Dogs come out of spring drills with areas of concern lingering
Caleb King and the running game didn't make much of an impression at G-Day. (Brant Sanderlin / AJC)
There were some aspects of what we saw in the G-Day game that definitely should be encouraging to Dogs fans, particularly when it comes to the defensive side of the ball.
But a lot of the questions facing Mark Richt and his staff as they entered spring drills remain unanswered and could be potential areas of concern.
Since they were split up between two teams, it was difficult to get a real fix on where the offensive line stands, but as I noted in my G-Day wrap-up the run-blocking still was unimpressive and there were too many sacks given up. And, unfortunately, this is one area where the incoming true freshmen aren’t likely to make much of a difference. The OL worries me. A lot.
As for the running game, the best you can grade it after G-Day is an “incomplete,” since Washaun Ealey sat out most of the spring and Isaiah Crowell is still finishing up high school. Caleb King was solid but not spectacular in his handful of carries and doesn’t appear likely to suddenly develop into a game-changer. Ken Malcome is a work in progress but far from ready to be a featured back. And Carlton Thomas did nothing to change the impression that, at best, he should be a change-of-pace back on outside plays.
But if Georgia’s prospects at tailback rely on Crowell duplicating the true-freshman success of South Carolina’s Marcus Lattimore right from the start, well, that might be bucking the odds. Still, at least the Dogs are looking at a major talent infusion in the tailback corps come August.
The G-Day showing of the receiving corps was a mixed bag. Tavarres King looked pretty good, though he’s not going to make anyone forget about A.J. Green. But beyond him, there’s still a big question mark. Marlon Brown remains inconsistent. Michael Bennett and Chris Conley are still developing. Come August, Malcolm Mitchell could indeed have an opportunity to establish himself as a freshman like A.J. did. But my money is on hybrid tight end Orson Charles, Richt’s “overall MVP of the spring,” to become Aaron Murray’s go-to guy, especially early in the season.
On the other side of the ball, prospects are definitely brighter on the defensive line and at linebacker after the spring, but we still don’t know who, if anyone, is going to step up at safety. Generally, though, there are fewer questions lingering about the defense than there are on offense.
Those are my concerns coming out of G-Day. What are yours?
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213 comments Add your comment
BJohnDawg
April 19th, 2011
3:00 pm
I think our off line has been overrated for years now. Apparently, our staff cannot judge offensive line talent and there in lies the problem. Cannot judge them, and cannot coach them up.
But I think that could all change this year. Because if they dont turn in a 10-2 season and an SEC championship game….this staff and Richt should be pointed to the door.
We deserve better, Georgia deserves better, and its time to demand better….or else.
DawginLex
April 19th, 2011
3:02 pm
I am concerned about the offensive line but not to the point of doom and gloom like the insider dude. Remember, if the defense is better we don’t have to score as much to win.
Losing Sturdivant hurts but we still have players who are capable, a new coach and good backs and a potentially great QB.
There is no way this team goes 6-6.
Preston
April 19th, 2011
3:06 pm
getting tired of this garbage. you try to participate in the blog and spend a few minutes writing only to never see it. what a joke. that’s the atlanta urinal and constipation for ya! i’ll be very surprised if this appears.
chazzo
April 19th, 2011
3:08 pm
Just once I want to see Figgins and the new big nose in the backfield with Orson split wide and another big tight end in the game. Call it the punisher set.
gomdawg
April 19th, 2011
3:10 pm
how many attended to game saturday
Dawg Gone
April 19th, 2011
3:15 pm
chazzo love the idea…but if you just want to run right at them…put Samuels back at tailback…he can get there fast and power was never his problem…vision etc maybe but if your want some one to blow thur the pile left by a Jenkins,Charles,Figgins and Co he would be a good choice.
Rabun Dawg
April 19th, 2011
3:15 pm
JB, your last post was spot on! I for one truly believe that UGA and UA are not on the same planet with regards to where we want our program to be. Oh, UGA may want it to be like UA, but are not willing to lay it on the line to achieve that goal. UA has a mindset entirely different than we do. Heck, they expect to play for a National Championship every year, we hope to beat UK, Vandy, USC, and every decade or so, UF. This is a most telling year for CMR and Co. Better produce pretty big, or ?
Burroughston Broch
April 19th, 2011
3:17 pm
No lingering concern about whether the new recruits will fit in with the remaining players. They all seem to be aimed toward serious jail time.
DawginLex
April 19th, 2011
3:18 pm
Jail time?
Get some new material you loser idiot TROLL
tide roll
April 19th, 2011
3:31 pm
Bill you act surprised the offensive line is a problem. If you followed the program like you claim you do, you should be well aware of the injuries, attrition, and terrible recruiting that has put Uga in this position. Your awareness of these issues should have been apparent to you long before the G-day game. GET WITH IT! You’re worse than Richt And Bobo. Ya’ll don’t realize a trains coming till after it’s run over you.
7576DAWG
April 19th, 2011
3:33 pm
MY biggest concern is Bobo’s offense. Before LeMay had the best drive of the day at the end of the game the score was 10-11. We didn’t play 8 or 9 defensive secondary starters because of injury. A great QB should have been able to pick the second and third string apart unless the QB didn’t have time to pass because the offensive line was so bad. If that is the case does anyone really think that we are going all year without at least half of the offensive line being out because of injury.
CMR needs to let LeMay play some and give him a legitimate chance . When the game was on the line for the red LeMay drove all the way down field to save face for the red.
As many starters that were out for the secondary the score should have been in the 30’s for both teams.
Dawg Gone
April 19th, 2011
3:39 pm
tide roll is here…quick grab the No-Doze…….zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
JB
April 19th, 2011
3:40 pm
Richt and Bobo run a scripted offense based on down and yardage and field position unless were down 2-3 TD’s. You will not see a lot of imagination from these guys
7576DAWG
April 19th, 2011
3:52 pm
My biggest fear is CMR and Bobo raiding the defense to shore up the offensive line. CMR has a reputation of playing players out of position. If it happens again this year, I think Grantham will leave after his 3 year contract is up. I sure would. If Grantham is aloud to keep all his recruits and develop them UGA will have one of the best defenses ever at Georgia.
I love CMR but he kept Bobo at offensive coordinator and this mess with the running backs and offensive line is all on Bobo. I don’t care if we scored 30 something points every game last year , without Green we will be doing good to score 24 points a game this year. How many time last year did Murray not even get us to the other teams 45 yard line so out all American kicker could try a field goal.
Ed (The Original)
April 19th, 2011
3:52 pm
Biggest area of lingering concern: Head Coach
rocketfuel
April 19th, 2011
3:57 pm
Two concerns going into the upcoming season.The O-line,will they continue to be soft regarding the run.CMR is the second concern
ca dawg
April 19th, 2011
4:07 pm
fair concerns, bill — i share them, in fact. the running game has got to improve, and we need a WR to step up alongside tavarres and orson charles. i think murray has some trust issues with the other guys (a lot of pump fakes, especially in the first half).
having said that, a lot of the questions we had about the defensive side of the ball have been answered, at least provisionally. samuel and ogletree looked great at ILB, and our DL looked so much better than they did last year. even the secondary — with all the injuries — didn’t blow coverages and tackled well. i think it’s mostly good news on that side of the ball. fwiw, my buddy (a bama fan) watched our spring game and said our defense looked like a totally different unit; i was glad to hear that from someone who isn’t a dawg fan.
schmeckdawg
April 19th, 2011
4:23 pm
1eyedJack
April 19th, 2011
2:29 pm
schmeckdawg, you get my drift though, right?
I do indeed sir!
Burroughston Broch
April 19th, 2011
4:27 pm
@ DawginLex
Have you forgotten all of the palyer arrests and bad press last summer and fall? Do you want to continue to be a laughingstock to fans from other schools? Do you want to inherit the mantle of the Criminoles?
Wake up – it’s happening again.
schmeckdawg
April 19th, 2011
4:29 pm
Burroughston Broch
April 19th, 2011
4:27 pm
WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
track dawg
April 19th, 2011
4:37 pm
I thought Ken Malcolme looked good
Caleb Is no king
April 19th, 2011
4:42 pm
According to McGee, “(Richt) said these were just 16-, 17-year-old kids, that kids do different things, and it’s part of growing up.”
And that, my friends, sums up perfectly what’s wrong with UGA. Mark Richt has been turning a blind eye to his goons’ misbehavior for years.
And it’s never going to get any better while Richt is in Athens.
LogicalUS
April 19th, 2011
4:43 pm
UGAs offense is as predicted…in huge trouble.
A week after reporting that UGAs secondary was ravaged by injuries and would be playing a hodge-podge of private school frat boys as replacements, the UGA receiving corp could not get open at ALL?? The offense’s biggest play came on a sure sack in which Murray would have been annilihated in a real game, but which the officials let continue after the three sackers ran by Murray???
And what is it with UGA perchant for 5-6 160 rbs? No wonder they have no clue for stopping a 234 lb back like Lattimore at SC.
RabidDawgFan
April 19th, 2011
4:44 pm
My concern is our secondary and who will step up at safety. Our O-line will be just fine with Ben Jones and Cordy Glenn leading the way. People act like Ben Jones just got mauled by Geathers (which on a couple plays he did) but he also pancaked Geathers a few times as well. He’s a tough country boy. Glenn is just big and immovable. Two All-SEC linemen right there.
As far as secondary, who is going to be our starter at one corner position and the other safety position? So far only Boykin and Rambo have their spots pretty much locked up. I think Commings should stay at corner because he’s big (6′2, 217 lbs) and he’s fast. So that would leave us with Boykin and Commings as our corners and Rambo and I think Connor (Norman) should get a look. The kid makes plays. Maybe not a starter, but should definately get playing time.
The running game will be fine IF our O-line produces. If not, then it won’t be any good.
schmeckdawg
April 19th, 2011
4:45 pm
@ track dawg
Agreed 100%! I thought he looked solid as a rock! Don’t know what King was looking at!!!!!!!!!!
Dennis
April 19th, 2011
4:54 pm
Jail zero and all dogs accounted for! That is leaps and bounds above last year at this time. Baby steps mutts.
Joe
April 19th, 2011
5:07 pm
GEEEEZ Enough of your doom and gloom……EITHER GET BEHIND THIS PROGRAM AND TEAM OR SHUT UP….YOU ARE A COMPLETE MORON…..I AM SO SICK AND TIRED OF YOU PROCLAIMING TO BE A DIE HARD FAN AND ALL YOU DO IS FIND NEGITIVE. I WISH PEOPLE LIKE YOU WOULD JUST FIND ANOTHER TEAM AND LEAVE….AND DONT PLAY YOUR CRAP ABOUT CARING….YOU SICKEN ME….YOU ARE A LAME EXCUSE FOR A DAWG
Nick the king Saban
April 19th, 2011
5:09 pm
Georgia football- HAHAAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH.
schmeckdawg
April 19th, 2011
5:22 pm
Nick the king Saban
April 19th, 2011
5:09 pm
Georgia football- HAHAAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
Hey genius, you left out an A at the end! Meat whistle!!!!!!!!!!!
schmeckdawg
April 19th, 2011
5:23 pm
@Joe
Lighten up Francis!
Einsteindawg
April 19th, 2011
5:54 pm
Thanks Bill…I noticed that the comments were closed concerning the “recruit thefts” and probably because of some racist slurs. But folks, this is not racial, it’s sad and it’s a symptom of a growing trend in our society. Is this what juniors have learned in high school? Hold your school boards accountable and demand the best teachers and teaching. Or else, watch our state/country go down the drain. Just my opinion.
Reaper
April 19th, 2011
6:07 pm
If the offense is the problem. It will be because CMR failed to upgrade the OC. Motivation and development is the key to the offense and if the OL doesn’t perform it will be because they made a very bad choick in hiring Will Friend. UGA is a high caliber school and should have been trying to hire the best person that they could, but they settled for less and it showed through the spring practices. It seems like Richt didn’t want to ruffle any feathers by not replacing BooBoo but, if we are slow out the gates it will be both of their faughts. All I know is, if UGA struggles on offense in the first half of the Boise St. game, CMR better assume the OC duties and get them moving or the heat will be turned up very high.
Dawg One
April 19th, 2011
6:12 pm
“…every game we lost last year was only by a few points…”
And if a pig had wings, it could fly.
Dawg Squeeze
April 19th, 2011
6:18 pm
Look on the bright side, the football team gets more respect than an actual degree from the university.
Delbert D.
April 19th, 2011
7:02 pm
Looking at the schedule, I can see 9-3, and a reasonable shot at the East title. However, with the continuing mystery of the O-line, that may be overly optimistic by a couple of wins.
Jim
April 19th, 2011
7:10 pm
The offensive line is TOTALLY inadequate and we have NO fullback to help block! Crowell will HAVE to be like Moreno, ie create his own holes.Carlton Thomas should be playing IIa, ie NOT an SEC running back.
Dawg Days
April 19th, 2011
7:20 pm
Enter your comments here
Dawg89
April 19th, 2011
7:44 pm
The spring game was a snoozer. I’m sure that performance didn’t strike fear in the hearts of the other SEC teams. Looked as bad if not worse than last year. I thought we were sunk last year after the spring game. I didn’t see anything that made me feel different in this one.
I saw too much Carlton Thomas and too much of the scout team QBs. I know Crowell is coming in. But, surely we still have something left besides Thomas.
Dawg89
April 19th, 2011
7:45 pm
You have to wonder after so many years of a lousy running game, when does the coach get blamed. Don’t we have a receiever by trade coach the running backs?
icedawg
April 19th, 2011
7:50 pm
The offensive line has been a huge problem for the past 2-3 years and has contributed to puny running attack. Teams have not had to worry about that part of the game and have played the pass. Without a decent O line the offense will be mediocre at best.
ca dawg
April 19th, 2011
7:52 pm
Caleb Is no king
April 19th, 2011
4:42 pm
According to McGee, “(Richt) said these were just 16-, 17-year-old kids, that kids do different things, and it’s part of growing up.”
And that, my friends, sums up perfectly what’s wrong with UGA. Mark Richt has been turning a blind eye to his goons’ misbehavior for years.
And it’s never going to get any better while Richt is in Athens.
—————————
a couple of things. first, you’re aware that deion bonner doesn’t play for georgia, right? he isn’t one of richt’s “goons,” and if you kept reading you would have seen that mcgee also said that he didn’t expect us to keep recruiting bonner.
second, and more importantly: OF COURSE richt said that to bonner’s coach. that’s a good, politic thing to say; we’ve got an ongoing relationship with coach mcgee and his program, and it isn’t richt’s place to upbraid a kid that doesn’t even play for him. it’s mcgee’s job to discipline the kid, not richt’s.
feel free to throw stones at whoever signs bonner (my guess is auburn, but it sure as hell won’t be us), but to get upset about the way richt handled his conversation with coach mcgee… give me a break.
ca dawg
April 19th, 2011
7:56 pm
@jim: i disagree about your assessment of our fullback situation — i thought zander ogletree looked especially good — and i don’t think our line play was quite as bad as all that. definitely needs to get better, but i wouldn’t get out on the ledge with bill king just yet.
and i wouldn’t worry about carlton thomas: unless something goes very wrong, he won’t get a meaningful carry this year. he’ll be 5th string when fall camp starts.
Delbert D.
April 19th, 2011
8:14 pm
*Very* early Boise St. 2011 scouting report:
In 2010, Boise St. returned 20 of 22 starters. Not close to that in 2011.
Boise St. returning veterans:
Defense:
DT Chase Baker, 3L 6′1 296 6.5 TFL 4.5 S
LB Tommy Smith, 1L 6′1 227
S Travis Stanaway, 2L 5′11 203
CB Jamar Taylor 2L 5′11 194 35 T 3.5 TFL 2 INT
LB Aaron Tevis, 3L 6′3 232 43 T 2.5 TFL 1 S 2 INT
DT Billy Winn, 3L 6′4 295 9.5 TFL 4.5 S
DT Ricky Tjong-A-Tjoe, 1L 6′3 307 6.5 TFL 2.5 S
Offense:
Kellen Moore, 3L 6′0 191
TE Kyle Efaw, 3L 6-4 242 299 y, 5 TD
WR Kirby Moore, 1L 6′2 206 (2009) 242 y, 2 TD
OG Brenel Myers, 2L 6′2 277
OL Kevin Sapien, 3L 6′4 286
WR Tyler Showmaker 3L 6′1 213 582 y, 5 TD
OT Matt Slater 3L 6′4 267
2011 Spring game
4 8-minute quarters
Defense 21 Offense 13 (Defensive scoring based on 3/outs, sacks, TO, Red Zone stops
RB Drew Wright led rushers in the Spring game with 8 carries 24 yards
WR Geraldo Hiwat led receivers with 5 catches for 97 yards
QB Kellen Moore played 3 series
The defense recorded 11 tackles for loss
The offense scored 2 FGs and a TD on the last play of the game
old time dog
April 19th, 2011
8:27 pm
D A DoubleU G….. Good for us you are having a hard time.
Palm City Dawg
April 19th, 2011
8:52 pm
You are right one JOE!!! Bill King is a nerd that belongs over at North Avenue. Exactly what gives him the right to analyze ANY team. How in the HELL did he get a spot on the AJC staff. He needs to take his slide ruler and attempt to shave that mess growing on his face.
DrDawg
April 19th, 2011
9:45 pm
Kind of tired about hearing how great AJ is or was. A catch is a catch. He was so “great” because he made several famous circus catches. Great. But a catch is a catch. We have had many “great” receivers and we have several guys right now who can catch the ball. It is amazing how we recruit the best kids we can get, and then we gasp that they can actually do what we expect them to do. We recruit recievers, and damn, we are speechless when they prove to have the ability to catch the dadgum football, what they have done since they were 10 years old. Catching is the result of blocking and having someone who can throw. Under the right conditions, my grandmother could score.
trupert
April 19th, 2011
9:49 pm
Judging by the high number of negative comments from trolls pretending to be UGA fans, I would have to say that alot of Ga’s opponents are worried about the Dawgs being on their way back.
I look for the O-line to be about the same as last year, no worse and probably a little better. The defense will be much improved and become a unit that is feared like the Ga defenses of the early 2000’s. the offense will be about the same. The special teams are very good and this team will finish. Murray will be more accurate and put up good numbers and finish as the top rated SEC qb. Ga has a real chance to win the East. Ga will beat Florida in 2011 and turn the tide in the florida series.
bilbo
April 19th, 2011
9:51 pm
Malcome was good. Why does everyone overlook him?
bilbo
April 19th, 2011
9:54 pm
BOBO is not a good playcaller. Our O-line looks bad. BUT BUT BUT remember that we didn’t have Murray with our 1st string O-Line out there during the G-Day game.
GoHogs
April 19th, 2011
11:19 pm
TGeezy – Murray has yet to beat a good team…..Bobo is still our OC……Richt is stil our HC….King and Ealey are useless thugs…..just follow these guys on twitter….and you iwll see where their priorities lie….it is truly embarrassing…..expect more of what you saw last year…and it kills me to say that….we cant compete with Alabama, Auburn, South Carolina, or Florida right now….we need MAJOR changes as quickly as possible!
___________________________________
You forgot Arkansas. Georgia can’t compete with Arkansas either. LOL