What's UpDawg?

I expect to see a lot of this tonight...

2011-12-03T15:32:00.001-05:00

Dawgs in the LSU end zone baby!!!!

How We Stack Up Against Common Opponents

2011-12-01T15:03:00.001-05:00

I know, I know. . stats don't mean nuthin'. Especially when you are comparing vastly different schedules. But LSU and UGA have 6 regular season opponents in common. How do the statistics compare in those games? Here's all you'll (probably) ~~need~~ want to know.

First let's list the common opponents, all from the SEC:

Ole Miss

Mississippi State

Kentucky

Tennessee

Florida

Auburn (Sucks)

I took some time - i found UGA stats here and LSU stats here - and charted out the following stats for these six games for each team. I was very surprised at what I discovered.

Defense:

Rush Yards Allowed: UGA 124 - LSU 600

Rush TDs Allowed : UGA 1 - LSU 2

Pass Yards Allowed: UGA 1127 - LSU 643

Pass TDs Allowed: UGA 4* - LSU 2

*including trick play by Ole Miss

INTs: UGA 7 - LSU 8

Total Yds Allowed: UGA 1251 - LSU 1243

Total Defensive TDs Allowed: UGA 5 - LSU 4

Offense:

Rush Yards Gained: UGA 1145 - LSU 1329

Rush TDs: UGA 6 - LSU 14!!

Pass Yards: UGA 1210 - LSU 1067

Pass TDs: UGA 11 - LSU 11

INTs: UGA 6 - LSU 1

Total Yards: UGA 2355 - LSU 2399

I really did expect to see more of a gap in the defensive numbers towards LSU, but the defense is pretty much dead even against common opponents. And the Offense is fairly even as well, except in two critical areas. . . Rushing TDs and Turnovers! All week, talk has been centered on how much better UGAs offense is and how LSU's offense is not that great, but they flat know how to get the ball in the end zone and very rarely turn it over.

Not that these stats mean anything once that ball is kicked off, but still, it's interesting to me.

He Can Have The Honey......

2011-12-01T12:58:00.001-05:00

We'll take the Sugar!

Tyrann Mathieu, a.k.a. The Honey Badger

We Can't Win

2011-12-01T10:42:00.001-05:00

I was thinking about watching the game on Saturday, but then I started listening to the TV and radio guys and my friends who are LSU fans. Now, I think I'll just re-wallpaper my kids' bathroom... and then take it down and do it again. We can't win and here are just a few reasons why:

1. LSU was installed as a 10 point favorite. That number is now at 13.5. I'm actually astounded it isn't higher. Vegas must be color blind and confused by the G and think that LSU is playing Green Bay. That's the only explanation for them being ONLY a 10 point favorite.

2. LSU is two-deep at EVERY position. What I mean is that the first two players at each position are almost guaranteed to be first round draft picks if they were to enter the draft at the end of THIS season. . . that's right, 44 first rounders in one draft.

3. They have FOUR running backs, not ONE, but FOUR! It will be difficult to stop their offense when all FOUR of them are running with the ball at the same time. I mean, which one is the OFFICIAL ball carrier? (On a side note, I hear Paul Johnson is suing Les Miles b/c he had already invented the Quadruple Option offense to install next year. . he feels like Les has stolen his intellectual property).

4. Jordan Jefferson is a great BIG-GAME quarterback. Did you see how he demolished Texas A&M in the bowl game last year? And he racked up some HUGE numbers against Alabammer earlier this year. Plus, he can run as well as throw. And he'll be even faster on turf. Rumor is that up to HALF of the 50 pairs of shoes that police confiscated and then returned were turf shoes, so he's prepared!

5. The LSU defense has not allowed a touchdown all year. . i mean, not when they were really TRYING to stop someone.

6. The Honey Badger just does whatever he wants to do whenever he wants to do it. . if he wants the ball, he takes it. Look at the Honey Badger go! He can't be stopped. (Seriously, he scares me.)

7. Les Miles is crazy and eats grass. You think this has nothing to do with football, but you're wrong.

8. Have you seen their schedule? And our schedule? They have better stats against better competition.

9. Oh yeah, they haven't LOST a game.

Crap, why are we even playing this game? I think we should just put on our Pro Combat Unis and walk out to the field and bow down to these gods of football. I'm quite sure there has NEVER been a better college football team EVER in the whole HISTORY of college football.

My Two Cents on the Coaching Thingee

2009-11-30T16:46:00.000-05:00

Wow! What a season. And now, what a tough time for Mark Richt and all the UGA coaches. Never in his tenure with the Dawgs has the pressure been this intense to get rid of coaches on his staff. Some well-meaning ignorant folks have even suggested that Richt himself should be fired, but that's all the time i'll waste talking about them. What about Martinez? What about Bobo? Do they need to go? Has the steadily decreasing effectiveness of the once proud Dawgs' D done in Coach Martinez? Has the sometimes irrational, sometimes sensational roller coaster play-calling from Coach Bobo worn out its welcome?

I certainly could be wrong, but given Richt's history and what we know of his character, I have a sneaking suspicion that no one will be fired. Not even Willie Martinez and his porous bend and then break defense, which wasn't as bad statistically as most of you think. Click here to see this season's defensive rankings nationally. I know stats aren't everything, but all in all, the defense hasn't played poorly. The worst looking stats are scoring defense - huge contribution here by the turnover prone offense - and the lack of forced turnovers, which is bound to be low playing the scheme we played this year (see below for more on that). I realize that none of that makes up for 7-5, and that some of us will still be calling for heads to roll, but remember who Richt is by nature. Richt is loyal and, i think, is willing to tie his future in with Willie's. He would rather go down together than do anything to pass the buck and make it look like this year was someone else's fault other than his own. Plus, he knows that it will NOT be easy to transition to someone new. We fans forget about that aspect of a coaching change. We tend to think, "Hey, new coach, better defense." But, it just isn't that simple. Also, I think the defense will be much better next year and finally capable (talent and experience-wise) of running a different scheme than the bend and don’t break scheme they have run the last 2-3 years. We didn’t run that scheme when Pollack and the boys were getting pressure up front and when we had corners that could actually cover someone man-to-man. Boykin and Smith will do that next year and the DEs will continue to improve. So, I don’t think Willie gets fired. And he won't step down unless he gets an offer form someone else. If that happen, I think he MAY step down and take a job at a place where he might be appreciated, but i don’t think he’ll be fired.

What about Bobo? The offensive stats are MUCH worse than the defensive stats. Click here to take a look at those (it's really the same link). But, let's keep in mind that Bobo was working with a first year starting QB, a low talent level in the backfield (until King got healthy and Ealey improved his blocking), an immature and injured offensive line and a young, inexperienced though talented receiving corps. So, you play the young guys and you get some exciting plays which shows their ability, but you also get the boneheaded plays which shows their youth, which has more to do with the fact that they are 18 than it does with the coaching staff. The problem is that we spoiled fans expect perfection EVERY time and don’t understand that. Yes, his play-calling was suspect, but seeing some of the play-calling by the OCs at other top programs the last few weeks, i'm inclined to think our guy might not be worse than any other guy. That, combined with the aforementioned inexperience of this team's offense leads me to believe that Bobo SHOULD be back and WILL NOT be fired. However, if he gets an offer, he also MAY leave for somewhere that will appreciate him.

And this is where we fans need to stop barking for a minute and actually think about the implications of coaching changes. If Martinez AND Bobo both leave, I expect us to be worse next year on both sides of the ball trying to make the transition to two new coaches at the key coordinator positions. Oh, yeah, if those two leave, expect Rodney Garner to bolt too and then there goes our best recruiter. Not only that, but then no other coach knows if there job is safe and as has been proven time and time again, rarely do coaches perform well when there is no job security. I don’t think folks realize what firing coaches does to morale and to both the players’ and other coaches’ trust of the HC. In the end, Richt has to decide whose trust is more important to the team, the folks he sees every day and has to continue to lead, or the folks writing on these message boards. Hopefully, he makes the right decision. . and it isn’t us. That's my two cents. I'm sure there will be those that disagree and that's okay. I think you are wrong, but that's okay. If we DO make changes, i just hope I'm wrong.

Where the Dawgs Rank in Some Key Statistics

2009-11-02T09:18:00.000-05:00

Here is a list of where the Dawgs rank in some Key statistics. Keep in mind this is out of 120 teams.

Time of Possession: 95th

Passing Defense: 73rd

Scoring Defense: 89th

Rushing Offense: 99th

Pass Offense: 61st

Total Offense: 97th

Scoring Offense: 73rd

Int's. Thrown: 114th

Penalties: 118th

Turnover Margin: 119th

Takeaways: 120th

Net Punting: 1st !!!!!!

Recruiting Rankings 2005-2008 along with players who play significant minutes from that class

2005 4th (Dewberry, Owens, Evans, Weston, Moore, Cox)

2006 4th (R. Jones, Atkins, J. Davis, A. Dent, D. Dobbs, D. Gamble, Munzenmaier, Tripp, Dewberry, Miller, Chapas, Davis)

2007 17th (Curran, C. King, J. Houston, L. Gray, V. Cuff, Aron White, V. Vance, Wynn, Boling, Strickland, Corey Irvin, Drew Butler, J. Anderson)

2008 5th (C. Glenn, C. Thomas, M. Dowtin, B. Jones, B. Boykin, T. King, B. Walsh, B. Rambo, A.J. Green, R. Samuel, C. Washington)

2009 4th (O. Charles, M. Brown, B. Smith, R. Wooten, W. Ealey)

So, the recruiting class that was ranked the lowest has the most amount of players getting clock. I know the recruiting rankings aren't everything, but maybe there is something to it in this case.

Where’s The Rush?

2009-10-16T18:57:00.000-04:00

Where’s The Rush?

"We need to play with more passion up front. We need to finish blocks. We need to have a sense of urgency when we're running the football. That's offensive linemen, that's tight ends, that's running backs. We've got to be more committed to the run. Not give up on it early when we're not able to run the ball successful(ly)."

- Mike Bobo, The Week After

You'd have to have been in a bunker the last week to NOT have heard all the banter about the presumed downfall of the Georgia Bulldogs football team. "We're headed in the wrong direction", "We don't impose our will anymore", "Why can't we run the ball" and I think I heard something about that "Free Willie" movie too. Finally, I think all of us fans have said our peace and are ready to get on with the season and root for the fellas to turn it around, beginning with Vandy this Saturday. By the way, you know your season is in the toilet when you have two straight 12:21 games on Peachtree TV. Oh the humanity!

I want to take the time in this post to further examine the running attack of the Dawgs under Coach Richt and compare it with the running attack of some of the other prominent teams in Division I (i refuse to call it those other three words b/c i am still holding out for a playoff system and then we'd have to change it back). Here's a few stats that should startle us and maybe give some credence to the pundits who say we are headed the wrong way. I'm not agreeing with said pundits, i'm just saying. All stats can be found by clicking here.

I basically compiled the Team Rushing Stats from 2000-2008 for the following teams: UGA, Florida, LSU, Texas, Oklahoma and USC (the one on the left coast). Here are my disturbing findings.

UGA	Year	Carries	Yards	Avg.	TDS
	2002	536	1954	3.6	18
	2005	455	2108	4.6	16
	2007	509	2304	4.5	32

UGA has just two years of more than 2000 yards since 2000. I included 2002 in the chart b/c they were close to that threshold and were obviously committed to the run. Interesting that in 2002 and 2005 they won their only SEC championships of the decade and in 2007 they finished the regular season ranked No. 2 in the nation. Some consider the 2007 team the best of those three.

FLA	Year	Carries	Yards	Avg.	TDS
	2006	476	2240	4.7	24
	2007	487	2602	5.3	39
	2008	545	3236	5.9	42

Before Urban got to UF, they seldom cracked 1800 yards, but in three of the 4 complete years he has been there, the Gators have rushed for over 2000 yards, including 3000+ last year. Oh, by the way, they have two National Championships in those three years.

LSU	Year	Carries	Yards	Avg.	TDS
	2002	558	2560	4.6	19
	2003	593	2600	4.4	24
	2004	506	2326	4.6	20
	2006	450	2155	4.8	25
	2007	612	2998	4.9	35
	2008	495	2168	4.4	27

LSU has obviously been committed to the run this decade, with 6 years of 2000 plus yards. It is no coincidence that in the year they rushed the most times and for the most yards, they won the National Championship.

TEX	Year	Carries	Yards	Avg.	TDS
	2003	587	3023	5.1	41
	2004	615	3590	5.8	41
	2005	605	3574	5.9	55
	2006	483	2114	4.4	24
	2007	539	2698	5.0	35
	2008	508	2177	4.3	33

Texas is a passing team from the Big 12, right? But they have rushed for over 2000 yards in each of the past 6 years. Their National Championship year they rushed for over 3500 yards on over 600 carries. Do you see a trend here?

OKL	Year	Carries	Yards	Avg.	TDS
	2002	591	2668	4.5	33
	2003	539	2054	3.8	27
	2004	565	2709	4.8	22
	2005	526	2130	4.0	27
	2006	557	2480	4.5	25
	2007	574	2670	4.7	34
	2008	589	2779	4.7	45

Oklahoma is the only team on the list – except for UGA – who hasn't won a National Championship. However, they are consistently in contention for one and have rushed for 2000 plus yards for 7 straight years. The weird stat is that in their National Championship year – 2000 – they only rushed for 1600 yards. This proves that there is an exception to every rule.

USC	Year	Carries	Yards	Avg.	TDS
	2003	455	2027	4.5	20
	2004	493	2306	4.7	27
	2005	525	3380	6.4	51
	2007	517	2564	5.0	23
	2008	503	2533	5.0	27

USC is adored by the media and always ranked in the Top 10 it seems. They have rushed for 2000 plus yards in 5 of the last 6 years and, yes, have a National Championship to show for their efforts.

I know that stats don't always tell the whole story, but it is pretty obvious that Coach Bobo had it right in his comments: "We have to be more committed to the run." Another curious stat to me is that in 2002 and 2003, the two years after Tommy Tuberville said about Richt, "you have to RUN the ball in the SEC to win" – UGA rushed more times than they did in any other year this decade.

Also, here's a quick list of the team rushing stats for the last 9 National Champions:

Year	Team	Rushing Yards
2000	Oklahoma	1615
2001	Miami	2251
2002	Ohio State	2678
2003	LSU, USC	2560, 2027
2004	USC	2306
2005	Texas	3574
2006	Florida	2240
2007	LSU	2998
2008	Florida	3236

Again, stats don't tell everything, but clearly, the fact that UGA has only 2 years of 2000+ rushing yards in the last 9 years is a stat worth paying attention to. Out of the 30 2000+ rushing seasons listed above, only 7 occurred when the team rushed less than 500 times that season. The troublesome thing about this year is that we are on pace for less than 400 carries and less than 1500 yards rushing. How can we compete if we are not running the ball? It's time to man up and stop taking what defenses give us. We have to take what we WANT! And if we can't do that, then we are in for a long season and perhaps more. This is football, where those who take what they want win championships.

It sounds like Bobo has the right idea. Maybe he's seen these stats! If so, let's hope he truly IS committed to the run and doesn't change his game plan if we don't run well in the first quarter. GO DAWGS!!

Good Links on YouTube for Dawgs Videos

2009-10-13T14:12:00.000-04:00

Let's Be Careful How We Treat Richt

2009-10-13T11:04:00.000-04:00

My buddy Kevin has been frustrated for awhile now with the direction of the Dawgs. We are both big Dawgs fans who did not attend UGA, we've just had the pleasure of being raised to root for the Dawgs. It is a proud tradition and it is bothersome that we haven't been able to claim a national title in 29 years. I understand his frustration and the frustration of most of the Dawgs' fan base. We have become accustomed to winning and moreso, have become accustomed to our SEC foes winning and winning it ALL. In fact, since OUR last national championship in 1980 an SEC school has won it 7 times (Bama once, Tennessee once, LSU twice and Florida three times). This is frustrating. And given the HUGE expectations last year that went unfulfilled i suspect there is some hangover frustration from that unfortunate season where 15 starters spent time on the injury list. And the fact that our Defense has given up 30 or more points in 7 of its last 12 games is very unDawg-like. I get that.

My Only Reminder of 1980 National Champs

I also agree that some BIG changes need to be made. There are two ways to make changes: get rid of the people who are currently coaching and playing, or by changing the way they coach and play. Let's look at scenario one - getting rid of the "bad" coaches. There is NO way to get rid of the COACHES in mid-season and it not cause HUGE problems for the whole team for the rest of the year. Plus, if you replace the old coaches (Martinez, Bobo, Fabris are the flavor of the month it seems) with new guys and there is not immediate impact, you run the risk of the negativity carrying over into next year and you will have already made the BIG changes that could erase the negativity. With that said, I think Richt is doing the right thing. He's protecting his players and his coaches, with whom he knows he will be spending the rest of the season. If he wants to have any success and any leverage to lead them, he simply CANNOT throw them under the bus now. I would not be surprised to see him use the "nobody believes in us" card for the rest of the year to motivate these guys to play hard (which, by the way, they had been doing until this past week) every game.

Scenario Two offers us a lot more flexibility THIS season - changing HOW they coach. For the past several years (since Pollack left it seems) we have been a very conservative team on both sides of the ball. Gone is the killer instinct. Gone is the imposition of OUR will on the opposition. Gone is the aggressiveness. We don't fly to the ball the way LSU and Florida were on defense Saturday night. We seem to always be backpeddling. I know that when you don't get pressure up front it's hard to play press defense in the secondary and not get beat, but i still think we should. Let's challenge our secondary to man up and blanket cover the WRs. Let's challenge our D-line to get to the QB at all costs. Let's be AGGRESSIVE and if we get beat b/c of it, then we get beat. Let's challenge our lines to control the game instead of the letting the opposition do it and if they can't, then we get beat. But we HAVE to stop being passive and being afraid to fail, which is seems we are. I could totally be wrong, but i just don't see us taking those kinds of chances. And as long as we are bending and presumably not breaking, our defense will continue to tire and our offense will continue to be unable to get into rhythm. Stat of the week to back that up is the amount of plays our offense has run this season in comparison to the amount of plays the opposition has run: UGA - 357 plays, Opponents - 410 plays. A stat which obviously follows is that there has only been one game all season wherein we have had the ball more than the opponent - against Arkansas where we had it for 3 more minutes. There certainly needs to be a re-evaluation of the entire assistant coaching staff at the end of the season - as there should be every year - but to give us the best shot at winning this year, the circling of the wagons that Richt is doing right now is the ONLY approach to take.

Here's The Style We Need To Get Back To

As it relates to Coach Richt, here are just a couple of key stats i think we should reflect on that hopefully will put things in perspective a bit when we think about his future with the Dawgs:

Coach Dooley's career record over 25 years was 201-77-10, a 71.5% winning percentage. CMR career record so far is 85-25, a 77.3% winning percentage.
Coach Dooley won one National Championship. . . .in his 17th year of coaching. CMR has been here 8 years.
Coach Dooley won 7 games or less in 12 of his 25 years of coaching, nearly half of his seasons. CMR has won 8 games or less once, that's a 12% clip.

I know that was a long time ago and the media wasn't as on top of things as they are now, so i'm thinking the reason everyone is so riled up is b/c way too much attention is paid to whether we are winning National championships or not. We have a really good if not great coach leading our players right now who has not yet arrived. He is still getting better and he will have some difficult decisions to make at the end of the year. I am looking forward to seeing how he approaches that challenge, but my guess is that he will handle it how he has handled the ones in the past, with much thought and consideration. And in the end, i trust him to make a good decision for our program because I think we have the right guy for our program. My hope is that all the naysayers and short sighted folks will not run him off first. I don't think we realize how good we have it folks. So, think about what you are saying before you blast the coach with the highest winning percentage in the history of UGA football. Go DAWGS!!!

Dawgs in the NFL

2009-09-15T12:35:00.001-04:00

Here's a look at how the Dawgs in the NFL performed during Week One in the NFL.

Asher Allen, CB, Minnesota Vikings
Not active in the 34-20 win over Cleveland
Champ Bailey, CB, Denver Broncos
Started at LCB, and had seven tackles and a pass break-up in the 12-7 win at Cincinnati
Reggie Brown, WR, Philadelphia Eagles
Not active in the 38-10 win at Carolina
Chris Clemons, DE, Philadelphia Eagles
Played, but did not record any stats in the 38-10 win at Carolina
Phillip Daniels, DE, Washington Redskins
Started at DE, and had two tackles in the 23-17 loss at New York
Thomas Davis, LB, Carolina Panthers
Started at WLB, and led the team with 16 tackles in the 38-10 loss to Philadephia
Dannell Ellerbe, LB, Baltimore Ravens
Not active in the 38-24 win over Kansas City
Demetric Evans, DE, San Francisco 49ers
Played, but did not record any stats in the 20-16 win at Arizona
Jason Ferguson, DT, Miami Dolphins
Started at DT, and had two tackles in the 19-7 loss at Atlanta
Robert Geathers, DE, Cincinnati Browns
Started at LDE, and had three tackles in the 12-7 loss to Denver
Tony Gilbert, LB, Atlanta Falcons
Played, but did not record any stats in the 19-7 win over Miami
Kedric Golston, DT, Washington Redkins
Played, but did not record any stats in the 23-17 loss at New York
Charles Grant, DE, New Orleans Saints
Started at DE, and had one tackle in the 45-27 win over Detroit
Arnold Harrison, LB, Pittsburgh Steelers
Had two tackles in the 13-10 win over Tennessee
Verron Haynes, RB, Atlanta Falcons
Did not play in the 19-7 win over Miami
Max Jean-Gilles, G, Philadelphia Eagles
Played at guard in the 38-10 win at Carolina
Tim Jennings, CB, Indianapolis Colts
Had one tackle in the 14-12 win over Jacksonville
Charles Johnson, DE, Carolina Panthers
Had one tackle in the 38-10 loss to Philadelphia
Sean Jones, FS, Philadelphia Eagles
Not active in the 38-10 win at Carolina
John Kasay, K, Carolina Panthers
Kicked a 22-yard field goal in the 38-10 loss to Phiadelphia
Mohamed Massaquoi, WR, Cleveland Browns
Played, but did not record any stats in the 34-20 loss to Cleveland
Randy McMichael, TE, St. Louis Rams
Had four catches for 44 yards in the 28-0 loss at Seattle
Knowshon Moreno, RB, Denver Broncos
Had eight carries for 19 yards in the 12-7 win at Cincinnati
Quentin Moses, LB, Miami Dolphins
Played, but did not record any stats in the 19-7 loss at Atlanta
Paul Oliver, CB, San Diego Chargers
Had one assisted tackle in the 24-20 win at Oakland
Jermaine Phillips, FS, Tampa Bay
Started at FS, and was second on the team with six tackles in the 34-21 loss to Dallas
Dennis Roland, OT, Cincinnati Bengals
Played at OT in the 12-7 loss to Denver
Richard Seymour, DE, Oakland Raiders
Started at DE, and had six tackles including two for a loss in the 24-20 loss to San Diego
Matthew Stafford, QB, Detroit Lions
Started at QB, and was 16-for-37 with 205 yards passing in the 45-27 loss at New Orleans
Jon Stinchcomb, OT, New Orleans Saints
Started at RT in the 45-27 win over Detroit
Marcus Stroud, DT, Buffalo Bills
Started at LT, and had four tackles, two for a loss, in the 25-24 loss at New England
Danny Ware, RB, New York Giants
Had one kick return for 17 yards in the 23-17 win over Washington
Hines Ward, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers
Started at FL, and had eight catches for 103 yards in the 13-10 win over Tennessee
Ben Watson, TE, New England Patriots
Had six catches for 77 yards and two touchdowns in the 25-24 win over Buffalo
Will Witherspoon, LB, St. Louis Rams
Started at WLB, and had six tackles and a forced fumble in the 28-0 loss at Seattle
Jarius Wynn, DE, Green Bay
Played, but did not record any stats in the 21-15 win over Chicago

Defending the Defense

2009-09-14T15:52:00.000-04:00

Text from my buddy Michael at 10:15 Saturday night: "D is getting shredded"

Text from me at 10:16: "Because they haven't made ONE adjustment all game long. . ."

South Carolina Drive Summaries

START

QTR

POSS.

YARD

PLAYS

YARDS

RESULT

15:00

1

02:51

SCAR 20

5

11

Punt

11:53

1

02:02

UGA 23

6

32

Passing
TD

09:37

1

03:43

SCAR 23

9

77

Passing
TD

05:54

1

00:47

UGA 9

4

5

FG

01:56

1

02:06

SCAR 20

5

20

Punt

14:04

2

00:12

SCAR 19

1

0

INT

12:31

2

04:10

SCAR 21

12

56

FG

06:49

2

04:20

SCAR 30

9

65

FG

00:09

2

00:09

SCAR 36

1

25

Half

09:04

3

03:34

UGA 43

10

25

FG

02:50

3

04:29

UGA 37

11

46

FG

12:56

4

00:00

UGA 35

0

0

INT
TD

06:20

4

05:58

SCAR 19

15

74

TO
Downs

And there were many more in that similar vein most of the night. But having had time to dwell on it - and i have wasted way too much time doing just that - i see things through a little different lens. Let's get the negative stuff out of the way first. Our defense surrendered a TON of yards in between the 20s, a TON of yards on underneath routes -whether on slants or drags or angles out of the backfield or just go five yards and turn around (Saunders$#%^#) - and a ton of yards on dump offs to the release valve in the flats. But, when SC got into scoring position, we pretty much held them in check. See the drive summary chart to the right.

The two touchdowns they scored were in the first 6 1/2 minutes of the game, one of which came after A.J.'s fumble gave the Cocks great field position. After that, 4 field goals and a turnover on downs. Which gets me thinking. How can a defense be so "bad" all the way down the field but so good close to the red zone? Is there an explanation for that that will make sense? The most commonly given answer to that question is that the offense has less room with which to work, so the defense has less ground to cover and fewer options by which to get beat. I think all of that is true, but the other factor is that when the defensive front is not getting adequate pressure on the QB, it takes away so many options for the defense. The defense can no longer be as aggressive as they might have wished.

The first half of the first quarter, the Dawgs defense was very aggressive, blitzing linebackers and even a safety once, and we got burned for it b/c we could not get to Garcia. And then. . . . Martinez did what i said he didn't do. He made an adjustment. Rarely did we blitz the rest of the game. We gave up a ton of stuff underneath and on the edges because Garcia had enough time to read through his progressions 4 or 5 times, but we didn't give up anything big. Without pressure up front, the defense has to be soft either deep or short. It's pick your poison. Give up the short stuff and hope to hold in the red zone, or take a shot shutting down the short stuff and hope they don't beat you deep. They played well with what they had. And they won the game, which is cause for celebration. Not a “roll on the ground with my boy” kind of celebration. It’s really more of a high five and “whew, I’m glad that’s over” kind of celebration. But still, it’s a celebration.

That said, I'm afraid the bend and don't break defense won't work so well against the likes of Florida. We have to get more pressure from the front four if we have any shot against the more talented teams. But, all in all, a good week for UGA football. We grabbed back the momentum of our season and saw some really good things from the offense and special teams. And despite the negative attention the defense is getting, there were some really big plays made by the fellas. I got no problem banging on the coaches if they dont' make adjustments to get us in the right positions, but for the most part this week they did. And while it wasn't the aggressive, knock ‘em on their arse position most of us wanted, it was the best position to get us a win. So, it’s on to Ar-kansas to beat down on Bobby Petrino for what he did to the Falcons! Go Dawgs!!