Notebook: Bulldogs look to resurrect rushing attack against run-stuffing Gators
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – In the three games leading up to the South Carolina game, Georgia averaged 301 yards and 5 touchdowns running the football. In the two games since, the Bulldogs have averaged 96 yards and one-half a TD.
The Bulldogs believe the truth that is their 2012 rushing attack lay somewhere in between those two samples. They’re probably not as mighty as they seemed when they were gashing Florida Atlantic for 328 yards on Sept. 15 or as meek as they were eking out 77 yards against Kentucky last week.
“We knew it wasn’t going to be that good every week,” said freshman tailback Keith Marshall, who had 164 yards against Tennessee and leads the backs with a 7 yards per carry average. “This is SEC football, you know. I think teams were just having to respect the run a little more than they were at the beginning of the season. That’s no excuse. I still think we’re capable of doing big things and I think we’ll get back to doing it.”
Fellow freshman tailback Todd Gurley, who once led the SEC in rushing and had five 100-yard games, has managed only 86 the last two games. He’s now sixth in the league at 88.9 yards per game.
The No. 2-ranked Florida Gators’ defense is hardly one against which to expect improvement. They come into Saturday’s game ranked among the nation’s top 10 in rushing defense (10th, 97.29 ypg), total defense (7th, 282 ypg) and scoring defense (12.14 ppg).
Regardless, offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said it’s important the Bulldogs stay committed to the run. So he and his staff have worked overtime examining the issues of the last two games with the hope of making the necessary adjustments.
“I think it was a little bit of execution at South Carolina and a little bit of us getting whipped and then getting down and getting away from the running game,” Bobo said. “This past week, I think it was a little bit about what their defense was doing. They made a commitment to stop the run. We knew it would be tough but we thought we could pop a (long) run in there. But we never did and had more success in the air. So, overall, I wasn’t disappointed with the run game because it didn’t do anything to hurt us. It enabled us to open up the passing game and throw for over 400 yards.”
Georgia managed 505 yards offense against Kentucky thanks to quarterback Aaron Murray’s 427-yard passing night. But the Gators are good at stopping that, too. They rank 3rd nationally in pass efficiency defense.
The key for the Bulldogs is to stay patient keep them guessing.
“Against one of the best rush defenses in America, you may run for less yards than you’re averaging and still have a heck of a day running the ball,” coach Mark Richt said. “We definitely don’t want to abort the run by any means. We have to make sure that we run it well enough to the point they have some respect for it.”
Said Bobo: “I think we’re a confident (offense). We believe in ourselves and believe we can execute any time we step on the field. The thing you’ve got to keep preaching is, sometimes the defense is going to stop you. But you can’t get rattled; you can’t worry about it. You’ve got to keep playing and I think we do a great job of that.”
Close to home
Georgia has a dozen players from the state of Florida, but none grew up closer to Georgia-Florida game than John Theus.
The Bulldogs’ freshman right tackle and his older brother, snapper Nathan Theus, graduated from the Bolles School, just around the corner from EverBank Field.
“I’ve always thought it would be cool to be able to play in that stadium that I’ve watched so many games in,” John Theus said this week. “I know the place so well. It’s cool to go back.”
Etc… .
Malcolm Mitchell has played 336 snaps this season: 178 on defense, 103 on special teams and 55 on offense. . . . Georgia is among the top six teams in the nation when it comes to playing freshmen. The Bulldogs had played 13 true freshmen this season, which ranks sixth among FBS teams. Another nine redshirt freshmen have played. . . . Bulldogs and Gators fans were arriving by the thousands on Thursday and were greeted cloudy skies but very warm temperatures. Hurricane Sandy, a category 1 storm in the Caribbean Sea, appears to be turning away Florida. But high winds and unpredictable weather is expect the next two days as it heads to the Atlantic Ocean.
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207 comments Add your comment
TossSweep
October 26th, 2012
5:54 am
If our running game gets stufffed, they know we’ll have to pass and the wind doesn’t there. It’ll wreak havoc in our kicking game as well. Georgia has to play an almost perfect game to eek out a win. These NFL bound players need to remove their glass slippers and step up.
TossSweep
October 26th, 2012
5:56 am
the wind doesn’t help there
Woofy One
October 26th, 2012
6:31 am
Aaron, You sat at lunch and said you hoped I remembered you and I most certainly did. You can be certain every Dawg fan remembers if you and your team mates beat the Lizards.
Beast from the East
October 26th, 2012
6:43 am
7576DAWG
October 26th, 2012
12:26 am
If Georgia just try’s to run it down their throat we will be stopped like South Carolina and Kentucky did but if we throw the ball Florida will have to spread out the defensive back’s to cover everybody. Then we may get a few good runs but if we concentrate on just getting the run game established we better hold Florida to no more than 10 points. Florida’s only weakness on defense is pass coverage.
———————————
UF is ranked 3rd in pass efficiency defense. I would hardly call that a weakness.
gomdawg
October 26th, 2012
6:59 am
FLORIDA OFFENSE IS NOT HAS GOOD AS KENTUCKY ,PASSING OR RUSHING . GEORGIA IS THE BEST TEAM THE GATORS WILL FACE ALL YEAR . TURNOVERS WHICH IS LUCK ALOT OF TIMES , YOUR LUCK RUNS OUT THIS WEEK
GEORGIA 31 GATORS 17
Neutral
October 26th, 2012
7:02 am
I think some of you “Sunday morning QBs” are hysterical. Committing to the “running game” is great, but if you run 25 times for 9 yards it might be time to start passing more……like against SC and KY. My biggest concern Saturday is the “wind” and how it will affect our passing game (which we depend on more than FL). Hopefully, if we can stop the FL running game then the wind may even be a bigger factor for FL since their QB is a little less efficient passing. It will be interesting to see if Mother Nature impacts the game for either team.
dogdawg
October 26th, 2012
7:03 am
I’m telling you CMR is on pain meds!!! How do you go from the gator stomp and black outs to not caring? He can’t motivate this team anymore and has calmed down Todd Gratham,theres got to be a reason!! Now the players are having to do his job if we are gonna win.
GatorBait 18-4
October 26th, 2012
7:11 am
“We knew it wasn’t going to be that good every week,” said freshman tailback Keith Marshall, who had 164 yards against Tennessee and leads the backs with a 7 yards per carry average. “This is SEC football, you know.
Sadly this kid is more aware of the need to Run in the SEC than Richt. Marky thinks he is still in the ACC and you just sling it around the field and score forty points a game. The SEC is a smash mouth running and defensive league, with great special team play.
Unfortunately under Richt the dawgs don’t do any of that well. The dawgs have a HC that is neither respected or feared, just a very nice passive man they like. The OC is Bobo the clown, have ya’ll ever wonder why no other school has tried to hire him away from UGA as their new OC or HC————–didn’t thinks so, NO ONE WANTS THAT CLOWN. You have a DC Grantham the goon who was either Richt’s 5th or 6th choice after all the good DC turned Richt down. His 3-4 can’t stop my sister.
And the special team coordinator, oh I forgot Richt doesn’t have one. I’d get one, but what do I know.
GatorBait 18-4
October 26th, 2012
7:34 am
Neutral
October 26th, 2012
7:02 am
“Hopefully, if we can stop the FL running game then the wind may even be a bigger factor for FL since their QB is a little less efficient passing.”
———————————————————————————————————————————-
Come again, Driscole may be less efficient 147 to Murray’s 168, but he is bigger, stronger and has a bigger arm. Driskel has 1 INT to Murray’s 4, I think we will be all right.
But stop[ping the run may never happen
Neutral
October 26th, 2012
7:35 am
Was Arkansas ranked in the “Top 5″ after their first game before their meltdown? I think they were and if that is true then the SEC has had 6 teams make the “top 5″ this season……pretty dang impressive!!! Not to mention that Miss.State is close to the Top 10.
RedandBlackDAWG
October 26th, 2012
7:37 am
Bobo wants to mix it up and keep them guessing with the run game. It all starts with the OL and Bobo has not kept a defense guessing for quite a few years now. In fact his runs off tackle haven’t kept the fans guessing that much either. I say, go to the outside and make them work a little, stopping the run. Pass a lot and hope the receivers are open and Murray has a little time to see his reads and complete passes.
On defense it is really pretty simple on paper. Stop their running game and force them to pass, Driskell will not beat you with his arm.
In games where UGA is facing a really good defense, they have not fared well, and seem ill prepared to have a game plan that allows them to exploit and find any weaknesses that the defense has. We almost seem to play into their hand and if UGA wants to have a good game, they will have to mix it up a lot and I am not sure that is possible.
It will be a tough game to win, but not impossible. I will still remain loyal to my DAWGS no matter what, but it would be nice to throw some variety at them as our offense is capable of doing that. Shake them up a little and see how they react.
GO DAWGS and GATA
TY
October 26th, 2012
7:38 am
They need to use their stronger backs against UF. The young backs got their yardage against lesser teams. If we can control the ball by power running and keep their offense off the field we can win. If we score quickly and put pressure on our defense as they ball control it will be a long day period.
Big Dog 1
October 26th, 2012
7:42 am
The offensive lines woes can be summed up easily. They have to hold their blocks too long. Watch the game closely and you will see the linemen engage in their blocks and the running back still doesn’t have the ball in their hands. In the SEC most linemen can’t hold a block as long as Georgia’s linemen are required.
gomdawg
October 26th, 2012
7:46 am
Gator Bait , Murray had 199 atps. Driskel 127 you throw it more and you will have couple more int.
DOES NOT MATTER , WE WILL WIN
GEORGIA 31 GATORS 17
GATORS ARE GOING DOWN SORRY
Neutral
October 26th, 2012
7:47 am
@gator bait 18-4
You may be right…..we’ll need to wait another 36 hours to see who is correct. Your monicker (18-4) is very true, but in the last 19 games, FL is 15-4 and curiously they have had their “bye” week before the UGa game 15 times……hmmmmmmm. What a coincidence!!! I’ve noticed that FL has a real problem beating the Dawgs over the last 20…. Actually 50 years if they don’t have 2 weeks to prepare for the game. We’ll know tomorrow if that trend stays true. In fact, it may trump all the other stats the fans are throwing out in these blogs!!! Be careful driving tomorrow….lots of drunk Ga and FL fans out there!!!
Joey
October 26th, 2012
7:49 am
“FLORIDA OFFENSE IS NOT HAS GOOD AS KENTUCKY ,PASSING OR RUSHING .”
************************************************
gomdawg, that may have something with the number of good teams UF has played, rather than an indictment of the Gator O.
Not to mention new QB and new OC in ‘12.
I wouldn’t bet against Pease (OC) – he had his way with our D last year with a smaller, slower team.
World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party
October 26th, 2012
7:56 am
Dawgs Win !
““““““` Mark Richt makes it 2-0 against the muschamp guarantee.
Texas Dawg
October 26th, 2012
7:57 am
No way Murry wins this game for us with the “SAME OL’ offensive game plan……………….IF our OC and head coach come out and do the same dang thing as far as an offensive game plan they need to be fired!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have not seen one game plan other than the 1sthalf against LSU in the SEC C game that was any different than every other game……………………..we had the worst game plan against SC this year……………………….BOTTOM LINE for this lifelong Dawg fan is that I better see creative smart play calls against FL or CMR and Bobo HAVE to go!
Pete
October 26th, 2012
8:01 am
It’s not rocket science…..worked overtime?? HA! what a joke. The difference is when you play a losing team or a good team. In our case, even when we play the worst team in the SEC, we make them look like giant killers. We get all giddy with our 6-1 record and “10 in a row”, noboby wants to talk about the 6 all have losing records, and the “10 in a row” did not include a win over a team with more than 7 wins at the end of the year- and most of the 10 had losing records. You ask who has Bama played??? well nobody really, the difference is they beat the nobodys how they should be beating them……
Half Century Dawg
October 26th, 2012
8:02 am
Expectations are very low for the Dawgs. The Gators are a heavy favorate by most all the expert prognosticators, as well as the folk’s on this blog. There is nothing better than being a big underdog in a big game. The Dawgs have talent and I believe they will show up with an attitude tomorrow and make all Dawg fans proud. Go Dawgs!!!
Beast from the East
October 26th, 2012
8:06 am
Thomas Brown?
http://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/2012/uga-newspaper-florida-advertisment/
JaxDawg
October 26th, 2012
8:12 am
ANYONE WHO THINKS THAT WE WILL SIMPLY AIR IT OUT WHEN THE RUN GETS STUFFED AND BOBO ABANDONS IT HASN’T SEEN THE FORECAST FOR SATURDAY AFTERNOON! 27 MPH WINDS DON’T MAKE FOR A GREAT PASSING DAY!! COME ON DAWGS AND RUN THAT BALL!
Few Showers / Wind
Chance of rain:
30%Wind:
NNW at 27 mph
Newnandawg
October 26th, 2012
8:14 am
After Richt loses to Florida again, will you Richt supporters please finally give up on him?
We need a coach capable of competing on the highest level. And stop the “We could be Tennessee” talk. We could also be Alabama or Florida in the second year of their coaching changes.
JB
October 26th, 2012
8:26 am
Amen Newnandawg………I’m tired of the ” look at Tennessee” talk. I’ll risk a young, energetic, high powered,hard working, fire breathing new coach with the money to hire some real pros as assit .coach’s. I swear, Mark looks like he needs no dose on the sidelines.
old dog
October 26th, 2012
8:29 am
Time for old dog to get back on the soap box. YOU CANNOT RUN IF YOU CANNOT RUN-BLOCK! We had all those previous yards against lower tier teams! Once we played a REAL team, we found out we did not have the trench warriors. I am a true fan, and have been awhile. Calling out our TOTAL lack of recruiting on the o-line does not mean I am a fair-weather friend. For us to have the recruiting success (for the most part) at the other positions and then fall so short up front (where the game is won or lost) puts us in the middle of the pack at best in the SEC. Right now, we are behind ‘Bama, South Carolina, Florida, LSU,and Mississippi State at least (if not a few more) in o-line talent. We have consistently let the better linemen go elswhere, then we wonder why we get stuffed by good teams. We may win Saturday, and I will be happy to eat crow on every blog if we do. However, if we do it will most likely be on turnovers, Florida mistakes, or something of the like. We sure as heck are NOT gonna over-power them up front. Lets make a concentrated effort to bring in the studs up front…..or next year we will be saying the exact same thing!
DIT
October 26th, 2012
8:32 am
It’s easy for the Dawgs. If they have any chance of winning they need to find away to score a couple TD’s in the 1st half and hold onto dear life in the 2nd because UF does not give up points in the 2nd half.
Bobo and Grantham better be ready to open that play book wide open! Still, gators are too strong.
NCDawg
October 26th, 2012
8:34 am
I just love all the optimism! I won’t make a prediction because I am in wait and see mode. I truly think that if the Dawgs don’t beat the Gators… CMR and staff are gone. However, I think the team will show up for this one and it is going to be a very interesting game. Saying that Richt doesn’t like the run is just plain stupid. Why recruit top shelf backs if we aren’t going to run the ball? Why not use those slots to bring in some more receivers if that’s the case? If you look at it like that, you can see how ridiculous the statement really is.
I have some issues with the scheme… the blocking scheme more than anything else. We have very few pure power blocking schemes and most are way more complicated than they really need to be. If we could incorporate a few more pure power formations and blast blocking schemes, it would help alot.
We will run the ball and I think we will be reasonably effective… effective enough to allow us to pass a bit. Look for King and Mitchell to have pretty good games. They can cover one but not both.
The problem with the SC game was not being able to check down at the line… it threw everything off kilter. Hats off to the SC fans for making it impossible to hear. We still had opportunities and if even a couple of those passes that were dropped had been hauled in, it would have been a totally different game.
Tomorrow is a big day. Either we take the driver’s seat on the road to Atlanta or we basically say good bye to our coaching staff. Alot of people will be happy either way.
King Gator
October 26th, 2012
8:35 am
UF 31
GA 13
——–
Go Gators!
old dog
October 26th, 2012
8:38 am
I hear ya NCDawg, but we ain’t got the hosses for run-blocking schemes……thats what has been pointed out so many times. No scheme under the sun will work if your linemen are getting knocked back into the QB’s grill!
Wand
October 26th, 2012
8:41 am
UGA 100, UF 0
mike addington
October 26th, 2012
8:42 am
Notice that Ken Malcombe had a lot more carries against Kentucky. I think Richt was trying to rest Gurshall. Weve heard many times about it being a big adjustment for freshmen playing their first season as far as endurance goes, so that’s my take. I feel bettter after Shawn Williams spoke up but the proof is in the pudding. We CAN play with FL; in fact, having watched the Gators a few times. I’d say we’re better if we play up to our (there’s that word) Potential, but having watched Richt implode too manty times, nothing would surprise me any more. Just hoping our DAWGS man up and beat FL. I still would rather win this game than any other; although S. Carolina has moved up. Think it would still bother the heck out of The Ole AH Ball Coach if we won, especially if we won out. Good luck DAWGS
yep
October 26th, 2012
8:43 am
need the O-Line to step up and create some holes for the RBs and time for the QB. also need to avoid turnovers on special teams.
kingdaddy
October 26th, 2012
8:48 am
As long as Murray doesn’t try to “air it out” , I don’t see the wind effecting the short/intermediate passing game. Murray has plenty of zip in the medium to short game and there will be plenty of “calm periods”to loose a long one if UF gives him time. Million $ question??? Is our Oline ready yet? They are better than they were when they started this year, but are they ready for another intimidating Dline? Can they give Murray just enough time to get his rhythm? If they can do this, then we may get a little running game going. If we hold onto the ball, we have a fighting chance. If we turn it over alot, we are doomed…
old dog
October 26th, 2012
8:49 am
Football, per the great Bear Bryant, is still about BLOCKING AND TACKLING. One of his famous statements to his team was if they played football at Alabama, they would definitely know how to block and tackle. I think we know the latter……we just have not put it together lately. The blocking, on the other hand…………
Neutral
October 26th, 2012
8:52 am
Dang-it…….no one answered my question. Was Arkansas ranked in the Top 5 early in the season before their big slide?
kingdaddy
October 26th, 2012
8:57 am
BTW
I think the Gators overconfidence will come back to bite them in the a$$. Doggies not as bad as they seem, Gators not as good as they seem. Gonna g
be a very interesting game, not a blow-out…
Neutral
October 26th, 2012
9:00 am
@Beast from the East @8:06
Yep….that has to be written by Mr Negativity aka Thomas Brown. By the way, he disappeared from the UGa blogs for about a month and has just returned in his same old rambling form. I actually saw many of this same type blogs with his name on the GT sites. He probably does the same negative stuff on other sites too. He is not a Disgruntled Dawg Fan….he is a schizo who stalks multiple blogs with his rambling rants!!!
Dawg Tired
October 26th, 2012
9:01 am
“resurrect” is a good word. It indicates that a miracle must occur.
ARdawg
October 26th, 2012
9:02 am
Nothing fancy Richt. Forget the pro style offense. Two TE set, protect Murray and balance the air and the ground game. INSIST the defense get the job done and you win this game
NCDAWG
October 26th, 2012
9:02 am
I hope Bobo told murray to look for the check down receiver (the back in the flat) and we learned to run a good screen pass (in a week). It’s not just about the run, it’s also keeping the defense honest in the passing game. Yet to see us execute these things well in the Bobo era, but all the great teams have this in their arsenal. The run and then throw the bomb is not going to work against this defense, just as it did not work against SC.
ARdawg
October 26th, 2012
9:02 am
Neutral I think they were #5 in the preseason poll
FLA DAWG
October 26th, 2012
9:04 am
I don’t get it. Many experts are saying the UGA / UF Game will be close – 7 points or so.
I have seen absolutely nothing that would indicate our Dawgs are capable of stopping UF from drilling right through our butter D and our even more porous O Line.
I think UF beats our Dawgs by 35 points tomorrow.
NCDawg
October 26th, 2012
9:06 am
I think we have guys that if the blocking scheme were set for it. These guys go on to the NFL and do ok so it must be what they are being asked to do. I just see guys trying to open holes while moving all over the place. The Bama line would have trouble with these blocking schemes. We also have alot of injuries and I think that is because of the blocking scheme asking too much of them. There are alot of knee and ankle injuries. If we could simplify the running blocking and keep the pass protection schemes I think we’d be ok.
Tomorrow will be a big day for our young backs… they have to do more in the pass game. Catch it when it is thrown to them and block when asked to. Gurley needs to attack pass rushers instead of trying to roll them. He can knock them off course if he attacks. The good DL make him miss when he tries to cut them.
And yes I think it would be good to line up both of them in the backfield on several plays. Just the confusion factor would be worth it.
Neutral
October 26th, 2012
9:06 am
I agree Kingdaddy. I thought it was interesting that SC was beaten at FL the EXACT same way UGa lost to SC. The entire game momentum took place in the first qtr. UGa gave up 21 easy pts to SC and SC gave up 21 easy ones to FL. FL took a 21 pt lead and only had 27 yards and 2 first downs in the entire 1st half. UGa just needs to hold it together and not lose traction early as they did in Columbia.
ARdawg
October 26th, 2012
9:07 am
FLA DAWG
Phil Steele picked FL by a couple of TDs. Which is actually good news. He couldn’t pick UGA correctly when he picked them to win
Showmeyurtd's
October 26th, 2012
9:07 am
Yes ark was ranked in top 5 preseason.
ZinoDawg
October 26th, 2012
9:08 am
Hate to say it but:
Gators 35
Dawgs 0
FLA DAWG
October 26th, 2012
9:10 am
We allowed Buffalo, Mizzou, KY, UT and FAU to hang dozens of points on us.
Now we think we can stop UF?
We scored 7 points in the 4th Qtr vs SC and now we think we can run against UF?
This does not compute. This does not compute. This does not……
Neutral
October 26th, 2012
9:13 am
Thanks ARdawg, I also thought they were 4th or 5th. I think the real USC was #1 early on followed by Bama, LSU and Arkansas. Pretty impressive for the SEC to have 6 teams make the Top 5 sometime during the season…..that may be a first . Let me ask Thomas Brown since he knows everything!!!!
FLA DAWG
October 26th, 2012
9:15 am
Ya know boys it’s tough for me to say, not only as a Dawg Fan but a UGA Alumn of ‘79…but, if we’re gonna lose then it might be better in the long run for us to lose big so a coaching change decision can come sooner than later.
Christ, I thought it would have come already!