out your issues.
The good news:
Auburn's offense looked positively wretched vs. Mississippi State, Kansas State and South Florida. We've only looked puketastic vs. Tennessee. Auburn started three freshmen offensive linemen in the Swamp with a lesser QB, equal WRs and a lesser running back, and they found a way to put up serious points on the Gators. We have two weeks to get it together. It can be done. There's a blueprint just sitting there waiting on us to execute it.
See Also:
-- DawgPost.com Photos
PWD
(AP Photo/Wade Payne)
