Mission critical for UGA and Grantham: Corral Randall Cobb
This is where Todd Grantham earns his three-quarters of a million. No knock on the new defensive coordinator, but the Bulldogs could have won the three games they’ve won — Louisiana-Lafayette, Tennessee and Vanderbilt — with Willie Martinez or Marion Campbell or Kevin Ramsey as DC. But Georgia plays Kentucky on Saturday in Lexington, and the Wildcats can score some points.
And this is where we learn if all the talk about the schematic advantages of the 3-4 vis-a-vis the 4-3 was simply talk. This is where we see if having an extra linebacker will help Georgia slow the most dynamic player in the SEC East. He’s Randall Cobb, whom Kentucky deploys as a receiver and a runner and a kick returner and occasionally a thrower.
He’s officially listed as wide receiver/quarterback and essentially acts as the joker in Joker Phillips’ deck, Joker Phillips being the first-year Kentucky coach. Cobb nearly beat Auburn and did beat South Carolina. Against the Tigers he threw for a touchdown, caught a pass for a touchdown and rushed for two touchdowns. Against Carolina he caught the winning touchdown from Mike Hartline with 1:15 to play, then rushed for the two-point conversion.
Randall Cobb of Kentucky isn’t to be confused with Randall “Tex” Cobb, the boxer-turned-actor who played the dreadnought biker in “Raising Arizona.” (Holly Hunter, who played Ed in the film, referred to Cobb’s expertly realized character as a “warthog from hell.”) But Randall Cobb of Kentucky has the capacity to unleash all manner of havoc if the opposing DC doesn’t mind his X’s and O’s.
The Kentucky game, not to put too fine a point on it, is immense. Win and Georgia goes to Jacksonville with a chance to finish first in the SEC East, which seemed unthinkable a couple of weeks ago. Lose and Georgia is 3-5 and we’re treated to another round of Mark-Richt-has-lost-it screeds.
Richt took a risk hiring Grantham, who’d never coordinated a collegiate defense. This is the week we see if the risk carried a reward. This is where the new man earns his money. Or doesn’t.
Here UK's Randall Cobb scores against a familiar-looking team. (AJC photo by Brant Sanderlin)
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225 comments Add your comment
Nic Cage at the checkout counter
October 21st, 2010
1:35 pm
“I’ll be takin’ these Huggies, and any cash you got.”
Tick
October 21st, 2010
1:35 pm
This game will be a dog/cat fight, and will be decided by less than a touchdown. All of KY home games are close, at least the conference games, and this shouldn’t be any different. The game probably will be decided by the special teams. I say the Cats by three.
jtdawg
October 21st, 2010
1:37 pm
GO DAWGS!!!
Looks like wer’re playing a little better on D. Gaining confidence. The truth is our biggest weakness on D shouldn’t not that they wont, be tested this week. I expect that test to come next week and vs. Auburn, where I expect size up front to push our lite NTs around a bit. That neutralizes the extra LB’er difference.
Murray is a great young QB. Let’s see if he can keep us in this one.
jtdawg
October 21st, 2010
1:38 pm
GTBob,
Thanks for intelligent, well thought and interesting input. It’s a shame more can’t participate like you instead of reverting to insecure mommy/daddy days.
Well put sir.
ODawg
October 21st, 2010
1:39 pm
I’ll be taking these Huggies and whatever cash ya got.
NEWNANDAWG
October 21st, 2010
1:43 pm
boy you got a panty on your head
F.A. Grantham
October 21st, 2010
1:43 pm
Mark, The only thing I am interested in corralling is a sack full of Krystals after practice!!! I am hoping that if I eat enough I can get a big FAT raise after my outstanding job this year. If it wasn’t for the outstanding work done by the DREAM TEAM i am sure the DAWGS would be a three win team this year.
jtdawg
October 21st, 2010
1:48 pm
wow
I should roll over to the GT boards right now!!
GT SUX!!!!! CLEMSON – 77 GT -0 !!!!!
THWGT!!!!!!! ROTFLMAO LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL!!!!!!!
what intellingent banter…that would make me such a super poster. just like FA Grantham and the other Code Red abusers coddled in mommie and daddy’s basement…..
yawn
Joycee Banicheck
October 21st, 2010
1:55 pm
Do we really have the pieces in place for the 3-4 to be as effective as it should be? Not sure the inherited players Grantham has on the DL and LB core are exactly what he needs. I’d love to hear thoughts on this…
gomdawg
October 21st, 2010
2:04 pm
You work with what you got and build from that year by year
Joycee Banicheck
October 21st, 2010
2:06 pm
Thank you Capt. Obvious…
Ed
October 21st, 2010
2:08 pm
Whew! For a minute there I thought we had to face Tex on top of everyone else at UK. And the ‘10 Georgia Bulldogs ain’t exactly Larry Holmes in his prime. Thanks for clearing that up, Mark.
brannockdawg
October 21st, 2010
2:25 pm
You take that diaper off of your brother’s head and put it back on your sister!!!!!!!
tony
October 21st, 2010
2:26 pm
How do you know they would of won with Willie Martinez defense? Preconcieved notion aint worth a hill of beans. Todd Grantham has improved(Rank 14th)our defense tremendously despite having to play with an undersize defensive line and having to teach our young men a different defensive scheme.
The Vols would of beaten LSU(14-16) if it wasn’t for the bad officiating. Also, Tenn got blowed out(14-41) by the dawgs. Kentucky lost to Ole Miss(35-42)but Vanderbilt beat Ole Miss(28-14). Ga should beat Kentucky easily if Mr.Rickt let Aaron Murray be Aaron Murray.
Im Just Saying
October 21st, 2010
2:35 pm
Let Aaron Murray be Aaron Murray? Who the hell else would he let him be? Linda Rondstadt?
still a dawg fan
October 21st, 2010
2:37 pm
Hey Guys,
We should have beaten Tenn & Vandy by a large amount but now we get KY & that will be our 1st real test since ARK. Hopefully we have improved & we shall find out sat night.
azdawg
October 21st, 2010
2:38 pm
KY will be the first major test for the dawgs def since the CO loss when they gave up huge chunks of yards and TDs. If they control KY the way they did TN and Vandy then they have improved immensly. Lose the same way they played D in their 4 losses and thats proof enuf that the DC hasn’t done his job and this def is no better off than it was from the start. KY is a good team and has good playmakers.
Control their offense and keep them out of the end zone and let our offense do their thing and come out with a W..
Bo
October 21st, 2010
2:57 pm
Mark, good lone biker of the apocalypse reference….you’re the sly one.
I don’t know that this is the game in which Grantham earns his money or not. UGA obviously needs a run stopper in the middle. If UK has success running up the gut, UGA will get burned in the secondary. If UK can’t run the ball, UGA wins.
UKUGA
October 21st, 2010
2:57 pm
Cobb is key, but Hartline has also improved a lot since early last year (and especially since the year before that).
Kentucky may actually be smart enough to use its other weapons.
In short, though, Kentucky had a chance to win each of its last 3 games (@ Miss, AUB, SC). They went 1-2.
Most likely, this is another close game. History places this one in Georgia’s favor. Recent series history makes it more of a push. Last week’s upset over SC means either A) Kentucky has turned a corner; or B) Kentucky had its stroke of luck for the season.
JSD
October 21st, 2010
2:58 pm
Football good!!!!
Boobie Bowden
October 21st, 2010
3:16 pm
KY by 17 -dawgs need the jelly.
dawgfacedboy
October 21st, 2010
3:20 pm
I’ve seen an awful lot of knocks on the D and I really don’t see why. When the offense was so inept what are they to do?? YOu can’t expect them to stop the opponents every time, or even to hold opponents under 10 points every week. OUr special teams (minus Walsh and Butler) is a joke so that leaves it up to the offense to help the D swing the momentum. This hasn’t happened.
Ealey and King hold onto the ball then we aren’t even having this discussion.
At the beginning of the season everybody said “Freshman QB and new D equals about an 8-4 season” Nobody anticipated our run game to be so bad and AJ to have the impact he had by not being there. THe D is fine as long as the offesne puts up more than 14 points (not alot to ask).
5150 P.O.A.D
October 21st, 2010
3:23 pm
TEX cobb could take a hit so there is noway he plays for the Dawgs and for sure not QB or Bobo wouldn’t be crying so much.
Devil's Advocate
October 21st, 2010
3:33 pm
Its TIME to let the bulldawgs bite on COBB’s rear end. If they do, we have an even chance. If they don’t, Cobb will have the last laugh by 10, at least.
cantondawg
October 21st, 2010
3:34 pm
Kentucky has always been a tough opponent for the dawgs. I believe that we win but it’s gonna be a close one.
Tim in B'ham
October 21st, 2010
3:34 pm
Mark
I would give Grantham a B+ considering he doesn’t have everything he needs yet….time to start Big Tree (best tackler on the team)
Bart
October 21st, 2010
3:39 pm
The question for Kentucky:
How do we corral Aaron Murray, Washaun Ealey, AJ Green, & Kris Durham?
South Ga Dawg
October 21st, 2010
3:51 pm
Time for the Dawgs to bow their necks for the first time this yr!!!!!!
Bo
October 21st, 2010
4:09 pm
dawgfacedboy, I have to disagree. If you watch the tape, UGA’s defense cannot stop the inside run. At least some of the big pass plays they have given up were because they were loading the box against the run. I suspect that a lot of the times UGA’s defensive backs have been out of position because they were cheating against the run instead of covering their assignment. You really have to see the coach’s tape to know that but it is my suspicion.
A ton of their third down woes have been caused by mobile quarterbacks and running backs cutting back and running up the middle. Right between the Nose and End. Until GA gets a physical guy (or even just a heavy guy) in there, they will not be a really good defense.
For all of the credit Saban and Co get for the defense over at Alabama (and they deserve plenty), they were helped out by the fact that Mount Cody came to the team in ‘08. That first year, they were in a similar situation with their D-line. I just hope that our guys come along this offseason or we get a widebody from JuCo like they did.
bullochdog
October 21st, 2010
4:16 pm
Go UGA.
Top Dawg
October 21st, 2010
4:18 pm
YOU NEVER LEAVE A MAN BEHIND!!!
5150 P.O.A.D
October 21st, 2010
4:23 pm
Bart
just put them in jail like most of the Dawgs.
#1 Dawg
October 21st, 2010
4:32 pm
We are a national program, KY will not stay with us.
And Mark, AJ Green is the most dynamic player in the SEC, not Randall Cobb, though Cobb is a good regional player, AJ is national.
Demand respect.
meh
October 21st, 2010
4:33 pm
they need to be all over Cobb. Wherever Cobb is there should a dog right on him. need to lay a hard (but legal) hit on him right at the beginning of the game and see if we can ‘t get him playing scared.
easy win
October 21st, 2010
4:33 pm
UK will an easy victory for UGA. That win over south carolina by uk was a fluke—SC was just flat and overconfident after the bama game. Look for murray to light up the UK secondary for some big points. Ga 38 UK 19—-book it. Dawgs blow out florida next week in jax!!!!
D Fence
October 21st, 2010
5:09 pm
Say that reminds me, how many Wildcats does it take to screw up a lightbulb? Three. No wait a minute I told it wrong, how come it takes 3 Wildcats to screw up a light bulb? Cuz they’re so darn stupid.
Dawgs get revenge from 09.
tony
October 21st, 2010
5:26 pm
I’m Just Saying, relax young man. Who else would Mr.Richt let him be? I can assure you that they didn’t let Aaron be that daul threat qb against SC, Ar and Miss St. Murray is not the kind of qb who will just stay in the pocket take a sack or just throw the ball out of bound. He wants to make plays to help the team win games. Don’t handcuff that young man. Let Murray be Murray.
Dawg Whisperer
October 21st, 2010
5:49 pm
I like the fact that UK beat SC last week. It will make a stronger impression on the pups that think they are better simply because they suit up wearing red and black. UGA will be prepared and win the turnover battle. UGA 35-22. Meanwhile, Florida doesn’t lose this weekend!!!
Crimedog
October 21st, 2010
5:55 pm
Now that Ealey is not shaving, he will be less inclined to fumble. His professors should take Richt’s lead to encourage Ealey not to cheat on his English papers. .
skydawg
October 21st, 2010
5:59 pm
You do realize that Cobb has too bad shoulders and is questionable for the game Saturday? Just throwing that out there. But yes, if he’s healthy, he poses problems for most defenses and not just UGA’s.
John
October 21st, 2010
5:59 pm
I have to say – Don’t think they would have won with Kevin Ramsey!
Hunk Erdown
October 21st, 2010
6:10 pm
I agree with bug killer and corny pooh (never dreamed I’d say that) Grantham’s Defensive schemes have put UGA in position to make plays all year long. It is a lack of execution that caused any defensive failures. Look at the S. Car. game; 40 something missed tackles. Lattimore is good, but we made him look like Walter Payton.
So, Tenn. and Vandy were just bad teams? What the hell were we? We were 1-4 and looked like we might never win another game. So far the whole team, especially the defense has made a huge turn around. Last week Murray looked like He’s been playing in the SEC for 3 years, his play action fakes and execution are worlds apart from the “staring down his intended receiver” crap we saw in the first few games. The linebackers are performing great, the d-line is coming around and the secondary is getting better and better.
The Dawgs need to take the rest of the season play by play, series by series and let evrything else take care of itself.
It has been a long time since the Dawgs truly dominated teams they’re supposed to dominate, even in seasons where we won 10 plus games. If we were supposed to dominate Tenn. and Vandy, then we are finally doing something we haven’t done in over a decade.
AFDawg
October 21st, 2010
6:39 pm
Georgia’s zone won’t work against Cobb. UGA should put a d-back on him in man-to-man coverage the entire game and hit him hard at the line every play from scrimmage. Also, I hope CMR has some trick plays, fake field goals and new punt block schemes up his sleeve.
RetiredRuss
October 21st, 2010
6:50 pm
CMR has accomplished nothing significant yet, save going two weeks without an arrest. Beating UT and Vandy is better than losing to them, obviously, but UK will be the first test to see if Murray can stay healthy and good, and if AJ can carry the team for 4 quarters. i have supported CMR until this year, when his inconsistency and reluctance in dealing with discipline and even illegal behavior reveals that he has lost his moral authority and leadership ability.
Rock The Casbah
October 21st, 2010
7:00 pm
I heard that Locke is injured still and will not play Sat night. A blow for KY and a big break for UGA’s defense. UGA wins by 7.
Rock The Casbah
October 21st, 2010
7:03 pm
Locke is injured still. Won’t play Saturday. Big blow for KY. UGA wil win by 7.
DMAN
October 21st, 2010
7:49 pm
He still doesn’t have the players he wants to run his scheme,give the man his time Dumbass!
bjohndawg
October 21st, 2010
7:49 pm
Randall Cobb…the football player scares me more than the ex boxer/actor.
Cobb fought Larry Holmes, and was whipped good. Asked about a rematch,
Cobb quipped that he did not think that Holmes would agree, as Holmes’ “hands could not take it.”
1992dawg
October 21st, 2010
7:54 pm
Kentucky beat us at our house last year!! I was there on the 40 yard line. They mentally broke down in the second half. So, now we go beat them at their house during a night game!! Lol I do not think so. This Dawg team is not mentally tough!!!!
SEC Elite
October 21st, 2010
7:56 pm
The perspective on “National Program” status is certainly relative at best! UGA is a second tier program over the last couple of years (with perpetual top 5 talent). No NC since 1980? UGA will beat Kentucky this weekend, and has a great chance to win its remaining games (with the exception of Auburn). UGA should certianly beat Tech (perceived by Dawg fans as a second tier program). However, Tech and UGA are very very close in terms of national relevance. It’s true! At least you still have the advantage of being in the SEC. That helps the national perception outside Georgia a bit.
If UGA can win out, it will be fun to listen to the NC (next year) talk from the Dawg Nation. That too is perpetual, and amusing.
Good luck the rest of the year!