Tuesday, October 7, 2008

The Bulldawg Blog: Week 5 Review/Week 7 Preview






Last Week’s Game: #3 Georgia vs. #8 Alabama, Loss, 30-41

General Comments: Well Folks, that one hurt a bit. It was rough. I said going into the game that for one of those rare times I really didn’t know what to expect. I was worried. In the back of my mind I had been worried about a blowout because of that unknown factor; because of the fact that UGA hadn’t been in a game as big as this yet on the season (where as Bama had a huge game in the opener against Clemson), and Bama had looked so tough. I had fears about a blowout but I never imagined it could go as badly as it did in that first half. I said at the end of my preview about the game that I didn’t think the Dawgs would be overmatched but maybe they were.



I realize that being present for the game made it worse for me, but I can’t remember a time where I felt worse about being a Bulldawg than I did on that Saturday night. I’m not saying it was the most upset I’ve been about a game or sad or mad or anything like that. I just felt worse about the whole Bulldawg Nation than I can ever remember. Why? It was a lot of things. The blackout and the black jerseys made things way worse; the comments about going to a funeral and the gamesmanship back and forth; all of the Bama people at the game; the preseason #1 ranking; Game Day; being on ESPN in primetime; the fact that the score was 31-0; the penalties. All of these things added to the actual loss, at home, to Alabama, ending hopes of a perfect season and dealing a serious blow to the Dawgs’ National Championship hopes.



Everything but the perfect season is still attainable for Georgia but at this point it almost seems silly to think about anything but the next game. Us Georgia fans wanted to believe that this was going to be a special season and when 31-0 happened it really hit home that no matter what happened from here, this was not going to be some legendary season. The Dawgs are basically what they have been under Mark Richt for 8 years and that’s pretty good. It’s elite in fact, but it isn’t winning every game by 30 points and going 14-0.




The Good: Ummm….the final score ended up being way better than it could have been or ever should have been. I guess it’s true that the Dawgs never quit and kept fighting. I will say that Matt Stafford showed guts and heart and performed admirably while getting little help at times from the rest of the team. Mikey Moore and AJ Green put up big numbers in the second half but you have to put some of those yards under the heading of “garbage numbers.” The Georgia secondary obviously had an awful game but Prince Miller’s 92 yard punt return for a TD was the only thing that allowed the Dawgs to make things somewhat interesting late and made the final score much better than it might have been. Richard Samuel had a 41 yard kickoff return. Blair Walsh was good on his only FG attempt, hitting from 43 yards.




The Bad: A lot, lot, lot. Let me start with the decision to do the blackout/black jerseys. I was disappointed that they were bringing back the black jerseys again because whenever something like that gets overused it ends up getting ugly before someone finally puts a stop to it. Not only was it too soon to bring out the jerseys and blackout again, it wasn’t at all the right game. The black jerseys work well for a game that is really important but you may need something extra. The Auburn game last year was perfect because it was soon after the Dawgs had beaten Florida and they needed to get back up for this huge game. This game was already gigantic. It was between a pair of top ten teams on ESPN. There was so much hype leading up to the game, there was no reason to throw more hype on it by calling for the blackout. Also, one of the great things about the original blackout was that the buzz about it was one of anticipation and mystery. Nobody really knew if the Dawgs were going to wear the black jerseys for sure until they came out of the tunnel right before kickoff. It hadn’t been done before and while the buzz locally was big leading up to the event, it wasn’t that big of a deal nationally. In this case, everyone knew for sure what would happen ahead of time and everyone around the country was talking about. Most importantly, Bama was talking about it and they used it to motivate themselves and unify their fans on the road in a hostile environment.



Let’s move on to discuss coaching and preparation in other ways. I normally don’t know enough to be able to tell when it’s bad coaching versus when it’s just bad execution by players. But I do know that it should never have gotten as bad as things got that Saturday night. Perhaps the players were up for the game emotionally and mentally, but they didn’t look prepared strategically. The offensive line looked clueless. The defense looked clueless. There were no adjustments made on either side of the ball during any point in the first half, and it’s really hard to know what to make of the second half when the Tide was sitting on a 31 point lead.



Penalties were once again a major problem for the Dawgs and this time it really burned them. Look, I’ll defend non-football penalties (late hits, unnecessary roughness, blow to the head of the QB, etc.) more than anybody. I don’t even like it when my team benefits from one of those calls. I know a lot of it is just aggression and it’s hard to play hard and all out and completely avoid those types of calls. But at some point, when it’s continuously occurring and it’s killing you, it’s time to start caring. But there were also penalties that were caused by players just getting beat, like offensive and defensive holding, pass interference, etc.



Defensively the Dawgs got thrashed by Bama. The Dawgs couldn’t stop or even contain the run. Georgia got absolutely zero pressure on the QB. And the defensive backs and linebackers got torched by Bama backs and receivers. Over and over again Wilson had all day to pass and there were receivers wide open all over the field. Then there was Brian Mimbs’ shanked punt in the first half that set up another Bama score. That was actually one of the key plays in the game because it was something that the Dawgs absolutely could not afford to have happen at the moment.



Offensively, the Georgia line got absolutely dominated. Stafford had no time to throw and was constantly harried and hit. Often times the Dawgs offensive line didn’t even come close to blocking the defensive line and LB’s. During the first half, Georgia receivers frequently didn’t even have time to run their routes before Stafford had to run for his life or just get rid of the ball. Knowshon Moreno was taken out of the game. The entire Georgia running game was nullified. AJ Green got completely outshined by Julio Jones in the matchup of big time freshman receivers. Green was productive late in the second half but he made the most damaging mistake of the game in the first half when he caught a pass for a big first down and then threw it to the other team.



It’s hard to gain anything from the final stats in this game because the outcome had basically been decided by halftime, so all that happened in the second half was affected by the fact that Bama was playing with a 31 point lead. It’s just not the same. When it was all said and done, the Dawgs had just 3 fewer first downs than Bama (18-21) and 10 fewer total yards (324-334). The Dawgs had just 50 yards on the ground in the game; turned the ball over twice while only turning Bama over once; committed 10 penalties for 81 yards; and had the ball for over 11 minutes less than the Tide.



But the real story of the game was the first half. Bama scored on all 5 of its possessions in the first half, scoring TD’s on 4 of 5, while holding the Dawgs off the scoreboard. The Dawgs had just 4 first downs in the first half, fumbled in their own territory, threw a pick at the Bama 4, and had a 19 yard punt. Even in the second half, after the PR by Miller got the Dawgs within 14 with 14 to play, the Dawgs could not stop Bama when they had to; allowing a FG that basically ended it.




Going Forward: Clearly there are some major concerns. Injuries are going to continue to be an issue and if Knowshon Moreno’s elbow keeps him out for any period of time it will make Georgia’s offense much more ordinary. The biggest concern has to be the OL which has just got to get better for Georgia to be able to succeed in the SEC. Another major concern is the amount of pressure the defense is getting on the opposing QB, or lack there of. The Georgia secondary is basically a weakness which the rest of the defense has to try and cover up. Even with pressure the secondary is vulnerable. If the opposing QB has time to pass, the Georgia secondary is going to be exposed often.

Hell, at least the pressure’s off. The idea that this Georgia team is special or something should be gone. The rankings didn’t do us any good to begin with. The preseason number 1 ranking and the high ranking that the Dawgs had during the first month was based almost completely on the team’s great finish in 2007 and the expectations people had about the returning roster. But that 2007 team was peaking at the end of the year after being on the brink of a lost season in October. The Dawgs were thin in some areas and they lost key players to injuries. Most importantly in my opinion, the Dawgs’ offensive line was a serious question mark, and media members and fans always overlook the offensive line. The team’s performance in its first 4 games had almost nothing to do with the #3 ranking. Actually, the team’s performance was what caused it to drop from #1 to #3.




This loss was disappointing for so many reasons. It’s too bad that the loss was ugly and not competitive because had the loss been close people would have given Georgia credit for losing to a great team. But when you get blown out, you don’t get credit for shit. It’s tough that the loss came at home and it came in a part of the season when the Dawgs weren’t at a disadvantage. The loss came at a time when the Dawgs weren’t banged up or worn down by the schedule. It sucks that the loss came on national TV.



When the Dawgs went to the half down 31-0 there were obviously a million terrible thoughts and feelings floating around inside my mind and soul like every other Dawg person. But one thing that I kept thinking about was how bad the final score was going to be. I kept thinking “It’s bad now, but it’s only going to get worse.” Somehow it actually ended up being better than I could have imagined but the final score won’t be as big of a help to Georgia as it would have been if the game wasn’t on ESPN during primetime. Anyway, while I’d like to hope that this was just a bad day and that the Dawgs are going to have things go their way from here on, the thing that keeps going through my mind is the idea that “it’s only going to get worse.” The Dawgs have no easy games on their schedule. Not one. There is still so much that the Dawgs can accomplish this season, but let’s be honest, there are going to be many more opportunities for them to fail.


Next Week: vs. Tennessee

Preview: Coming off the loss to Bama and the bye week, the Dawgs will host a Tennessee team that is really struggling. Coming into the season, Tennessee’s defense was a question mark but they were supposed to have the best offensive line in the SEC, a number of good backs and receivers, and a capable replacement for Erik Ainge at quarterback. But the season has been a near disaster for the Vols, beginning with their loss in their first game in front of the nation on the road against a UCLA team starting a rebuilding year. UCLA’s freshman QB threw the Vols 4 first half picks but Tennessee couldn’t put the game away and the Bruins took the game over in the second half. The #18 Vols had to pull out all the stops just to get the game into OT before losing 27-24 in the first overtime. The defeat dropped the Vols out of the rankings and they haven’t returned. The loss looked bad at the time but it would look much worse 2 weeks later when UCLA lost its second game of the season to BYU, 59-0! The Vols got healthy against UAB at home in their second game, winning 35-3 and outgaining the Blazers, 548-275. UAB is 1-5 this year with their one win coming against Alabama State of the FCS at home.



It was Tennessee’s turn to host Florida this season and they ended up getting beat 30-6, although it should have been closer. They got shutout 20-0 in the first half and trailed 27-0 going to the 4th but they actually outgained Florida by 15 yards and had as many first downs as the Gators. The problem for the Vols is that they just made a thousand mistakes. They allowed a 52 yard kickoff return and a 78 yard punt return for a TD. They turned the ball over 3 times and never turned the Gators over. They lost a fumble at their own 23 that led to a score and lost a fumble at the Gators 1 that kept them from scoring. The Vols had a 2nd and goal at the 1 at the end of the first half and didn’t get any points. The next week the Vols played at Auburn and lost an ugly game 14-12. Neither team did much offensively but the Vols were particularly bad, getting just 191 yards and 9 total first downs. The Vols also made the single biggest mistake of the game. Trailing just 7-6 in the 2nd quarter, the Vols had a 1st down at their own 5 and QB Jonathan Crompton ran into Arian Foster while trying to hand the ball off and the Tigers recovered in the end zone for a TD to make it 14-6. In that game, an 8 point lead was nearly insurmountable. UT finally managed to score a TD at the start of the 4th but they missed the 2-pt conversion. They wound up losing it 14-12. Last week the Vols hosted Northern Illinois of the MAC and struggled to a 13-9 win. The Vols were shutout 3-0 by the Huskies in the first quarter and the score was tied 3-3 at the half. Tennessee scored the first ten points of the 3rd quarter to take a 13-3 lead but the Huskies came back with a pair of field goals to make it a 13-9 game going to the 4th quarter. Neither team scored in the final period and that’s the way it ended. Tennessee outgained the Huskies by just 31 yards, 225-194, and the Huskies actually had 3 more first downs than UT (12-9). Tennessee got just 9 first downs for the second straight game. The score could have been closer, as the Huskies missed a FG on their first drive and threw a pick inside UT territory that was returned deep into NIU territory, setting up a score.



The Vols have now taken the keys away from Jonathan Crompton and will go with sophomore Nick Stephens under center against UGA. Stephens is 11 for 19 for 198 yards, 1 TD, and 0 INT on the season. Stephens went 1 for 2 in the UAB game and his only other action came last week when he went 10 for 17 and threw a TD in the Vols win over NIU. He didn’t play last season as a freshman. The Dawgs will obviously want to force Stephens to beat them and that will mean shutting down Arian Foster, which has never been easy for them.




The Dawgs have lost 2 straight to the Vols and 3 of the last 4 meetings after winning 4 in a row from 2000-2003. UT has also won the last 2 in Athens. The Dawgs are 4-3 against Tennessee under Mark Richt but just 1-2 at home. The Dawgs are 15-4 off a bye under Richt and 13-4 off a loss. Tennessee is now 2-3, 0-2 in the SEC, and 0-2 on the road. The Dawgs are 12 point favorites.




I said I didn’t know what to expect last week and now I really don’t know what to expect. This isn’t a great time to play Tennessee, as they are due for a good game. They have switched QB’s and they have been a mess offensively, but if you can’t pressure the QB and you don’t have the DB’s to make up for it, any college QB can have success. And this year the Dawgs won’t get any credit for beating Tennessee. The Dawgs will be expected to win easily, but it’s never easy. The Dawgs should win this game. We’re coming off a loss and a bye week; we are at home; they suck and they don’t have a stable QB situation. Forget about style points because the Dawgs aren’t going to get any extra credit for blowing out the Vols, and right now Georgia just needs to win. But we’d all feel better if they had a great game and won big and easy. I don’t know what’s going to happen. If you compare things on paper you would expect the Dawgs to win easy, but it’s Georgia vs. Tennessee so it’ll probably be close. The only thing that’s really making me feel good is that we have to win, where as their season is already ruined. The pressure is still off of us but we still have a ton to play for. The rest of the year the Vols will be trying to avoid a total disaster of a season. Georgia still has much to play for but they have to win this game.

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