The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly - Outback Bowl

During the Outback Bowl against Michigan State there was a lot of good, a lot of bad, and way too much ugly. Here is how I saw it

The good: Aaron Murry throwing for 288 yards against a top five defense. Malcolm Mitchell 7 catches. Ken Malcome with 12 carries for 51 yards. Brandon Boykin with a safety, a punt return for a TD and pass catch for a TD. Tavarres King with a Georgia record 205 receiving yards and a remarkable 34.2 ypc on 6 catches. Jumping out to a 16 point lead. Bouncing back after blowing that lead twice to take the lead back both times. Forcing 3 turnovers against a team that seldom turns the ball over.

The bad: Averaging 1.3 yards per rush as a team. Allowing Hill 30.5 yards per return on his two kickoff returns (the other three Michigan State returns were for a combined 31 yards). Averaging only 15.7 yards per return on our own kickoff returns. Two for four on field goals. Nine carries for 0 yards. Yes I know Samuel was coming off a long layoff and the offensive line was not doing the running backs any favors but Malcome managed to average over 4 yards a carry behind the same line. I will touch on this more once the bowls and signing day have come and gone but after the UF game earlier this season I heard a lot of talk about Samuel coming into his own. He plays hard, I love the guy, he is a DGD, but he is not an SEC running back.

The ugly: Choosing to go for it on fourth in one early in the game then wishing you had those three points you could have taken in a game that went to overtime. Throwing a pick six up 16-0 with your defense dominating the game. Blowing a 16-0 lead. Blowing two fourth quarter leads. Missing a field goal to win the game in overtime. Missing a field goal to tie the game in overtime. Taking a knee for a loss to not give your struggling kicker an easier shot at a winning field goal. Speaking of which, in a year that the team as a whole bounced back from a dreadful 6-7 campaign what in the world happened to Walsh? He went from one of the best kickers in the country for two straight years to a guy who may have been the least reliable on the team and the worst (percentage wise) kicker in the conference. I hope he gets his head straightened out and catches on as a free agent for an NFL team.

The ugliest: Having negative total yards in overtime.

I am sure there are many things I missed

Quick thoughts on win over Tech

My first thought is that when Murray throws like that and the line gives him the time they did our offense is really good. Murray added four touchdowns to his Georgia record for touchdowns in a season. The one interception was not his fault as he got hit as he was throwing to cause the lame duck throw. 

My second thought is welcome to the team Malcome. Much more was expected of him out of high school than he has shown this season. He fell behind a walk-on on the depth chart and was an after thought all season long. With injuries and suspensions he finally got some playing time the last two weeks including the start today. He ran hard and was extremely effective on the last drive of the game for Georgia at killing the clock. If he can consistently play the way he did on that drive he can be a big part of the last two games of this season as well as figure into plans for next season.

Give Grantham a raise and an extension. We are going to lose him at some point. A quick extension that makes him the highest paid assistant in the country will hopefully make that point a year or two down the road. 

Extend Richt as well. Back to ten wins and in the SECCG. Recruits pay attention to things like how committed a school is to their coach. The hot seat talk is done. I doubt he will ask for much of a raise but a few extra years on his contract would be nice.

Speaking of coaches, Bobo has taken a lot of heat but he called a heck of a game today. You got the feeling that had Georgia needed more points they easily could have put them up. 

10 of 11 - After the first year Johnson beat Georgia there was a lot of Tech fans who said the series would turn around. Well that was 3 years and three losses ago.  

A few thoughts on the game...

Considering how bad Clemson lost to NC State, Oklahoma State losing to Iowa State, Oregon losing to USC, Oklahoma losing to Baylor and all the SEC teams that struggled today against 1AA teams our win over Kentucky looks much better.

Harton and Malcome both have good ability to be able to run the ball. Both have to learn how to hang onto the ball before they I won't be scared everytime they touch the ball. Not sure the extent of the injury to Crowell but I really hope he is back soon. You can argue about his toughness, endurance, and attitude but there is no arguing that when he is in the backfield Georgia is 100 times better on offense. Oh and to any top ten running back recruits out there *ahem Marshall ahem Gurley* we have plenty of carries to go around so feel free to join the Dawgs this off season.

Aaron Murray is 3rd all time in touchdown passes for a career at Georgia, first in single season touchdown passes, on pace to break the single season and career quarterback ratings for the school. Yet he has games like today where he looks extremely average. Games like last week against Auburn when Murray gets rolling he is right amongst the top quarterbacks in the country. If he is on his game he is amazing to watch. However games like today just make you shake your head. I know having basically the 6th  and 7th string tailback, if you consider that Ealey and King would be ahead of Harton had they not had to leave the team early, playing all the snaps on offense makes it more difficult on the passing game. Still this is the type game you expect elite quarterbacks to step up and carry the offense. Bobo attempted to let him do just that early in the game. Murray never seemed to feel comfortable in the pocket and made several errant throws. If he plays the way he is capable then running lanes open up and this game is not nearly as close. I really believe he can be a truly elite quarterback but for him to take the next step he has to make the routine plays more consistently.

I would like to welcome back the real Blair Walsh from his season long hiatus, please stick around for three more games. Not sure who has been standing in for him but with a big game against Tech, the SECCG and a pretty solid bowl (BCS??) coming up we are going to need him. With the way the defense is playing it feels great knowing that if we near the 25 yard line we are getting at least 3 points.

The offensive line had been slowly progressing all year. Well it took two steps back this week. Come on big guys we really need you to be at your best from here on out.

During the first half Jarvis Jones and Ogletree pretty much did everything on defense and by themselves seemed to limit Kentucky to ten points. The second half the rest of the defense decided to join them and Kentucky had no answer. Once the entire defense got going you had the feeling that they could have played another 4 quarters and Kentucky would have never threatened the defense.

I would not be fair if I didn't give Trevathan his due. He is as good as any linebacker I have seen play all year. He was not just racking up tackles, 17 of them, he was making plays. He attacked the ball and once he got near our guys it was over. Not sure how he ended up at Kentucky but man they got themselves a good one. Just as I was not sad to see Cobb leave Kentucky last year I will not be sad to see him go and I will look forward to seeing him play in the pros. On your way out though do me one favor Danny, kick Tennessee's butt and make sure they get to stay home for the holidays!

I may have mentioned this before and I will again for sure between the SECCG and the bowl game then again after the bowl game, we need to wrap up Grantham for a few extra years. We are not going to keep him around forever but if we can keep him a year or two extra by throwing a few extra bucks his way and extending his contract beyond that of the normal assistants then I am all for it. There are plenty of other coaches out there that can get the job done but there is no way to know 100% that the guy we end up replacing him with will be one that can. Just like when we had Van Gorder roaming the sidelines every year that Grantham is our DC we will be in the hunt for the SEC title.

Congratulations to the whole team on a hard earned SEC East title, you earned it! Now beat the nerds!

Instant reaction - Mississippi State

First of all if LSU's defense is one of the best in the nation what does it mean that Georgia held State to roughly the same number of yards and fewer points than LSU? It was not until the final drive of the game that State surpassed the total yardage they had against LSU. Right now I still don't think that Georgia's defense is on the level of LSU's but I do think they are starting to head in that direction. The fact that I can say that with a straight face brings me great joy. LSU's defense also has the advantage of not constantly having their offense and special teams put them in bad situations. It was great to see Robinson back out there even if it was in limited action. I can't wait to get Ogletree back as well. The MLB group is going to go from one the thinnest positions on the team to one of the deepest over the next few weeks. I just had visions of Grantham using a 1-6 defense on (rare) occasions just to mess with other coaches heads.
Jenkins/Geathers as a down lineman and Washington, Jones, Herrera, Robinson, Ogletree, and Gilliard all on the field together.

Murray just seems off. He is taking sacks that it didn't seem he took last year, throwing bad balls much more often and simply does not appear to be as calm and cool as he was his freshman season. The three picks he threw didn't appear to be bad decisions so much as just poorly thrown balls but that doesn't change the fact that he had three picks in a game. At the same time he is on a pace that no player at UGA has ever been for producing points. Right now Murray is on pace to be responsible for 36 TD's, not counting a bowl game. That would be eight more than the record he tied of DJ Shockley's last year. While it is great to be putting up more touchdowns it is also important that he quit giving the other team points.

That leads me to another thought. Georgia has given up 103 points so far this season. Special teams have given up two and been responsible for another. The offense has given up three and been responsible for at least two more by giving up super short fields. That is 56 points. That would leave the defense responsible for 47; 21 against Boise, 17 against Carolina, 0 against Coastal, 6 against Mississippi and 3 against State. I want the offense (and special teams) to stay aggressive and keep putting pressure on other teams by scoring points. They however have to quit putting pressure on their own defense by giving up points.

The special teams, outside of the FG unit, made big strides today with a few subtle but effective changes. First it appeared they asked Butler to take a bit off the distance of punts to allow the coverage to be closer to the return man when he caught the ball. Second the punt coverage team took much wider splits. The affect of those was that Butler had a lower gross but higher net on the punts by not giving up any big returns. The third was Boykin returning punts. All three adjustments worked well. Hopefully Richt and company will continue to tweak the special teams to get even more production out of that phase.

The near but not quite dominant performances the last two weeks give me both hope and an ulcer. The hope is that by cleaning up a few areas Georgia should beat any team left on the schedule. The ulcer is for the fact that missed chances(fg's, dropped passes/interceptions, thrown interceptions) could get us beat by anyone except New Mexico State, well and possibly UK, left on the schedule.

The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly - South Carolina Game

A loss is a loss and there is no getting around the fact that we are 0-2 right now. There will be a great deal written over the next few weeks about all that is bad right now but I am going to keep it to the short and obvious when talking about the negative tonight and try to dwell on the positive.

The Bad - 3 turnovers overs = 21 points given up. Walsh misses a 33 yarder that turned out to be the difference in the game. Being 0-2. Losing 3 out of 5 to Carolina. Six points on three trips inside the Carolina 25 yard line in the first quarter.

The Ugly - Letting a defensive tackle take it to the house from 68 yards out to give up a lead right right before halftime in a game we were dominating. Sack, fumble, touchdown return for touchdown by Carolina when we had the ball with time on the clock and only down 3.

The Good - Despite a few drops several recievers started to step up, primarily Bennett and Mitchell. King also had a great catch for a touchdown. Charles was doubled covered the entire game and after what he did against Boise I expect teams to double him every game until the other recievers prove that they can beat you. Wooten had a touchdown as well. The fact it was more than one guy is a great sign going forward. If several guys can play at a high level it make the offense very hard for other teams to game plan against.

The line play was greatly improved. They were able to give holes to Crowell and do a much better job of protecting Murray. There were times of break down but given the talent in the Gamecocks front seven the play of the line was night and day better than last week. If they can continue you improve they can be a very solid unit.

Isaiah Crowell showed why there is so much hype surrounding him. While his carries were limited, supposedly due to a shot to the ribs early in the game that was giving him trouble breathing, he made the most of each of them. When the line opened up holes he made big runs. When there was not much of a hole he still managed to get the tough yards. He showed he can be a threat in the passing game as well. His blocking was not great but without having rewatched it I don't remember any UH-OH moments like the one he had against Boise. There is no doubt in my mind that he is the best threat at running back we have had since Moreno left for the pros. He is the real deal. His ability is going to help the passing game as teams will have to start focusing in on him.

Bonus thought: With Lee stepping up in the absense of Gates there could be a long term benefit to the team. It has been made clear that should something happen to either of the tackles Gates would be shifted over. If Burnette has locked down the starting job at guard then Gates would be free to be a "super" sub. He could be used to back up both guard and tackle positions allowing a breather as needed at all of the positions. While this would not make the line a whole lot deeper it would