‘Hotline’ chatter on the shotgun and UGA’s red zone blues
Should Mike Bobo be trying something other than the shotgun in the red zone? (AJC File)
I caught most of Mark Richt’s segment of “Bulldog Hotline” Monday night and some of Hondo and the all stars, and a theme that kept cropping up in comments from callers was concern over Georgia’s ineffectiveness in the red zone and especially when in the shotgun formation.
Richt noted correctly that Georgia uses the shotgun elsewhere on the field, not just in the red zone, and said he’d have to go back and watch some film to see whether the shotgun has really been responsible for the Dogs’ problems down close to the goal line.
I’m hoping that wasn’t just a sop to the caller and that Richt really does plan on taking a look at what’s going wrong for the Dogs in the red zone, where they’ve been more times than any other SEC team (20 trips so far this season in conference games) but have gotten touchdowns only 10 times. With the fallback to attempting a field goal no longer a sure thing with Blair Walsh, that’s going to be especially problematic as the level of competition rises down the stretch.
Certainly, there are times the shotgun works well, especially when there’s a lot of field ahead and Isaiah Crowell is at tailback. He likes space.
But Mike Bobo’s penchant for switching gears once he hits the red zone and abandoning what got him there has been a recurring complaint the past few seasons. Yes, as Richt noted Monday night, you have less room to work with the closer you get to the end zone. But it’s pretty obvious what Georgia’s doing down there isn’t as effective as what it’s doing between the 20s.
So what do you think? Are you like the “Hotline” callers who think the Dogs should dump the shotgun and stick to working out of the I-formation once they get in the red zone, or do you see some other solution?
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351 comments Add your comment
TampaDawg
October 18th, 2011
4:55 pm
While you’re at it Thomas Brown, why don’t you pull up the QB rating stats for us? Oh nevermind, I’ll do it.
1. Tyler Bray 165.25
2. Tyler Wilson 152.91
3. Jarrett Lee 152.42
4. Aaron Murray 150.33
5. AJ McCarron 148.63
6. Barrett Trotter 125.34
7. Chris Relf 112.37
TampaDawg
October 18th, 2011
4:56 pm
Good points Flat Tire. And agree with you on what to do with Bobo. They did have some good years with Stafford and Moreno just not quite NC years.
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
October 18th, 2011
4:56 pm
TampaDawg
While we argue about UGA and seem to disagree most of the time
I would like to say I appreciate your sacrifice for our country
TampaDawg
October 18th, 2011
4:59 pm
Putting any UF, Vols, or Auburn loss up there during the 2000s and calling it a “cupcake” is one for the ages. You look at records of these teams only but disregard the quality of the team stepping up for the rivalry game itself. Look at some of the lesser UGA teams that have beaten some of those very same teams, even GT the year that GT won their conference. That wasn’t a great UGA team but they beat a highly ranked GT team. Just more spewed and skewed crap Thomas Brown.
Thomas Brown
October 18th, 2011
5:00 pm
LakeDawg,
Georgia’s lack of 3rd Down Conversions lost us all the games we lost last year and lost us all the games we lost this year to-date. That is Nine (9) Losses and Counting, and yes those are ALL with Aaron Murray as the Starting UGA QB. If David Greene was GREAT because he WON the most games in NCAA history at the time as our Starting QB, then the same measurement can be used to say that he is de-throned by Aaron Murray. Aaron Murray is NO David Greene, sir.
TampaDawg
October 18th, 2011
5:02 pm
Thanks Flat Tire, and I wouldn’t say, from many of the posts I have read of yours, that we disagree most of the time. Just on the quality of CMR’s overall record since coming to UGA. Georgia had a mediocre team at best for more than a decade before CMR took over. Same can’t be said for many of the years afterwards. Now lets’ go beat on Thomas Brown for a bit.
Thomas Brown
October 18th, 2011
5:02 pm
UF vols are Auburn those years, TampaDawg, is NO WORSE than UGA.
I presume UGA was not a CUPCAKE last season ?
Huh ?
Thomas Brown
October 18th, 2011
5:03 pm
TampaDawg,
Why don’t you clock out and go home ?
Or, is this your job ?
TampaDawg
October 18th, 2011
5:05 pm
Thomas Brown
October 18th, 2011
5:03 pm
TampaDawg,
Why don’t you clock out and go home ?
Or, is this your job ?
——————————–
Really? From you????? Mr. Blog all night AND all day is going to ask if this is someone else’s job? Un freaking real. You just want me to leave the blog today so you can vomit all your worthless info that makes no sense in the end to anyone but you.
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
October 18th, 2011
5:06 pm
TampaDawg
I would also like to say
Im not the foaming at the mouth fan who thinks UGA is suppose to play for the national championship though with the resources we have we should be in the hunt every other year
But
When the state of Georgia is ranked
#3 in producing 4 and 5 star athletes
Top 5 in recruiting for 20+ years
Uga ranks #1 during Richts tenure in putting players in the NFL
Uga ranks #2 in money
And you cant beat FL unless they fire their coach or they are really bad
You have to hope FL loses out to go to an SEC championship game
You have a 500 record against top 25 teams
You have a losing record against top 10 teams
All while banking almost $40 million since you have been here
You know and I know with results like that in the real job world we would have been fired years ago.
TampaDawg
October 18th, 2011
5:06 pm
Face it, you’re not even a real dawg fan. No real dawg fan would have this much negative crap to say about EVERYTHING. Nice to see that as soon as you show up, RunDawg conveniently is gone.
TampaDawg
October 18th, 2011
5:07 pm
Flat Tire, I am not a fan of the UF record myself. But, he hasn’t banked NEARLY as much salary as $40 million. He got the $3 million plus contract back in 2008 and before that was under $1 million a year I believe.
TampaDawg
October 18th, 2011
5:08 pm
http://www.aolnews.com/2008/03/07/georgias-mark-richt-gets-raise-to-fifth-highest-paid-sec-foot/
YellaWood
October 18th, 2011
5:10 pm
@TampaDawg
I agree. This guy can’t be a real Dawg fan. He’s not in denial.
hobnail
October 18th, 2011
5:13 pm
Different topic. With Lattimore and Garcia gone, I think it likely that South Carolina will lose at least one more SEC game and the Dawgs will win the SEC East. Of course they will be blown out of the SEC Champ. game (whether against ‘Bama or LSU, with our offensive line we’ll be lucky to get 150 yds. total offense) but at least the SEC East crown will help recruiting.
Joey
October 18th, 2011
5:23 pm
“Aaron Murray is NO David Greene, sir.”
************************
You are correct on that, Thomas. I get nostalgic about the era of the Davids, but I honestly cannot remember Greene losing a game for us with turnovers. Murray has lost a few close games with multiple turnovers, several for scores.
I just hope he can beat UF and Auburn and put an end to the critics.
Archie@Arkham Asylum
October 18th, 2011
5:33 pm
@War Dang Dawg: I remember in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s ( Since the New York Jets won the Super Bowl) a lot of football players at all levels had Prince Valiant hairstyles and consequently, the hair hung out of their helmets. One of the most imitated players of that time was “Broadway Joe” Namath, so I guess we could blame it on him but the late 1960’s and the early 1970’s were the post-Beatles period that turned barbers into hair stylists, so I guess it was just a sign of the times (like today!).
NY Dawg
October 18th, 2011
5:39 pm
UGA not even in the top ten nationally in money spent on football. Tcu outspent us in 2010. That is a huge probleml. OSU #1, Bama #2. Say what you want, but you have to spend to win. We are not even in the top 5 in the SEC. Looking for a reason we are not winning, this is a start.
http://espn.go.com/blog/ncfnation/post/_/id/36551/sec-teams-spending-top-dollar
NY Dawg
October 18th, 2011
5:40 pm
Oh, and UGA is 5-2 so I guess we are winning something!
Bob
October 18th, 2011
5:46 pm
@NY Dawg…look who we’re beating. For $3M a year, I know we can do a lot better. What’s the combined record of the teams we’ve beaten this year? And who is taking responsibility for our special teams? Ya’ll have got to quit living in the past and face reality.
Ron Zook, Illinois HC
October 18th, 2011
5:56 pm
You want to see some poor play-calling decisions? Get the game tape of our game with OSU. I defy you to find someone who can screw things up worse than me with the game on the line. I laid a few eggs when I was at UF, too. I can recruit, but I can’t manage a game…
Full Back
October 18th, 2011
6:02 pm
Use the Fullback, handoff or throw to him, he’s bigger than most of the linemen you will face and he has the hands and the speed to get you places. I formation or shotgun, give the ball to Figgins.
duronimo
October 18th, 2011
6:03 pm
Bobo is a nice person. I like a much of what he does, especially his stretching the field by going deep. So many times there is a person running open but the quarter back simply misses him. But Bobo does at times simply quit what’s working for no descernable reason. Could it be that he bows to the “balanced offense” philosophy to the point that it becomes more important than conintuing to go with what’s clearly working. With that said, I do believe he can be a great offensive coordinator.
Bob
October 18th, 2011
6:07 pm
@Ron Zook…you still beat us two out of three; another reason to fire Richt.
tide roll
October 18th, 2011
6:22 pm
Bobo, like your offense, ain’t going nowhere. He’s Vince Dooley’s nephew by marriage (in other words, he’s married to Barb’s niece). It makes it virtually impossible to make a change, even with an objective evaluation. Even if he were the best offensive coordinator in the world (which is obviously NOT the case), due to these relationships, he should never have been allowed to assume such a vital position. It’s an incredible conflict of interest. The University and especially Richt, should never have put the football program in this predicament. However, knowing the Preacher Man, the only way he allowed it to happen was because he stood to gain financially. Know what I mean? He benefits personally at the expense of the program. After all, that’s the “GEORGIA WAY.” No wonder you’re the most under achieving program in America. Your staff, other than the group Houston “You’re right, I’m a” Nutt has put together , is the worst in the conference. They proved that yet again Sat. night vs. Vandy. VANDY!
NCDawg
October 18th, 2011
6:22 pm
The Red Zone issue is clearly a symptom of poor line play. We can’t power the football most of the time so we spread it and do it that way. There are tons of teams that can move it between the twenties and then have problems in the Red Zone The Dawg’s defense used to make a living stiffening in the red zone and bend but don’t break between the twenties. The toughest thing is we should be able to power the ball and can’t. I’ve noticed it for years. The blocking schemes are too complicated or something.
It may also be why our linemen go down so much. They are asked to move all over the place and expose themselves to knee and ankle injuries. Coach Richt…if you read this stuff please look at this for everyone’s sake. Please?
Desert Fox
October 18th, 2011
6:53 pm
Omens from the sec office. May be w/o CTG and Geathers for FL game, IMO.
Harry Dawg
October 18th, 2011
7:04 pm
I just want to know how that new contract is coming Richt?
LakeDawg
October 18th, 2011
7:13 pm
Thomas Brown
October 18th, 2011
5:00 pm
LakeDawg,
Georgia’s lack of 3rd Down Conversions lost us all the games we lost last year and lost us all the games we lost this year to-date……
————————————————————————————————————————————-
You’ve got me confused with LawDawg. This is my first post on this blog.
LakeDawg
October 18th, 2011
7:15 pm
Geathers will probably get a suspension. If Grantham gets one then Muschump should be suspended also. He looks like Grantham at the end of the Vandy game on every play.
MATHDAWG
October 18th, 2011
7:17 pm
WE NEED TO DUMP BOBO, NOT THE SHOTGUN. HE MAY BE A GOOD QB COACH, BUT HE STINKS AS AN O.C.. THIS IS NOT A “NEW” PROBLEM. IT GOES ALL THE WAY BACK TO WHEN M. RICHT PROMOTED HIM TO O.F. BECAUSE THE FANS AND MEDIA PRESSURED HIM TO HAVE AN O.F. RICHT IS THE REAL PROBLEM. FIRE HIM AND ALL HIS BUNCH OF CLOWNS AT THE END OF THE SEASON.
jack bull
October 18th, 2011
7:33 pm
Bobo doesn’t trust his QB. We didn’t have this issue with Greene, Shockley, or Stafford….too short!
Niceville Dawg
October 18th, 2011
7:36 pm
Lake Dawg,Thomas Brown confuses everything and everyone.Just don’t ever confuse him with a true dawg fan.
the REAL PHIL
October 18th, 2011
7:36 pm
“IT GOES ALL THE WAY BACK TO WHEN M. RICHT PROMOTED HIM TO O.F. BECAUSE THE FANS AND MEDIA PRESSURED HIM TO HAVE AN O.C.”
I Think it’s absolutely hilarious that someone thinks the fans and the media can have the slightest bit of influence on the operations of any department of a major university.
And also I was wondering what OC positions are coming open next year? There are enough qualified people on this blog alone to fill all high school, college and NFL positions that might be open. Chief among them is Bill and his brother second. The rest of you will just have to take what ever is left over after Bill and his brother take the high profile jobs.
Dawg89
October 18th, 2011
8:05 pm
How long do you stick with a kicker that has made barely 50% of his kicks? Did anybody ask that question?
I bet bill doesn’t read this far into his posts. By this point, he is just looking at numbers.
snoopdawg
October 18th, 2011
8:10 pm
I dont know what to think about this debate but what I can say is Vandy has never been in the top 25 in recruiting period. How can they compete with UGA and scare us and actually should have won the game in the end. Our offense is anemic because of its coordinator. If anyone thinks we are saving something, we should quit playing football. As bad as we have played is just a ridiculous thought to say we are saving something. FOR WHAT? The tech game? Our offense scheme doesnt exist or actually, we don’t have one. If you look at the best programs they have plays which set up other plays for success, whether it is repitition, or simply influencing a defense to either play the run or pass depending on what you need. If it weren’t for individual excellence by certain players we would not win a game. Thank GOD for the dream team because without them this team would have won 1 game. Simply put, you can’t be the best unless if you best in every role including up and down the coaching staff.
Josh
October 18th, 2011
8:12 pm
The key to effective offense is keeping the defense off balance. So I sqy don’t complete ly leave the gun, but mix in the I. I eould even like to see some power formations. Let Crowell run behind figgins and X. Ogletree, or even samuel behing them, or crowell behind figgins and samuel.
BigMike
October 18th, 2011
8:42 pm
Unbelievable. You folks are wrapped up in the comments of a blogger whose credentials are “lifelong bulldog fan and former coke vendor in sanford stadium”? Shotgun in the red zone? Really? The problems with this football program are so deep and profound – Recruiting is so far behind Bama, LSU, Florida, Auburn,even Tennessee – we have a guy leading our strength and conditioning who has been breaking down film for 25 years, our D-Line coach and recruiting coordinator has us kicked out of some of the most fertile high schools in this state (Stephenson, for one), we have not produced 1st or 2nd round NFL talent on Defense in years, our special teams are a DISASTER, we have not stopped a good team when it mattered in 5 years (Tech had 600 + yards of offense last year), Searles ran the O-line into the ground, and you want to focus on us running out of the shotgun in the RedZone? Take a look at the big picture, please. What Bobo is doing is AMAZING, given this O-line, a true freshman tailback, and a true freshman Wide Receiver. Criticizing play calling is so tired and over rated. Please try to see the big picture and true problems with this football program. I can assure you that Mike Bobo is the best coach on that staff, bar none, and by FAR the best recruiter. Give him some credit. Bill King, I have no idea what your beef is with this guy, and I can not believe this Liberal paper prints your trash every week. Your credentials are a joke and you prove week in and week out that your knowledge of the UGA football program is very tiny. You know nothing of the inner workings in Athens. Do me a favor, when you mention Mike the next time, tell people how he spent 13 straight nights in Valdosta, away from a wife and 5 children, to get Malcolm Mitchell to commit to this program. These stories are numerous, and I can assure you the other coaches in this league know of them. Ask yourself if the other coaches on this staff are working this hard. Be better than getting on play calling – especially when your team scores 33 points.
Top Dog
October 18th, 2011
8:51 pm
God I hate this newspaper!!! Go Dawgs!!!
RanDawg
October 18th, 2011
8:55 pm
-We should use the I almost exclusively in the Red Zone…it gives you so many more options and doesn’t telegraph your play to the defense.Also,get Figgins more involved;sweeps with him blocking,running short-yardage up the middle,or throwing short to him.
Jimmy
October 18th, 2011
8:57 pm
Dump Bobo. He is terrible. He’s theron problem with the Dawgs. Give him the pink slip and get him out of town. The sooner the better.
MarineDog
October 18th, 2011
9:09 pm
HYPOTHETICAL QUESTION: If UGA wins out, makes it to the SECG and by some MIRACLE beats either Bama or LSU, will there be complaints that we kept the SEC out of the championship game?
beat FLA
October 18th, 2011
9:36 pm
Big Mike. It sounds like you know what you are talking about. I agree. I don’t think the experience of the transition from VCR, DVD, to Digital and breaking down film over the past 15 years is relevant to developing the modern athlete during the off season.
CHUCK UGA
October 18th, 2011
9:45 pm
I think the only sensible thing to do is go to the I-Formation in the red zone (was deadly against Boise State) and then dump Bobo after the season. He has done this crap his entire career as OC. Mental lapses and just plain choking on the play-calling is his hallmark. If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it 1,000 times, he belongs on a high school sideline. And Richt needs to innovate wth his offensive playbook and bring it into the current decade, not what was working at FSU against Division-1AA competition (otherwise known as the ACC competition back then).
CHUCK UGA
October 18th, 2011
9:49 pm
I withdraw my comment after reading Big Mike’s post. Is this Big Mike with the Bulldog painted on his head? Don’t want to get my arse kicked for damning Bobo. Maybe I’m a little harsh. BUT maybe it’s time for Kirby Smart to come home (he would keep Bobo by the way). Big Mike’s points are completely accurate. Probably the best assessment of the program I’ve seen in three years.
MarineDog
October 18th, 2011
9:55 pm
Big Mike,
Outstanding analysis! Probably the best so far!
Noble Lesley Devotie
October 18th, 2011
10:16 pm
I here ya Big Mike…..Your comments are spot on and nothing could be more true than your feelings on the current state of our program. There are some glaring and obvious issues surrounding our team that both the blind loyalist and Richt hatters can’t get through their heads.
We are a second tier program at this point and have been for several years now. Some may say 3 years, others may say 4 or 5 years and some may even say we have been a second tier program for as much as the last 6 years. I guess it depends on who you ask and how much they really know and understand big time SEC football other than coming to a few games a year or getting on one of these blogs or recruiting sites in the evening because their significant other want let them get any.
The bottom line is that we have been out foxed, out coached, out recruited and out hustled, out worked and without question out smarted and out motivated by just about everybody else that matters in this league. Ask yourself, does Kentucky, Vanderbilt, MSU, Ole Miss, really matter ? The fact that we even worry about a tough game against these programs it a freaking joke. Obviously there are some strong programs across the league and there always will be. There was a time when we prepared for South Carolina with a certain amount of anticipation, but I don’t know to many Dawgs out there that up until lately ever in a million years could have imagined be really worried about playing South Carolina….home or away. My how times have changed. There was a time not so many years ago that Gerry Denardo was the coach down in Baton Rouge and they were the laughing stock of the WEST. There was a time when Alabama went through 4 freaking coaches and couldn’t beat anybody that mattered. Anybody that know SEC football knows what and who I’m talking about.
When Coach Richt got to Georgia he was an unproven, basically unknown commodity that was hired out of know where. He came into a situation, program and players that were starving for something real and meaningful. Coach Richt didn’t do anything all that special from a coaching standpoint. Vangorder was an obvious diamond in the rough, sure he made some gutsy calls in some tough games that went his way, but lets talk real for a minute here.
Coach Richt did the one thing that know body else in the country could have done at that time and place. He came from the single most dominate, most dynamic, most exciting and most proven program in the modern football era and brought that mind set to Athens. Not only did he talk about how we did things down in Tallahassee….he acted on it and put it into action from day one. Anyone that would argue with me on this is just plain stupid. Sure, Coach Donna left him a full pantry of players…..but those players needed and wanted the direction and dream that he was selling.
It’s hard to argue with some of the great things that have happened during Coach Richts time in Athens. All you suckers out there dogging the man now were trying to say you knew the man, or had a football or hat signed by the coach hanging in you house or office back in the day. I can promise you all one thing for sure……nobody will ever get that close to Mark Richt because that’s obviously not his style so just forget about that and honestly that doesn’t really matter in the big picture.
The real problem with our program is the fact that we don’t have the same level of talent across the
across the board as the other top tier teams in the league. If you don’t see this then you are just plain blind. That is a product of the system and program what you are trying to sale kids on. Ask yourself…..if you were a top defensive back in the country and you were trying to decide where to play college football. On Tuesday night you’re sitting in your home with your mama, your daddy and a couple of cousins…….you ‘re sitting there listening to Scott Lakatos and Todd Grantham, and God help us hopefully RG isn’t there that night. Oh yeah….I forgot he only recruits the one’s he thinks can play…….. break down what’s going to happen over the next couple of years in Athens. We have this kind of defense and this is where you fit in. I was the line coach for the Cowboys for a few years and my boy here Lakatos was up in the North East coaching……” Scott, where did you say you were coaching last year “? What a freaking joke ! Then on Thursday night you’re sitting in your house and Nick Saban and Kirby Smart stop by and they give you their pitch. They describe their background…..what they do on defense and how they are going to prepare you for the next level. Then they look you in the eyes and they say… ” Son, here’s what I know….if you do what we tell you to do and you listen and learn and study film and work your ass off…..you will be the most prepared most dominate corner, free safety, middle line backer in the country. If you are willing to make the commitment to yourself, your family and us as a program….we will take care of the rest. If you are not willing to commit yourself to this kind of deal…..and you think for one minute….you can screw around and take plays off…..and not do what we ask of you and teach you…..there will be somebody out there who will take your place and be an All American, All Pro, All world player instead of you. Oh by the way, I have learned from some of the best coaches at all levels and I have won multiple national titles at multiple schools in this league and if for some reason I decide to retire or move on in my career…..this guy sitting here beside me will pick up right were I left off and take you and this program to even higher levels of success in the future. ” So….son……what do you think ? Let’s run out together in front of 106,000 of the most critical fans on earth and make a name for yourself and win a few titles along the way.
Substitute Less Miles and Chavis for Nick and Kirby and and take that same situation across the stae of Louisiana or even over @ Stephenson High in Atlanta ( Petterson rink a bell ) he’s wore # 11 if you need a reminder.
As far as the offense goes….it ain’t BOBO’s fault. Aaron Murrray is average at best, the line sucks and will suck until you get some bad asses who want to block and get nasty. The receivers are pitiful except for Mitchell and like BIG Mike noted earlier……if not for Bobo and Lilly he would be in T Town catching bombs from AJ. Trust me…I know my %$#&. As far as Crowell goes……If you don’t think he is the real deal….then again you are just plain stupid. Let WF get out there and talk to some of these top recruits……he can get the one’s that we want and need. Again….trust me I know my %&#@ !
The FSU…..finish the drill pitch is old and tired. It’s time for somebody in the BM to finish the drill. Go out and beat somebody you aren’t supposed to beat…..hell beat 2 or 3 teams in a season that you’re not supposed to beat. Prove all of the hatters wrong and reach down and get some guts and just beat somebody that matters for once. It’s time for this program to get on the buss or get the F off the buss and get out of the way.
PowerDawg
October 18th, 2011
10:30 pm
Why doesn’t someone in the press, someone who has direct access to Bobo during interviews, call him on it? Make him own up to why he does what he does? Put his feet to the fire and tell him that a lot of people, who spend a lot of money on this program, want to know. Why does he take his foot off the gas when the momemtum is on our side? Or let an opponent up for air when he should be stomping on their throat?
If you aren’t going to ask these questions, if your’e afraid to go there, then stop writing all this speculative drivel!
Bill King
October 18th, 2011
10:38 pm
Dawg 89:
You lose your bet.
Buckhead Bulldog
October 18th, 2011
10:46 pm
Richt is taking advice from radio call ins and radio announcers? Really? He has to go back and review film on this issue? Really?
Wow! I would never in my wildest dreams that the MAIN, #1, overseer of the UGA football team, and he has not noticed Bobo’s crappy play calling not only in the red zone but all through his calls.