Big questions temper optimism as Dogs look ahead to 2012
Georgia returns a lot of talent, including Aaron Murray, but still has some major concerns to deal with in 2012. (Associated Press)
A week ago, in the wake of the SEC’s 2012 schedule being announced, optimism was running wild in the Bulldog Nation.
This week, after watching the Dogs again collapse in the second half amid continued problems with special teams play and establishing a running game, many Georgia fans are tempering their optimism.
The Dogs still may start out next season as a Top 10 team based on a load of returning talent and an even more favorable schedule than this year’s, but there will be some big challenges, especially if the team is hit with major losses to the NFL. Orson Charles going pro would hurt, but the chance of the defense possibly losing two or three underclassmen is more worrisome.
Meanwhile, the offensive line, which was good enough against middling teams this season but gave up 33 sacks and faltered against the four best defenses Georgia faced, will lose three senior starters and will have little returning experience.
The Dogs will have to replace both their placekicker and their punter and still haven’t solved the problem of spotty special teams play overall.
Record-setting QB Aaron Murray will return but has some ball security problems to deal with (his turnovers when pressured or scrambling played a major role in three of the Dogs’ four losses), and Georgia could lose what little backup experience it has at the position if Hutson Mason decides to transfer.
And then there’s the running game, which went from inconsistent to pathetic late in the season as Isaiah Crowell found myriad ways to stay off the field. The bright spot there in 2012 is the arrival of Keith Marshall and probably at least one other freshman tailback, but we learned this season that signing a five-star recruit at that position is no guarantee of long-term success.
So, yes, Georgia reeled off 10 wins in a row this season and took the SEC East but as Mark Richt said, “our guys had a good year, not a great year,” losing to the four teams they played that ended up ranked in the Top 20 while getting their wins against teams that finished the season unranked.
All of which raises this question: Were the 2011 Dogs that much better than the 2010 team that finished 6-7, or was the SEC East title more a function of scheduling?
I think the answer is a qualified yes, the Dogs were much improved — mainly on defense. But they remained, as Richt noted, far from a great team. There’s no denying that a schedule that didn’t include the toughest teams from the SEC West probably was the biggest factor in Georgia’s 2011 turnaround.
They’ll get that break again next season. But it’s going to take more than that for Richt and company to improve on a 10-4 record.
Got something on your mind concerning UGA athletics or a question for the Junkyard Blawg? Send it to junkyardblawg@gmail.com.
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828 comments Add your comment
Mike
January 4th, 2012
12:12 pm
A couple of other points I forgot:
1) Murray is just a sophomore who is getting little or no help from the running game. Too many 3rd and long situations which is compounding the mistakes. He will be better next year for sure.
2) Bobo needs to do a better job finding ways to gain positive yardage. If the running game isnt working, be creative instead of constantly running up the gut for no gain. It puts Murray and the line in too many bad situations and makes the offense far too predictable. He tends to start games being creative, but needs to continue that for 4 quarters.
3) UGA’s losses (other than South Carolina) were to some very veteran ball clubs with Senior leadership. Kellen Moore, Kurt Cousins, Jefferson/Lee for LSU…all senior leaders. How many times did you hear about a 5th year Senior making a play for MSU? A lot by my memory. Urban Meyer didnt win more than ten games or even win the East with his young team led by Tebow. UGA is young. This was not a shameful season by any means.
Bipolar Dawg
January 4th, 2012
12:12 pm
Offensive line not good enough that lead to the fall of dawgs nation dammet.
Mike
January 4th, 2012
12:14 pm
I agree here too!
DawginLex
January 4th, 2012
10:48 am
in order to improve, changes must be made. No changes, no big wins
1.) Hire an NFL caliber offensive coordinator and give him full control of the offense just like Grantham does with the D
2.) Keep Mike Bobo on staff as QB coach and recruiter
3.) fire our running backs coach and replace him with a coach who understands and teaches the importance of securing the football and running downhill
4.) Place Richt in charge of special teams and play scholarship players and go back to making this unit a difference maker
5.) Throw all the money you can get to secure Todd Grantham
6.) Give Richt a 2 year extension ONLY if he agrees with all of the above
JDW
January 4th, 2012
12:15 pm
No doubt we were improved, particularly on the D. But unless we learn to excel at special teams and develop a “Killer Instinct” on offense we have hit our ceiling.
Mike
January 4th, 2012
12:16 pm
I would also agree that the O line needs an overhaul. Again I dont think the Seniors leaving will be missed all that much. Its time to get some younger guys in that havent spent most of their career being coached by Searles. O line might actually be better next year in its second year under a new OL coach.
AtlGuy
January 4th, 2012
12:17 pm
BluesDog, agree with everything you wrote. Genius!
True Dawg Fan
January 4th, 2012
12:18 pm
Spot on Dawgn Lex. Bobo needs to be demoted to QB coach but then promoted to head recruiter as almost all of these recruits love Bobo.
Richt was once in charge of special teams and we were rather good then, actually went after a couple punts and blocked them and field goals too. Its something that we have been lacking ever since WV faked a second kick against us in the Sugar Bowl when it was in Atlanta, to seal the game. Its like they have never practiced for a fake punt in their life, and every team out there can see that about us. Richt needs to take control once again and get after it.
As for Richts extension he needs at least 3 years. That will give the recruits for 2012 and 2013 piece of mind that he will be there for their entire 4 years. 2 years almost seems like we dont trust Richt to continue the turn around.
I agree with getting rid of Bmac and it needs to be done as soon as signing day comes and goes. He has no business at that spot to begin with.
And most def get a new OC form the pro level. With this recipe the ship gets completely righted and we are on a path to be “GREAT”
AtlGuy
January 4th, 2012
12:19 pm
Murray actually got worse in just about every way:
1) Yards
2) passing accuracy
3) passing rating
4) 0-4 record against top 20 teams
Murray will not “get better next year”.
GT Theo
January 4th, 2012
12:23 pm
An Inconvenient Truth
US News Ranking
GT: 36
UGA: 62
Endowment Size
GT: $1.5 BILLION
UGA: $600 million
Avg. Starting Salary
GT: $59,000
UGA: $44,000
Football
GT: 4 National Titles (1990)
UGA: 2 National Titles (1980)
Basketball
GT: 2 Final Fours, Chris Bosh, Derrick Favors, Thaddeus Young, Jarrett Jack
UGA: 1 Final Four.
Baseball
GT: Mark Teixeira, Nomar Garciaparra, Kevin Brown, Matt Weiters
UGA: Gordon Beckham.
Golf
GT: Matt Kuchar, Stewart Cink, David Duval, Bryce Molder
UGA: Bubba Watson.
GT is a GLOBAL brand. UGA is a regional brand.
It appears obvious that UGA is the “flagship” in name only.
AtlGuy
January 4th, 2012
12:25 pm
Murray got worse in 2011:
1) passing yards per game
2) passer rating
3) yards per attempt
4) completion accuracy
5) interceptions
Got worse in every category except 2. Did throw for more td’s and total yards.
Long-Time Dawg
January 4th, 2012
12:26 pm
Bill … your points are very valid. Our special teams played directly onto 3 of our losses as well as turnovers by Murray. In order for us to go to the next level, we must be able to run the football and take the pressure off Murray to carry the offense through throwing the football. A consistent running game will make Murray a much better quarterback ( and he is already pretty good). I am not a Bobo basher; however, having been an offensive coordinator and high school coach for over 30 years, I have consistently been frustrated by (1) his inablity or desire to adjust game plans throughout the game as defenses have adjusted to what we are doing; (2) his lack of imagination and diversity in offensive game plan; (3) his consistent ultra-conservatism when we get a lead with an apparent belief that the defense will win the game …. i.e. a lack of killer instinct to put teams away. I respect him as a QB coach and a valuable member of the staff, but, in my opinion, we will never be a consistent contender to win the SEC and be in the hunt for national championships as long as he is our offensive coordinator.
gbal
January 4th, 2012
12:28 pm
Blues dog – “Bobo is not the problem.
30 points against Mich St & 42 against South Carolina SHOULD be enough to get a win.”
Stats are misleading …
The Defense scored 2 points and the kick return by Sp team was another 7. So the offense actually scored 21 points.
The offense gave up 7 points on the int return and then another INT set up another 7. …. so can we say the offense gave up 10.5 points?
So the NET gain by the offense was 10.5 points in this game.??? Is that fair to say?
Then when the chips are down with 3+ minutes left, the D comes up with the int to preserve the win… we thought! We run 3 plays on offense and gain 2 yards and burn about 60 seconds off the clock to give MS the chance to tie the game in regulation.
Then in 3 OT’s, gain a total of zero yards.
Keep looking at your stats dude but it doesnt tell the real story.
Same Vs LSU (beginning of 2nd half)
Same VS SC
Boise??? I can remember?
FBGuy
January 4th, 2012
12:30 pm
Really concerned about the offense next season. The O line has got to play better and needs depth, otherwise nothing else matters. The running game also has to be improved for the Dawgs to get and keep a high ranking. But if the line can’t block and protect, and the backs can’t produce, then it doesn’t matter what happens with Murray. It won’t be good. And don’t be so sure that Murray has the position locked down;
AtlGuy
January 4th, 2012
12:31 pm
Murray = Jay Cutler without the arm strength and height
Jim
January 4th, 2012
12:33 pm
Before the game the Michigan papers were saying pressure on Murray would win this game. Isn’t it sad our coaches could see this and make the needed ajustments.
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January 4th, 2012
12:33 pm
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gbal
January 4th, 2012
12:34 pm
Then couldnt get a yard for the score in the 1st Q…..
53 yards rushing on 39 caries… An outback record for rushing defense..1.3 YPC….
Nom Nom Nom Chuck's Taylor, or Norris if he is avaliable
January 4th, 2012
12:37 pm
Current State of UGA football:
Looks like a Ferrari
Runs like a Honda
Nuff said
Nom Nom Nom Chuck's Taylor, or Norris if he is avaliable
January 4th, 2012
12:38 pm
Maybe they will get real smart and let CTG leave; that way it will run like a Fiat.
Rooster
January 4th, 2012
12:38 pm
Murray 23 interceptions and countless fumbles in two years, enough said. Cost UGA games for two years. He needs to ride the pine for a while but will not under Richt.
Pago Pago Dawg
January 4th, 2012
12:38 pm
At the start of OT, did you see how “jacked” up Sparty was?
At the start of OT did you see how “quiet” UGA side line was?
For 2012, the visitor will already have 14 pts on the board…thank you AM..sad..
AtlGuy
January 4th, 2012
12:43 pm
Mureray, aka Jay Cutler, runs this team.
Who cares about the gameplan.
This is Murray/Cutler’s team.
gbal
January 4th, 2012
12:47 pm
PAGO
We made some big individual plays in this game….
Safety for 2 points – Boykin
Boykin for 7 again on punt return.
AM to TK for 80 yard TD ….
Defense was together for most of the game and only gave up a couple of TD’s
But as a TEAM …. MS was fired up… together… and seemed to want it more.
AtlGuy
January 4th, 2012
12:47 pm
Murray & Cutrler both won a lot of games in high school, lost a lot of game in college, and had great INDIVIDUAL stats (no big wins).
AltamahaDawg
January 4th, 2012
12:47 pm
Filling those 15 vacant spots with actual SEC caliber back-ups will do wonders for the coverage teams.
gbal
January 4th, 2012
12:47 pm
… at the end.
LADawg
January 4th, 2012
12:50 pm
Virginia Tech used Richt’s OT strategy last night in the Sugar; two runs for short gains then a run to center the ball on the field. Kicker missed – game over. Two well respected head coaches who have more confidence in their kickers than their offensive personnel and coaches.
DG
January 4th, 2012
12:51 pm
Richt= Marty Schottenheimer: Nice guy, gets a lot of wins, great at rebuilding. Plays too consertive in key moments, and can’t win the big one.
Murray = Tony Romo: puts up nice stats, but makes dumb mistakes at moments. The bigger the game the worse he plays.
gbal
January 4th, 2012
12:51 pm
Blues dog – “Bobo is not the problem.
30 points against Mich St & 42 against South Carolina SHOULD be enough to get a win.”
Stats are misleading …
The Defense scored 2 points and the kick return by Sp team was another 7. So the offense actually scored 21 points.
The offense gave up 7 points on the int return and then another INT set up another 7. …. so can we say the offense gave up 10.5 points?
So the NET gain by the offense was 10.5 points in this game.??? Is that fair to say?
Then when the chips are down with 3+ minutes left, the D comes up with the int to preserve the win… we thought! We run 3 plays on offense and gain 2 yards and burn about 60 seconds off the clock to give MS the chance to tie the game in regulation.
Then in 3 OT’s, gain a total of zero yards.
Keep looking at your stats dude but it doesnt tell the real story.
Same Vs LSU (beginning of 2nd half)
Same VS SC
Ron Smith
January 4th, 2012
12:56 pm
Maybe for success in 2012 UGA should only schedule games with other schools who did not have winning records this season but you can’t play
Coastal Carolina every week. They would consistently win the East. No matter how many sacks, interceptions or fumbles Murray makes he would look great. Other suggestions might include not allowing field goals since the kicker can’t make them. No special team plays; no rushing -passing only please; publish UGA’s offensive game plan every week since other teams would already know anyhow.
Insanity really is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Please do something – anything as we sit by and watch UGA football continue it’s slide into becoming a mid-level program.
Pago Pago Dawg
January 4th, 2012
1:00 pm
PAGO goes to a Sparty game every year and always wore UGA stuff, guess what he’ll wear now….
Toledo Rockets stuff.
Move On
January 4th, 2012
1:07 pm
With ‘12 cupcake schedule, CMR should win NC; if not, outta here!!
schmeckdawg
January 4th, 2012
1:08 pm
Bluesdog
January 4th, 2012
11:33 am
1. Special teams will not be corrected. Richt is too stubborn to hire a Special Teams coach.
2. Running game went downhill after Ealey transferred, might have gone 12-2 with Ealey, he wasn’t injury prone like Crowell, and didn’t run out of gas in the 4th quarter like all the other backs do. Ealey scored 11 td’s in 2010, the entire line up opf RB’s couldn’t replace that total, no surprise, Richt made a big mistake running off Ealey.
3. Mettenberger would have performed much better than Murray has. So would Mason or Lemay. Murray is too turnover oriented, really just chucks the gameplan and starts making wild runs which result in fumbles in last 2 games (really going to convert a 3rd and 17 on a QB run) and terrible decision making when he gets tired, like 2nd half of SC, LSU and Mich St games where he threw multiple interceptions.
4. Team lacks mental toughness. Mich’s coach brought in Navy Seals to train leaders, Richt brings in an older trainer grandfather figure named Joe T? Too many missed field goals (14), too many turnovers under pressure, team just doesn’t handle pressure well. And Richt has no plan to change that.
*************************************************************************************************************
AMEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
barneyfife
January 4th, 2012
1:09 pm
Wholeheartedly agree with DawginLex @ 10:48 am with one exception:
Richt should not under any circumstances be given a contract extension!
AltamahaDawg
January 4th, 2012
1:12 pm
and if he is?
JB
January 4th, 2012
1:13 pm
Dawgs won 10 games this year for one reason. Superior athletes playing weak opponents. When matched with equal or superior talent, Dawgs lose. Also, Richt/Bobo refuse to juice up the offense with any changes. Very easy to scheme for. MSU knew our LB’s were trying to get to the QB, so they sent their WR’s deep to take our DB’s away, and hit the short passes with TE’s and RB’s. worked very well…..But hats off to the D. Great year. We don’t have the depth and when Richt/Bobo are nothing but 3 and outs in the second half, the D gets exposed….as most D’s would.Looks like Richt is here to stay. Our only hope is that McGarity ” forces” the obvious changes needed for that extension.
Bobo is Not the Problem
January 4th, 2012
1:15 pm
Here’s the way to get some optimism going for 2012: FIRE MARK RICHT.
Bobo is Not the Problem
January 4th, 2012
1:18 pm
“the offensive line, which was good enough against middling teams this season but gave up 33 sacks and faltered against the four best defenses Georgia faced”
The OL gave up 33 sacks in four games? Really? No way.
…
Oh, I think I see you were separating those two thoughts. Poor sentence structure. Back to writing class with you.
Joey
January 4th, 2012
1:18 pm
https://twitter.com/#!/D_Swann/status/154379175560626177/photo/1
JB
January 4th, 2012
1:20 pm
Bad timing or bad management. We have/had no depth on OL and very little on defense. I saw little to no subbing on defense and will all the 3 and out by Richt/Bobo in the second half, those guys just wore out. You would think in year 11 that’s not a problem. Someone on a earlier blog talked about all the walkons getting scholarships the past year and questioned as to why we have no depth. We have no players in the wings.
JB
January 4th, 2012
1:24 pm
If they polled all the season ticket holders about Richt TODAY, how do you guys think the results would come back in to keep him or try a new HC and staff. 65% to keep?
schmeckdawg
January 4th, 2012
1:29 pm
DawginLex
January 4th, 2012
11:47 am
How many points did the offense and special teams give to the ranked teams?
Kinda skews your stats huh?
***************************************************************************************************
DawginLex, you are 1,000% correct!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They should change that points against stat as it does not adequately project what the defense has given up; just like if a quarterback throws a good pass and the receiver pops it up in the air and it gets picked, that shouldn’t go on the QB. Now I have no idea on how this could be done, but, if it was like that, UGA’s defense points against would have probably been in the 14-15 ppg range this year!
Abnerish
January 4th, 2012
1:29 pm
1) The offensive scheme did a poor job accounting for the defenders. #2 was constantly in the backfield untouched. He wasn’t beating anyone physically, he was simply unblocked play after play. The coaches were not able to fix this problem.
2) In the rare instance that we actually put a helmet on #2, he beat our guy pretty consistently.
3) Aaron Murray’s two interceptions were not exactly poor throws or bad decisions. The first one was a miscommunication between him and King. That’s gonna happen. All you can do is learn from those. The 2nd INT was actually a tipped pass. The blame for that falls on the OL. Not Murray’s fault. that pass would’ve probably been completed had it not been tipped.
4) Before anyone thinks I’m just a Murray apologist, I do think that his play in the 2nd half and OT was pretty pathetic. He seemed to get flustered (as did the whole team) when MSU started to come back.
5) Hopefully, Richt will learn from this and remember that playing not to lose tends to do just the opposite. He has a very good QB that generally makes good decisions with the ball. Put your trust in him. Instead, he chose to trust the OL and our RBs and (for whatever reason) Blair Walsh. I am hopeful that someone showed him a tape of the Oklahoma State – Stanford game. OSU did not hesitate to trust their QB to make the right decision.
40 Watt
January 4th, 2012
1:29 pm
Well, after having a couple of days to get over it…you are right on, Bill. We have a lot of questions to answer as the new season begins. I haven’t been a Murray basher through it all, but there are some serious problems with his ball security which literally cost us the USC and MSU games. Hate it for Walsh, know he is hurting. I’d like to see CMR open up the QB competition in the spring just for kicks. As for CMB, yes, we are way too predictable and conservative at the end of games, which again costs us, but the offense regularly scores 30 to 40 points a game, so something is going right here. Let’s hope this year has taught the staff some valuable lessons and everybody GATA next year. This loss hurt, bad…let’s make somebdy pay next year!
Bobo is Not the Problem
January 4th, 2012
1:30 pm
“The Dogs will have to replace both their placekicker and their punter and still haven’t solved the problem of spotty special teams play overall.”
Walsh won’t be missed.
Drew Butler’s production declined from a whopping 48.1 yards per punt in ‘09 to 44.5 in ‘10 to 44.3 in ‘11. And though he was 11th in punting average in ‘11, UGA was 97th in net punting due to its horrific punt return defense.
We would be better off with a Stryzinski or Koenen-type, booting a high 40-yarder for a fair catch.
JB
January 4th, 2012
1:32 pm
Abnerish……………………5-6 years ago, Richt never played to lose. The last two-three years, he plays almost every game ” not to lose”.
Bobo is Not the Problem
January 4th, 2012
1:32 pm
JB, I thinkn 99% would keep Richt because he’s a nice guy and the UGA fan base accepts mediocrity.
Chris Rude made the point that Richt probably wanted Walsh to kick the winning FG and leave his career with better memories in the minds of UGA fans. I bet he is right.
That is NO WAY to run a football team.
If Richt’s main goal is to make an impact on his players, I have the perfect solution: make Richt the team chaplain, and find a real football coach who has the drive to win a championship.
FIRE MARK RICHT.
schmeckdawg
January 4th, 2012
1:34 pm
Frank Lane
January 4th, 2012
11:51 am
I think that it was Todd Blackledge last night on the Sugar Bowl (I wasn’t paying much attention) that made some excellent points about aggressive play calling and playing to score touchdowns not set up field goal tries. I think that it was Todd who led Penn State to the last play victory over the last Herschel team in the 1981 National Championship game. His point of view played out in UGA losing, Stanford losing and Va Tech losing last night. PLAY to score touchdowns not field goals.
************************************************************************************************************
No, that was Dan Marino in that Sugar Bowl. Blackledge beat UGA and Herschel the next year in the Sugar Bowl. Penn State’s first NC.
JB
January 4th, 2012
1:35 pm
Question……………didn’t Drew get in a game earlier in the season, thus the redshirt gone, yet nowhere to be seen the rest of the year? Too good to keep off the field is what folks said on signing day.
JB
January 4th, 2012
1:37 pm
@1;32……………..only one problem with being team chaplain……… It pays 32,500…………Not 3 mil.