Still more reasons for UGA fans to feel good … or bad
Caleb King has been maddeningly inconsistent. (Brant Sanderlin / AJC)
It’s the nature of this year’s Georgia team that for every performance or trend that gets fans excited there’s something disturbing to fret over. Here are the more notable ones from this week. …
The offensive line so far is only average. They did a pretty good job of protecting Joe Cox Saturday night, keeping ASU sackmeister Dexter Davis at bay, but Cox was hurried several times, including on the first of his interceptions when a blocker failed to pick up a stunt by one of the Sun Devil defenders. The run blocking was also poor, expecially in short yardage situations. Every time the Dogs needed just a yard, it seemed the line got no push at all. Yes, there’s been some reshuffling by coach Stacy Searels in the wake of the loss of Trinton Sturdivant in the opening game, but considering the collective experience and versatility of this bunch, you’d have expected the OL to be further along at this point. And the false starts just have to stop.
A.J. Green is phenomenal. As long as he’s on the field, Georgia fans should feel optimistic.
Joe Cox is running hot and cold. He made some great throws Saturday night, particularly to A.J. Green and Rantavious Wooten, but he also threw two boneheaded picks on the same skinny post pattern to the same defender and threw into double or triple coverage too many times. Cox is still a relative rookie and hopefully will learn from these mistakes.
Turnovers. Argh! This merits a separate discussion, but it’s a trend that can’t continue. The fact that Georgia is 3-1 after giving up three turnovers in each of its games is mind-boggling. How long can Georgia defy the odds?
These Dogs are comeback kids. This may explain why the turnovers haven’t proved fatal since the opener. Unlike last year’s Dogs, this team refuses to give up. They’ve come from behind in each of their three victories. That trait, combined with Georgia’s obvious talent, is a reason to be extremely hopeful.
But where did the running game go? Neither Caleb King nor Richard Samuel seems to want to lay claim to the job fulltime. King so far is the more productive runner, but he’s plagued by fumbles and dropped passes. Samuel showed what he can do with a big opening against Arkansas, but he doesn’t run hard consistently and still goes down to easily. I think King is our best bet, but he needs to step his game up a couple of notches.
Which defense will show up against LSU? Hopefully the one we saw Saturday night and not the one from the two previous games, since the Tigers are likely to come out throwing long after their success in that aspect of the game this past week. Georgia did get a lot more pressure on the QB against Arizona State, but they weren’t facing a first-rate offense. And while the pass defense was better this week, the rushing defense lapsed a bit. Still, progress was made. Now let’s see if Willie Martinez can dial up that kind of performance from his players two weeks in a row.
By the way, it was great to see Geno Atkins get a couple of big stops. It seems like starting Kade Weston over Atkins lit a fire under him.
Players I look forward to seeing in action more: Rantavious Wooten, who had a couple of clutch catches Saturday; Justin Houston, who gives the Dogs a legitimate pass rush; and Cornelius Washington, who shows the potential to complement Houston in that area.
What else did you see that makes you feel good or has you concerned?
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185 comments Add your comment
GatorDave
September 28th, 2009
4:06 pm
Tebow had a major concussion on Saturday night…but i bet he plays in 2 weeks because Meyer is a scumbag and will risk the kids health at all cost to win games
being a Doctor i can tell you right now that if he plays he is risking the kids future for down the road
41 38 49 38 45 24 37 41 17
September 28th, 2009
4:09 pm
how2fish….. you just need to be real quiet and real loose. Ive been so close and now since the dawgs are playing a good SEC elite team with revenge on their mind its gonna get uglier than a bunch of rednecks trashing their wannabe teams college campus.
Dip Stick
September 28th, 2009
4:14 pm
GatorDave
Your right he probably will play Tebomb because he only cares to win!
I do disagree with that because he shouldn’t risk the kids health.
With that said I wish our coaching staff had half the passion of Meyer though
Dip Stick
September 28th, 2009
4:16 pm
GatorDave
Meyer probably will play Tebomb because he only cares to win!
I do disagree with that because he shouldn’t risk the kids health.
With that said I wish our coaching staff had half the passion of Meyer though
That70sGAdawg
September 28th, 2009
4:17 pm
uuugh: I’m with you dancing while tied with a weak Pac 10 team that lost 3 or 5 offensive linemen in the game at the start of the 4th Quarter was embarrassing !! Celebrating like they actually beat FL, or a National Championship at the end- Get some class and walk off knowing you almost lost to another weak team, and are darn lucky to be 3-1. LOTS of improvement needed the next two weeks!
77DAWG
September 28th, 2009
4:20 pm
Mr. Cox pls try to hide the ball better. You handout is so obvious. Look at So. Carolina QB , Stafford, DJ, they all can make the D ran the wrong way. Garcia fooled us all night long!!!. Did you remember how your friend Stafford ran for first downs and TDs out of the faked handoff? I know you can do as well if you try more.
shane#1
September 28th, 2009
4:26 pm
I am not going to sit at a keyboard and nit pick every decision made by an assistant coach because I have never coached Div 1. I would like to point out a couple of things. Several have mentioned carrying the ball in the “wrong” hand. Well if it’s their “strong” hand it doesn’t have to be their “wrong” hand. Changing hands with the ball is not as easy as it looks and none of UGAs running backs have a lot of game experence. Samuel has had a problem with fumbles so the staff probably doesn’t want him chamging hands with the ball because it is too easy to drop the ball. Just tuck the ball away and try to keep it there. When running between the tackles it is a good idea to keep BOTH arms around the football. As a matter of fact, a lot of backfield coaches don’t want runners to change hands with the ball at all. Defensive backs with an interception and WRs should NEVER attempt to change hands, that would be asking to be stripped of the ball. Unless that WR is A.J. Green, if he played for me he could do anything he wanted! As for the FB dive play, most coaches don’t want the ball pitched back away from the LOS on third and short especially on a play that is slow developing like a sweep. LBs and safetys will be shooting the gaps and they can blow up a sweep in a hurry. Your line should be able to get enough push to get a yard up the middle and too many bad things can happen pitching the ball out in sloppy weather. If you are in FG range on a night like Saturday you want to get the three and not have a turnover.
Big time?? Not
September 28th, 2009
4:32 pm
Four tickets, four hot dogs, four cokes……..no sellouts in a rinky dink stadium………..losers
Shane
September 28th, 2009
4:34 pm
Rain soaked game in Athens $50, Gas driving home $50, Seeing Tebow get JACKED UP, PRICELESS!
NORRIS
September 28th, 2009
4:35 pm
Richard Samuel goes down way to easy. He usually never makes it past the first bump. King cant catch for nothing. But runs a little stronger. The offense overall shows a lot of promise. except for some mistakes with fumbles. I dont know what Bobo’s problem is. It seems that everytime we get a lead he changes his style of playcalling. We were throwing the ball and moving the ball very well. We got a lead and then he went to the little dump passes to the half back. Which of course was dropped most of the time. The defensive secondary is horrible. We get no pressure on the QB either. Willie martinez needs to light a fire under some players. Or they need to light a fire under him.
floridadawg
September 28th, 2009
4:43 pm
The coaches have tremendous talent with green, charles, wooten, king, moore…they could easily spread the field and put in speedy murray or gray at qb (let cox start his coaching career from the sidelines for the sake of the future and who knows, the possiblity of something special happening even this year)…keep king in a option handoff and blocking back, but with those five receivers and the possiblity of marlon brown, carlton thomas and israeli troop, a decent o-line, we should be nothing but terror for any defense to deal with. Coaches need to think outside the box and come up with a better offensive plan.
FLA dawg
September 28th, 2009
4:44 pm
Start King, Start Rambo, next time you get a two touchdown lead give the next series to Logan.
Draw up some misdirection and trap plays to work angles on 8 defenders in the box. Running straight ahead doesn’t seem to be working. Quality D-coordinators and linebackers are licking their chops to face the UGA run attack at this point.
Another suggestion, draw up a shovel pass to Orson/White (See Tebow hernandez if you are a little dazed by this suggestion)
King is going to hit a big a run or two in space off the screen next week if Bobo will set it up and King will catch the ball.
Go Dawgs GATA
77DAWG
September 28th, 2009
4:55 pm
Oh, while I am here. Mr m, Rambling Leg, or Saint Bernard or whatever your names are. I understand that you all get pay to creat some kind of name for GT like some jerk at UT. But Kiffin and the gangs are good at it, and you guys stink. How about stand on the bridge over 75 @ North 14, drop your pants and do your thing in the direction of GT campus. That will get people attention to your school for sure. Also one of your jerk {thinking that he is so smart) asked, he said it is a calculus question, the square root of (-R). My god! what kind of Calc it tought at GT? Here in Florida my son told me that it is only basic Alg2 and it was tought when he was 13 (as an 8 grader} Holy crap I was so lucky went to UGA for Micro Bio instead of sliderule major at the low Grade Tech school. They like to call themself MIT of the South though. So go away, we are doing ‘Free Willy and stuffs’ and see you on the bridge.
Dawg Dude
September 28th, 2009
5:09 pm
I just want to see a mean hard hitting blitzing defense; is that too much to ask? If we send the house and get beat on a deep ball because of man coverage then so be it; atleast we will see our defense get torched in more creative ways instead of giving up drive after drive after drive with our bend dont break mentality.
Otto
September 28th, 2009
5:22 pm
Super Dog and senoiadawgs, Yes Bobo, CWM, and Fabris all need to be replaced. Stale play calling, prevent defense allowing the underneath pass all night, and bad directional kicking are killing UGA along with giving the ball up Samuel, Caleb, and Joe are all to blame. UGA football has been sloppy atleast since ‘06. It is the coach’s job to fix the problem. Luckily LSU has many of the same problems.
GeauxTiger
September 28th, 2009
5:24 pm
Enter your comments hereInteresting to read all of your comments, as the exactly mirror the same things many of us are saying about LSU: principally, poor Offensive Line play, and questionable play-calling. I couldn’t agree more that we aren’t a #4 team (but who is this year). As far as the run game goes, seems that most in college football are dealing with the same issue this year. I have no idea how this game turns out this weekend, but it’s always a great trip to Athens regardless. Great campus and fanbase. I’m just hoping we don’t have a kickoff returner kneel on his own 1-yd-line like the last time we here for that beatdown! See you Saturday.
Otto
September 28th, 2009
5:26 pm
DawgNation, UGA is in way to deep in to make the changes now. But CMR can take play calling back from Bobo and overrule Fabris on the directional kicks as well as give the new juco kicker a chance at kickoffs. If that does not solve the problems firings at the end of the year are needed. Yes, I know CWM was not mentioned but that must be handled at the end of the year and besides 5+ drives would greatly help CWM.
Otto
September 28th, 2009
5:28 pm
*5+ minute drives
Otto
September 28th, 2009
5:29 pm
GeauxTiger, kneel on the 1? It’ll go out of bounds at the 5 so you’re good to go.
Jeff
September 28th, 2009
5:29 pm
Hey Bill- instead of just deletating my post- why not answer it. Do you ever say anything good about UGA?????? Every post is negitive. Bottom line we are 3-1….you dont keep bashing a group of guys that has more heart than any team we’ve had the last 3 or 4 years.
Carl Spackler
September 28th, 2009
5:39 pm
Run left, ball in left hand…run right, ball in the right hand…ball always in the hand closest to the sidelines…always put your body between you and a defender/tackler…always cover up w/ two hands going thru the line and when you are either receiving or delivering a blow…as a back, you don’t have a “strong hand” and if you do and can’t carry a ball in either hand then you should not be playing on any teams past the pee-wee league and certainly shouldn’t be carring a ball in D1 football.
Marion Campbell
September 28th, 2009
5:48 pm
Willie Martinez SUCKS!!! For those of you singing the praises of this weekend’s showing need to either start paying attention to the game or quit commenting on football. ASU has a junior high offense run by a bunch of scrubs. Giving up any points to ASU is a disgrace. Willie must go! If Richt can’t make the difficult decisions, it will be his job that will be on the chopping block. As for the offense…well, all I can say is that I can’t wait for 2010 to see a talented, consistent, productive quarterback running the show. Hopefully they will find an o-line with an additude and a running back that can play as well.
chazzo
September 28th, 2009
5:51 pm
40,000 fans gathered to watch the Lions win there first game since 2007 and partied like it was the Super Bowl. Now those are fans!!!!! We seem to have a bunch of whiners in our midst.
chazzo
September 28th, 2009
5:53 pm
I know it is a difficult concept, but you have to highlight “enter your comments here” and hit delete. AJC should call their IT dept.
chazzo
September 28th, 2009
5:58 pm
One more: The dancing makes me uptight, because I look goofy when I try it. LOL As long as no one gets hurt trying to spin on their heads or something, it’s all good.
Dip Stick
September 28th, 2009
5:59 pm
Marion Campbell
I know what those fans were looking at. Why it was our players dancing in 4th qtr with a tied ballgame.
Its these same fans that think the dancing is good for motivation.
Who also think that Willie Martinez has proven that he needs to be a head coach at a big time program like, FL, USC, GA, AL, TX, LSU etc.
LSU is next(for Florida)
September 28th, 2009
6:14 pm
Reasons to feel good: 3-1, playing at home against LSU, A.J. Green
Reasons to feel bad: Have not really played a top team yet until Saturday(no, OK State is not a top team), LSU, Tennessee, Tennessee’s defense, Florida, Tim Tebow, Florida’s defense, Oct. 31, UGA’s defense, Martinez, Bobo, Stafford left school, as of right now Florida has the #1 recruiting class for next year including Martin Luther King’s star Mack Brown, watching the SEC title in Georgia on T.V.
Tigers will maul Dawgs
September 28th, 2009
6:20 pm
Hey Shane(4:34) – Don’t worry buddy, Tebow will be ready on Halloween just for you. Even if he is not we will still beat you because our defense will carry us again. Stafford + Moreno and #1 pre-season ranking= 10 points in Jacksonville.
WildBill
September 28th, 2009
7:10 pm
Once upon a time, I had a 1960 high school playbook of all our offensive plays. I bet that at least 75%, or more, plays that the dawgs call are in that playbook. Plus the triple option the techmites use is in there too. It amuses me that defenses aren’t better coached on that danged option. Anyway, it doesn’t take high paid, high powered coaches to defense the dawgs offense. Just line up, and stuff the run. Then, the dawgs new guy, the freshman/senior guy can lob em up for grabs, and then as they say, the rest is history.
shane#1
September 28th, 2009
8:02 pm
Spackler, that is a truism that is no longer true. The RB carries the ball in the hand in which he is most comfortable. The last thing a coach should do with a good RB, IMO, is change his style of running. Some RBs will change hands as a matter of instinct, some prefer the ball in the left hand, some in the right. Walter Peyton often carried the ball away from his body in one hand. A definate no-no. If they are good the less a coach screws around with their style of running the better.
Marion Campbell
September 28th, 2009
8:21 pm
Hey “TIgers Will Maul Dawgs”– WTF do you mean “we”? Do you play? I doubt it. As a matter of fact, I’m willing to bet you’ve never played a down of football. Anyone who uses that logic doesn’t know richard about football. Now, go back to your parents’ basement and snuggle up to your life-sized Kerwin Bell body pillow.
Carl Spackler
September 28th, 2009
8:36 pm
That is a truism that is taught by every coach…I don’t care if it is Walter Payton, or Walter Breenan…just because someone does it, doesn’t make it correct…every coach should try to improve every ball player…don’t know if you ever went from H.S. to a college program, but when you arrive you realize how little you know, it’s a humbling experience…hot shot high school Harry on an undefeated team getting his butt kicked by some guy from a much smaller program, but if you’re good enough and follow the coaches advice, then you just might make it…everyone is bigger and a heck of a lot stronger and faster than what you saw on Friday nights…go ahead and try to be the next Joe Don Looney and see where it gets you (those days are history)…if the coach tells you to do something, that could make you bettter, they will…no matter who, or how good you are…just remember in college they are always recruiting someone to replace you…running backs, wide receivers, quarter-backs, jobs are always in jeopardy…
how2fish
September 28th, 2009
9:00 pm
41 38 49 38 45 24 37 41 17 tell you what I’ll make you a deal I’ll be “real quite” when you manage a sell out of that high school stadium..how’s that sound..I have an idea for you Buggies just advertise a chance to get in the Guinness record book for the “World’s Biggest Tickle Pile” and you may have a shot…cause even a person with a number for a name knows you ain’t getting it done with football fans…unless UGA imports them for you…
Dawg-on_it
September 29th, 2009
11:29 am
Reebok that was a classy comment. You must be one of the wisest people at tech. Or at least one of the few to get a girl on a regular basis. You are welcome in the Dawgs blog any time.
Roberto
October 4th, 2009
4:11 am
cool blog