2nd Half Film Study still to follow

Hey Dawgfans! Sorry for the delay in getting the film study of the 2nd half up. I still haven't seen it...and even though I know the sour results, I'm really looking forward to the avalanche of points we put on the board. If you haven't had a chance to view the Film study of the first and second quarters, click on the links to the right and check 'em out.

It's funny how many comments I've read after this game talking about Bobo's abandonment of the I-Formation. The Under-Center to Shotgun ratio was about 50/50 in the first half. Now, like I said, I haven't seen the second half yet....but I don't get the point-of-view given what I've seen.

It is odd that we were heavily in the I in the first quarter, and then heavily in shotgun in the second....but you can also say that we scored a touchdown out of shotgun in the second, and that was the only TD we scored in the half.

Anyway, I'll post the third and fourth quarters this evening. You East Coast folk will probably have to wait til tomorrow morning to read 'em since I'm in Los Angeles.

'Til then (or until I see something else that fires me up and inspires another post today),

GO DAWGS!

UGA - USC Film Study: Quarter Two

So, we didn't get all we wanted out of the first quarter, but we do have a six-point lead, the ball in their territory, we haven't turned it over, and we've bottled up their offense. I'd say most Georgia fans right now feel pretty good about progress made in week 2. We've seen some explosive plays, more "REAL GEORGIA FOOTBALL" playcalling (in quotes because it's a dumb term, in caps because I've heard and read this dumb term too many times to count) and much improved run-blocking from the O-line. Most probably believe that we're on the verge of flipping the lights on and really running away with it.

SO WHY IS THE STADIUM SO QUIET??!?! Seriously, on USC's third downs, I've hardly heard anything out of the fans. I can't believe Sanford isn't rocking. So many fans are ready to call out the manhood of the players, and they themselves aren't willing to get up and make any noise? That is the saddest commentary on the state of the football program at the moment - the fanship is lackluster. There, I said it.

Now, on to quarter 2.

3rd and 3 UGA at the USC 31. Shotgun bunch formation with Crowell taking the snap. Crowell runs it right, leaps for the 1st down across the 25.

1st and 10 UGA - I-Formation - Figgins motions to make it Weak-I right. Crowell takes handoff makes the read inside and gets 3. 2nd and 7. Shotgun Ace. Handoff to Boykin. He gets 8, but it looks like while Lee and Jones are pulling, Jones doesn't get his head around fast enough to see a man he could block on the inside. I don't know the exact assignments, but it appears that Jones should have blocked the LB coming from the inside, to allow a cutback lane. 3rd and 2 at USC 16. Shotgun Ace, Boykin in at HB. USC rushes 4, pocket holds. Murray throws into double-coverage and behind Marlon Brown. He locked in on Brown the whole time. Ball is tipped and nearly picked. Boykin was open on a swing-pass dump off for the first. Send out the FG team. Walsh shanks it. 33-yd FG no good.

1st and 10 USC at USC 20 (by rule, after a missed FG from inside the 20, ball gets placed at the 20) Toss-sweep shut down by Mike Gilliard for a gain of only 2. 2nd and 8. Penalty USC, 2nd and 13. They try a screen, Jarvis Jones blows it up. Gain of 1. 3rd and 11. Garcia escapes pressure, picks up 10. 4th and 1. Teams swap timeouts. USC calls another. Jesus. Punt team comes on. Huge kick. Fair Catch at 12. 60 yard punt.

1st and 10 UGA at UGA 12. Shotgun Ace - Sweep Left, Crowell gets strung out to sideline, gain of 1. What happened here is that Charles picked up a hard inside rush by the DE, and did it well...but in the wash, Jones couldn't get out and onto the linebacker. If he had, Crowell would have been able to cut upfield. Instead, LB #45 strung the play out. 2nd and 9. Shotgun Ace - Playaction-sweep Bootleg screen call. 7-man rush by USC. Glenn gets beat bad inside by Jadaveon Clowney, but this play never had a chance. In actuality, it's the blitz by #21 that kiss the play. Had he not blitzed, Murray had room on his boot, and no one was watching Crowell on the screen. Still, five guys to block seven on a slow-developing play, not a chance. Good playcall by USC, as they had not blitzed often. Murray gets leveled by Clowney at the 5. 3rd and 16. Shotgun Ace - handoff to Crowell for a gain of 5. Crowd boos the playcall. Shame on all of you. 4th and 11. 46-yard punt, Sanders is bottled up after a 3 yard return.

1st and 10 USC at USC 47. We blow up their line, but Commings misses a tackle in the backfield. He trips Lattimore, who gets 6. 2nd and 4 at UGA 47. Center snaps it without Garcia being ready. 3rd and 3 at UGA 46. We crash inside, again it's Cornelius Washington giving up the outside containment when the LB is already filling the gap. As a result, Lattimore has a free run outside. He gains about 9.

1st down USC at UGA 38. We stuff the middle, Lattimore bounces it outside for about 3 yards. Again, Washington appears too quick to jump inside. 2nd and 7. Four man rush. Washington beats his man, but can't get to Garcia who rolls right. He throws a high one up for Jeffrey, and Brandon Smith falls as he defends. Touchdown South Carolina.

USC 7 - UGA 6

Kickoff. Boykin takes it a yard deep and breaks a few tackles on a 36 yard return.

1st and 10 UGA at UGA 36. Shotgun ace. Mitchell in motion. Jet Sweep to Mitchell. Strung out to sideline. Richard Samuel leaves his feet on an attempted block and falls to the ground. This trips Bean, preventing him from getting to his block. All in all, our linemen couldn't get out and get on the blocks that would have opened this play up. No gain. 2nd and 10. Shotgun Ace - Bean leans back before the snap, 5 yard penalty. 2nd and 14 - I Formation Play-Action, pocket breaks down immediately because of hard speed rush by both DE. Murray tucks it and runs for 23 yards.

1st and 10 at USC 45. I Formation. Looks like a Power off-tackle to Samuel. Linebacker follows pulling guard to the ball and cuts him down after gain of 3. 2nd and 7. I Formation - ISO play right. Samuel rumbles for a ten-yard gain.

1st and 10 at USC 35. I Formation. Handoff to Samuel. Blitzing LB misses him 3 yards deep. Decent blocking at the onset, but Samuel runs into Dallas Lee, then gains 2. 2nd and 8. I Formation. Ogletree Motions into Weak-I. Handoff to Crowell. This play fails because of Anderson and Burnette. It appears that Bean and Burnette don't get their call together, and both try to block the same DE. As a result, Zander is forced to pick up the OLB, and no one blocks Gilmore. This forces Crowell to cut up, and Taylor, the DE, is able to make the play. 3rd and 6. Shotgun Ace with Boykin at HB. Four-man rush, pocket holds. Murray goes deep for a wide-open Wooten, 26 yards for the TD!

UGA 13 - USC 7.

Kickoff. ONSIDE KICK RECOVERED BY UGA!!!!! It's called offside. I've run this play back about 12 times, and it does not look like he was offsides. If anything, too close to throw the flag. Penn Wagers can lick my *(#* %Y*(# and then U%() my *%(Y(% and of course, he should also &Y*(% my (*)&*()% and stick his %&()$ up a horse's %*((&()$ and &Y(*)%()#&*)($*(&^finger &%*()&()# until he's too tired to continue.

Kickoff. Returned to USC 29.

1st and 10 USC at USC 29. Garcia tries the quick-out again, dropped. 2nd and 10. Corner blitz by Boykin. Garcia is able to get it away, but gets dragged down. 3rd and 10. We blitz heavy - Sulek and Williams off the left side. Williams just misses getting there. Garcia gets a short completion off to Ace Sanders. 4th and 7. They run a fake punt. There has been much rabble about this. "How could we give one up after the Sugar Bowl against WVU?" Well...let's see, 4th and 7 at their own 33, and we know there's no way they can stop us from that close. No one would have seen it coming. It was a great play call. That being said, we were in position to make the play, and didn't. Derrick Owens made a terrible play at the ballcarrier. He dove straight at the big man's feet instead of taking him, or a blocker on. He took himself out of the play, and effectively cut off two Dawgs who were in pursuit. This happened BEHIND THE LOS. If he even slows #6 down at all, the play fails. He didn't, it succeeded - big time. Then, down the field, Boykin does the same thing. TD South Carolina.

USC 14 - UGA 13.

Kickoff. Fair catch at UGA 32.

1st down UGA at UGA 32. Shotgun Ace - Screen is set up very well, but Murray floats the ball too high for Crowell, it falls incomplete. 2nd and 10. Shotgun Ace. Murray tucks and runs, gains 2. Didn't look like a designed draw, but he had green. 3rd and 8. Shotgun Ace. Timeout UGA. 3rd and 8. Shotgun Ace. Checkdown to Samuel dropped. 4th and 8. Punt. Fair Catch at USC 24.

1st and 10 USC at USC 24. Delayed handoff to Lattimore. Jarvis on a twist, runs right past Lattimore. Gain of 16.

1st and 10 USC at USC 40. Fake the delay, attempt a screen. Cornelius Washington knocks the pass down. 2nd and 10. We run a double-twist with a QB spy up front. Sack by Christian Robinson. 3rd and 13. Three-man rush, zone coverage. Sulek can't match up with Alshon Jeffrey.

1st and 10 USC at UGA 43. Clock play. 2nd and 10. Garcia under duress, throws a bomb. It's tipped around at the line, intercepted by Brandon Boykin who immediately kneels it at the one. It's probably a smart play, and probably too much to ask that Boykin try to run it back...but darn it, that woulda been cool to see.

Halftime Score: USC 14- UGA 13.

Formation Selection:

Under Center - 6

Shotgun - 13.

So, we scored an actual touchdown in this quarter, and it came out of a shotgun formation...after five straight I-Formation plays in a row (two of which had resulted in first down, but the last two of which had been stuffed). So, what we have here is an OC who changed from what wasn't working to something else, and a touchdown was the result. We also had a missed fieldgoal from a guy who should be "automatic" inside of 40 yards. Is Blair Walsh suffering from the ol' "Senior Slump"? There was also a big special teams breakdown, and a big special teams success nullified by an offsides call which was very marginal. (In all fairness, you could really argue that call either way. It certainly looked like Walsh's foot struck the ball before Rambo's foot touched the grass, but I can't know for sure.) Such is life...and unfortunately for the Dawgs of recent, such is repetitive.

Back with 2nd half film study later. For now, I'm gonna eat!

Go Dawgs!

UGA - USC Film Study: Quarter One

Opening Kickoff: We win the toss (hey, we're 2-0 on that this year) and elect to kick (always my choice...wtf against Boise State?) Touchback.

USC 1st and ten at the 20. Inside run to Lattimore - Our D-Line gets good movement, stop Lattimore for 3 yard gain. Geathers with the stop. 2nd and 7. We bring safety blitz, force Garcia to dump ball off. (Lucky he did, as Vance and Herrera both get sucked in on Play Action and leave a man open over the middle. 3rd and 1. Bad camera angle to start play... Tyson gets good penetration, but Washington gets stoned by tackle. Lattimore starts right, but Tyson cuts that off. Lattimore is able to squeeze the play back to the left and get the first.

1st and 10 at USC 32. Four man rush. We run a twist on the line, but it's too slow to develop. Washington is the last man off the ball - not something we want to see out of a speed-rusher on the edge. Garcia has time, misses Ace Sanders on the out. 2nd and 10. Four man rush again. Washington makes an inside move and gets washed. Garcia rolls out right, throws on the run and misses - looks like a throw-away. 3rd and 10 - Georgia runs a blitz, bringing Commings from the corner, and sending Sulek around his outside. Sulek is redirected by RB, can't get to Garcia in time, but Garcia misses badly. Incomplete. 4th and 10. Punt - Smith attempts to field the rolling ball, bobbles and falls on it.

1st and 10 UGA at Georgia 18. I Formation - Our line fires off, crushes their D-line. Huge hole. Samuel rushes for 12 yards.

1st and 10 at Georgia 30. I Formation - Weak-side toss to Samuel. Dallas Lee pulls, doesn't make a great block on the DE. Looks as if he was off-balance. Samuel has to redirect, backside pursuit is able to catch him. The rest of the OL is on the other side of the LOS. 2nd and 11. I-Form playaction. Max protect fake - meaning it's a 3-man route to start. All 3 are covered, as USC has 7 in coverage. HB and FB escape late, Murray looks to run, pulls up and throws a check-down to Figgins. Gain of 2. 3rd and 9. Shotgun, single back. Bean gets beat on an outside rush at the snap, Murray is lucky not to get sacked. He scrambles for one yard. The basic problem for Bean on this one is that he doesn't really move at the snap - he takes a small step with his outside foot, but doesn't get any depth, or any lateral movement. This allows the DE to blow past him. Easily could have been a holding call. 4th and 8. Punt. Butler knocks it 53 yards - fair catch. Butler is run into, but it looks like the guy was blocked into him. No call.

(Russ looks sleepy)

1st and ten USC at USC 15 - Deep handoff to Lattimore - we beat them at the point of attack, but Washington gets turned inside. The issue here is that in Grantham's 3-4, each man has 1 gap to take care of. At the snap of the ball, Christian Robinson makes a read and flies into the gap between G and T. That means Washington is responsible for outside contain. He gets forced inside, Lattimore is able to make the read and the cut outside. Lattimore gets 12.

1st and 10 at USC 27. Our D stands them up at the LOS, Lattimore is able to get about 3. 2nd and 7. Play-action. Four-man rush with another twist at the Nose. Garcia hits Jeffrey over the middle. Looks like we were in a man-under cover 2 - both ILBs stepped up to defend runningbacks, Commings turns his back to the line and runs deep with the wideout, Boykin stays with Ace Sanders. Williams and Rambo are playing deep 1/2s. If that's the case, I don't understand why Smith didn't go with Jeffrey when Jeffrey made his cut. Watched it 10 times. Definitely a bust by Smith. Still, Rambo makes a sure tackle.

1st and 10 at USC 44 - Fake HB sweep left, toss R to WR (nice playcall). Commings makes great play on the block of Jeffrey, blows the play up at LOS. He saw it all the way. 2nd and 10. Shotgun - quick pass. Their whole O-line cut-blocks our Dline. Garcia's pass is too high for Jeffrey. 3rd and 10. Shotgun. Washington almost jumps offside, but stalls, then blows past their OT to force another bad throw by Garcia. 4th and 10. Punt - fair catch at 15. Antonia Allen runs into him, 15 yard penalty. Penn Wagers has to call the penalty, and you can see a little piece of him die inside.

(That litter of bulldog puppies is too cute!)

1st and 10 UGA at UGA 30. Ace formation - We blow them off the ball, Crowell makes a couple good cuts, gets 15 yards.

1st and 10 at UGA 45. Ace Formation - Same play, Crowell breaks a tackle, cuts it back, picks up close to 30.

1st and 10 at USC 26. I-Formation - We run a lead play to the weak side. The hole is there, but the LB cuts Figgins' legs out from under him - Figgins didn't get low enough, they pile up in the hole and Samuel is unable to hurdle them successfully. He sommersaults to the ground after a gain of 3. 2nd and 7. I-Formation. We snap it before they're ready and drive the whole line backwards. Pickup of 4. 3rd and 3. Shotgun-single back (?) Bean gets beat, this time on an inside move and Murray throws a poor pass as he his hit. Murray double-clutched this one. If he had thrown it when he initially wanted to, it's most likely a first-down to Wooten. Instead, he's hit, it's incomplete, it's 4th down. We send out the fieldgoal unit. 37 yard FG good.

Kickoff. Touchback. Love it.

1st and 10 USC at USC 20. - Zone-read fake, quick pass out to Alshon Jeffrey. We had a Corner blitz on. They get 8. 2nd and 2. Garcia rolls out right, Tries to hit Jeffrey on the come-back, but Bacarri Rambo picks it off!

1st and 10 UGA at USC 42. - Ace Formation - Ben Jones gets destroyed at the snap, driven back 3 yards. Crowell has nowhere to go. Makes his first move 3 yards in backfield, carries a few men across the 40. 2nd and 8 - Shotgun Ace - sweep to Crowell, gain of 13.

1st and 10 at USC 27. - Shotgun Ace - Murray throws over the head of TK. Slight pressure by DE, but Samuel blocked him pretty well. 2nd and 10. I-Formation - Right side of line doesn't get much movement. Samuel gains 1.5, but runs into the LBs there. He may have had a little crease to the left, but didn't see it. Call it 3rd and 9. Shotgun Ace - Draw to Crowell. Backside LB comes on blitz, is able to track Crowell down and trip him. Nothing but green in front of him. Frustrating gain of 5. 4th and 4. Send out Walsh. 39-yd FG good.

Kickoff. Touchback. Can't get much better.

1st and 10 USC at USC 20. Our D-Line stones them, stuffs Lattimore at LOS. 2nd and 10. Garcia throws high, Boykin drops a pick-6. 3rd and 10. Cornelius Washington misses a tackle in the backfield, but Robinson and Smith bring Lattimore down before he can reach the 1st. 4th and 2. Snapper rolls the ball to the punter, fair catch called.

1st and 10 UGA at UGA37. I-Formation play-action to Figgins, gain of 29.

1st and 10 UGA at USC 38. I-Form, Iso Handoff to Samuel, Nose-tackle gets into the A-gap, either Jones doesn't chip him, or Chris Burnette doesn't cut him off. Otherwise, play was there. 2nd and 10. I Form - run the Iso to the right. Samuel loses his balance when he tries to avoid an oncoming defender. Down at 31. 3rd and 3.

End of First Quarter. UGA 6 - USC 0. Russ looks ready to nap.

Formation selection -

13 snaps under center, 9 from I-Formation.

4 Shotgun plays

Someone said to me that Richt is too conservative, that we should have gone for the 4th down plays instead of kicking field goals. I disagree. Neither of those 4th down-and-distance calls were close to a "lock" as a first-down, and neither time would failure have given the opposing team terrible field position. If it's 4th and 3 at the 5, maybe you go for it....but at the 25, you don't. At the 31, you don't - especially if you got the ball on a turnover. You ALWAYS want points after a turnover. 30-40 yard kicks should be gimmies. The shorter kicks can actually be harder depending on the angle. This is why you see coaches less likely to go for it on 4th from between their 20 and 30 yardlines if the distance to gain is 3 yards or more.

UGA-USC Film Study...Opening Thoughts

Ok, let me go ahead and put this out there - I have not yet seen one second of the UGA-USC game. I was at work while the game was played, and I have not watched any sportscenter. If it weren't for the fact that I received zero texts complaining about our uniforms, I wouldn't even know that we'd gone with the classic red hats and red-on-silver. All I know is that once again, we failed to get it done.

However, I can say that our team definitely played better this week than last. Our defense gave up 24 points, and while that is not the mark of an elite group, that's eleven points better than last week. And, in actuality, it's markedly less than our offense achieved, 42 points. Still, the job of the defense is to prevent the other offense from getting into the endzone, and three times they failed at that job....and the "most costly" of those came in the fourth quarter. I put that term in quotes because in actuality, a first quarter td hurts just as much as a fourth quarter touchdown, though the perception is always different.

For whatever reason, Georgia just isn't a team that gets the job done right now. That pains me as a former player, and it pains me as a fan.

But, it will not prevent me from saying we'll go 10-2 this year. Glad we went ahead and got those losses out of the way.

Go Dawgs.

I'm not going to predict a USC victory.

I'm not going to. I know that right now, that's the "in" thing for the UGA bloggers to do. Right now, it's hip and cool to hate on Mark Richt and this team. Right now it's very "trendy" to pick against the Dawgs because at the end of the day, what matters isn't whether the team wins or loses, but how much face you can save as a prognosticator, right?

Idiots.

Morons.

Turncoats.

I won't do it. I'm not going to pick South Carolina. And, I'm not going to "not" pick South Carolina just to not pick them, I'm not going to pick them because I think Georgia is going to win. What's more - I'm going to think Georgia is going to win every game from now until the end of the season. I can promise you, if we are 0-8, I'm gonna pick us to win the 9th...and if we lose the 9th, I'm gonna pick us to win #10. Why? Because I understand one very simple, very fundamental thing that too many bloggers today are forgetting.

We don't know $#!t about the future. I can line up all kinds of reasons why South Carolina should bowl over us, and I can hammer out in-depth analysis on games in the series, games by Georgia after a loss, Mark Richt's record when there's a light rain on Friday evening, and his left shoelace is untied. (Ok, maybe I don't do THAT much research) I could also spout off numbers about how successful this defense has been against the run, and how terrible the USC secondary has appeared. I could use every tool at my disposal, and be just as wrong as if I threw a dart at a wall painted in Garnet and White on one side, and Red and Black on the other.

So, I'm gonna side with Georgia. I'm a Georgia fan. I'm a Georgia man. I'm not going to let one stupid loss to Boise, or a terribly played bowl game, or successive years of backsliding pull me from that. And I am DAMN SURE not going to root for us to lose just so we can fire Mark Richt.

At this point, it has nothing to do with faith or belief or any of that. The Georgia Bulldogs are not a supernatural being who will forgive my Sins. They are not a dust-sprinkling fairy who needs me to clap. The Georgia Bulldogs are a football team, and I for one hope they win every game from here on out. I hope they smash AL or AU or LSU or MSU in the SECCG, and then win whatever bowl. And then, I hope that the first words out of Mark Richt's mouth at the podium afterwards are:

"I told you I knew what the hell I was doing!"

Go Dawgs.

Did Mark Richt lose his hairbrush in 2005?

Ok, I know many of you are very puzzled as to the subject line of this one. But, I had a very strange thought earlier....

2005 - The last of the "Great" seasons under Richt (I've explained previously why 2007 is not included...and if you haven't been a longtime reader of my blog, hit the navigation bar over on the right and do some research!). The team drops a close Florida game (due to DJ's injury) en-route to an SEC Title game appearance against LSU.
We beat Lester Miles and Company, and earn a berth to the Sugar Bowl. Is it possible that this simple fact was the undoing of Mark Richt as the Head Coach at UGA?

I offer you this: At some point during the week leading up to the Sugar Bowl, an operative in the team hotel (and an LSU fan to boot) absconded with Mark Richt's hairbrush, or perhaps just a few locks from its bristles. The hair was then air-freighted to Baton Rouge, fashioned into a voodoo doll of some sort and a curse was levied against Mark Richt for the remainder of his tenure in Athens.

You may recall, the Sugar Bowl was displaced due to damage at the Superdome sustained during Hurricane Katrina, and was played at the Georgia Dome instead. This means that the Dawgs had to return to the scene of their victory over LSU - and the place where the cosmic spirits would be most surely aligned against them - "Returning to the scene of the crime", as it were. During the first half, the Dawgs came out and laid a fat egg on the field at the Georgia Dome, but against all Creole odds, fought back to within striking distance. Then, the curse took hold, and the Dawgs somehow allowed a fake punt to beat them when everyone who'd ever heard of the sport of football could tell you the fake was coming.

2006 - The team plays like a group of kids lost in the wilderness. After enough damage is done, they storm through the end of their schedule, giving the UGA faithful hope for a renewed glory.

2007 - Georgia uncharacteristically loses to South Carolina and follows that up with a complete dismantling at the hands of a not-very-great Tennessee team who uses a cunning deployment of play-action rollouts (sneaky sneaky) to dominate. Again, Georgia storms back at the end of the season, but is looked over in favor of ...wait for it....LSU when the BCS ballots are counted. Still, with Richt in charge and the strong finish, Fans believe 2008 will be a year they've all waited for.

2008 - The Dawgs begin the season at #1, yet after winning 4 straight games, slide in the polls before being crushed by Alabama at home. Surprisingly, the Dawgs are able to beat the Death Valley curse, and whip the LSU Tigers in Baton Rouge. Some would go on to say that this was purely because Jarret Lee himself is the most cursed player in college football, after he bookends the game with Pick-Sixes to Darryl Gamble. The difference in the game? 14 points. Early damage lasted, though, as the Dawgs drop two more games in the second half of the season (including Richt's only loss to Georgia Tech), and suffer through the kind of losses to injury usually reserved for undermanned batallions on the battlefield.

2009 - Newly annointed "Team Player" Joe Cox tosses the ball to the defense almost as often as the endzone, and the Dawgs are unable to muster any kind of true challenge in the SEC east. Notably awful is a loss to Kentucky whose 2nd half comeback is likely considered "miraculous" in Lexington...but looks awfully more like "accursed" in Athens. Even worse is a penalty levied against AJ Green for "excessive celebration. This penalty occurs during a game against...LSU...and defines what will become a forgettable season of mistakes.

2010 - The bad gets worse as Georgia loses its best offensive playmaker for four games at the start of the season to possibly the weakest NCAA investigation of all time. A spell appears to have been cast over the defense which makes receivers running wheel-routes completely invisible. A young quarterback looks amazing against low-level talent, but consistently falters against winning teams - call it a "big game" curse, if you'd like. Still, the young talent on both sides of the ball gives hope of a better future.

2011 - Well, it sure ain't started well.


I'm just saying...if there's some bad ju-ju floating around, we might want to find out who was working at the team hotel in Atlanta back in 2005.

Go Dawgs!

**** FOR ENTERTAINMENT ONLY - NOT TO BE CONSUMED BY THOSE WHO MIGHT THINK FOR SOME REASON THAT I ACTUALLY BELIEVE THIS. NOT EVERYTHING I WRITE IS FROM AN ANALYTICAL STANDPOINT. THIS ONE WAS FOR FUN****

Give Sulek his due.

Much attention has been paid to the fact that Jeremy Sulek, a walk-on, was called on to play in place of injured Alec Ogletree this week.

Let me explain something to you - first off, just because a kid is a walk-on doesn't mean he's not talented. The kid finished with 7 tackles on the day, and that's nothing to sneeze at. In fact, over in South Carolina, they're applauding the 7-tackle debut of Jadeveon Clowney. Also, throughout the entirety of Coach Richt's tenure in Athens, there have been walk-ons who have made good.

JT Wall, walk-on.

Verron Haynes, walk-on.

Tra Battle, walk-on.

Reuben Faloughi, walk-on.

There have been others, naturally...but these are four who have done much more than simply been "every now and again" guys. Sometimes a kid just slides under the radar. Coaches aren't known for just tossing in walk-ons for no reason.

Case in point...2000 - I was the fifth Defensive End on the team. Charles Grant, Josh Mallard, Bruce Adrine and Demetric Evans all played in front of me. Nic Clemons was a true freshman, as were Will Thompson and Arnold Harrison. Clemons, Thompson and Harrison were redshirting. I can promise you, without a hint of doubt, that if all four of the players in front of me had gone down with injuries, I would still have been on the sideline. I can promise you that. Redshirts would have been burned, or positions changes would have happened. Why? Because our team would have been better off with four defensive tackles, or with one of the highly-talented freshmen in the position than with me. The guys on the other side of the ball were simply far bigger, and though I played with a lot of passion and a lot of intelligence, I wasn't going to hold my own for 60 minutes against guys who outweighed me by 100 lbs.

I say all of that to say this - If Sulek is the guy who gives us the best chance to win, then what does it matter that the kid is a walk-on? "Sulek did not hold any scholarship offers..." who cares? Perhaps he didn't grow into his body until he was 20 years old. I have no idea. Now, is he as naturally gifted as Amarlo Herrera? Probably not. But, if Amarlo Herrera isn't running the defense we're calling, will his talent matter?

Counter Point: There were a few plays on Saturday when Sulek was a bit confused about his coverages. Now, is it possible that if Herrera had been the one making the mistakes, he could have made a better recovery? Sure, that's possible. But, I'll take the less naturally-gifted kid who's in the right place 85% of the time over the highly-talented kid who is only in the right place 50% of the time.

Of course, this will cause the fanbase to argue: "But Dukes! We're GEORGIA! We should never be in a position where an injury to a safety-turned-linebacker leaves us without another high-quality athlete ready to step in. Our talent-base, history, and resources should always produce enough high-level recruits to never deal with that kind of dropoff." To this, I have to agree. And, in an ideal world, America doesn't suffer 10% unemployment, a tank of gas doesn't cost me a month's rent, and ice cream is a perfectly acceptable diet food. The fact remains that we are in the position we're in. We lost two linebackers (Dowtin, Samuel) as a result of off-season moves, and we apparently don't do nearly as much cross-training as I thought we did in the linebacking corps. Still, we are in the position we're in. As such, it is the coaching staff's responsibility to find the answer. And believe it or not, they do know a hell of a lot more about this game and this team than any of us do.

So, I'll defer to them. Coach Grantham has said he is in the practice of fielding the 11 players who give us the best chance to win. If one of those 11 is Jeremy Sulek, then damnit, support the kid and cheer him loudly. Another walk-on making good - proud to see it.

Go Dawgs!