First of all, happy game week everybody. Not much longer to wait to see if we can hang with Boise. The team did indeed have a practice at the dome Friday-they also wore the new uniforms for the first time-still waiting to see a picture of that-surely someone on the "inside" snapped some pics. Anyhow, also good to know the coaches expect Branden Smith to play this Saturday. His backup is a true FR, Damian Swann. Also, Baccari Rambo has officially been moved to 2nd team safety. Not horrible news, I mean, the kid will still be on the field a lot so good that two guys have just flat beat him out of that spot.
I watched a clip of the Boise/VT game this morning, one thing that jumps out is that Boise jumped VT early-17-0 I think either after 1 or early 2nd quarter. I think us getting off to a good start is a very crucial because it gives our guys confidence and also keeps the dome LOUD. One thing you notice with Boise, at least last year, is they are much like us in regards to play action-they LOVE to use play action. But, will their new WR's be on the same level as the two guys they had last year-both of whom were strong looking wideouts. The RB looks dangerous, especially with the balance that offense shows. I firmly believe we have to attack them, we can't sit back and read/react. But, that QB is smart and knows how to play. He really does remind me of our own David Greene with his poise and patience in running the offense. Needless to say this will be challenge.
My ideas on the offense, I have a sneaky feeling we are going to run out of the spread offense as part of our base offense. I read a quote from Murray talking about he would look out for Crowell-he would right next to him, then later said, well or in front of him. Remember, Murray ran the spread in HS, so did Crowell. Coach Richt has been saying, he is going to study the game of football and hopes to be on the cutting edge. There have been hints of running an up tempo offense-like South Carolina and Auburn-both of whom ran a lot out of a spread looking-QB in the shot gun formation. This is not to say I expect this all the time-far from it. But, this offense makes a lot of sense to me in that it allows Murray to run a system he already knows well, same for Crowell. It allows him to use his vision and quickness to find holes, it allows us to use Figgins in more of an HBack type role instead of him running the football. It also helps to work with the strength of our offensive line recently-pass blocking, our guys have had trouble lining up and knocking the D off the ball. Again though, I do expect a lot of our traditional pro set formations because you don't totally go away from your established offense. I just personally believe we will see a lot more variety in how we use our offensive talent.
For the defense, I fully expect a far more attacking defense this year in year two. I think quite frankly, our group of linebackers this year are far more athletic than what we had on the field last year. CRob is the least athletic of our starting 4 but he is also the guy that is the best leader at this point. But seriously, players like Jarvis Jones, Alec Olgetree, Cornelius Washington, those guys CAN run. You compare that with Dent, Gamble, Houston-all solid players without question but I don't think they are as athletic as the 3 for this year. I also think having a true NT in the middle, that is going to create a lot of problems for our opponents. I don't think one guy can stop Geathers or John Jenkins-I think Abry and Tyson are going to be tough for OT's to stop by themselves. Bottom line, the starting 3 on the DL I really believe are going to require a lot of attention from the 5 OL for our opponents-then it becomes the game of linebackers. I think in game one against Boise, with our crowd advantage, and I beleive quickness AND size advantage, you are going to see Grantham come after Moore early and often. Considering the WR's for Boise are untested, the fact the RB is a player, I expect the LB's to be coming early and often in this game. I think he will have to do much the same in week two except, SCarolina does have some talented and proven receivers. But, I have always believed, college QB's, even seniors and experienced ones like we face in week one and two, they have a lot harder time thinking under pressure than they do if you drop back in coverage. Grantham has NFL experience, he should have the ability to use his past experiences and throw some defensive looks that will give college QB's a lot of problems. I think the fact that our players have a year of 3-4 under their belts pays off bigtime this year. I personally believe TG uses these first two games to unleash the D he hoped he would have last year and we all thought we would have last year. He has had all summer to study the Boise/SCarolina offenses and I have a good feeling about what he will bring to the table.
There you go, some of my opinions. Some I think anyone could probably come up with and agree with but I know a lot of UGA faithful hear the word spread, they immediately get all hot and bothered. I am just one that believes, if you have an offense that fits the skill set you have, you at least impliment that as part of your base offense. I think we enter this season with a big chip on our shoulders-I think the coaches REALLY feel that way and the players as well. Boise of course realizes if they win this game, they likely have a legit shot to run the table. This game is huge for them, but I still think it is bigger for UGA. I know the game against SCarolina in the grand scheme of things is the bigger game, but I honestly believe for this program, this game holds a lot of importance in getting our players and certainly our fans to start believing again. The last time we played Boise, some of the experts were picking Boise just because that seemed like the daring pick-the pick you could afford to make just because you always figure some big upsets will happen every year early in the non conference schedule. This game has a different feel to it though. Many experts are picking Boise this time as well but the Boise program of 2011 is MUCH different than the Boise of 2005. They have won some big games now the past few years over programs most expected them to lose-they have earned a lot of respect nationall, much more than 6 years ago. Meanwhile, in 2005 we had a new QB but we were coming off a great run of success-2002, 2003 and 2004-all 10 or more wins each season. This year we come in off a losing record, with the year before that being an average season. The national perception of our program is one on decline and thus, a BSU win over UGA this year, is not even considered an upset. In 2005, if Boise would have beaten us, it WOULD have been a big time upset. The reality is, our program has slippped and Boise continues to move in the other direction. If we lose to Boise, some people might be a bit surprised but not overly. But, if we come out and beat Boise, this game will serve notice that UGA is not quite as down as many believe we are. I look forward to seeing how the team plays this game. Sometimes I think about the game and get a VERY strong feeling we win going away. Then another day and time, I see us letting the game get away from us, and the self doubt starts creeping back in again. I keep remembering back to the first game back in 2008, Bama vs. Clemson. Nick Saban used that game to springboard his program to elite level. His team was ranked 24th coming in, Clemson 9th. Bama rolled the Tigers 34-10 and went on play for the SEC title against UF that year. They of course lost that game but that set them on track to go back the next year and win a national title. I am not predicting that to happen for UGA, but I am anxiously awaiting to see if we can win this big game and get our swagger back. Only a few more days until we get to find out.
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