Quick Thoughts:
1) Good to see the pass rush finally get home. With the exception of Kellen Moore, the Dawgs had made every quarterback they've played against uncomfortable. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough for many Dawg fans who believe the only stat indicative of effective pass rushing is SACKS. Well, we got 4.
2) These DBs are becoming very very good. Part of the reason our Pass Rush could hit home was that the receivers were very well covered. The QB couldn't find open men, had to hold the ball, and the result was drive-killing stops. Rambo continues to be a ball-hawk, and there may not be a player who has improved so much in his understanding of the coverages in this defense since a year ago. Now, that may be because he had the farthest to come, but he's really looking good these days. Also important, did you notice how many passes were well-defended in this game? Our corners did a great job of playing the ball in the air and knocking passes away. Up until this game, I hadn't been sold on Boykin as a "Shut down" corner. It seemed that passes didn't come his way often, but when they did, they were often caught and then he'd make the tackle. He also has a tendency to drop INTs. But, if he plays the ball for the remainder of the season as he did on Saturday, his draft stock and our defense will continue to improve.
3) Some Teamers are what we've been Dreaming of - Herrerra doesn't look like a freshman. He just doesn't look like one. His size, speed, and pursuit are above that of most recent HS grads. Malcolm Mitchel is the next in a line of great Freshman Receivers. We all remember the first seasons of Terrance Edwards, Fred Gibson, Mohamed Massaqoui, AJ Green...it just seems like every time we lose one of these guys, the next one is right there to wow us. I don't need to say anything about Crowell. No disrespect to Caleb King or Washaun Ealey, but THIS is an SEC tailback. Ray Drew? Jury's still out on him. The shoulder injury no doubt slowed his progress, but I'd like to be getting more reps out of such a big recruit. It appears the gap between him and Jadaveon Clowney was quite significant indeed. This could, of course, be attributable to the difference in defensive systems in which they play. A 4-3 DE has much less to learn than a 3-4 OLB. Still, I'd like to see 47 really step up in the next quarter-season. (Then again, 83 [C. Washington] had a much improved performance)
4) Murray is a workable QB - but he definitely lacks the WOW factor. We fell in love with him as a freshman, not because he won big games or led comebacks or destroyed his competition. We loved Murray as a Freshman because he was a freshman and didn't kill our team. He was a decent protector of the football, and we all loved his potential to grow. Thus far in 2011, he hasn't appeared to grow as much as we'd like. Sure, the kid's only a Sophomore. But in that, you have to compare him to David Greene in '02 and Matt Stafford in '07. The bar is high. He can't throw a swing pass that becomes an 11 yard fumble, he can't overthrow Figgins (a MONTSTER fullback) by five yards when no one is around him. He can't look to run so quickly - especially when the pocket is holding. Murray appears to be a little "antsy" this season.
5) Blair Walsh - What the hell, man?
6) Rugby Punts - I hate them. They've been creeping into more and more college football games, and they take away the chance for some really exciting plays. Of course, this bothers me as a UGA fan because Branden Smith is a particularly exciting returner, and the Ruby Punt is taking him out of the game. I do like that one way to defend this has been to add Boykin as a second returner. The strategy here is that they each cover 1/2 the field. As a result, one guy doesn't have to be ready to run to either side...we get a man to the ball more quickly. Still, I'd like to see them catch these low-line-drives on the run, and have the other man ready to throw a big block. It's time to turn this offensive strategy against them!
7) Gameplan - it was effective. After a few weeks of a much more spread-out attack, Bobo was much more content to dominate the Rebels on the ground, and I was glad to see it. We were a little beat-up on the OL, and didn't want to subject Murray to more risky plays if not necessary. Now, there are those who will say UGA should have won this game by 40 points - and maybe we should have. We left 13 points on the field when Walsh missed 3 FGs (9pts), and both Mitchell and Bennett dropped TD passes on our opening drive (7pts-3for Good FG=4pts). Still, we were able to use all of our RBs effectively (even RS) and relied more on tight-ends than we have in recent weeks. I'm sure that made all the "REAL GEORGIA FOOTBALL" blowhards happy. As for the defensive gameplan - excellent. They scored once on offense, on a trick play. I worried about that play, because with as many reverse-action plays as they had been running, I thought surely they were setting something up. Sadly, one part of having an aggressive defense is that it leaves you susceptible to some trick plays. But, there's a risk-reward to it. No offense can score all day on trick plays. I'll take our defense being dominant all day and giving up a trick score over playing soft and letting the other offense drive up and down the field all day, with more good opportunities to score.
That's about all I have for now. Good Win. Go Dawgs.
2 comments:
Ben, being a former player, I figured you'd know the answer to this. What exactly is the rule on redshirting? I know every year, you'll see freshman on various teams get in for just a few snaps in one of the first games of the year, then you never see them again, and they ultimately redshirt. What is the limit on how much they can play, and how late in the season they can play to still be eligible for the redshirt? Ray Drew is who I have in mind with this question, I wonder if the coaches are still contemplating redshirting him....but I didn't know if the one quarter he played against Coastal kept him still eligible for a redshirt or not.
Hey Rev -
I'm really not sure what the "Rules" are regarding redshirting. It was never a real option for me. I mean, I wasn't gonna play in year 1 no matter what...so I was immediately a redshirt. :)
According to the NCAA, 1 play = 1 year of competition because the rule is that a redshirt year is equivalent to one full academic year with no outside competition. If you're on the field for one play, you have engaged in outside competition and therefore burned your redshirt.
NOW, that being said, I am sure there are exceptions such as a Medical Redshirt which would allow a player to accept a redshirt after playing. However, I have no clue what those loopholes might be.
I suppose it's possible that a game against a non-FBS opponent early in the season might not disqualify him for some reason or another, but I don't know what that would be. As far as I know, if you see a kid on the field, he's not redshirting.
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