Rodney Garner’s rebuilding job
ATHENS – In his 13th season at Georgia, defensive-line coach Rodney Garner has quite the rebuilding job on his hands –- replacing three NFL draft picks and converting the returnees from a 4-3 to 3-4 scheme.
So how’s it going?
“We got to get better,” Garner said Wednesday evening. “Like I told them the other day, they got a lot of room to improve. The guys we lost off last year’s team, changing of the scheme and all of that -– there are lot of big shoes to be filled. And I’m not for sure we’re there yet.
“I see [Demarcus] Dobbs trying to take ownership, trying to be a leader. We need other guys to step up and be leaders, too. To be a good football team, you got to have leadership up front. And that’s one thing that has to emerge. Hopefully, as they become more confident in the system and become better fundamentally, maybe some of those characteristics will start to come out.”
Dobbs, a senior, is the projected starter at right end, and sophomore Abry Jones and senior Brandon Wood are competing at left end. “I can’t say Wood or Abry has taken over at that spot; they’re 1-A and 1-B,” Garner said.
DeAngelo Tyson would be the starter at the nose position “if we had to play tomorrow,” Garner said. “If you ask him, his choice would be to play one of the ends, but we’ve got to play the personnel that gives us the best chance to win.”
Converted offensive lineman Justin Anderson got some snaps at first-team nose in Tuesday’s scrimmage so that Tyson could shift to end, Garner said.
“He’s improving,” Garner said of Anderson. “He’s got a long ways to go. But he’s improving. I like his attitude. I think he’s trying to take the teaching and trying to implement it. But obviously it’s something different than he’s done his whole career here. . . . I’ve been pleased with how attentive he is and how he’s been able to retain the information.”
As for the other player at the nose, redshirt freshman Kwame Geathers, Garner said: “He’s coming. Slowly.”
Dobbs started at end in the old 4-3 defense last season and has adjusted smoothly to the 3-4, Garner said.
“I think he’s done an excellent job of adjusting to it,” Garner said. “His motor runs so high, and he plays with a lot of energy and emotion. I think the kids really respect him.”
———————–
It was just one pass in one closed-to-the-media preseason scrimmage, one of hundreds of balls Aaron Murray has thrown this month, but it must have been a really bad one.
“Sometimes an interception is a tipped ball at the line of scrimmage, and sometimes it is just a foolish decision,” Mark Richt said Tuesday. And then, leaving no doubt which category he put this one in, Richt added: “And this one in particular was not a very wise decision.”
Putting it more colorfully, offensive coordinator Mike Bobo told reporters Wednesday the pass was a “bonehead decision.”
On balance, Richt said Murray is “progressing very well,” and Bobo has had much more praise than criticism for him, too. But the coaches clearly want that ill-advised pass, picked off by freshman safety Alec Ogletree, to be a learning experience for Murray.
“Just got to make sure every once in a while, when things aren’t the way they ought to be, you don’t have to be a hero,” Richt said. “Throw it out of bounds. He just tried to force one down in the red zone, and it got picked.”
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147 comments Add your comment
Dumbo
August 12th, 2010
2:04 pm
LawDawg…just for fun ask SSIGator where Demere Dr is on SSI…then you’ll find out if he really is from SSI, me I have a condo right down by the airport on SSI…he won’t respond when I hit him up to meet me for drink on SSI
beatdowns galore
August 12th, 2010
2:13 pm
Uh Oh…. rumblings in dawgie land. Better go and set your expectations down a couple of notches dog fans. Spurrier is already smiling and will welcome the dogs into the Sandstorm. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uH5LXz1p30M&feature=related
Oompa Loompa Dawg
August 12th, 2010
2:16 pm
The midget will throw a ton of picks this year. Bank on it ! New D is already having problems. Can you say Visions of 1999 with Kevin Ramsey ?
Brainiac(Dawg for life)
August 12th, 2010
2:16 pm
Not that I personnally give a fat rat’s a$$ about “Too shot for QB/Midget at QB” comments but I remember several vertically challenged QB’s who did fairly well. Doug Flutie, Eddie LeBarron and Heisman winner Danny Wuerfel from UF Gators. All three played in the NFL. Murray is taller than any of those so I’m just going to reserve judgement until he gets some real college exprerience. I believe he will be pretty good. Not David Greene(My alltime favorite) good but better than average.
Bride of Chucky Knapp
August 12th, 2010
2:20 pm
Hey Gator and Bama fans! Get off these comments and get back to work filling my order. I’ve been waiting forever here in the drive thru!
SOS Dawg
August 12th, 2010
2:25 pm
Dawgs must still be out of shape with all the injuries. This just shows once again that the strength and conditioning program is a joke at UGA. Please fire Dave Van Halanger before its too late !
WITHOUT LINDSEY SCOTT,THERE'S NO 1980 TITLE
August 12th, 2010
2:26 pm
MARK RICHT FIRE MIKE CLOWN BOBO
tony
August 12th, 2010
2:27 pm
Mr Richt and Bobo are jokes. How many times were they ever critical of M.Stafford and Cox when they made bonehead dicisions in real games? NONE! They must have something against Aaron because it’s kind of silly to complain about 1 int duing practice. If they wanted just a pocket passer, why did they recruit Murray? He is what he is(A Mobile QB). He didn’t win those hs championships just staying in the pocket. How many championships did Bobo win in hs? NONE! Leave the kid alone and let him do what he does best. He is a WINNER! If he throws too many ints in real games and they see a need to crucify him in public(media) then so be it but stop making a big deal over 1 int during a practice.
Skyhook
August 12th, 2010
2:36 pm
Get off Bobo. You simply don’t know what you are talking about or have no clue what it takes to coach a football team.
Mike Bobo is one of the brightest assistant coachs in the country, and will make a fine head coach one day.
I have followed his career since he was a All Region Quarterback at Thomasville High School. His father George, was one of the finest High School Coachs in the country.
Mike Bobo was named after and is the God son of legendary High School Coach and former Georgia Southern Offensive Coordinator Mike Hodges.
Mike Bobo has been around football since he was in diapers.
The real season is getting close so we are entering the season of the poor mouth. Bear Bryant and Vince Dooley both were the best at down playing there own players abilites, and making the other team seem like Supermen. It is nothing more than Coach Speak, and part of the pyschological and mental prepartion leading up to the season.
Talked to one of the defensive stars parents this morning. They said their son said team is more focused than ever, and said although the 3-4 is different, they are making great strides in figuring the nuances of it out.
SOS Dawg
August 12th, 2010
2:41 pm
CMR should have fired Garner too. That clown has never impressed me and all he has ever done is recruited players with character issues. Too many pipe dream smokers like dawgstephen and others who think UGA will go 10 – 2 this year. Wake up idiots and lets get a coach who can coach and knows how to win championships !
David Green Sells Avon Products
August 12th, 2010
2:51 pm
FORMER UGAY QB NOW SELLS AVON PRODUCTS – HERE IS A COPY OF HIS EMAIL TO MOI:
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Things that make you go hmmm.....
August 12th, 2010
2:53 pm
tony
August 12th, 2010
2:27 pm
Please impress us by proving your resume which highllights your many football accomplishments.
Things that make you go hmmm.....
August 12th, 2010
2:55 pm
David Green Sells Avon Products
August 12th, 2010
2:51 pm
With the contacts he’s made and considering many UGA fans still love him he will probably do real well with Avon. It’s not my bag, but I knew a guy who was making over $150K/year in Avon about 15 years ago. It was his (roughly 3-4 hours per day) full time job.
Things that make you go hmmm.....
August 12th, 2010
2:57 pm
SOS Dawg
August 12th, 2010
2:25 pm
I’m not a big fan of his either.
Catherine
August 12th, 2010
2:58 pm
Hey Things that make you go hmmm….., Atlanta has its own online casino black jack tournament for free at http://www.gameon247.com plus find other casino tournament games soon.
Red Panties
August 12th, 2010
3:09 pm
How can you have alot of “big” shoes to fill on that sorry defense from last year?
Let’s be honest and say we are building up from scratch.
Marianela
August 12th, 2010
3:24 pm
I steal other people’s negative posts about UGA from other losers that don’t have a team with a blog and use them as my own….wow am I cool
BDAWG
August 12th, 2010
4:02 pm
If the pass was that bad, get you butt out there on the field and tell him what he did wrong. He neeeds to know right there not afterwards. You have to teach now, because when the game starts it’s too late. Coach Saban stays on the field during practices. Get your hands dirty Bobo and get off of your sorry a$$. The same excuses won’t be accepted this year that you made last year for the Oklahoma State game. Quote,” it’s my fault that they weren’t prepared.” If that happens CMR better fire him and don’t wait till the end of the season. He should already be looking for a replacement because Bobo is a joke.
Relax, Bobo likes Murray
August 12th, 2010
4:08 pm
If Bobo feels comfortable enough to make a statement like this to an unproven RS Freshman QB after the first scrimmage, then they must a very good rapport. It was probably Murray who told Bobo that he made a bone headed mistake. For every mistake Murray makes in a practice will just make him work all that harder and learn from these mishaps. From what I read, and what the older players say, he is just consumed with football. I wouldn’t try to read too much into this.
AltamahaDawg
August 12th, 2010
4:11 pm
Sambo, I guess I am reading that we agree on this.
But just to clarify. Stafford didn’t average many more attempts than that first year either. I don’t think they had him slinging the ball all over the field particularly the second half of the year. Actually towards the later part of the year his attempts actually went down. (as did Ints). His best game IMO were Auburn and VT, in which he had but about 20 attempts. So you may be correct, that Murray will be better off in only doing that as well.
But Stafford probably only averaged about 25-28 attempt a game over his career, so I don’t think we can say that the coaches overusing his Arm explains his poor stats as far as ints.
I was more addressing the fact that he had twice as many Ints as TD as a freshman. So that’s not very hard to beat. Nor is one int for every 2 TDs his second year. Some folks are critical that our QB doesn’t have better stats before he plays his first game, than our former #1 draft Pick took 3 years to get a handle on.
Saturday in Athens
August 12th, 2010
4:12 pm
Word to ya motha
NYC Dawg
August 12th, 2010
4:12 pm
Bobo is a bonehead.
Dawgtards ruin this state
August 12th, 2010
4:27 pm
Where’s Aaron Murray’s mug shot?
anybody but gt
August 12th, 2010
4:49 pm
Rodney and DeAngelo are a waste. They both suck.
ugag is irrelevant
August 12th, 2010
4:56 pm
yawn ……………………………..
No mug shot for Murray
August 12th, 2010
5:05 pm
Word is that he’s a choir boy. Church every Sunday. Word has it that he thinks there’s too much to loose.
Things that make you go hmmm.....
August 12th, 2010
5:10 pm
ugag is irrelevant
August 12th, 2010
4:56 pm
If “ugag” is irrelevant as you say, then why do you spend so much time posting rants about them? Talk about a loser.
Old Dawg, New Tricks
August 12th, 2010
5:32 pm
you guys CRACK me up. Hahahaha. It’s practice. You’re SUPPOSED to make mistakes in practice. That’s how you get better.
SSIgator
August 12th, 2010
6:27 pm
Dumbo -
Wow, that name fits well. FYI there is no Demere Drive here – only Demere Road and Demere Way. Are you sure you own a condo here? Doofus.
AltamahaDawg
August 12th, 2010
6:27 pm
Good, because skin-so-soft is a big hit down here, once the fall sand gnats start showing up, and we need a reliable (and beloved) source.
BOBBY CATHEY
August 12th, 2010
6:34 pm
get ready for the (3)dawg nite attack
DawgInLex the retard
August 12th, 2010
7:24 pm
I been playing this same broken record for 30 years now.
Dumbo's Realtor
August 12th, 2010
8:23 pm
He most certainly does own a condo on SSI. I just listed it for sale for half of what he paid for it.
CTDawg
August 12th, 2010
8:29 pm
What does GATA mean?
AltamahaDawg
August 12th, 2010
8:36 pm
Georgia’s
Always
Tech’s
Addiction
GATA
August 12th, 2010
10:26 pm
Get After Their Arses
LilburnDawg
August 13th, 2010
1:51 am
You guys need to just breath. We’ve got the best O-line in the SEC and two good backs. That alone will keep the defense off the feild because of the ground game and keep Aaron Murray from having to play superman. Relax guys. Relax.
Yellow Fuzz
August 13th, 2010
9:08 am
Can’t wait to return to Athens this November.
Can’t wait to defend our last ((((((((((((((((((((((((( 45-42 ))))))))))))))))))))))))) bitc slapping there and more importantly, our (((((((((((((((((((( 26-0 ))))))))))))))))))))) 3rd quarter, total butt whoopin, beat down. I look forward to experiencing that erie silence of dog fans in TOTAL shock. Priceless.
Rodney
August 13th, 2010
11:28 am
Has there ever been a coach at UGA that has produced as many NFL players that did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING while under the direction of Garner? Garner is one of the best recruiters in the nation. He’s one of the worst position coaches. Instead of Richt selling him as a recruiting coordinator, we have to make him a position coach just to keep him happy. Another coach under Richt that is grossly overrated.
anybody but gt
August 13th, 2010
4:07 pm
Rodney, I couldn’t agree more! Plus Garner holds us up for more money each year with the threat of going to another school. I say, Go Rodney, Go Rodney, Go Rodney!
I-DOG
August 13th, 2010
5:16 pm
Garner has developed player after player along the d line, I have confidence in him and while the talent isn’t PROVEN. There is a lot of talent to work with in this group. I notice he didn’t mention Kiante Trippe?? I thought he would fit into the DE in the 3-4 scheme very well. Anyone know if he will make a contrib this year?
How about Garrison Smith, thought we would be hearing his name some as a Freshman the way we did Abry Jones last year?
Did Markiri (spelling?) Pugh quit the team or did he get hurt. I don’t remember what happened to this cornerback.
anybody but gt
August 13th, 2010
5:22 pm
I-DOG, I want some of what you are smoking! Garner has squandered a lot of talent. He has developed none. Some of the talent that has been at UGA would have made great players at Savannah State.Duh.
RED DOG 77
August 14th, 2010
1:32 am
I am so dadgum tired of “crybabies” worrying about Aaron Murray and his scrimmage interception. Come on people, this is the University of Georgia BULLDOGS you are talking about ! You would think by reading the posts, that a red shirt FR. has never been a winner in the SEC. Aaron Murray is not Joe Cox nor is he Mathew Stafford, he is Aaron Murray, thats right, the kid that broke his leg, yet came back, with the blessings of coach Mark Richt, and won a state championahip about six weeks before he was even supposed to be back on the field !…………This young man is a winner ! he has already proven that, now he might not win a National Championship his first year under center, but I will assure you Aaron Murray will give it all the guts it takes to be a winner that all of BULLDOG NATION can be proud of…………..So dry those eyes you nervous ninnies, you debbie downers of Georgia football, and get behind this kid with all you have on opening day, and let him know, we know, he’s gonna………….GATA !!!!!!………….GO DOGS !!!!!!!
tony
August 14th, 2010
3:46 am
Things that make you go hmmm…..
August 12th, 2010
2:53 pm
You’re obviously a unreasonable young man. Even if I told you I had impressive accomlishments as a hs athlete you wouldn’t believe me anyway and it would sound like I’m bragging on myself. I will never put myself in that position and besides it’s irrelevant for you to ask me to do something like that because I’m not the 1 who call that young man(Aaron Murray) a BONEHEAD for throwing 1 int in practice.
Aaron Murray is a very smart young man so why would anyone call him a bonehead? Do you know what the word mean? Look below.
bone.head (bnhd) KEY
NOUN:
Informal
A stupid person; a dunce.
I can assure you, Murray is not a stupid person. He threw an ill-advise pass into coverage, BIG DEAL! He is a WINNER and believe me Aaron will waste no time correcting his ill-advise decision because WIINNERS hate to lose. Ill-advise is the proper word to use in this case.
I-DOG
August 14th, 2010
10:31 am
Anybody but gt:
How has Garner squandered talent at UGA? The one player I think could have been a lot more was Jeff Owens, and I think conditioning and diet were a major reason why he didn’t get better during his 4 years in Athens. If you want to hang that on Garner, that is fine. I look at the interior lineman that come in and the vast majority of them get better after being coached by Garner. How many times has d line been the weakness in Georgia’s football team the last 10 years? Not many that I remember.
This year, it is one of the major question marks because three of the interior lineman from last year’s team went to the pros and the players currently on the roster don’t have much playing experience. I think we will be fine on the D line. Garner has high expectations for his players and is not afraid to call them out when they aren’t living up to their potential. He isn’t one to sing his players praises in the press, especially pre-season. He is using this as a motivational tool.
bitter joe cox
August 15th, 2010
2:35 am
all this talk about me being the cause of 5 loses, i was the only tallent on the club, go figure, ps bill king sux!!
Wreckmaniac
August 15th, 2010
12:19 pm
GA TRUTH The only ranking that counts is the US News and World Rpt ranking