A.J. Green in the Wild Dawg or is Bobo just teasing us again?
Is Mike Bobo serious about direct snaps to A.J. Green? (Associated Press)
It would be easy to get all excited about Mike Bobo’s recent comments indicating he might use A.J. Green in some new ways this season.
Talking with the Macon Telegraph, Bobo said he was considering sometimes using Green as a running back or having him take direct snaps in what some call the “Wild Dawg” formation.
“That’s what you do as offensive coaches — you identify who you think the playmakers are and then you find a way to get them the ball, and obviously he’s our No. 1 guy,” Bobo said. “Really every game we go into it, we think, ‘How do we get A.J. the ball out of this set? Is there something new that we can do?’”
But we should keep in mind that all during the 2009 preseason, Bobo kept teasing us with comments about special offensive packages that we might see, including some involving Logan Gray and the Wild Dawg offense.
As it actually played out, Gray’s “special packages” consisted of being inserted into the game a few times for quarterback option runs so obviously telegraphed that everyone in the stadium knew they were coming. And while Branden Smith had a couple of scintillating touchdowns as a running back, Bobo never really did much with the Wild Dawg last year.
It’s possible that having an inexperienced redshirt freshman quarterback this year might mean Bobo mixes it up a bit more to take some of the pressure off Aaron Murray.
And, certainly, moving Green around on the field would be a smart move, especially considering the double coverage he pulls in his usual spot.
Since this likely will be the last season the Dogs have him, I’d love to see some special plays for A.J. out of the backfield.
But considering Bobo’s past record of talking a more varied game than he actually calls, I’ll believe it when I see it. How about you?
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152 comments Add your comment
SKB
July 21st, 2010
9:57 am
The team should not depend on a single guy.. this is just bad strategy, and the reason UGA will get lose this Fall. They should work together as a team, and come up with various strategies and play with dicipline. Bobo has no idea what he is doing. Looks like another year of Florida and Alabama..
GT RPTR
July 21st, 2010
10:26 am
Absolutely not. When you have two great running backs and AJ’s deep threat, the defense will start to fill the box some but have the CBs play off of AJ. You want to get him the ball in different ways then do what we did last year with Demaryius Thomas and run the WR smoke screen or have AJ take one step out then turn in and get the ball to him right away. Now he has one guy to beat (CB) whom he should be considerably bigger than (like Bay Bay always was) and then open space to let your playmaker do what he does best. Any wild dawg..? with Green is not a good idea, now Ealey on the other hand took direct snaps in highschool at ECI and he can be a threat for some wildcat plays if thought necessary by Bobo.
bruised lung in fl
July 21st, 2010
10:27 am
Is AJ durable enough to endure direct hits out of the backfield? It seems like he doesn’t like contact football as much as flag!!!
Ahmad Black & Major Wright
Preston
July 21st, 2010
10:30 am
No way you you use a wiry receiver in a wild dawg situation. Leave that to the bruising RB’s. This was started by Arkansas with Darren McFadden and it’s being copied by other programs with RUNNING BACKS. Don’t destroy his chances of making millions in the league by getting his back broken in the SEC. Did Bobo really suggest this? If so, I’ll jump on the “run Bobo out of town” bandwagon.
Preston
July 21st, 2010
10:31 am
GT RPTR, very good post.
King Gator
July 21st, 2010
10:34 am
Best player on the team, 1st or 2nd best WR in the SEC (Jones/Bama), 1st round talent… and they can’t figure out how to get him the ball enough… line him up outside and throw it deep and/or wr screen- any everywhere in between, etc. Running him up the middle or off tackle is an injury waiting to happen. If I were AJ I’d quietly ask coach to keep me out of the backfield and in line for the NFL money train as a WR. Maybe Murray should play special teams too. Jeez .. maybe the Dawgs got rid of the wrong co-ordinator. Go Gators!
GA State Trooper in Roswell
July 21st, 2010
10:42 am
Bobo should have just put AJ in the BMW 750 that Mr. Damon Evans was driving a few weeks ago if he was looking at ways to ruin a career!
Better Perspective
July 21st, 2010
10:43 am
Put Boykin in the game in the “Wild Dawg” formation…. dude is a tough playmaker
boots
July 21st, 2010
10:43 am
The key to being innovative is to come up with plays that surprise the other team. Putting AJ in the backfield after you’ve telegraphed it in the off-season would not surprise anyone, and it would just be the same as we did last year with the wild Dawg – have the linebackers key in for it and get no where. I suspect since we all know this, so does the coaching staff, and this is just a diversion. However, Bobo does need to get creative and start coming up with less-publicized ways of moving the ball. If not, he will have a rough year and might follow Willie out the door. I think Bobo is a good guy, and I believe he will have learned from the past year what not to do.
GT RPTR
July 21st, 2010
10:58 am
Personally I think that you want to keep things simple for Murray but get him a lot of good experience early. When you have great players at every single skill position around him, there’s no need to make him do anything special. I’m not saying that Murray has anything to do with the wildcat but instead that taking Murray off the field for something as risky as a wildcat formation could hurt his performance in the long run. Keep the kid on the field so he can catch on to the speed of SEC football. I think Murray has arguably the easiest job of any QB coming in to take over an offense of UGA caliber. All he needs to do is find a way to get the ball to Washaun, Caleb, AJ, Orson or that TE whom I forget his name. Putting in a wildcat when you have weapons of this caliber seems like a forced reason to get attention by doing something people may think is cool or something despite the pro style players you have in a pro style offense.
Mark Cabe
July 21st, 2010
10:59 am
Are you sure this wasn’t Damon Evans’ idea? It would match his previous bad decisions!
Dawg Tired
July 21st, 2010
11:04 am
Coaches often do dumb things. IMHO, this would be dumb and increase the chances of AJ getting injured. However, I must say it is not any dumber than the end-around play that Dooley used to run once every game for about a 7 to 10 yard loss.
GeorgiaDawg84
July 21st, 2010
11:10 am
I am not quite sure why Bobo is even talking about this. Why don’t we just shut our mouth and do more walking than talking. Every year we talk big, walk big, blow smoke, but always play to the level of our opponent. Lets go out ready to blow the doors off anyone and flat out bring the pain. We want people to know we are going to run it down their throat, go for it on 4th down, come after you every play, like a train that is not stopping.
ca dawg
July 21st, 2010
11:15 am
this has to be a smokescreen. there’s no way we actually do this.
HOUDAWG
July 21st, 2010
11:55 am
Pitch it to Branden Smith on a sweep …….. & Smith throws to AJ wide-open down the sideline.
That’s the TD DAWG formation ……. & everybody’s happy.
HOUDAWG
July 21st, 2010
12:09 pm
Hey Tech fans …….. did you realize your mascot is a teeny-tiny little insignificant bee ??
Deep down that must really hurt …….
Explains the obsession with the Dawgs ……..
What?
July 21st, 2010
12:19 pm
HOUDog – Are you talking to yourself, b/c no one is listening. Go find your fire hydrant. Loser.
Dawglasville
July 21st, 2010
12:29 pm
Do y’all remember when Donnan used Charles Grant on a toss sweep in the Tech game? Toss sweep, a guy took out his legs, gone for the game. Probably the biggest reason we lost the game (if you can forget the Jasper blown fumble call). Surely we wouldn’t be that stupid.
Dawglasville
July 21st, 2010
12:34 pm
Bulldog59 My bad. I should have read before I blogged.
McDawg
July 21st, 2010
12:40 pm
don’t like it but might need to if Murray can’t get the ball in his hands
GTax
July 21st, 2010
12:43 pm
I thought dawg fans hated silly gimmick, high school offenses?
Interesting.
GTax
July 21st, 2010
12:44 pm
“go for it on 4th down, come after you every play, like a train that is not stopping.”
Richt doesn’t have the offense, nor the balls to go for it on 4th down. That coach is over in Atlanta.
HOUDAWG
July 21st, 2010
12:45 pm
Say What ? Thanks for making my point ……… little Techie.
bob
July 21st, 2010
12:45 pm
If nothing else, it would give the opponents DC something else to have to worry about.
GeorgiaDawg84
July 21st, 2010
1:09 pm
GTax “Right doesn’t have the offense, nor the balls to go for it on 4th down. That coach is over in Atlanta.”
Not sure which coach your talking about, because Tech has never displayed any of those qualities. I was talking more along the lines of past LSU, Alabama, UF that are relentless and go 150%. They walk on the field with intensity and passion every game and run it down everyone’s throat and your quarterbacks and receivers are constantly looking. Heads are rolling and smash mouth football.
Tech is not even close, and I really can’t imagine anyone in the All Children’s Conference that worries me.
GeorgiaDawg84
July 21st, 2010
1:47 pm
GTax,
I gonna throw out two names:
Washaun Ealey 183 yards
Caleb King 166 yards
Does that game ring a bell?
GeorgiaDawg84
July 21st, 2010
2:17 pm
Go play in your All Children’s Conference. We are talking SEC football, not the sandbox playground.
Bill B
July 21st, 2010
3:26 pm
Everybody says “run the ball, run the ball”. We didn’t win a National Championship in 1980 by just running the ball. Oops. I guess we did.
Dawg Trainer
July 21st, 2010
3:26 pm
Now here’s the respect being shown to A.J. Green. A Vol and a Gator both disliking this Wild Dawg harebrained idea in order to NOT see a great player getting hurt. Who says we SEC kinfolk can’t see common ground?
Jy
July 21st, 2010
3:53 pm
Donnan lost that Tech game by not kicking a FG.
Jy
July 21st, 2010
3:54 pm
The last time we beat UF and Tech we ran the ball.
lifelong dawg
July 21st, 2010
3:56 pm
I’VE GOT IT! we’ll bring AJ on the field in a bubble let him go out for the coin flip then put him in a cage on the sidelines for the rest of the game SO HE DOESN’T GET HURT!…..whatever happend to football a contact sport?
mgdawg
July 21st, 2010
4:04 pm
AJ Green is a playmaker so getting the ball however you can is a key in my book. I would like to see AJ and Branden Smith in the backfield at the same time, maybe have murray in the shotgun with aj on one side and smith on the other. Defenses would be so scared of the speed in the backfield murray would just have to toss the ball up for grabs to the receivers.
Saying all that, I don’t see it happening.
mgdawg
July 21st, 2010
4:12 pm
GTax, there’s a difference when you’re entire offense is a gimmick and calling the occasional gimmick play in a real offense. Also, Johnson has never had a defense so he’s use to having to go for it on fourth down. Richt is used to coaching a team that has a defense, unfortunately willie didn’t help richt out any. Richt has made calculated risks like most coaches do that win NC, usually when you have to take risks all the time you aren’t winning NC, you maybe able to win the ACC, but not the SEC or the NC.
RED AND BLACK
July 21st, 2010
4:21 pm
Run the ball for the first three games!! Our line and backs should/will control the game.All three games are against weak run defenses.After those three games open it up for new QB.Give him SEC game experience with no pressure to win all on his shoulders.If we get to the forth game with all wins—-watch out,we could be the surprise team in the country.GO DAWGS and to HELL with all the other posters from other teams on this Blog.GT is a sissy ass school and UF is ,well you know UF!
Gillis
July 21st, 2010
5:40 pm
I’d say use the fast guys in the wilddog that also protect the ball, guys like Wooten, Logan Gray, and even Cuff. I’m not opposed to using AJ on punt returns and WR, but not sure about WildDog, we have better guys there.
Branden Smith can be a Percy Harvin type guy, if he can be TAUGHT by the Georegia coaches how to protect the ball. Or you could just bench him if he fumbles and drop him on the depth chart for a while.
NCAA
July 21st, 2010
6:41 pm
I’m looking at YOU!
tt
July 21st, 2010
7:13 pm
At this point I just hope AJ will be playing. TMZ has named him as the player who may have been at the same Miami party as players froM SC, ALA, and FLA. Crap balls!!!!
Bill King
July 21st, 2010
7:23 pm
Here’s CNN/SI’s take on the UGA inquiry:
http://bit.ly/bRbVVZ
nmdawg
July 21st, 2010
7:48 pm
The Dawgs should have a dominant offensive line. Most of them have spent time on the injured list, which meant playing time or others. This year would be the best in many to take he conservative approach, along with improved defense (based on speed and hitting), great specialists, and a young QB. A dominant OL shortens the game, and eventually allows playmakers like AJ to shine becasue of the pressure of successful runnng game. Go DAWGS!!!
what?
July 21st, 2010
9:17 pm
Cannot be in two places at the same time.
Vick=Dog killing Thug
July 21st, 2010
11:48 pm
Not trying to be funny or smug and I am a dawg fan but I’m surprised to hear such talk from Bobo. I wouldn’t think that he considers such things.
bitter BEAR, paul b.
July 22nd, 2010
2:29 am
AJ, ill be is he country
Kdawg
July 22nd, 2010
7:45 am
Ok. Let’s see. We have a huge veteran offensive line. 2 good backs and a hybrid explosive tight end…. not to mention AJ. Would seem to me we need to run it 25 to 30 times a game. That would bring the safetys up which means should be able to get it to AJ easier. Also throw it to Orson more. If we do that we control the clock which means the defense which should be better will not have to be on the field as long which means they will be fresh at the end of the game which would be huge. Also it would help if the offense would not kepp turning it over and giving the oppent the opportunity to only have to go 30 yards or less for a score.
Dgator
July 22nd, 2010
7:57 am
You need to move him to the slot, what the Gators call the “Percy Position” and let him run from there. Like some of the other posts, I think he is too lanky and not thick enough to run from the shotgun. He is without a question the most talented player on the team don’t get him killed, unless it is the week before the Florida game.
Gatorbait 17-3
July 22nd, 2010
8:26 am
Green is an outstanding receiver, but he is no Percy Harvin and I know
Percy Harvin.
Is Bobo trying to save his and Richt’s careers by sacrificing this poor kid running the ball.
Just find a QB who will get him the ball in space. Or could it be Bobo is showing
no confidence in his QB’s to get him the ball. Sad either way, another long year for the dawgs.
dap01
July 22nd, 2010
9:35 am
Bobo, don’t be too impressed with yourself. Just run the ball. Give it to Ealey and King. This will also help the defense.
A running game with an agressive defense equals wins.
We have all seen your offensive packages for Gray. They did not exist.
dap01
July 22nd, 2010
9:37 am
Until GT draws 50,000, let’s not even discuss the “Jackets”.
Kdawg
July 22nd, 2010
9:56 am
Gtax, let’s see…the dawgs have beeten your bees 8 of the last 9 years and 15 of the last 19 years. You have a coach who talks about punching fans in the face. Your defense gave up almost 400 yards rushing to us last year. Your coach has so much confidence in his running game that he throws the ball the last four times he has the ball. You have a stadium that seats less than 50,000. You play in a weak conference. Iowa showed you in the bowl game what happens to you offense when a team has time to prepare for it. Not to mention the fact that with your stone age offense if you have to pass it you r screwed. Really? WE RUN THIS STATE!! GO DAWGS!!!!
Santa Cruz CA Dawg
July 22nd, 2010
10:46 am
I agree with an ealrlier comment. That AJ should get the ball in space. Maybe put him in as a punt returner in ceartin situations, but please don’t put him in the backfield and risk injury.
We can use Smith if we run something caled the”WILD DAWG.”