Monday, October 05, 2009
Posted by Nate at 10:03:21 AM
I JUST DON`T GET IT
I need some help here. I’m not sure if I’m over-reacting or under-reacting. I knew coming into this season that Georgia wasn’t going to win the national title; there were no preseason #1’s or SI cover shots. However, this is still UGA. Rivals.com recruiting rankings since 2002: 3, 6, 6, 10, 4, 9, 7, 6 and currently tied for 8th for 2010 – average 6.56. Scout.com recruiting rankings since 2002: 9, 11, 6, 4, 4, 17, 5, 4 and currently 6th for 2010 – average 7.33. I know these recruiting rankings are hardly an exact science, but it is proof that UGA continually pulls some of the most talented players in the nation. The only programs that can rival UGA’s recruiting efforts in the last 9 years are teams like USC, LSU, Florida, Oklahoma and Texas. Those programs don’t have down years, so I’m struggling to understand why UGA does. Mark Richt is a great coach, and I truly believe we are lucky to have him. But, why do we continuously re-stock our roster with future NFL talent, yet have to suffer through years like 2006 and 2009? I get that it takes a lot of luck to win a national title, and we simply haven’t had that kind of luck in the last decade. But we should be in the national title conversation EVERY year with the kind of talent we have in Athens. So, maybe I’m over-reacting to an extraordinarily close loss to a top 5 team, or under-reacting to a season on the brink of disaster, but here are a few thoughts:Joe Cox has actually impressed me this season and been more than the game manager I thought he would be. That said, in my opinion, he was the primary reason we lost that game Saturday. Mr. Accuracy couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn, and most of his completions were when our receivers bailed him out (that was a prayer that he launched up and AJ simply made a Sportscenter caliber catch). Five possessions in the first half: 4 three and outs. One first down. One bad overthrow that would have been a long touchdown. But not only did he miss that touchdown badly, that also contributed to UGA’s field position woes. We then had to punt from deep in our territory and put our defense in yet another horrible position. Cox could have thrown that ball 10 yards short and it’s a 40-yard completion. Instead, he threw it 10 yards long and it’s another 3 and out. Look, I’m not saying Cox needs to be benched…I am saying other guys need to play. I’m fine starting Cox, but either Gray or Murray need to play significant snaps. If there are anymore ‘Shons out there that want to wear #24, UGA coaches need to camp out at Momma’s house until we get a commitment. Washaun looked a whole lot like Knowshon on Saturday night. I know the kid is a true freshman and he still has a lot to learn. I know how important protection schemes and reading defenses are. But guess what else I know. Seven yard gains on first down are pretty important too. Let Samuel or Caleb start…I don’t care. But Ealey needs 20+ touches a game. We may look back on this game as being worth the “L” if it meant that Ealey was forced into action. Who else is scratching their head about the O-line? This was supposed to be one of, if not the best offensive line in the nation. I’m not sure if they’ve been the best o-line on the field yet this season. We should be running the ball down teams’ throats; instead, we’re getting beat off the ball and can’t seem to move anyone to create running lanes. Was Moreno really THAT good, or are we horribly underachieving this year? Searels has the reputation of a brilliant and extremely tough line coach. It’s past time for something to change on the line. AJ Harmon, Josh Davis, hell, take the redshirts off Burnette and Lee if you have to. We need 5 guys that can open holes for the running game. Our pass protection has been good, but that means nothing if we can’t run on 7 man fronts and our quarterback is inaccurate. I’ve been defending the defense all year (well, sort of), and I will again today. Yes, we surrendered two critical touchdown drives when it counted most in the 4th quarter. However, any defense would be gassed having endured a 20:42 to 9:18 time of possession differential in the first half. I know we possessed the ball for almost 11 minutes in the third quarter, but I believe the damage was already done. That combined with the pitiful kick-return coverage on that last drive set up the defense for almost certain failure. Finally, UGA needs to put together a banner season in 2010 or we will have wasted the careers of two the best Bulldogs to ever wear the Red and Black. Rennie Curran and AJ Green.
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COMMENTS:
Monday, October 05, 2009
Posted by Foltz at 10:51:13 AM
I would rather have an abysmal QB performance out of Aaron Murray than fifth year senior Joe Cox. At least we`ll know Murray is young and getting valuable experience in a big game. There is no excuse for Joe Cox. I haven`t seem him check off a receiver and he isn`t exactly selling every toss sweep or play action fake, either. Three strikes you`re out and with two very poor performances that have led to losses, I think another loss leaves the coaches and fans no option but to make a change at QB.
Monday, October 05, 2009
Posted by Nate at 11:35:52 AM
I`m not trying to absolve the defense of all responsibilty. I`m just trying to make the point that they played much better, and honestly, I think they played well enough for us to win. If the offense does their part, we win the game.
Monday, October 05, 2009
Posted by Dunk at 1:12:51 PM
I disagree with both of you about Joe Cox! Yes, Cox did have a poor performance in the first half and made some horrible throws, but he stepped it up in the second half. If there is anyone to blame in the first half it`s Mike Bobo. His play calling was horrible. He tried to run the ball too much and didn`t give Cox a chance to find his groove. It took Bobo the entire first half to figure that out. I don`t want to see Murray until next year. I think Cox can still get us 8 or 9 wins this year if Bobo or Willie doesn`t loose it for us. He is still the best option at QB.
Monday, October 05, 2009
Posted by Dunk at 1:21:25 PM
I will say it again, the excessive celebration call cost us the game. We were cheated!
Monday, October 05, 2009
Posted by Nate at 3:04:28 PM
Dunk, I can`t say I agree with you. I`ve been highly critical of Bobo`s play calling this year, but I didn`t disagree with many of his calls in the first half. We need to establish the running game, and our offensive line SHOULD be able to. We didn`t and they didn`t, but we all know that running the ball is critical to the success of our offensive. It sets up 3rd and managible situations, as well as the play action pass. Cox was clearly the goat of the first half. He was very inaccurate. A WR screen should not be a hard pass, yet he somehow manages to overthrow the 6-4 Green. Then a just totally whiffs on a sure TD when AJ has the much hyped Peterson torched. Had Cox converted some of those throws and Bobo had more opportunity to actually call plays, I might be agreeing with you right now, but, as it stands, Cox didn`t deliver and the very few plays Bobo actually had a chance to call were not the problem (in my opinion, of course).
Monday, October 05, 2009
Posted by Dunk at 3:22:52 PM
I disagree, I think Bobo is to blame. We only had 5 offensive series in the first half and 4 out of 5 were "3 and outs". Then, 3 out of the 4 "3 and outs" Cox handed the ball off twice and passed once. I know we need to establish the run early, but we tried that in the first two possessions. After that, we should have passed the ball more. I think Bobo realized that late in the second quarter and that led to a couple of touchdowns in the second half. We have to realize that Cox won`t make every throw, but we don`t have Knowshon in the backfield anymore and the best athlete is AJ. We have to get the ball in his hands.
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