Tomorrow is a BIG day for the future of UGA football. I truly believe that to be the case. First of all, UGA takes on the dreaded Florida Gators in Jacksonville. Second, the Gamecocks play in Knoxville against the Volunteers. If all breaks our way, tomorrow could really help our chances of making the SEC title for the first time since 2005. Some will say, what does it matter to make the SEC title game and then get killed by either Bama or LSU. I say, WHAT??? After the past two seasons, after all the negative surrounding our program, and especially our head coach, it means a GREAT DEAL to win the east-and you know what, anything can happen in a game so to say we will get killed by LSU/Bama, well, that is purely speculation and nothing more. Bottom line, UGA needs to win the game tomorrow not only for the SECe implications but because UF will be the first good team we have beat all year. No doubt our schedule this year has helped out tremendously and considering we have expansion on the horizon, one way or another, who knows what our schedule will look like going forward.
As I think about UGA/UF under Richt, a few things come to mind. First of all, you could honestly say the talent level at the schools were much more even than they were the decade of the 90's. I think if you look at it realistically, you could say UGA had as much or more talent than UF in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2010. I think UF had better talent in 2001, 2006, 2008 and 2009 and I call 2005 pretty even-in fact, if UGA had Shockley that day, I would give 2005 to us. So, in that time frame we have won 2 games. What does this mean to me, we have been outcoached badly in this series. Now, part of that is UF getting a week off before the game nearly every year during the Richt era. Part of that is the continuing doubt that was built up from a decade of Spurrier pouring it on us. But, more times than not, it has been Richt's playcalling (ultra conservative, game time decisions-QB rotation), turnovers or penalties that has KILLED us. You think back to 2002, only loss of the season was to the Zook led Gators, 20-13. Yep, one TD and two FG's. In 2003, 16-13, again one TD and two FG's. Even with Zook fired the week before the game in 2004, we had to hang on to win 31-24. We have had several INT's returned for TD's in this game, a fumble returned for a TD-when has UGA cashed in a turnover for a score in this game-just has not happened. Why is that? Good question and I have heard it explained this way and I tend to agree-UGA puts SOOO much thought and energy into this game, they want to do well so bad, they try so hard, it causes them to play tight. Much the same way GT is obsessed with beating UGA and thus finds ways to lose to us, it works the same way for UGA against UF. UF approaches this game very confident as they should-they preach having a quick start, lets jump on them early-WHY, well it is obvious why because with the fragile UGA mindset, you jump on them early and then we all start thinking, OH NO, here we go again.
Today I will look at both the Gators O and D. I will then give my keys to the game.
First of all, the Gators offense, since so much has been made about will Brantley play or not. I personally HOPE he does play because he is likely to be rusty and he is very immobile. We have not had luck stopping running QB's so let Brantley play and throw a few picks.
OT Matt Patchan 6-6 292 JR
OG Dan Wenger 6-3 294 SR
C Jonotthan Harrison 6-3 295 Soph
OG Jon Halapio 6-3 324
OT Chaz Green 6-5 306 FR
TE Jordan Reed 6-3 239
WR Andre Debose 5-11 191 Soph
WR Frankie Hammonds Jr 6-1 184 JR
WR Deonte Thompson 6-0 200 SR
TB Chris Rainey 5-9 174 SR OR Jeff Demps 5-7 191 SR
QB John Brantley 6-3 219 SR OR Jacoby Brissett 6-3 239 FR OR Jeff Driskel 6-4 235 FR
The Gator OL has been average this year, the WR's while all highly recruited out of HS, have been nothing special but they are all VERY fast. This is not an overly big OL, and they don't have much depth at all. Of course Rainey and Demps-VERY fast and small/elusive, GT style backs and let us not forget, we just faced similar back at Vandy in terms of size and speed, Zac Stacy (he is actually a little bigger if you can believe it). Stacy gave us fits as did Rodgers running the ball. I suspect that if Brantley does not play, or if they sub out QB's, they have spent time watching that Vandy film, not to mention we couldn't stop their own Trey Burton last year as a running QB-I wouldn't be surprised a bit for him to get a lot of work at QB tomorrow. It will be crucial that our run defense step up big tomorrow and hopefully the return of Washington and Ogletree helps in this department.
Now to take look at the Gator D. This side of the ball has played decent for the Gators but they have a lot of youth. They run a 4-3 base.
DE Sharif Floyd 6-3 295 Soph
DT Dominque Easley 6-2 282 Soph
DT Jaye Howard 6-3 303 SR
DE Ronald Powell 6-4 248 Soph
LB Lerentee McCray 6-2 246 JR
LB Jalani Jenkins 6-0 230 Soph
LB Jon Bostic 6-1 243 JR
CB Marcus Robertson 6-0 184 FR
S Matt Elam 5-10 206 Soph
S De'Ante Saunders 5-8 192 FR
CB Cody Riggs 5-9 179 Soph
Yes, that is right folks 6 soph's starting on D, two FR, only one SR starter. The DL is not very big, but those three sophs were all 5 star recruits and all are playmakers. LB's are not very big, should be interesting to see how they match up with Charles. In the secondary, one of the smaller secondaries we have faced all year-when you have three guys 5-10 or smaller, two TRUE FR starting, thinking Murray can pick on those guys and of course that means losing Mitchell could truly be a factor. Still though, with Marlon Brown coming off a great game and being a legit 6-4 or 6-5, I would suspect he will be a matchup problem for the Gators. Of course it is going to be vitally important that our run game have success to set up the pass. Their safety Elam is a heck of player and if we can get him invovled with play action fakes, it could really help our cause.
Some keys to this game in my opinion, first thing I have already mentioned. Have a quick start, which has been something we have been doing in most games during our 5 game win streak. Come out strong and take an early lead, build some confidence and take the tightness away from our sideline. Second, avoid turnovers-you can say that every week but turnovers, especially INT's have KILLED us in this game for three straight years-three different QB's have thrown 3 picks the last three years, Stafford, Cox and Murray. Don't help out a struggling offense by giving them short fields or allowing the D to score points for them. Third thing, TACKLE. They have two shifty running backs, we have to wrap those guys up and bring them down-also tackle the WR's immediately as they have track speed as well. Fourth is special teams, we need to play well in this area-we need to block well on our punt team, we need to cover better, we need Walsh to make his kicks this week. My last key is for our coaching staff. Instead of coaching this game not to lose, how about coaching this game to win. Don't go ultra conservative, don't do stupid things either but don't take your foot off the gas, keep going on these guys and put them away as the longer you let them hang, the more and more dangerous they become.
This week I will NOT give a prediction because if I did, I would likely have to pick the Gators and I don't want to pick them because this should be our year. But, I have said that so many times before that I am tired of saying of thinking that. Our guys need to treat this game just as they did UT or SCarolina-another SECe matchup, just so happens to be on a neutral field. This is NOT a must win game for us, if you believe that SCarolina will lost two more games and we will not lose to either AU or UK. This is not a must win for Mark Richt to keep his job, although one has to wonder, how much longer can we keep a guy that simply can't beat our top yearly (no offense to SCarolina) competition for the SECe title. This is simply a game that says a lot about the future of our program-a lot is riding on this game and if we lose this yet again, you have to then wonder, when will we ever beat the Gators again. They are in year one transition of coaches, they have an iffy situation at QB, they have a young defense that is only going to get better. This is not a must win game but I can tell you, it sure feels like it is pretty darn close to it from how I am feeling about it this Friday before.
Let's hope the good guys find a way to get it done. Let's hope come 10:30p on Saturday night, we are not only a favorite to win the SECe in 2011, but we are in the drivers seat ready to clinch with a win against Auburn on November 12th. GOOOOOOOOOO Dogs/Dawgs (Dawgs for all of you that like it better that way-not me but I can be flexible)!!!
Friday, October 28, 2011
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Brantley now listed as probable-not a shock there, Bowl projections from rivals
Will Muschamp now lists SR QB John Brantley as probable for the game on Saturday. When he suffered the injury in the Bama game a few weeks ago, reportedly Brantley told Coach Boom (Mushchamp) he would be back for UGA. Well, it appears he will be back and honestly, I hope he is. Why, you might ask?? Well, first of all considering how much we have struggled the last two years with running QB's, I will take my chances with a quarterback that is coming off a high ankle sprain. He will not be any threat at all to run the ball. He will be more immobile than Mallett of Arkansas last year or Bray from UT this year. Now, Brantley IS a much better throwing QB than any of the others on the UF roster. If he plays, he allows the offense to have much more balance. That being said, I would fully expect Grantham and company to test out a rusty QB by bringing 6-7 guys in the box, bringing heat on him early and often to make him throw it quickly, force mistakes, or sack him-if he tries to move, it could hurt his leg injury as well. Bottom line though, we have to be prepared for any of the 3-4 different QB's they could throw at us. I trust that our defensive coaches will have a good plan in place. Of bigger concern to me, the report that Malcolm Mitchell might have retweaked his hamstring yesterday. Hopefully that is just internet rumor stuff but we need his speed/vertical threat in this game. What we need more than anything is to limit turnovers. For your benefit, I put together the turnover battle for the last 9 years. I could not find the stats for Mark Richt's first season against UF, 2001.
2002 UF wins 20-13, they also turn the ball over 4 times to our 3 times. The famous Edwards drop, also Gus Scott returns a DJ Shockley pass for a TD.
2003 UF wins 16-13, UGA 1 turnover, UF zero.
2004 UGA wins 31-24, UGA 1 turnover, UF zero
2005 UF wins 14-10, turnovers even at 1. This is the game DJ had to sit out due to injury. Joe T at QB.
2006 UF wins 24-10, turnovers UGA 5, UF 2. UF scores one TD on a 9 yard fumble return.
2007 UGA wins 42-30, turnovers UGA 1, UF 2, the one UGA turnover is a INT return for TD.
2008 UF wins 49-10, turnovers UGA 4, UF 0
2009 UF wins 41-17, turnovers UGA 4, UF 0
2010 UF wins 34-31 in OT, turnovers UGA 4, UF 1
So, if you look at the series since 2005 the turnovers have really gone WAY up on our side. Granted, 2002 we had 4 but otherwise turnovers were way down. One thing that really jumps out to me, 4 of the 9 years UF had ZERO turnovers against us. Also, in three of the games, UF not only forced us to turn the ball over but took that turnover back for TD's-a true double whammy and we all can remember the South Carolina game this year-we turned it over THREE times two of those were returned for TD's, another to our 5 yard line. Over this 9 game stretch, the turnovers would be as follows, UGA 25, UF 9. So, we average turning it over nearly 3x every game against UF over the last 9 years, UF 1x against us. Now it makes a lot more sense why we have only won 2 of the games.
I think the turnover battle is one that we should all keep an eye on certainly for this game. If you look at UGA games thus far this year, here is the breakdown on turnovers and results.
Boise State, both teams had one turnover. Boise win
SCarolina, UGA 3 SC 2, SCarolina win
Coastal Carolina, CC 3, UGA 1, UGA wins
Ole Miss, Miss 2, UGA 1, UGA wins
Miss State, both with 3, UGA wins
UT, both wins zero, UGA wins
Vandy, Vandy 4, UGA 1, UGA wins
Now take a look at the Gators schedule-
Fla Atlantic, UF 3, FA 0, UF wins
UAB, UAB 1, UF 0, UF wins
UT, UT 2, UF 1, UF wins
UK, UK 4, UF 3, UF wins
Bama, UF 2, Bama 0, Bama wins
LSU, UF 2, LSU 0, LSU wins
Auburn, UF 3, AU 0, AU wins
Granted, typically you can tell who wins a game based on turnovers-not rocket science there but I think it is VERY interesting to look at the past 3 games that UF has lost. 7 total turnovers for the Gators, ZERO for the three west opponents. I think our ability to avoid the turnover in this game is the single biggest factor to winning the game. When the turnover happens, it gets that mental block thing going again, it propels the Gators to ok, typical UGA dropping the ball against us, we are in their head and now we go for the kill. Our players are thinking, GREAT here we go again. The game last year is a prime example-our first play from scrimmage is an Aaron Murray INT. They ended up misssing a FG after that pick but it set a tone. We were down 21-7 at the half, only to make a very good comeback to tie the score at 31, all the momentum is on our side heading to the OT, and we immediately throw the INT and they kick the FG to beat us.
This year our D is going to have to play MUCH better than a year ago. UF rolled up 450 yards on us, with Brantley throwing for nearly 200 yards, Burton rushing for 110 yards, Rainey another 84. We moved the ball well on the Gators but primarily with Murray throwing the ball, he had 313 yards. If you really think about it, the UF game last year really mirrors the SCarolina game this year in so many ways. In both cases, Murray really did play extremely well but it was his costly mistakes that ended up killing us in both games. I guess we all have to hope Murray is finally ready to get over the hump and lead us to victory in a crucial SECe game.
I noticed Rivals have their early bowl predictions out. Just for the heck of it, here are some games of interest to UGA fans.
National title game-Bama vs. Stanford
Sugar-LSU vs. Okie State
Capital One-Arky vs. Nebraska
Outback-UGA vs. Michigan State
Cotton-Auburn vs. Texas
Gator-UF vs. THE Ohio State
Chick-Fil-a-SCarolina vs. VaTech
Liberty-UT vs. SMU
Music City-Miss State vs. THE U
SEC no bowls-Vandy, Miss, and UK. I actually think Vandy might have a shot to make a bowl as they have 4 wins and still have 3 games they could win, Kentucky, at UT, and at Wake Forrest. Win two of those three and they have the 6 wins needed.
Sun Bowl-GTU vs. Washington. Wow, how far the Nerds fall here but this is actually projecting them as the #4 ACC slot. I think if they lose the next two ACC games, they could slip further in the bowl lineup.
All for now, let's hope Mitchell is ok, let's hope we don't suffer any injuries in practice. This week to me is such an important game for our program-yes, seems every year the UF game is very important for us but this year to me just seems even more so. UF has lost 3 straight, they have a new coach that just so happens to be a UGA grad and former player, we have a legit shot to win the east, the stars seemed to have aligned for us, our coach has had trouble with one school during his tenure in Athens and this would be the one school. He has been battling a warm seat all season, his coaching future could be riding on this game-although I will say a loss here doesn't mean he is gone but certainly many will be asking, if not this year, when will we ever beat these guys-myself included in that group. Only a few more days until we get to see how this all plays out on the field.
2002 UF wins 20-13, they also turn the ball over 4 times to our 3 times. The famous Edwards drop, also Gus Scott returns a DJ Shockley pass for a TD.
2003 UF wins 16-13, UGA 1 turnover, UF zero.
2004 UGA wins 31-24, UGA 1 turnover, UF zero
2005 UF wins 14-10, turnovers even at 1. This is the game DJ had to sit out due to injury. Joe T at QB.
2006 UF wins 24-10, turnovers UGA 5, UF 2. UF scores one TD on a 9 yard fumble return.
2007 UGA wins 42-30, turnovers UGA 1, UF 2, the one UGA turnover is a INT return for TD.
2008 UF wins 49-10, turnovers UGA 4, UF 0
2009 UF wins 41-17, turnovers UGA 4, UF 0
2010 UF wins 34-31 in OT, turnovers UGA 4, UF 1
So, if you look at the series since 2005 the turnovers have really gone WAY up on our side. Granted, 2002 we had 4 but otherwise turnovers were way down. One thing that really jumps out to me, 4 of the 9 years UF had ZERO turnovers against us. Also, in three of the games, UF not only forced us to turn the ball over but took that turnover back for TD's-a true double whammy and we all can remember the South Carolina game this year-we turned it over THREE times two of those were returned for TD's, another to our 5 yard line. Over this 9 game stretch, the turnovers would be as follows, UGA 25, UF 9. So, we average turning it over nearly 3x every game against UF over the last 9 years, UF 1x against us. Now it makes a lot more sense why we have only won 2 of the games.
I think the turnover battle is one that we should all keep an eye on certainly for this game. If you look at UGA games thus far this year, here is the breakdown on turnovers and results.
Boise State, both teams had one turnover. Boise win
SCarolina, UGA 3 SC 2, SCarolina win
Coastal Carolina, CC 3, UGA 1, UGA wins
Ole Miss, Miss 2, UGA 1, UGA wins
Miss State, both with 3, UGA wins
UT, both wins zero, UGA wins
Vandy, Vandy 4, UGA 1, UGA wins
Now take a look at the Gators schedule-
Fla Atlantic, UF 3, FA 0, UF wins
UAB, UAB 1, UF 0, UF wins
UT, UT 2, UF 1, UF wins
UK, UK 4, UF 3, UF wins
Bama, UF 2, Bama 0, Bama wins
LSU, UF 2, LSU 0, LSU wins
Auburn, UF 3, AU 0, AU wins
Granted, typically you can tell who wins a game based on turnovers-not rocket science there but I think it is VERY interesting to look at the past 3 games that UF has lost. 7 total turnovers for the Gators, ZERO for the three west opponents. I think our ability to avoid the turnover in this game is the single biggest factor to winning the game. When the turnover happens, it gets that mental block thing going again, it propels the Gators to ok, typical UGA dropping the ball against us, we are in their head and now we go for the kill. Our players are thinking, GREAT here we go again. The game last year is a prime example-our first play from scrimmage is an Aaron Murray INT. They ended up misssing a FG after that pick but it set a tone. We were down 21-7 at the half, only to make a very good comeback to tie the score at 31, all the momentum is on our side heading to the OT, and we immediately throw the INT and they kick the FG to beat us.
This year our D is going to have to play MUCH better than a year ago. UF rolled up 450 yards on us, with Brantley throwing for nearly 200 yards, Burton rushing for 110 yards, Rainey another 84. We moved the ball well on the Gators but primarily with Murray throwing the ball, he had 313 yards. If you really think about it, the UF game last year really mirrors the SCarolina game this year in so many ways. In both cases, Murray really did play extremely well but it was his costly mistakes that ended up killing us in both games. I guess we all have to hope Murray is finally ready to get over the hump and lead us to victory in a crucial SECe game.
I noticed Rivals have their early bowl predictions out. Just for the heck of it, here are some games of interest to UGA fans.
National title game-Bama vs. Stanford
Sugar-LSU vs. Okie State
Capital One-Arky vs. Nebraska
Outback-UGA vs. Michigan State
Cotton-Auburn vs. Texas
Gator-UF vs. THE Ohio State
Chick-Fil-a-SCarolina vs. VaTech
Liberty-UT vs. SMU
Music City-Miss State vs. THE U
SEC no bowls-Vandy, Miss, and UK. I actually think Vandy might have a shot to make a bowl as they have 4 wins and still have 3 games they could win, Kentucky, at UT, and at Wake Forrest. Win two of those three and they have the 6 wins needed.
Sun Bowl-GTU vs. Washington. Wow, how far the Nerds fall here but this is actually projecting them as the #4 ACC slot. I think if they lose the next two ACC games, they could slip further in the bowl lineup.
All for now, let's hope Mitchell is ok, let's hope we don't suffer any injuries in practice. This week to me is such an important game for our program-yes, seems every year the UF game is very important for us but this year to me just seems even more so. UF has lost 3 straight, they have a new coach that just so happens to be a UGA grad and former player, we have a legit shot to win the east, the stars seemed to have aligned for us, our coach has had trouble with one school during his tenure in Athens and this would be the one school. He has been battling a warm seat all season, his coaching future could be riding on this game-although I will say a loss here doesn't mean he is gone but certainly many will be asking, if not this year, when will we ever beat these guys-myself included in that group. Only a few more days until we get to see how this all plays out on the field.
Monday, October 24, 2011
It's GATOR week
I hope to have more time to blog this week, considering the huge game this upcoming weekend. But for today, I will bring you a little comic relief. I love to play this when I need a good laugh because quite honestly, this is one of the funniest things I have ever watched. So, sit back, relax and enjoy the show as the House of Reps gets introduced to the national champ Florida Gator.
First just watch it to watch it here-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2gIsUCDDfI
Next watch it with subtitles added for an extra chuckle-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgbBP9Em00A&NR=1
Much will be made this week about how UGA should win this game, how down UF is, how their fans don't even want to come to the game etc but I can bet you, when kickoff time arrives, the stadium will be 50/50 just like all other years. Heck, if anything it should be UGA faithful leery of this game, losing 18 of the last 21 or whatever the stat is, tends to cause even the most optimistic fans to be pessemistic. I know for me, I am old enough to remember expecting to beat the Gators every year. How times have changed and I will be perfectly honest, I expect us to lose this game every year, until our school can prove me wrong. I think all signs point to us having a great shot this year but I have thought that for many of the past 10 years Coach Richt has been in Athens-he has two wins against them. You can bet UF will play inspired football and they still have a boatload of talent. If we can protect the football, score some early points, it will clearly help our chances as turnovers in this game have played a HUGE part of the outcome of many. Later in the week hopefully I can put the stats together to show just how important turnovers can and will be in game like this. Heck, you only need to go back one year to look at the impact turnovers can make. Total turnovers a year ago, UGA 4 UF 1. Final score UF 34 UGA 31 in OT. Let's just hope our guys come into this game focused and ready to go. This game is very big for the SECe race, and I think also very big for the future of Mark Richt and his program. Gators have lost 3 straight but have played two of those three on the road, also 2 of the 3 against the top two teams in the nation. They will be ready to get their season turned back around and no doubt they have supreme confidence they can and will beat UGA yet again.
Last note, 7 year old Grayson Rams fell in the playoffs 20-7 to Buford. It was 0-0 at the half, 7-7 going to the 4th quarter, kids gave all they had but Buford was just a little better. I will say, Buford had one of the worst examples of coaching/sportmanship I have ever experienced in youth sports. Not sure this guys name but he is a total embarrassment to Buford and it is truly a shame when a grown man has to act like such a fool during a football game involving 7 year old boys. So, I congratulate Buford but to this coach, I say grow up, learn to have more class and sportmanship-and Buford GFL reps, think long and hard about allowing this person to coach football ever again. Yes, he was that bad.
First just watch it to watch it here-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2gIsUCDDfI
Next watch it with subtitles added for an extra chuckle-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgbBP9Em00A&NR=1
Much will be made this week about how UGA should win this game, how down UF is, how their fans don't even want to come to the game etc but I can bet you, when kickoff time arrives, the stadium will be 50/50 just like all other years. Heck, if anything it should be UGA faithful leery of this game, losing 18 of the last 21 or whatever the stat is, tends to cause even the most optimistic fans to be pessemistic. I know for me, I am old enough to remember expecting to beat the Gators every year. How times have changed and I will be perfectly honest, I expect us to lose this game every year, until our school can prove me wrong. I think all signs point to us having a great shot this year but I have thought that for many of the past 10 years Coach Richt has been in Athens-he has two wins against them. You can bet UF will play inspired football and they still have a boatload of talent. If we can protect the football, score some early points, it will clearly help our chances as turnovers in this game have played a HUGE part of the outcome of many. Later in the week hopefully I can put the stats together to show just how important turnovers can and will be in game like this. Heck, you only need to go back one year to look at the impact turnovers can make. Total turnovers a year ago, UGA 4 UF 1. Final score UF 34 UGA 31 in OT. Let's just hope our guys come into this game focused and ready to go. This game is very big for the SECe race, and I think also very big for the future of Mark Richt and his program. Gators have lost 3 straight but have played two of those three on the road, also 2 of the 3 against the top two teams in the nation. They will be ready to get their season turned back around and no doubt they have supreme confidence they can and will beat UGA yet again.
Last note, 7 year old Grayson Rams fell in the playoffs 20-7 to Buford. It was 0-0 at the half, 7-7 going to the 4th quarter, kids gave all they had but Buford was just a little better. I will say, Buford had one of the worst examples of coaching/sportmanship I have ever experienced in youth sports. Not sure this guys name but he is a total embarrassment to Buford and it is truly a shame when a grown man has to act like such a fool during a football game involving 7 year old boys. So, I congratulate Buford but to this coach, I say grow up, learn to have more class and sportmanship-and Buford GFL reps, think long and hard about allowing this person to coach football ever again. Yes, he was that bad.
Friday, October 21, 2011
Off weekend is here, nice to have a break
I know some folks don't like the off weeks, but I am one that loves it when we have the week off. I can just watch games and not have to worry or get anxious about UGA for a week. I think this year, the off week comes at a great time, mid year is always a very good time I believe. Also, since UF always seems to have the week off before playing us, it is good to have the same week off.
This week has brought both good and bad news. Good news is that Cornelius Washington and Alec Ogletree will be back for the Gators, bad news is that Kwame Geathers and Shawn Williams must sit out the first half of the game. I am ok with the punishment for both players, although I say I can't blame Kwame for doing what he did. In the case of Shawn Williams, he played like a fool against Vandy and because of his attitude and dirty play, he got what he deserved. I have no problem with a player being agresssive and hitting hard, but I have no patience for kids taking late hits on the opponent, running their mouth after a game, hopping and skipping around all night, I think Mark Richt was 100% justified in calling him a dumb a** to Coach Franklin. Now, I have issues with Franklin feeling the need to tell three of our coaches about #36 as he said, that speaks of being a cry baby and I am sure Coach Franklin IS indeed a cry baby after his performance Saturday night. Coach Richt could have come up to him and said, hey your center tried to end the career of my nose tackle, your guys were chop blocking my guys on nearly every play, but he didn't feel the need to cry and complain. I think Franklin's speech after the game about we are not going to take it anymore, well, what you better watch out for coach is that people start taking Vandy more seriously-as in, this team plays dirty, this team talks trash, maybe we need to prepare and play Vandy a little more intense than we have in the past-which is going to spell more losses for that program. I give the guy credit for trying to build the program up, he has come into Ga in his helicopter trying to sell Vandy to Georgia kids-well, if the game on Saturday is any indication of what he is selling, he has problems. That stadium holds I think a tad under 40K, they didn't have 37K in there for the UGA game, and from what I have heard, probably 10-15K were dressed in red. If Franklin does have a little success, look for him to hit the road ASAP to a better football program.
With this week off, hopefully our coaches are working on a few things that could really benefit us as we finish out this season. First and foremost, special teams. We have had 3 faked punts on us this year, we just had a punt blocked against Vandy that nearly lost us the game, had a KO return where the return guy was not touched at all. Blair Walsh did make 4 of 6 FG's but he missed two more FG's, he is now 12 of 20 on the season. This from a kid that barely missed the last few years, but the fact we have to settle for 3 so often is not a good thing-and in fact, with his struggles kicking the ball, it makes you wonder about our play calling when we get into the redzone. We no longer can say we have an automatic 3 points, so I think we need to play more for 6 instead of 3 as that got us beat once already against SCarolina-the first half we settled for FG's and Walsh missed the EASY 33 yard FG, sure enough we lost by 3. Granted, the turnovers and fake punt really did us in but you don't expect any FG kicker to miss a 33 yarder, certainly not one like Walsh has been during his career. I think another thing we need to work on is not letting the QB run on us like Vandy's QB did. Wow, a 40 yard scramble?? Are you kidding me. That should not happen unless the QB is named Vick or Young. This was a big problem last year, and UF certainly burned us big time with Burton running wild-I suspect they will look at what Rodgers did to us and start to slobber, especially with Brantley not being 100%-although I do expect him to play some against us.
As for this week in the conference, half of the SEC east takes the week off, with us, UF and SCarolina off. UT plays Bama, Vandy plays Army, and UK plays Jax State-keep an eye on this one as Washaun Ealey goes back to Lexington again, he scored 5 TD's for us against them last year. SEC west showdown this week, AU at LSU, even with 3 key players suspended, LSU should roll. Ole Miss hosts Arkansas. Miss State is off this week. All signs point toward easy wins for Bama and LSU, although both games could be closer than many think-at least for a half. Those two will take next week off before squaring off on November 5th.
Last note, the 7 year old Grayson Rams take on the Buford Wolves on Saturday, this will be a big test for our team, Buford was 6-2 in the regular season, they have some talent. We had a great week of practice, we put in some new wrinkles on offense, our D has give up only 20 points the last 3 weeks, I think we can slow them down enough if the offense comes to play. If we can survive Buford, we likely get #3 seed Dacula next week, as every game gets tougher and tougher. Regardless of the result tomorrow, this has been a lot of fun to be involved with-my first football coaching experience. I predict the Rams will win but I am biased of course. 20-13 final.
This week has brought both good and bad news. Good news is that Cornelius Washington and Alec Ogletree will be back for the Gators, bad news is that Kwame Geathers and Shawn Williams must sit out the first half of the game. I am ok with the punishment for both players, although I say I can't blame Kwame for doing what he did. In the case of Shawn Williams, he played like a fool against Vandy and because of his attitude and dirty play, he got what he deserved. I have no problem with a player being agresssive and hitting hard, but I have no patience for kids taking late hits on the opponent, running their mouth after a game, hopping and skipping around all night, I think Mark Richt was 100% justified in calling him a dumb a** to Coach Franklin. Now, I have issues with Franklin feeling the need to tell three of our coaches about #36 as he said, that speaks of being a cry baby and I am sure Coach Franklin IS indeed a cry baby after his performance Saturday night. Coach Richt could have come up to him and said, hey your center tried to end the career of my nose tackle, your guys were chop blocking my guys on nearly every play, but he didn't feel the need to cry and complain. I think Franklin's speech after the game about we are not going to take it anymore, well, what you better watch out for coach is that people start taking Vandy more seriously-as in, this team plays dirty, this team talks trash, maybe we need to prepare and play Vandy a little more intense than we have in the past-which is going to spell more losses for that program. I give the guy credit for trying to build the program up, he has come into Ga in his helicopter trying to sell Vandy to Georgia kids-well, if the game on Saturday is any indication of what he is selling, he has problems. That stadium holds I think a tad under 40K, they didn't have 37K in there for the UGA game, and from what I have heard, probably 10-15K were dressed in red. If Franklin does have a little success, look for him to hit the road ASAP to a better football program.
With this week off, hopefully our coaches are working on a few things that could really benefit us as we finish out this season. First and foremost, special teams. We have had 3 faked punts on us this year, we just had a punt blocked against Vandy that nearly lost us the game, had a KO return where the return guy was not touched at all. Blair Walsh did make 4 of 6 FG's but he missed two more FG's, he is now 12 of 20 on the season. This from a kid that barely missed the last few years, but the fact we have to settle for 3 so often is not a good thing-and in fact, with his struggles kicking the ball, it makes you wonder about our play calling when we get into the redzone. We no longer can say we have an automatic 3 points, so I think we need to play more for 6 instead of 3 as that got us beat once already against SCarolina-the first half we settled for FG's and Walsh missed the EASY 33 yard FG, sure enough we lost by 3. Granted, the turnovers and fake punt really did us in but you don't expect any FG kicker to miss a 33 yarder, certainly not one like Walsh has been during his career. I think another thing we need to work on is not letting the QB run on us like Vandy's QB did. Wow, a 40 yard scramble?? Are you kidding me. That should not happen unless the QB is named Vick or Young. This was a big problem last year, and UF certainly burned us big time with Burton running wild-I suspect they will look at what Rodgers did to us and start to slobber, especially with Brantley not being 100%-although I do expect him to play some against us.
As for this week in the conference, half of the SEC east takes the week off, with us, UF and SCarolina off. UT plays Bama, Vandy plays Army, and UK plays Jax State-keep an eye on this one as Washaun Ealey goes back to Lexington again, he scored 5 TD's for us against them last year. SEC west showdown this week, AU at LSU, even with 3 key players suspended, LSU should roll. Ole Miss hosts Arkansas. Miss State is off this week. All signs point toward easy wins for Bama and LSU, although both games could be closer than many think-at least for a half. Those two will take next week off before squaring off on November 5th.
Last note, the 7 year old Grayson Rams take on the Buford Wolves on Saturday, this will be a big test for our team, Buford was 6-2 in the regular season, they have some talent. We had a great week of practice, we put in some new wrinkles on offense, our D has give up only 20 points the last 3 weeks, I think we can slow them down enough if the offense comes to play. If we can survive Buford, we likely get #3 seed Dacula next week, as every game gets tougher and tougher. Regardless of the result tomorrow, this has been a lot of fun to be involved with-my first football coaching experience. I predict the Rams will win but I am biased of course. 20-13 final.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
A win is ALWAYS better than a loss, never forget that...
I read all the message boards, I listen to the talk shows, I think I have a pulse on what many are saying about the UGA football team-and you know what, I get it. This team has won the games they should win, lost the games maybe most thought they would. They have not been overly impressive as a team in any of the wins-yes, the D has played well in several of the wins but we have not had a game yet this year where the team as a whole played a great game, we have to hope that is yet to come. Yet, with all the struggles, all the crucial turnovers and mistakes, with young kids becoming our major playmakers on offense, with two untested middle linebackers being thrown into the mix, along with youngsters at an OLB for the past two games, without any depth on the OL, with an all american kicker-he has proven he is that level for 3 years so I feel justified in calling him that now-missing more kicks in one half season than I think he did ALL of last year or all of the season before, the Georgia Bulldogs sit at 5-2 and 4-1 in SEC play. We all know that we gift wrapped a game to South Carolina which could ultimately lead to not playing for the SEC title. With all the fire Richt talk after game one especially, despite all the fire Bobo or Bozo or whatever other choice name Dog faithful choose to call Mike Bobo, this team is 5-2. Could be because of the light schedule for sure, but last year our schedule was not any tougher and we were 4-4 and 3-3 in SEC play entering the UF game. I guess my point of all this would be, sure, this team can and probably SHOULD be playing better but let's just be thankful they are 5-2 and in contention for the east title. Now that Marcus Lattimore is done for the year at South Carolina, Stephen Garcia is done for the year, the Gamecocks are far from a lock to win another conference game this year. That includes the game at Knoxville in next weekend, a trip to Arkansas the week after that, and then hosting the Florida Gators the week after that. It is quite possible SCarolina could lose all three of those games. UT has the misfortune of playing LSU/Bama back to back, same thing happened to UF of course. But, after playing those two schools, you think facing SCarolina is going to intimidate the Vols?? Don't think so, now, they could be so beat up that they fall apart but it will not be because they are scared. Arkansas has two road games up next, at Ole Miss followed by a trip to Vandy, before returning home to play SCarolina. UF, they play us next week, host Vandy the next week before making the trip to Columbia. I have said all year that I believe the east champ will have a 6-2 record. I still think that is very possible, but obviously now that eliminates UF and makes it between UGA and SC. IF UGA is to win the east, I think we might very well have to go 7-1, because you can't count on SCarolina losing two, even though I think they certainly could do so. I think it is reasonable to assume they lose one. Anyway, as Mark Richt has said and everyone can agree, the key for us is to just keep winning. If we go 7-1 in conference and don't get in, kudos to SCarolina for taking care business without one of the best players in college football.
Bottom line for me has always been get the W and move on. I think especially after the last two frustrating seasons, UGA fans should care less about how we win and just focus on the fact we won. Heck, the Vandy game was so very frustrating on so many levels, having to settle on FG's yet again, having the D not be able to stop the scrambling QB or the little scatback, having the penalties all night long, special teams blunders yet again, I mean the list could go on and on. But, rather than talk about all that went wrong, I try to think of all the positives. First, Marlon Brown having a career night, as did Michael Bennett. Let us not also forget Tavarres King, he was just steady all night, no drops. Murray was pretty sharp, setting highs for passing yards, attempts, 3 TD's pushed him into 4th on the all time passing TD list, behind three great UGA QB's, Greene, Zeier, Stafford. On D, we had several INT's, blocked a punt, Ray Drew has his best game of the year by far. Abry Jones played really well, tipping away several passes, the LB's played pretty well for the most part, secondary was outstanding. Drew Butler made a game saving tackle when his punt was blocked. Walsh missed two FG's but did make 4. This game was not as close, or should not have been as close as the final score indicated, but you have to give credit to Vandy for battling us and I still will maintain, what happens to us so many years against Vandy, you play a rival in UT the week before, even an improved Vandy still is Vandy-meaning the players take them for granted and after playing in front of 100K one week, you play in front of 40K the next, WOW. Listed attendance for the game this past Saturday, 36, 640.
Moving on to discuss the other big event at the game, actually as the game was over, the Todd Grantham-James Franklin war of words. This has obviously been a huge topic of discussion on the boards and especially on the radio. Here is my take for what it is worth. I think Grantham needs to really watch his behavior first of all. The choke sign last year to me was MUCH worse than what happened Saturday because that was directed at player for Florida. I really didn't like that. This time, I think he shouldn't have maybe responded how he did however, that being said, I have to assume that Franklin was being a jerk towards some of our players, or player, as it has been reported he said something about Shawn Williams-this was WRONG by Franklin. I don't blame Grantham and honestly admire him for standing up for his player and I actually think this helps his image amoung players on the roster and those he recruits-despite what the radio "experts" might say. Fact is, it was known fact that during the game, Vandy OL were cut blocking, maybe even chop blocking our DL, and thus Shawn Williams and others were ticked off and probably were mouthing off quite a bit-which Franklin didn't like. But, Grantham didn't like his defenders getting chopped, which is what happened to Geathers when he threw is publized punch, as is always the case, they alwasys seem to catch the guy that hits back. Vandy was playing dirty, it brought out the worst in our players and in Grantham. But, for the guy to take such criticism is too much for me. I simply don't believe Todd Grantham unprovoked was in Franklin's face yelling choice curse words to him-Franklin did SOMETHING to set him off and yet it seems Grantham is made out to be the bad guy. So be it, but I do admire him for sticking up for his players, I do think though he needs to avoid those type situations moving forward. When the clock hits zero, he needs to immediately turn and run to the locker room. Don't put yourself in that situation in the near or distant future.
Now we have a week off to rest up and get ready for the dreaded Gators. They have lost 3 straight, granted they have played the last 3 national champs, two of which on the road. At this point, we have no idea who will be taking snaps for the Gators in Jax, will Brantley be back, will it be Driskell, will it be Brissett, will it be the guy that KILLED us last year Burton. Basically it boils down to this, if Brantley plays it gives UF a more balance offense because none of the other QB's to this point have shown the abilty to be a consistent passing threat. Now, that being said, they do have an extra week to prepare for us, and as we all have found out over the years, the Gators seem make very good use of their off weeks to come out and do stuff they have not done all year, and thus we can't stop it. UF has a stingy and talented D, so it is going to be VERY important our D plays well, much better than against Vandy. This is a game UGA should win but I NEVER feel confident about us beating the Gators, and I am old enough to remember when I felt the total opposite-I always expected a win against them when I grew up. Heck, from the time I started following UGA football, in the mid 70's (let's just say I can remember watching/listening starting in 1976, until the year I graduated UGA in '91 which happened to be Spurrier's second year, UGA's record in the series was 11-5. Since I graduated, from 92 to present, record is 3-15. Here's to a start of a new winning streak against UF starting in 2011.
Last note, the Grayson 7 year old Rams won 18-0 against Lawrenceville on Saturday to finish the regular season at 5-3, making the playoffs as the #11 seed. We take on the Buford Wolves, the #6 seed who was 6-2 during the regular season this upcoming Saturday. I watched film for a couple hours last night, I really think we have a shot. Being a rec coach, it really is amazing to think about the guys that make a living doing this stuff. I watched 4 games of Buford last night, not HD quality and of course not high octane offense or defense being 7 year olds. But it is really amazing what you can see on film, and how teams do show tendencies in each and every game. You can identify what they are trying to do, how they go about doing it, and how you want to try to stop it. You then can implement your plan in practice, make sure your players know what to do and when do to it, work on assignments, work on your plays etc, but then you know what, it all comes down to your players executing your plan. IF they don't do what you tell them or if they don't pay close enough attention to the details, there is little you can do as coaches. Maybe I am having more sympathy for coaches now but honestly, you can watch film until the cows come home. You can work on your gameplans and you can implement it during practice but then the players have to do their jobs. It is then up to the coaches to make sure the player DO the job or put someone else in there that will do it. Anyway, just like I umpired baseball for about 2-3 years in my twenties, I now have greater appreciation and sympathy for umpires. Not to say I don't yell at them when they miss a call but until you have done that job, it is hard to understand how difficult it is. Coaching is the same way, it is fun/exciting and can become addictive (thus why coaches can't seem to walk away) but it is also a difficult job as well.
Bottom line for me has always been get the W and move on. I think especially after the last two frustrating seasons, UGA fans should care less about how we win and just focus on the fact we won. Heck, the Vandy game was so very frustrating on so many levels, having to settle on FG's yet again, having the D not be able to stop the scrambling QB or the little scatback, having the penalties all night long, special teams blunders yet again, I mean the list could go on and on. But, rather than talk about all that went wrong, I try to think of all the positives. First, Marlon Brown having a career night, as did Michael Bennett. Let us not also forget Tavarres King, he was just steady all night, no drops. Murray was pretty sharp, setting highs for passing yards, attempts, 3 TD's pushed him into 4th on the all time passing TD list, behind three great UGA QB's, Greene, Zeier, Stafford. On D, we had several INT's, blocked a punt, Ray Drew has his best game of the year by far. Abry Jones played really well, tipping away several passes, the LB's played pretty well for the most part, secondary was outstanding. Drew Butler made a game saving tackle when his punt was blocked. Walsh missed two FG's but did make 4. This game was not as close, or should not have been as close as the final score indicated, but you have to give credit to Vandy for battling us and I still will maintain, what happens to us so many years against Vandy, you play a rival in UT the week before, even an improved Vandy still is Vandy-meaning the players take them for granted and after playing in front of 100K one week, you play in front of 40K the next, WOW. Listed attendance for the game this past Saturday, 36, 640.
Moving on to discuss the other big event at the game, actually as the game was over, the Todd Grantham-James Franklin war of words. This has obviously been a huge topic of discussion on the boards and especially on the radio. Here is my take for what it is worth. I think Grantham needs to really watch his behavior first of all. The choke sign last year to me was MUCH worse than what happened Saturday because that was directed at player for Florida. I really didn't like that. This time, I think he shouldn't have maybe responded how he did however, that being said, I have to assume that Franklin was being a jerk towards some of our players, or player, as it has been reported he said something about Shawn Williams-this was WRONG by Franklin. I don't blame Grantham and honestly admire him for standing up for his player and I actually think this helps his image amoung players on the roster and those he recruits-despite what the radio "experts" might say. Fact is, it was known fact that during the game, Vandy OL were cut blocking, maybe even chop blocking our DL, and thus Shawn Williams and others were ticked off and probably were mouthing off quite a bit-which Franklin didn't like. But, Grantham didn't like his defenders getting chopped, which is what happened to Geathers when he threw is publized punch, as is always the case, they alwasys seem to catch the guy that hits back. Vandy was playing dirty, it brought out the worst in our players and in Grantham. But, for the guy to take such criticism is too much for me. I simply don't believe Todd Grantham unprovoked was in Franklin's face yelling choice curse words to him-Franklin did SOMETHING to set him off and yet it seems Grantham is made out to be the bad guy. So be it, but I do admire him for sticking up for his players, I do think though he needs to avoid those type situations moving forward. When the clock hits zero, he needs to immediately turn and run to the locker room. Don't put yourself in that situation in the near or distant future.
Now we have a week off to rest up and get ready for the dreaded Gators. They have lost 3 straight, granted they have played the last 3 national champs, two of which on the road. At this point, we have no idea who will be taking snaps for the Gators in Jax, will Brantley be back, will it be Driskell, will it be Brissett, will it be the guy that KILLED us last year Burton. Basically it boils down to this, if Brantley plays it gives UF a more balance offense because none of the other QB's to this point have shown the abilty to be a consistent passing threat. Now, that being said, they do have an extra week to prepare for us, and as we all have found out over the years, the Gators seem make very good use of their off weeks to come out and do stuff they have not done all year, and thus we can't stop it. UF has a stingy and talented D, so it is going to be VERY important our D plays well, much better than against Vandy. This is a game UGA should win but I NEVER feel confident about us beating the Gators, and I am old enough to remember when I felt the total opposite-I always expected a win against them when I grew up. Heck, from the time I started following UGA football, in the mid 70's (let's just say I can remember watching/listening starting in 1976, until the year I graduated UGA in '91 which happened to be Spurrier's second year, UGA's record in the series was 11-5. Since I graduated, from 92 to present, record is 3-15. Here's to a start of a new winning streak against UF starting in 2011.
Last note, the Grayson 7 year old Rams won 18-0 against Lawrenceville on Saturday to finish the regular season at 5-3, making the playoffs as the #11 seed. We take on the Buford Wolves, the #6 seed who was 6-2 during the regular season this upcoming Saturday. I watched film for a couple hours last night, I really think we have a shot. Being a rec coach, it really is amazing to think about the guys that make a living doing this stuff. I watched 4 games of Buford last night, not HD quality and of course not high octane offense or defense being 7 year olds. But it is really amazing what you can see on film, and how teams do show tendencies in each and every game. You can identify what they are trying to do, how they go about doing it, and how you want to try to stop it. You then can implement your plan in practice, make sure your players know what to do and when do to it, work on assignments, work on your plays etc, but then you know what, it all comes down to your players executing your plan. IF they don't do what you tell them or if they don't pay close enough attention to the details, there is little you can do as coaches. Maybe I am having more sympathy for coaches now but honestly, you can watch film until the cows come home. You can work on your gameplans and you can implement it during practice but then the players have to do their jobs. It is then up to the coaches to make sure the player DO the job or put someone else in there that will do it. Anyway, just like I umpired baseball for about 2-3 years in my twenties, I now have greater appreciation and sympathy for umpires. Not to say I don't yell at them when they miss a call but until you have done that job, it is hard to understand how difficult it is. Coaching is the same way, it is fun/exciting and can become addictive (thus why coaches can't seem to walk away) but it is also a difficult job as well.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
This week has been crazy, prediction time
For those few that do come here to read my opinions or get some valuable/predictable information, my apologies for a lackluster week of blogging. It has just been a busy week for me at work, and a short week as well since I am not working tomorrow but have a lot of STUFF to do. This weekend we of course play a game that even some of the most pessemistic UGA faithful expect an easy win for our beloved football team. I honestly don't get how folks are so darn confident but hey, sometimes I like to be confident as well. That being said, this is not one of those weeks where I feel UGA will show up and easily win the game. Vandy comes in at 3-2, winning 3 straight but dropping two straight road SEC battles, at SCarolina in what turns out to be Garcia's last game as the starting QB, and last week at Bama. SCarolina beat them by allowing 3 points, Bama did even better, shutting out the 'Dores. Our D is playing some good football right now, I like the direction we are headed but we are not quite a complete product yet. That being said, should be good enough to get the W this weekend. The offense to me has played one good game this year, the SCarolina game. Even Coastal, I don't count that because that team was dreadful and we were not what I would call smooth that day. Ole Miss, Miss State, UT, offense to me has not looked sharp. 27-24-20 points in a game, thank goodness the D was playing so well or we might lose one of those games. I keep waiting for the game where we bust out and become more consistent but still waiting. Let's hope it happens this week, against a D that is probably better than our last 3 SEC opponents. I am not going to throw out depth charts as I normally do but let's just say, UGA has a HUGE size advantage when it comes to our OL against the Vandy DL and LB's-but the same could be said last week against UT and we didn't run the ball very well. Also of concern, our top WR will not play this week at Mitchell rests up his hamstring for UF.
The good news for us, this is a team that we have more talent, size, and speed. The players know next week is the much needed and anticipated off week. A chance for them to relax a little bit, go home for a few days, just reflect on the first half of the season. Also, they know that if they can win this game on Saturday, SCarolina has three consecutive road games to play-at Miss State this week, off week, at UT and then at Ark. They know they MUST keep on winning, there is a not riding on this game Saturday. The east is most likely down to a two team race, us and SCarolina. I would love for Miss State to knock off the Gamecocks at noon on Saturday, that would make Sat night even more important-then have AU beat UF to give them 3 conference losses. Wow. The scary thing about this game is we played in front of 100K last week, this week maybe 40K. Granted, a lot of the 40K will probably be in red but I just know a lot of talented UGA teams have gone to Nashville and had to struggle to win.
My prediction is that UGA comes out strong this week with the intent of putting away a lesser opponent. I can see them taking a 14-0 or 17-0 lead and then sitting on it. That being said, I expect this game to be around 10-14 points. So, I think UGA starts strong and then hits a lull and then comes back with a late FG or TD to make the margin more in line with my 14 points. I will go with 24-10, thinking it starts 14-0, then gets to be 14-3, then 17-10, then 24-10 final.
The 7 year old Grayson Rams take on the Lawrenceville Black Knights Saturday morning. I see a much better offense showing than last week, when we were shut out, I think our D is playing well and will hold down the Knights, the offense picks up the pace like we did earlier in the season, we get a solid victory heading into the playoffs next week, Rams 26-6.
The good news for us, this is a team that we have more talent, size, and speed. The players know next week is the much needed and anticipated off week. A chance for them to relax a little bit, go home for a few days, just reflect on the first half of the season. Also, they know that if they can win this game on Saturday, SCarolina has three consecutive road games to play-at Miss State this week, off week, at UT and then at Ark. They know they MUST keep on winning, there is a not riding on this game Saturday. The east is most likely down to a two team race, us and SCarolina. I would love for Miss State to knock off the Gamecocks at noon on Saturday, that would make Sat night even more important-then have AU beat UF to give them 3 conference losses. Wow. The scary thing about this game is we played in front of 100K last week, this week maybe 40K. Granted, a lot of the 40K will probably be in red but I just know a lot of talented UGA teams have gone to Nashville and had to struggle to win.
My prediction is that UGA comes out strong this week with the intent of putting away a lesser opponent. I can see them taking a 14-0 or 17-0 lead and then sitting on it. That being said, I expect this game to be around 10-14 points. So, I think UGA starts strong and then hits a lull and then comes back with a late FG or TD to make the margin more in line with my 14 points. I will go with 24-10, thinking it starts 14-0, then gets to be 14-3, then 17-10, then 24-10 final.
The 7 year old Grayson Rams take on the Lawrenceville Black Knights Saturday morning. I see a much better offense showing than last week, when we were shut out, I think our D is playing well and will hold down the Knights, the offense picks up the pace like we did earlier in the season, we get a solid victory heading into the playoffs next week, Rams 26-6.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
A big win in Knoxville, now gotta avoid the obvious letdown
Granted this was not the best UT team to beat in Knoxville, but, anytime you get a win up there you have to be pleased. Especially after our last two trips to that place. The game on Saturday was not the best you will ever see, the offense still is not playing up to the potential I think it has but you have to credit our defense yet again, playing sound football and really controlling what had been a very high scoring offense. Yes, they were rolling up numbers against weaker teams but still, they were at home and UT at home is a much tougher team than UT on the road.
The GOOD-the play of our defense of course. Gilliard named D player of the week for his great work-he leads our team in tackles, he had 12 tackles, a sack, 2.5 tackles for loss, forced a fumble and had a pass break-up. I also thought the DL was fantastic in completely shutting down the run game of UT. Yes, they had been bad against UF earlier in the swamp but to hold anyone to -20 yards rushing, VERY impressive. The pass D, well, they did have trouble covering the backs and especially the big TE. But, overall, the coverage on the wideouts was pretty good. On offense, Murray had a solid night, no INT's (thanks Marlon Brown) and Malcolm Mitchell was outstanding. Too bad he got hurt but hopefully he is back for the UF game. Also thought TKing played his best game of the season. He picked up some crucial 3rd downs, caught the ball well, could have done even more if Murray had not overthrown him several times. Crowell was ok, scored two TD's which was nice but UT seemed determined to slow him and down and for the most part, they did contain him except for his 17 yard TD run. Butler had a strong game, Walsh made both FG's and hopefully is back in form, special teams did a good job covering kicks. Continue to really like Herrera at MLB as well. Great for Mark Richt to win game 100 in the stadium that actually jumpstarted his coaching career as our head man. I don't think any UGA fan will soon forget the Hobnail boot game, Verron Haynes or David Greene.
The BAD-penatlies in the 4th quarter. I have NEVER seen a 3rd and 56 or 2nd and 56 or 4th and 57. Now, I am not sure I can blame the players because holding could be called EVERY play-how the refs can call that many consecutive penalties, that is just beyond strange. We were very close to FG range, if not in FG range, when the yellow hankies started flying. I also would have like to see the D get more pressure on Simms when he entered the game-keep that TD off the board, that 4th and 15 completion looked really good-how he got it there and the guy held on, great catch but was frustrating. I also don't like our conservative play calling at times, we could have put that game out of reach and not given UT a chance to score late and try the onside kick-course we were trying to do that when then penalties started in the 4th. We have got to have our LB's do a better job covering TE's and RB's or teams will really start attacking us there. The injury to Mitchell was bad, he would have likely scored if not for pulling/straining his hammy.
NEXT UP-a trip to Nashville, a place we usually win but a place we normally struggle. We always play Vandy a week after UT, you go from 100K in Knoxville to 40K in Nashville, and Vandy is always going to be MANY notches below UT in every category from talent to fan base. So, you end up with a bit of natural letdown against the 'Dores and so the coaches have to do a great job of getting the guys up for this week. All the good work of the last 4 games can be wiped away with a careless loss in Nashville. Vandy just got killed back to back at SCarolina and Bama but they beat up Ole Miss in Nashville. They will be back home and ready to play after getting ripped by the Tide last week. Again, our guys BETTER be ready. I think many in the fanbase are taking this for granted but NOT ME. We go there with a lot of confidence, against an offense that is REALLY struggling right now. We have Mitchell out, Crowell banged up, but most everyone else is healthy. Hopefully Wooten might come back this week, Bennett will need to step up, as will Marlon Brown. We SHOULD win this game easily but I have said that before about Vandy only to see us win by a last second FG.
Personal note, the 7 year old Rams put up a solid effort but just couldn't get the offense rolling on Saturday, losing 13-0 to the Mill Creek Hawks (this team is now 7-0 and has given up 7 points all season so a solid defensive team). We close the season Saturday against Lawrenceville, a team we SHOULD beat but we play at their place-sounds like UGA!!! Win that game we finish 5-3 and assure a pretty good seed in our playoffs which start next weekend.
The GOOD-the play of our defense of course. Gilliard named D player of the week for his great work-he leads our team in tackles, he had 12 tackles, a sack, 2.5 tackles for loss, forced a fumble and had a pass break-up. I also thought the DL was fantastic in completely shutting down the run game of UT. Yes, they had been bad against UF earlier in the swamp but to hold anyone to -20 yards rushing, VERY impressive. The pass D, well, they did have trouble covering the backs and especially the big TE. But, overall, the coverage on the wideouts was pretty good. On offense, Murray had a solid night, no INT's (thanks Marlon Brown) and Malcolm Mitchell was outstanding. Too bad he got hurt but hopefully he is back for the UF game. Also thought TKing played his best game of the season. He picked up some crucial 3rd downs, caught the ball well, could have done even more if Murray had not overthrown him several times. Crowell was ok, scored two TD's which was nice but UT seemed determined to slow him and down and for the most part, they did contain him except for his 17 yard TD run. Butler had a strong game, Walsh made both FG's and hopefully is back in form, special teams did a good job covering kicks. Continue to really like Herrera at MLB as well. Great for Mark Richt to win game 100 in the stadium that actually jumpstarted his coaching career as our head man. I don't think any UGA fan will soon forget the Hobnail boot game, Verron Haynes or David Greene.
The BAD-penatlies in the 4th quarter. I have NEVER seen a 3rd and 56 or 2nd and 56 or 4th and 57. Now, I am not sure I can blame the players because holding could be called EVERY play-how the refs can call that many consecutive penalties, that is just beyond strange. We were very close to FG range, if not in FG range, when the yellow hankies started flying. I also would have like to see the D get more pressure on Simms when he entered the game-keep that TD off the board, that 4th and 15 completion looked really good-how he got it there and the guy held on, great catch but was frustrating. I also don't like our conservative play calling at times, we could have put that game out of reach and not given UT a chance to score late and try the onside kick-course we were trying to do that when then penalties started in the 4th. We have got to have our LB's do a better job covering TE's and RB's or teams will really start attacking us there. The injury to Mitchell was bad, he would have likely scored if not for pulling/straining his hammy.
NEXT UP-a trip to Nashville, a place we usually win but a place we normally struggle. We always play Vandy a week after UT, you go from 100K in Knoxville to 40K in Nashville, and Vandy is always going to be MANY notches below UT in every category from talent to fan base. So, you end up with a bit of natural letdown against the 'Dores and so the coaches have to do a great job of getting the guys up for this week. All the good work of the last 4 games can be wiped away with a careless loss in Nashville. Vandy just got killed back to back at SCarolina and Bama but they beat up Ole Miss in Nashville. They will be back home and ready to play after getting ripped by the Tide last week. Again, our guys BETTER be ready. I think many in the fanbase are taking this for granted but NOT ME. We go there with a lot of confidence, against an offense that is REALLY struggling right now. We have Mitchell out, Crowell banged up, but most everyone else is healthy. Hopefully Wooten might come back this week, Bennett will need to step up, as will Marlon Brown. We SHOULD win this game easily but I have said that before about Vandy only to see us win by a last second FG.
Personal note, the 7 year old Rams put up a solid effort but just couldn't get the offense rolling on Saturday, losing 13-0 to the Mill Creek Hawks (this team is now 7-0 and has given up 7 points all season so a solid defensive team). We close the season Saturday against Lawrenceville, a team we SHOULD beat but we play at their place-sounds like UGA!!! Win that game we finish 5-3 and assure a pretty good seed in our playoffs which start next weekend.
Friday, October 7, 2011
It is FRIDAY, big game for UGA this weekend, also for the 7 year old Rams
Another Friday rolls around, always a great day. Today I will take a look at the UT offense going against the UGA D. As we all know, we will be minus Cornelius Washington this week and next, that does hurt us especially this week, since CW was coming off his best game this season, with two sacks and we are playing probably the best passing attack we will see the rest of the season this week. The hope for UGA's D is that they can remain playing as much of a base D as possible and still have success. What this means, UGA can bring 4-5 guys and get adequate pressure on Bray to allow 6 guys back in coverage. Bray is a solid QB without question, but he has no mobility and is prone to mistakes if pressured. The key is whether UGA can get enough pressure to rattle him without leaving WR's wide open. The last time we played a QB that could really toss the ball around, he made us look pretty bad. What we have going for us this time though, UT does not have the OL that Boise did, UT does not have a QB as poised/confident/experienced at Kellen Moore, and UT does not have the WR's that Boise had-well, they have Da'rick or whatever Rogers who is plenty good but the injury suffered by their best WR, Hunter, against Florida really helps our cause. Back to Bray, he leads the SEC in passing yards, TD's and has only thrown two picks all year. Course those two picks came in his only tough game of the season, at UF. UT has had trouble running the ball this season but I would suspect they will try to mix some run in because they have to have a little balance. Also they have a starting RB from Ga in Tauren Poole who you know wants to have a great game. He has two games over 100 yards for the season, going for 101 against Cincy and again last week against Buffalo. Against UF though, he had 9 rushes for 18 yards. As for the UT OL, they have some big boys up front, all 5 starters tip the scales over 300lbs but 4 of the 5 starters are also sophs. All the reserve OL are either Soph's or FR. Point being, this is not a very experienced unit, our front 7 should be able to play well in this game. The key will come down to how much we can impact the throwing of Tyler Bray-if he has a good game, I think UT can hang with us but if we force him into a rough night, we should win this game going away, assuming we don't gift wrap TD's as we have in several games this year, especially SC. Let's take a look at the UT starting offense.
OT-Dallas Thomas 6-5 305 JR
OG-Alex Bullard 6-2 309 Soph
C-James Stone 6-3 308 Soph
OG-Zach Fulton 6-5 330 Soph
OT-Ju'Wuan James 6-6 324 Soph
TE-Mychal Rivera 6-3 254 JR
WR-Zach Rogers 6-0 180 JR
WR-Da'Rick Rogers 6-3 215 Soph
FB-Ben Bartholomew 6-2 251 JR
TB-Tauren Poole 5-10 215 SR
QB-Tyler Bray 6-6 210 Soph
I suspect we will put Boykin on Da'Rick and see if he can handle him, with maybe some safety help as well. It is pretty obvious looking at UT's numbers, he is their main target-he has 27 catches on year, next up is the TE Rivera with 14 (Hunter is actually second with 17 catches but of course he out for the year). I also look for Grantham to utilize the inside backers with some blitzes right up the gut this week as I would imagine the interior of the UT OL, although big, will have a hard time handling Jenkins and Geathers-force Bray to get the ball out quickly. I also suspect that UT will try to utilize a lot of screens to Poole or the other backs to counter the blitz so it will be very important that our guys tackle the ball carrier and not let them get yards after the catch.
I think getting off to a good start is vital to our chances tomorrow. Looking at our last two trips up there, also looking at how UT has peformed at home this year up until this point, they really like to jump to fast starts, it puts pressure on the opponent and gets that place extra loud. Their homes games this year, they have been up 28-7, 28-14, and 31-7 at the half. In their only road game and loss, they were down 16-7. I think anytime you face a team that is pass happy, you never truly feel like you are in the clear, however, if you can make a team one dimensional on offense, it makes playing D a lot easier. Getting off to a fast start will help us greatly, and with how our guys have been playing recently, I think it is quite obvious that is what our coaches are trying like crazy to have them do-play well early, get confidence and take control of the game.
The more I look at this game, look at how young UT is, the more I like our chances. That being said, Knoxville has been so unkind to us the last two trips, I can't say I have complete confidence we can win this game going away. I will say that if we don't self distruct, we will win this game 31-21.
My son's 7 year old team is playing an unbeaten Mill Creek team this week. Last week, after 3 plays from scrimmage we trailed Shiloh 7-0. Shiloh was a BIG physical team, much bigger than our team. At the half, score remained 7-0 but we got a couple big runs in the second half, forced a few turnovers and ended up winning 18-7. The first come from behind victory of the season. This Mill Creek team is 6-0, we are 4-2 and they look really good on film. Our boys will have to play a near perfect game to beat them as they have given up one TD all year-that on the last play of game 1. I am biased but I think we can really scare these guys and although I will not predict a win for us, I think the game will cause this team to sweat for the first time all year. They average winning each game about 20-0. So, in closing I say Go Dogs and Go Rams! Hope everyone has a nice weekend.
OT-Dallas Thomas 6-5 305 JR
OG-Alex Bullard 6-2 309 Soph
C-James Stone 6-3 308 Soph
OG-Zach Fulton 6-5 330 Soph
OT-Ju'Wuan James 6-6 324 Soph
TE-Mychal Rivera 6-3 254 JR
WR-Zach Rogers 6-0 180 JR
WR-Da'Rick Rogers 6-3 215 Soph
FB-Ben Bartholomew 6-2 251 JR
TB-Tauren Poole 5-10 215 SR
QB-Tyler Bray 6-6 210 Soph
I suspect we will put Boykin on Da'Rick and see if he can handle him, with maybe some safety help as well. It is pretty obvious looking at UT's numbers, he is their main target-he has 27 catches on year, next up is the TE Rivera with 14 (Hunter is actually second with 17 catches but of course he out for the year). I also look for Grantham to utilize the inside backers with some blitzes right up the gut this week as I would imagine the interior of the UT OL, although big, will have a hard time handling Jenkins and Geathers-force Bray to get the ball out quickly. I also suspect that UT will try to utilize a lot of screens to Poole or the other backs to counter the blitz so it will be very important that our guys tackle the ball carrier and not let them get yards after the catch.
I think getting off to a good start is vital to our chances tomorrow. Looking at our last two trips up there, also looking at how UT has peformed at home this year up until this point, they really like to jump to fast starts, it puts pressure on the opponent and gets that place extra loud. Their homes games this year, they have been up 28-7, 28-14, and 31-7 at the half. In their only road game and loss, they were down 16-7. I think anytime you face a team that is pass happy, you never truly feel like you are in the clear, however, if you can make a team one dimensional on offense, it makes playing D a lot easier. Getting off to a fast start will help us greatly, and with how our guys have been playing recently, I think it is quite obvious that is what our coaches are trying like crazy to have them do-play well early, get confidence and take control of the game.
The more I look at this game, look at how young UT is, the more I like our chances. That being said, Knoxville has been so unkind to us the last two trips, I can't say I have complete confidence we can win this game going away. I will say that if we don't self distruct, we will win this game 31-21.
My son's 7 year old team is playing an unbeaten Mill Creek team this week. Last week, after 3 plays from scrimmage we trailed Shiloh 7-0. Shiloh was a BIG physical team, much bigger than our team. At the half, score remained 7-0 but we got a couple big runs in the second half, forced a few turnovers and ended up winning 18-7. The first come from behind victory of the season. This Mill Creek team is 6-0, we are 4-2 and they look really good on film. Our boys will have to play a near perfect game to beat them as they have given up one TD all year-that on the last play of game 1. I am biased but I think we can really scare these guys and although I will not predict a win for us, I think the game will cause this team to sweat for the first time all year. They average winning each game about 20-0. So, in closing I say Go Dogs and Go Rams! Hope everyone has a nice weekend.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Next up, Rocky Top time
One thing all SEC fans can agree on-besides UT fans, we all hate ROCKY TOP. Why, because when you play the Volunteers, you hear that song so many times it just makes you sick to your stomach. If you have ever been to a game involving UT live, you really do grow to hate the song. Anyway, this week is a BIG game because it is another SEC game, and of course an SECe game on top of that, also because of what happened last weekend where Auburn beat SCarolina in Columbia, and Bama killed UF in Gainesville. So, now you have three schools tied for the east lead at 2-1, UGA, UF, and SC. Course SC still owns the tiebreaker over us but still, a lot more hope this week than last and that hope can continue to grow this week if we can do something we have not done since 2005, win in Knoxville, Tennessee. The last two trips up there have been UGLY, which goes along with the color UT wears. Those two games left me so disgusted that I really had to take a step back from the ledge. I can take a loss but I can't take a loss where the players look to have quit-I was glad to hear Mark Richt make that comment this week-that UT basically took the fight out of us and that should NEVER happen. We have had some bad losses to UF during the Mark Richt regime but I think the last two trips to Neyland Stadium have perhaps been the worst two losses in the Mark Richt era in Athens.
Of course another piece of news this week, Cornelius Washingto has been suspended for two games for getting a DUI early Sunday morning. He is very lucky he only got two games, as last year there was a ZERO tolerance policy in place because of all the arrests dealing with alcohol. Of course my question, why was CW out driving over 90mph on a Sat night/Sun morning, maybe he went home and was on his way back but don't drink son until you get back to campus-if you must drink. He was coming off a great game against Miss State as well. Now, it looks like Chase Vasser, Reuben Faloughi and of course the highly touted Ray Drew, will all get their chance to get some PT. I look for Drew to take this chance and run with it but it has been reported Drew is more of the pass rusher while Vasser is better in coverage. Of course the LB position has been hit hard this year, Ogletree, Robinson and now Washington. I can't say enough good about the replacements at MLB, Mike Gilliard and Herrera the freshman, those guys have really stepped up and I have hope the outside guys will do likewise. We need a good pass rush this week going against a top passing team.
A few quick thoughts about the Miss State game, the team came out fast and took care of business-thanks to special teams-punt return, horrible punt by Miss State, gave the offense two shorts fields and two quick TD's. From there it just seemed Bobo/Richt put the game on autopilot because our D was just so dominant, you never really had a fear that Miss State could get anything going against our D. Same was the case two weeks ago against Ole Miss. VERY conservative once we got the lead, although we still did throw some including Murray's INT that was returned for Miss State's only TD of the day. Murray has been streaky this year. At times he looks great but at times he looks really bad. Simply put, he has got to get more consistent, his line needs to continue to give him better protection and then he has to do a better job with his accuracy. He does tend to stare down his target too much, and also he seems more reluctant to take the ball and run this year when the play is not there. He either needs to run more or just throw more balls away. He is just a soph but he can certianly make improvements as he continues to grow into an all SEC caliber QB. Second week in a row Crowell has been excellent in the first half and then basically been held in check the second half. Some of that might be because early in games he is fresh obviously and also our offense is much more balanced (second half teams figure we are going to run, stack the box to stop the run), part of it might be that he is just not as well conditioned yet as he needs to be. Bottom line, we need to keep giving him carries and let him give us a dangerous ground threat to go along with a pretty good passing attack. Mitchell continues to impress me at receiver, between MM, TK, and OC, I like our ability to move the ball throught the air-and we also can throw in there Bennett and Aron White. Today I will look at the UT D against our offense.
It is quite possible UT is the youngest defense, in terms of experience, UGA has played this year. If you look at their starters and reserves, you see a lot of FR and SOPH listed on the two deep. They also don't have a lot of size on the DL. This is a defense that we SHOULD be able to move the ball against. I think once again the use of Orson Charles or Aron White will play big dividends, to go along with our running game and vertical passing game. Because UT has young LB's, I also suspect more passes to our backs this week to take advantage of lack of experience (UF did this well with Rainey). If you look at the only game UT lost this year, which happened to be against the only quality opponent they have played to this point, UF was able to rush for about 150 yards a game, while throwing for over 200 yards. Rushing average per attempt was pretty low for UF as was the total yards but I believe our offense can have more success than did UF, assuming Murray throws the ball to the guys in white and not in orange. UT only has one INT on the season. Let's take a look at the starters-
DE Ben Martin 6-4 265 SR
DT Malik Jackson 6-5 270 SR
DT Daniel Hood 6-4 293 Soph
DE Jacques Smith 6-2 255 Soph
LB-Curt Maggitt 6-3 215 FR
LB-AJ Johnson 6-3 245 FR
LB-Austin Johnson 6-2 240 SR
CB-Izauea Lanier 6-1 190 JR
S-Brent Brewer 6-1 215 Soph
S-Prentiss Waggner 6-2 185 JR
CB-Marsalis Teague 5-10 185 JR
As you see, two FR playing LB, two Soph's playing on the DL, that going against a BIG and mostly experienced OL, TE's, that should work to our advantage. They run a basic 4-3 defense, nothing spectacular about it. Their DC worked at Boise before coming to Knoxville, where he did a good job of getting the Boise D to a higher level-he worked with many of those Boise defenders we went against in week 1 and I feel sure he has been in contact with his old friends at Boise to figure out what they did to really slow our attack down. Of course game one was before we put Crowell in the lineup and gave him carries, before Mitchell had established himself as a go to WR-he did have a nice long catch against Boise late in the second half of course. Bottom line, Boise's D was loaded with SR's, while this D is not. Now, these guys are young and undersized but they are quick and fast. So again, our mammoth OL is going to have to take care of these guys up front with pure strength and if not, these guys can make our offense struggle. It is really hard to know exactly how good this team is because of a Georgia Tech type schedule. Minus UF at the swamp, Montana, Cincy and Buffalo at home-WOW. I know we have only beaten Coastal, Miss, and Miss State but the later two SEC schools would easily take care of Montana and Buffalo, probably both would beat Cincy at home as well. We are a better team but will that translate to a win on Saturday, good question. We beat them badly last year in Athens, but they helped us with 3 turnovers to our none. We jumped them early, much like we did against Miss State last week, up 17-0 after one quarter, up 27-7 at the half. Needless to say, we need a good start offensively on Saturday because our last two trips to Knox, UGLY. Check this out-2007, we were down 28-0 at the half, losing that one 35-14. In 2009, the Crompton for Heisman game, it was 21-12 at the half, with 7 of our 12 points coming off a Boykin kickoff return. Then UT exploded in the 3rd outscoring us 17-7 to put the game away. Considering how big/loud that stadium is, we need to have a good start and keep it rolling. This win would give Richt 100 and it obviously would be a big team win, going to 3-1 in conference. Lose this week, it basically ruins all the good feelings from our rivals losing the week before.
Of course another piece of news this week, Cornelius Washingto has been suspended for two games for getting a DUI early Sunday morning. He is very lucky he only got two games, as last year there was a ZERO tolerance policy in place because of all the arrests dealing with alcohol. Of course my question, why was CW out driving over 90mph on a Sat night/Sun morning, maybe he went home and was on his way back but don't drink son until you get back to campus-if you must drink. He was coming off a great game against Miss State as well. Now, it looks like Chase Vasser, Reuben Faloughi and of course the highly touted Ray Drew, will all get their chance to get some PT. I look for Drew to take this chance and run with it but it has been reported Drew is more of the pass rusher while Vasser is better in coverage. Of course the LB position has been hit hard this year, Ogletree, Robinson and now Washington. I can't say enough good about the replacements at MLB, Mike Gilliard and Herrera the freshman, those guys have really stepped up and I have hope the outside guys will do likewise. We need a good pass rush this week going against a top passing team.
A few quick thoughts about the Miss State game, the team came out fast and took care of business-thanks to special teams-punt return, horrible punt by Miss State, gave the offense two shorts fields and two quick TD's. From there it just seemed Bobo/Richt put the game on autopilot because our D was just so dominant, you never really had a fear that Miss State could get anything going against our D. Same was the case two weeks ago against Ole Miss. VERY conservative once we got the lead, although we still did throw some including Murray's INT that was returned for Miss State's only TD of the day. Murray has been streaky this year. At times he looks great but at times he looks really bad. Simply put, he has got to get more consistent, his line needs to continue to give him better protection and then he has to do a better job with his accuracy. He does tend to stare down his target too much, and also he seems more reluctant to take the ball and run this year when the play is not there. He either needs to run more or just throw more balls away. He is just a soph but he can certianly make improvements as he continues to grow into an all SEC caliber QB. Second week in a row Crowell has been excellent in the first half and then basically been held in check the second half. Some of that might be because early in games he is fresh obviously and also our offense is much more balanced (second half teams figure we are going to run, stack the box to stop the run), part of it might be that he is just not as well conditioned yet as he needs to be. Bottom line, we need to keep giving him carries and let him give us a dangerous ground threat to go along with a pretty good passing attack. Mitchell continues to impress me at receiver, between MM, TK, and OC, I like our ability to move the ball throught the air-and we also can throw in there Bennett and Aron White. Today I will look at the UT D against our offense.
It is quite possible UT is the youngest defense, in terms of experience, UGA has played this year. If you look at their starters and reserves, you see a lot of FR and SOPH listed on the two deep. They also don't have a lot of size on the DL. This is a defense that we SHOULD be able to move the ball against. I think once again the use of Orson Charles or Aron White will play big dividends, to go along with our running game and vertical passing game. Because UT has young LB's, I also suspect more passes to our backs this week to take advantage of lack of experience (UF did this well with Rainey). If you look at the only game UT lost this year, which happened to be against the only quality opponent they have played to this point, UF was able to rush for about 150 yards a game, while throwing for over 200 yards. Rushing average per attempt was pretty low for UF as was the total yards but I believe our offense can have more success than did UF, assuming Murray throws the ball to the guys in white and not in orange. UT only has one INT on the season. Let's take a look at the starters-
DE Ben Martin 6-4 265 SR
DT Malik Jackson 6-5 270 SR
DT Daniel Hood 6-4 293 Soph
DE Jacques Smith 6-2 255 Soph
LB-Curt Maggitt 6-3 215 FR
LB-AJ Johnson 6-3 245 FR
LB-Austin Johnson 6-2 240 SR
CB-Izauea Lanier 6-1 190 JR
S-Brent Brewer 6-1 215 Soph
S-Prentiss Waggner 6-2 185 JR
CB-Marsalis Teague 5-10 185 JR
As you see, two FR playing LB, two Soph's playing on the DL, that going against a BIG and mostly experienced OL, TE's, that should work to our advantage. They run a basic 4-3 defense, nothing spectacular about it. Their DC worked at Boise before coming to Knoxville, where he did a good job of getting the Boise D to a higher level-he worked with many of those Boise defenders we went against in week 1 and I feel sure he has been in contact with his old friends at Boise to figure out what they did to really slow our attack down. Of course game one was before we put Crowell in the lineup and gave him carries, before Mitchell had established himself as a go to WR-he did have a nice long catch against Boise late in the second half of course. Bottom line, Boise's D was loaded with SR's, while this D is not. Now, these guys are young and undersized but they are quick and fast. So again, our mammoth OL is going to have to take care of these guys up front with pure strength and if not, these guys can make our offense struggle. It is really hard to know exactly how good this team is because of a Georgia Tech type schedule. Minus UF at the swamp, Montana, Cincy and Buffalo at home-WOW. I know we have only beaten Coastal, Miss, and Miss State but the later two SEC schools would easily take care of Montana and Buffalo, probably both would beat Cincy at home as well. We are a better team but will that translate to a win on Saturday, good question. We beat them badly last year in Athens, but they helped us with 3 turnovers to our none. We jumped them early, much like we did against Miss State last week, up 17-0 after one quarter, up 27-7 at the half. Needless to say, we need a good start offensively on Saturday because our last two trips to Knox, UGLY. Check this out-2007, we were down 28-0 at the half, losing that one 35-14. In 2009, the Crompton for Heisman game, it was 21-12 at the half, with 7 of our 12 points coming off a Boykin kickoff return. Then UT exploded in the 3rd outscoring us 17-7 to put the game away. Considering how big/loud that stadium is, we need to have a good start and keep it rolling. This win would give Richt 100 and it obviously would be a big team win, going to 3-1 in conference. Lose this week, it basically ruins all the good feelings from our rivals losing the week before.
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