Keys to success for 2009 Dogs
I was a bit under the weather yesterday and away from the Blawg, but I was still thinking about Georgia football (I know, it’s ridiculous, isn’t it?).
I started pondering keys to success for the Dogs this season, prompted in part by reading on Georgiadogs.com that Mark Richt noted the preseason emphasis on reducing penalties didn’t really pay off in the practice half-a-game on Wednesday.
“There were too many penalties,” Richt said, adding: “One of the penalties forced us to kick a field goal instead of going for a touchdown.”
While he did note that “we substituted pretty freely because it was so warm,” which might have been a factor in the number of flags, the hope here is that the coach made the point forcefully with the team that this is a great way to lose games. And that he continues to make that point.
So along those lines, I offer here five pretty obvious but essential keys to the season. (I didn’t include injuries, which was a major negative factor last year, because that’s something that really can’t be controlled.)
1. Like I was saying, fewer penalties, especially those that occur when Georgia is in scoring position or that extend an opponent’s drive. This really killed us last year.
2. Pressure from the defensive ends. This is the most obvious area where Georgia needs improvement, and so far the reports from preseason drills are encouraging. Rod Battle especially has been snagging sacks. Now he and his cohorts just need to do it for real against something other than the second team or scout team lines. Lack of pressure on the quarterback and the resulting problems this causes for the secondary was probably the single biggest reason for the failure of Willie Martinez’s defense in key situations last year, even moreso than poor tackling.
3. Establish the running game. It sets up the passing game, gives your quarterback more options and eats up clock. The offensive line should be one of the best of the Richt era this season. It’s up to the backs to hit those holes, hold on to the ball and produce. No one expects any one of them to be another Knowshon Moreno. But overall as a group they need to at least come close to matching his stats.
4. Turnover ratio. The Athens Banner-Herald had a good look at this yesterday. Georgia recovered just five opponent fumbles last season, which tied the Dogs for 111th out of 119 Football Bowl Subdivision teams. They intercepted just 11 passes, which put them in a tie for 67th. Overall, Georgia’s 16 takeaways ranked 104th nationally last year. That just won’t get it done.
5. Showing up for big games. This is the intangible that has haunted Richt’s teams for the past few seasons: the maddening tendency to only play one half of good football against a top opponent. Last year this was especially evident, what with the first half against Alabama and the second half against Tech. I don’t know if this comes down to team leadership on the field or preparation by the coaches. Probably both. But improvement here is mandatory if the Dogs are to have a successful season.
Any other elements of the game that you think will be a key to the 2009 season?
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136 comments Add your comment
Dawg Pound
August 28th, 2009
2:52 pm
Georgia Tech football????!!! Huh???!!!
Mad Max
August 28th, 2009
2:54 pm
the co champs thing was bs and you know it. colorado had a loss, won a game at the against mizzou with 5 downs, had a phamtom clip call against nd to win that one. gt blew out neb which they struggled with. but anyway, gt won the acc 10 years ago. selective memory is always nice. times have changed. this is not the gt of the chan gailey era. 7 wins? ha. wanna make a bet gt has more wins this year than uga? since you probably think 11 or 10 will happen with no prob.
Fred
August 28th, 2009
2:55 pm
How2..in case you didn’t notice, I am a cowboy fan and cowboys are not insects.
how2fish
August 28th, 2009
3:04 pm
Nope Mad I think 8-4or 9-5 will be good for the dogs this year…and will be better than Tech..also I didn’t make up the co-champ thing..and you can’t undo it.from the Tech Wickipidea page… 1990 – Three seasons removed from a 2-win season, Bobby Ross led the unbeaten Jackets (11–0–1) past Nebraska in the Citrus Bowl for a share of the national title. That’s..”share” in case you missed it…
Cuz
August 28th, 2009
3:04 pm
What was the topic of the blog, I forgot with all this “my coach can whip your coach”.
how2fish
August 28th, 2009
3:05 pm
Sorry Fred…I really didn’t know..we can disagree but really didn’t mean to hang that on you if your not a Bug..my bad!
stan
August 28th, 2009
3:08 pm
Well,
UGA will be good, not like the memories of Glory Years, however, everyone
is as Good as you ever were or will be.You squeezed a season of luck to a
National Championship, but a powerhouse was not made.The redneck
fans made u A Powerhouse of wannabes,no respect for anyone else,
and the worst fans and losers anywhere! at least you bark, and hike your
legs, than squat.
Work in New York
August 28th, 2009
3:12 pm
Could be a difficult year or could be a great year but none of us will know until they play the first game. The defense should play big. There is lots of talent in Athens.
how2fish
August 28th, 2009
3:14 pm
Stan don’t quit your day job to become a writer…
Mad Max
August 28th, 2009
3:14 pm
I never said it didn’t turn out that way how2. what i was easily implying was that split nc was bs. maybe another team has a reason to gripe, but colorado didn’t. they didn’t deserve any part of a champ that year. gt was the only major school that went undefeated and deserved it.
how2fish
August 28th, 2009
3:21 pm
Mad truth to tell I agree with you and always have..not a freaking clue how Colorado got to be “co” anything..but that why its call Good Old Fashioned Hate..I don’t agree with it or understand it..but get to use it to needle Tech fans for all time ! LOL!
Mad Max
August 28th, 2009
3:22 pm
It’s actually clean old fashioned hate. And i hate your redneck guts. LOL
Habersham Dawg
August 28th, 2009
3:25 pm
Fred, you’re right. Cowboys are not insects, but they sure do make sheep nervous.
Cuz
August 28th, 2009
3:33 pm
Habersham, that is baaaaaaaaaaaad.
uuugh...
August 28th, 2009
3:37 pm
Fred: It is not like we are bringing in a new QB off of the street a week before the game. A QB that knows the system inside an out will be successful. Especially against OSU: see Sam Bradford, Colt McCoy, Graham Harrell, and Chase McDaniel. Our “inexperienced,” as you call him QB should not be underestimated. Also not to be underestimated is our defense who will be playing with something to prove after last year. Underestimate us at your own peril…because I’M 40! I’M A MAN! COME AFTER ME LADY REPORTER!
how2fish
August 28th, 2009
3:45 pm
Mad its still not too late to heal the inner Nerd..get a girl to have sex with you and it will all become clear…LOL!
Elmer FUDDedudd
August 28th, 2009
3:47 pm
Jumpin’ Geewhilikers all you fellerz seems to thinx you all know whuts goona be happnin when da dogs take on the cowpoks well seems to me an all my smarts tells me a battl hardn cowpok kin whup the hel out uf an ol dawg aniday of da wik shoot th finl scor mite jus spris yu pup luvers i got 5 bucks on da pokes nuf sed
how2fish
August 28th, 2009
3:49 pm
Elmer…WTF did you just TRY and say….??
Fred
August 28th, 2009
3:49 pm
It’s cool How2.
uuugh..knowing the system and playing in the system are two different things. How can you “know” something if you haven’t experienced it firsthand? If I were a ga fan, I would feel more confortable playing Tenn tech the first game. Kudos to ga for playing a tough ooc game the first game.
BTW, we never lost to chase daniel. And bradford and mccoy were not near the top of their game 3 years ago. Last year was the second year for both. Good luck in the game. We are a much better team with a new def coord than we are given credit for. I look forwards to the shootout in Stillwater even though I will be in Dallas that week.
uuugh...
August 28th, 2009
3:52 pm
Unfortunately Fred, the defense Cox plays against everyday in practice is better than what they’ll see in Stillwater. I like our odds. You think Richie Rich that bought y’alls stadium will give me 20 to 1?
Fred
August 28th, 2009
3:54 pm
So the question is which offense is better? I like ours by about 7.
Yes I think Pickens would give you 20 to 1. He can afford it. 
how2fish
August 28th, 2009
4:02 pm
Fred I’d feel better if we started with Tenn Tech but truth is to be the best you have to beat the best..I do think our O-line and D-line will be the deciding factors but even if I’m right it will be a wild 1st half at the very least.
ZP
August 28th, 2009
4:15 pm
to all GT fans talking about how UGA can’t possibly be any good with an unproven first time starter at QB- wasn’t Josh Nesbitt an unproven first time starter last year? And isn’t he the only QB in the past 8 years that has managed to beat UGA and win more games than you guys are accustomed to? Yep! I thought so.
ZP
August 28th, 2009
4:19 pm
fred- colt mccoy was a 3rd year starter last year.
ZP
August 28th, 2009
4:20 pm
and I thought you were predicting 55-14 earlier. Now you only like your team by 7? If we wait a little bit, you’ll be betting on UGA
Fred
August 28th, 2009
4:27 pm
You are correct and he struggled his first year. I was joking with that score. It will be an up and down game with a lot of offense. I believe the over under is 63. There is a new article up on the ajc re Gundy.
Todd
August 28th, 2009
4:29 pm
ZP
Tech doesn’t have a offense at all like UGA. Passing is a huuuge part of UGA”s offense. A couple of bad passes or tips,,remember the bama game, can turn ugly fast. Bottom line is uga’s offense requires more skill and precision than what Nesbitt has to show.
Evan
August 28th, 2009
4:50 pm
uuugh
Don’t even try to compare cox to bradford, mccoy and harrell. Harrell is on a nfl roster and colt and sam will be first round picks after the season. Cox will be looking for a job like the rest of us after this season. Perhaps sooner.
Evan
August 28th, 2009
4:53 pm
Actually Harrell was picked after the draft by Dallas and sent to the Canadian league.
ZP
August 28th, 2009
5:03 pm
I wasn’t comparing him to Cox. I was correcting a previous statement. Cox is no McCoy or Bradford or even Robinson for that matter, I think we can all agree on that!
ZP
August 28th, 2009
5:04 pm
you don’t get “picked” after the draft. You get a try out.
Elmer FUDDedudd
August 28th, 2009
5:05 pm
how2fish i wuz tryin to say that th pokes gonna whup da dog rilly rilly baaaaaaaad but of kourse da dogs alwuss hep th udder team as bein nice dogges do that da dogges hold, tryp and cant get da snap on time plus da dogges jus naturilly trip demseves up alllllllllllllll da time dey cant help demselllllllllllves poor doggis pokes gonna whip em lik a yaaaaaaarrrrrd dooooooooog im gunna mak big bucks on da game mebba 5 buks!
uuugh...
August 28th, 2009
5:07 pm
Evan, I’ll compare them if I’d like. My contention is merely that he knows what to do within our offense. Just as those cats know what to do in their offense and were successful against OSU’s defense.
Now that you have brought it up, why does everyone heap so much praise on Bradford? He doesn’t have to do any thinking. They line up and the coach reads the defense and signals him what to do with the ball. A UGA QB has to do all this by himself. I’d rather have Cox than Bradford for this very reason. Plus we’ll see this year how well Bradford does after getting knocked around a bit…and I mean getting knocked around in the Big 12 where they don’t play any defense!
I put all of the Big 12 QB’s in the same category with Colt Brennan. They score all these points and pass for all these yards putting up videogame statistics and getting Heisman consideration…but what do they do when they finally encounter a good defense?
Clayton
August 28th, 2009
5:17 pm
when is the Star Wars dress up party at RAMBLE ON!!!!!!!’s parents house? I can’t wait to get light sabers from “m”, Ramble on, 17 INTs, Buzz, yellow fuzz, and Old gold piss. Hell, Fred you can “cum” too. I’d love to get cow”poked” by ya. You know what I mean?
Exactly
August 28th, 2009
5:20 pm
I’m with you uuuugh:
watch a Big 12 game and key in on the QB’s. All they do is go to the line of scrimmage then all off the skill players (QB, RB, WR) look over to the bench to get the play. Those “All-American” Big 12 Qb’s will NEVER make it in the NFL with that bush league coaching. And they will NEVER beat a GOOD defense.
Denver Dog
August 29th, 2009
12:21 am
I’ve said it since Spring, the line will make all the difference, both O and D. Rund the ball on O, to set up the pass. More 3 and outs on defense. Keep the other team off of the field. Tackle well, make big special teams plays. Kick the ball to the endzone.
Pressure the QB. Stop the run. 3 yards and a cloud of dust will look real good for most of the game. Make the othet team stop us. Stop the other team. It is real simple, but easier said than done. 14-0 BCS bowl, not the NC game.