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
Sandyspringsjacket
October 21st, 2010
8:33 pm
Dilusional mutts. Hey wake up, THUGA is 3-4. Wins against La LA, Worst UT team in history, and well same old Vandy. Yup, THUGs are back. What a laugh. Idaho who likely only remaining win, 4-8 is a really strong probability, 5-7 is almost certain. Grantham should be embarrassed to take that $$
HitaSingle
October 21st, 2010
8:46 pm
Sandyspringsjacket – When you start playing in the SEC you will carry some weight.
NRBQ
October 21st, 2010
9:08 pm
UGA out-gained UK by 227 yards in ‘09.
Four turnovers did us in (not the defense).
If we introduce Mr. Alex Ogletree to Cobb, that could be a difference-maker, IMO.
Phil Layshio
October 21st, 2010
9:08 pm
Dawgs get neutered by the Wildcats……EASILY. UGAg has beaten 3 lousy teams….whoop teee doooo. Cats win by 10 points and UGAg runs home to Athens with their tales between their legs.
NRBQ
October 21st, 2010
9:09 pm
Sandy -
Please tell us all about that Kansas game. That’s a Tech point of pride, we’re sure.
bigcalidawg
October 21st, 2010
9:13 pm
My two bits:
Yeah, we’re basing this on beating teams from Tenn, but we have come a long way. We lost to a Colorado team that lost to Cal 62-7. Just 2 days before Colorado beat us, Cal lost to Nevada. True, we really haven’t beaten anybody, but our offense is beginning to come together and our D is starting to get it.
Adding Trinton and Gates to the O-line has been under the radar, but a major reason Aaron has time to throw and Washaun has had the time to find somewhere to run. Yes, holes have been plugged, but I haven’t seen as many plays where guys just shot through untouched to the ball carrier. That’s gone way down…….
Think about it
October 21st, 2010
9:13 pm
They say if you have to lose, lose early. Hopefully we got it out of our system and are ready to get down to business and open some eyes the rest of the season. We can’t worry about, or depend on someone winning of losing to make us look better. If we take care of the game at hand week end and week out the rest will take care of itself. I wouldn’t mind seeing Joker Philips win all his games, after he loses to us.
SEC Elite
October 21st, 2010
9:29 pm
Hita Single is correct. Without the SEC, what is UGA right now? Again, from a national perspective, many see Tech and UGA as relatively equal in national relevance at this point. One could argue that Tech has done more with less since the arrival of Johnson. However, UGA owns Tech the way FLA owns UGA. That said, their performance over the past couple of years is similar, with Tech having better success in a lesser conference. Again, the difference between the two programs is negligible, with Tech producing more with less over the last two years.
UGA can certainly help its case if they win out, which leads me back to the central issue — UGA will beat Kentucky, but not because it’s a nationally prominent program. That perspective is delusional. If UGA is a “national” progam, so is Tech! I hope both Tech and UGA win this weekend. I wish both programs success and a great game later this year. However, the results will hold very little national relevance.
dave
October 21st, 2010
9:44 pm
Go Cobb! Go Big Blue! Let’s bring some chaos to the SEC!
bigcalidawg
October 21st, 2010
9:46 pm
Well said. I might add that we might not be the most successful state when it comes to college football, but no one cares about the game as much as we do!
If passionate fans equated to success, we’d be Nat’l Champs.
I live in California and NO ONE cares about college ball out here. Maybe a few SC fans, but if SC is losin’ and the sun is out, they are out the door……
THOROUGHBRED
October 21st, 2010
10:38 pm
I love reading all your coments you redneck THuga fans post. Stafford could not beat UK his freshman year and Murray won’t either. In two games against UGA Cobb has 5 TD’s. Cobb will score two more Sat night.
THOROUGHBRED
October 21st, 2010
10:48 pm
#1 Dawg I got news for you redneck… AJ “I need money for spring break” Green is a one trick pony! He is a receiver. He is one the best receivers in the country, but Cobb can do it all. Cobb can play QB I would love to see Green line up behind center. I can’t wait to wake up and see what THuga player got arrested.
By the way Mark Bradley you may have went to UK but we know you are a in the closet fan of our little brother Loserville.
bigcalidawg
October 21st, 2010
10:54 pm
Thoroughbred……..my man. Did you say “may have went?” Dang
I’m sure you were thorougly (im)bred, or just a poorly educated troll.
I’m thinkin’ you “may have went” too far with that comment.
A.J. is a better WR than Cobb.
crap sandwich
October 21st, 2010
11:17 pm
Mark you are off the mark!. Grantham is earning his money by developing a very good defense that will only continue to improve. Given this is only our 8th game that he has coached and players have played, to be ranked nationally 20th is scoring defense, 14th in total defense is a vast improvement over Willie. You ask me, I think we can get even better. Look at the improvement of the linebackers Dowtin, Robinson and Dent. Remember we were asking ourselves how will we replace Curran? By better coaching that is how.
I also like that Grantham will make personnel changes to improve his defense. Jakar “hit man” Hamilton is 3rd string behind Williams and Ogletree. Geathers is coming on at the Nose position, and maybe we are seeing the development of Lott as one of the DE’s. Cummings replacing Cuff at one corner, with Love getting nickel work. How long did we watch Evans get burned never to lose his Safety position under Willie? It seems that Grantham is not afraid to shake things up to improve and to send a message to the players…you will compete. Rambo is vulnerable as well, and have you noticed he is starting to hit again. He has gotten Grantham’s message!
Finally, as mentioned by a previous entry the defense without the big plays this season has shut down teams for long stretches of games. Shore up the tackling and coverage and UGA will become a real terror on defense. I look at next season for this defense to really come together.
Georgia will win against Kentucky. The defense will show up big on Saturday night. Yeah, the “Doghouse” Dawgs will GATA this weekend. Georgia 38 KY 9.
THOROUGHBRED
October 21st, 2010
11:19 pm
bigcalidawg
I never said Cobb was a better receiver than the jersey seller Green. I said in all stages of the game Cobb is a better all around player than Green. Green just catches balls thrown his way. Cobb does it all. If you want to be anal “dawg” is spelled dog. Plus how am a troll when I live in Atlanta. It’s my hometown news paper. Go back the beach in cali you D’bag.
THOROUGHBRED
October 21st, 2010
11:23 pm
By the way if you are going to use a stereotype it’s INBRED not imbred you idiot!
bigcalidawg
October 21st, 2010
11:58 pm
Aye, you are correct my shine chugging, blind friend. I’m just not as familiar with the concept as yourself.
Terribly sorry. I see you are rather passionate on the matter. Kind of like how you misspoke of matriculation, as you are unfamiliar with formal education.
Do you wear overalls to the games?
bigcalidawg
October 22nd, 2010
12:02 am
BTW…..trolling has nothing to do with being native to an area, or not. Trolling is just an internet term used for people who use inflamatory remarks to bring attention to themselves.
I could live in Bibb City and be a troll in a Columbus Ledger-Enquirer Blog. Really doesn’t matter. Good topic for discussion, though. I will ask 5150 next time I see him here.
bigcalidawg
October 22nd, 2010
12:05 am
Nite, nite y’all.
Go DAWGS!
jerry
October 22nd, 2010
7:10 am
Mere speculation about whether the Dawgs can beat a damn basketball school says a lot. Hell, there shouldn’t even be any doubt about it. But that’s Georgia for you.
» BBL: Cal at Media Day; Georgia eyes Cobb John Clay’s Sidelines
October 22nd, 2010
7:27 am
[...] Georgia’s critical mission will be to corral Cobb, writes Mark Bradley of the AJC. [...]
Run it UP
October 22nd, 2010
8:58 am
UK’s defense is terrible, the dawgs are rolling—look for a huge UGA win 40-20, getting ready for a beatdown over a terrible florida team in jax next week. Dawgs 37 fl 13!!! Dawgs—back on top!!!!!
Clown Show
October 22nd, 2010
9:06 am
Mark, how does it feel to be a lifer writing for the sportsection of the AJC. You are a non-issue. You are a total clown.
Boise Dawg
October 22nd, 2010
9:11 am
Great movie…
Cops won’t find your boy. Cop couldn’t find his butt if it had a bell on it. You wanna find an outlaw, you call an outlaw. You wanna find a Dunkin Donuts, call a cop.
darryl
October 22nd, 2010
9:17 am
awful good cereal flakes Ms. Mcdonough
The Dogfather
October 22nd, 2010
10:31 am
“and go left when you see the spherical object restin in the highway
highlandsdawg
October 22nd, 2010
10:37 am
SON YOU GOT A PANTY ON YO’ HEAD
Phil Layshio
October 22nd, 2010
10:55 am
No way do the Doggies win in Lexington. UGA was lucky to catch a very down and turn-over crazy UT team and we all know Vandy is……well, Vandy. The Mildcats will blow the doors off of UGAg sending the Pups to the bottom. And we all already know the outcome of the Cocktail Party in Jacksonville…..Dogs lose to Urbie again!
Dawg Tired
October 22nd, 2010
11:25 am
Why am I constantly amazed that a fan of any other team would actually post messages on a message board dealing only with our games? I guess since it would never occur to me to go over to one about their games. How pitiful their lives must actually be!
FireMarkBradley!
October 22nd, 2010
11:51 am
punch yourself in the face Mark
PartyWednesday
October 22nd, 2010
12:23 pm
#1 Dawg: If you demand to go to the front of the line in the bathroom, it will be with your head in the urinal. It’s funny how, when a team is underachieving, the comments are more introspective. And when a team is winning…..we “demand” to go to the front of the line. Good Luck, ace…..
Patronius
October 22nd, 2010
2:34 pm
Wildcats 34, Dawgtards 20.
Beatdown City.
Buh bye, suckers.
Jillian
October 22nd, 2010
2:38 pm
How pitiful their lives must actually be!
Actually, you’re wrong, dawgturd. Tech alumni and fans have lives that don’t depend entirely on what a bunch of kids does on Saturday afternoons. College sports are fun to follow, but the biggest reason for going to college is to get an education.
UGA fans don’t seem to care about anything but football, and they don’t care if their players are enrolled in silly majors that no parents who are paying the bills would send their kids to UGA for. The very few football and basketball players who graduate have no job opportunities and end up unemployed or working in menial jobs that hardly require a college degree.
Georgia Tech is a real school with serious academic standards, and that includes scholarshipped athletes. UGA has a long history of being a party school, where parents send their kids for an easy degree, even if the degree itself is practically worthless.
Jan Kemp exposed the crap going on at UGA with athletes being enrolled in courses a ten-year-old kid could pass. That was almost three decades ago, and nothing has changed. If anything, the abuses are more blatant today. Way too many illiterate morons are being recruited, and the very high arrest rate shows clearly that Richt does not care if his players have any morals or self-discipline.
The bottom line is that most Tech fans have very good jobs and productive lives that don’t depend on Tech’s football record for their happiness in life. It would be great to beat UGA more often, but when you put scholar-athletes up against dummy-athletes, it’s usually no contest.
It’s pretty pathetic to see UGA fans who typically have never been within miles of a college classroom and who live or die with UGA’s weekly results on the football field.
So keep on posting your “30-24″ all you want, especially since you’re home with plenty of time on your hands. I wish you well, maybe you’ll get lucky and get your old job back at the Waffle House before your unemployment checks stop coming.
Stuck In Kentucky
October 22nd, 2010
3:40 pm
UGA is at Keeneland today, wonder if he is betting on Calvin “the Rail” Borrel? The only safe bet in Kentucky, GOOOO DAWGS!
RichieRich86
October 22nd, 2010
4:06 pm
TampaDawg,
I agree with you. I’m more worried about UK than the Gaytors. I live in Tampa too btw. Are you driving up for the ga/fl game?
HitaSingle
October 22nd, 2010
4:08 pm
Jillian – go ask your coaches about the formulas they use to get Tech athletes in by. Also ask your P.A. announcer at the games why on Senior Day they announce the senior band members majors but they don’t announce the senior football players majors. Maybe Sports Management has to do with it. Admit the truth.
TampaGator
October 22nd, 2010
5:01 pm
TampaDawg and RichieRich86…..
Florida crushed Kentucky!!! I sure hope Georgia’s players are thinking like the two of you.
…and Florida will have a healthy Jeff Demps, a healthy Matt Patchan, a healthy Emmanual Moody, a healthy James Wilson, a healthy Jaye Howard, a healthy Andre Debose, a healthy Jelani Jenkins, a healthy Moses Jenkins, and a healthy John Brantley (he has played the last three games with badly bruised ribs and an extemely sore thumb on his throwing hand). And Chris Rainey might be back on the field…..all of which did not play aganist Mississippi State and many that did not play against LSU.
Plus….Meyer will have two weeks to prepare for Georgia.
But….your team better beat the Gators this year….or it might be a long time before Georgia will have the opportunity to beat them again.
Good luck with that!
TampaGator
October 22nd, 2010
5:03 pm
Well….John Brantley played against Miss. State…out of that above group.
Paper Dawgs
October 22nd, 2010
6:19 pm
The Winner of this Game stays in the fight for the right to lose to any of three teams from the West.
These Wildcats know they can beat UGA and think they can beat UGA and know how to beat UGA.
The past two weeks the DAWG NATION is back behind SIR MARK RICHT. The problem with that is UAB almost beat Tennesssee in Knoxville and Northwestern crushed Vanderbilt, not very good barometers for evaluating UGA.
The game is at night in Lexington and the last time UGA played at night they forgot to set their alarm clocks for the Right Kickoff time and got beat by a Colorado team who IS going FIRE their Coach.
Too many weapons at Kentucky and too much doubt with UGA…
Paper Dawgs
October 22nd, 2010
6:21 pm
Tampa Gator …from your post this week on the Gainesville Sun recruiting update…you have alot of fear and doubts about your gators and in need of some GATORAIDE.
Paper Dawgs
October 22nd, 2010
6:26 pm
UGA has beaten a team that won in OVERTIME in Knoxville over UAB and a team who got beat by Northwestern.
UGA lost to a team who COACH is going to be FIRED in Colorado.
UGA is not that good and the winner of this game is still in the fight for the chance to get beaten by any of the three teams from the SEC West. Kentucky will spank UGA at home at night in Lexington.
“Dumb, Drunk and Stupid is no way to go through life” ..UGA FANS Take that advice to heart!
Paper Dawgs
October 22nd, 2010
6:31 pm
UGA FAN:
“DUMB, DRUNK AND STUPID IS NO WAY TO GO THROUGH LIFE.”
UGA beat a team who lost to Northwestern, beat a team who went into OT against UAB at home, lost to a Colorado team who is GOING TO FIRE THEIR COACH.
Kentucky is playing at night in Lexington and has the ability to beat UGA many many ways and they ALSO know that the winner of this game is still in the fight to lose in the SEC Championship game against any of three teams from the WEST.
SEC Fact Finder
October 22nd, 2010
9:39 pm
Tampa Gator,
Remember back after the S. Florida game I told you about the beat reporter who told me that UF had to find their identity and you started all the talk about how the Gators were fine. Hows that working out for ya now?
The word “Identity” has been the most used word to describe UF besides “disappointing” in written articles this year. Next time I tell you what is being said behind the scenes..do not doubt me.
I read your post on the Gainesville Sun Website, are you panicking?
But UF with the week off should beat UGA next week, the problem is going to be USC, they have the same defensive skills as any top tier school in the SEC.
The Memory
October 22nd, 2010
10:11 pm
….not with Kevin Ramsey. Mr. Froze. Mr. Deer in the headlights. Mr. Over his head. Remember?
Bill
October 22nd, 2010
11:04 pm
What does it say about us as a people, that we have a Kentucky Man/Homer blogging and publishing articles in the UGA section of Georgia paper AJC. Where is the pride and honor in us that we allow ourselves to be mocked and humiliated in our own blog house by a Kentucky sports reporter.
ALCS CHUMPS
October 22nd, 2010
11:18 pm
THE YANKEES LOSE, THE YANKEES LOSE, THUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU YANKEEEEEEEES LOSEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, TAKE THAT SCHTICK AND HISSY FIT SHAKE TO THE OLD FOLKS HOME 72 YR OLD JOHN STERLING IT’S O V E R BWAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
BBL: Calipari at SEC Media Day; Georgia eyes Cobb « Woods Recruiting
October 23rd, 2010
12:01 am
[...] Georgia’s critical mission will be to corral Cobb, writes Mark Bradley of the AJC. [...]
bigcalidawg
October 23rd, 2010
12:15 am
Does it really matter where the author of a blog came from? Does the keyboard he types on have to be from Athens?
The dogs performance on the field trumps what is written, or who wrote it.
If we had a North Avenue geek writing DAWG blogs, they could still be informational, but that’s missing the point.
The post author must provoke some type of response from fans. Why do you think so many people question the intelligence of these guys? It’s one thing to write a well-written, factual article, and something altogether different to gain someones interest and attention to where they will pop in an e-mail and a handle and put in their 2 bits.
Who cares where he’s from? We still blog here anyway……..
BBL: Calipari at SEC Media Day; Georgia eyes Cobb « Acrylic Sports
October 23rd, 2010
3:10 am
[...] Georgia’s critical mission will be to corral Cobb, writes Mark Bradley of the AJC. [...]
Stephen Dawg
October 23rd, 2010
7:24 am
Hopes the authorities will put Quincy in drug and alcohol treatment and then enforce that he attends a program like Drug Court/AA. This is not rocket science. The guy is an alcoholic/drug addict. Many before him and many after him have or will straighten out their lives with the recovery help that is available.