Last in SEC in rushing, Georgia expects TB King to play this week
ATHENS — Georgia, which ranks last in the SEC in rushing two weeks into the season, expects to have its tailback tandem intact for the first time this year Saturday against Arkansas.
Caleb King, who missed last week’s game at South Carolina because of a sprained ankle suffered in the season opener, “should practice this week and be fine,” coach Mark Richt said Tuesday.
Washaun Ealey, who was suspended from the opener because of an off-season arrest, returned against South Carolina but seemed less effective without running mate King.
King and Ealey formed a formidable tandem at the position in the second half of last season.
Georgia is averaging 122.5 yards rushing through two games, ranking 89th among the nation’s 120 major-college teams. King had 47 yards on 10 carries against Louisiana-Lafayette, getting just one carry in the second half after injuring an ankle late in the first. Ealey had 75 yards on 19 carries against South Carolina and lost a critical fumble near the goal line late in the third quarter.
The tailbacks’ absences and inconsistency haven’t been the only problems for Georgia’s running game. A veteran offensive line hasn’t been nearly as stellar as expected.
Richt said the run blocking last week was only “fair.”
“If I had a bunch of freshman linemen, I’d say it was a pretty decent day,” Richt said Tuesday. “But for that group of guys, I think we can do better. We’re challenging our runners to get more out of what’s being blocked too.
“That kid from South Carolina did,” he added, referring to freshman Marcus Lattimore’s 182-yard performance against the Bulldogs.
Georgia offensive tackle Josh Davis vowed that the Dogs’ running game will improve.
“We’re going to run the ball, and we’re going to do it very well,” he said. “When we have an experienced offensive line, we should be able to run the ball. I think [the South Carolina game] was a good learning experience, but it’s not going to happen again.”
++++++++++++
Shaun Chapas, Georgia’s starting fullback, is questionable for Saturday’s game because of a sprained ankle, Richt said Tuesday.
Chapas injured the ankle in the first half of the South Carolina game and did not play in the second half.
If Chapas can’t play against Arkansas, Fred Munzenmaier will start at fullback.
++++++++++++
From earlier today:
Richt agrees with caller who says Dogs were ‘timid’ at times.
UGA skips pay-per-view to put Idaho State game on Channel 2 WSB-TV.
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
133 comments Add your comment
chazzo
September 15th, 2010
6:35 am
Being last in rushing has nothing to with the line or the backs! You have to hand it off more than 19 times. Back starts moving at hike; QB puts ball in gut, back hits hole. Some of the rushing plays just take to long to develop.
chazzo
September 15th, 2010
6:37 am
PS. 4 ypc is good! Do that 3 times, and you have a first down. Seems like if a back is getting ten yard carries every play, Bobo and Richt give up on the run and start firing bombs downfield.
What year is it?
September 15th, 2010
8:01 am
I am confused ……….what year are we in? As a UGA man, class of 71 & 73, I know that the wheels on this vehicle are just about to come off ……….like most years lately have been.
Statistically, we are not looking so good ……….with our supposedly great O line. This is the way that it has been in Athens for most of the last 20-25 years and I for one, am getting tired of it.
Rambo’s lazy assed comments make me sick. He is lazy. He is a coward. He should be benched. Kick ealey off of the team and allow AJ to go with him. Their actions have hurt the organization.
If it is not a W Ealey, then it is a another. UGA deserves better. Kick these dead beats off of the squad.
Go Dogs.
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
September 15th, 2010
8:43 am
What yr is it
I totally agree
Im Sick and tired of this crap and yes kick AJ and Ealey and Boobo off
thanks to those three we were at a disadvantage against SC
Party Animal
September 15th, 2010
9:01 am
UGA beats Arkansas easy—Petrino’s offense will be shut down by Grantham’s 3-4 D and UgA’s RBs will light it up. Ga 40 Ark 20–bet the house!
Chris
September 15th, 2010
9:01 am
I highly doubt we will get more production from the running game. Any other team could with our offensive line, and array of running backs but not Georgia.
Why may you ask? Two words….Richt & Bobo.
Here’s our typical play calling for each series.
1st Down – 50 yard bomb that falls incomplete, or a quick throw to a receiver behind the line of scrimmage that goes for 0 yards.
2nd Down – Run the ball straight up the middle. The defense usually figures this one out since we do it 90% of the time. We typically gain 1 or 2 yards.
3rd Down – Now that we are in third and long, we have to pass. Sometimes we get lucky and pick up a first down, but we usually don’t and have to punt on 4th down.
Time of posession for this particular drive. About 1 minute. Now the defense is right back on the field with little rest. This scenario was repeated over and over and over and over against S.C. I wonder why we lost?
This is not how you effectively run the ball. If Georgia wants to do so, then we need a new scheme and new coaches.
I’m going out on a limb here, but if I was the coach, I would probably approach the running game like this.
1st Down – RUN THE BALL! and not always up the middle. Toss it to the strong side, bring the fullback in the game for extra blocking, and just simply mix it up! A team with a good running back, and a good line should pick up 3 to 4 yards with no problem.
2nd Down – Now that is is 2 and 6 to go, you can RUN THE BALL again! You will probably pick up a few more yards.
3rd Down – Now you are in 3rd and manageable. You can run the ball again if it is 3rd and 1 or 2, or you can have your young QB throw a much easier to execute 3rd and short pass.
If you get a 1st down, the possibilities are endless for the rest of the drive. This makes for time consuming drives, and takes the pressure off your defense.
Why can’t Bobo figure this out?
It will soon be clearly obvious
September 15th, 2010
9:34 am
Georgia plays Arkansas on Saturday and their coach has been there for two or three years now. If he comes in and handles UGA, then that will be another mid to lower echelon SEC team ( like KY ) that defeats UGA. SC did it last Saturday. These teams are not upper level teams. Arkansas will not be a top 13 team at year’s end. SC might ………depends on if Lattimore remains healthy.
Beyond Arkansas,we face Mississippi State on the road and if we lose to them, ( with another new coach ) then that will be more proof that Richt has fallen to the SEC cellar in coaching.
His players should all be comfortable with his systems and UGA ought to be re-loading, rather than struggling like we are and like we did in 09. UGA is so predictable on Offense. UGA does not have a good running back on campus ……….ealey and King are only back ups on the better SEC squads. Ark DOES HAVE a good one ………we will see on Sat too. Gulp.
Folks ………….last year we had to struggle with a QB that was in the “system” for 5 years. We have no running backs and the O line …………was vastly over rated or they are UNDER PERFORMING. We continue to have lazy, indifferent D players EVEN with the new D co ordinator. What is up with that??
If you are an underperformer …………you have no personal pride or have esprit d’ corps for the team.
This to me is simply unfathomable ………..why?
Come Colorado and of course, the Tennessee game …………we will know what we have. I predict that it will be ugly by then. Auburn, Florida and KY and such might be very ugly. None of that should be taking place at UGA with a 10 year coach.
UGA change is a coming.
Delbert D.
September 15th, 2010
9:47 am
Kentucky looked pretty good against Louisville. Hartline has completed over 71%, 3 TDs, no INT, 430 yards in the 2 games. Randall Cobb has looked good also.
tt
September 15th, 2010
10:09 am
Bottom line is Dawgs were not ready MENTALLY for the SC game……they were standing around watching and arm tackling on D. Rambo watched the SC fumble that they recovered and returned for a TD!!! What the h8ll is going on w these guys…that game was HUGE…especially since Florida looks to be in a down year. COME ON…what gives…how were these guys not fired up? How did they not adjust at half? Latimoore was good…but they only scored 17!!!! I hate when we loose this way…..its like the Alabama game from a few years back when they jumped all over us and ended it in the first half. Time and time again…games that were against Fla that we hung around in…but never seemed to have the heart to take a win. ITS MOTIVATION…..these guys aren’t motivated! It makes me sick….wasted talent and excuses, every year.
Wait till the end of the year and these guys will be a force some writer said…well it wont matter then if we have already lost 4 games!!!!
How many times did Garcia scramble and a Georgia player tried to take out his legs?! HE IS THE QB!!! TAKE HIS HEAD OFF!!! GET MEAN FOR CRYING OUT LOUD……Im 40 years old and dont weigh 230 nor do I bench 350…..I cant do it! But I play tennis with my buddies w more determination than these guys showed vs. SC!!!
Everyone was worried about Murray…He is doing HIS job! Give him some help!!!!
Hunker Down
September 15th, 2010
10:09 am
What happened to our vaulted O line?
Dang
September 15th, 2010
11:00 am
I could be worse. We could have lost to James Madison….
Delbert D.
September 15th, 2010
12:21 pm
The defense just vaulted right over them?
OldFan
September 15th, 2010
12:33 pm
We’ve all been jumping on these boys pretty good, which is what they’ve deserved. As an alum and long time fan, I’m not only pulling for them this Saturday, but I’m also willing to hope that both the players and coaches can make us proud to be Dawg fans. Even really good teams lose games. I don’t know how good this team should be, and that seems to be at the heart of everyone’s disappointment. Show us how good you can be. I can take the loses. I just can’t take the half-ass effort, the lack of discipline, the absence of innovation and imagination, and the failure of leadership. Fix that nonsense, and the fans will be with you.
Delbert D.
September 15th, 2010
12:33 pm
If you need to play a cupcake, don’t schedule a game with the Colonial Athletic Association. Ranked in the FCS top 15 are James Madison, defending national champion Villanova, New Hampshire, Richmond, Delaware, William and Mary and Massachusetts.
Delbert D.
September 15th, 2010
12:35 pm
“You” meaning any FBS school.
gabulldog66
September 15th, 2010
12:57 pm
I gotta agree with “dawgster”. We lost because we did not get enough point. They did not stop us either. We stopped ourselves. Couldn’t run, wouldn’t open up the offense, had one main weapon suspended for being stupid, and one weapon hurt his little ankle. And inspite of playing that first game cupcake, we are last in the SEC in rushing. Richt needs to take the offense back.
Alabama Dog
September 15th, 2010
1:21 pm
Personally, I’m glad to know King is back. Maybe it will keep Washaun “I Can’t Hold Onto The Ball In A Critical Point In The Game” on the BENCH-where he should have been last Saturday!!!!!!
SSIgator
September 15th, 2010
1:22 pm
“Georgia expects TB King to play this week”
Ok. But will he be productive. With Bobo calling the plays and Richt getting a suntan on the sidelines I suspect not. Arkansas beats up the Dawgs and PETA files suit on behalf of the 90,000 fans that had to be witness to cruelty to animals.
Dawg Tired
September 15th, 2010
1:56 pm
Sonofadawg – I’d settle for 4 plays is we could execute those 4 plays. Dooley had about 4 plays and so did Lombardi. The difference was their players actually blocked the man they were assigned to block. You can have a 100 plays and not succeed unless you execute the one play you happen to be running. Football is about blocking and tackling. We did not do either one of those last Saturday. As a result we got beat. Had we blocked and tackled we would have won running those same 4 plays. We would have scored about 24 points and SC would have scored about 10 points (maybe less).
AltamahaDawg
September 15th, 2010
2:07 pm
Chris, except that if you actually go look at the 9 offensive series, and compare to what you just described as “typical”, that’s just not how it went down, over and over and over. In fact, that would have been Atypical. Hopefully this will make you feel better.
Delbert D.
September 15th, 2010
2:32 pm
In Lattimore’s on-the-field post-game interview he said, “We just kept running that zone read play. That’s the same play we ran in high school.”
chazzo
September 15th, 2010
3:49 pm
Does anyone really believe tha two games is any kind of adequate sample to judge anything. This is a completely worthless stat. 89th? What does that even mean? If UGA ranked 200th in rushing and beat SC, no one would think twice. Georgia was doing fine running the ball. They just gave up on it too quickly.
Chris
September 15th, 2010
3:50 pm
AltamahaDawg, I exaggeated the negative to prove a point.
Bobo and Richt have ALWAYS been too quick to get away from the run, they call run plays when they shouldn’t, and don’t call run plays when they should.
It has been that way for 10 years. That’s why we are rarely effective at runing the ball. Richt and Bobo are too pass happy.
If you haven’t noticed that, then you haven’t been watching Georgia very much.
roswell dawg
September 15th, 2010
4:27 pm
Caleb is a walking hospital. Not durable at all. He is always hurt. Need to find a Lattimore or Walker runner these days.
Need Run Blocking
September 15th, 2010
4:27 pm
Caleb King would have made no difference against SC. Letting Murray play, calling a better game offensively and getting some blocking from a very over rated OL that are still not bottle weined would have made a difference.
It is time to man up Dawgs
Nerd Furgeson
September 15th, 2010
6:53 pm
Fire Blowbo!
BoWeevil
September 15th, 2010
8:34 pm
44 football games our Georgia Bulldogs could have played with Caleb Freaking King as our Running Back.
Caleb King was named the # 1 Best Football Player in the State of Georgia and either the # 3 or # 4 Best Running Back in America.
Caleb King has forced himself (or been unable to get out of going on the field as a player)
HALF the games
22 games played
888 yards rushing
Caleb King is averaging 20 yards per game as the # 1 player in state of Georgia and # 3 best running back nationally for the games he could have played in.
Poor little fragile thing.
He has played in only 22, half of what could have been 44 games he could have played for us.
What is the problem with the UGA Offense ?
The OL cannot block for him ?
The Offensive Coordinator cannot call plays for him ?
The Quarterback cannot hand the ball off to him ?
And, now we have an entire BLOG about Caleb Freaking King.
Save your ink.
BoWeevil
September 15th, 2010
8:44 pm
per Chris above :
1st Down – 50 yard bomb that falls incomplete, or a quick throw to a receiver behind the line of scrimmage that goes for 0 yards.
2nd Down – Run the ball straight up the middle. The defense usually figures this one out since we do it 90% of the time. We typically gain 1 or 2 yards.
3rd Down – Now that we are in third and long, we have to pass. Sometimes we get lucky and pick up a first down, but we usually don’t and have to punt on 4th down.
Chris, sir, that is Wrong.
3rd down, we call a draw play because we don’t want to put the QB into a bad situation.
Also, Wrong.
What happened to the Penalties, Chris ?
1 of those 4 downs we clearly have a penalty.
You left that out too.
Interceptions and Fumbles ? We do that on 1 of those downs too.
Oh, yeah, and have Coach Richt running the sidelines shaking his head at his chosen Quarterback, whom he said was the best QB we have.
TRY IT AGAIN CHIRS, and make these OBVIOUS CHANGES to what you left out.
BoWeevil
September 15th, 2010
8:46 pm
6 points all we can score
And, you think we can score more than Arkansas with their Michigan transfer QB
DISNEYdawgs.com
Stinger
September 15th, 2010
9:29 pm
No defense, No running game, and No quarterback spells disaster!!!!!! In other words you ruin this state. LMFAO
BoWeevil
September 16th, 2010
2:27 am
You got nothing to say Georgia tek losing to Kansas who just the week before scored only 6 points in a loss to South Dakota State.
AltamahaDawg
September 16th, 2010
7:17 am
No, exaxgerating would be if that were the sequence of plays most of the time during that game, or even half the time and calling it “always. When in reality it’s once, maybe twice out of nine series, that is simply false information, not exageration.
Richt’s teams have run the ball percentage wise as much as the rest of the SEC schools over his tenure and has been in the upper half of the league in run production as much as he has not. Last year was the exception and it obvious was that we simply couldnt do it, especially early.
Team don’t run the ball effectively just because they call the play. They call the play because they can run the ball effectively.
NOW, the question as to why we CAN”T run the ball effectively is a very fair question, one I have been pondering since last season. But its certainly not because somebody is “in love” with the passing game, or despite knowing that running the ball would be a clearer path to victory, just inexplicable chooses not to do it.
AltamahaDawg
September 16th, 2010
7:19 am
BTW, the draw play is not “called” it’s an option and a decision the QB makes at the line.