Scoreboard didn’t reflect domination by Dawgs
Orson Charles makes a great touchdown catch against Ole Miss. (Associated Press)
A few more thoughts and observations about Georgia’s win over Ole Miss. …
It’s true there was more grumbling in the Bulldog Nation than you’d normally expect after a win, and, yes, if Blair Walsh hadn’t missed those three field goals a 36-13 score would have better reflected Georgia’s near-complete domination of the game.
But the fact that the Dogs had to resort to Walsh four times showed Georgia’s offense still not quite ready for prime time.
It stands out even more when you look at the Dogs’ time of possession by quarter. After holding it 7:26 in the first quarter and 9:03 in the second, for a total of 24 points, Mike Bobo decided to try and sit on an 11-point lead and went conservative in his second-half playcalling.
So while the Dogs had the ball 10:56 in the third quarter and a whopping 11:11 in the fourth, they got only 3 points out of all that time on the field. Thus, the grumbling.
OK, maybe Bobo’s faith in the way Georgia’s defense was handling the Rebels was well-placed, but that kind of mentality is not going to cut it against the better teams remaining on the schedule. …
Richard Samuel and Carlton Thomas were sporadically effective in relief of Isaiah Crowell Saturday, and while that upright running style of Samuel’s doesn’t result in many long gainers, he deserves special mention for his extra, twisting effort on that fourth-and-1 that the Dogs just barely made. But the best use of Samuel appears to be throwing to him out of the backfield. That 25-yard reception was a fine job. Let’s hope we see more of that when Crowell is taking a breather. …
Speaking of Crowell, you could tell he wasn’t the same runner in the second half that he was in the first, losing some of that ability to bounce out of the grasp of a would-be tackler and turn it on outside. Yes, 30 carries is a considerable workload, but Crowell admitted after the game he was winded in the third and fourth quarters, in contrast to South Carolina’s Marcus Lattimore, who seems to get stronger late in games. As someone once said, the ball ain’t heavy, so conditioning is obviously where Crowell needs the biggest improvement (along with picking up the blitz a bit better). But the first half showed what a special player Crowell can be when he’s on his game, and even a winded No. 1 is a good potential weapon to have in the backfield. …
It was good to see Bobo finally remember the tight ends Saturday. Orson Charles led all receivers with five catches for 59 yards and a touchdown, and backup Aron White had three for 52 yards and another score. Still, it was an up and down day for Charles, who dropped one pass and let another bounce off his chest, only to have it intercepted. But he did a great job of hauling in a perfectly thrown but difficult pass from Aaron Murray in the corner of the end zone. As stocked with talent as Georgia is at the tight end position, it can only be a plus if Bobo calling their numbers more Saturday was a sign of things to come. …
Special kudos to gritty Kenarious Gates, who wasn’t fully recovered from an ankle injury but still toughed it out for the whole game on the offensive line because of Chris Burnette being out. It would be great if other Georgia players took inspiration from his example. …
You’ve got to give Houston Nutt credit for his special teams game planning Saturday, and not just for the handoff/reverse on a punt return or successful onside kick. His negating of Georgia’s dangerous return men on punts was superb. Punter Tyler Campbell’s alternating of line-drive rugby kicks with the occasional high looper resulted in only two of his nine punts even being returned by Georgia, one for 2 yards and the other for a loss of 2, meaning the Dogs ended the game with a return average of 0. …
Finally, Jon Fabris was in the crowd Saturday and Georgia’s special teams play was pretty awful. I’m not suggesting the two facts are somehow connected or that Fabris has some sort of bad mojo that can mess the Dogs up even from the stands, but let’s just hope Jon doesn’t plan to make following the Dogs a regular thing.
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321 comments Add your comment
17 games, 8W's and 9 losses
September 25th, 2011
11:17 pm
kerryb
you forget MSU clean the dawg’s clock last year and they are better this year. Do you really thionk the dawgs are better this year? I don’t
In the future, when you speak of UGA, and you will...
September 25th, 2011
11:20 pm
Buh bye to Muck Wretched. With or without Saint Mark, the dawgs have sunk to a state of total irrelevancy, right to the limits of oblivion.
No one knows about them, and no one cares anymore.
kerryb
September 25th, 2011
11:21 pm
Still@theBAR , dude did you even watch this game? UGA had 475 total yards to Ole Miss’s 183. Ole Miss was dominated so bad that they had to resort to trick plays to get anything. If Walsh hits the field goals it’s 36-13. Without the trick plays it’s 36-0. Vandy did not crush Ole Miss is every way. Vandy gave up 149 yards passing, UGA did too. Vandy gave up 85 yards rushing. UGA gave up 34 yards rushing. Ole Miss was totally dominated by UGA NOT Vandy.
drbasic
September 25th, 2011
11:23 pm
still@thebar
that is my point. It was where they started their drives….they COULD NOT sustain a long drive. Look at their rushing yards yesterday, they have no backfield or QB. We may not have “finished” our drives but we have the power to do so…..before you say it, yes I know it is the score that counts, but in the long run it is the “W” that matters most.
Kerryb
I just don’t understand other team fans being on this blog. I could not imagine myself to stoop to go to another teams blog and berate them, it is senseless and thus a true meaning of the word “troll”. I will support this team and staff win or lose, if and when change is made, i will then support that regime. Of course a Tech buddy of mine (for over 40 years) stated, that many here are just jealous of the flagship school and try to simply rile up people…..i guess if you have no life, you have no life
kerryb
September 25th, 2011
11:26 pm
17 games, 8W’s and 9 losses , we lost to Miss State by 12 points last year. As I remember it was a close game until the 4th quarter. Miss State is not quite as good as they were last year. Their defense is not as good. Last week they had to win in OT against La Tech 26-20.
Still@theBAR
September 25th, 2011
11:26 pm
kerryb
You know better than to use the IFs. You call out other teams fans for saying IF.
Vandy has had 5 picks in both of their last 2 games. That maybe part of the reason Ole miss didn’t have more passing yards against them then. Would I be correct in assuming that?
Still@theBAR
September 25th, 2011
11:29 pm
Anybody watching the Colts Steelers? 20-20 with 1 min left and Steelers ball. Didn’t know the Colts had it in them.
drbasic
September 25th, 2011
11:30 pm
at the bar
I will jump in here…IMO, you are correct there, however; if you float passes instead of throwing them, many will be intercepted. Both the QB’s yesterday improved throwing verses floating
drbasic
September 25th, 2011
11:31 pm
atthebar
without Manning Colts are not so much i think
SatillaDawg
September 25th, 2011
11:33 pm
Score should have been a lot more lopsided, kerryb. Dawgs couldn’t get the ball in the endzone.
How about more TD’s and fewer fieldgoals. And when we do have to kick, how about making it. Get your mind on your job, Walsh.
Special teams still suck, BIG TIME! Only thing that kept Ole Miss in the game.
Second half was a snoozer. Let’s call it the Case of the Disappearing Dawgs. You think UF is gonna put up with that kind of second half play? NOT!
And what’s with all the mouthing off? What exactly has this team done that gives them the right to mouth off to their opponents? Shut yer trap, Isaiah.
I just don’t see the quality of play and caliber of coaching needed to win the SEC East, and beyond.
But hey, hope springs eternal.
So, Go Dawgs! Sic ‘em!
Still@theBAR
September 25th, 2011
11:33 pm
you are right I thought to but damn they gave the Steelers all they wanted tonight. Steelers are going to kick the FG for the win but the COLTS played like they are not in the Andrew Luck Raffle.
Looks like Steelers get the win.
Delbert D.
September 25th, 2011
11:35 pm
From some of the sentiments expressed here, I guess I should not be allowed to watch every Georgia game as I have done for many years.
Nice
September 25th, 2011
11:35 pm
@ kerryb…are you serious?
drbasic
September 25th, 2011
11:36 pm
Yep the colts held up pretty good. I was surprised at a lot of todays outcomes. A lot more parity than i thought i guess
kerryb
September 25th, 2011
11:36 pm
Still@theBAR , Here’s some more stats for you. Ole Miss had 62 total plays against Vandy, against UGA they had 56. They were 3-11 on 1st down, against Vandy they were 4-14. Vandy got 5 INT’s but they also turned the ball over 3 times to Ole Miss. UGA got 2 INT’s but only gave up the ball once on a INT. So, who really dominated Ole Miss?
kerryb
September 25th, 2011
11:38 pm
SatillaDawg , I agree with you on the special teams. I’ve been disappointed in them so far. Who is coaching them this year? I thought they were pretty good with Belin coaching them last year.
kerryb
September 25th, 2011
11:39 pm
Don’t care about the Colts and the Steelers. This is a UGA blog.
drbasic
September 25th, 2011
11:39 pm
at the bar
I understand we disagree about the dawgs and stuff….but as in Football, do you think the Bills are the real deal this year?
Ivan Clapper
September 25th, 2011
11:40 pm
I loves das dawgs vhen da win but Good Golly Helga, ve hates dem when da loses…………….Vemember dat true Dawg Vans……………….:)
Still@theBAR
September 25th, 2011
11:40 pm
kerryb you haven’t seen tech’s kickoff then if you don’t like some of UGA special teams. We did get a blocked punt against UNC though.
Delbert D.
September 25th, 2011
11:40 pm
Unless someone is trying to use stats to place a big bet in Vegas, Why does Georgia beating Ole Miss worse or not worse matter? Georgia does in fact play Vanderbilt this year.
Still@theBAR
September 25th, 2011
11:41 pm
Gailey with a Harvard QB…………..AHHAHAHAHAHA who would have ever made bets on 3-0?
drbasic
September 25th, 2011
11:42 pm
come on kerryb, i am with you, but it is simply some justified football questions, that might get reasonable answers without much hate as it is a common denominator, and i am willing to talk football with any logical person
kerryb
September 25th, 2011
11:42 pm
I don’t know if it’s because of the new KO rule but it doesn’t seem like teams are playing good special teams this year. It’s like they are not practicing it much because they think they are not going to get a lot of run backs anyway.
Still@theBAR
September 25th, 2011
11:43 pm
Delbert
good call. you can watch the Dawgs on TV I want tell Super.
drbasic
September 25th, 2011
11:43 pm
my thoughts exactly!!!
kerryb
September 25th, 2011
11:44 pm
Delbert D. , I posted all of that because Still@theBAR was trying to imply that Vandy was better than us because they, in his words, crushed Ole Miss and he didn’t think we did.
Still@theBAR
September 25th, 2011
11:44 pm
Tech kicker is kiccking HIGH and to the 20 because he can’t get it to the EZ enough of the time. What a waste of a scholarship.
drbasic
September 25th, 2011
11:45 pm
kerryb
i might be wrong but i think i heard someone say special teams practice was limited to 5 minutes….i just don’t see that getting the job done
kerryb
September 25th, 2011
11:46 pm
5 Minutes? no wondering everyone is stinking on special teams.
Still@theBAR
September 25th, 2011
11:47 pm
drbasic That had to be someone joking because of how bad they looked. I would think more time has to be spent that that.
kerryb
September 25th, 2011
11:47 pm
I guess they don’t want anyone hurt on special teams. if they are going to make it a wimpy practice then why don’t every drive just start at the 25 yard line and forget it?
drbasic
September 25th, 2011
11:49 pm
i thought so also, and even suggested the same, but no he was serious, i thought what could be gained at all with 5 minutes???
Nice
September 25th, 2011
11:49 pm
@kerryb.
Ha ha…I knew the “we should have won 36-0″ arguement would happen sooner or later.
It’s really bothering you that Vandy beat Ole Miss worse than UGA huh?
Still@theBAR
September 25th, 2011
11:50 pm
kerryb
after seeing Clem 7 Sons speed used on kicks and punts i would maybe like to see Tech just kick the ball out of bounds a few times. I ain’t kidding either.
kerryb
September 25th, 2011
11:51 pm
Nice, not arguing the stupid, ” Vandy beat them worse”, issue anymore. Done with it.
Nice
September 25th, 2011
11:51 pm
And when you get in you time machine, and go back and correct all of UGA’s mistakes, please remember one thing….you have to let Ole Miss do the same thing.
It is the dumbest thing ever to, after the game has been played, go back and try to change the score. Yeah, I guess if you take back all of teams mistakes, then you play a perfect game and win every time. I’ve just never seen that actually happen.
Still@theBAR
September 25th, 2011
11:51 pm
Hell just make the kickoff taems have to be all Walk-ons LOL.
drbasic
September 25th, 2011
11:52 pm
NEVER thought i would see Walsh kick the ball out of bounds again with his leg…..i think he is in a funk or something
kerryb
September 25th, 2011
11:52 pm
Still@theBAR , Do you guys play Clemson next week?
Nice
September 25th, 2011
11:53 pm
Kerryb…that’s fine.
I’ve always said that, according to UGA fans, only two things happen when UGA plays…..either UGA makes great plays, or they make mistakes. The opposing team apparently has nothing to do with the outcome.
drbasic
September 25th, 2011
11:54 pm
Nice……….be nice………..we quit arguing………don’t stir the pot again tonight…..please
Still@theBAR
September 25th, 2011
11:54 pm
No @ NCSU Clem&Sons here in a few weeks. like Oct. 18th or so.
kerryb
September 25th, 2011
11:54 pm
Nice, Don’t care
Still@theBAR
September 25th, 2011
11:55 pm
LOOK my team has never lost a game. It is ALWAYS those Damn REFs fault.
Delbert D.
September 25th, 2011
11:55 pm
kerryb – I understand, and having blogged with you for over a year, I enjoy your perspective and I can see your reason for presenting your facts and observations. I watched Vandy last night just to try to get a better read on them. Anticipation of what may come next is a more fruitful pursuit and more enjoyable, for me at least, than dwelling on the last game. One can’t ignore the data points from previous games, but I think one needs to project by figuring in many other factors.
kerryb
September 25th, 2011
11:56 pm
That Clemson game is going to be tough. My Brother-in-law is a Clemson grad and I go to a couple of games with him a year. Went to the Tech game last year. I was at the Auburn vs Clemson game and that team has a lot of speed. They may be the surprise team in the ACC this year.
Nice
September 25th, 2011
11:57 pm
Of course you don’t kerryb…that’s what happens when you somebody actually has an opinion based in reality and clear thought.
drbasic
September 25th, 2011
11:57 pm
most mommas have made their little trolls go to bed for school tomorrow, but this old man needs to do the same, so i will say goodnight to you kerryb and sill@the Bar and lord willing will talk to you both later!
kerryb
September 25th, 2011
11:58 pm
Delbert D. , they look like their pass defense is pretty good but they don’t stop the run as well.